What I learned in 2014

I have been participating in "What I learned" each month with the blog Chatting at the Sky.  Since it is the end of the year, I am doing a 2014 wrap up of what I learned.

I strapped on a FitBit and my friend tried to walk me and her dog to death. (love ya Mrs Epi) I did think the fitbit made a difference.  It made me conscious of my lack of movement and  to get moving. Who knew such a little device could make such a big impact?

I really gave my one little word a workout.  My one little word for 2014 was Evolve.  I learn I could evolve.  I even did Zumba.  I was way outside of my comfort zone. I was even was a crew leader for VBS. The whole family got to help with a haunted forest as well.  I can't even watch scary parts of movies without shutting my eyes so I am glad I was able to assist without freaking out.

I read a lot of great books which reaffirmed reading is my form of relaxation.  I participated in Life as Mom's booking it. My year of booking it roundup.

Cody standing with a pile of Ivy he pulled
at the Larrabee Park CITO

We geocached a lot. I know we are totally nerdy. Love it! We also participated in a lot of great geocaching events - North Kitsap Cache Machine, Great Balls of Fire, Mount Vernon Geocoin Challenge, Point Roberts Cache Machine, CITO Larrabee State Park, 12-13-14.

I did 31 days of blogging and discovered it is hard but worthwhile. 31 Days of Adventure

I got to discover the joys of having a 1st year Trumpet player.  It reminded that all of us start as beginners. I appreciate my son's tenacity. 

My husband and I started a little business venture.  We make picture frames from reclaimed wood target frames.  We call them matchstick frames.  So far we haven't been monetarily successful but we haven't invested much and we have learned lots.

shot up heart

Wrapping Up Booking It 2014

After 5 years, Jessica is ending her Booking It link up.  Please check out her favorite reads from the last 5 years.  She has done a marvelous job and I will sad to see this linky end .  But make no doubt about it the reading will still be happening in 2015.

*** I decided to link up to Modern Mrs. Darcy's favorite books of 2014

I read 44 books in 2014!

My favorite Books I read in 2014
( in no particular order)

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Home is a Roof Over a Pig by Amnita Arrlington
A Memoir Hungry by Darlene Barnes
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Sample
All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Accident by Chris Pavone
The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley

Booking It November- Better Late Than Never

I am going through a book dry spell.  I have picked up a few books only to abandon them.  I need my books to be easy to read and to be relevant. I actually said to my friend I ONLY read three books this month.  She laughed. 

Last month, I read Astonish Me. by Maggie Shipstead.  It was OK.  I am a sucker for books about ballet and this was a compelling twisty read. 

Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a young American dancer who helps a Soviet ballet star, the great Arslan Rusakov, defect in 1975. A flash of fame and a passionate love affair follow, but Joan knows that, onstage and off, she is destined to remain in the background. She will never possess Arslan, and she will never be a prima ballerina. She will rise no higher than the corps, one dancer among many.- Amazon Review

This month I read " All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr.  It did indeed live up to its hype. The ending wasn't quite right for me but I definitely enjoyed the read.

A book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Amazon Review

Dandelion Hunter by Rebecca Lerner was my last read of the month finished it at Thanksgiving.  Ever considered urban foraging.  This book gives a lot of insight of what it would take to live by only foraging. It was fascinating. I found it thought provoking. 

In this engaging and eye-opening read, forager-journalist Becky Lerner sets out on a quest to find her inner hunter-gatherer in the city of Portland, Oregon. After a disheartening week trying to live off wild plants from the streets and parks near her home, she learns the ways of the first people who lived there and, along with a quirky cast of characters, discovers an array of useful wild plants hiding in plain sight. As she harvests them for food, medicine, and just-in-case apocalypse insurance, Lerner delves into anthropology, urban ecology and sustainability, and finds herself looking at Nature in a very different way.  (Amazon Review)

What are you reading that is relevant? Got a suggestion for a hurried blurry mom leave it for me in the comments.

