Friday Fiction Fiend #4- Meet Katie

My cousin Katie & I have lived on opposite sides of the county our whole lives, still do. Luckily, summers & family reunions have brought us together again and again, picking up right where we left off. I adore her. She is honest, giving, & such an interesting person. I am endlessly grateful for Facebook & blogs so I can constantly reconnect with & live vicariously through her.

Speaking of her blog, you'll love it. I look forward to every post she does. She's always honest. Always real. And always has amazing pictures of her life & adorable babies.

And speaking of photography, she is an unbelievable photographer who will take family/ individual pictures & all her proceeds goes to charity. Yeah, she's awesome like that.

And speaking of awesome, here she is share a couple of her favorite books with us. Check out her picks & stop on by her blog to say hi!

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Welcome to my bedroom. This is where I get my best reading done – lamp on, snuggled under the blankets, ceiling fan blowing overhead. It is my luxury after a long day, a treat to look forward to before sleep comes and brings a new day and all the responsibilities that go with it.

Some of my favorite books over the last year or so have been books that lift me up at the end of a long day – books that give me that little boost to believe that I live in a beautiful world and that I am going to make that world even better when I wake up.

1. 1 Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery

My blog is called “Ingleside,” my daughter’s middle name is Anne, and my hometown is Blythe, CA. I had to give a shout out to this book, right? Once every year or two I reread this classic, and it is has shaped my life just as much as any dear childhood friend. About far more than Gilbert and Anne’s love-hate relationship, this book is full of poignantly human characters and achingly gorgeous scenery. You will breathe Prince Edward Island air and stroll down Lover’s Lane and wrap yourself in Anne’s dream to have a place in the world where she is loved and understood.

Read this book before bed and you will fall asleep believing you that will find kindred spirits where you least expect them, and that tomorrow is a brand new day, with no mistakes in it.

2. 2 Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall

Let’s get something straight. I am not a runner. I have never made a little bucket list with “run a marathon” on it. I have zip, zero, NO desire to run anything more than a few miles at a time. This is a book about ultrarunners – runners who go for 25, 50, 100 mile jaunts across deserts and up mountains –and I loved it. The author weaves story after story together into an entertaining and epic tale of the human body and spirit.

Read this book before bed and you will fall asleep believing that you are strong, that your body is an incredible creation, and that you are capable of so much more. You may even dream about running a marathon.

3. 3 Palace of Stone, by Shannon Hale

This is a just-released sequel to Princess Academy, which I definitely recommend you read before picking up this one. Don’t be fooled by the titles – these aren’t your typical wear-a-tiara and learn-to-dance princess stories. There is romance, but it is patient, and is buffeted by a much larger theme of looking at the world around you and using your talents and situation to better it. Shannon Hale’s writing felt a little too simplistic to me in the beginning of this book, but I found a purpose and depth to the writing as the story progressed, and by the end, I was awed by how beautifully she crafted the whole story.

Read this book before bed and you will want to wake your daughter up to read it aloud to her. You will fall asleep thinking of all the great things you are going to do tomorrow.

4. 4 Heaven Is Here, by Stephanie Nielson

I have followed Stephanie Nielson’s blog The Nie Nie Dialouges for 4 ½ years. When I was nine months pregnant with my son Oliver, I was up late one night, unable to sleep, and I hopped on her blog to find a post written by her sister telling us all that Stephanie had been in a plane crash. Like many of you, I followed the story of her recovery closely. When she wrote a book about her experience, I didn’t expect to read anything new. I was wrong. Stephanie tells her story simply, and there is nothing artistic or memorable about the writing itself, but the story is remarkable, touching, and for me, faith-promoting.

Read this book before bed and you will say a prayer to thank God for all you have, you will sneak into your kids’ rooms to whisper “I love you” in their ear, and you will fall asleep curled up next to your husband, remembering that he is the love of your life.

5. 5 Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicolas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

This is a book that I want to hand to every person I know. It undertakes a heavy task – telling the story of oppression of women and girls across the globe. It is depressing and heartbreaking and shocking, and most important, it is provoking. It will provoke your heart and your mind, and you will find yourself looking for solutions right along with the authors.

