Book meme

Hello, poor neglected blog. I've been cheating on you with Twitter and Facebook, it's true.

How about a meme, to get re-aquainted.

So apparently, the BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X +
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X +
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee *
6 The Bible - parts
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - I'm not sure
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - I'm not sure, maybe as a teenager?
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (Though I've read the trilogy in whole)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot - started but didn't finish
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens *
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - currently reading
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia X
34 Emma - Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen X
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (Isn't this sort of a repeat of 33?)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden X
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins *
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - X +
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan X
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen X
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding X
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson *
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath X
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray X
80 Possession - AS Byatt X
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery *
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo *

I've read 19 give or take a couple - not too bad. This list was kinda dry, imho.Pin It

Homeschooling helps, beginner Spanish and healthy food

I found a cute idea for encouraging kids to try different, healthy foods. The Tasty Tasty Club (via Flip Flops and Applesauce with the original idea from Through a Mother's Eye). I'm happy that tonight my boys ate a plate full of mango and also had quinoa chili for supper.

I love book lists. Here are 100 books every child should read (hear?) before kindergarten. I would add that these are just one person's opinion and many on this list are better suited to 5 or 6 year olds than under 5s.

One website that I would like to recommend for homeschoolers is Apples 4 the Teacher. I especially appreciate the book lists for the various holidays.

My friend Colette told me about about this website - Sheppard Software. Lots of free educational games.

I'm loving these books for teaching my boys about the many winter holidays. Rookie Read About Books. They also have a huge list of science picture books. Our library has many titles. Note: I have linked to a Canadian site but these books are available in the US, as well.

While reading the many blogs I follow, I saw this game recommended.
I bought it for our family and it is a big hit. Very fast and fun. My 5 year old can play it without any problem. My 3 1/2 year old can play it with help. Reading is not required.

I've started incorporating Spanish into our homeschooling. Just beginner for now. We are borrowing this book and CD

from the library and my son has really taken to it. I found a couple good websites for beginner stuff.
- Learn for Good
- 123 Teach Me
If you know of any resources for teaching Spanish at home, I would love to hear about them. I know absolutely no Spanish since I grew up in Canada in a very white city. :)

Would you like to make your own flash cards? Memory cards? This is a really cool site that helps you do that.Pin It

Oops, he did it again!

Yes, C cut his own hair again. I thought he learned his lesson
last time (in October), but apparently not.

Sigh. This time, he cut all the way to the scalp. He may have to have a buzz cut. Stay tuned.Pin It

Valentine's Day crafts, books and printables

Valentine's Day is one of my favourite holidays. I think because pink is my favourite colour. :)

First, books. I prefer non-fiction holiday books for my boys. I like them to know the history and meaning of the holidays. Rookie Read About Holiday books are great. Lots of pictures and good content. I also like The Story of ..... books.



There are so many fantastic Valentine's Day craft ideas out in the blogosphere that is hard to pick just a few.

* Stained Glass valentines from Smart-Bottom Enterprises (what a funny name for a blog!)

* I get a fantastic newletter by e mail - Kid Craft Weekly. It is full of great ideas for kids under 6. My boys loved the sponge heart idea.

* A simple and easy garland from Delightful Home.

* Salt dough conversation hearts from Kiddio.

* Make animals from heart shapes. Ordinary Life Magic.

* A simple heart bookmark using a popsicle stick, from Free Preschool Crafts.

* A beautiful and cute conversation heart garland from Skip to My Lou.

I found a great craft book at the library - 175 Easy to do Valentine crafts.

Finally, a whole bunch of printable valetines of various styles - which can really save money if you have a lot to send.Pin It

Quick update on my mom

She is home from the hospital and feeling fine. Thank you to all who prayed. It was pretty scary for a while and hard to be away from her. I'm very thankful for the excellent medical care she received and how helpful the staff was to me (over the phone, noless).Pin It

Please pray for my mom

My mom caught a bad virus that lead to severe dehydration then infection and kidney malfunction. She's currently in the hospital and will be there for a few days (in Victoria, BC). Please pray that she will recover completely. She is 81. It is hard to be away from her during this. I spoke to one of the doctors this morning and she advised no visitors right now since the virus (Norwalk) is so contagious.Pin It

Our family's first pet!

