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1. After one of her grouchiest days on record, Sophie gave me a kiss for the first time this week. Michael was holding her, leaned in to kiss me, and as soon as he pulled away, Sophie (beaming) grabbed my cheeks and mushed her mouth to mine. I about died of adorableness. It made that incredibly difficult day totally worth it. I can’t stress how rare and fantastic this was. Sophie is NOT affectionate, so this was a really big deal.
2. Sophie would do almost anything for a saltine or a pair of my socks. For some reason, she thinks they’re the best. She’s taken to sneaking one before breakfast some mornings (hence her crazy bedhead). Also, any time she can try on my socks, it’s a good day.
3. Almost everywhere we’ve gone this week people have stopped me to comment on Sophie’s ponytail. I’ve considered naming it since it seems to have a personality all its own. It migrates throughout the day, and, like a sunflower, seems to change position to face the sun or something. It’s the best.
4. I’ve been dreaming of brownies all week since deciding we’re making special brownie sundaes this weekend for Father’s Day. I’m making fudgy chocolate toffee crunch brownies and we’re topping them with salted caramel truffle ice cream. Drool. Is it Father’s Day yet?
5. I need book suggestions. I feel like I’m in a reading funk lately and could really use some great suggestions. Do you have any? (I’ve read the Hunger Games, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Help, and lots of the other popular books out there. I read a lot of children’s/young adult books, I have no interest in Shades of Grey, and I also love classics. Does that help?)
Happy Weekend!
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Baby kisses are the best and they DO make it all worth it! Hooray for Miss Sophie’s first bestowal of a kiss!
I posted a “Note” on my Facebook page that has a list of books that I like. A lot. I haven’t updated it recently (I’ll need to do that) but you may find something there of interest.
Sounds like it’s going to be a happy Father’s Day at your house–and now I need to think of something fancy (or at least edible) to serve at ours….
Love you!
My favorite young adult books lately are Unwind and House of the Scorpion. As far as classics, I like The Scarlet Pimpernel a lot and Dracula is actually better than you might think.
I love Sophie’s migrating pony tail. Adorable!
Yammie – Thank you! I haven’t heard of those YA books. I’ll give them a try!
Baby kisses are amazing. Luke has been giving me many all week long. I love it.
Have you tried The Glass Castle (REALLY good nonfiction) ? Or for young adult books, the Percy Jackson series, or The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane? I read that with my students, and they loved it. And I enjoyed them too. If you liked the Anne of Green Gables books, try the Blue Castle (so many castles here…) by the same author. I’ve started These is My Words on the suggestion of many, and have heard the ladies auxiliary is good too. Last summer I read the Peach Keeper and Unbroken (another REALLY good nonfiction). Good luck!
Rachel – your mentioning Anne of Green Gables totally makes us kindred spirits. I’ve read (I think) everything L.M. Montgomerey has written and loved them all! Have you read the Emily of New Moon series by her? It’s fabulous. I also loved the Percy Jackson series and These is My Words (and the sequels). I’ll definitely look up Glass Castle, Edward Tulane, and the others. Thank you!
I have started using Goodreads and I LOVE it. You rate books you have read and then you get recommdations on others based on what you have put in and the genres you like. If you don’t like a recommendation, you just click a button that says Not Interested and others will come up. Such a great site!
Kim – Michael and I love Goodreads. I haven’t been on there in forever, though, so you’ve inspired me to update my lists!
I just finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and loved it. A bit of history, a bit of love, and a lot of sadness. I highly recommend.
Janet – I’ve heard great things about that book, but I’d forgotten about it! Thank you! I can’t wait to give it a try!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Sophie’s kiss, her non stop chattering yesterday, her Pebbles’ hair style, that she adores your socks, that she has a soft spot for Saltines, and the description of your marvelous Father’s Day dessert.
On the book recommendation front … I suggest:
Those Who Save us (Jenna Blum)
Mudbound (Hillary Jordan)
The Ninth Wife (Amy Stolls)
Elysabeth – Thank you! I’ll look them up!