31 days of Adventure- Arm Chair Adventures

I am joining the Nester's 31 Days of Writing.  Check out my entire series - "31 Days of Adventure."

I am also sharing this as part of my Booking It at Life as Mom.  As it turns out the theme over there this month is Travel Books and I think my little list fits in this category.

Not every day is a good day for adventure.  As I write this, it is a rainy day the kind that soaks you the minute you step out your door.  So when you can't get out and about, why not read about adventures from the comfort of your couch. 

I won't lie I really enjoy reading about others travels. Lets face facts, at this point in my life I am probably not going to hike the whole Pacific Crest Trail but I love reading about how others have done it.  Here are some reads about some real life "Adventures". I especially love those written by women and their adventures.

More Main Stream Reads
Wild by Cheryl Strayed - This is a highly acclaimed book about Cheryl's time on the Pacific Crest Trail. The movie is coming out in December and Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl. I have mixed feelings about some of this book. But it does what all good books do it prompts discussion.



 "Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World".  The book is about three almost thirty year old girls who set off on around the world trip.  These girls left their high stress jobs in New York City and started an adventure The lost girls also have their own website.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams

52 Loaves - A Half Baked Adventure by William Alexander

Off the Beaten Track

Going Some Where by Brian Benson

The Cactus Eaters by Dan White - This another book about the Pacific Crest Trail

A Blistered Kind of Love - One Couple's By Trial by Trail by Angela and Duffy Ballard- Another book about Pacific Crest Trail.  I liked this one better than Wild.

Almost Somewhere by Suzanne Roberts - This book is about The John Muir Trail and girl power.

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Gilman. This is a coming age book and what to do when you travel partner has a mental break down.

Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman

Becoming Odyessa by Jennifer Phaff Davis

Borderlands - Riding the Edge of America by Derek Lundy

Salt to Summit by Daniel Arnold .  This is about Daniel's adventure in Death Valley

Voluntourist by Ken Budd- Ever wanted to travel and volunteer, Ken did just that in all different locations.

Anyone have some suggestions for some more Real Life Adventure Books I should read?

Booking It September

I am linking up with Life as Mom Booking It.  Click on over and see what everyone else is reading.

I love a good travel story/memoir.  I read Going Somewhere by Brian Benson. It chronicled a bike journey from Wisonsin to Portland, Oregon with his then girlfriend.  I find that those that attempt these types of adventures such as the pacific crest trail or cross country treks are searching for something. I think Brian was too. I saw this quote recently and I think it fits this book and pretty much sums the book  up. This book was just OK for me. 

"We must take Adventure in order to know where we truly belong."

 



** Be advised there are some more racier scenes described in this book

Next I picked up the book, the smartest kids in the world; how they got that way by Amanda Ripley. I really enjoyed this book.  Education is a hot topic lately with common core. Amanda breaks down what 3 countries (Finland, Poland, and Korea) do to teach kids successfully and why these kids perform better than American Kids.  The ended up discussing this book with a lot of different people.  I generally don't find myself doing that.  There were several things I walked away with. One is we don't take education seriously enough. Secondly, we don't pay teachers enough nor do we expect them to be highly trained.  Lastly we have fallen behind other nations because we don't teach higher thinking skills.  We don't teach the language of math from an early age. In addition, most Americans don't consider math nearly as important as other skills. Amanda not only gives the facts but used first hand experiences from exchange students that lived and attended schools in Finland, Poland and Korea.

Lastly, I read Gone Feral; Tracking my Dad Through the Wild by Novella Carpenter. I have also read Farm City by Novella and I am glad to see this follow up though a very different type of book from Farm City.  It chronicles her search to learn about her father who lives somewhat a mountain man existence and how this is triggered by her want to become a mother. Novella is quite the character and that comes through in this book as well.

Booking It - August 2014

I am linking up with Life as Mom and Booking It. Please click on over and check out what everyone else is reading. These ladies are my go to for reading suggestions.

