Books Read in 2013

I read a total of 11 books in 2013. (I was too busy being a new mom in the seond half of the year to read!)

Below is the list of finished books (most recently finished listed first). My favourite book of the year was Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers (the sequel Her Daughter's Dream was a very close second!).

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Who Is My Shelter by Neta Jackson

The Chance by Karen Kingsburg

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson

Where Do I Go? by Neta Jackson

Who Do I Lean On? by Neta Jackson

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

And the Band Played On by Christopher Ward

Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers

Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers

 

2012 list here

2011 list here

2010 list here

2009 list here

2008 list here

 

Friday Fave Five

My first blog post in a long time AND my first Friday Fave Five in a super long time! (Please see Living to Tell the Story to join Friday Fave Five.) I'm now on maternity leave so I actually have time to post. I thought that listing the blessings of the week was a good place to start.

1)  My first full week of maternity leave: I am so happy to be away from my job and on maternity leave! I feel so much more relaxed now that I am not working! My last day at work was actually July 31st, so this is the end of my first full week of mat leave (as opposed to the 1/2 week at the beginning of August).

Aside.....It has been a pretty busy week for a "week off". We had a new stove delivered, heater vents have been cleaned, baby room was cleaned and organized, second hand baby clothes were washed, folded, and put away, a visit with friends who have a 3 year old and new born, plus hubby and I had a dinner date night out.

2) Hubby had 2 extra days off this week: I love when my husband has extra days off during the week! For this past year our time together has been somewhat limited. I worked days and he worked afternoon/evenings. So our only time together was Saturday mornings, all day Sundays, and Monday evenings. We see more of each other now that I'm on mat leave (another bonus!) but with his work being slow and giving him 2 extra days off this week I'm a happy wife!

3) Baby room ready for baby: I'm a huge procrastinator so having this one done is wonderful! Plus now that I'm at 37 weeks this baby could technically come any day. (But trust me, as my first baby I`m not expecting baby to come early.)

4) Generous friends: This fave happened through many weeks (even months!). We have received many free baby items from friends who have already had their kids and just want to get rid of their baby items. I received a bunch of newborn clothes from my sister, a crib and many receiving blanakets from my husband`s friends, a baby carrier, baby info books, and bouncy chair from another friend, and my parents paid for the car seat we choose. We truly are blessed and loved!

5) More time to see my niece and nephews: Another bonus of maternity leave is more time to spend with my sister`s kids. I love these kids and just getting to spead time with them is so much fun! We went for a riverside walk and played at the park last week, and next week we plan to take a skytrain trip to Science World. (The skytrain being the exciting part for the 5 year old!)

Thanks for joining me while I re-count the blessings in my life. I hope you all can see the blessings in your lives too!

Books Read in 2012

I read a total of 13 books in 2012. Below is the list (most recently finished list first). My favourite book of the year was The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle (review in the post below).

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle
But Inside I'm Screaming by Elizabeth Flock
Up Close and Personal by Fern Micheals
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Loving by Karen Kingsbury
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Longing by Karen Kingsbury
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

2011 list here.
2010 list here.
2009 list here.
2008 list here.

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle



This is a quick update to let you know I just finished a great book. The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle is the best book I've read all year! It does cover a very hard to read topic - the story is about a little boy who is sexually abused... by his parents!! The story tells of his removal from the his parent's house and how his life moves on afterwards. I loved the writting style and how the narrative was told from several different view points. This book (despite the hard to read topic) was a book I had a hard time putting down!

The Happiest Day of my Life

Good intentions....?

I had good intentions when I started the Spring Reading Thing to get back into blogging. I had no idea that planning a wedding was so time consuming!! I barely had time to read, let alone blog... about anything! Well the wedding is over so hopefully I can put a few more posts up here. *crosses fingers*

Spring Reading Thing Wrap Up:

Finished - Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery ~ I really liked it, and I'm looking forward to reading more of the series.
               - Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller ~ An easy read , filled with fun stories, and would be great for a new Christian, or someone interested in learning more about Christianity.
               - Loving by Karen Kingsbury ~ Loved it.
         
Almost Finished - Life, On The Line by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas ~ I had to return the library book before I could finish it. It started out good, the middle of the book got boring, and it started getting better near the end again. The middle had too much restuarant detail to hold my attenetion!

Did Not Finish (or start!) - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebbecca Skloot ~ I couldn't find it at my library.

Spring Reading Thing 2012

While reading Suzanne's blog I clicked the link to Spring Reading Thing 2012. I've heard of this before but this is my first time participating. I am of course planning a wedding so my list will not be large but Katrina the host at Callapidder Days advertises this as a low-pressure challenge. Besides reading should be fun right? :)

Finish Reading:

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

New books:

Life, On the Line by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas
The Immortal Life on Henrietta Lacks by Rebbecca Skloot
Loving by Karen Kingsbury

The above three books were all on other challengers lists. There were others good suggestions I wanted to read but my library doesn't carry them. If I have time I'll start the next book in the Anne series: Anne of the Island.

Sorry for the inconsistant linking... blogger is being weird to me.

Books read in 2011

I read 11 books this year. That's a big increase from last years 2 books! Sill 11 is much less than 24 read in 2010, and 18 read in 2009. Here's hoping that 2012 gives me more reading time.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Glass Castle by Jeannette Wall
Sarah's Kay by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Blue Notebook by James A Levine
Secret Daughter by Shilip Somaya Gowda
One Day by David Nicholls
Leaving by Karen Kingsbury
Sarah by Marek Halter
Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

My favourite book of the year was Glass Castle by Jeannette Wall. This was a true story of her life and one that I will never forget. It was hard to read in places only because no child should have to grow up like she did.