Some great books that you may like:
Room by Emma Donoghue (http://www.amazon.com/Room-A-Novel-Emma-Donoghue/dp/0316098329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339776445&sr=8-1&keywords=room)
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Racing-Rain-Novel/dp/0061537969/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339776509&sr=1-1&keywords=the+art+of+racing+in+the+rain)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini [the same author of The Kite Runner, which if you haven't read I highly recommend as well!] (http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Splendid-Suns-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/159448385X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339776559&sr=1-1&keywords=a+thousand+splendid+suns)
I can’t really get into the 50 Shades of Grey bandwagon either. I really like books with more substance typically. I hope you find some good reads!
I’m currently reading Still Missing (very good), some other ones: Room, Sarah’s Key, The Glass Castle, Kite Runner….just to name a few!
Hurray for baby kisses! As soon as I finish Mistborn (a book club choice) I’m going to read Edenbrook by Julianne Donaldson. It’s a new book that is super clean and has gushing reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Edenbrooke-Julianne-Donaldson/dp/1609089464
Have you read the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace? For some reason, they aren’t as well known as the Anne of Green Gables books, but they’re just as charming. The series begins when Betsy and Tacy are five years old, and the early books are written at a grade-school reading level. As the girls mature, so does the writing level. My favorites are the books when the girls are teenagers and young adults. The books listed here under “More Deep Valley Books” are also worthwhile, especially Carney’s House Party: http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org/betsy-tacybooks
And if you haven’t read any of Betty MacDonald’s four autobiographical books (The Egg and I, The Plague and I, Anybody Can Do Anything, and Onions in the Stew), WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU! They can be hard to find, since they’re usually out of print. But they are gems. She writes with humor and descriptions beyond compare.
Ames – bless you.
If you like YA literature, Sarah Dessen is EXCELLENT! I highly recommend Just Listen and The Truth About Forever, but pretty much all of her other books are wonderful.
that picture of sophie wrapped up in the blanket is just killing me! so cute! i was in a bit of a book funk for a while, too, but i recently found a few great books. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was so fun and different. On my to-read list right now are The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, The Greater Journey by David McCullough, Bloodwork by Holly Tucker, Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. Hope you find something good!
Brittany – Thanks for the suggestions. Also, 10,000 bonus points to you for having read I Capture the Castle. I LOVED that book!
I’m totally loving the pony tail, too! My daughter’s hair has mysteriously turned into a mop of unruly curls, and at the slightest sight of brush, hair tie or bow she runs in the other direction. LOL. I have been reading books by Kate Morton, and LOVE them all! Also a book called “The Thirteenth Tale”. All very good!
Key to Rondo by Emily Rhodda
ANYTHING by Robin McKinley (read Beauty before Rose Daughter, they are both Beauty and the Beast spins, totally different and both amazing, but Rose Daughter is a more complex story.)
Birdwing by Rafe Martin
The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander
The Jade Dragon Box (don’t remember author, but it is Deseret or Shadow Mountain Publishing)
The Septimus Heap Series, starts with Magyk…
As you can tell, I read alot of JF, mostly because I don’t have to follow a complex plot line through multiple child distractions. Maybe someday I will go back to reading things requiring braincells. Maybe not.
My favorite young adult book is called Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman. It’s loosely based on Pride and Prejudice and who doesn’t love that story?
A young adult book I love is called Crusader by Edward Bloor.
I also love the quirky The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
If you’re looking for younger young adult, there’s a series of books known as “Confessions of Georgia Nicholson” by Louise Rennison about a young group of British girls. I laugh out loud every time I read them, even though I am way past the age they were originally intended for.
Jayden recommends: The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde.
Ditto on Sarah’s Key, I LOVED that book, honestly couldn’t wait to get home from work everyday to read it and stayed up way too late and finished it in two nights. And I saw someone suggested the Glass Castle, that one is really good and it reminded me of another book by the same autho, Jeanette Walls, called Half Broke Horses. Its a true story about her grandmother and I died laughing through most of it, she had such an adventurous life!
And…I just remembered I haven’t emailed you the chile cheese bread recipe yet, I will get on that