Better Than "Meh"

I have to confess, I haven't had a great reading year. January started out well, so I did a re-cap of some of the books I read that month, but since then, everything I've read has been mostly "meh." Now that it's April, I have a few books I can report on. They're just not rolling in quickly. 

Here are some books I've read since January that are better than "meh:"

Flight Patterns by Karen White

(contemporary, women's lit, Southern)

My rating: ****

Georgia is an expert in fine China. One day a man brings in a piece with a bumble bee pattern on it that looks familiar to Georgia. Her hunt for the history of the piece takes her back home to her estranged sister and her mother who doesn't speak. Of course, there are a bunch of family secrets that unfold, and I want to give them all therapy. Alas, I remain unqualified, and they remain fictional. 

But there are bees. 

And a murder mystery. 

And maybe there's a bit of romance. 

I'd let my grandma read this. 

The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul

(historical fiction, Egypt)

My rating: ****

This is a fictional exploration of the life of Evelyn Herbert Beauchamp, who was the daughter of the man who funded the efforts to locate and excavate Tutankhamun's tomb in the 1920's. She is said to be the first to enter the womb, and the book plays on the idea that she may have taken some items from the tomb. Was the tomb cursed? 

The book alternates between "fascinating" and "a little slow," but I quite enjoyed reading this piece of non-world-war historical fiction (though it delves briefly into WWI in which Eve's husband served the British Army). 

When I finish a book and immediately take a deep dive into additional reading materials because my curiosity has been stirred, the book has done its job! I've always enjoyed learning about the archeological findings of Ancient Egypt, so this was a fun read (though, again, a little dull in some places). It toys with themes of memory and the ethical question of who has claim to antiquities of ancient origin. 

It's also quite clean, though it does have some mild sexual content involving difficulties consummating a marriage. I would still let my grandma read it, maybe with a word of caution. 

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

(historical fiction, African American)

My rating: ****

This book tells the story of two black women in the 1950's. The first is Ruby who falls in love with the son of her white landlord and finds herself pregnant. The second is Eleanor who marries William, who comes from wealth, and then struggles to provide him with a child. Both women have obstacles to fulfilling their dreams and face hard circumstances and decisions brought about by their place in society and their race. 

This is a hard one that will make your heart ache. This isn't one for my grandma. 

Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline

(historical fiction, 1800's, Sicily, mafia)

My review: ****

This is a weird one to review. 

This book takes place in the 1800's in Palermo, Sicily, which I know nothing about. My only reference to Palermo is that it's in one of our frequently played board games (which is where I get all my geographical education - if it's not on one of my board games, I know nothing about it) (Ticket to Ride: Europe, if you're wondering). 

The story involves quite a few characters, and it takes most of the book for those stories to finally come together. I won't list all the characters and their storylines (you can see the book jacket for that), but I will say, some of them are more interesting than others. The story deals with what may have historically been the beginnings of the mafia, wherein things like kidnapping, stealing lemon farms, and forming loyalties took place. There are some moral characters and some immoral characters, and the whole book is just a bit... weird. I had to read it slowly at first to make sure I could orient myself and get a feel for the people and the terminology and the history of Sicily. 

Then when it was over, I missed it. I wanted to spend more time with the characters. However, I feel like if I recommended this book to anyone, they would think, "This is boring, why did Britt think I would like this?"

It's just one of those weird things! I dunno what more to say. 

I'd let my grandma read this, but I don't know if she'd want to!

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

(historical fiction, time travel, science fiction)

My rating: ****

Okay, are you ready for a strange synopsis?

Shortly after receiving word that her husband has died in Vietnam, Caroline finds out she is pregnant, and the baby has a heart defect. She then time travels to 2001 to have fetal surgery. There are rules to time travel, of course, so she is unsure whether the baby will be well enough to return to 1970 with her.

Just go with it. 

I'd let my grandma give it a try. 

