mom and cologne cathedral

I wish I could have visited Cologne Cathedral with my mom. That would have been fun. Maybe another time...

house on mango street

One of the cute MMs recommended that I read House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This MM had to read it for her high school summer reading, and I was interested to learn why it was a required reading. It seems like the English reading requirements have changed a lot since I graduated from high school.

This book is a really quick read; I think I read it in less than two hours. The book is comprised of a bunch of vignettes, written from the perspective of a teenage girl in inner-city Chicago. Cisneros is a really creative writer who uses poignant description and interesting word combinations. The flow of this book is also interesting too, since she doesn't use any quotation marks when people speak.

I really liked the 25th anniversary edition that I read, because it contains an introduction by Cisneros that was written in 2008. Cisneros reminisces about her experience writing House in the 1980s. I especially liked her discussion of how each vignette would end. She said that "the stories always insist on telling me where they want to end. They often surprise me by stopping when I had every intention of galloping along a little further. They're subborn. They know best when there's no more to be said. The last sentence must ring like the final notes at the end of a marachi song - tan tán - to tell you when the song is done." (Second Vintage Contemporaries Edition, 2009, p. xxii).

If anyone is looking for a quick and easy read, I'd suggest this book. Has anyone else read it? Were you required to read this book in high school?

the book thief

This week I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I meant to read this book a few months ago, and thanks to Alicia's recommendation in an earlier post, I was reminded of my earlier intention.

This book is about a girl in Nazi Germany who has an obsession with words and reading. She steals books wherever she can find them: book-burnings, the mayor's house, a graveyard. The story revolves around the people in her life and how they are affected by World War II.

This book is great. The thing I like the most is that Zusak is very clever in his writing - he pairs up words and phrases that aren't normally used together, but somehow they fit perfectly. I knew I was going to like this book when I read these sentences early in the story: "Eventually, Liesel Meminger walked gingerly inside. Hans Hubermann had her by one hand. Her small suitcase had her by the other" (p. 28).

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. This is a good book for anyone who loves words/books, is interested in Nazi Germany, or likes clever writing.

Has anyone else read The Book Thief? What did you think?

don knotts

This past weekend, while watching Don Knotts on the Muppet Show, I discovered that J was not familiar with Don Knotts. I was shocked. But now that I think about it, maybe I am the anomaly. Do you know who Don Knotts is? Did you ever watch any of his television shows or movies?

As a kid, I would watch Don Knotts on "The Andy Griffith Show" reruns. I think my favorite show with Knotts, though, is The Incredible Mr. Limpet (see promo photograph above). I often wondered if this movie was made to compete with Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, since both movies were musicals, incorporated cartoons with human actors, and had plots which revolved around World War II. I guess that can't be the case, since Limpet was made in 1964, and Bedknobs was made in 1971. However, I realized this morning that Limpet could have been the Warner Bros. competition for Disney's Mary Poppins, which was also released in 1964. Mary Poppins also is a musical and incorporates live action with cartoons.

On a side note, a new version of The Incredible Mr. Limpet is scheduled to come out in 2011. Johnny Depp is rumored to be working on the film, I assume as Henry Limpet's character. It sounds like it might be fun.

Anyhow, for those of you who haven't seen Don Knotts before, this is a funny clip from The Ghost and Mr. Chicken:



What's your favorite Don Knotts film?

the wanderchew

Sam eats plenty of food in his highchair, but he really loves to walk around the house and munch at the same time. If I hand him a cracker or snack, he'll immediately take off so that he can eat it while he roams around. I've started to call this his "wanderchew." Let's hope that Sam's inclination to roam means that he is a wanderlust - we want to take him on a lot of road trips!

Here are pictures of the wanderchew (which have been taken at multiple points today):

Yes, I realize that he's chewing with his mouth open. Sorry if you're grossed out. But isn't that a happy face?

More intense chewing.

sam likes transportation

Sam loves anything that involves transportation and vehicles. Here are some pictures from this week:

Sam played in his little boat at the mall for about 15 minutes.
He's making propeller noises while looking at the camera.

Sam and his buddy Jack rode in this little train today.
As soon as I put in the quarter in the machine slot, I took this shot of Sam's reaction. He was amazed that the train could actually move.

The helicopter was cool too, but not quite as cool as the train. Our train rides outnumbered the helicopter with a 3:1 ratio.

current thoughts

These are the things I've been thinking about lately:

• Couponing. My friend Joanna has just started to get into couponing, and I've taken some very meager steps to keep up with her. We definitely need to spend as little as possible, so maybe couponing is the answer. I have to admit, though, that couponing can really stress me out. It takes so much energy to figure out the good deals, find/cut the coupons, drive around to multiple stores, buy enough food within our budget, etc. I hear crazy stories about how people feed their family of 12 for only $30 a week, but I don't think I'll ever be that great at couponing. I think my real issue is that I hardly ever find coupons for things that I need. Bah! Why aren't there more coupons for essential things, like milk and bread?
  
• The customs regulations for bringing medicine/drugs into the United States from Canada. (This has to do with my mom and her treatments. By the way, my mom is flying to Germany to (hopefully) undergo a new treatment there. Pretty crazy, huh?)
• My thesis. I've been rethinking parts of my argument, mostly because of the article that I'm preparing for publication. I think I need to take different stance on an issue; I am starting to be swayed by a counterargument. Yikes. It's kind of funny that I'm changing my stance now, especially since I defended my thesis over a year ago. Anyhow, this means I'll need to tweak a few important paragraphs. I hope that my argument can still appear strong and valid.
• I need to start waking up early (as in, waking up earlier than Sam). It seems like I can't get very much stuff done during Sam's naps. I need more time for myself and my projects. And maybe if I start waking up earlier, then I'll be able to fall asleep better at night. I'm tired (literally!) of lying in bed, waiting to doze off.