tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95039262024-03-13T05:57:46.097-07:00Knocked UpI figure if I can get all the Mommy Talk out of the way on the internets it'll leave me to converse like a normal human the rest of the time.
Or else I'll just talk about books.
Or my new, unexpected gluten-free life thanks to celiac disease.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.comBlogger587125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-81691801268887587752014-01-13T12:11:00.000-08:002014-01-13T12:11:06.810-08:00Books I Read in 2013It looks like it’s time for my annual post! Yep, my book list. I was going to skip it, since I track what I read on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/belsum/books-i-read-in-2013/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>. But I found myself missing the recap of what I liked best and worst and what my general reading trend was for the year. I didn’t end up with as many titles this year as in years past, but I felt more engaged with my reading than I did last year. I also didn’t concern myself with not finishing book club titles if I didn’t feel like it, managing to get through just 5 of the 11. (As usual, I put book club selections in italics.) <u>Red Earth, White Earth</u> was my favorite of these, following two childhood best friends, one Ojibwe and one white, through change and turmoil in northern Minnesota. Only 8 of my books in 2013 were graphic novels, but that still puts me above my average rate of 16.9% per year. <u>Batman: The Court of Owls</u> is a marvelous new addition to the character’s story, filled with a broad range of current and past sidekicks and villains, as well as introducing a formidable new foe.
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I read just one audio book and it really stuck with me: <u>The Night Circus</u>. I really want to read it with my eyes and see if I find it as affecting as it did reading it with my ears. Regardless, it was a fascinating way to read a new book. Previously I’ve only done audio for books I’ve actually read before, and just want a new experience while revisiting their worlds (Harry Potter and Harry Dresden). The best YA was <u>The Bone Season</u>. It was unlike your typical strong teenage female heroine finding her place in the world and proving her worth to herself and those around her. Though it was that, too! Yet it was also a dark, creepy and evil Hogwarts and an alternate history. I only read a handful of non-fiction in 2013 but it was all excellent. <u>In the Heart of the Sea</u> was a detailed analysis of the history, culture, and events that went into a terrible sea tragedy that inspired Herman Melville’s <u>Moby Dick</u>. <u>Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted</u> was a detailed analysis of the history, culture, and events that went into the making of the Mary Tyler Moore show.
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1 <u>Bone: Eyes of the Storm</u> Jeff Smith<br>
2 <u>Lost in Time</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br>
3 <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 8</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br>
4 <u>The Curse of Four</u> Caitlin Kittredge<br>
5 <u>Reached</u> Ally Condie<br>
6 <u>Bone: The Dragonslayer</u> Jeff Smith<br>
7 <u>A Clash of Kings</u> George R.R. Martin<br>
8 <u>Frost Burned</u> Patricia Briggs<br>
9 <u>An Apple for the Creature</u> Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner<br>
10 <i><u>The Tragedy of Arthur</u> Arthur Phillips</i><br>
11 <u>Serpent's Kiss</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br>
12 <u>Bone: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border</u> Jeff Smith<br>
13 <u>The Night Circus</u> Erin Morgenstern<br>
14 <i><u>Caddie Woodlawn</u> Carol Ryrie Brink</i><br>
15 <u>Kiss and Spell</u> Shanna Swendson<br>
16 <u>A Fantasy Medley 2</u> Edited by Yanni Kuznia<br>
17 <u>Batman: The Court of Owls</u> Scott Snyder<br>
18 <u>Dead Ever After</u> Charlaine Harris<br>
19 <u>His Majesty's Dragon</u> Naomi Novik<br>
20 <u>House of Secrets</u> Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini<br>
21 <u>In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex</u> Nathaniel Philbrick<br>
22 <i><u>Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor</u> Rosina Harrison</i><br>
23 <u>Rogue Touch</u> Christine Woodward<br>
24 <u>A Hard Day's Knight</u> Simon R. Green<br>
25 <u>Divergent</u> Veronica Roth<br>
26 <u>Batman: The City of Owls</u> Scott Snyder<br>
27 <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 9</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br>
28 <u>Winds of Salem</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br>
29 <u>Chimes at Midnight</u> Seanan McGuire<br>
30 <u>Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic</u> Jennifer Keishin Armstrong<br>
31 <i><u>Red Earth White Earth</u> Will Weaver</i><br>
32 <u>The Cuckoo's Calling</u> Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)<br>
33 <i><u>The Wind in the Willows</u> Kenneth Grahame</i><br>
34 <u>Legends I</u> Edited by Robert Silverberg<br>
35 <u>Insurgent</u> Veronica Roth<br>
36 <u>Inferno</u> Dan Brown<br>
37 <u>Eat More Vegetables: Making the Most of Your Seasonal Produce</u> Tricia Cornell<br>
38 <u>Allegiant</u> Veronica Roth<br>
39 <u>Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic</u> Alison Bechdel<br>
40 <u>After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse</u> Charlaine Harris<br>
41 <u>The Bone Season</u> Samantha Shannon<br>
42 <u>A Kiss of Shadows</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br>
43 <u>The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit</u> Octavia Spencer<br>
belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-67898878780741641452013-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:002013-01-04T11:34:16.438-08:00Books Read in 2012So I completely fell off the blog bandwagon. I just don’t have the time to keep up with it. Pinterest is way more my speed these days. But I still felt compelled to post my 2012 reading list. It’s quite a lot shorter than in years past. Partly that’s due to my commute. But largely it’s been due to my complete lack of desire to read. I’m not sure what happened. No inspiration? Caught up on the paranormal series I started? Getting an ipad for Mother’s Day and the ensuing addiction to stupid app games? Whatever the reason, I also fell off the reading bandwagon.
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As I said in my <a href="http://belsum.livejournal.com/124354.html" target="_blank">end of year meme on LJ</a>, my reading this year has not been very highbrow. At all. In fact, I quit or just plain skipped over half of the book club selections for the year. (The ones I did read are in italics below.) Instead, I read an awful lot of semi-trashy, comedic celebrity memoirs. Tons of supernatural mystery serieses. And a handful of graphic novels. My favorite would have be my re-read of <u>The Hobbit</u>, which I read to the kids at bedtime over the summer, so we’d be ready when the movie came out. The story that sticks with me the most is <u>WOOL</u>, by Hugh Howey, because it was such a unique format and chillingly realistic dystopian future. The book that was most enlightening was <u>Suffering Succotash</u>, by Stephanie Lucianovic, because it opened my eyes about my son’s picky eating and helped me to not sweat it.
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1 <u> Make the Bread, Buy the Butter </u> Jennifer Reese <br>
2 <u> Le Freak: An Upside Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny </u> Nile Rodgers <br>
3 <u> One Salt Sea </u> Seanan McGuire <br>
4 <u> Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) </u> Mindy Kaling <br>
5 <u> Moon Called </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
6 <u> Crossed </u> Ally Condie <br>
7 <u> Farscape: Compulsions </u> Keith R.A. DeCandido <br>
8 <u> Blood Bound </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
9 <u> A Game of Thrones </u> George R.R. Martin <br>
10 <u> Iron Kissed </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
11 <u> Mercy Thompson: Homecoming </u> Patricia Briggs & David Lawrence <br>
12 <u> Fired Up </u> Jayne Ann Krentz <br>
13 <u> Bone Crossed </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
14 <i> <u> The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane </u> Katherine Howe </i> <br>
15 <i> <u> To Kill a Mockingbird </u> Harper Lee </i> <br>
16 <u> Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 7 </u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi <br>
17 <u> The Unnatural Inquirer </u> Simon R. Green <br>
18 <u> Silver Borne </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
19 <i> <u> Cold Comfort Farm </u> Stella Gibbons </i> <br>
20 <u> Down These Strange Streets </u> George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois <br>
21 <u> River Marked </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
22 <u> Just Another Judgement Day </u> Simon R. Green <br>
23 <u> The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes </u> Neil Gaiman <br>
24 <u> Fair Game </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
25 <u> Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster </u> Kristen Johnston <br>
26 <i> <u> The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie </u> Muriel Spark </i> <br>
27 <u> All There Is: Love Stories From StoryCorps </u> Edited by Dave Isay <br>
28 <u> The Hob's Bargain </u> Patricia Briggs <br>
29 <u> Growgirl: How My Life After The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot </u> Heather Donahue <br>
30 <u> A Kiss Before the Apocalypse </u> Thomas E. Sniegoski <br>
31 <u> Magic Burns </u> Ilona Andrews <br>
32 <u> Deadlocked </u> Charlaine Harris <br>
33 <u> The Hobbit </u> J.R.R. Tolkien <br>
34 <u> Suffering Succotasch: A Picky Eater's Quest to Understand Why We Hate the Foods We Hate </u> Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic <br>
35 <u> Dancing on the Head of a Pin </u> Thomas E. Sniegoski <br>
36 <u> The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny </u> Simon R. Green <br>
37 <u> Much Ado About Magic </u> Shanna Swendson <br>
38 <u> Shadow of Night </u> Deborah Harkness <br>
39 <u> Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales </u> Ali Wentworth <br>
40 <u> WOOL </u> Hugh Howey <br>
41 <u> Blood Lite III: Aftertaste </u> Edited by Kevin J. Anderson <br>
42 <u> No Quest for the Wicked </u> Shanna Swendson <br>
43 <u> Most Talkative: Stories From the Front Lines of Pop Culture </u> Andy Cohen <br>
44 <u> Hex Appeal </u> Edited by P.N. Elrod <br>
45 <u> Bone: Out From Boneville </u> Jeff Smith <br>
46 <u> Where Angels Fear to Tread </u> Thomas E. Sniegoski <br>
47 <u> Ashes of Honor </u> Seanan McGuire <br>
48 <u> Bone: The Great Cow Race </u> Jeff Smith <br>
49 <u> Cold Days </u> Jim Butcher <br>
50 <u> You're Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations </u> Michael Ian Black <br>
51 <u> Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron </u> Jonathan Strahan <br>
belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-27781204551371946592012-03-19T11:08:00.001-07:002012-03-19T11:10:17.749-07:005:15pm 2/29/12 in flightTuesday we had to set out alarms for the first time to get a cab over to the Conrad. Of course the night before we had massive drama. Dad couldn’t get the pilot lit and we had to call in an emergency furnace tech.<br /><br />We got on a bus tour to go visit El Yunque National Forest. It was really a four seat van and it was jam packed. We drove to the park and stopped in four locations. The first was the visitor’s center, which Mr. b and I skipped and did the short walking trail instead. We saw giant snails on the path. Then we stopped at the Yokahú lookout tower. It’s a recreation of the old Spanish tower. Mr. b loved the breeze at the top. You could see the coast and Calebra island. Next we went to a big picnic area that used to also be a swimming hole. They closed the baño grande in the 70s because of accidents. There was a cool series of small falls as one of the many creeks flowed through the area. Finally we stopped for a photo op at the waterfall pictures on all the travel ads: La Coca. It was a sheer drop and it was lovely.<br /><br />We got back to the Condado about 1pm and decided to stay on that side. We walked down to the driver-recommended place for lunch, Casa Lola. It was far fancier than we were in the mood for but we stayed and it turned out to be exactly perfect.<br />Then we walked back to La Concha to change into our swimsuits and scam use of their beach and pool. The surf was really high so I didn’t even bother going into the water. Mr. b body surfed and got beaten by the waves for a while. Once we had enough we tried out the infinity pool. I had never been in one before. It was cool. Mr. b went to get us some drinks but they were too expensive, even for tourist hotel standards, so we packed up and moved down the beach. We ended up at the Atlantic Beach Club, which looked totally sketchy but ended up being exactly where we needed to be. We had some drinks and stared at the ocean.<br /><br />When we got back to the apartment we did some packing and worked on finishing our bottle of Don Q. We went back to Patio de Sam and got dinner. Plantain and sweet potato chips and the best mofongo ever. Plus delicious mojitos. We hung out in the Plaza de Ponce for a while before heading back home.<br /><br />After some TV Mr. b wanted to go back out and try the upstairs bar that was projecting a light show onto the plaza. I love the place. It felt like a St. Paul dive, with pool tables and everything. We got to chatting with the bartender, Eduardo, and his lady friend, Marie. He was supposed to make her dinner but had to work so she was hanging out. Eduardo is originally from Cuba and is an archaeologist, working in Ponce on the south of the island. We all got along great and then a couple of Argentine navy men came in. The quiet one had to get up and be on duty in the morning but Ignacio was ready to have fun. I left at 1:30 to go to bed, right as Mr. b was buying him a shot for his birthday the day before. I woke up about 3 and went back down there in my jammies to fetch him. Ignacio came home with us to exchange names to keep in touch on facebook. I want to try to locate Eduardo, too.<br /><br />We got up early this morning and picked at our leftovers for breakfast. Security at the San Juan airport was ridiculous. They were clearly on island time and didn’t care. We spent over an hour on the taxiway at JFK but are in the air now. The drink cart is two rows away.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-54160164177815049452012-03-19T11:06:00.000-07:002012-03-19T11:07:09.153-07:009:15pm 2/27/12 San JuanI did end up joining Mr. b across the street once he got back from the casino. He won $100 on blackjack and was double hammered. We went to bed shortly after. I slept in the loft.<br /><br />We both couldn’t get moving this morning. Mr. b went out for some rellenos de papas for breakfast and then we just sat around for a while. We decided to walk the whole way to the locals’ beach, which is closer than the tourist one but still about 2 miles away. We took our time strolling and it was actually a lovely walk. The beach had tons of teenagers and some families. There was a lot of rocks as a breakwater so it was calm instead of wavy.<br /><br />After we were done with the beach we walked over the bridge to the tourist side. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican place that had windows opened up right on the surf. There was a tide pool below with crabs walking around. The waitress climbed out and threw hunks of bread. The water churned where the fish swarmed to eat it.<br /><br />We didn’t do much this evening. Naps back at the apartment. Then some souvenir shopping for the kids. We got a small bite for dinner but I couldn’t finish my soup. I burned the tops of my feet today. They’re definitely going to peel.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-13407591567555402542012-03-19T11:05:00.001-07:002012-03-19T11:08:37.020-07:009:30pm 2/26/12 San JuanWe did go out again last night after 8 or 8:30. We walked down to the harbor and through the crowds of tourists. We hung out for a while at the plaza closest to us and bought some snacks. Then we ended up just hanging out and watching a marathon of American Chopper.<br /><br />This morning we walked to the corner and got breakfast at La Tortuga. As is apparently typical around here, it was slow but delicious. Then we walked to the harbor and waited for the ferry.<br /><br />The ferry took us across to Cataño where we boarded a van to the Bacardi distillery. The tour wasn’t really that special but it was free and we found a nice couple to hang out with. They also provide drink tickets for 2 drinks, which were of course delicious but weak.<br /><br />We took a minivan cab back to the ferry but wanted to stay on that side of the harbor for a while. The driver said the hamburger place right where he dropped us off was great. The owner looked Jamaican but was Puertorriqueño. We hung out there for hours, drinking Cuba Libres, eating hamburgers, and talking to locals. It was a great spot.<br /><br />We had to wait forever to get the next ferry. We checked out the huge cruise ships and the pirate ship (used in the Brando version of Mutiny on the Bounty) and stopped in for another drink near the tourist harbor. Then we found ourselves at the foot of San Cristobal so decided to check out the fort. We went through it quite fast; it was closing in less than an hour. The dungeon was the coolest part. There were some amazing views into the old city.<br /><br />We made our way home and have been relaxing, drinking rum and watching TV. Right now Mr. b is out on a supply run. The SuperMax is closed. I’m watching the Oscars. There’s a music video shoot down the block.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-30850362224172510582012-03-19T11:03:00.001-07:002012-03-19T11:08:17.066-07:005:00pm 2/25/12 San JuanA little over 24 hours ago, Mr. b got a job offer.<br /><br />We left the apartment after breakfast yesterday and headed to the right out our door. We headed through a plaza and found ourselves at the edge of a great swath of green grass next to an old fort wall. Everywhere we looked were school kids, wearing field trip t-shirts, flying kites. We passed through the school groups and entered the first for on the island, El Morro.<br /><br />The fort was huge and super cool. Kirk would love it. We took lots of pictures of the most piratey spots for him. After we were forted out, we started back through the grassy area, this time making towards the channel instead of the ocean. We followed along the inner wall and came upon the San Juan Gate. We rested in the shade of an awesome old tree with roots hanging down from its branches.<br /><br />Mr. b wanted to get over to where the cruise ships come in. It took a few tries but we eventually found ourselves in an area that looked very much like Navy Pier. I was exhausted so we went into the first place for lunch: Señor Frogs.<br /><br />After we ate we headed back home for naps. That’s when Mr. b got the call with the offer. We were obviously very excited and got ready to splurge on dinner. We dressed up and went across the street to Barú. It was delicious and expensive.<br />We were so full and tired we contemplated calling it a night. But we rallied about 10pm and headed down the block to Patio de Sam and had a few rounds, listening to the local guitar player.<br /><br />This morning we had appointments for pedicures at 10am. We took a cab to the spa and discovered it as the wrong one. But they could get us in and when they called their sister location to cancel us, found out they only had on scheduled!<br /><br />Mr. b won $25 at the hotel casino while my toenail polish was drying so we got fancy drinks at the hotel bar. Another cab ride took us to a pizza chain that was supposed to have great gluten free. They had none. So we started wandering. We found the beach but not the exact perfect patio bar Mr. b was hoping for. My feet were killing me. Finally we went into a local place called Café del Angel. Service was TERRIBLE. We didn’t get served for nearly an hour. They were very apologetic, gave us a free round of drinks, and when the food finally came, it was totally worth it.<br /><br />We hung out in the La Concha hotel lobby for a while before heading out to the beach. Mr. b played in the water longer than I did of course. We just layed in the beach chairs and relaxed. We tried to find another beach but my feet couldn’t take it anymore. We ducked into another hotel bar for a break and then took a cab home.<br />We’re probably just going to cook at home tonight rather than going out for dinner again.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-82031224264876547882012-03-19T11:02:00.001-07:002012-03-19T11:07:32.485-07:0010:30am 2/24/12 San JuanWe had 3 flights yesterday; Mpls to Chicago, Chicago to Miami, Miami to San Juan. We finally got into a taxi about 11pm. There was a medical emergency on the third flight. They even asked for a doctor over the PA!<br /><br />We’re staying in an apartment on Calle San Sebastien in the Old City. The streets are cobble stone and narrow. It reminds me of the old cities of Antibes or Monaco.<br /><br />Last night we walked to the SuperMax for groceries. Mr. b made a pitcher of rum punch by chopping up some mango, grapefruit, papaya, and limes and pouring in rum. I haven’t tried it yet. He kept going out last night and it was creeping me out to be here alone. The door locks by key on both sides so I had no way out.<br /><br />This morning it’s raining lightly. I made some eggs with chorizo and queso blanco and had them with tortillas.