Happy Summer Vacation!

So ... it's been a few days since I've checked in ... I've actually ended up subbing the last week or so of school for the most part! Tomorrow, I believe, is the last day of school in Ontario. And on that score, I want to take this time to wish my student and teacher friends a very, very happy Summer break. I hope it's as relaxing or exciting, chill or adventuresome, as you could hope for. Lots coming down the pike for the fall and I can't wait to get back into the game ... but I'm also looking forward o the fun and joy the summer brings. Hope it is blessed and blessing for everyone.

BOOK ONE DOWN

I've knocked my first book off this list, yay! :) It was HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, by J.K. Rowling. FULL DISCLOSURE: I have already read this book, but re-read it as it has been a long while, and the rest of the series was on my list. This is also true of the next book in the series, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, but I will remind once I add that to my list of completed books. Please see below for a review.

1. Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris
2. The Last Week - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
3. Speaking Christian - Why Christian Words Have Lost their Meaning - Marcus J. Borg
4. The Spiral Staircase - Karen Armstrong
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
6. jPod - Douglas Coupland
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. We Need to Talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
27. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. 1066 and All That; A Memorable History of England - W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman
31. Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
36. The Holy Bible - Various
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
43. The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
47. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
48. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
56. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
58. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
59. The Trial - Franz Kafka
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. The Man Who Made Us - Richard Gwyn
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. Nation Maker - Richard Gwyn
66. The United Church of Canada: A History - Don Schweitzer (ed.)
67. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
85. Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Lynne Truss
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
87. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
98. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
100. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

What can I say - the Potter series is a classic and I've enjoyed the first installment featuring the gang of Hogwarts. This is the series that made reading cool again, and with the wave since then of tween and teen fantasy series' - Twilight, the Hunger Games, etc. - it obviously has made its mark on the Young Adult genre. You have to read it to believe it, a description or words won't do it justice.

Happy Father's Day ...

To my dad, my step-dad, and my father-in-law: all three of these men are so different in so many ways, yet all are strong men of character who work hard, love much, and who I know I can count on at any time. You three have brought so much to my life, and to the lives of my kids, I can't even begin to say 'thank you'. Many people are lucky to have one good father figure in their lives. I'm so blessed that I have three.

To Ari: I couldn't have picked a better father for my kids ... you are attentive, loving, and patient with them in ways I wish I could match sometimes. :) It is great to know, in a world where so often so much falls on moms, that I have a true partner who pulls his weight - and sometimes then some! - in parenting.

And lastly, to my grandpa: I have always called him on Father's Day, and this will be my first year I can't. But I hope he knows I loved him as much as any man on this list, and he has as much to do with the woman I am today as anyone. I still love and miss him every day.

Neil Patrick Harris Tells it Like it Is ...

In this amazing opening number for last night's Tony awards ceremony. A must-see for all Broadway lovers. Life WOULD be better if it were more like theatre.

101 Books in 1001 Days, Round 2

So for those who didn't notice, June 5 2012 was my deadline to complete reading 101 books. I didn't succeed, although it did motivate me to read more than I have in awhile, at 29 books over roughly 3 years. With two kids, work etc. - you guys have seen how that's impacted my blogging - I'd say that's a pretty good rate. And to keep myself motivated to read consistently, I want to do it again. Please note the next 3-years-or-so's list might be a bit 'cheaty' as I'm going to keep any book I didn't complete as a goal, but I've started several of them. But hey, it's my own challenge to myself, the goal is more to keep reading than to hit some magic number, so it's all good. :)

My new book list, to be completed by March 7, 2015, is ...

1. Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris
2. The Last Week - Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan
3. Speaking Christian - Why Christian Words Have Lost their Meaning - Marcus J. Borg
4. The Spiral Staircase - Karen Armstrong
5. A History of God - Karen Armstrong
6. jPod - Douglas Coupland
7. Beloved - Toni Morrison
8. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
9. We Need to Talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
10. The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory
11. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
12. The Six Wives of Henry the 8th - Alison Weir
13. Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
14. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling
15. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
16. The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien
17. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
22. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
23. Dracula - Bram Stoker
24. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
25. The Inferno - Dante
26. Towelhead - Alicia Erian
27. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
28. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald
29. The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood
30. 1066 and All That; A Memorable History of England - W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman
31. Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom
32. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
33. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
34. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
35. Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
36. The Holy Bible - Various
37. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
38. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
39. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
40. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
41. Deception Point - Dan Brown
42. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
43. The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman
44. Lolita - Vladimir Nobokov
45. Atonement - Ian McEwan
46. All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
47. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
48. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
49. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
50. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
51. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
52. Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
53. White Noise - Don De Litto
54. Their Eyes were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
55. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

56. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
57. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
58. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
59. The Trial - Franz Kafka
60. Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlasser
61. The Man Who Made Us - Richard Gwyn
62. Memoirs - Pierre Trudeau
63. Shake Hands with the Devil - Romeo d'Allaire
64. Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
65. Nation Maker - Richard Gwyn
66. The United Church of Canada: A History - Don Schweitzer (ed.)
67. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
68. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
69. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams
70. Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
71. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish - Douglas Adams
72. Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
73. Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert
74. The Manticore - Robertson Davies
75. World of Wonders - Robertson Davies
76. The Donnellys - James Reaney
77. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
78. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
79. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
80. Not Wanted on the Voyage - Timothy Findlay
81. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
82. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
83. The Crucible - Arthur Miller
84. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
85. Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Lynne Truss
86. Sorbonne Confidential - Laurel Zuckerman
87. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
88. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick
89. Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
90. The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
91. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
92. The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
93. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
94. Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice
95. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
96. The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
97. Guys and Dolls - Damon Runyon
98. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
99. He's Just Not that Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo, Lauren Monchik
100. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
101. Jesus for the Non-Religious - John Shelby Spong

The Big 3-0

So if you're wondering where I've been the past week-ish, here's your explanation. On top of the usual 'Life as a busy wife and working mother of two is hectic', I had weekend guests and a birthday party to plan for myself, as well as a gardening date with my mother (THANK YOU! the yard looks awesome). However one of my resolutions going forward at the ripe young age of 30 is it's about time I develop some 'lifehacking' skills, Ari calls them. I enjoy writing, love writing, miss it when I don't, appreciate it when I do, but life gets so far away from me sometimes that when I actually get a chance to sit down, a brainless book or a silly TV show seems a more realistic goal of how to spend my time lol.

However, among many resolutions for the coming decade (among them - keep a healthy working car for more than 2 years ... get a permanent, close-to-full-time job ... have one more child ... become a better housekeeper) is to keep up with my blogs. I see from my newsfeed people read me, and I want to make it a fun place for you guys to come. So please consider from here on out - especially through the summer months where I'm down to 1-2 jobs instead of 3, my efforts here redoubled, with thanks for your patience and in hopes I haven't lost too many of you to my lack of diligence during a scary ridiculous busy first half of 2012 (starting a year, any year, with a car accident and a month-long illness, at least you know it can't get worse, right? but busier it can get). If I HAVE lost you and you're just checking back in in hopes maybe my head has been removed from other less attractive body parts - it has. Stay tuned. For the best is yet to come.

Enjoying the view from Dirty Thirty. Love to all.