I love books. I've always loved books. Even before I could read, having books read to me was my favorite activity. My mom said I would sit and listen for hours, which now that I'm a mom and have kids who have trouble sitting for more than two books in a row, I find amazing. Growing up my mom cursed me with the mom curse, "I hope one day you have kids just like you.", because I would read to the exclusion of all else. Chores, playing, eating, even occasionally sleeping all were second to reading a good book. Other kids might have daydreamed about living at an amusement park, or traveling with the circus, or, like this favorite children's book, living in a museum, but not me. I daydreamed about living in a library. Yep, I really am that nerdy. I had it all planned out, I'd collect change that fell from people's pockets and use it to buy food from the vending machines and sleep on the comfortable arm chairs each night. Ah, yes, it was a well thought out plan *sarcasm*.
Anyway, most people think this is odd, but I like to reread books, a lot. There is a reason for this though. The more I like a book, the faster I will read it, but if I read a book quickly I don't remember it very well. So, anywhere between a month to a year after reading something quickly I can read it again with almost the same enjoyment as the first time. And, after thinking about it I just have a really bad memory, because even after reading a book slowly or even several times if I then wait 5-10 years I will only have a vague idea of the plot and so I can enjoyably read it yet again. There is a series of books that I bought, read, then sold to half price books sure that I would not want to read it yet again and I think I've done that three times now for this same series. Yes, that is crazy.
I love being drawn into a book, being able to experience things I will never be exposed to in real life, learning about characters and their motivations, exploring new lands and worlds. I find it all fascinating. My favorite type of fiction is fantasy, but I like it all. Here are some of my favorites or at least the ones I can think of right now:
Regular Fiction
1.Welcome To The Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut is a collection of his short stories. I'm not a fan of short stories, but I'm a fan of his short stories. I also love Cat's Cradle and most of his other books too.
2.Catch-22, one of those "school" books that I read on my own and loved. Joseph Heller is a master of irony. One of the only war books I've ever liked.
3. Jane Austen, any of her books. I think my favorite is Persuasion, but Pride and Prejudice is a very close second.
Fantasy
1. The Belgariad series by David Eddings. I can't even tell you how many times I've read these books. They are my comfort food of books, when things aren't going right in my life I read these books.
2. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Only read these if you like to read A LOT. Every book is thick and there will be 14 books when it done. Jordan really knows his craft, he has the most fully realized fantasy world with likable characters I've ever read. I am currently rereading it for the 4th? time. I read it first when I was a young teenager and then I kept rereading them as new books in the series came out because the plot was so complex I had to remind myself what was happening to follow all the tiny details. Then I got really tired of him taking so long to write new books so I took an eight year break. Now, the end is truly in site. The last book will come out October 2011 and rereading them makes me remember why I liked them so much in the first place. The fourth book is when the series really gets good, I mean really really good.
3.Ok, this is embarrassing, but I'll fess up to it I am a closet Stephanie Myers fan. I am blushing in embarrassment right now. I do NOT like the movies, but I do like the twilight books. I don't really like the characters even, although I like Edward more now that I read Edward's version of the story in the unfinished book Midnight Sun. Anyway, it's not the characters that draw me and the story is only good, not great, but the books are just so,... so, gosh darn readable. I can't put them down and then I want to read them again, it's crazy. I liked The Host too. I did like the main character in that one and thought the story was better too. I'm not as embarrassed about liking The Host.
Nonfiction Finance
1. One of my favorite finance authors is David Bach. He has a book for everyone but they seriously overlap in advice so don't expect totally new information if you read more than one. I like Smart Couples Finish Rich and The Automatic Millionaire best.
2. I love The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind. They are just SUCH interesting books. They really make you understand the difference between living rich and being rich.
3. I recommend every couple read The Two Income Trap. It is a great book that explains why EVERYONE should have their fixed costs based on one income.
Cookbooks
1.The Joy of Cooking, apparently I need to get this new version. I have the 1997 version and still like it. I read it straight through when I was 17 and learned a TON about food in general along with how to cook it.
