Ode To Goodreads

My Darlingest Goodreads,

You are my hearts-ease.
Awhirl with want-tos and wish-tos and shoulds
And I'd love to Someday, if I only I could.
A simple click and it's stored away
For a future moment, a calmer day.

iPhone Addicts Check Phone Here

Richard and I recently purchased two iPod Touch 4-s as anniversary presents to ourselves. And we LOVE them! Unfortunately, we now understand why everyone else seemed to have their relationship with their phone as the primary one in their life. It really is amazingly tempting to just check your email really fast during a boring conference or lesson-or check out the last groupon-or text a friend super-fast b/c you forgot to tell them x, y or z. In the first few weeks of frenetic use we found we often had to precede comments or queries with "please put your iPod down" to make sure attention was actually focused. So as of this week, we decided it was time to make some boundaries for ourselves, and our home, so if you come visit us soon, here is what to expect!

1. No cell phones/iPods or computers in the bedroom(s). This may seem a no-brainer, but you can spend hours 'browsing' instead of actually training your body that bedtime = sleeptime. The CDC estimates that 50-70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder of some kind.

2. No electronics at the dinner table. If you are sharing a meal with someone, it is only courteous to also share a conversation. Sometimes I find myself at a loss for discussion topics, as it is so rare that I get to see my husband at the dinner table I can't even remember which thing of the million things I need to talk to him about should take priority! I help myself seize the moments at dinner and in car-rides for conversation by making a list (yes, on my iPod!) of things I want to talk to Richard about whenever they occur to me. Then when I have a 'captive audience' (e.g. driving or chewing) I am never at a loss.

3. No electronics in the family room/game room (when it is being used as such). Since our house is so small we don't have a dedicated game room, but we decided that when we have friends or family over for games, a movie night, or an evening of chatter-our big back room becomes a technology-free zone. We simply ask people to turn their phones off and leave them in a cute container I labeled "The Great and Spacious Box."

One of the primary factors urging us to 'lay down the law' was the realization of how easy it was to be physically present and mentally absent. We spend so much of our time insanely busy that when we do manage to squeak out a few hours to spend with friends and family, we want them to BE there to spend it with! Nothing is more frustrating than having a game, meal or conversation halted because someone gets a call, or needs to reply to a text, or just plain finds their email more interesting.

Obviously, we follow the same rules ourselves. Yes, we both now have cell phones and iPods, so contacting us is simpler than ever. However, it will probably never be instantaneous. If you ever need to reach us and can't-it is highly likely that we just didn' t see your call, or if we did, we didn't pick it up. It could well mean that we are spending time with someone else, who is equally important to us as you are. But don't worry, when we call you back, or spend time with you-YOU are the most important person, and everyone else can then wait for you. It is our hope that intentionally structuring our lives to FOCUS on the people we are with in the moment will make each moment richer, and every day better.

I Heart Tim McGraw!

A few weeks ago Richard and I countried it up and went with my sister Rose to the Tim McGraw concert in St. Louis. It was AMAZING!! He is such a phenomenal performer, incredibly high energy, etc. The Band Perry and Luke Bryan were his opening acts, and I really enjoyed hearing them too. I hadn’t recognized the name Luke Bryan, but to my surprise I recognized most of his songs as recent favorites of mine! (Rain is a Good Thing, All My Friends Say, etc etc.)


The concert came at the end of very, very long week, and after hot-footing (or, more accurately, lead-footing) it back from Chicago in order to make the concert in time, so it would have been nice if I hadn’t been completely exhausted. But I managed to muster up enough energy to dance and sing along to one of my favorite McGraw songs! Check us out at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150630241955173



We could only afford lawn passes, so we were pretty far back, but it was still a great concert The major downside to the lawn passes was the massive amounts of alcohol consumed by people around us, who then became very obnoxiously drunk. Add to that the chain smokers and it really wasn’t a super enjoyment-conducive atmosphere. At one point I found myself wishing that cirrhosis of the liver and lung cancer were immediate onset illnesses. Not a very nice thought, I know, but they were ruining my concert! I think it was probably my first and last ‘lawn pass’ experience at this venue, however. Even our cheapo tickets were $30 each, and that’s a lot of money to pay for second-hand smoke and first hand obnoxiousness. I was also surprised by how much time there was between the performances. The Band Perry played from 7:00-7:30, Luke Brian from 8:00-8:30 and Tim from 9:00 to 10:30. Good thing Tim was so amazing! But I tell you what, I was really feeling the loss of that radio station contest for 2^nd row seats that we entered and lost! We totally should have had it too…I’ll try and post a copy of our entry for “First Kiss Experiences.” Ours was by far the best…but after the DJs made the first cut, user voters decided, and we just didn’t have a whole high school population behind us. (Thanks to everyone who DID vote for us though!). All in all though, it was worth it to see Tim McGraw live at least once in my lifetime. I think with a less dynamic performer it wouldn’t have been, but I have never seen anything like the pure performance energy and stage presence Tim displayed.

