Someone get this girl a Globe

The Girl: Mom, how do you draw South America?

Mom: Let's google it

The Girl: Mom, How do you spell South America?

Mom:  You know what you need.....a globe. 


I don't much care for the movie Up.  It's straight up sad.  The first 30 minutes I find myself crying my eyes out.  And so I choose not to watch it.  The boychild got it into his little head that as soon as we got home from Grandma's turkey dinner he could watch it. 

Me:  Did you say we would watch Up when we got home?

Husband: No, Did you?

Me: No!

And then they watched Up and I took a 96 minute bath.

First Week of Advent

We are waiting, we're waiting, we're waiting.

Waiting for Christmas morning, waiting for Burrito's birthday, waiting to be old enough to have our very own horse, waiting for the sickness that has descended onto this house to clear.

There's a pretty good article over at Catholics on Call.  The tale of two benches.  You should go read it.  My little paraphrased version here doesn't do it justice.  The short version is that you can go through your life as one of two benches, a bus bench or a park bench.  A bus bench is a stepping off place.  We are there for single purpose, waiting on the next step.  We are checking our watch, making sure we have all our belongings just waiting for that bus to roll in.  We don't notice our surroundings or the people that pass, all we are focused on is getting on that bus.  You don't sit on a park bench for the same reasons.  You sit on a park bench to enjoy life.  You take a time out from the hustle of life and deadlines to notice and appreciate the gifts that God gave us.

This is the first Sunday of Advent.   This Sunday we acknowledge Isaiah's prophecy from the old testament that the messiah is coming.  And we wait and prepare our hearts and find a nice park bench to sit on while we wait. 

The Shadow of the Wind

If I was a book quitter....I'd have quit this book.

But alas, I am not.

Even when they are a real stinker.  I find myself holding out hope that something miraculous will happen and I will find something to enjoy within it's pages.

The Shadow of the Wind came highly recommended.  It was written by Carlos Ruiz Safon in 2001.  It became an international best seller and was translated into English in 2004.  I checked this one out on audio since I am currently reading (legitimately reading...according to my sister) The Glass Castle.  So, The Shadow of the Wind, 16 discs.  That's a lot of listening even for me.  The first half of the book seemed slow paced.  I found myself daydreaming as I listened.  I seriously thought about not finishing the book.  But then somewhere around disc 10, I had a change of heart.  Soon I was guessing outcomes, cheering for Fermin Romero de Torres the sidekick and comedy relief of the story, and booing the villainous, corrupt police officer.

For someone who half listened to the first half of the story, I was pretty proud of myself for guessing the two big plot reveals before they were spelled out for the reader.  I like that. 

After finishing the book I'd recommend it too.  With a warning that the first part is a little slow.

Tis the Season

I've been feeling a little Grinch-y this year.  Neither family wants to continue the Christmas traditions we have become accustomed to and so I'm thinking of starting my own.  Or just randomly making them up.  I have a few ideas and a few are still stewing.  A few months ago, I came across this War on Christmas article and it has been on my mind ever since.  I've been silently waging my own Christmas battles for the past few years.  So many around us immerse themselves in Christmas from the day after Thanksgiving until that can't possible stand it and Dec 26th all the decorations come down.  Someone always asks me why the heck our tree is still up and decorated on January 4th. 

The twelve days of Christmas really don't start until Christmas day.  And they end at the Epiphany, the 6th of January.  This year, I think I will participate in advent more and leave the anticipation and excitement of Christmas to Christmas.  Having a child's birthday just 6 days before Christmas is probably a good deciding factor too.  I don't want him to feel like his birthday is lost in the hustle and chaos that is the holiday season.

This year, there will be no black Friday shopping, advent will be fully embraced, the tree may not get decorated until just before Christmas.  And all will be right in our world.

How the Halloween Costumes turned out

Introducing......

The Yellow Knight and Gollum!

Burrito has informed me that I still need to get him a yellow feather for his helmet.  Maybe I could knit/felt one for him. 

Apparently I forgot to buy the magic sticky stuff to make the fake elf ears stick onto Gollum.  So they are bobby pinned onto her little ears.  She's such a trooper.  I offered to staple them....she didnt' think I was funny.

My Just In Time Gloves

I decided I needed some fingerless gloves for winter.  Thank goodness they are done, there is snow on the horizon.  This was my first attempt at the cable stitch.  It turned out nice, but it was soooo slow going.  And there might have been a little swearing every time I dropped a stitch.

I'm glad I can check cable stitching off my list.  Now back to regular knits and purls.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Sometimes I pick which book to read next by browsing the stacks at the Library.  Sometimes I pick something that was featured in the parenting magazine.  Sometimes books catch my eye out of the weekly Barnes and Noble emails. 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot landed on my parenting magazine, Barnes and Noble, and random facebook post.  I suggested it for book club a few months ago but it wasn't the lucky winner that month.  But I read it anyway.

I absolutely loved every page.  There's still time yet, but it might just have been my favorite book this year.  I don't think I made the connection that this was a true story before I started reading.  And I admit that before reading this book I didn't know the origins of HeLa cells.  I have dabbled in microbiology and cell culture in my scientific career but it's not something that is routine for me.  HeLa cells, it turns out, have the unique ability to multiply and survive indefinitely as long as they are given the needed growing conditions.  This differs from other cell lines in laboratories which have a definite lifespan.  The whole longer telomeres are the key to living forever theory I suppose.

The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks is a story both of how the cells were taken without her knowledge and discovered as well as the impact it has had on her family and her children.  It also details the struggles of the scientific community in advancing research, collaborations, and tissue ownership.

I have been hounding the husband to read it.  I'd like to know if it is as fascinating a book to a regular person as it was to me, a science dork.  He has not yet.  And seeing as how he is bffs with the librarian and has a smoking, hot of the presses copy of Inheritance, I guess I'll be waiting a little while longer for his thoughts on the matter.

But you should read it.  Consider it a science homework assignment.