The Pilgrimage to Green Gables

"It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?" --Anne Shirley

We had an absolutely delightful time exploring the property that inspired L.M. Montgomery to create the Anne series. The house and property were her cousins, and she stayed with her grandparents across the road. The house was decorated to represent things like "Matthew's room," "Marilla's room" (complete with amethyst broach on the dresser), and of course, "Anne's room." Yes, these are fictional characters so they aren't really their rooms, but we did not care! And neither did any of the other Anne fans who journey there every year ha!

The house is part of the PEI National Park, and thanks to Canada's birthday this year, was free entry, as well as the other places like Cavendish Beach: where you see the classic PEI coastline of red sand dunes and cliffs. Thanks, and happy birthday, Canada! My advice if you plan to visit? Get there right at opening like we did--no lines and not many people. The line was out the door and around the house when we were leaving. 

The property around the house was so beautiful. Lots of "scope for the imagination." We took walks through the Haunted Wood, and Lovers Lane of course!

Enjoying some raspberry cordial. Yum! Don't worry, we didn't get drunk ;)
"I just love bright red drinks, don't you? They taste twice as good as any other color." --Anne Shirley

Meeting Anne! Diana was also there. Once again, when we were leaving, there were huge lines to take pictures with them. Crazy!


Jenn should get a summer job playing Anne

Just down the road from the house is the cute little "village" of Avonlea. It's a bunch of original buildings from the time that have been moved and turned into shops and restaurants. It was a perfect little lunch spot. Super touristy in all things regarding Anne, but did you see our shirts?? Is that not why we came?? Ha!

And our last stop in Cavendish was the cemetery where L.M. Montgomery is buried. Her mother and grandparents are also buried there, and I just loved their headstone. I love the finger pointing to "God is Love" at the top. 

Such a fun and memorable morning exploring, and meeting people from around the world who love Anne as much as we do. (lots of Chinese and  Japanese people there who came all the way to PEI for Anne!)

“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.” --Anne Shirley

Books Read in 2016: Bringing back the book!

That post title is supposed to have a double meaning because first of all, I did SOOO bad in 2015 with reading. So bad. This year I redeemed myself although it's definitely not the longest list for a whole year. And second of all, all the books I read this year were actual BOOKS. Like, no ebooks, which has been my main source of reading for basically the past four years. This is for a couple reasons. One being that I love perusing the Costco book section and more often than not, leave with a book. 

Another reason I've been reading more printed books again is because of this book on top of the non fiction pile:

(not pictured is "The Magnolia Story" by my favorite people ever Chip and Joanna Gaines. My mom is currently borrowing my copy...something that I LOVE about printed books and not ebooks.)

Anyway, I've been reading "The Read Aloud Handbook" now that J is old enough to really enjoy picture books and ones with a basic story line. The statistics in there about the example parents set by reading books is amazing. So I've been glad that with my reading actual books rather than ebooks, my kids are seeing me reading books like they do, not just looking at another electronic device. So although I love my kindle, I plan on using it sparingly so my kids will hopefully become enthusiastic about reading as they see me reading in my free time. 

Here's the fiction pile, with a cute little hand photo bomb :)

Out of these, I recommend "A Man Called Ove." I am really liking this Swedish author, and have heard good things about his other books. And after reading "Anne of Green Gables" for the first time since jr. high school, I really think I need to make it an annual thing, because that book is such a delight. 

So there you go! Bring back the book! And give me your suggestions. I'm open to fiction/non fiction, adult/young adult. Pretty much anything...except maybe sci fi haha. 

My 2015 Steinbeck Reading Resolution

When I found out we were moving to Monterey, I made a goal to read all of John Steinbeck's novels in anticipation of visiting the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, the town where he was born and raised. I didn't read all of them, but I did read a few key novels and doesn't that count for something? Please say yes, because I need something to show for this past year as far as reading goals and resolutions are concerned. 