Perhaps the best part of the whole night was the fabulous picture opportunities!

Bless Their Heart

A friend of mine recently pointed out to me that she found it ironic that many people use the phrase ‘bless their heart’ only as a preface to snide or malicious commentary on the subjects’ appearance or actions. Much struck by her observation, our group of friends agreed that it did appear to be accurate. However, once I got home I gave the matter further thought, and I have come to a somewhat different conclusion. Rather than using ‘bless their heart’ as an insincere attempt to cloak cruelty, I find that I myself (being a guilty party to the use of this phrase) and many others I remember observing use the phrase, do not use it spitefully at all. Instead it serves to literally re-direct the audience’s attention to acknowledge inner beauty. By saying ‘bless their heart’ first, I almost subconsciously wish to remind my audience that the person being discussed or commented on actually has a ‘good heart’ and ‘noble intentions,’ before describing actions or words (usually humorous) of that person. (also known as Gossip).

Obviously, not talking about other people at all when they are not present is a nobler way. Unfortunately, if I never talked about things other people in my life did and said, I would have absolutely nothing to talk about, so I remain a cheerfully unabashed and self-confessed gossip. But, I hope, never a mean gossip, and I think the phrase ‘bless their heart’ plays an important role as a mitigating factor! Honestly!

For example, if I was to say to a group of friends “The other day Susan and I were eating out and, bless her heart, she knocked her soda over into a neighboring customer’s baby car-seat, which was resting on the floor. Hilarity ensued…etc etc etc.” As an incorrigible storyteller, it is literally impossible for me not to retell such a priceless anecdote. Yes, it is gossip. And I do try when such things happen, to check with the person involved (if not myself) if I can “please oh please oh please tell people about this.” Usually they are fine with it. (Obviously I don’t always remember too, so if you don’t want to hang out with me for fear of having your foibles retold, it is an understandable choice).

Time runs on, and a few days later, I find myself using, as a preface to the story, the phrase “bless her heart.’ However, it is not a malicious phrase at all, but a casual reminder to the audience that the person featured in the story is a charming, lovely, and valued human being with a heart of gold, who just happened to do something hilariously funny/clumsy/unusual/etc. So, Bless Your Heart, reading this blog is not getting anything truly productive done in your day, but I love you for it anyway.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off to Camp We Go!!

We are getting ready to leave for our Stake Girl’s Camp for a week in June (Uggh, a week in Southern Missouri-outside-in June…I swear the devil came to S-F to take notes when he was designing hell!) Other than the unfortunately essential requirement of being ‘outdoors’ in southern Missouri for girls ‘camp,’ it promises to be a fabulously exciting time of fun, adventure and sweat.

I lived in several different stakes growing up, and attending several different girls’ camps. In a quest to make this one the best EVER for my young women¸ I would like to solicit all of your favorite girl’s camp memories and ideas!! For example, in the Champaign, IL Stake, we sang “My Momma Don’t Wear No Socks!” And endlessly fun rhyming song with an easy chorus to learn (“A Ding-Dong”).

*Fun and creative ways to encourage and enforce modesty-especially with shorts! (our stake has really big problem with this, even among the Youth Leaders...they may not be booty-shorts, but most are definitely not knee-length!)

*Things to do after official lights-out

*Non-damaging, appropriate pranks

*The text/tune of your favorite girl’s camp songs

*Neat gifts or extra items your leaders provided

*Memorable devotional ideas, topics or presentations

Fabulous New Fiction

Awhile ago while reading one of my friend’s blogs I noticed that she occasionally includes book recommendations. As an avid reader I am an active member of Goodreads.com, and read mostly YA fiction. Partly because I hope one day to publish a YA novel. Also because it seems these days that ‘Young Adult’ is being used as a universal label for any fiction that does not have graphic sex, lurid murders and/or disgusting language. So, I have just come across a couple of 5-star books, the first two books that I have read this year that felt worthy of a Blogmention!