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-71526500803438254152012-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:002012-01-03T07:31:18.140-08:00Books Read in 2011I used to keep my book list in a Word doc. Earlier last year I transferred the whole thing to Excel. I guess it finally hit me that this many years’ of books needed to be in a better format. It’s been fun to be able to filter the list and I’ve even created a couple of flags for myself. But how did 2011 stack up? Actually not too shabby! I’m down a few from 2010’s record high but I’m surprised I still hit such a big number. I started a new job in September, requiring me to drive to work instead of take the bus, and that’s seriously depleted my reading time. I guess it helps when I’m rarely tackling such dense tomes that require a month to slog through…<br /><br />I killed some time last week with an end of year meme over on <a href="http://belsum.livejournal.com/119281.html" target="_blank">my LiveJournal</a>. One of the questions was “What was the best book you read?” I can never just pick one. I reread <u>Celestial Matters</u> by Richard Garfinkle, which is a personal favorite and something I think any ancient history nerd should read. <u>Ship Breaker</u> by Paolo Bacigalupi was recommended for fans of the Hunger Games and was a fun and exciting young adult story, set in a ruined near future, an original story not requiring vampires or sequels. <u>Matched</u> by Ally Condie was a chilling young adult story that I found to be extremely prescient and could easily see that world happening if we keep on our current path. I recommended that one frequently. <u>A Discovery of Witches</u> by Deborah Harkness – finally! A supernatural tale written for adults that don’t want stupid love triangles *or* explicit sex! And I fell in love with three new serieses: the Trylle trilogy by Amanda Hocking, the Alpha and Omega spin-off series by Patricia Briggs, and the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. <br /><br />I also read a lot of non-fiction. I’m not sure if it was intentional but I definitely fell into the habit of checking out odd memoirs that caught my eye when I read reviews of them. These ranged from celebrities with interesting lives to regular people with interesting lives. <u>Stuntman!</u> by Hal Needham is a must for any fan of Burt Reynolds and <u>American on Purpose</u> is perfect for fans of comedy, Anglophiles, and punk rockers. I think <u>Concierge Confidential</u> by Michael Fazio was probably the best of the non-famous people memoirs, and I didn’t even know most of the subjects he dished about while discussing how he essentially invented the modern concierge industry.<br /><br />Book club had mostly good to excellent selections this year (in italics below), although I did give up on the November pick, <u>Assassination Vacation</u>, despite liking the subject matter because I was completely put off by the author’s voice. My favorites were the Steinbeck, the Gaiman, and the Greene titles. I can’t count the most excellent <u>Down and Out in Paris and London</u> because that was actually for 2009 and it just took me that long to get around to buying a copy and finishing it! I also read my usual dozen and a half or so graphic novels. The standouts there were <u>Batwoman: Elegy</u>, truly an amazing tale and incredible artwork, and <u>The Griff</u>, a unique riff on the apocalypse, told by Christopher Moore.<br /><br />I don’t think I have any book related resolutions again. <a href="http://belsum.blogspot.com/2011/01/books-read-in-2010.html">Last year</a> I said I was going to sew more. That did not happen. At all. This year I’m going to try to bake something every week. I’m still getting a handle on gluten free eating and baking is definitely the area I’ve been most scared of. I’ve had some successes and some failures and mostly just middle of the road good-enough results. So even if it’s just a mix of gf Brownies from a box, I’m going to bake. And I’m going to get back my confidence. And buy xanthum gum and figure out what the hell it does.<br /><br /><br />1 <u>Celestial Matters</u> Richard Garfinkle<br />2 <u>Palo Alto</u> James Franco<br />3 <u>Down and Out in Paris and London</u> George Orwell<br />4 <i><u>The Hound of the Baskervilles</u> Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</i><br />5 <u>Batwoman: Elegy</u> Greg Rucka & J. H. Williams III<br />6 <u>I Am Number Four</u> Pittacus Lore<br />7 <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 3</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br />8 <u>Ship Breaker</u> Paolo Bacigalupi<br />9 <u>Star Island</u> Carl Hiassen<br />10 <u>About a Boy</u> Nick Hornby<br />11 <i><u>Children of God Go Bowling</u> Shannon Olson</i><br />12 <u>Magic Bites</u> Ilona Andrews<br />13 <u>Bloody Valentine</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br />14 <u>Matched</u> Ally Condie<br />15 <u>The Help</u> Kathryn Stockett<br />16 <u>Something From the Nightside</u> Simon R. Green<br />17 <u>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 7 Twilight</u> Brad Meltzer & Georges Jeanty<br />18 <u>Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files Storm Front Vol. 2 Maelstrom</u> Mark Powers & Ardian Syaf<br />19 <u>Agents of Light and Darkness</u> Simon R. Green<br />20 <u>Nightingale's Lament</u> Simon R. Green<br />21 <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 4</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br />22 <i><u>East of Eden</u> John Steinbeck</i><br />23 <u>Angel: After the Fall Vol. 1</u> Brian Lynch & Franco Urru<br />24 <u>Hex and the City</u> Simon R. Green<br />25 <u>Huntress</u> Christine Warren, Marjorie M. Liu, Caitlin Kittredge, Jenna Maclaine<br />26 <u>Concierge Confidential</u> Michael Fazio<br />27 <u>Farscape: Scorpius Vol 1 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie</u> David Alan Mack & Mike Ruiz<br />28 <u>The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists</u> Gideon Defoe<br />29 <u>Street Magic</u> Caitlin Kittredge<br />30 <u>Battle Royale Vol. 1</u> Koushun Takami & Masayuki Taguchi<br />31 <u>Demon Bound</u> Caitlin Kittredge<br />32 <u>Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story</u> Harvey Pekar<br />33 <u>Paths Not Taken</u> Simon R. Green<br />34 <u>Mister Wonderful</u> Daniel Clowes<br />35 <u>Dead Reckoning</u> Charlaine Harris<br />36 <u>Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth</u> Simon R. Green<br />37 <u>On the Edge</u> Richard Hammond<br />38 <u>The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie</u> Alan Bradley<br />39 <u>Bone Gods</u> Caitlin Kittredge<br />40 <i><u>The Girls are Coming</u> Peggie Carlson</i><br />41 <u>Hit List</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />42 <u>Switched</u> Amanda Hocking<br />43 <u>The Wreck of the Waleship Essex</u> Owen Chase<br />44 <u>Torn</u> Amanda Hocking<br />45 <u>A Discovery of Witches</u> Deborah Harkness<br />46 <u>Ascend</u> Amanda Hocking<br />47 <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 5</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br />48 <u>Stuntman! My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life</u> Hal Needham<br />49 <u>Hell to Pay</u> Simon R. Green<br />50 <i><u>The Graveyard Book</u> Neil Gaiman</i><br />51 <u>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 8 Last Gleaming</u> Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty<br />52 <u>Ghost Story</u> Jim Butcher<br />53 <u>Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale</u> Joss and Zack Whedon & Chris Samnee<br />54 <u>Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy</u> Edited by Ellen Datlow<br />55 <u>Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil</u> Deborah Rodriguez<br />56 <u>The Witches of East End</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br />57 <u>The City of Ember</u> Jeannne DePrau<br />58 <i><u>The Member of the Wedding</u> Carson McCullers</i><br />59 <u>The People of Sparks</u> Jeannne DePrau<br />60 <u>Home Improvement: Undead Edition</u> Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner<br />61 <u>American on Purpose</u> Craig Ferguson<br />62 <u>The Prophet of Yonwood</u> Jeannne DePrau<br />63 <u>On the Prowl</u> Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, Sunny<br />64 <u>Cry Wolf</u> Patricia Briggs<br />65 <u>The Diamond of Darkhold</u> Jeannne DePrau<br />66 <u>Hunting Ground</u> Patricia Briggs<br />67 <i><u>The Florist's Daughter</u> Patricia Hampl</i><br />68 <u>Cowboys & Aliens</u> Fred Van Lente<br />69 <u>Hexed</u> Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galenorn, Allyson James, Jeanne C. Stein<br />70 <u>Nerd Do Well</u> Simon Pegg<br />71 <u>The Sookie Stackhouse Companion</u> Charlaine Harris<br />72 <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 6</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br />73 <i><u>Travels with My Aunt</u> Graham Greene</i><br />74 <u>Devil's Business</u> Caitlin Kittredge<br />75 <u>Rosemary and Rue</u> Seanan McGuire<br />76 <u>Farscape: Tangled Roots</u> Keith R.A. DeCandido<br />77 <u>A Local Habitation</u> Seanan McGuire<br />78 <u>Farscape: Red Sky at Morning</u> Keith R.A. DeCandido<br />79 <i><u>The Grace of Silence</u> Michele Norris</i><br />80 <u>An Artificial Night</u> Seanan McGuire<br />81 <u>The Griff</u> Christopher Moore & Ian Corson<br />82 <u>Late Eclipses</u> Seanan McGuirebelsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-56938095571300943442011-11-02T12:46:00.000-07:002011-11-02T12:51:09.232-07:00Halloween 2011It was a very piratey year! Three in our own trick-or-treating party plus the neighbor kid and at least a dozen other random people out that night.<br /><img src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302021_2559201937104_1165697232_33045738_1704712677_n.jpg" height=315><br /><img src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/373815_2559203577145_1165697232_33045746_1974199297_n.jpg" height=315><br /><br />Kirk was Captain Jack Sparrow.<br /><img src="http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/311804_2559139535544_1165697232_33045624_473487166_n.jpg" height=315><br /><br />Cousin A2 was Elizabeth Swann.<br /><img src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/393519_2559145655697_1165697232_33045642_422650559_n.jpg" height=315><br /><br />Mama was Anamaria. And Ronnie was Princess Leia. (Who of course likes pirates and scoundels.)<br /><img src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/300960_2559148815776_1165697232_33045652_1916789166_n.jpg" height=315><br /><br />Mr. b really got into character as gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.<br /><img src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/383532_2559140255562_1165697232_33045626_1898548536_n.jpg" height=315><br /><br />He was quoting Fear and Loathing lines all night.<br /><img src="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/380484_2559142055607_1165697232_33045631_347064029_n.jpg" height=315><br /><br />HAPPY HALLOWEEN!