The novels I read in order of favorites:

East of Eden: technically I already read this a few years ago but it's still my favorite Steinbeck novel. Even he considers it his masterpiece. It takes place in Salinas and Steinbeck spends a good chunk of time describing the beauty of the Salinas Valley, and I'll tell you what--when I drive around the farmlands ours there I realize just how good of a writer he is because his words come alive. 

The Grapes of Wrath:

There's a reason this novel is what everyone else considers as his masterpiece. This novel sparked outrage at the time it was published because it makes Californians look like complete a-holes regarding how they treated all the migrants from the mid west during the Dust Bowl. 

Cannery Row: not like his other novels but still fun because it all takes place in Monterey and it was pretty cool reading his writing about places I know now from living in Monterey. 

The Winter of our Discontent:

Doesn't take place in Monterey but it brought up interesting themes.

Tortilla Flat:

Takes place in Monterey--kind of a weird read, honestly!

So now that I'm looking at it, I really didn't read as many as I'd like, so this is carrying over into this year. But, I did get to visit the Steinbeck Center when my friend Lindsay visited, and it was something I had been looking forward to since high school, after I had read East of Eden for the first time for Oprah's book club and she held her show on the lawn of his house. I'm such a dork. 

My little pregnant belly. Seems like so long ago. 

The main theme of East of Eden: "thou mayest." Meaning you always have freedom of choice. So beautiful. 

Now the house he grew up in is open to the public as a cute restaurant where you can eat. It was such a treat! I loved every second. 

Downtown Salinas.

So anyway, I look forward to reading more and visiting the Center again. Does anyone reading this actually like Steinbeck? I hope so. I am kind of a fangirl. I even tracked down the house he lived in in Pacific Grove (also near Monterey) and it's just a regular house. I wonder if the people living in it now know that they live where Steinbeck did some of his major writing. Lucky! 

Books Read in 2014: Return and Report (Part One)

I did much better these last six months the six months prior so I'm proud of that, but I still slowed down a bit these last few months. Maybe I need new suggestions (hint hint) since I've had a few that I've started and just haven't had the motivation to keep reading. 

I wrote reviews on all of these books on my goodreads account which I wish everyone would join because it's my favorite social media that is not used by enough people. Anyway, you can still read my reviews if you're not a member: just click the thing on my sidebar. I'm just going to highlight my favorites in this post, and if you want to read a review that I don't mention, or read my full review since I'm just paraphrasing here, go to my goodreads. 

And join goodreads!

 Women and the Priesthood: You had me at Sheri Dew. Loved this book and love what she has to say. If you want to know where I stand with all the mormon feminist controversy taking place right now, just read this book.

I Am Malala: An inspiring read that also helps give a background into how Pakistan got to be such a messed up place.

I read the Divergent series before the movie came out, and man, was it pretty disappointing how each of the following books got worse and worse from the first. Veronica Roth tries, but she can't keep the momentum of the first book due to weak plots and poor writing. 

Gift From the Sea I read on my girls trip to Ishigaki Island and it was a perfect read for a trip near the ocean. It is such a great book for women. 

Wonder: Loved it. I recommend it. 

Wild: I'm including it because I am almost done with it and will be discussing it at book club this week. And I have issues with it. Overall, I just say "meh." You're not really missing out if you don't read it. 

So what has been on your summer reading lists? Do tell. 

Random Realizations

Technology is great and all, but these thoughts kind of bum me out.

-- If I had a lineup of letters from old friends, I would be able to recognize each and every one of my friends just from their handwriting. I could still do it with those elementary, jr. high, and high school friends. If I were to try to do that now with new friends, it would be almost impossible, considering I communicate with them almost completely through typed text, email, etc. Remember the good old days, where instead of a text message from a friend, they handed you a note they wrote during 3rd period? Brings back fond memories.

-- The other day I was telling someone about a great book I just finished, (this book, if you're wondering), and she asked if she could borrow it. I love the whole idea of passing around a great book from person to person, but I had to tell her no, because it is an ebook only accessible through my amazon account (and she doesn't have any type of technology to access it except for a desktop). For how much I adore my Kindle, it's moments like that that make me sad that I hardly read "real" books, and rarely, if ever, buy them anymore.

