Having fun; wish I were here:

Reread #1 - The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom

An absolute must read/reread.
I laughed, I cried, I highlighted things.
An amazing story of an amazing woman and her amazing God.
Corrie Ten Boom is one of my heroes.

Coming soon: A book report on Tramp For The Lord, also by Corrie Ten Boom.

Book Report #3 - The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

No, I hadn't read this one yet, either. This book is definitely a page turner. I got to a certain point where I said to myself*, "Self, You cannot sleep until this book is finished." So that's what I did last evening. The most fun part about the book was the riddles and codes, some of which I solved before the characters in the book did, which is always fun. There were plenty of dun dun dun moments. All in all a good piece of fiction. Some people might be offended by the ideas that this book puts out, but those are the same people who don't know what fiction means and are offended by many other things on a day to day basis. Read it, have fun, think some things through, and then move on with life.


*Get ready for one of my favorites of all the lame jokes.

Juno

Loved it.
A must see movie.
Made me miss MN.
I was glad they didn't try to have MN accents.
Michael Cera totally redeemed himself (hate: Superbad. love: Arrested Development).
Don't really care for Jennifer Garner that much, but she didn't ruin the movie.
Ellen Page was wonderful.
Always love Allison Janney.
Everyone else was good too.
You should go see it, why are you still sitting here reading this crappy review?

Sunday Driving.

Now I understand that some things can't be avoided. I also hope that there will be differing opinions by whomever reads this. If everyone agreed all the time, what would we have to discuss?
The other day I was wondering what it would be like to live in a world where everything was closed on Sundays, like in the olden days. Then I wondered what kind of difference it would make if Christians would do all of their shopping/eating out on days other than Sunday. Would it make a difference? How so? Would the change be positive or negative, and in what ways?
This is where the "things that can't be avoided" comes into play. Of course you can't plan when you will need to go to the emergency room, but you can plan to fill your car with gas or to get groceries ahead of time. As for eating out, whatever happened to eating at home with your family?
If a majority of places were closed on Sundays, then people who would normally have to work on Sunday could actually attend church if they wanted to.

I'm just going to come right out and say it.

The drivers of Beaver County, PA are the worst I've ever encountered. And I've driven in lots of places.

Brief* book report #2....For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men, by Shaunti Feldhahn

I liked it.
The author did some research of men by asking thousands of them survey questions and discussing some with some of them.
She gave the results, which probably accurately describe most men.
A good way to read this book is to probably have a man nearby, one whose opinion you trust (or one you seek to understand), and ask him how he would answer the survey questions.
This was an enjoyable, quick read.




(*I resolved to read 50 new books, not write highly detailed reports about them.)

Book Report #1 The Mother Tongue, By Bill Bryson

The first book that I read in 2008 (that I had never read before) was The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, by Bill Bryson. I liked it a whole lot. It was very informative and entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone who is a grammar or language enthusiast. It is a very quick read.

One downfall:
Sometimes I wondered if what I was reading was in fact the truth. There were many facts about language on each page. And for some of them I wondered, "How did he know this? If this were true, wouldn't it be common knowledge?"

Downfall aside, it still makes for an interesting and entertaining read, whether it's all completely factual or not.

239 Things To Do in 2008

...




1. Go to Boston
2. Get new glasses
3. Visit a dentist
4. Apply for seminary
5. Go to Washington DC
6. Write a children’s book
7. Buy a Digital SLR Camera
8. Give all the clothes you don’t wear anymore to Salvation Army
9. Go to Niagara Falls
10. Illustrate the children’s book you plan to write
11. Save a little bit of money each week
12. Write a letter or note to someone and send it in the mail once a week
13. Go Colonial Williamsburg
14. Call your Mom once a week
15. Enter a photography contest
16. Go one day without lip balm
17. Go to a Boston Red Sox Game
18. Learn something about each presidential candidate
19. Get promoted
20. Go for a walk three times a week
21. Go to The Poconos
22. Organize your recipes
23. See the Statue of Liberty
24. Go to New Hampshire
25. Grow your hair ridiculously long
26. Call a friend once a week
27. Go to Vermont
28. Shave a little bit of your legs with every shower
29. Dress up for church
30. Learn more about investing
31. Go to Connecticut
32. Be able to do one pull-up/chin-up
33. Get an I-pod
34. Get more dress clothes
35. Go to Maryland
36. Learn some new words in another language
37. Learn some new English words
38. Put some towels away for later
39. Go to Delaware
40. Clean the oven
41. Go camping in a tent
42. Cook a meal over a campfire
43. Go to New Jersey
44. Eat more fruits
45. Develop a taste for berries
46. Leave the continent
47. Invent a new recipe
48-97. Read 50 books you’ve never read before
98-122. Reread 25 books you have read before
123. Reread the Bible (this will be counted separately from the 25 other books).
124. Go to North Dakota
125. Drink at least 3 glasses of water a day
126-177. Take 52 interesting photos
178. Encounter some Rough Giraffes
179. Go to Canada
180. Try fish again (you don’t have to like it)
181. Plant a tree
182. Floss daily
183. Finish a Friday crossword
184. Plant some flowers
185. Watch 24
186. Print photos and put them in an album
187. Move out of Western Pennsylvania
188. Paint a picture
189. Finish off the lotion you have before buying more
190. Go on a date weekly
191. Watch The Office
192. Send Christmas cards
193. Write to your Compassion Child once a month
194. Pray for him daily
195. Get rid of two pairs of shoes for every new pair you buy
196. Find a Bible study outside of Western Pennsylvania
197. Devise a list of verses to read every day for advent
198. Visit a lake
199. Go swimming at least once
200. Go sledding
201. Watch a James Bond movie without falling asleep
202. Go golfing
203. Wear earrings for a day
204. Get one more belt
205. Learn some guitar chords
206. Write a song
207. Maintain your eyebrows
208. Spit in a new ocean
209. Go to a Minnesota Twins game
210. Organize and update your quote calendar
211. Let bygones be bygones
212. Get rid of all the extra bags
213. Wear sunscreen
214. Acquire a frame for the map of the world
215. Learn how to make plum jelly
216. Burn a candle until it is gone
217-226. Develop 10 new characters
227. Create your own coffee shop
228. Sing in front of an audience
229. Grow your own peas
230. Care more about people than their grammar
231. Get a manicure
232. Get a pedicure
233. Get a massage
234. Research the possibility and personal practicality of owning a bicycle
235. Write a short story
236. Write a long story
237. Write an essay
238. Write a letter to an editor
239. Finish this list



...

A Big To Do List

Coming Soon.

(Instead of making resolutions, I'm going to make a list of 239 things to do in 2008.)

Resolution Would You Rather...

As you are considering your New Year's resolution, please take this to mind:

In 2008,

Would you rather...

Be extremely top heavy?

or

Extremely bottom heavy?

Please excuse the artist's lack of decision as to how one's arms would look in either situation.