<br /><img src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/389688_2559151895853_1165697232_33045663_1438929534_n.jpg" height=315>belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-60176190840430235132011-07-27T12:44:00.000-07:002011-07-27T12:46:02.676-07:00The Quest for BreadHere are some things I’ve learned about gluten-free products:<br /><br /><li><b>Pasta</b> - I like the quinoa and corn better than the rice-based noodles. Ancient Harvest spaghetti is my favorite so far. They don’t have too many shapes so I haven’t been able to try the other varieties. I have elbow noodles in my cupboard but haven’t used them yet. The next best is Annie’s macaroni and cheese. It’s nearly as good as regular boxed mac-n-cheese, despite being rice-based noodles. They’re much larger in size than the typical blue box but they taste great and hold their texture as leftovers. My least favorite is Tinkyada. Maybe it’s just their asinine “energy-saving” cooking method (boil for 2 minutes then let sit, covered, for 20) but the texture was awful, they fell apart when mixed with other ingredients, they were mushy in the casserole, and worse as leftovers. We threw out half a pan.</li><br /><br /><li><b>Snacks & Desserts</b> - I haven’t actually tried that many crackers. The Glutino table crackers are underwhelming so I’ve been sticking with Nut Thins. I genuinely like them and I keep trying new flavors. They’re really great with spreadable cheeses like port wine and cream cheese. Tortilla chips are of course a standard, as they have been all along. Frito Lay has a marvelous list of all their GF snacks, which include Cheetos! Unfortunately not Nacho Cheese Doritos; Cool Ranch just aren’t as good. I’ve also tried a few different bars. Bakery on Main has some nice granola bars and I like that you can actually buy a whole box. KIND bars and Lärabars are individual only. I was underwhelmed with the one flavor of KIND bar I’ve tried but plan to sample others. So far I like the chocolate coconut Lärabar best but it’s only the second flavor I’ve gotten around to sampling. I made some homemade Monster Cookies using a recipe from General Mills’ glutenfreely.com. They used a box mix for Betty Crocker GF chocolate chip cookies. The finished product was OK, not great. They were actually better the second day but then got quite dry as they aged. I do like the idea of using more baking mixes though, instead of having to have 80 different weird flours on hand. A co-worker brought in a French Meadow GF brownie and a GF chocolate chip cookie for me earlier this week. They were both good but the cookie was actually pretty great. I’ve also had the local co-op’s GF brownie, which I liked though it was day old and so a bit stale.</li><br /><br /><li><b>Breakfast</b> - Mostly I’ve been eating Corn Chex or Rice Chex. Or combining them into the same bowl for “Crispix”. I’ve tried one actual GF cereal, Sunrise Harvest, and it was good but weird. There were like six different shapes of things in there so it was like eating suicide cereal. Seriously. Like if someone poured Kix and Rice Krispies and Wheaties and Grape Nuts and Special K into the same bowl and mixed it all together. Odd. I’ve also gone through a box of Glutenfreeda instant oatmeal. I tried the variety pack which had apple-cinnamon, maple-raisin, and maple-banana. The maple-banana is best. But I would like to find just regular instant oats. Like a big container that I can choose how much to pour and flavor myself instead of the packets. I’m also curious about the quinoa flakes (like Malt-o-Meal?) but haven’t tried them yet. I have some actual quinoa that I used to make a delicious pilaf the other night. I think I have a recipe to make a hearty breakfast bowl with quinoa that I’ll have to dig up. I’ve also been buying Amy’s frozen GF burritos, which are <i>awesome</i>, and having those for brekkie. But that gets spendy.</li><br /><br /><li><b>Pizza</b> - Pizza has been tricky. Mr. b found an Amy’s frozen rice crust pizza and it was awful. The flavor was ok I guess but the texture was all kinds of wrong. We threw out the leftovers. Since that disaster, I tried an Udi’s frozen pizza crust. It was great. Good texture, good flavor, and really only a little bit more effort to have to spread my own sauce and toppings. It was a two-pack so I’ve got a second one to decorate. They’re fairly small crusts though so I can eat like 2/3 myself. Something for a night when the kids are having Spaghettios. We had a pizza lunch at work the other day and the admin was kind enough to order several GF along with the massive order she called in from Pizza Luce. It was great. I even got to snatch the leftovers so I’ve had some leftover pizza for breakfast. There are a couple of other pizza joints I want to try that have GF crusts. It’s nice living in such a hippie organic bean sprout city because there really are a lot of restaurant options. I just need to remember all the places we used to go back in the 90s…</li><br /><br /><li><b>Bread</b> - This is the biggie. I haven’t found anything that’s *that* good yet. Udi’s plain bagels were fine. They weren’t great but they were acceptable. I’m a bagel snob and nothing is ever going to compare to Bruegger’s for me so I just have to accept that. Udi’s were as good as non-Bruegger’s and that’s as good as it’s going to get. I also tried some brown rice tortillas. They were pretty passable as naan for scooping up Indian food. But they didn’t wrap well for burritos. I haven’t tried them as quesadillas yet but my fingers are crossed. Corn tortillas, though good for pretty much anything (seriously, I eat most leftovers in them; you can make <i>anything</i> into a taco), just don’t work for quesadillas. Regular bread though, haven’t hit on it yet. First I tried a loaf of Schär. The first two sandwiches I made for Mr. b and I – grilled ham and cheese – were excellent. But small. The loaf is <i>little</i>. But after it was frozen and I had to defrost in the microwave I was completely disillusioned. I choked down my grilled cheese and figured I’d have to try another brand. So next up was French Meadow. They’re local and their tag line is that it’s so good you won’t miss the wheat. Bullshit. I missed the wheat. It was not good. I choked down the tuna melt but was very unhappy. Then I decided to try toasting the old frozen Schär in the oven. It’s a bit weird and slow but it was good! I had it with cream cheese and it was better than the bagel. I tried the same oven technique with the French Meadow and again, it totally worked! My salami and provolone sandwich was dry but delicious. So I guess toasting is the key. I still want to try Udi’s and see if that’s universal but I suspect it is. I covet the soft pillowy direct-from-the bag slices when I make the kids’ PBJs. And croissants. I haven’t even attempted a hunt for GF croissants.</li>belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-27106894139866022632011-07-22T12:56:00.000-07:002011-07-22T12:57:50.144-07:00It's GeneticGood News Everyone! Kirk and Veronica do NOT have celiac disease.<br /><br />I took them in last week to have blood taken for testing. Since it's genetic, they say that anyone with a confirmed-by-endoscopy diagnosis (me!) should have their first degree relatives tested. My parents and my siblings will have to take care of themselves. My kids are cleared. And they were so well-behaved at the lab that they got taken off grounding for the running away from home incident.<br /><br />It’s a big relief to know they don’t have it. I mean, I know it must be easier to deal with than parents of young kids that aren’t actually celiac themselves. I already am learning the ways of gluten-free living. But this way they don’t have to worry about getting contaminated out there in the world, at daycare or school or birthday parties or hell, even taking samples in the grocery store. It’s just simpler. And I was worried. Not about Kirk. I was quite confident he’d be cleared. But Ronnie’s always had a poopie butt. She has blows outs even still and her poo just isn’t as solidified as her brother’s was coming into potty training age. So it’s good to know that’s just her system, and not an underlying issue.<br /><br />My mom and I wonder if perhaps her father didn’t have celiac. He died when I was less than a year old so I don’t have any memory of him. But Mom says that Grandpa was always, her entire life, experimenting with his diet to try to solve his constant digestive issues. And since gluten wasn’t determined as the cause of celiac disease until WWII, and even then it wasn’t common knowledge outside of specialists in Europe, I can see it being highly unlikely that he would have stumbled upon eliminating wheat from his diet as a cure. I must admit, it’s kind of neat having a speculative link to a man I’ll never know.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-21433964195938568112011-07-12T08:43:00.000-07:002011-07-12T08:45:29.557-07:00Poison!Saturday we took Kirk to see the King Tut exhibit at the Science Museum. He <i>loved</i> it. Of course. We looked at some of the other permanent exhibits, mainly the dinosaurs, and played out in the Big Backyard and by that time, it was nearly 7 o’clock. The snacks I had packed us all were quickly devoured in the car so Mr. b and I thought we’d hit a drive-thru. Taco Bell seemed easiest. Little did I know it was about to be a gluten fiesta.<br /><br />Taco Bell has gluten in <i>everything</i>. I am not making this up. There’s wheat in the Fire sauce. In the meat for the corn shell tacos. Even the frickin’ mango strawberry Fruitista Freeze has it! I was shocked. And...had already started eating by the time I made this discovery. I said fuck it and kept eating. Mr. b figures it was my chance to say good bye to Taco Bell. But then I had to wait for the sick to kick in. I knew it would be about a day and a half delay to get deep enough into my guts to do damage.<br /><br />I knew it would take that long because last week I got “poisoned” by toaster crumbs. I made myself a gluten-free bagel and used our regular toaster, not thinking anything of it. I met with the dietician that afternoon and found out: Bad Idea. Apparently I need to get my own toaster. I’ve been toasting my bagels in a dry frying pan in the meantime. Now that the gluten is out of my system and my intestines are beginning to heal, even the smallest amount will make me sick. But it took about 30 hours to hit. It wasn’t until following afternoon that I started to feel icky and needed to run to the bathroom repeatedly. I guess each instance will be different though because the Taco Bell fiasco manifested as gas and bloating instead. I’m keeping up my food log so at least I’ll be able to track the culprits now that I have a general timeline. Hopefully that’ll help me fine tune this radical diet change.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-71530841957904686062011-07-11T08:12:00.000-07:002011-07-11T08:15:00.805-07:00NaughtyEven when I was in high school I knew the line from <u>The Little Mermaid</u> "Betcha on land they understand that they don’t reprimand their daughters" was hilarious. It’s even funnier now with a daughter of my own. Who needs to be reprimanded quite frequently in fact. For instance last night, when she and her brother <i>ran away from home</i>. At bedtime. In their jammies. To the neighbor’s house.