--  And speaking of ebooks vs. "real" books, every time I watch the movie "You've Got Mail" (just watched it a few days ago ha) I can't help but think about the karma of it all. That if they were to make a sequel to it, it would be Joe Fox being put out of business by the Amazon revolution. Except I wonder if Fox Books would be like Borders Books (may it rest in peace) or Barnes and Noble, who were on the ball and created the Nook, which really is the reason why B&N stores still exist today. Victor thinks he would have met Borders' fate. Which do you think he would be? Oh, I love that movie.

There was something else I was going to write, but I forgot. So, there you go. Your thoughts?

Carry on!

Ranting About Reading

^^doesn't have much to do with my rant, but it's funny ha ^^

Sometimes I'm a hypocrite when it comes to how I judge books. 

I was an English major, so I have read quite the plethora of genres, with all kind of content you can imagine. I took an entire course just on Toni Morrison's novels, and when my mom turned on my Kindle mistaking it for hers, she was all "what in the world are you reading?!?" So I generally have a higher tolerance for things like language, violence and sex in books: WITHIN REASON. (Like I never ever plan on reading 50 shades of grey crap because that is blatantly a porno for women so I know I would never read it)

And yet, when I know I'm reading something by, oh let's say, a Mormon author, I suddenly become such a prude ha ha. And you want to know why? Because they should know better! (In my opinionated opinion, anyway.)

A couple of examples. I HATED the book Ender's Game. Shocker I know, since so many people worship it. I'm just not a fan of sci-fi, but what really bugged me was all the crude language (not just swear words) that Orson Scott Card had his characters using (children, which I thought was completely unrealistic). Card is a Mormon, and Mormons really try to encourage good language. And in the book, I thought most of it was so unnecessary. So that's why it bothered me!

Now Twilight. Uggghh. Well there's a lot I could rant about, but Mormon Stephanie Meyer just kept pushing the limit on what she could get away with regarding the more intimate scenes between the two main characters.  Which remember, is a 17 year old girl and a 200 year old vampire. Come on, Stephanie Meyer, you know better. 

Am I being completely unreasonable? Should Mormon authors be able to just write whatever they want?? Nevermind, I don't care if I'm being unreasonable. It just bothers me. It has for years. 

But along the lines of talking about Twilight, I just finished the Divergent series and the biggest problem I have with both of these series is that they both were originally targeted to young adult (aka middle and high schoolers) and then as they exploded in popularity the authors used it to their advantage and turned them into adult books that should not be being read by middle schoolers. With Twilight, it was mostly just sex, but with Divergent it was sex and violence. And all of this with the main characters being just 16 and 17 years old. 

Of course I have read worse, but as I'm reading and thinking in the back of my head that these books are being targeted to a younger audience, it drives me nuts! These books are being stocked in middle school libraries, which means that twelve year old sixth graders could be reading it. Not okay in my opinion. I was talking about it with a friend of mine (who is not Mormon, and much less conservative than I am) and she completely agreed with me. She said as she was reading Twilight at the same time as her 13 year old niece, thinking it would be fun, and that it really started to bother her thinking that her little niece is reading that stuff too. 

So what do you think? Where do you draw the line? I wanted to spew all this stuff out to see if I am alone in this world. If I am just a hypocrite, because I read it, or if I am justified in my ranting. But either way it feels good to get it off my chest.

 I just love ranting ha ha. So thanks for reading!

Books Read the Second Half of 2013

I am ashamed to post this, but I must be held accountable. I did terrible in how many books I read these last five months. It's shameful!! That being said, I really plan on doing better this year. Consider it one of my New Year's Resolutions.

Murder on the Orient Express: it was ok.

I read Persuasion in exchange for a friend of mine to read Wuthering Heights, which I love. This book was good. Not my favorite Jane Austen of course, but the new BBC production of it was great.