Say hello to the new member of the family! He doesn't have a name yet. We're working on it and we are open to suggestions. He is a baby guinea pig and (on advice from the pet store) is still in his bonding/adjusting time so we don't take him out of his cage much. I think he is still afraid of the boys and their noise. :)
Here is A reading him a book that features mice. I've put a bunch of books featuring guinea pigs on hold at the library.

I haven't had a pet since I was 10 so this is quite momentous for me, too!Pin It

I'm sure many of my American friends haven't seen these classic videos

Thinking about Canadians and Americans this week.

This is classic Canadian comedy at the expense of Americans. Circa the year 2000, Comic Rick Mercer went south and was able to get Americans both "man on the street" and Harvard professors, etc. to say the most outrageous things. The smartest person was a little boy who realized his mom was being hoodwinked. More info here.





Part 3 of 4, Part 4 of 4.

(I'm dodging the flying tomatoes today!)Pin It

Links time - a bit of a winter theme, homeschooling

Lazy blogger? Yes. :)

Fantastic healthy banana muffins. You could even replace a bit of the whole wheat flour for regular, if you like. I ground up the pecans myself (well, hubby did).

Some fun winter lesson plans (for kindergarten). Scroll down to find the snowman name graph that we did. I think it works better with children who have shorter names. ;)

Snowflake patterns - super easy. Just play with the size when you do print preview, if you want to make it bigger and not waste half a sheet of paper.
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5

More paper snowflake patterns - a bit tricky.

20 Ways to entertain your kids in the winter. I don't believe in "entertaining" my children but this was a good list.

Feeling burned out from homeschooling? I admit that I'm feeling a bit that way, but I just started! :) I enjoyed this encouraging article.Pin It

This got my kids up and dancing

Recommended CD.
We found it at our library.



It was fun to teach them how to do "The Twist" and it was good exercise, too.Pin It

Mosaic Meme

I found this fun idea for a meme on Carrie's blog.

Here's how it works.
1. Type your answers to each of the questions below into the Flickr search engine (www.flickr.com)
2. Pick an image from the first page only.
3. Copy and Paste the URLs for each image into Mosaic Maker (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php)
4. Save your mosaic to your computer and upload it into your own post.
5. Don’t forget to credit the photographers!

QUESTIONS:
1. What is your first name? (Sheila)
2. What is your favorite food? (BBQ Salmon)
3. What high school did you go to? (Sir Winston Churchill)
4. What is your favorite color? (pink)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (James McAvoy but I also like George Clooney and Hugh Grant!)
6. What is your favorite drink? (cinnamon dolce latte)
7. What is your dream vacation? (Santorini, Greece)
8. What is your favorite dessert? (pumpkin cheesecake, so hard to choose)
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (nature or travel photographer)
10. What do you love most in life? (my family)
11. What is one word to describe you? (thinker)
12. What is your flickr name? I had to fudge this a bit. My flickr name didn't come up with anything so I put in the name of my blog.
Photo Credits:
1. blossom heart... (for my friend Sheila), 2. Salmon on the Barbie!, 3. Success is never final. Failure is never fatal., 4. vintage tea set with cupcake, 5. OUT965669, 6. Cinnamon Dolce Creme Latte - 3, 7. Santorini - Σαντορίνη, 8. Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust, 9. photog in the flowers, 10. bless from above, 11. thinking up a storm, 12. Rainy Arbor Path

I wish I could get the photos bigger but that's probably a Blogger issue. (rolling eyes)Pin It

Christmas photos and a bit of a recap

A about to decorate the tree.Our higgledy piggledy tree.
We made a gingerbread house this year for the first time. I found a kit at Target.

The icing tasted terrible and so did the gingerbread. Maybe next year I'll make it from scratch, that is, if we want to actually eat it! :)
My oldest was misbehaving so he isn't in this "family photo."
(Christmas Morning) Oh that they would always get along this well.C and his new mailbox. It says on it "OPEN QUIETLY! Please don't wake the mail." He likes that.

Warning, scary no-makeup photos of me coming.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Christmas dinner - notice the mismatched placemats. The Martha in me cringes.We try to do Christmas crackers every year. It is an English tradition that I learned from my husband's family. Each cracker contains a paper crown.