<br /><br />I’m not entirely sure what they thought they were doing. We had been over to the neighbor’s that evening, splashing around in their wading pool in the backyard. Neither Kirk nor Veronica wanted to leave, despite it being bedtime. Thankfully the neighbor helped get them out of there by deflating the pool and dumping out the water. We all went home, got dried off, and into pajamas. While I was gathering wet clothes for the laundry I realized they had gone outside. Which, strictly speaking, was enough to get them into trouble but I was going to let it slide, thinking they were just in the backyard. I stepped outside to shoo them in and realized they weren’t actually in our yard. I started calling for them and noticed they were two houses over, about to go through the back gate to the neighbor’s that we had just left. They hustled over so fast when they saw and heard how mad I was. Mr. b yelled at them big time and Kirk blamed Ronnie, of course, and Ronnie was in tears and they were sent straight to bed and they’re grounded from TV. Kirk tried to suggest they get grounded from going outside. Yeah right. Nice try buddy.<br /><br />The ironic thing is that just that afternoon, we got set up with cameras to record Ronnie’s temper tantrums. When the kids were born I signed each of them up to be participants in various child development studies with the University. Kirk’s gone in a few times to do various cognitive development tests, like play with blocks and look at pictures. Simple stuff, quick and easy and fun. A couple of months ago they called about one for Veronica. Initially it was just a survey about how she reacts during a tantrum and how frequently they happen and how long they last. I knew she’d get picked for the larger study and sure enough, she did. They’re researching aggression and using toddlers as their human baseline, because they don’t yet have societal pressure altering their behavior. Obviously they need a lot of raw data for such a complicated statistical model so they’re taping 100 toddlers having three tantrums each. The research assistant came by yesterday and got the cameras in place and walked us through the paperwork. I already have a tantrum for her to come and download. Ronnie freaked out about a) fruit snacks [she’s only allowed one packet a day] and b) not coming to the grocery store with Mama. It’s not even the biggest, baddest one she’s ever had. But it certainly had many of the unique behaviors they’re cataloging – stomping, crying, hitting, yelling, walking away, reaching for comfort – so it definitely qualifies. I think we’re going to get our allotted three tantrums filled up in a hurry. I wonder what’s the fastest any family has completed the inventory? We’re just excited to have witnesses.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-72177606370411722452011-07-05T11:44:00.000-07:002011-07-05T11:45:36.211-07:00I Miss CarbsI’m having a hard time adjusting to the lack of carbohydrates in my diet. I’m a carb kind of gal and I’m noticing an increase in dizziness, floaters in my vision, headaches, and other things like that. Things that I’ve long associated with low blood sugar. That I used to be able to take care of by just eating a granola bar or some peanut butter toast. Now I’m filling myself with cheap carbs like soda and potato chips. Just to try to feel full for a minute. But it never lasts. No matter how much protein I try to add. My meeting with the medical nutritionist is tomorrow.<br /><br />Yes, the celiac diagnosis is official. I briefly met with the GI docs again last week. Basically the diagnosis is two-fold: outright celiac disease and a bunch of medical bullshit that boils down to “manifestation of celiac disease”. I’ve been doing the gluten-free thing, more or less, for two weeks now and I’ve definitely noticed a difference…in my poop. I’m very excited that I’m no longer having daily diarrhea. I keep joking that the only time you’re excited about poop is with your infant, or if you’ve had diarrhea for four months.<br /><br />I haven’t noticed any other differences yet. I’m exhausted but that’s likely from a non-stop weekend of Kirk’s birthday party, my dad’s BBQ reunion, and blowing shit up with neighbors in the alley. I’m supposed to keep taking my daily iron supplement for the next couple of months before trying to cut that off and see if I still need it. Other than that, I don’t know what else to look for.<br /><br />I’m trying to keep track of what I’m eating so I can tell what makes me sick. Apparently very small amounts of gluten will have a big effect once I’ve fully transitioned. I had icky poo again two mornings in a row, once after Red Lobster and once after homemade gluten-free macaroni and cheese. Initially I thought maybe there was cross-contamination in my steak and baked potato. I tried to be careful with what I ordered at the restaurant. But then when I felt icky the second morning I looked to rum as the potential culprit – I had a Bahama Mama while out and a glass of homemade rum punch the following night. Mr. b told me to try rum a third time before cutting it out and sure enough, that wasn’t a problem. So now I’m back to wondering about cross-contamination and reviewing my food log to see what might have been the issue the second time. <br /><br />Meanwhile, I’m not sure I like gluten-free bread. We bought a loaf of Schär multi-grain last week and I made us some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Both Mr. b and I liked them a lot. But when I made myself a grilled cheese this weekend, it wasn’t very good. The bread has to be used very quickly or else frozen so I’m thinking the defrosting and then grilling was the problem. We’ll see if I can come up with another method of cooking it. I found a double corn tortilla to be a very excellent substitute for a hot dog bun!belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-26935476167765603952011-06-27T10:25:00.000-07:002011-06-27T10:26:51.251-07:00Gluten-FreeMy wrist is bruised from where the IV was in. It was really sore yesterday. I have my follow-up with the GI docs tomorrow so I’ll ask them about that. I never did get a call about the biopsy results so theoretically I’ll find that out tomorrow, too.<br /><br />We’re starting slow with the gluten-free foods. Our usual grocery store has a small section in the hippie aisle. We taste-tested two different spaghettis, one was quinoa/corn and the other was corn/rice. The whole family liked both, which was a relief. It definitely cooked differently than regular semolina wheat spaghetti, and the texture of the leftover noodles is different, but in both cases it wasn’t <i>bad</i>, merely not what I’m used to.<br /><br />I’m not ready to dive headlong into gluten-free baking. The idea that I’m going to need a half dozen different flours and combine them in various ways with xanthum gum and other stuff is just too daunting. I’ve got a loaf of gf bread and we’ll see how that tastes. I’m planning on mostly rice and potatoes for starches for meals this week. And there’s always corn tortillas.<br /><br />So far, I’m just winging it. Cutting out the obvious wheat/rye/barley. And I’m staying away from oats until my system is cleared, then I’ll try them to see if they affect me or not. I’m not worrying about the celluloses and glutamates and dextroses and maltoses and whatnot. I know some are wheat based and some are corn based and frankly the internet is just overwhelming. I’m meeting with a nutritionist next week. I’ll ask for a list of what’s OK and what’s bad then. I figure the trace amounts of gluten in various derivatives isn’t going to be enough to set me off since I’m not 100% gluten-free yet. I know some people can get sick from one crumb but I haven’t been at this for even a full week yet. And I cheated last Friday, having one last sandwich from the deli at work, just to say goodbye. *sniff* I’ll miss you, delicious deli sammiches.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-27318464574740095752011-06-23T12:59:00.000-07:002011-06-27T10:27:13.316-07:00CeliacLast week I had my first appointment with the GI specialist. The doctor was handsome, very smart, and eager. He put together my history, like the flu in February and unexplained anemia since I was a teenager. The senior fellow came in (it’s the University so it’s a teaching hospital; I just thought it was funny that the “learner” himself is a full-fledged MD) and praised handsome doc for the job he did with the background analysis. Essentially they think I’ve pretty much always been celiac. In 10-15% of cases the only symptom that <i>ever</i> manifests is anemia so if I hadn’t had the triggering event of the viral infection, I possibly would never have known. Senior doc thought it was irresponsible of my past doctors to not look deeper but hey, it was over 20 years ago and they assumed it was puberty and starting to menstruate and all that and I’ve been taking iron for so long I just never think about it. He thinks that the mal-absorption of iron will go away with the other dietary changes, so that’ll be interesting. I wasn’t supposed to eliminate gluten yet though; they wanted me to wait until after the endoscopy. They expect that I’ll notice improvement in things I never noticed were affecting me before, like energy levels. When he asked if I’m often tired I joked that I have young kids, of course I’m tired! <br /><br />I had my endoscopy yesterday. Because of a series of stupid events, I was over two hours early. (And <i>hungry</i>. I couldn’t eat anything after 7am.) I was fine in the waiting room but when they took me in to the prep room I started to freak out. The prep nurse explained to me step by step everything they were going to do and when she left to let me change into my hospital gown, I started crying. Yes, it’s PMS week so my emotions are nuts but I was still in tears. She came in and tried to help soothe me a bit and put in the IV shunt, which never felt right the entire time. I don’t remember it being so uncomfortable when I had them in for labor. But then again, I was in labor so a bit distracted. I had some time to read and text so that helped to keep my mind off of it but not completely. <br /><br />Then they came to get me to the procedure room. There was a different nurse for that one and she was amazing. She tried to re-settle my IV and wrapped me up in hot blankets and did a fantastic job of helping to calm me. But I was still on the verge of bawling the whole time. They had warned me that the same senior doctor was always 15 minutes late. He ended up being an hour late. I just tried to close my eyes and doze off. It’s hard to actually sleep when there’s so much hustling and bustling in the hall outside and when your nerves are so on edge. Doctor finally got there and he’s a Tasmanian devil of humor and activity so I didn’t have <i>time</i> to freak out. He went through what they were going to do again and then he sprayed the back of my throat with