I finally got hold of  The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith.  I am a huge Nester fan. I loved it.  I read it in one evening.  There is plenty of food for thought about your home in this book. If you want your house to be a home pick this up.  It will change your perceptions of  home and being happy in your current circumstances.

With enough money, anyone can create a pretty house. But it takes intention to create a home.
Myquillen Smith

I was also drawn into getting the book, The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais after seeing the movie trailer.

It was a decent read.  I think this would appeal to those into the show Top Chef which I love. I think it is an interesting look at what it takes to be Chef. I haven't seen the movie yet so I can't compare it to the book.

Booking It July

Check out what the ladies are reading over at Life as Mom. Once again sucked in by the hot reads table at the library.  That just proves that displaying books prettily gets readers to pick them up. 

I read Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann. It is about a vintage clothing buyer and proprietor of a vintage clothing store that finds a journal sewn inside the coat.  The journal belonged to a young woman who wanted to become a clothing buyer for a department store during a time when woman faced some challenges in this field. It was a light enjoyable read. I wish it was a little more fleshed out especially at the end in regards to how Olive story ended.  It was a quick summer read.

I also read The Expats by Chris Pavone recommended by the Modern Mrs Darcy.

An international thriller, The Expats is the story of a seemingly ordinary working mom, Kate Moore, whose husband, Dexter, is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg—a move that will unravel everything they believed about each other. Kate and Dexter have struggled to make ends meet, so they jump at the chance to start a new life abroad with the promise of rich rewards. But Kate has been leading a double life, and leaving America forces her to abandon her dangerous but heroic job. She soon discovers that it will be harder than she thought to shed her past, especially while coping with the weight of an unbearable secret. Dexter seems to be keeping secrets of his own, working long hours for a banking client whose name he can’t reveal. When another American couple befriends them, Kate begins to peel back the layers of deception that surround her, revealing a heart-stopping con that threatens her family, her marriage, and her life. - Amazon

I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. It was a good compelling read. I also read The Accident by Chris Pavone as well. This one I enjoyed even more.  Chris Pavone slowly unfolds this story.

As dawn approaches in New York, literary agent Isabel Reed is turning the final pages of a mysterious, anonymous manuscript, racing through the explosive revelations about powerful people, as well as long-hidden secrets about her own past. In Copenhagen, veteran CIA operative Hayden Gray, determined that this sweeping story be buried, is suddenly staring down the barrel of an unexpected gun. And in Zurich, the author himself is hiding in a shadowy expat life, trying to atone for a lifetime’s worth of lies and betrayals with publication of The Accident, while always looking over his shoulder. -Amazon

I also read The Phantom of Fifth Avenue by Meryl Gordon. This is another book about the mysterious heiress Huguette Clark.  I once again came away from this book thinking that Huguette was not crazy but eccentric.  Huguette was wealthy beyond imagination and I don't think we can understand the burden and privilege that comes with that fully. This book also confirms to me once again that her personal nurse took advantage of her relationship with the heiress even if the heiress didn't feel that way.   There were also others in her personnel circle such as her accountant and lawyer who also took advantage of  her. This book delved more into the will contest and I found that fascinating. I did a previous review on the book Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman. Bill Dedman broke the story on Huguette Clark so his book was also quite interesting if you are fascinated with   the story of Huguette Clark.

Booking It June

Check out what everyone is reading over at Life as Mom.

Some of my reads this month had an art twist. I had requested both of these books months ago through library.  It figures they both show up within weeks of each other.

I read it at last The Monuments Men.  I enjoyed it immensely.  The book started a little bit on the slow side but picked up considerably.  I have a small personal connection as my husband's grandfather still living was in World War II and landed at Normandy on the second day and met his wife in France.  Also my grandfather was in World War II too with the engineers and made it all the way to Berchesgarten.  I served in the Army in Germany specifically in Darmstadt and my husband served in Berlin.