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

(memoir, Hasidic Judaism)

My rating: (no rating because I don't always like to rate memoirs and real-life experiences) 

A few months ago I watched the Netflix adaptation of this book and decided I wanted to read it (I wouldn't recommend it due to sexual content and nudity). The series took a lot of different directions and doesn't follow the book very closely, save for a few key elements. 

I have always been fascinated by Hasidic Judaism (and have enjoyed books like The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis and My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok). There are a lot of things I really respect about the practices and rituals of Orthodox Judaism, but there are also a lot of things that trouble me (in particular, things that are demeaning toward women). 

This is a memoir by a woman who chose to leave the religion. 

Let's Talk About Religion and Mental Health by Daniel K. Judd

(psychology, mental health, LDS, spiritual/religious)

My rating: *****

This book discusses some of the basics of mental health and the research regarding religion and mental health. I like that this book offers balance between spiritual practices, medical assistance, and therapy. It doesn't promote spiritual practices as a cure-all for mental illness, in fact, it even acknowledges that sometimes increasing spiritual practices can make a person become more numb (though it doesn't discourage spiritual practices). 

I might do a follow-up post about this book later, so that's all I will say for now. 

 

Shipping - An Old Woman’s View

The other day, Scotty, Daisy, and I were driving in the van, and Daisy was talking about her friends when she said, “Courtney is shipping me and Liam.”

And Scotty and I were both like, “Huh?”

Cuz first we thought she said Courtney was shitting her and Liam, but Daisy doesn’t curse, so we had to clarify. 

Shipping.

What?

So she explained shipping. 

And Scotty and I were like, “OMG we are so old!”

The language of the modern-day teens is so annoying to us (like ours was to our parents). How they’re all, “That’s L!” and “That’s W!” and “Rizz!” and if you try to Google their language, you get a variety of explanations for the terms they’re using, and there’s always some definition that’s pervy and awful, and you’re like, “Children of mine, don’t say words anymore. We’re just not going to use words. They’re all bad. All of them! We are no longer humans who speak. In fact, don’t make any gestures either. Keep you’re hands folded neatly in your lap, and don’t make sound again, ever.”

So shipping.

I’m only a few days into knowing this term, and I was thinking it was new. But, due to frequency illusion, this morning I heard the term in a book I’m listening to that was written in 2013, which means folks have been “shipping” for at least ten years now.

Where have I been?

Well…ain’t no one shipping me, so this is something I completely missed.

Bring on the Monday

It’s been a crazy week around here! Culminating in an even crazier weekend! 

We had two dance concerts:

Prom:

And a birthday:

…in addition to a parent watch day at dance class, multiple church meetings, tennis matches, and my spontaneous decision to cook and freeze six pot roasts for Eva’s upcoming baptism. There was also Easter (depending on how you want to measure the week), and Scotty and I were able to attend a presentation by the president of The Chosen. 

I had a few ugly, stressful moments, but thanks to Scotty’s patience and willingness to go along with my plans (like two birthday parties in two days) , we pulled it off. Now I’m lying in bed at 10:18 pm Sunday night giving a huge sigh of relief. We made it! And tomorrow? Monday? Will be boring and beautiful. I’m so excited! I’m giving myself a recovery day. I’m not sure what that will entail, but I’ll be going to the gym for sure, and after that, I might just stare at a wall and daydream for a few hours. 

(Side note: As I mentioned, I’m laying in my bed at the end of an eventful day. Scotty always falls asleep before me, and I usually stay up and read. He does a lot of weird things after he falls asleep. He just rolled over and said, “I love your bum cheeks.” He won’t remember this in the morning, but he’ll probably read about it on the toilet).

I have so much I want to write about right now but no sense of mind to do so. I’m really tired and need to go to sleep, but I’m also hyper. 

-and right after I wrote that, I fell asleep, which brings me to Monday morning 6:38-

A lot of what has occupied my thoughts lately (and therefore what I feel drawn to write about) is heavy, and I’m not sure what to do with it. I need to either talk about it or write about it, but in both cases, the right words and a fair amount of discretion are required. 

