Old Lessons Bite Back

You know sometimes how you learn a lesson once and think you're done? I've got to quit thinking that. For some reason, I need to learn my lessons 4, 5 or 6 times before they really sink in.

Take, for example, reading. I know I need to be reading. It's good for my head. I've stopped every once in awhile, either consciously or unconsciously (like when I was busy with school or other things), and it's never turned out well.

February has been a hard month. Nothing major, just a hard month. January was a hard month, what with the living at a hotel and worrying about my dad's health. Somewhere along the line, I stopped reading novels.

That's a bad idea for me. It makes the gerbils running the wheel in my head very unhappy.

I was reading other things. I read a few chapters of Gorgeously Green. I read Father Brown short-story mysteries. I read lots of articles in the Financial Times about how the world economy is unraveling (not sure if that helped me be informed or just fed the Spiral-of-Doom). I started several other books, off-and-on.

Despite the February book challenge, though, I had only finished one novel during the month of February until this week. (Don't worry, I'll donate to the American Heart Association more than that $5.)

It turns out that I had to admit again that I'm a happy-ending junkie. Plus, I need the escapism and exercise of the imagination that a fiction novel provides. (I may be stressed, but at least I'm not being chased by marauding pirates, right?)

So, I've learned my lesson again. I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm finishing reading my third romance novel of the week today. Yes, they can be brain candy and I shouldn't read an exclusive "diet" of them, but they do provide that immediate happy-ending fix. So far, they're straightening out my head. Next week, it's back to The Secret Garden and other books that I'll preview, review and discuss here.

Lesson learned -- again.

Paved With Good Intentions

I'm a sucker for turning over a new leaf. I actually love making New Year's Resolutions. I've been almost 2 months without a Diet Coke so far this year (huge challenge for me to cut off the Diet Coke I-V drip, by the way). I've already got mine planned for January 1, 2010. I think this all comes from the same part of my personality that believes the claims of the ads in the magazines and drugstores that buying X cosmetics will make me into a new, fabulous person.

This may have something to do with why I've latched on to Lent, even though I didn't grow up in a church that celebrated it. I still don't go to a church that makes a big deal of Lent, which is why last night I left my husband at home to go to a different church to get ashes on my forehead.

Don't worry, I didn't sneak into the Catholic church across town. I spent enough time at Notre Dame to know that's a no-no. The Episcopalians, though, are much less picky. I started going to an Episcopal church when I lived in London and found another one to attend in Kansas City. Now I've found a good one here in West Texas. (Yeah, I wasn't kidding about the moving around part of my profile.)

One of the things I love about this time of year is the idea of Lenten intentions. I have heard about giving things up for Lent before. I get the general idea of giving up something good to focus on something better. Thing is, I suck at giving things up. When I try it, the thing I can't have is all I think about -- which sort of defeats the purpose for things like this (and explains why I've been having Diet Coke dreams). The idea of focusing on an intention for improvement for 40 days -- that's right up my alley.

So this year my Lenten intention (and I'm just telling you because putting it out on the Internet should help me keep on track) is to stop my obsessive worrying about job and finance issues and focus on positive things instead.

I'm the first to believe that a little worry is a helpful thing. It makes you go back and check that the door is locked before you go to sleep. It encourages you to put something in savings instead of buying everything available at Target (not that I'd know anything about that). Problem is, I have a tendency to Spiral of Doom, where the worry goes from something reasonable, like "I could lose my job," to something unreasonable, like "I could be living under a bridge eating pigeons next month," in the blink of an eye. And then I spend the next hour or four thinking about how I don't like pigeons and don't want to eat them, no matter what the Food Network says about squab being a delicacy.

So, for the next 40 days, I'm working on replacing any panic I have about my work or finances with something positive -- planning for a new story or quilt or Bible verses about God being a provider. Because honestly, it's a little ridiculous to have faith on the big, end-of-the-world type issues and not believe that God can sort out my employment and financial situation.

Maybe it's just because my vision of the end-of-the-world doesn't involve pigeons.

Wordless Wednesday - Spring

I'm so ready for spring -- Easter, new growth, gardens -- all of that. Happy Ash Wednesday, to those celebrating.

