Jumping Back In Again...

It's such a funny feeling jumping back into blogging after being gone for awhile. And yet here I am. :)

Here's a little overview of what we've been up to lately...

We enjoyed a very, very lovely Christmas season with Ria home from college for three weeks. Didn't manage to get Christmas cards out (again) this year. Ah well. Can't have it all!

I have a new great-nephew who was born on Christmas Day - five weeks early! Thankfully he is home at last.


I got a Kindle (Keyboard) for Christmas and am really enjoying it. Finally read Manalive. (GREAT BOOK!!!) Also making good use of the Universalis Liturgy of the Hours program for the Kindle as well as lots of free classics and, of course, a few games like Scrabble and Shuffled Row.

My husband and I have gotten involved in our parish's marriage preparation ministry. We use the Catholic edition of the FOCCUS program where we basically walk couples through discussions of material from the pre-marital inventory. We have found this to be a very rewarding and worthwhile project!

I'm sure there's a lot more too, but that's what I can think of for a start. Here is a very quick book overview from the past few months...


What I've been reading:

Finished - 

The Hunger Games - Excellent! Kind of a mix of futuristic sci-fi, classical Greek and Roman mythology with a bit of a Flannery O'Connor twist. I understand a lot of middle schoolers are reading this, but my gut reaction was that it was more appropriate for older teens.

The Help  - Quite a good read. I just loved the characters she created in this story. The whole concept of white children being raised by black servants is rooted in the author's family background. The movie pales in comparison.

The 39 Clues - I finally finished reading all of the books that are in print. We've been enjoying this series a lot. The first part of the series (11 books) is really terrific and delightfully surprising in many ways (though it doesn't really get going until the 3rd or 4th book). It's a little harder to tell so far about the second series (there are only 2 books available so far of this series).

The Anatomy of Peace - Definitely a worthwhile read about how our attitudes towards others affect them and us. Basic premise is that we can achieve peace (on a small or a large scale) by treating people as people rather than objects. I agree!


In Progress -

The Mysterious Benedict Society - We are reading this aloud (about 1/4 of the way through the first book) and are loving it so far!!!
Work Hard, Be Nice  - Quite interesting so far! I always have a lot of Educational Theory books going, and the Kindle will be very handy for this, especially since usually no one else in the family reads them.

Cranford - Instantly engaging, but currently distracted by the Mysterious Benedict Society.

The Immigrant Advantage - A very intriguing book about customs that have been brought to America by different immigrant groups. I have to admit I got stuck on the education chapter and am planning on getting back to it soon.