2. When I was a senior in high school I worked at a bookstore (shocking I know) and was in charge of special orders. That is where I was first introduced to Pam Anderson because someone ordered her cookbook, The Perfect Recipe. It was amazing, she goes through each recipe and tells you what she tried to make it perfect, what went wrong, what went right and how she ended up with the final recipe. So much information, so interesting, so AWESOME. I also have her How to Cook Without a Book and use it for all my stir fry and stir fry sauces, but it has lots of other great recipes too.
3. My interest in knowing WHY a recipe was good lead me to a love of the PBS cooking show America's Test Kitchen. They have a book of ALL their recipes and information about why they make them that way. I have yet to have a recipe from this book turn out bad.
I'd list other nonfiction, but I don't really read other nonfiction.
Kids Books
1. I'm a huge Dr. Seuss. I love The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham and The Sneetches. The rhyming is just so addicting.
2. The Monster at the End of This Book has got to be one of the funnest read aloud books ever. If you like a little drama you will love this book.
3. The Very Hungary Caterpillar is a classic I love. My favorite part has always been turning the little pages of food that he eats.
I love lots of other books too, but this post is WAY to long already. I'm sure I will talk about books again.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Being Sick
Growing up I was a sickly kid. I was always out of school for some sickness, in elementary school I had constant strep throat till they took my tonsils out, then I had appendicitis and in between I had stuff mostly relating to asthma, allergies or some complication of them. Me and my sisters got some really weird stuff too just to make things interesting. I went to doctors' offices so often that I tested out of high school health with only one day of studying. All my prior studying of the many charts and models that the doctors always had in the examination rooms really paid off.
Anyway, most of the time I wasn't contagious, sometimes I didn't even have symptoms, I just "felt bad". My mom did what she thought was best and let me stay home from school and rest. I did not have the best school career socially speaking and often took advantage of that and acted worse than I felt just to avoid school. In high school, after my freshman year, I decided that I was missing out on life due to being so sick. I decided that being sick was not a good way to avoid things I'd rather not deal with, so I said I would not miss another day of school unless I was showing signs of contagion; throwing up, fever, green snot, that kind of stuff. And overall I stuck to that for the rest of high school.
In fact, I've tried to stick to that as a general rule, life shouldn't stop even if you are sick, unless you are contagious and then you should stay away from people for their own protection. It has been a hard thing to follow this past year since we've moved. As a family, we have been sicker this year than any other year. I don't know if it is the stress of moving, perhaps the house, since it wasn't new already had allergens, or maybe it was the crazy winter, most likely it's a combination of them all. I don't think we've gone more than a month since last July without someone being contagiously sick at our house and last month we all took turns every week. This week it is apparently my turn with a cough and sore throat. I am just plain tired of it. I want to live my life as a healthy person with healthy children and a healthy husband. There is nothing I can think of to do to help it though short of shutting us in a bubble. Of course that isn't exactly practical. I hate telling my kids I can't do something because I feel bad. It's even worse when the kids feel bad. It's just so, so...IRRITATING being sick all the time. I try to keep to our usual routine and believe me, I know how fortunate I am that no one is debilitating sick or truly chronically sick, I grew up with that. But I just wish that we'd get over all this and stay well for a few months together. Ok, gripe over.
**EDITED**
Just so you don't think I'm some sort of super lady (I'm far from it) who can do everything even when I'm sick, I only aspire to not putting my life on hold when sickness happens. My house is a MESS right now, my kids watch embarrassing amounts of tv every day and we've eaten fast food too many times to count this month. I'm really tired of that too.
Anyway, most of the time I wasn't contagious, sometimes I didn't even have symptoms, I just "felt bad". My mom did what she thought was best and let me stay home from school and rest. I did not have the best school career socially speaking and often took advantage of that and acted worse than I felt just to avoid school. In high school, after my freshman year, I decided that I was missing out on life due to being so sick. I decided that being sick was not a good way to avoid things I'd rather not deal with, so I said I would not miss another day of school unless I was showing signs of contagion; throwing up, fever, green snot, that kind of stuff. And overall I stuck to that for the rest of high school.