basically just that lidocaine stuff the dentist uses; I had to swallow it though to get it down as far as possible. Meanwhile the nurse was injecting the narcotics and something else into my IV shunt. They hit me <i>so fast</i>. I felt woozy, like that spot *just before* you get the spins when you’re lying down after too many drinks. But it never got to the spins thankfully. I got another dose of the spray and another dose of the hippie drugs and they had me lying on my left side. Then I had to bite onto this circular bite guard thing and the doctor stuck the hose in my mouth. I had my eyes closed so I wouldn’t accidentally see it or the view screens from the camera. I had to swallow it and that was the hardest part. My gag reflex was tamed from the numbing spray but I still had to swallow three times to get it past. Then it was basically like being at the dentist, with the doctor giving the nurse instructions that meant nothing to me and she was doing stuff I couldn’t see and also rubbing my back and telling me how good I was doing and reminding me to breathe through my nose. Then the doctor said he was done and pulled the thing out. It took about 4 minutes. Then I had to spit out all the collected spittle (which obviously I couldn’t swallow with the thing down my throat) and they wheeled me to the recovery area to come down from the drugs. <br /><br />My sister came in and I could barely follow along with her usual pace of things. The recovery nurse had me drink some water to make sure I could swallow. I was super loopy from the “conscious sedation”, which they do because otherwise they’d have to have you on the breathing machine if you were knocked out fully. All I cared about was getting the dang IV thing removed because it was so uncomfortable. I can definitely understand why they don’t want you driving but I would have been able to take the bus by myself. But they don’t have any way of knowing that I’m an expert bus taker. So. I was mostly down from the drugs by the time we got home and then I was just starving and tired. I went to bed at 8:30 last night.<br /> <br />The doctor came in while I was in recovery to talk about what he saw. He took biopsies of a couple different spots, in my stomach and duodenum, and will call me tomorrow with the results. But he said that if it’s not positive for celiac then he’s a liar. Which is why I have to start my new diet right away. I have to make an appointment with the nutritionist, too. We haven’t done any gluten-free shopping yet, and can’t until pay day, so I’m making due with what’s on hand. Which is mainly corn tortillas.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-50759263696816088582011-05-16T11:27:00.000-07:002011-06-27T10:27:13.318-07:00Butt UpdateLast week Ronnie started wearing underpants. Now, this does not mean she is fully potty trained. In fact, I would say instead that she is merely in the process of potty training. She still has accidents. Lots and lots of accidents. But for her, just wearing panties is enough to make her remember to use the potty and she really, really hates having to wear a diaper at all now.<br /><br />It’s amazing how different the potty training experience is with Veronica compared to her brother. Kirk was just uninterested in it at all. Pure laziness. He would have kept going in a diaper forever if we would have let him. Which is why we started the sticker charts. Potty candy was all well and good but ultimately, he needed a bigger reward. Earning stickers to save up for a toy prize mattered a whole lot more to him than the personal pride of a pair of underpants. I guess that’s why Ronnie’s moving forward so much quicker and at such a younger age. I’m not sure if it’s the younger sibling thing or the girls-train-earlier-than-boys thing or personality differences or some combination of all of that. But it’s definitely been unique.<br /><br />Kirk always used the actual potty chair. He didn’t switch to the potty ring until he had been using the little chair for quite some time. We’d always have to clean it out and it was gross. Ronnie has never used anything but the toilet seat ring insert. When she was first showing interest many months ago, I pulled the potty chair out and she would sit on it but it was basically just a toy. She didn’t start actually <i>going</i> until I set her on the ring. That’s what she uses at daycare, too. <br /><br />So now I make sure she goes every morning when she first gets up. She’s really good at morning pee. The rest of the day is hit or miss. She’s been going to daycare in underpants but always ends up coming home in a diaper. She still needs one while sleeping so she needs one while taking a nap. Miss Ronica likes to then have her panties on top of her diaper, so she’s still wearing them. Sort of. I must say, size 2T Hello Kitty panties are just about the cutest thing ever.<br /><br />Mama’s also been having increased potty focus the past few months. The entire family got hit with a nasty bout of stomach flu back in February. All four of us were down for several days with repeated puking and diarrhea. It was not fun. But after we all got well, my butt never went back to normal. Essentially, I’ve had intermittent diarrhea for months now. I thought maybe it was red meat so cut that out. I cut out alcohol and caffeine and dairy. None of that made any difference. I tried adding lactobacillus to my water. Nope. So I finally went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and had blood taken and had to provide a stool sample. That was a real joy to collect.<br /><br />Last week I got the results of the tests back. “Your blood tests for Celiac disease (gluten sensitivity) were both quite elevated. This makes the diagnosis quite likely.” Awesome. I have an appointment with a gastrointestinal specialist set up for next month. But in the meantime, I get to speculate on life with a possible celiac diagnosis. There is no cure. The only way to fix my butt issues would be to change my diet. Radically change my diet. Wheat gluten is in *everything*. Seriously. It’s used to thicken even ice cream! I love pasta and bread and crackers and cereal. Sure, my favorite grains have long been corn and oats but there’s wheat flour in corn bread and dieticians are divided on whether or not oat gluten is also bad. Basically it’s at the point now where every time I eat a sandwich or a plate of spaghetti I find myself thinking, “Is this the last time I’ll ever be able to eat it?” I’m not supposed to modify my diet on my own before additional testing or else I’d have to eat a bunch of gluten specifically for tests. So in the meantime, I’m keeping on keeping on.<br /><br />But what will this mean for my family? I already have a massively picky eater in Kirk. Dinner is a fight more often than not. I don’t want to have to make special meals for myself but I also don’t want to have to force them to eat weird grains and bizarre recipes when they don’t have to. There are just so many factors and such a potential for ripple effects. I’m trying not to worry. But being celiac would certainly help to make sense of certain things my whole life so part of me would be happy just to have the answers. Even if that means knowing that I’ll pay later for that sandwich on delicious whole grain bread.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-85170814600358471522011-05-09T08:08:00.000-07:002011-05-09T08:11:12.648-07:00Libraries Rule<blockquote><i>Never apologize for your reading taste.<br /> -- Betty Rosenberg, Library Science educator</i></blockquote><br /><br />I’ve always loved this quote. I think it’s an important thing to keep in mind whether you’re a voracious reader or only read a handful of books a year. But it’s especially important when you find yourself “stuck in a rut”. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genreflecting" target="_blank">Genreflecting</a> is a legitimate way to find your next read and it’s OK to stick with what you already know you like.<br /><br />Something else that’s important? Quitting a book that you don’t like. This is a tricky one. My aunt has been extremely influential on me with this one. She’s a professional librarian and so reads a lot. Like, a LOT a lot. And obviously even when you’re surrounded by books day in and day out, there’s still a limit to how much you can actually get read. So if it’s not making you happy, don’t waste your time. I’ve found it rather freeing to know that I *can* put down a book unfinished. But it took a long time to get to the point where I was comfortable actually doing so. And I still don’t do it often. Usually once or twice a year the book club selection will just plain not appeal to me but I’ll try it out for a few chapters, if only to get a feel for the writing and be able to explain why I didn’t like it and didn’t continue. Rarely will I quit a book that I picked out for myself.<br /><br />Over the past year and a half or so I’ve tried to stay on top of modern publications by requesting books from the library as I read an intriguing sounding review in a magazine. Yes, usually they’re something I would normally be drawn to anyway but it’s a trick that has pulled me into new directions, too. Sometimes I don’t remember exactly why I was interested in the title and by the time it becomes available on the wait list it will be a complete surprise me to me. Typically a pleasant surprise. But sometimes I’ll take a look at the cover art and read the flap and find that for some reason, I don’t want to read it. So I return the book unread. That’s been a shock to me and it’s also been incredibly liberating. Still, it’s not the usual event. More often than not I’ll read the book anyway and be very glad I did.<br /><br />Sometimes it’s not that I don’t want to read the book at all. It’s instead that I don’t feel like reading it right at that moment. Tastes change and like with movies, sometimes you just aren’t up to the in depth historical drama or the intricate character study. You just want a comedy or a thriller or explosions and action. So in those instances I’ve returned the book unread, but then re-requested it, putting myself to the back of the queue but still getting it again at a later date.<br /><br />Now. Here’s where these habits are all starting to intersect. I’m starting to have repeat returns. My <a href="http://www.shelfari.com/belsum/shelf" target="_blank">Shelfari shelf</a> of I Plan To Read has several books that I’ve checked out and returned unread and re-requested more than twice. Which is silly. I’m trying to be realistic. I know I’m never going to finish <u>Game of Thrones</u> in time, especially with new interest due to the TV show; it’s just always going to have a wait on it making it impossible to renew. <u>The Book Thief</u> is ridiculously popular right now and I’m not entirely sure I’ll ever be “in the mood” for a YA Holocaust tale. But I’m sure it’s as good as they say. I’ve been meaning to read <u>His Majesty’s Dragon</u> for several years now but my library only has a single copy and for no apparent reason, it seems to have a lot of requests on it at all times. It’ll be interesting to see if I do give up on any of them. I finally realized I was never going to actually read <u>The Kraken</u> after the second time I checked it out and I haven’t requested it again since.