 I found Rose Valland, French woman who spied on the Nazi's in France at the museum, was probably one of the most understated hero's of all because she was the key essentially in finding where all the art went. I find it fascinating how much art was looted by Nazi's.  The immense amount of art looted boggles the mind. I found my admiration of the Monument Men grew as the story progressed.  They showed incredible grit and courage.

I haven't watched the movie yet but it is on my to do list.

Finally after a long wait list at the library, I got The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  What an interesting twisted story. It was so not what I expected.  At the 400th or so page, I just wanted the story to wind down.  Somewhere I read, they thought the book was written by two different authors.  The first half was so different from the second half. 

"Isn't everything worthwhile a gamble? Can't good come around sometimes through some back doors." - The Goldfinch

Lastly I read Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day - One Man, Eight Countries, One vintage Travel Guide by Doug Mack.  I really enjoyed this book.  Doug Mack took a 1960's version of Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day and basically followed it and his mother's letter's from her grand tour of Europe in her twenties.  Doug talks a lot of staying on the beaten path and exactly what it means to be a tourist.  He discusses how  many of these well known tourist sights are still awe inspiring.  We modern day tourists are constantly looking for places off the beaten path but might be better served following the beaten path.  I especially like this quote:

....I think, is the most important legacy of Europe on 5 dollars a day: it's not about where you travel- on the beaten path, along a frontage road, or where no tourist has been before - but about what you make of it. Find your own way.

Doug follows Frommer's suggestions for eating and sight seeing.  His observations were interesting.  Pick this one up if you like a travel read.

May Booking It

I am linking up with Life as Mom. Please check out what everyone else is reading.  This is my go to place to discover new reads.

The first two books I read were suggestions I found on a Two Peas in a Bucket NSBR thread on their message board. Coincidently these are also novels written by first time authors as well.

Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell.  It is hard to believe this is Shandi's first novel.  This was a gripping story.  I like many others found myself worried about the characters. This novel is set on the Canadian prairie and involves Ukrainian immigrants.

An immigrant Ukrainian family suffers unrelenting hardship on the tundra of late 1930s western Canada in this grim frontier tale. Thrown in prison for two years for helping himself to some of his own grain after defaulting on a homesteading contract, Ukrainian immigrant Theo Mykolayenko must deal with his nearly destitute wife and children. His oldest son helps to plow and plant fields owned by Theo's sister, Anna, who is married to Stefan, a wayward and violent military man. Theo's long-suffering wife, Maria, is tireless in caring for her family, nurturing the garden that feeds them and mending every stitch of clothing they wear. Meanwhile, unhappy Anna, pregnant with a child she does not want, is beguiled by the howling coyotes that surround the homestead at night. The extended family survives fire, dust storms, cold and hunger, only to face a nastier enemy much closer to home. (Amazon)

If you liked The Orchardist, I think you perhaps would like Under the Unbroken Sky too.  These two books in some ways feel very similar in time period and writing style.

Half-Bad by Sally Green.  This had been recommended as a grown up version of Harry Potter.  This book is considered a young adult read. It follows a teen who is 1/2 white witch and 1/2 black witch and his coming of age.  The main drawback to this book is this the first book in a 3 part series so now the long wait for the next book in the series.  I enjoyed this a lot but not as developed as Harry Potter but good read overall. Of course, I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

I like reading Young Adult Books. So of course I loved John Green's view on YA Fiction - Can You Get Too Old For YA Novels?

Lastly, I read The Last Letter from your Lover by Jo Jo Moyes.  This book does mention infidelity and affairs if that is not your cup of tea this book won't appeal to you.  This was a great book and I thought a quick read. This would make a great beach/summer read.

In 1960, Jennifer Stirling wakes in the hospital and remembers nothing—not the car accident that put her there, not her wealthy husband, not even her own name. Searching for clues, she finds an impassioned letter, signed simply "B," from a man for whom she seemed willing to risk everything. In 2003, journalist Ellie Haworth stumbles upon the letter and becomes obsessed with learning the unknown lovers’ fate—hoping it will inspire her own happy ending. (Amazon)

Definitely check out Jo Jo Moyes other books.  I did a review On the Girl You Left Behind.

