Today

(The picture above is from the halls of my kids' elementary school.)
I had a post that I was working on for today ready to go about children's books. But it seems trite and can't even fathom posting that right now, when my heart and mind are filled with grief. Yes, grief - it is not hyperbole. Either way, we knew this was what half the country would be experiencing. If you are not grieving, I would implore you to allow those of us to go through the stages with respect. I have voted in six elections and it sometimes has not gone my way, but I have never felt such fear. I am not alone in this and these feelings are valid. 

Reading and writing are my solace, so that is what I'm going to do. I had my day of just processing and going through the motions yesterday and it was hard. Getting out of bed was hard. Going for a run was hard, but so necessary. Eating my veggies was hard. Talking to my kids was hard. Thankfully I have shielded them from most of the hateful things our president elect has uttered. All they know is that mom and dad think that he is unqualified and not a very 'nice' man. I can't imagine explaining in more detail if they were older, and I fear the kind of society that may evolve from this election. Hopefully it's a watershed moment for the majority of those who voted and are disappointed (even as Republicans, of which there were MANY) to have those talks with their kids about kindness, respect, inclusion, and to stand up for our beliefs and for those that need others to stand for them. May the effects of this galvanizing reverberate into the future as they become adults and to future elections. I am heartened by the fact that more people felt this way than not, even though I support the electoral college (although gerrymandering and the loss of many protections of the Voting Rights Act IS a problem) and I support the way our democracy works - hopefully our new president will, too. I am also thankful that my daughter is not of child bearing age, and that we may assuage any damage that may be done to her rights in the next four years - AND the rights of all disabled, POC, LGBQT, Muslims, Jews and immigrants. 

I think I've said this before that I believe things happen for a reason, and ironically, I feel similarly about this election as I did on September 11th. Maybe we need to take one step back, before we can take two forward. I DID fear how a Hillary win would have affected the country - another four years of obstructionist democracy? No fun for anyone. And I think we all had a legitimate reason to be afraid of how his scarier supporters (even an ex congressman) would have handled a loss. Right now social media is RIFE with like-minded folks talking about hope, moving on, boots on the ground, donating to causes we hold dear and doing good in the world. Sure there is anger! Sure there is sadness! There will be protests! California has folks organizing to secede! (Which I think is kind of funny, not scary - unless it happens and then we'll be pretty hungry...) There have been school walkouts! All of these things are our rights as citizens to peaceful protest. In addition to accepting the outcome, we have a right in our democracy to voice our dissent. NOT ONCE have I seen someone talk of violence, or gathering up our 'militia.' I can't help but wonder how things would have gone if our lawsuit-loving future president lost with his alt right and KKK supporters. Anyone balking at the people peacefully marching in city streets, lest you forget - it was YOUR candidate who would not concede to the idea of the peaceful transfer of power. Yes, there are most certainly people who are happy with the election results sharing things about love and not hate, and that they are not all racists, sexists, etc. I hope that it is genuine and gains traction. But it feels like too little, too late. Where where you MONTHS ago when hate was apparently no 'bigly' deal? Sure, you're not a bigot, but you have decided that the hateful rhetoric of our commander in chief is not of consequence. We have now opened the door to an onslaught of legitimizing hate (I am also already hearing stories from my community here in my blue state) and I will do my part, however small, to retaliate. 

Let us ALL put our money where our mouth is, figuratively and literally. How about reading a book written by someone that does not look like you? Learn perhaps a fraction of what it might feel like to be in someone's shoes. I have EXCELLENT recommendations: Between the World and Me, We Should All be Feminists and, yes, Hillbilly Elegy. These are a very small sample of what's out there. They are all super quick and so very informative. Although, right now, some straight up fiction may be needed to do a little escapism. Reading literary fiction improves empathy! Maybe a Harry Potter re-read is in order. In the meantime, I will be giving (even more) funds to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU (among others - here's a handy list), there will be more Moms Demand Action meetings to attend (way to go Washington on passing I-194!!), and modeling for my children. Be the change you want to see in the world.

OK, back to the comfort of my routines next week with book blather and menu planning. Thanks for listening if you've come this far!

Everyday Life and Menu Plan 11.6.16

Schlepping around in the rain, sugar crashes, class party chaos is OVER! Let us rejoice and set our sights on the REAL holidays! Thanksgiving is nigh, and I shall spend the next few weeks thinking about all the new and wonderful things I will make and add to our menu - and probably not do any of it, but it's still fun.