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Teaser Tuesday - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Teaser Tuesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading. It asks us to:

(1) Grab our current reads.

(2) Let the book fall open to a random page.

(3) Share two teaser sentences from that page somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (avoiding spoilers).

We're also supposed to share the book title and author so others can find the book themselves.

Here's my teaser for today:

"She went down the path and through the second green door. There she found more walls and winter vegetables and glass frames, but in the second wall there was another green door and it was not open. Perhaps it led into the garden which no one had seen for ten years."

This teaser is from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the J.K. Rowlings of her day. I'm reading it to discuss at the end of March. Want to join in?

Monday Meme -- May I Have a Word

Melonie over at Momma (and More) posted this great meme for anyone to play along.

You have to do free word association with each of the following phrases:

Where is your cell phone ...............................right beside me
Your hair .........................................................curly, red, with a mind of its own
Your father .....................................................recovering nicely from recent heart troubles
Your favorite thing ........................................right now, my laptop
Your dream last night ...................................chasing / being chased by alligators and poisonous spiders (stressed, you think?)
Your favorite drink .......................................sweet dessert wine
Your dream/goal ...........................................to be self-sufficient
The room you are in ......................................home office
Your fear .........................................................irrelevancy
Where do you want to be in 6 years ...........West Texas
Muffins ............................................................blueberry
One of your wish list items ...........................McLeod's Daughters DVDs -- Season 2
Where you grew up .......................................Kansas City
The last thing you did ...................................watched an episode of the HBO John Adams mini-series on DVD
What are you wearing ..................................Jeans & a t-shirt
Your TV ......................................................... still warm from distracting me this morning
Your pets ........................................................none at the moment
Your computer ...............................................laptop
Your life ...........................................................being made up as I go along
Your mood ......................................................cautiously optimistic
Missing someone ............................................friends
Your car ...........................................................Firebird
Favorite store .................................................Amazon
Favorite color ..................................................blue
When is the last time you laughed ...............this morning
Last time you cried ........................................last week
People who e-mail you...................................family & friends
One of your favorite foods ............................pita & hummus
Place you would rather be right now ..........nowhere else

February / March Book Club Pick - The Secret Garden

Since we're already well into February (yes, I know, one might almost say "at the end of February" -- shhh) and March is going to be even more of a zoo, let's just combine book club for February and March to discuss at the end of March.

We talked about reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett for January, but I got distracted by The Winter Queen.

So, to make it up to the friend who was looking forward to reading TSG with her daughter (and not a Russian murder mystery), let's read The Secret Garden to talk about by March 19. (Meanwhile, I will try to find our garden under the giant snarl of weeds in the backyard. I will also attempt to move some roses without killing them!)

Book Preview - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

My brother recommended that I check out this re-telling of Pride and Prejudice as soon as it comes out.

I'm a little freaked out by the cover (and y'all know I judge a book by its cover), but the idea of Jane Austen (one of my favorites) combined with zombie humor (a la Shaun of the Dead) will probably be too much for me to resist.

(Especially with that dare from my little brother -- can't just ignore that!)

Wordless Wednesday - Circle of Chairs

In 2003 I went on a vacation with several girlfriends to Lagos, Portugal (not to be confused with Lagos, Nigeria, which I hear is not a nice place to vacation at all). Most of us didn't actually speak Portuguese, which ended up not being a problem as 90% of the town was full of English and Australian students.

To tell the cabdrivers where we were staying we used landmarks. One of our favorites was this circle of chairs sculpture:

Here's what they looked like after dark:

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Teaser Tuesday - Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris (2)

Teaser Tuesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading. It asks you to:

(1) Grab your current read.

(2) Let the book fall open to a random page.

(3) Share two teaser sentences from that page somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (avoiding spoilers).

We also need to share the book title and author so people can find it for themselves if they're hooked.

Here's my teaser for today:

'Was that a member of your form,' he said, 'dashing past us with his shirt untucked?'

'I'm sure it wasn't,' I lied. The New Head has an administrator's fixation on shirts, socks and other uniform trivia. He looked skeptical at my reply.

This teaser is from Gentlemen & Players, by Joanne Harris. (I was reading a collection of G.K. Chesterton short stories, but after back-to-back stories insulting Scots and Indians, I think it's time for a break.)

