Posts

Showing posts from September, 2011

Burdens

Today has been an interesting day on the internet. This morning I read this wonderful interview with a woman whose husband came out of the closet and divorced her. Then, later in the day, I read this article about man who came out of the closet, began divorce proceedings, was excommunicated, and committed suicide. It was interesting to read about two very similar situations that met with such completely different ends. The blessing and the curse of the Church seems to be the fact that it is made up of individuals. As individuals we all have the opportunity every day to make the world around us a kinder, more compassionate place, and it makes my heart break when I see people not doing that (myself included). No matter what someone has done, they should never feel as though their only option is to end their own life. These articles also piqued my interest because of what is going on in my life right now. Back in February, Mr. Fob went on a business trip for a week. I started wonde

50 States: Letters I, K, and L

It's been a long time since I wrote up the states we've been working on. We've had some delays because of summertime, but we're still working through the alphabet. Idaho: We read about how P is for Potato , but I thought it was the worst one in this series. The rhymes were really terrible. We also read Mailing May , which is a cute story from Idaho. For dinner we at baked trout and fried potatoes. Illinois: The books we read included L is for Lincoln , Prairie Numbers , and Our Abe Lincoln . We ate some Chicago deep-dish pizza that was really delicious and we also watched the movie Home Alone since it is set in Chicago. Indiana: We learned that H is for Hoosier , and we learned about Indiana's place in the abolition movement with this book . For dinner we had tenderloin sandwiches (which were delicious) and some sugar cream pie (which was a little too sweet for our tastes). Iowa: We read H is for Hawkeye and Numbers in a Row , and I was a little d

Reading Roundup: August 2011

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier At first I didn't like the fact that this book was told by the two main characters in alternating chapters. The voice of one, in particular, bothered me and I didn't like the way she was written. However, after a while I got used to it and I liked this book after all. The story was interesting but I thought the writing could have been a little tighter and created more of a plot, rather than just retelling historic events. The Nightingale by Morgana Gallaway I have a read a number of books about the Middle East, but I think this is the first I've read that is set in contemporary Iraq. The plot really kept me reading and I thought the writing was pretty decent. It felt like it had a lot going on (action, romance, social commentary, political issues), but I would read a follow-up if the author writes one. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean This book had a lot of information in it and took a long time to read, but I lov