We also enjoyed lots of bookish fun this week with the annual Literacy Night at our school with various games and activities, along with the beloved Scholastic book fair.

And today we hit up our local independent bookstore, Third Place Books, for lunch, browsing, and procuring the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid and our tickets to see the author, Jeff Kinney, in a few weeks!

My daughter has been obsessed with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory since her teacher has been reading it in class and they watched some of the movie, too. So we picked up the complete story that also includes Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and will start reading that with her this week.

We even had a break in our record rain today for a sunny trip to the park! Here's hoping for a few more lovely days and a peaceful election week ahead...

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - White Bean Soup with Crispy Proscuitto (from Shutterbean)
• Wednesday - Thai Green Curry Turkey Meatballs (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
• Thursday - Chicken Quinoa Broccoli Bake (from Pinch of Yum)
• Friday - Fish Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema (a favorite from Cooking Light)
• Saturday - Penne Alla Vodka (great old recipe from Rachael Ray)
• Sunday - Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans (tasty recipe from Sweet Little Bluebird)

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

Books I Read in October

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
This was a wonderful novel - you can read my review here!

The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood
I felt like this was a bit of a bait and switch: I thought I was going to read a story about the relationship between a precocious boy and a centenarian. Flashbacks of conversations between the two do make up the framework of the narrative, but it becomes a story about the boy's parents and the way the he gives them redemption and peace they might not have reached if he had lived. And, no, that's not really a spoiler. It is clear from the get-go that that this is a story about how his death changes the lives of those around him in surprising and profound ways. We hear his voice only through recordings of his scouts assignment to spend time with 104 year old Ona. She is a fantastic character and watching her rediscover herself was the greatest joy of this book, which on the whole was more depressing than I had anticipated, but ultimately hopeful. 

The Mothers by Brit Bennett 
This book was so accessible and powerful. It touches on several heavy topics, including abortion, but never gets didactic. Bennett tells the story of two unlikely friends who meet while helping out at church one summer, each without a mother and each carrying the heavy burden of a terrible secret. The chapters open from the viewpoint of the church elders (or 'mothers') in all of their years of wisdom that these poor girls do not yet possess. It was so hard to watch the girls make mistakes, and live with the consequences that changed their lives, and the lives of those around them. The plot moves along quickly (I learned at the author reading that Bennett loves plot! Yes!) AND it is beautifully written, so many perfect turn of phrases. I marked so many passages.

"At home, loss was everywhere; she could barely see past it, like trying to look out a windowpane covered in fingerprints. She would always feel trapped behind that window, between her and the rest of the world, but at least in Ann Arbor, the glass was clearer."

"But she hasn't yet learned the mathematics of grief. The weight of what has been lost is always heavier than what remains."

And this passage at the beginning, when Nadia thinks that Luke must love her at least a 'little bit' - the refrain from the church mothers is a revelation:

"Oh girl, we have known littlebit love. That littlebit of honey left in an empty jar that traps the sweetness in your mouth long enough to mask your hunger. We have run tongues over teeth ot savor that last littlebit as long as we could, and in all our living, nothing has starved us more."

Bennet conveys the complex relationships of mothers and daughters, and of female friendships so exquisitely. The story of these two women as they grow, and grow apart, was riveting stuff. (And I couldn't help but think about it as a polar opposite of Rich and Pretty.)  

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
Man, this was an eye opening read. It was like learning about a completely foreign civilization, which I suppose Hillbillies are in our country. I even had a tough time at the beginning with the author's family tree and family names, as if they were written in a foreign language. Once I got into the swing of things, though, it was very compelling and readable. Vance's family is hilarious and heartbreaking. They paint a full portrait of a culture I knew very little about. Although it was informative, I came away feeling helpless and angry. As a person of Scots-Irish descent, I find this notion of excessive pride that supposedly drives the pig-headed nature of Hillbillies, infuriating. It feels like an excuse for the terrible cycle of violence and abuse. I had hoped for a more optimistic ending, or Vance's thoughts on solutions to the problems that face the poor working class. Alas, it's seems like more of a jumping off point to at least get the conversation started, and an important one for the health of our country.

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Another book by this author was enjoyed by all in our household! I even read it with my six year old. Kat and her younger sister Maya, who has cystic fibrosis, move to a coastal town in Northern California and learn of the locals belief and celebration of ghosts. It was a perfect read for late October as, of course, it centers around Day of the Dead festivities and weaving Kat's thoughts and fears about her sister's potential death with those that have gone before. Much like her other books, Telgemeier has an uncanny way of imparting the emotions of youth with such precision. It's beautiful and heart wrenching. I can't say I know too much about Mexican traditions and the Day of the Dead, but it made us all want to learn more. It also shifted my kids perspective on ghosts in a new and positive way, as a way to remember and honor family. Good stuff.

