My Book Resolution

Okay, so last year, I made a New Year's resolution to read at least one book a month. And, for the most part, I did. But I realized at the end of the year that I didn't keep track of the books that I read, so I had no "proof". Not that anyone cares except me... But, if a friend of mine read a book that she really enjoyed, I would want to know. On the other hand, if a friend read a book that she didn't like, I'd want to know as well (I might not want to waste my valuable reading time :) ) I have re-signed for the same resolution this year, with the addition of now posting my books to the blog (and probably to Facebook :) )...

Last month, in addition to Marley and Me, which I already posted about, I read an amazing book called Escape. It was written by Carolyn Jessop. She was one of Merril Jessop's wives. Merril Jessop is now one of the "elders" at the FLDS polygamist ranch that is not far from here. The book tells her amazing story of her life while part of the sect, and her escape from the FLDS. I went to a book signing she attended at a bookstore here in town, and she seemed like one of those just awesom people that you want to be friends with- and that was before I read her book.

Last night, I finished reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas... It is an beautiful fiction story about a naive young boy whose father is a Nazi Commandant. They move to a house near Auschwitz (although the name of the camp is never mentioned in the book) so that the father can be closer to his work. The young boy befriends a Jewish boy on the "other side of the fence". Neither one of them can comprehend the other's way of life. Even though it is fiction, this story is such a good teaching tool, and introduction to the Holocaust. I cannot wait for it to come out on DVD (The movie did not make it to San Angelo).

On to my next book...

It's Jacob's World, we're just living in it...

Jacob has always been an early riser. I'm blaming his Daddy for that. ;) For the past several months, we have gotten him trained to come snuggle with us (and get another 1-2 hours of sleep) in the mornings. Yesterday, I was at the computer in our bedroom, and Jacob was playing one of his imaginery games.

All was going well, until I heard him say, "Good job." I have learned that when Jacob says "Good job", it's usually not good. That usually means that Jacob has fixed something (Bob-the Builder/Handy Manny style) that didn't need to be fixed.

I asked Jacob, "What did you fix?" His answer: "The alarm clock".
Me: How did you fix it? Jacob: I turned the lights off. (i.e., he unplugged it.)
Me: Jacob! Now the radio won't work, and we have no clock to tell us what time it is.
Jacob: That's good.
Me: Jacob! Why did you do that? How does turning the lights off fix the alarm clock?
Jacob: Now it won't wake us up in the morning.

How do you argue with that logic?

A Matthew-ism

Very often, Matthew says something, which, in his innocence, just makes us laugh. Today, he was looking at coupons in the phone book, and noticed that many of them required the purchase of fountain drinks. The conversation went like this:

Matthew: "Mom, what's a fountain drink?"

Me: "Well, a long time ago, drinks used to come from what was called a soda fountain. It dispensed all kinds of drinks... Cokes, Root Beer, Sprite. So a fountain drink is anything that comes from a fountain."

Matthew: "So, now, that would be, like, Water?"

I guess my explanation wasn't quite as good as I thought it was!