There are pains from my past that are creeping up. I have a few friends I am really worried about. There are some grievances I need to forgive but can’t quite move past. I feel a lot of guilt about some of the things I’m not doing. There are some areas of my life where I feel unseen (and other ideas where I feel too visible). I’ve been wrestling with some of my more difficult qualities that I would like to change. I worry about my kids. I never feel like I’m in a good place spiritually. 

My life is great and incredibly beautiful, but I have these underlying things (like we all do) that I need to take some time to sit with and process. And after a busy week, I feel like there’s some pile-up. 

So today, I’m grateful my schedule is a little more free because I really might need to do that wall staring I talked about earlier. In the meantime, Zoe has requested chicken noodle soup and Cheetos for breakfast, and Imma just go with that.

Things the Kids Say: Episode 22

Zoe: Mic drop!

Eva: Who’s Mike Drop?

—————

Eva: Can we go to an adoption center and get a baby brother for our family?

Me: Well, kids aren’t like puppies. You can’t just go to a shelter and pick the one you want. It’s a little more complicated than that.

Eva: So how do you adopt kids?

Zoe: You order them online. Duh.

—————

“My mom was born in 1921.”

-Zoe

—————

“Why is cheese so magical?”

-Eva

—————

“Those are disgusting.”

-Nicky, regarding my new pants

—————

“Mom, have you done sexing four times? Is that why you have four kids?”

-Zoe

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

One of my favorite gospel topics is the creation. I have always loved seeing God’s hand in the world around me, and I’m always excited when I have the chance to talk to the children and youth about this. It’s something dear to me.

Tonight for our Young Women activity, the YW were invited to make short videos to show one another. I’m not sure if very many of them will show videos, so I made one - a slideshow to what I would call the “non-Sunday” version of “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” with some of the photos I have taken while enjoying God’s magnificent creations. 

Family Photos Behind-the-Scenes

One of my goals in my 40x40 project was to get family photos taken. The last time we had family photos done was in November of 2019, and it was a bit of a disaster. 

November 2019

It was Zoe’s birthday so she was mad about having to have pictures taken on her special day. She hated the sleeves on her outfit (they were 3/4 length, and she wanted them to go to her wrists), so she was tantruming and pouting the whole time, and then she would try to pull her arms into her sleeves all weird-like. She wouldn't do anything the photographer asked her to, so we had to keep pulling her aside to engage in pep talks and bribery. Nicky was in his “shorts only” phase, and Eva was in a “I will never smile, ever” phase. Everyone was grumpy and unreasonable. 

When asked to smile, this is what Eva would give us

At least the older two were cooperating

On top of that, everyone was freezing, so our faces were all red, and the seasons were confused. Were these Fall photos? Were they winter photos? The location couldn't decide.  

Our sweet photographer ended up giving us our money back because she wasn’t happy with the way the photos turned out. She wanted to do a reshoot for us in the spring, but then COVID crept in, and it never happened.

I did have some updated photos taken of just the kids in October 2020 in conjunction with Zoe's baptism, but it's been over three years since Scotty and I stepped into a photo. 

That session was done by my niece, and she was a lot of fun, so my kids were perfectly agreeable and photogenic. 

(Nicky was still in his "shorts only" phase).

Since Eva is going to be baptized soon, this was a great time to do family photos - that way we would not only have updated pictures, but I could sneak in some photos of Eva in her baptism dress. 

Here we are:

April 2023

For the most part, everything went smoothly, and I have no complaints, but as you know, there are always some behind-the-scenes truths with family photos. I love Elder Gary Stevenson's family photo story as seen in this video (begins around 3:30):

(Blogger is refusing to center this video, much to my dismay)

Though our recent session went much better than photo shoots from the past, here are a few truths you can't see:

Truth #1: I had to pay Zoe to wear that shirt because she didn't want to match Daisy. She was the first one to pick her shirt, and I planned the entire color scheme around that shirt, but when Zoe saw that Daisy also had a yellow shirt (a few days later), she went ballistic.

Truth #2: Daisy hasn't worn jeans since she was about three years old, but I made her for these pictures (she acted like she hated them, but now she's wearing them sometimes, and I think she actually likes them). Her biggest complaint was that the jeans made her look like me. 