Read this book before bed and you might lose a little sleep, but sometimes that is a good thing, right?

Reality Check

I like to think that my blog is a fair representation of my life. I'm pretty much an open book- on my blog & in real life. But the other day someone said something about how "prefect" my life was- a friend who knows me in real life & reads my blog. I laughed out loud.

Don't get me wrong, I have an awesome life. A life I wouldn't switch with anyone else. But let's all be honest with each other, no life is perfect. Perfect for me, but not "prefect".

So, in the spirit of my lovely cousin Katie's "Keepin' it Real Wednesday", behold REALITY:

Exhibit A:

See that lawn? That's my lawn. The ghettoest (that SO a word) on the block. Our roses hopefully distract from the brown weedy patches but, yeah, it's my lawn. In our defense, we're putting in a sprinkler system this summer so we have to dig up the lawn anyway & it was terrible to begin with, so we've kind of let it do what it wanted. Apparently what it wanted was to die.

Exhibit B:

My baby is REALLY cute (evidence here, here, & here) but you know what? There's a good chunk of the time he looks like this.

Exhibit C:

Our dining room table in its current condition. That folded laundry at one end (hey, at least it's folded), a discarded game of Monopoly Deal, & the remains of the dinner I fed my family- Taco Bell (a sick mama does what she has to do, including Taco Bell).

EXHIBIT D:

This is what Rob's room typically looks like. Not exactly a disaster, I like to think of it as creative expression- just look at those complicated "towers" (he calls them) & lined up "guys" (also a Bearto-ism). I usually don't have the heart to tell him to tear them down right away so they stay like this a lot of the time.

EXHIBIT E:

Me, no makeup (which isn't far off normal for me- I don't wear much). Which really didn't turn out as dark circle-y as I look in real life- but check out that pulled back mom hair, Scott t-shirt, & broken blind in the background. And what is with that mirror? Didn't I JUST stinking "Spring Clean"?

EXHIBIT F:

My sink as it currently resides. No words need be used. That is all.

And there it is, my friends. I'm not even embarrassed. You know why? Because it's real life. And I think we honestly do each other a disservice if we pretend that our lives are prefect, manicured, & put together at all times. Heaven knows, that if you know me in real life I am one of the least put together people you've ever met.

Creative? Occasionally.
Fun? Possibly.
Entertaining? I like to think so.
Put together? Not in a million years.

Make Your Own Snowflake!

I saw this make-your-own Snow Flake online on my cousin Katie's blog! It inspired me to make a whole bunch of snow flakes out of paper for our Christmas tree (since we don't have a lot of ornaments right now) They are just so pretty!

Swag Bag giveaway WINNERS!

Okay guys, We have our winners!

Sorry it took me so long to get these drawn but the holiday got in the way! To make up for it, the kids drew one extra name...

And the winners are...

Holly Pike, Cindy, the Royal Family, Katie, the Bills Family, & Joan

Hooray for all the winners! Email me (its on the right side of my blog) with your address & I'll send the goodies along.

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Pre-Teen Crushes

A while ago my cousin Katie blogged about being at a play & seeing the guy who played Gilbert in the Anne of Green Gables movies. I was floored- I remember having the biggest crush on him when I was young! It got me thinking about the boys I thought were cute when I was a pre-teen. People like Jonathan Brandis (does anyone remember him?), or Rider Strong (from Boy Meets World). Who did you girls have crushes on when you were 11 or 12?

Stocking Stuffers #11

My cousin Katie mentioned that she needs some magnets for her fridge & she wants to ask for them for Christmas. Her husband thinks that asking for magnets is a lame & domestic gift. But I think if you get the right magnet it could be terribly cute.

Idea #1: Get them something they'd enjoy. No kittens for Mrs. Carter- I love these gnome magnets for example.

Idea #2: Design your own. This website offers to make custom orders of 10 or more (cute for birth announcements). You can also buy magnet paper you can print from your home laser printer.