My parents were able to visit us for a few days. Travel in the winter is difficult since they live on Vancouver Island plus my parents are both over 70. They came in the middle of Seattle's "Snopocalypse." We were very thankful to have them with us for Christmas. Last year they weren't able to come.

Well, the photos aren't fantastic but I guess that doesn't matter too much.
I read so many blogs that have gorgeous photos that it is hard not to be jealous and feel inadequate when I look at my own attempts.Pin It

Happy 2009!

Pessimistic

OptimisticPin It

Books read in 2008

Its always fun to look back on the year and see what was accomplished (or not). :)

Here are the books I read this year.

Atonement by Ian McEwan (first book read of 2008)
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (I hated this)
The Beauty Prescription by Debra Lufton
Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
Bono on Bono: Conversations with Michka Assayas
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (I didn't like this)
Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
I Feel Bad about My Neck by Nora Ephron
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
In this Mountain by Jan Karon
The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
Light From Heaven by Jan Karon
Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (I hated this book)
A New Song by Jan Karon
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory(last book read of 2008)
Out to Canaan by Jan Karon
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts by Haven Kimmel
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
Spin Sisters: How the Women of the Media Sell Unhappiness .... by Myrna Blyth
The Spy Wore Red by Aline Countess Romanones
Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart
The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith(I didn't like this book)
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
What is the What by Dave Eggers
What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members by Mickey Pearlman
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Not included in this list are a bunch of non-fiction books, mainly on homeschooling, cooking or parenting, which probably total 15.

Grand total: 50ish. I think that is pretty good, an average of a book a week.

books that I started but didn't finish:
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Middlemarch by George Eliot

I'm surprised how little reading that I did - apart from the #1 Ladies Detective series and the Mitford series. I kept with the tried and true this year! My favourites (that weren't series books) were She Got Up Off the Couch and The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio. Both were funny and inspiring. I was surpised by how many books were memoirs.

A short list of some books I'd like to read in 2009:
- Zookeeper's Wife (the January pick for bookclub)
- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
- something by David McCullough (this Canadian needs to learn more American history for homeschooling!)

I'd love to hear about the books you read this year and what you enjoyed or didn't enjoy.

Happy New Year!Pin It

Christmas reading and Christmas music

I gathered up all our Christmas books and put them under the Christmas tree. (We don't have any present there yet!)

As an aside, we also have 2 nativity sets under the tree - both unbreakable - one vintage cardboard and one is Little People. I ordered this one from Oriental Trading to add to our collection.

My 3 year old's favourite Christmas book is

This book is gorgeous!

I love Golden Books, espcially vintage ones. This one is new but illustrated but one of my favourites - Eloise Wilkins.

I requested a whole bunch of Christmas-themed books from our library. Probably too many! :)

Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend


The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving. I read about this book at Christian Children's Book Review blog where it was highly recommended.


God Gave Us Christmas - another recommendation from Christian Children's Book Review blog.


The Candymaker's Gift: A Legend of the Candy Cane


The Legend of the Poinsettia

The Stable Where Jesus Was Born


The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree


We are reading through Getting Ready for Christmas (almost every day, that is!)


We took this book out of the library last year. It is a bit unusual. I liked it but the book actually freaked A out! He didn't want it in his room at night. I'll let you read the description.


We have a bunch of board books about Christmas too.


I've made a list of books I want to request from the library next year!
- Lucy and Tom's Christmas by Shirley Hughes
- Advent Storybook by Antonie Schneider
- The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister
- This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten
- Little Porcupine's Christmas by Joseph Slate
- Home for Christmas (Toot and Puddle) by Holly Hobbie
- The Christmas Humbugs
- If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

Where do I come up with my book list? Well, I read a LOT of blogs and whenever I see a book recommended, I research it a bit and then (more than likely) put it on hold at my library!

Here are some albums I've been listening to this Christmas season.


By the way, I'm now an "Amazon Associate" so you can purchase books, music, etc. directly from my blog! I get a very small percentage in return.

Do you have a favourite childrens' Christmas book? What about Christmas music? I'd love to hear what you enjoy this time of year.Pin It

Elbow update

I met with an orthopedic surgeon today regarding my elbow tendinitis (chronic pain and limited use). He recommend against surgery. It would take away the pain but wouldn't help me get better range of motion. He said I could have LESS range of motion in my arm! A bummer but I'm impressed with his integrity. I have to live with the pain. I think I need a month in the tropics with nothing to do but signal the poolside waiter. That would heal me, wouldn't it?Pin It

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you are enjoying your day with family and friends.