<br /><br />What am I reading mostly these days? Supernatural mysteries and YA dystopian futures. So books that fall into those bailiwicks I’m eating up with no problem. I picked out <u>Journal of a UFO Investigator</u> strictly based on that awesome title. All I knew is it was YA and had a great cover. What I’m finding is that it’s a somber coming of age story. And it’s really good. But I don’t know that I want to keep going with it. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll return it unfinished and request it again, or just give it up for lost. I think I would ultimately be satisfied with the read. But it’s hard and it hasn’t really grabbed me yet. And I have the next Nightside, as well as the next Black London, sitting on my bedside table. And I think I’d rather find out how John Taylor is going to track his mythical mother through alternate universes, or watch Pete Caldecott grow closer to Jack Winter as she learns how to control her newfound magicks and try to balance that with her mundane day job of a detective inspector.<br /><br />And I’m not going to apologize for that.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-29614160865138261672011-04-18T07:43:00.000-07:002011-04-18T07:44:31.579-07:00East of EdenIt took over a month, and I read two novels and three graphic novels and one short story on top of it, but I finally finished all 601 pages of John Steinbeck’s epic <u>East of Eden</u>.<br /><br />I’ve been slowly rediscovering Steinbeck thanks to book club. I guess “re”discovering is a bit of a misnomer. I read some in high school. For sure Grapes of Wrath, which I didn’t care for at all. Possibly also Of Mice and Men which left no impression. I never really understood what the big deal was. Then last year we read <u>Cannery Row</u> and <a href="http://belsum.blogspot.com/2010/06/bums-whores.html" target="_blank">I fell in love</a>.<br /><br />East of Eden is a big book. Much bigger in tone and reach than just page count. It covers three generations of two families, one being Steinbeck’s own maternal grandfather. The main family focus is the Trask family; I don’t know if they are entirely fictional or somewhat based in local legend and frankly I don’t know if it matters. As we follow these characters through time we also cross the continent, to the Salinas Valley of California, which is where the author grew up. His grasp of the land itself, not just the geography, is gorgeous and visceral. His narration of the lives of these families is occasionally interrupted by musings on humanity, which to me seemed to point the reader in the direction of that section’s theme and enhance and enrich the reading experience. And his characters themselves, while usually larger than life, still seemed real, even when clearly they were archetypes filling a role on an epic stage.<br /><br />Essentially, East of Eden is a retelling of the Book of Genesis. The players change roles as they age and mature. The plot doesn’t follow the Bible’s order specifically. But there is sacrifice and love and hatred and betrayal and choice and learning. At times I felt like I was being hit over the head with allegory, “Look at me! I’m playing with Cain and Abel! Aren’t I clever!” But then the characters would actually discuss and dissect the actual verses of Cain and Abel and fascinating things would come of that. The writing felt extremely modern as did the handling of various social issues from Chinese immigrants (the reveal of manservant Lee’s innate intelligence was both hilarious and telling) to sexuality (Kate the evil whore’s brilliant blackmail scheme after she took over as madam). <br /><br />In that way I both liked the book immensely and couldn’t love it entirely. It is clearly The Great American Novel. It’s beautiful and moving and brilliant and amazing. But it’s a little *too* good. It’s a little *too* perfect. It’s not lived in the way that Cannery Row was. Yet I was crying at the end. I would put the book down at points and be just completely exasperated by the characters, usually Cathy. There was never any question of me not finishing it. But it took time and I didn’t just fly through it. I wanted to digest the story. And I decided that the public school system is doing a disservice by making kids read Steinbeck so young. I think you need age and experience to fully appreciate these stories and this style of writing. I plan to go back and reread Grapes of Wrath and I expect to adore it.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-53201119179657355422011-03-22T10:56:00.000-07:002011-03-22T10:58:04.315-07:00Veronica at LargeIt’s been two weeks since Ronnie had her second birthday. Since it fell on a Monday this year, we had her party the Sunday before. She had a great time opening her presents.<br /><br /><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/190217_1874608462695_1165697232_32261266_5474933_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/190217_1874608462695_1165697232_32261266_5474933_n.jpg" height="332" width="444" border="0" alt="Maisy DVDs!"></a><br /><br />Brother got her a stuffed Olivia, but she still wouldn’t put down the Puffle.<br /><br /><a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/188441_1874608982708_1165697232_32261267_7482585_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/188441_1874608982708_1165697232_32261267_7482585_n.jpg" height="444" width="332" border="0" alt="Olivia"></a><br /><br />The Easter hat was a hit, but the Jessie doll stole the show. Boy howdy does that girl love Toy Story 3.<br /><br /><a href="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/184805_1874609982733_1165697232_32261271_5113957_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/184805_1874609982733_1165697232_32261271_5113957_n.jpg" height="444" width="332" border="0" alt="Yeehaw!"></a><br /><br />We had cake and visited with friends and relatives and it was a lovely afternoon.<br /><br />Miss Veronica seemed to get extra naughty following her birthday. I mean, even more naughty than she already was. And the crowning achievement of said naughty? Taking off her poopie diapers in her crib. Or in her nap bed at daycare. Basically, just wherever she happens to be. She still won’t poop in the potty more than the occasional shart when she’s already sitting there, but she refuses to stay in a soiled diaper for one second longer than she deems necessary. Which means that she’s getting crap <i>everywhere</i>. Rare are the days she comes home from daycare with the same outfit on. Or if she is, it’s because she already had that one washed, ruined the second one, and got switched back into the first one. We’re going through crib sheets like mad, too, changing them sometimes twice a day – after naps and after night – on the weekends.<br /><br />But at least she has finally adjusted to daycare. Ronnie is happy to go now, willing to say goodbye to me without tears or clinging on. She even will occasionally be having too much fun to want to leave when I pick her up! But even if I do get her settled into the car without a fight, we then have to go to school to pick up Brother from Adventure Club. And that’s where the trouble usually takes place. Kirk is a master staller, always has been, and he loves Adventure Club and rarely is ready to leave when we get there. Which feeds back into his sister. So a typical evening now involves me forcibly hauling Ronronica to the car from the school, sometimes carrying her boots or coat that she ripped off in a fit of pique, and trying to get the two of them to not fight over the remains of Kirk’s bag lunch in the back seat. I’ve gotten into the habit of bringing snacks with to pass out for the drive home from school. Even with them eating something in the car, they are still <i>famished</i> when we get home. I have to fix them a second snack before I can even start on supper.<br /><br />We had a brand new development last night. Something that Kirk never did. Ronnie climbed out of her crib. Twice! She was fighting going to bed and screamed so I went in there to hold her for a few seconds. I opened the door and saw her dangling by her fingertips over the side of the crib and then she let go and dropped the remaining few inches to the ground. My jaw dropped and I turned to Kirk, “Oh my god did you see that?!” Mr. b couldn’t believe it. But when we thought we had her calmed down and back in bed, we heard more clunking around sounds. Sure enough, she was out of the crib and making a beeline for the bedroom door. Apparently we’ll be buying a toddler bed this week.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-66058563600594536382011-02-02T12:08:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:10:30.397-08:00Raise Your Hand if You Like ListsI joined a Mom’s Group at the UU church and we meet about once a month. It’s been nice to get to know the other ladies there, especially since we’ve been so crap about actually going to service every week this winter. I still find it kind of unsettling to be attending any kind of organized religious anything but I think it’s important for the kids to get the experience. Going to church of any kind is a normalizing experience in the US and there are so many young kids in the small congregation. It’s really great seeing how much fun they have.<br /><br />The common ground for all us moms is that we seem to all be big readers. So we decided that for our next meeting, we’d share our top fives. Obviously I couldn’t come up with just <i>five</i>...<br /><br /><b>Favorite Standalone Novels</b><br /><u>Lord of the Rings</u> by JRR Tolkien<br />I think this one is self-explanatory. Anyone that’s followed me over to LJ and read my various <a href="http://belsum.livejournal.com/tag/books" target="_blank">Farscape and Babylon 5 posts</a> knows how much I love this book. I’ve probably read it at least a dozen times. It’s been a few years and I really need to delve into it again. I always find something new.<br /><u>Celestial Matters</u> by Richard Garfinkle<br />Possibly my favorite book of all time. Recently re-reading it again really cemented for me why this is such a tough one to recommend though. I'm pretty much the perfect audience: comparative religion. Ancient Western and Ancient Eastern history. Hard science. Speculative fiction. Lots of hand to hand combat. Space. I mean, who else fits that specific intersections of loves? No really, are you out there? Who else loves this book as much as I do?<br /><u>The Years of Rice and Salt</u> by Kim Stanley Robinson<br />Speaking of comparative religion, Ancient Eastern history, and speculative fiction…this is the pinnacle of alternative histories as far as I’m concerned. Let’s say that the Black Death killed 90% of Europe instead of “merely” 30%. That changes everything. And the way we get to travel through multiple eras in this new timeline is by following the same souls as they reincarnate into different characters in each period. It’s incredibly thought-provoking as well as a wonderful story.