April Booking It

I am linking up with Booking It at Life as Mom.  Check out what everyone is reading.

I know that will be happy to know I found some fiction books I could sink my teeth into.  I ended my long streak of only reading non-fiction with the selections below.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein has had a lot of hype.  Some libraries classify this as a young adult read but I found it in the adult section.  I like that the story is told in a different way.

Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in “Verity”’s own words, as she writes her account for her captors. Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they've ever believed in is put to the test . . . (Amazon)

This is an intriguing well told story.

Language of  Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh was a book I received at Christmas.  I actually started this book and took a 2 week break.  I love the Victorian concept that flowers have meaning and how two different stories are woven throughout the book.  I struggled I guess to like the main character Victoria maybe because she comes from a background in foster care and makes questionable decisions in regards to another young life. There are points I in the book where I want to shake her. However, this book is worth a read.

Lastly, I read Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Sample.  I was surprised how quickly I was drawn into this really quirky book.  I loved it was set in Seattle.  A lot of the observations about people of the Pacific Northwest certainly rang true to me.  Just like Bernadette, I moved here from Southern California. I live in a smallish town and sometimes even after 10 years living here I feel like a complete outsider. This book really spoke to me on many levels.  This book exaggerates what happens when you feel rejected and what you do to fill that spot.  It also speaks to what happens to you when you quit doing what you love and what comes along when someone tears you down. I loved this quirky tale. I found myself thinking about it long after I finished reading it.  So that is a mark of a good read for me.

Booking It March 2014

I am linking up with Life as Mom and her peeps for March Booking It. I am once again on a non-ficition kick.  Here is what I read in March.

Home is a Roof over a Pig by Aminta Arrington is a book I picked up while browsing at the library.  It tells of an American's Family's Journey in China. Aminta I found out hometown is the nearby town of Lynden WA.  Aminta and her husband went to China to teach English at the University Level. They also went to connect their adopted Chinese daughter to her culture.  This was a interesting look at Chinese culture and what these American's felt as they integrated into China.  Throughout Aminta connects you with the Chinese characters and their meanings. Aminta also discusses in depth the conversations she had with her Chinese students.  How they had trouble understanding the concept of self or having opinions of their own.  Self is second to the Chinese.  She discusses an incident where she saw a church protesting. She asked her student why they could protest that but not the other things the government imposed on them.  She asked the student won't there will be repercussions and profoundly the student said "Well, I guess it's because we are God's children that we feel we don't have to be afraid." Amnita also talks a great deal about how her students are obsessed with the test they take to get into the university. This seem to topically key into the discussion of the Common Core and the drill and kill mentality.

Along the same topic of how the Chinese think differently  a friend posted an article about why Chinese parents and kids don't say, " I love you."

Lastly in my Library browsing I picked up Hidden Cities - A Memoir of Urban Exploration by Moses Gates. This is a book about urban exploring.  It about those who ignore the trespassing signs and go into catacombs in France, climbing bridges, and running the subway tunnels looking for secret abandoned locations.  I don't do any of these things myself but I do like reading about their adventures. Along the same lines, I enjoyed the T.V. series called Off Limits especially season 1 and I guess Moses consulted on that.  I think Moses made it pretty clear at all the locations they were clearly trespassing. He makes no bones about that. They however didn't deface or destroy any of the locations they went throughout the book except erasing a Nazi swastika in Russia.  Moses was arrested several times and admits that the current political environment we live in it probably not a good idea to do or go some of the places that he went. All in all it was great way to hear about the secret corners of the world's great cities especially what lies beneath and above.

Booking It February 2014

 

 

Well my reading hasn't slowed down.  I read a few books this month. I am once again on a non-fiction kick. Check out what the ladies are reading over at Life as Mom - Booking It 2014.