MWF Seeking BFF was a book club book and I loved it. I loved and could totally relate to her points about the dynamics of making new friends as adults. I highly recommend it.

The Aviator's Wife was also a book club book, and it was ok, but if anything it got me interested to read the actual writings of Ann Lindberg. She's on the top of my list for 2014.

Man's Search for Meaning was wonderful. I said this on Goodreads about it: Viktor Frankl is an amazing man, and an incredible psychologist. This may be my new favorite book about the Holocaust because of Frankl's structure of exploring what the human spirit can endure even under the most horrific circumstances. It's not just a play by play of Frankl's experience in a concentration camp: it's discussing what he learned and what he observed in the behavior of others. I look forward to reading more of Frankl's works.

SO, I have a lot of reading goals. I plan on participating in this blogger's book club because her selection of books for this year already includes many books I want to read. I also still have my book club here in Okinawa to look forward to.

What were your favorite books you read this year?? Share, please!

Books I've Read so far in 2013

I wish that I had read more for these first six months of 2013, but I guess eleven books is still ok. 

Most of these books I read for my book club. Some of them I might not have read otherwise, like the zombie novel, so it's been good to expand my reading genres. Did I mention that I loooove my book club here? The key to a great book club is good food, open minded people who don't refuse to read stuff because it's out of their interests, and consistency in meeting. The book club I'm in here in Okinawa is all of those things, and honestly it makes me so happy. I loved my book club in Virginia and was sad to leave it because I was worried I wouldn't find one here, but it's been great. We have been meeting consistently since February. So happy about that!

I'm almost finished with The God Who Weeps so I just decided to include it. It's a great book so far. Beautifully and logically written.

I loved The Fault in Our Stars.
I liked And the Mountains Echoed
I didn't want to like Gone Girl because it was cray cray, but I couldn't put it down. Total page turner.
And all the other ones were ok too, but not my favorites.

On to the last half of 2013! Here's to even more reading. Please give me suggestions. Pretty please. I'm open to all genres and I would love to hear what you've been loving to read lately.

Thank You, Mrs. Konigsburg

Children's book author E.L. Konigsburg passed away a few days ago. I have such an admiration for this woman, because she has helped me and so many others learn to love reading.

 I can think of a few monumental books that took me to the next level of book adoration and reading adventures. First it was Dr. Seuss in my very early years. Then it was the American Girl series (who even wrote all those?? I need to look). There was Judy Bloom, and Lois Lowry. And then there was From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil  E. Frankweiler. 

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil  E. Frankweiler is one of those novels that stays with you the rest of your life. What child didn't fantasize about running away from home to have some kind of grand adventure? E.L. Konigsburg took us on that adventure. We got to be a part of it, and we got to do it even if we lived nowhere near exciting New York City and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Twyla Tharp said about art (which includes novels, of course!): "Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." I just love that a novel can do that. And I am so thankful to have learned that at a young age thanks to those beloved writers, and especially E.L. Konigsburg. 

She is an inspiration to me because her goal was to help young people love to read. Reading has so many positive results, especially in children, and those who can create wonderful stories that inspire and enlighten and show children the joys of reading are heroes to me. 

I can't wait to read Mrs. Konigsburg's books to my own children. I will miss seeing new stories being published by her; she was writing novels well into her seventies. 

So thanks again, Mrs. Konigsburg. You will be missed. 

Books in 2012: Return and Report part 2

I felt like I hadn't read much since my last post about what I've been reading. But thanks to Goodreads, I was able to look back and remember these books that I have read since August. Are you on Goodreads? I love it so much. You can find me here. 

So, here we go! This summer, I went on a kick of reading Mormon memoirs (seen below). Each one was completely different and captured completely different Mormon/life experiences, which is to be expected. I still have a blog post draft talking about my views of all these books. Maybe some day I will publish it. 