Happy Presidents' Day

Huge Valentine's Plans

This will be our first Valentine's Day after getting married last March. After the recent Dallas trip, we're getting back into our date-night routine. Tonight we're headed to the Magical HEB in Midland.

What is this "Magical HEB"? There's nothing "magical" about HEB? Shows what you know, my friend!

For those not living in Texas, HEB is a Texas-based grocery store chain. Because its headquarters is in San Antonio, more of their produce and products come from Texas, which works well for my half-assed attempt to eat locally produced food. (West Texas is more known for its cotton and oil, not food, but we're trying.)

We have an HEB in town. It's ok. It competes with the Super WalMart. Which is also ok. On a scale of 1-10, I'd say both rate about a 4.

The Magical HEB is in the 100,000-person town nearby. Most of the grocery stores in that town are also about a 4. The Magical HEB, though, is a 10. It could compete with the best grocery stores I've seen in Chicago and DC. Sushi at the deli. Wall of imported cheese. Rocking organic / health food section. OPI nail polish for $2.

So, tonight we're headed to see an early movie and then spend a couple of hours at the Magical HEB. Romantic, huh?

(Don't worry - the main reason for the big grocery store run is to get supplies for a gourmet dinner at home tomorrow, so its all part of a master plan.)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

Mini-Interview

Smash, over at Great Books and Fresh Coffee, tagged me for a mini-interview meme after Beth at BethFishReads tagged her with the same meme.

Unlike the usual meme, Smashed tailored this one just for me with TexasRed-specific questions. Here goes:

(Q1) Buffy&Angel, Buffy&Riley, or Buffy&Spike?

Hmmm, this is starting to sound too TexasRed-specific. Smash knows about my Buffy addiction because of our face-to-face last month. (Not to mention my own admissions here.) I also happen to know that Smash is a Buffy&Spike girl.

Me, I came into the Buffy story at Season 2 (with reruns to fill me in on Season 1). A big part of my introduction to the Jossverse was the Eternal Lurve story between Buffy and Angel. High school sophomore and 200-year-old vampire with a soul? I'll buy into that. What could possibly go wrong? (This is also the reason why I hated the "St. Cordelia" storylines when they showed up on Angel several years later.)

As for Buffy&Riley? I didn't hate Riley (although I did hate the GI Joe storylines that went along with him). To me he just always felt like the safe, nice guy you date at age 19 after your heart's been broken for the first time. He's the guy you should love, but it's just never quite right. Its interesting, too that he seemed more boring when he was dating Buffy than when he was on his own. Loved the episode when he came back to visit with his wife. I think one of the things about good relationships for me is that they make each participant a better person and that you don't have to talk yourself into them.

The Buffy&Spike storylines were too much about self-punishment for me. Lots of sex with someone you don't like / respect just to feel alive. There was some taking care of the baby sister and saving the world stuff, but it just always felt kind of dirty to me (and not in a good way).

Final Answer? Buffy&Angel

(Q2) What's it like being a redhead?

Hee. Everyone's got their own opinion of redheads. It's kind of funny to hear what people "know" about redheads' tempers or outspokenness.

My mom is a redhead, as were both my grandfathers. I know my mom had trouble as a redhead growing up with teasing from classmates. She was living in a relatively small town in Missouri. The Irish & Scottish immigrants who moved to that area for a hundred years or so were poor farmers.

On the other hand, the Irish immigrants in Kansas City, Chicago and Notre Dame created a stereotype of people who are often witty, temperamental, and politically connected.

I had a very different experience when I was living in London. Turns out there's still a pretty strong anti-Irish sentiment there for the unskilled workers who came over after World War 2 and the bombings related to Irish independence.

Final Answer: I love it. It's part of my family history and experiences. (Also, I'm the only not-natural redhead in my family, but that's a different story.)

(Q3) Do you have any pets?

Not at the moment. I had a rabbit, named Panda, until this past summer. I got Panda right after I got my first grown-up apartment. In fact, pet-friendly was part of my apartment search criteria. That was in 2001. Panda lived with me through a few apartments until I moved in with a friend of mine in Chicago.