2008 list here
2009 list here
2010 list here

Books read in 2010

So I've learnt that having a new boyfriend takes up alot of my former free reading time! But I'm not complaining. I love him! So here are the 2 (!?!) books I read this past year:

Ever After by Karen Kingsbury
Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

I am determined to read more this year.

2008 list here.
2009 list here.

I've got the fever!

The Olympic fever that is. I arrived at work on Friday just in time to see this:

Skytrain Randomness

I have to take the skytrain to and from work for the duration of the Olympics and look what I saw in the City Centre skytrain station today after work. The whole reason I took transit today instead of driving like I usually do is because the torch relay is going over the bridge I normally drive. He was just getting ready to leave so I only got the one shot but he sure looked happy and proud to be a torch carrier.

Just three more days!

Olympics count-down clock in downtown Vancouver, BC.

(Or the Olympics start exactly 3 days, 5 hours, 44 minutes, and 8 seconds from the second I took the picture at lunch today.)

Books read in 2009

I meant to post this earlier in the year but since its just for my own records I guess it doesnt matter. So here is my list of the books I read in 2009, starting with the most recently finished:

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Away Laughing on a Fast Camel by Louise Rennison
Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants by Louise Rennison
Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas by Louise Rennison
On the Bright Side, I`m now the Girlfriend of a Sex God by Louise Rennison
Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Ever After by Karen Kingsbury
Answered Prayers by Danielle Steele
The Help by Kathyrn Stockett
The Time Traveler`s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood by Anne Brashares
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants by Ann Brashares
The Last Summer (of you and me) by Ann Brashares
The Reader by Berhard Schlink
Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco

Summary: I read 24 books this year (compared to 18 books in 10 months last year). This year I read alot of young adult books - probably the most in one year ever. My 2 favourite books read this year are The Help by Kathyrn Stockett and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Books read in 2008 are listed here.

Book Review: The Kite Runer by Khaled Hosseini

"Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him."

From Khaled Hosseini's website.

I really enjoyed this book. The story spans around 30 years as the 2 friends grow up. A futher story summary can be found on the website above.

The part I found really interesting was the history included in the book. It was just part of the story included seemlessly, but being here in the west the first I heard of Afganistan was during the last 10 years or so. The book let me know a little bit of what the country was like before all of the current unrest, which I found really interesting.

FO: One Row Scarf

I finished this scarf back in December. (Just call me a bad blogger as I haven't posted till now!)



Pattern: One Row Scarf

Yarn: Moda Dea Twiddle Dee


Thoughts: I loved knitting this scarf! Super easy pattern (Only 4 stiches to remember, you can't get any easier!) The finished product was so soft and thick and warm. I started this scarf to give away but after I felt how warm it was I decided to keep it.

Dressew

At my last SCC Knit Night some of the ladies were talking about a sale at Dressew. The store has been around for arpx 40 years but I have never been there. They supply buttons, zippers, and tons of fabric for those who sew. (And holy cow the store is huge! I was overwelmed by how much stuff they had!!)

They just recently starting carrying yarn. And right now all yarn is 1.99 per ball! Since the store is downtown I decided to check it out after work on the 24th, since I only had to work half a day that day anyway. And here's what happened:


This is the most yarn I have ever bought all at once. The Rowan ribbon twist is destined to become Shroom. The Regia is going to be given in the post Christmas gift exchange the SCC Knit Group is doing in January. (I'm pretty sure no one from there reads this blog, and if you do just forget you read this k? :) Thx.) The Nashua Handkits Granite wants to become a pair of mittens (I'm not sure of which pattern yet - maybe just a basic mitten?) The Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes will likely become a scarf, but seeing as its last on the list it will be quite awhile before that happens.

FO's coming up later in the week. :)

Sunrise

Taken from my office on the 35th floor on Friday. The buildings in the front are downtown Vancouver, and the tiny building tops in the background are Burnaby.

Friday Fill-Ins# 152 & NaBloPoMo Apologies

NaBloPoMo? What? Did I sign up for that? Your kidding right?

Ok, so I suck at posting every day for a month. So what? Real life got busy. I am doing a new job at work and had to learn my new position while teaching my old position at the same time. Then to top off all that we are getting a new computer system and are having some computer down time. This meant that I had to be completely on top of all work. A little hard when you are training or being trained. Today was the last day at my old position so I'm glad to leave that part behind, hopefully all will go smoothly with the new one!


Here are some Friday Fill-Ins to make up for my previously lack of posting....

1. Wait! Wait, don't forget to bring your passport if you are one of the lucky/crazy ones going shopping in the states this weekend!

2. My promotion at work followed at once by more stress.

3. The trouble is hopefully far from me.

4. Italy (my dream vacation) is many miles away.

5. With a faint pop the Christmas lights burnt out.

6. Sunday through Thursday has been shadowy and ominous. (and just down right rainy!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doing nothing (maybe watch a movie and knit at home), tomorrow my plans include spending time with my Little Sister and Sunday, I want to visit with my sister and nephew!

FO: Bamboo Cloth

Pattern: Bamboo Cloth

Yarn: Bernant Handicraft Cotton Ultrasoft - Neptune Ombre

Now I have 3 matching dishclothes to give to my sister for Christmas. :)

WIP Wednesday: One Row Scarf

Pattern: One Row Scarf (rav link)

Yarn: Moda Dea Tweedle Dee

I've just cast this one on so not much to show so far. The scarf will be knit on friday nights at the craft night at church. The scarf will be given to the youth who will give it away to someone downtown who probably needs it more than me. Even though I kinda like the fact that the yarn is supposed to have a shaded effect. If it turns out well I may want to make another one just for me!