Favorite Reads 2009

Ok, so I'm a little late on my 10 on Tuesday this week. No worries! I kept a list of all of the books I read in 09. Here, in no particular order, are my favorites:

1. Shanghai Girls Loved it! By the Lisa See who wrote Snow Flower and the Secret Fan which I also loved. Taught me a lot about the Chinese culture.
2. The Help Oh my gosh! So good! Just totally real and very interesting about the South in the early 1960's and the black women hired help and how they were treated.
3. The Book Thief Maybe my favorite. It's a very different book that is narrated by Death. Yep, you read that right. Set in Germany in WWII, it follows a young German girl and her foster family. Couldn't stop thinking about this one.
4. The Invisible Wall This is such a sweet wonderful true story. It is about a boy in England in the early 1900's. He lived down a street where on one side lived Jews and on the other Christians. Such a good book and I also loved his follow up The Dream. Coolest part: the author wrote both memoirs while in his 90's, he's still alive and he's working on book 3!
5. While Falling I really love Laura Moriarty and have read all of her books. This one didn't disappoint. She writes in a way that makes you feel you are living the story.
6. Her Fateful Symmetry Ok, this was totally different from the author's other book, The Time Traveler's Wife, and at first I wasn't sure, but it actually was really good. Very haunting.
7. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle Oh, come on, you've got to read this book. Really addictive. Even if you're not into dog breeding, it is so well written you can't put it down.
8. Hunting Eichmann Wow. This book was fascinating. You know I have a tiny thing for WWII and like to think of myself as an amatuer WWII buff. Eichmann was one of the biggest criminals in the killing of Jews. After the war he escaped to Argentina, and lived there about 20 years before being captured! Gave it to my Grandpa for his B-Day
9. Home Safe What can I say. I LOVE Elizabeth Berg. She writes what I feel, seriously. And I loved her newest novel.
10. Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents and the Language of Love This story just got to me. It was such a wonderful memoir about growing up with deaf parents.
So there you have it. Read some other pretty good ones like In the Heart of the Canyon Sarah's Key, Best Friends Forever, Plague of Lies. Hope to find some good ones like these this year!

Austen Birthday

Can you believe that Austen is 16 today!?? Yikes! I remember when I turned 16 and it seriously doesn't seem like I'm old enough to have one of those yet. These pictures were taken at his swim meet on Saturday. Pretty cute kid, don't you think? So in honor of my Ten on Tuesday, here are ten things about Austen:

1. He thinks he's smarter than the rest of us, and let's face it: he's probably right.

2. Austen is gifted musically. He can play the piano amazingly and he's one of the top trumpet players in band.

3. Austen is really into Harry Potter right now (ok, when was he not?) and has been having Harry Potter marathons with his friends

4. Austen really likes swimming and is very close to making districts in the 100 breast. He's only 4 seconds off, with two more meets to improve.

5. Austen is always willing to do whatever I ask him to do. He never gives me any attitude unlike a few other people that live in this house.

6. Austen is a very good big brother. He has a very special bond with Olivia, who has him wrapped around her little finger. She seriously can get him to do anything she wants.

7. Austen's other many interests include movie making, scuba diving, reading, camping and "real" hiking...the kind where you carry all of your food and bedding and go for a week.

8. Austen will give anything a try and is not discouraged easily. For instance, this year he ran for 10th grade boys' social chair and won! He also tried out for the school play and will be the priest and Baron Elberfeld in the production of the Sound of Music.

9. Austen has always made friends easily. He has a lot of friends and makes everyone feel comfortable.

10. And yes, Austen still seems to be growing. At 6'2 1/2" and with size 13 shoes, I'm beginning to wonder if he'll ever stop. Austen, we love you!

Ten on Tuesday

I'm going to try to post ten things every Tuesday that I'm thinking about currently. So for today...

• Will our ever hyper cat settle down?
• Looking forward to the new American Idol tonight. Ok, so sad to be excited for a TV show, but hey, it gets me through January!
• Currently reading "The Undaunted" by Gerald Lund. Good so far
• Trying to plan Time Out for Women for me and 7 friends in Spokane. It will be Apr 30-May 1.
• Wishing I could get rid of all of the crap that is taking over my house
• Thinking about my Mom...it's her birthday! and hoping she's doing ok.
• Hoping my girls' new dance studio works out. It's way cheaper and way more serious about ballet, but I feel guilty for leaving my old studio behind..since people from my ward owned it!
• Wondering when Steve will get here so we can go pick up the Durango from the shop. Broken fan=no heat. Fortunately we have the best mechanic ever!
• Thinking/praying about who should be my camp assistants.
• Feeling sore from my daily 3mile runs. Uh, gee, does this ever get any better?? And when will the soreness stop? Just wondering....

Monday

Look at me, posting like a regular blogger. Thanks for the few who viewed my hair..and claimed to like it. So far, no comment from my sister. Could be good, could be bad. Overall good reviews here and by email. So I will stay red for now.
Cat getting annoying. Wants to play constantly and won't hold still. Thank goodness the kids can throw yarn at her for hours and not get bored...me with my adult ADD and all, I can't take it. Yet somehow, when the kids got a bit tired of her, Braden said, "Um, Mom, is this OUR cat or YOUR cat?" a bit too hopefully. Uh, duh, it's your cat!! What about the crying, the begging, the pleading. Suddenly when things get rough the kids are more than ready to let the cat be mine. Hmm. Hope this doesn't continue....

Steve has not lost his mind...

Don't worry, Steve's still his normal self. He grew a beard for 2 weeks and did some creative shaving for some pictures. He was double dog dared to wear it to church and he refused! What up with that!?!
Will the Harris pet curse continue? Our cat that we loved so much, Tumnus, was hit by a car in December. Total tragedy. Steve says if the kids cry that much when he dies he'll be lucky! We miss him and it reminded me how I had 15-20 pets growing up that never lived to old age. All were either shot or run over or ran away (and probably shot.) Will this trend continue?? I was worn down again this weekend and we got another kitty, Lucy. She's very cute and I'm hoping she'll live to see her 3rd birthday. Sigh...

Redhead

This is going to be the year that I become a regular blogger! Seriously! But for now, here is a peek at my new red hair. I love it for a few reasons: 1. Cheaper by a lot 2. Faster by a lot 3. Different! Now I ask you, aren't these great reasons! I'm getting too old and too tired to keep making my hair five different blonde colors. I mean, seriously, my natural color is....who knows! But it ain't blonde anymore, honey!

Oh, and here's a peek at Steve's new look. Any guesses what's going on with the Steven?