At that point, I needed to decide which roommate to keep because the idea of a critter inside a small Chicago apartment was not so welcome. I found Panda a good home with my friend, we'll call her McGhee, and her sons. Panda lived with them until I got settled in Texas this past year.

At that point he came back to live with me. My husband was initially skeptical, but became a big fan of a rabbit who had the run of the yard and came to us for petting and treats without a leash or full-time cage. Panda lived to a ripe old age of seven and then died this summer. He's buried in the backyard now. At some point I'll be ready for another pet. Maybe this spring.

Final Answer: Not right now, check back in a few months.

(Q4) What author do you aspire to write like?

Ideally, I would love to write with the unlimited imagination of Charles de Lint, the love stories Katie MacAllister, the social commentary of Jane Austen, and the belief in human goodness and ultimate redemption of Madeline L'Engle and C.S. Lewis.

Final Answer: Umm... All my favorites?

(Q5) Who is your favorite literary villain and why?

Villains, huh? Usually I gravitate so much to the heroes that the villains only register as a foil for to show the splendidness of the heroes. Going to have to think about this one.

It seems like recently I read about protagonists where the "villain" is their own character flaws or circumstances that arise on their own.

When I think of real, actual villains though, I go back to the Disney stories. In particular, I think of Maleficient, the evil fairy godmother in the 1959 version of Sleeping Beauty. I realize it's a movie and not a book -- at least not the adaptation I remember. She's just so purely evil. She hates a baby. She tries to literally consume the good prince. She has horns and a raven. To me she's the ultimate villain.

Final Answer: Maleficient, from Sleeping Beauty

So, that's my interview. Not so mini, I guess. That's what happens when you get me together with questions, a keyboard, and a glass of wine.

How about you? Would you like your own set of interview questions? If so, leave me a message in the comments below asking for one.

Wordless Wednesday - Dust Storm

Growing up in the midwest, I'm used to spring thunderstorms. I'm not used to the dust storms that happen in West Texas when the cotton fields have been plowed, but not yet planted.

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Teaser Tuesday - G. K. Chesterton

Teaser Tuesday is brought to you by Should Be Reading. To play along:

(1) Grab your current read;

(2) Let the book fall open to a random page; and

(3) Share two "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (avoiding spoilers).

You also need to give the title of the book so we can follow up and check it out if we're hooked by the teaser.

Here's my teaser for today:

"The priest had snatched a day from his business at Glasgow to meet his friend Flambeau, the amateur detective, who was at Glengyle Castle with another more formal officer investigating the life and death of the late Earl of Glengyle. That mysterious person was the last representative of a race whose valour, insanity,a nd violent cunning had made them terrible even among the sinister nobility of their nation in the sixteenth century."

It's from The Innocence and Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton. It's a collection of short story mysteries with the sleuth as a British Catholic priest named Father Brown. Father Brown is always described as short and round and moon-faced and seems a bit simple until he bursts out with random statements that lead to him solving the case.

Admitted Buffy Fan -- Death's Daughter by Amber Benson

Ok, I admit it. I was/ am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love the witty banter and the sci-fi analogies to real life (especially high school being hell). I liked the characters and storylines.

When I was in school out in Indiana, we couldn't get the channel Buffy was on in our dorm rooms, so had to watch it in the common areas of the school, like the lounge, and try to control the TVs when people on break from the evening classes wanted to come down to check the sports scores between classes. (Luckily one of the professors watched with us and usually solved that problem. Another professor quoted Buffy in class lectures occasionally -- gotta love that.)

Anyway, I still pay attention when creator Joss Whedon puts out something new because I've enjoyed his other work. I read most of "Season 8" of Buffy in comic book form. I downloaded Doctor Horrible from iTunes this summer. I'll watch Dollhouse when it premiers this week.

I also pay attention to work former Buffy cast-mates are doing. I had no idea, though, until SciFiGuy published a preview that former Buffy actress Amber Benson has her debut urban fantasy novel, Death's Daughter, coming out at the end of February. Definitely need to check that out.

Books for the Heart

I heard about this challenge from A Reader's Respite, who got it from 1morechapter. They are both taking the opportunity this February to raise money for the American Heart Association and challenging us to do the same (or to fundraise for your local heart health organization).