To my Canadian friends, well, do you have your Christmas shopping done? :)Pin It

Weekly homeschool notes

Math - Saxon Math is chugging along. I'm busy making lots of fact cards. :)

Phonics - A is on a break from Explode the Code. We started using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading and we are currently on the consonant sound g. He was *way* ahead of that in ETC. I just want them to be somewhat in sync. OPGTR is going just fine. I think using the CD with it is good supplement. I wish we had started the program a bit sooner, though.

Reading - some recent favourites are A Toad for Tuesday and The Enormous Crocodile.

Poetry - a great fun book is Zoo Doings which we borrowed from the library. A said "I like short poems!" Ah, what a homeschool mom loves to hear.

Science - Sonlight Science. The activities are (sometimes) fun. We bought some tiny plants and created a terrarium. A great thing for winter! As for the curriculum, I'm not sure if answering the questions on the activity sheets is the best way for him to learn. I think it gets dangerously close to "rote" learning, just spitting out the "correct" answer without really knowing it. I'm open to suggestions, modifications.

Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting is a big success! I'm so happy I bought this for A. I can't believe how many pages he did (without me asking him)!

History - we have read a whole bunch of books about Thanksgiving. More details here.

Art - on November 11th we went on our first field trip with our (large) homeschool group to the Seattle Art Museum. I'm not sure how much A liked the tour but he really enjoyed the craft project portion - he made a stand up giraffe (his favourite animal.)

Bible - we continue to go through Leading Little Ones to God. My only complaint about this book is the hymn at the end of each sections. There have been *so* many that I don't know and I grew up with a lot of hymns. I have searching to find mp3 and midis (yuck) to help me out. I think they should update the book with hymns that are more commonly known.

Physical Activity - A continues with his gymnastics class. I bought an old video called Mommy and Me workout. It is pretty cheesy but fun for the boys and surprisingly good at getting your heart rate going.

Crafts - we made a gratitude can, Thanksgiving corn and an Indian headress. Maybe we'll squeeze in the traditional handprint turkey tomorrow.Pin It

Free song for Ray Lamontagne fans

I picked up a "Pick of the Week" free iTunes download card from Starbucks today. It is for Ray Lamontagne, a new favourite of mine. The song is You Are the Best Thing. Love it. If you have an iTunes account, the code is 6KKKR6KPH3MA.

Now, I just need to actually *use* my mp3 player! I end up using Pandora more since it is so easy.Pin It

Reading about Thanksgiving

I have collected quite a few Thanksgiving books from Value Village, Half Price books, library sales and once in a while from a regular bookstore! I'm surprised. I think it is my largest holiday book collection. We've also found some gems from the library.

The First Thanksgiving (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3) by Linda Hayward.

Thanksgiving Is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland. An introduction to being thankful. It doesn't give the history of Thanksgiving.

Richard Scarry's The First Thanksgiving of Low Leaf Worm. My boys are big Richard Scarry fans so this library book was requested. It isn't suited for really young kids or those who are sensitive. It mentions death and talks about Indians being slaves with a picture of them being taken away with bound wrists. My husband and I explained slavery to our boys after I read this book to them.

My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola. This is a board book. It is a great introduction to Thanksgiving but better suited to ages 3 and under.

The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh. This one is out of print, I believe. We borrowed it from the library. A very good real-aloud.

The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern. Just the right length and just enough detail.

If You Were At the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma. This one is a little wordy for my 5 year old but it will be a good one to have around for years to come.


I saw this one at the teacher store and was impressed. This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed. It combines math with the story.

We checked this one out of the library but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness. Barbara recommended it so I'm sure it is good!

I am waiting for the following books at the library so we might not get to them this year.
- Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
- Thanksgiving Fun by Ronne Randall
- Thanksgiving Is by Gail Gibbons
- A Plump and Perfect Turkey by Teresa Bateman

Give Thanks to the Lord: Celebrating Psalm 92 by Karma Wilson. This book looks terrific. It was recommended by Christian Children's Book Reviews.Pin It