In fact, I've tried to stick to that as a general rule, life shouldn't stop even if you are sick, unless you are contagious and then you should stay away from people for their own protection. It has been a hard thing to follow this past year since we've moved. As a family, we have been sicker this year than any other year. I don't know if it is the stress of moving, perhaps the house, since it wasn't new already had allergens, or maybe it was the crazy winter, most likely it's a combination of them all. I don't think we've gone more than a month since last July without someone being contagiously sick at our house and last month we all took turns every week. This week it is apparently my turn with a cough and sore throat. I am just plain tired of it. I want to live my life as a healthy person with healthy children and a healthy husband. There is nothing I can think of to do to help it though short of shutting us in a bubble. Of course that isn't exactly practical. I hate telling my kids I can't do something because I feel bad. It's even worse when the kids feel bad. It's just so, so...IRRITATING being sick all the time. I try to keep to our usual routine and believe me, I know how fortunate I am that no one is debilitating sick or truly chronically sick, I grew up with that. But I just wish that we'd get over all this and stay well for a few months together. Ok, gripe over.
**EDITED**
Just so you don't think I'm some sort of super lady (I'm far from it) who can do everything even when I'm sick, I only aspire to not putting my life on hold when sickness happens. My house is a MESS right now, my kids watch embarrassing amounts of tv every day and we've eaten fast food too many times to count this month. I'm really tired of that too.
Friday, April 30, 2010
A Dark Secret
I am embarrassed to admit this, but...I occasionally like to visit www.peopleofwalmart.com (go into photos and you will see what I am talking about). Some of it is funny, some is just sad and a lot of it is funny/sad, but I can usually find a photo to laugh at. Oh, and just to warn you, both the comments and photos are at least PG-13, this is not G rated stuff. Does this make me a bad person? Perhaps. But this site has taught me several life lessons...
1. Anyone over a size 4 should NEVER wear spandex unless at a gym and even then there are better options.
2. Hair longer than mid back is almost always a bad idea.
3. Women older than 18 should never wear jean shorts, men have a bit more leeway on this, but should keep said shorts at knee length.
4. If you and your significant other wear matching flannel pjs to the store, be prepared for people to laugh at you. (by the way, we do this every Christmas eve and I'm ok with people laughing)
5. Always make sure your clothing covers your bottom. (including making sure you are wearing pants/skirt with your shirt)
6. No adult looks good in neon colors.
Um, well, I proabably knew all that stuff already, but PeopleofWalmart has helped burn it into my memory.
1. Anyone over a size 4 should NEVER wear spandex unless at a gym and even then there are better options.
2. Hair longer than mid back is almost always a bad idea.
3. Women older than 18 should never wear jean shorts, men have a bit more leeway on this, but should keep said shorts at knee length.
4. If you and your significant other wear matching flannel pjs to the store, be prepared for people to laugh at you. (by the way, we do this every Christmas eve and I'm ok with people laughing)
5. Always make sure your clothing covers your bottom. (including making sure you are wearing pants/skirt with your shirt)
6. No adult looks good in neon colors.
Um, well, I proabably knew all that stuff already, but PeopleofWalmart has helped burn it into my memory.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
My first confession
So, the URL of this blog is trueconfessionsofRachel. I tried to think of something witty, but many wittier people have come before me so I was stuck with this after remembering a book I read several times when I was a kid, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and thought, while I am not nearly as cool as the main character nor will I be talking about a sea voyage, it'll do for a blog URL.
Anyway, I guess I should confess something, something good, something interesting. Hmmmmm...How about my greatest fear? That's nice and juicy right? Actually, it's kind of silly. It started with a dream, a dreadful dream that haunted me throughout the next month and still makes me feel like shuddering whenever I think about it. My greatest fear is...going back in time. (you can laugh now, it's ok, but let me explain) Not as my current self visiting my younger self, but as in waking up and being 16 and it being 1996 and I can remember the next 14 years, but I have to relive them.