Last month we made a run up to Missouri to visit my parents. I love visiting my parents, but this was not a typical visit.

My father had gone to the cardiologist for a stress test and the doctor hadn't liked what he saw. He ended up having an angiogram and having a stent inserted in one of his arteries. We left about 3am on Friday morning to drive up. We arrived about half an hour after my mom retrieved my dad from the hospital. In his case, this process ended up being a blessing in disguise. The blockage where they inserted the stent was at 80%. There were two others at 30%. Any of these could have caused a heart attack if not treated. My father's father and both my grandfather's parents died from heart attacks. Without the doctor's intervention, that could have been my father, too.

This isn't the only heart-related health concerns in my family, but it is the most recent and the biggest incentive for me to participate in the Books for the Heart reading event. There are lots of ways to participate. You can donate in a loved one's name. You can donate a set amount. You can donate an amount per book or per page. The original version of this challenge runs from February 1 - 14. Since I'm getting started late, I'm going to commit to donating $5 for each book I read during the month of February.

Will you join in this event?

He's Just Not That Into You Widget

Punctuation Police

Over in the UK, Birmingham's city council is fed up with fielding complaints and queries about the punctuation on their city signs and has decided to resolve the situation by just deleting all apostrophes from city signs.

Click here for the full story, which I first heard about over at Ready Steady Blog.

In a funny way, the fact that there are enough people complaining that it has become a problem for the city makes me feel less weird for wanting to say something whenever I see apostrophes out of place here. (I still feel a little guilty, though, for all those times I've been distracted by bad punctuation in the church bulletin.)

Wordless Wednesday - Gem Mining

In 2007 we went to North Carolina to go gem mining. This is a picture of the aquamarines we found (as well as a Civil War shot and other stones):

This is how they ended up (as my wedding jewelry):

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Teaser Tuesday - Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris

Teaser Tuesday is brought to you by Should Be Reading. To play along:

(1) Grab your current read;

(2) Let the book fall open to a random page; and

(3) Share two "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12 (Please avoid spoilers).

We're also supposed to give the title of the book so people can follow up and check it out if they're hooked by the teaser.

My Teaser:

"There must be a thousand boys at the school. No one -- noteven the Head-- could be expected to know tham all. Better still, I had all the precious tradition of St. Oswald's on my side; no one had ever heard of such a deception as mine. No one would ever suspect such an outrageous thing."

From Gentlemen & Players, by Joanne Harris.

E-mail from the President

So, its the beginning of a new era. The President has a Blackberry and has direct e-mail access to millions of Americans. Today, President Obama reached out to the mailing list by e-mail in support of the stimulus package.

Here's what the e-mail looks like:

The economic crisis is growing more serious every day, and the time for action has come.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will jumpstart our economy and put more than 3 million people back to work.

I hope to sign the recovery plan into law in the next few weeks. But I need your help to spread the word and build support.

It's not enough for this bill to simply pass Congress. Americans need to know how it will affect their lives -- they need to know that help is on the way and that this administration is investing in economic growth and stability.

Governor Tim Kaine has agreed to record a video outlining the recovery plan and answering questions about what it means for your community. You can submit your questions online and then invite your friends, family, and neighbors to watch the video with you at an Economic Recovery House Meeting.

Join thousands of people across the country by hosting or attending an Economic Recovery House Meeting this weekend.

The stakes are too high to allow partisan politics to get in the way.

That's why I've consulted with Republicans as well as Democrats to put together a plan that will address the crisis we face.

I've also taken steps to ensure an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Once it's passed, you will be able to see how every penny in this plan is being spent.

You can help restore confidence in our economy by making sure your friends, family, and neighbors understand how the recovery plan will impact your community.

Sign up to host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting and submit your question for the video now:http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

Our ability to come together as a nation in difficult times has never been more important.

I know I can rely on your spirit and resolve as we lead our country to recovery.

Thank you,
President Barack Obama

P.S. -- If you can't host or attend an Economic Recovery House Meeting, you can still submit your questions for Governor Kaine and then share the video with your friends and family this weekend.

Learn more here: http://my.barackobama.com/recovery

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Unfortunately, according to Phil, we're headed for another 6 weeks of winter.

Of course, that's still better than having the same Groundhog Day over and over.