Everyday Life and Menu Plan (10.30.16)

I kicked off this lovely week with a trip to Elliot Bay Book Company, as I mentioned in my book haul post, for a reading from Brit Bennett. Again, a wonderful novel that I highly recommend.

Then the latter part of our week was dominated by soccer: Thursday a makeup game, Friday practice and Saturday was his last regular season game.

My daughter always finds other siblings to play and hang out with while we watch, and it was super awesome that she had one of her favorite classmates with an older brother on the team this year. They slay me.

Today we totally got our fall on with chili in the crock pot and I baked a favorite apple cake while my husband helped the kids with pumpkin carving. Thank goodness he's down for this task (well, I bribe him with the cake he loves), because I HATE this yearly task on my least favorite holiday.

We have a super busy schedule ahead this week, with THREE nights of activities for the kids. I'm looking forward to changing up our Halloween routine and going trick or treating with friends this year, in lieu of doing our local downtown safe Halloween. We also have the end of season pizza party for soccer and literacy night festivities at school. It's all fun stuff, but the introvert in me will be TIRED. We are going to pat ourselves on the back for all the running around with one of our most indulgent Saturday meals!

• Monday - Halloween! Tacos and Trick or Treating at a friends house!
• Tuesday - End of the season pizza party for my son's soccer team!
• Wednesday - Pesto Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Asparagus (a favorite from Damn Delicious)
• Thursday - Kung Pao Stir Fry from Trader Joes with Brown Rice (then off to literacy night!)
• Friday - Enchilada Quinoa Bake with Ground Turkey (using a great recipe from Pink Parsley)
• Saturday - Top Sirloin Steaks, Twice Baked Potatoes and Wilted Garlic Spinach (The recipes from The Girl Who Ate Everything and The Harvest Kitchen are pretty much how we've prepared these side dishes with our Omaha Steaks for years!)
• Sunday - Autumn Chopped Salad (from Espresso and Cream)

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

The Stack - October Book Haul (So Much Book Goodness This Month!)

Yep, this has evolved to just plain ol' book haul, instead of just my library haul. Book of the Month has got it's claws in me. I may have to skip a month or two to catch up on all the great books - yep, you can skip months. But I won't give it up, it's just too awesome. (As always, if you wanna get it on the fun, too - use my referral link for 30% off a 3 month subscription and a free tote!) And I already devoured this month's book, The Mothers by Brit Bennett and LOVED it. I also adore the beautiful cover.

AND I got it signed earlier this week when she was in town for a reading!

Okay, back to the top of the stack! I put the digital copy of It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover on hold, and lo, there was a copy on the choice reads shelf. I've yet to read a book by this author I've been hearing a lot about and I'm excited to dive into a straight up romance, which I haven't done in AGES. The A to Z of You and Me was an impulse grab from the same shelf, as I've seen the title floating around, but I'm not sure if I'll be up for the depressing nature of someone my age dying in hospice... My hold for the second Louise Penny Inspector Gamache novel has arrived: A Fatal Grace. It's perfect timing for a cozy mystery novel! The War That Saved My Life is this year's Newberry Award winner, so I had to check it out and may read it with my older kiddo after I'm done. Speaking of my older kiddo, it's no secret that we loved Smile and Sisters (which I didn't review here, but it was just as poignant and uproariously funny as the former), so we went ahead and purchased Ghosts on a recent trip to the bookstore.

This was the face he made when I said I might read it first! He loved it and I plan to read it this weekend. The Little Stranger should be interesting because I have one book I LOVED by Sarah Waters (Fingersmith) and one book I did NOT love (The Paying Guests). It's my online book club's pick for October and hopefully I won't fall too far behind. However, I did just pick up the selection ahead of time for November - my first two week checkout from the library!

The pressure of 14 days held me back until I saw Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. There were about 200 people ahead of me in the queue for my hold on this book, AND it's our November pick, so I snatched it up and began reading it yesterday. Already I can see what it's an eye opening and significant read.