The first one was a fantasy novel from my “Zombies-Apocalypse” shelf on goodreads.com. I put everything on this shelf that takes place in a future version of our current world. So books like The Maze Runner and Hunger Games are categorized here. Well, and also anything with Zombies in it, old-school or not “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” anyone? Anyway, the point is not to be afraid of checking out this shelf, because a lot of it reads almost like historical fiction, especially if our future apocalyptic world has reverted to an agrarian society. Lol. Anyway, I
was just recently blown away by Birthmarked, a debut novel by Caragh O’Brien. It tells the story of a 16 year old midwife, and a system of government by which the first 3 children she assists to be born each month are removed from their mothers (sometimes by force, sometimes willingly) and taken by The Enclave in a system of forced adoption.

The next book to make my Blogmention criteria (5 stars only), is the “The Reluctant Heiress” by Eva Ibbotsen. To quote the review I wrote on my Goodreads profile, this was oeirH

ne of the best love stories I've read in a long time! Written with a unique, quirky style and voice, skillfully crafted and satisfyingly sappy, this is a charming love story you won't want to miss! One of those unique romances where the fabulous essence of the character within both leading man and leading lady leaves you dying to take either one to lunch, and completely convinced that true love cannot help but follow them all of their days. It tells the classic story of a princess that no one knows is a princess, and yet manages to be completely fresh and unique! It is one of those vanishingly rare 'romances' that defies the romance genre by being enchantingly well-written and astonishingly imagined. And it left me wondering HOW is it POSSIBLE I have not READ Eva Ibbotson before now!! You cannot help but become gluttonous for more of her! I promptly went to the library and requested ALL of her books for young adults. (Only four more L) and expect to devour them within hours much like the first.

As with all of my five-star pics, only begin reading these books if staying up into the night is an option, and no urgent projects will remain neglected while you are enthralled in the world created by their authors.

Grace and Other Snide Comments

Do you ever feel like your parents have an unparalleled ability to recognize unique, powerful traits within yourself that can define the direction your life takes? This uncanny parental insight is strongly present in my father. When I was less than two years old, he made a bemused observation that has held true with unwavering accuracy throughout every stage of my life. He called me Grace. Still does, actually. And no, it is not meant as a sincere comment on my sylph-like ballerina self. Rather, it was a startled laughing exclamation made as he watching his daughter, calmly standing in front of a glass table, inexplicably lose her balance and fall face first into the edge, driving her teeth into her lip and spurting blood in every direction. “Yep, I think we should have called her Grace.”

So, Yesterday, I stood at the front of a classroom of inner city high school students, finished taking attendance and instructed them to begin work. After which I promptly fell down. Yep. No, I wasn’t walking. No there was absolutely nothing around me or behind me. I just began to turn my body to walk back to the desk, and then fell down. Feet flying straight out from under me, hands flying up and butt hitting the ground first. Hitting the ground hard, I might add.

What does one say at a time like this? I mean-really? Scrambling painfully back to my feet I surveyed the students in various stages of hilarity. Some were openly laughing so hard tears were starting to roll out, while their neighbors were turning purple in an attempt to hold it in by not breathing. Others had their hands clasped firmly over their mouths but were making weird snorting noises. Some chose to just bury their head on their desk, but were betrayed by shaking shoulders. I stood there looking at them, and realized that I, the wordsmith, the blabbermouth, the talk-it-outer, had absolutely nothing to say for this occasion. No words. Eventually I just said, out of concern for the snorters and purple facers, “It’s fine, laugh. Get it out. I would.”

Someone did ask if I was ok and, as I made another attempt to cross the six steps toward the desk (now hobbling) I replied, “Oh sure. Fine. No problem.” After achieving the wincing comfort of the desk chair, I was left with the rest of the class period to brood bitterly upon the incredible aptness of my father’s nickname. Apparently, any fairy who attended my birth had a wicked sense of humor.

After about six months of dating my husband began his current habit of walking a step ahead of me (with his arms out and ready to catch) down every flight of stairs and/or hill and incline. I usually have a bruise, cut or scrape on my body that I have no idea how I obtained, probably because I routinely run into walls, doors, and other inanimate objects.

I avoid using the trunk of our car because I have yet to do so without banging my head, and it took me a VERY long time to ride a bike without training wheels. I buy two sets of the same dishes at once, because I inevitably break so many that I need the entire second set to gradually sub in as replacements. My most notorious achievement in the great and varied realm of clumsiness? At the age of 12 I managed to drop my newborn sister Rose from the crook of my arms to the kitchen floor - headfirst. She’s very nice about it now, but probably because I brain-damaged her so much she doesn’t actually know how to be mean. The list could go on and on. In fact, I think I will give it a separate search tagline in my blog. So keep your eyes peeled for the further adventures of Graceful Letty Goering.