Truth #3: There were homeless people all around us. 

Truth #4: It was freezing. But not as cold as November 2019. Off scenes, I would stick kids in my jean jacket to try and warm them up.

Truth #5: The only way to get Zoe and Eva to smile was by making fart jokes. 

Truth #6: I had no time to get ready after getting everyone else dressed and presentable, so I threw on some clothes, ran out the door, and put on minimal make-up at stoplights. 

Truth #7: My hair was fake. 

Truth #8: The photographer made Nicky pull his pants down below his butt so they would be long enough to hide his socks). 

Truth #9: I made Nicky wear a pair of Scotty's shoes because I wanted the shoes to be boring. Nicky's shoes are all bright colors. 

Truth #10: Eva insisted on this pose.

It's a relief that they are done, and that they turned out decent. I try to be chill about family photos (and our photographer complimented us on how easy we were to work with, so I'm happy about that) but they're always more stressful than I intend for them to be. We got everything we wanted, though, so I deem this round a success!

Currently {April 2023 Edition}

Reading:

Wearing: jeans and a baby blue t-shirt that is severely unflattering, but church is in an hour and a half, so I’ll be changing soon. 

Annoyed by: sigh… a lot right now, and there are a few things I’d love to write about, but I need to hold my peace. Yesterday I thought I was plummeting into mental illness, and I was like, “I’m just going to let this happen!” as my thoughts went haywire. Then I did a little math and realized it’s probably PMS. No matter how old I get, I’m always taken by surprise! I also don’t handle holidays well, so having Easter and PMS overlap is quite a dangerous cocktail.

Embarrassed by: 90% of my Facebook memories. 

Laughing about: Eva singing in the shower right now. I love when my kids get in the shower and lose all their inhibitions, and I can just sit outside and listen to them live their best lives. She’s currently singing “Bang!” by AJR, and every now and then, I hear her jump (may she land safely!!)

Sad about: some relationships that aren’t what they used to be, but I also don’t have the desire to do anything about it.

Watching: Mickey Mouse cartoons (I’m laying in my bed with Zoe right now… before church… on Easter… we’re not sitting around in our dresses talking about Jesus like church culture would have us do).

Boycotting: Easter. I don’t have it in me. I’m on “empty” right now.

Dreaming: of my summer garden. I don’t really want to do the work, but I want all the rewards! (Story of my life!)

Looking forward to: an anniversary trip! Scotty and I are celebrating 20 years soon, and we decided to go on a “just us” trip (which we realized has never happened since our honeymoon except for one time when we drove to Las Vegas and back in a day, and frankly, I don’t think that should really count since we didn’t stay overnight) (also… Vegas and back in ONE DAY? How stupid is that?)

Cooking: bacon. As today’s Easter potluck recipe requires it.

Eating: scones for breakfast.

Listening to: 

Playing:

Needing: therapy.

Procrastinating: making dentist and doctor appointments. I haven’t been to the dentist for over a year (until last year, I’d been so diligent in my oral health), and everyone in the family is overdue for annual physicals. 

But hey! I’ve taken two kids to the eye doctor this year, and for that, I feel like a champion!

Buying: food. Why does it run out so fast? 

Feeling: restrained. It’s hard to describe, but in a few areas of my life, I feel like I’m being held back - like I’m a dog chained in the front yard, and I really want to attack the mailman. 

(I’m good with analogies). 

Missing: Sconecutter. I didn’t eat there often, but sometimes I crave it. I remember having a savory scone sandwich (maybe ham and cheese?) and a sweet scone for dessert and sometimes I just want that.

I also miss a Chinese restaurant from my teen years called Chopstix. I think about their food all the time - I alternated between sweet and sour chicken and sesame chicken. I ate there about once a week (no joke - I was obsessed!) but I wonder… would I even like their food now? Was it really crappy food, and I had no idea? (Teen Britt didn’t exactly have a refined palate). They did go out of business, after all…

Grateful for: my home.