Idea #3: Funny magnets are great. Nothing with the words poop or fart on my fridge but something a little more classy. I like these Anne Taintor magnets.

Idea #4: I saw this in RealSimple Magazine & I love the idea. Find some cheesey small frames, paint them pretty colors, line them in magnets along the back and you have instant frames to go around any picture you want on your fridge. VERY NEAT!

Birth

The kids & I had a really neat experience the other day. I got a call from my sister-in-law Kristal's totally rad family saying that their cat was giving birth & asked if the kids wanted to come watch.

I stopped for a second & thought, "Do I want them to see that?" but the thing is I'm glad they got to experience it. We're not a very agrarian society anymore. A few generations ago kids saw animals being born regularly & we don't get those chances much anymore.

So, THANKS to Kristal's family for providing the chance for me (it was my first time too) & the kiddos to watch the miracle. Plus we were all gaga for the kittens who were sweet little mew-y things (just look at the one with it's arm around it's sibling).

P.S. And speaking of birth, a shout out to my cousin, Katie, who just had her baby today! Pop on by her blog & see the new addition to their sweet family.

Sunday Family- May 20

Hello All!

Today was a crazy day- aren't Sunday's supposed to be a day of rest? Because, peoples, it ain't:
- Rob had to give a little talk at our church, in Primary (he was freaking, but did excellent).
- Scott had his first day of teaching the 8 year olds (a raucous age).
- I visited with some church ladies (a highlight of my day because I adore them).
- We had friends over for dinner (I made some killer guacamole).
- And to top of the night, we enjoyed a solar eclipse (I spent most of my time worried everyone would go blind).

And a couple lovelies from my browsing last week:
- My cousin Katie (who is simply an amazing person & has a fabulous blog) just launched a photography business where all the proceeds go to charity. Check out the site here!
- Instaragams + stickers = pure genius!
- I kinda want to try out "daily" fake lash use- crazy talk or totally awesome?
- In love this wishbone necklace.

Alright friends, hope you all have a fab week! We've got bunches going on with it being the kiddos last week before summer. I cannot wait.

P.S. The winner of the awesome IN GOOD TASTE cookbook giveaway is MANDI & ADAM!

Back to School GOODIES!

1. Love the idea of giving a back-to-school gift to your kiddos & love this wrapping
2. Cute clips
3. Love this backpack (I almost got it for Syd but she needs a bag that can hold a piece of paper & these backpacks are unfortunately too small)
4. Love these print out signs (with the date on it too)
5. My lovely friend, Rachel, has been doing adorable bento box lunches for her kids- when it's time for Syd & Rob to have lunches I'm SO doing this!
6. My cousin Katie does fun back to school family nights/dinners with her boys. Love it!
7. Tote bags for little ones
8. An ADORABLE pattern to make your own toddler backpack
9. Groovy shirts for your back-to-school kids

Passing on the Joy of Reading

"Mom will you read me a grown up book?" Sydney asked tonight holding out a pink bound book. We'd been running around all day long & I'd had a "crazy children kind of day" and wanted everyone IN BED as soon as possible, but looking at her holding up one of my very favorite childhood books (a condensed for young readers version) & I couldn't say no.

The first time I read Anne Of Green Gables was my first summer away from my parents. My cousin Katie & I spent a few weeks with my Nana in the small town of Monticello, Utah. There was a tiny library in the middle of town that we could walk to & pick up a pile of books.

After we'd gone to the local craft store, walked around the cemetery, & picked raspberries out of Nana's yard there wasn't much left to do but read. And these books... oh my... I devoured every single page. Then decided that I was meant to marry Gilbert, was determined to visit this lovely mystical place called Canada someday, & I found a kindred spirit in Anne when she said, "People laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them."

So, though I was exhausted I sat with Syd, Linc perched on my lap, & cracked it open. I thought maybe Syd was too young to really enjoy or understand the story but we blew through the first chapter & Syd nestled the book mark at the beginning of Chapter 2 smiling to herself. Under her breath she whispered, "I can't wait to read more tomorrow."

And I smiled back saying, "Yup, I know exactly how you feel."