New digital books in the queue/ARCs:
The Sellout by Paul Beatty (winner of this year's Man Booker! The first American to do so! I put it on hold immediately after the announcement and luckily got 26th in line for 27 copies - it's up to over 200 holds now.)
Good as Gone by Amy Gentry (the Book of the Month description got me curious!)
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple (author of Where'd You Go Bernadette? which I LOVED.)
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian (a NetGalley ARC)
The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker (another NetGalley ARC, also out in January)


Still in the queue:
The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater 
Shelter: A Novel by Jung Yun
Moonburner by Claire Luana 
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa

As always, I'm interested in any thoughts/if you've read the books on this list or others I should know about!

Everyday Life and Menu Plan (10.23.16)

It's been a great week, and not just because we were illness free and didn't experience any power outages - although, that alone would have made for a good week in my book. Things were a little hectic because it was conference week for our district, so the kids were out of school by noon most days and there was a teacher in-service day on Friday. In lieu of our usual ice cream outing after conferences, we decided to take the kids to dinner and moved pizza night to Tuesday, hitting up a favorite local joint.

She lined her crayons up in rainbow ROYGBIV order, haha!

And on the kid's day off from school, I acquiesced and took them to one of those indoor trampoline parks, including a few games of air hockey.

We followed it up with a visit to the fruit market where we got our pumpkins, and a trip to 7-11 for slurpees - best day ever! (Kids are pretty easy to please.) 

To cap off an already lovely week, the CUBS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES OMG! And, yes, we took pictures of our television.

It's rather difficult to watch from afar, thinking of how I used to live just blocks away from Wrigley and that I can't partake in the fun. But I am so grateful to be able to witness this momentous hometown achievement. And though I'm not a religious person, I know my dad (who instilled our love of the team no matter what) is probably lookin' down on his beloved Cubbies, too.

If you could say a prayer, chant or positive thought for them this week, our family would appreciate it! Meanwhile we'll be eating...

• Monday - Pizza
• Tuesday - everyone fend for themselves because I'm going out to an author event in Seattle!
• Wednesday - Burgers on the Grill (easy dinner for soccer practice night)
• Thursday - Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls with Spicy Peanut Sauce (tasty recipe from Budget Bytes)
• Friday - Chicken Fajitas with Frontera Sauce and Fixins
• Saturday - Spinach Lasagna (great recipe via Chowhound)
• Sunday - Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili (from Food and Wine)

And the chicken nachos from last week were DELICIOUS! So fun to have nachos for dinner, don't know why I never thought of it.

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus! 

When the Movie is BETTER Than the Book (Brooklyn by Colm Toibin)

When it comes to books and the movie counterparts, I have a pretty firm philosophy. I believe one should always read the book first. Throughout my life, this has led to some late night reading sessions - I clearly remember being in high school and devouring The Silence of the Lambs as quickly as humanly possible before a Friday night trip to the movies. And I have passed this philosophy on to my kids (or mandated it?) with the Harry Potter films: you don't read it, you don't see it!

And my other steadfast philosophy has been that the film usually: falls short of the book, can live up to it occasionally, and never surpasses the author's original work. The occasional films that I think live up to the books are definitely The Silence of the Lambs (the way they shot that ending sequence of Clarice on the wrong, but right, doorstep was JUST as chilling as the book), The Harry Potter films, The Martian, A Time to Kill, The Hunt for Red October, and Bridget Jones' Diary, to name a few.

I read Brooklyn earlier this year and kept meaning to check out the Oscar nominated film version, but never did. When my online book club chose it as our September pick to compare and contrast with the film, I finally sat down to watch.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was slightly underwhelmed by the novel, but the movie surpassed my expectations. I have always loved Saoirse Ronan (and have not so secretly harbored a love of her name), and she is just marvelous in this role. I honestly thought she breathed more life into the character than her paper counterpart, as did all of the supporting cast (especially Tony). Which I think is hard to do, because (more often than not) in the book we get to read all of the innermost thoughts of the character. 

When it comes to conveying a setting, for me, films actually have a slight advantage over written descriptions and I think this was definitely the case. Brooklyn and Ireland were standalone characters in the book and all of the crew behind the camera did an amazing job in this regard. The glimpses of everyday life during the 1950s in both settings were so evocative: the buildings, the dance halls, the stores, the beaches, the people, and the COSTUME DESIGN. Love love love. 

Lastly, I certainly don't mind an ambiguous ending to a book, but in the case where there is a CLEAR DECISION the main character is making and we don't get to be in on it? NO. And the movie delivered on this as well! An ending! A good one! 

Now I've been racking my brain to think of a film that I liked better than the book and I'm not coming up with much... Maybe The Lord of the Rings because, again, I didn't love the books (so slow! too long!) and Peter Jackson's films are some of the best of all time. Any recommendations?