 Heaven Up Here by John K. Williams: a mission memoir of a young man who served in Bolivia in the late 80s. I liked this book mostly because I had so many experiences that were almost identical to his, and he was very honest about the LDS mission experience.

Yearning for the Living God by F. Enzio Busche: autobiography about Enzio Busche, who grew up in Nazi Germany and was a German POW in WW2. He reflects on what that was like, and why he eventually converted to Mormonism. I thought it was good.

Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks: I read this and then had the chance to meet Ms. Brooks, which I wrote about here. Overall, I was left disappointed by this book. Joanna Brooks is usually a great writer (I like her blog), but her book was a disorganized mess. And just kind of annoying.


These are the books that I read for my Book Club this fall:

 Finding Alice by Melody Carlson: This book was meh. Not bad, but not great. An interesting book if you're into understanding mental illness. Like I said, just ok.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel: We read this before the movie came out, and I really liked this book! A great story with religious undertones that really get you thinking. I thought the movie was beautiful, but I liked the book a lot better.

Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes: I'm just about to finish this one, so I figured I would just include it. This is a pretty good book: an interesting insight into Mary and Joseph, parents of Jesus. It's historical fiction, so I assume the writer is assuming a lot, but I liked this book.



And for some others:

Ok For Now by Gary Schmidt: this is kind of a sequel to the book The Wednesday Wars, but you don't have to read that first before reading Ok For Now. I liked this book better. In fact, I really liked this book. Highly recommend it. 

Son by Lois Lowry: The final book in The Giver series. Lois Lowry is a great writer, and this book was interesting, but it still wasn't as good as The Giver. I really like the cover art though!

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson: The sequel to Chains, and I wasn't crazy about it. 

And now for a random one to throw into the mix... The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I saw this at the book store for like $3 and a friend recommended that I read it. I thought it had some very valuable information about relationships in general, and not just between a husband and wife/ boyfriend and girlfriend. I would recommend it. 

The most recent book I read was Young House Love by John and Sherry Petersik. I love their blog, so I guess it makes sense that I would love their book. If you are looking for some great DIY and decorating ideas for your house, I would suggest it. Or you can borrow my copy. It got me really excited to do some decorating!

My good friend Holli and I picked this book up when we went to their social/book signing they had in D.C. last week. It was so much fun, and we loved getting to meet John and Sherry. Super nice, super cool people. They even agreed to a hammy picture with us, per Holli's request. 

So, there you go! 

I also feel the need to say that most of these books were "actual books," because my Kindle suffered an early and tragic death back in October. I miss it so much.   cough Christmas Hint cough!!

Feel free to share your suggestions, please! I need some good recommendations. 

Happy reading!

Book Club Party Ideas

I am going to miss my Book Club here so much! We've read a great variety of books, and while every single person doesn't always love certain books, we always all come with an open mind which leads to great discussions.

For the last couple of books we have read, we have tried to make our gathering themed along with the book, and it really helps make reading the book even more interactive.

Last month we read the book "Finding Alice" by Melody Carlson. The book is kind of a modern version of Alice in Wonderland, so our host dressed up as the Mad Hatter and hosted a tea party, complete with vintage tea cups, and a trifle bar. It was so cute.

This month it was my turn to host, and our book was "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. (loved this book by the way. read it) The main character is from India and he gets shipwrecked on his way to Canada. So, my inspiration was Pi's Indian heritage, and the fact that he lived on a lifeboat for months.

I made a curried chicken pasta salad which is absolutely delicious. (recipe from here). You know, curry, India: get it?


Had some fruit and cream...mostly just the bananas have anything to do with the book.

And as a little sweet treat: some swedish fish and lifesavers. You know, lifesavers, shipwreck: get it?  Oh, and then I saw some random little turtles at the Dollar Store and used those for decorations.

 Basically, I love being in a Book Club, and I love how food and decor can help bring the book to life for us. I hope I can quickly find a book club as good as this one has been when I get to Okinawa. And, if you have any other cute ideas to go along with book club suggestions, please share!