say cheese!

One of the blogs that I like to read had an entry the author called a Daybook, which used a series of questions to create an overview of the author's day and life in that moment. (Note: she blogs about homeschooling, knitting, kids, and Catholicism. This is her link: http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/)

I liked the idea a lot. It reminded me of a writing technique called a snapshot that I used with my students. I borrowed the idea from the book After THE END by Barry Lane and the idea is that you focus on details to create a mental snapshot of a moment in time (the crackling of the fire, the soft red fleece blanket, the smell of beef and vegetable soup simmering). It's great for using in memoirs and personal narratives, as well as fiction. I decided that I'd like to use the technique to record the small details of my life, for myself, mostly, and whoever else is interested. I love that you can learn so much about a person by narrowing your focus on just a few things. They say a lot but not even close to everything. I'll try to keep it manageable, but that might be a stretch, because I took her list and then had a million ideas of things I could add to it. Maybe I'll rotate through some of the questions to keep it interesting.

Outside my window: the sky is completely overcast and it's much cooler than yesterday, which was a balmy 60 degrees.

I am listening to: a dog barking outside, the dryer working on Joseph's clothes in the garage, and one ear is tipped to hear the first waking up cries from a morning nap.

I am wearing: the fuzzy pink slippers Brian gave me for Christmas in 2009. A pair of jeans that are technically maternity but really comfy so I still wear them. A yellow V-neck t-shirt from the Columbia outlet. Style is dead today.

I am grateful for: amazing writers. A sweet little boy who had a great doctor's check-up yesterday. A very loving extended family.

I am pondering: where the lines are dividing criticism, righteous judgment, gossip, and an honest awareness of other people's faults and our own expectations.

I am reading: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It's one of those books that has been on my mental periphery for years and I finally just took it home from the library. It's incredible. I stayed up way too late reading it last night. I'm typing right now but I actually want to be reading it. It's going to be one of those I finish in less than 24 hours but stays in my consciousness for much, much longer. I'll try to capture my thoughts on it for a book review in the future.

I am thinking: on the abilities and thought processes of children, how war has defined so much of human existence, and what it means to be “gifted.”

I am creating: A garden! The peas are sending up their little green shoots and I got the twine strung up between the stakes. Now they'll have something to grab onto when they get tall enough.

My music: has been based around Joseph lately. He has a stuffed lion that sings a song when you press its hand. “Sunflower, good morning, you sure do make it like a sunny day...” It gets stuck in my head all the time. And I can't understand the middle verse. Grrr.

Towards a real education: The blogger originally included this to talk about her homeschooling plans with her kids, so I'll change it to what I read recently to Joseph, which is: Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth, Are You Ready to Play Outside by Mo Willems, Hands Can by Cheryl Willis Hudson, and Animals, a Baby Touch and Feel book. Joseph is finally reaching out on his own to stroke that little tuft of white bunny fur!

Living the gospel: Personal study right now includes reading old General Conference talks, remembering what I thought about when I first heard them, and evaluating if I made changes in myself and my life like I should have.

I have faith in: the validity of my actions now that will impact the future. So much of being a parent is based around faith. I have to have faith when I say good night to Joseph that I'll get to say good morning. I have to have faith that feeding him a varied diet now will help him have a good palate later. I have to have faith that we'll read books together now and he'll want to continue to read on his own in the future. I have to have faith that those little peas sprouting out in the yard will help nourish and fill our bodies this summer. My actions have to reflect that faith.

From the kitchen: For dinner tonight I'm planning a venison stir-fry that I saw a recipe for in one of my new cookbooks. It looks fairly simple: venison strips, a sweet and sour marinade, and bell pepper strips over rice. Yummm.

One of my favorite things: my hazelnut candles.

A few plans for this week: library trip which will be mostly returning items, though there is one item on hold that I can't wait for and will probably lead to more late nights, which is the newest in the Ranger's Apprentice series, The Emperor of Nihon-ja. We'll finish watching Gettysburg, all four+ hours of it! I have some calls to make for my calling. And hopefully Joseph and I will have a sunny day so we can explore further down the road by the slough.

We'll end with this last, a picture thought:

Kids love babies. I can't even count the number of times a child has said as they see Joseph, "Baby!" At church, the grocery store, and his cousins' house, Joseph gets to be the center of attention. Evolution at work to ensure the survival of the species? Maybe, but I think there's a strong pull to sweet innocence and the desire to gain the coveted baby smile. :)

That's it for time, but look for new topics in future snapshots.