Sometimes I wonder how honest to be in book reviews. This book makes me think twice, (even thrice – just had to use that word), about the review. Why? Because the author has such great intentions and means to uplift and encourage the reader and I appreciate and respect that so it’s hard to post honest comments about the flaws. I guess I will start with… this book is uplifting and encouraging. It reminds women of how important our roles are and how imperfect those perfect-looking Superwomen around us really are.

But…the writer tries too hard. I remember reading a passage in Jane Eyre that was so long without a stop that I wondered if the sentence would ever end. Some of the passages in this book remind me of that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty style! One where the vocabulary and lilt are more like prose than narration, but it’s unnecessary in a book that reinforces a simple and down to earth way of living and a humble attitude toward life. It’s too flowery and the LDS cliches are…well, cliche. I did laugh at them on occasion because I recognized the traits in myself or a fellow sister. As I stated before, overall, this book did uplift and encourage. I just appreciated the wisdom more than the wit.

[After writing the above review, I realized there was one other thing that may have had some influence...I listened to this book on CD and the narrator was a woman from Utah. As a not-originally-from-Utah LDS person, now living in Utah, the vernacular was a bit distracting. Not all LDS women 'fill' the spirit or go to a yard 'sell' or get the 'mell'. I bet the author doesn't speak like that, not being from Utah. The book was in first person and the narration felt a bit off. ]

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I remembered these sayings from when I was 15 or so on a sign outside little white church in our tiny town. They stuck with me and they apply to what I’m working on right now so I put them in pretty boxes, in current meme fashion. Enjoy!

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Made a trip to the library today and stocked up on a couple hard copy books and a couple audio books.  Gotta say, I’m liking this challenge already, although I need to finish Crossed by Ally Condie in 3 days.

Here’s my “2012 book-a-week” to-read list so far.

Beautiful Days
The Alchemist
Artemis Foul
Counting Blessings
City of Ash

And to make this post pretty…

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Catherine E had a crazy idea one day to set a goal of reading and blogging about 52 books in 2012. Then she passed her crazy idea on to her friends. A couple, including myself, were crazy enough to commit. If you are also as crazy as Catherine…link us up!

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My really expensive (to me) HP tablet style laptop died a while back and I haven’t quite decided what to do with it or what to get in its place. Until I decide what I really want, cheap is the way I decided to go.  The husband picked out an Asus laptop for me based on performance for the sub $400 price. Naturally, you tend to give up a bit of quality when you go cheap, so while this laptop performs decently – it’s actually pretty zippy – it lacks in the quality of materials. For example, the touchpad is textured. Nice if it’s a smooth material, but this one is rough and gives me that ‘nails-on-a-chalkboard’ feeling when I use it. The mouse buttons are SO loud I feel like I’m waking up the kids when I use it in the evening. Lastly, the cover is not as pretty as my sleek piano finish HP was. 

I could learn to live with all of these minor annoyances, but why do that when a little creativity can fix it all?  The lid was a standard fix. Skin it. I happened to have a pack of skins from a while back (before the pretty piano finish). I created an artistic skin that is personal and artistic and fits ME. Printed and installed. Fixed.  Printed another identical skin, cut it to fit the area below the keyboard including the mouse buttons. Put the clear label over the skin just on the touchpad for a smoother feel. FIXED! The mouse buttons are SILENT and the touchpad is smooth. As are the wrist rest areas. And it all looks lovely.  Cheapness modified for about $4.  And, once I figure out what I REALLY want in a laptop, this one goes to the next kid in line. 

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I am not the greatest at spot removal. My efforts in removing spots from my son’s silk ties have, so far, been unsuccessful. Today I had a bright idea to revive those silk ties. It all goes back to my Surface Ornamentation class in college. Since oil is the typical stain medium…why not ‘oil paint’ a pattern on the tie? Here is the process and the results. James just thinks it looks like he’s a messy eater. I think it has a nice texture to it.

Stained Silk Tie

I used my husband’s shoe leather oil for this because it’s primarily beeswax, which won’t turn rancid. 

I used a plastic produce bag crumpled up to apply the oil. (I brushed oil onto the bag with the applicator from the jar and then dabbed some off on a paper towel (offload!!).

I blotted the tie with a paper towel to remove excess oil (it soaked up pretty quickly so there wasn’t much excess). I hung the tie to let it dry for a while and then had my son try it out. He didn’t like the look at all.  *I* think it looks pretty darn cool.  I’m not sure how ‘dry’ the oil will get, so I am wondering if it will transfer to his suit or shirt. It doesn’t seem to when it’s on shoes. We’ll see about that part. Or, maybe not because he probably won’t wear it.  He WILL wear an ugly snowflake/snowman tie, though. Go figure. 

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I got to test out some new cookies from Kroger…the Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip cookies and they were pretty darn good. I don’t buy a lot of cookies, but if I needed a quick fix, these would work nicely!! I shared them with friends at playgroup and passed out some coupons (thanks to bzzagent for those!). Now, if they came out with a soft version, I’d be in trouble!!

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I spent a little time in Barnes & Noble yesterday (a place I avoid for the sake of my budget) thanks to my brother, Ryan and his company mistletoe.com.  The company made the Simple List in December’s issue of Real Simple magazine and I had to go snag a copy! 

Ryan has been selling mistletoe since he was about 12. Maybe even younger. Just old enough to shoot it out of the trees. He and my brother John would gather bunches of the stuff and sell it in front of grocery stores during the holidays. They made a bit of pocket change. Then…Ryan went to school and with the support of his awesome wife, Lisa, got an little thing called an MBA and a bunch of useful knowledge to go with it.  Combine that with his entrepreneurial spirit, tech geekness and a pretty parasite and mistletoe.com was born. (OK, there were MANY steps and FOUR children in between, but you get the idea!)

Today, mistletoe.com is one of the only sites online where you can buy fresh Oregon mistletoe and have it shipped anywhere in the country. This sounds like and ad, but it’s just a sister who is amazed and impressed with her little brother and his kills and  determination.  Not to mention his little family’s adorableness!! So, if you’re in the market for some mistletoe this year, you know where to get it. Yep! Mistletoe.com.

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