I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza.  I picked this up on a whim.  I thought it was excellent look at a inner city school and the challenges that new teachers face whether they are famous or not.  One of the things Tony Danza touched on the concept  I often am reminded of when I am teaching my kids - Sometimes you need to get out of their way.

Claiming Ground by Laura Bell.

In 1977, Laura Bell left her family home in Kentucky for a wild and unexpected adventure: herding sheep in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin. The only woman in a man’s world, she nevertheless found a home among the strange community of drunks and eccentrics, as well as a shared passion for a life of solitude and hard work. By turns cattle rancher, forest ranger, outfitter, masseuse, wife and mother, Bell vividly recounts her struggle to find solid earth in a memoir that’s as breathtaking as it is singular. - Amazon

Claiming Ground was mentioned in our library's "What to Read Next" column as a book you would like if your liked  Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  Wild is our Whatcom Reads book for the year.  I thought Claiming Ground was interesting and the writing kept drawing me back in.   Often I felt like the story jumped around.  Some things are alluded to but not really explored. I read another review somewhere else that the person had to keep reminding themselves that this is a REAL person.  I found myself doing that.  There are no fairytales here.

A Memoir- Hungry - What Eighty Ravenous Guys Taught Me about Life, Love, and the Power of Good Food by Darlene Barnes.  Darlene was a Frat House Cook.  She discusses her journey to become a cook and how she introduced the guys at the Fraternity to real food.  I thought this was an interesting funny enlightening book.  I love that she cooked for Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity on the University of Washington Campus. I live in Washington State so I felt the local connection. Darlene said the guys taught her more than she taught them. The book also includes recipes. Darlene has her own blog.  Darlene is in the process of buying a farm in Skokomish, Washington.

Booking it January 2014

I am linking up with Life as Mom and Booking It.  Check out what everyone else is reading.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman has been on my list for a while.  I attempted to watch the Netflix series but it wasn't my cup of tea.  I did however like the book.  I think it was a good dialogue on what it looks like on the inside and whether prison is really rehabbing prisoners or not.  Piper makes some good observations about prisons and I have to say I agree with her. I liked that she set out to make the best of her situation and look at the positive side of her incarceration.  Her story is told with a lot of humor. We all have situations in our life that seem awful and we can make a choice on how we can deal with it. I think Piper made a point about that when she first entered prison she was sorry that she was putting her family and friends through this but prison actually brought home to her the magnitude of  her crime how the drugs she smuggled impacted others lives.

Matched by Ally Condie was recommended to me after I read the Hunger Games.  When I literally stumbled across it in the library, I checked it out. It is similar in nature to the Hunger Game Series and a young adult book.   I think I might have liked it a bit more than the Hunger Games. The first book in the series. was good and I had a hard time putting it down.  I read also read Crossed, 2nd in series.  It was OK but felt choppy to me.  Reached is the last book and I thought it was outstanding.

Lastly, I read Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.  I have this book on my "Books to Read for 2014".  This is one of these books that have many stories within the story.  Initially the book is set in Italy. I have mixed feelings about this book.  Though I have to say I kept reading it.  The characters are flawed and basically ruined their lives in different ways.  Because there are many stories going on here, it was a much slower read for me.

What is on My Reading List for 2014?

Well, I have been scouring the best reads lists to complete a reading list for myself for 2014. These are books that look promising to me.  Depending on library availability and the lure of the hot reads table, will determine what I read.  My time is precious so if a book isn't speaking to me after a couple chapters I don't feel any guilt over abandoning the book.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell ( Young Adult Book)
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Going to be in Theaters this Year) NON FICTION
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Fault in our Stars  by John Green (Going to be in Theaters this Year)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Already in Theaters)
Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein (Young Adult Book)
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
What Alice Forgot by Laine Moriarty
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes
The Boys in the Boat By Daniel James Brown
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls By Anton Disclafani