That's not so bad you say. If fact, it could be pretty great. You could fix mistakes, you could make a fortune in the stock market or betting on sports teams if you remember those kinds of stats better, you could redesign your life with the end in mind. I too thought this at one point. This used to be a very engaging daydream that I enjoyed in my late teenage years. So what changed? I actually love the life I currently have, not there aren't bad days and down times, but overall it is great and if I went back in time I'm sure I would loose it. Meeting the love of your life has a lot to do with timing. And Juan falling in love with me probably had a lot to do with who I was back six years ago and I've changed since then and I would change more before I was able to meet him and so maybe we would not get married and if we did not get married our children would never even exist except in my memory. Going back in time would make me lose the three most important things in my life and not lose them in a way where you could hope to someday be reunited with them and be able to reminisce with others who remember them and look at photos of them. That would be bad enough and having one of them die is my second worst fear, but worse would be me and only me knowing what I had and never being able to get it back, ever. **shudder**
Honestly, I am amazingly lucky this is my worst fear.
Anyway, I guess I should confess something, something good, something interesting. Hmmmmm...How about my greatest fear? That's nice and juicy right? Actually, it's kind of silly. It started with a dream, a dreadful dream that haunted me throughout the next month and still makes me feel like shuddering whenever I think about it. My greatest fear is...going back in time. (you can laugh now, it's ok, but let me explain) Not as my current self visiting my younger self, but as in waking up and being 16 and it being 1996 and I can remember the next 14 years, but I have to relive them.
That's not so bad you say. If fact, it could be pretty great. You could fix mistakes, you could make a fortune in the stock market or betting on sports teams if you remember those kinds of stats better, you could redesign your life with the end in mind. I too thought this at one point. This used to be a very engaging daydream that I enjoyed in my late teenage years. So what changed? I actually love the life I currently have, not there aren't bad days and down times, but overall it is great and if I went back in time I'm sure I would loose it. Meeting the love of your life has a lot to do with timing. And Juan falling in love with me probably had a lot to do with who I was back six years ago and I've changed since then and I would change more before I was able to meet him and so maybe we would not get married and if we did not get married our children would never even exist except in my memory. Going back in time would make me lose the three most important things in my life and not lose them in a way where you could hope to someday be reunited with them and be able to reminisce with others who remember them and look at photos of them. That would be bad enough and having one of them die is my second worst fear, but worse would be me and only me knowing what I had and never being able to get it back, ever. **shudder**
Honestly, I am amazingly lucky this is my worst fear.
This Blog
My other blog is a family blog and I've never felt very comfortable putting my feelings and opinions out there on it. I've tried to keep it pretty light and about the kids and some of my sewing projects. This will be more of a personal journal.
I've thought about doing a blog like this for a while, but always thought, who would want to read it? But then I like to read blogs with personal opinions and feelings and stuff. And really, I'll be writing it for me. If no one else reads it, I'll be ok with that. If someone else finds my fairly random ramblings interesting; great, I'm glad you find my writing entertaining. Really I've always wanted an entertaining personality where people want to be around you because you are so enjoyable. If you know me in real life you are possibly laughing at that, I am. I think I come across as pretty serious and quiet and rarely feel comfortable talking a lot although sometimes I do and then feel bad about hogging the converstion. But, hey, on my blog I'm the only conversationalist (although, please add a comment if you feel so inclined) so I can take all the space I want to say whatever I'm feeling like. I'm liking this personal journal blog idea more and more, hehehe.
I've thought about doing a blog like this for a while, but always thought, who would want to read it? But then I like to read blogs with personal opinions and feelings and stuff. And really, I'll be writing it for me. If no one else reads it, I'll be ok with that. If someone else finds my fairly random ramblings interesting; great, I'm glad you find my writing entertaining. Really I've always wanted an entertaining personality where people want to be around you because you are so enjoyable. If you know me in real life you are possibly laughing at that, I am. I think I come across as pretty serious and quiet and rarely feel comfortable talking a lot although sometimes I do and then feel bad about hogging the converstion. But, hey, on my blog I'm the only conversationalist (although, please add a comment if you feel so inclined) so I can take all the space I want to say whatever I'm feeling like. I'm liking this personal journal blog idea more and more, hehehe.
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