<br /><u>Superfudge</u> by Judy Blume<br />Sure, her other titles get more acclaim. But come on. “Eat it or wear it” is clearly the funniest scene of all time!<br /><u>To Kill a Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee<br />This is the first book I started re-reading on a regular basis, back in junior high. I haven’t been through it in a number of years but it’s still as vivid in my head as if I just finished it yesterday.<br /><br /><b>Favorite Series</b><br /><u>Harry Potter</u> by JK Rowling<br />Again, do I really have to explain myself? Long before I had even head of TWoP I joined the HPforGrown-Ups egroup, just for speculation. It was my first online fandom and I still love over-analyzing every aspect of it.<br /><u>Dragonriders of Pern</u> by Anne McCaffrey<br />I discovered this series back in the mid-90s thanks to a sort of unofficial book club with my field crew at the time. Someone loaned me the first trilogy and I was hooked. The dragons were awesome enough but then there are fire lizards, too? And everyone can have one? WANT! They’re like kitties, but psychic, and with teleportation. What’s not to like? Plus then the series turned out to have a sci-fi explanation for all the fantasy elements? LOVE!<br /><u>Mars Trilogy</u> by Kim Stanley Robinson<br />This is hard science fiction at its best. There’s a good reason this series is much loved by actual rocket scientists: this is what colonizing Mars would *actually* be like. But on top of the factual basis are some of the most compelling characters and exciting adventures. I wanted to sign up for a Mars mission for a very long time after finishing this.<br /><u>Anne of Green Gables</u> by LM Montgomery<br />Long before I ever knew what “shipping” was, I used to daydream about Anne and Gilbert finally getting together and living happily ever after. Thanks to a recent complete re-read, I can honestly say this series hold ups to your girlhood memories.<br /><u>Dresden Files</u> by Jim Butcher<br />Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. No seriously. Look him up in the Chicago phone book. He’ll find your lost items but he doesn’t do love potions. Of course each book finds his seemingly innocuous case leading him into something much bigger and more deadly. The world building continues to grow and the sideline characters are being fleshed out in ways not often seen in such a long-running series. The most recently published title, punnily enough, <i>changes</i> everything, and I suspect the series is going to take a rather much more muchier epic tone as Butcher builds to his promised finale trilogy. The publication date of the next book cannot possibly get here fast enough.<br /><br /><b>Favorite Graphic Novels</b><br /><u>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen</u> by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill<br />Don’t give me any of that “But I don’t like comic books” crap. This is illustrated story-telling for literature nerds. Every single panel has a reference to something brilliant from some other source. Every single character is taken from a Victorian novel and set free from the constraints of their native pages to have adventures of their own. Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, Mr. Hyde, and Alan Quatermaine join together under the direction of Mycroft Holmes to fight steampunk baddies. It’s sheer brilliance.<br /><u>Superman: Red Son</u> by Mark Millar<br />Tremendously inventive reimagining of the Superman mythos: what if baby Kal-El landed in Soviet Russian instead of Kansas? All the usual suspects show up, from Wonder Woman to Lex Luthor and Lois Lane. Plus a twist ending that will make you gasp.<br /><u>Hellboy</u> by Mike Mignola<br />This is dark humor at its best. Hellboy is everything great about film noir and hard boiled detectives, all while also being the actual literal demon of the apocalypse. His personal story arc is moving and compelling and the side characters get their own focus in the continuation spin-off BPRD.<br /><u>Mixed Vegetables</u> by Ayumi Komura<br />Don’t let the “backwards” manga format scare you. These characters jump off the page. Hana and Hayato are students at a Toyko culinary high school. Hana dreams of being a sushi chef but her father expects her to take over his pastry shop. Hayato dreams of being a pastry chef but his father expects him to take over his sushi shop. Star-crossed lover antics ensue, along with lots of great follow-your-dreams messages and yes, a happy ending. Yay!<br /><u>Watchmen</u> by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons<br />The book that made the general public pay attention to comics. Every superhero trope ever set to page is turned on its head. The alternate 80s setting still resonates today. And the characters have as many flaws as we regularly expect from our serialized television dramas. Plus superpowers and aliens and world domination plots.<br /><br />And now I find myself wondering what other sorts of categories I should do top fives for. Alternate Histories? Non-Fiction? Young Adult? Eighteenth Century Sailing Adventures?belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-13779282217274714192011-01-03T14:00:00.000-08:002011-01-03T14:02:11.377-08:00BOOKS READ IN 2010It looks like it’s time for my <a href="http://belsum.blogspot.com/2010/01/books-read-in-2009.html" target="_blank">annual book list</a>! Hard to believe another year has passed already. It’s also hard to believe just how many titles I have on here! Wow. I’m astounded at my 87 completed in 2010. Granted many of these were super quick; I read my usual dozen-ish graphic novels and manga. The <u>Superman</u> alt-history blew my mind and <u>Library Wars</u> managed to do the impossible and be even better than <u>Mixed Vegetables</u>. I caught up with the authors for three series (Anita Blake, Sookie Stackhouse, and Harry Dresden), including their various short stories, and now have to wait for new publications. I only re-read two books – <u>Mostly Harmless</u> and <u>Around the World in 80 Days</u> – until the end of the year when I did my typical pre-movie Harry Potter re-read.<br /><br />The majority of my reading outside of those three series has been either Young Adult fantasy or non-fiction and memoirs. I find that an interesting dichotomy. My favorite of the latter was <u>Cities of Gold</u>, one of the trio of <a href="http://belsum.blogspot.com/2010/08/conquistadores.html" target="_blank">Spanish Colonialism books I read</a>. The most all-consuming YA books were the <u>Hunger Games</u> trilogy. I still spend every night with thoughts of those characters and events occupying my thoughts as I fall asleep.<br /><br />I only skipped a single month’s title for book club this year, which I think is a record. I put the book club selections in italics (exception is <u>Holes</u> which was a selection the year before I joined) just to see how they space out through the year. I’m trying to pick a favorite of those and can’t narrow it down, which I think is a good thing! The top of the pile is <u>Changed Man</u>, <u>Kim</u>, <u>Cannery Row</u>, and <u>Babbit</u>. Ooh, I never noticed that only one of those is a modern selection; the rest are all Classics! Well, they’re Classics for a reason I guess.<br /><br />My reading resolution last year was to read more books that are already on my shelf, already in my collection. I failed. Only about a half-dozen were books that had been sitting around, waiting to be read. About the same number were books I bought to be read immediately or were re-reads. Clearly I need to cull the stuff I haven’t read yet because it’s just not happening. Instead, I got into the habit of immediately requesting books from the library if I read a review of them that I found compelling. About 8 or 10 were based on reviews. Most were varying degrees of hits but These Children Who Come at You with Knives was my second most hated read of the entire year (Blood Lite getting the dubious honor of being the hands-down worst thing I read). I allowed my current read to direct my next read for another handful of titles (for instance I read both Astrid Lingrens because of <u>Dragon Tattoo</u>). I haven’t let that happen in a couple of years and I forgot how pleasant it can be and how many fun surprises it can dig up.<br /><br />I’m not making a reading resolution this year. I’ve decided to make a sewing resolution instead: Sew More. Or, more specifically, Finish Existing Sewing Projects Before Starting New Ones. We’ll see what happens…<br /><br /><br />1. <u>Mostly Harmless</u> Douglas Adams<br />2. <u>Mixed Vegetables, Vol. 5</u> Ayumi Komura <br />3. <u>Incubus Dreams</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />4. <u><i>Around the World in 80 Days</u> Jules Verne</i><br />5. <u>Artemis Fowl</u> Eoin Colfer<br />6. <u>Blood Rites</u> Jim Butcher<br />7. <u>Micah</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />8. <u>Strange Brew</u> Edited by P.N. Elrod<br />9. <u>Trouble with Lichen</u> John Wyndham<br />10. <u><i>Holes</u> Louis Sachar</i><br />11. <u>Danse Macabre</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />12. <u>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 5 Predators and Prey</u> Joss Whedon <br />13. <u>And Another Thing… Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three</u> Eoin Colfer<br />14. <u>Mixed Vegetables, Vol. 6</u> Ayumi Komura <br />15. <u>The Harlequin</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />16. <u><i>A Changed Man</u> Francine Prose</i><br />17. <u>Must Love Hellhounds</u> Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brooks<br />18. <u>Blood Noir</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />19. <u>Dead Beat</u> Jim Butcher<br />20. <u><i>Kim</u> Rudyard Kipling</i><br />21. <u>Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle</u> Jim Butcher<br />22. <u>Farscape Uncharted Tales: D’Argo’s Lament</u> Keith R.A. DeCandido<br />23. <u>Proven Guilty</u> Jim Butcher<br />24. <u>Skin Trade</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />25. <u>Farscape: The Beginning of the End of the Beginning</u> Keith R.A. DeCandido<br />26. <u>White Night</u> Jim Butcher<br />27. <u>Farscape Strange Detractors</u> Keith R.A. DeCandido<br />28. <u>Small Favor</u> Jim Butcher<br />29. <u>My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon</u> Edited by P.N. Elrod <br />30. <u><i>Year of Wonders</u> Geraldine Brooks</i><br />31. <u>Backup</u> Jim Butcher<br />32. <u>Flirt</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />33. <u>Turn Coat</u> Jim Butcher<br />34. <u>Mean Streets</u> Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson, Thomas E. Sniegoski<br />35. <u>Bite Me</u> Christopher Moore<br />36. <u>Changes</u> Jim Butcher<br />37. <u>Dead in the Family</u> Charlaine Harris<br />38. <u>The Horror Writers Association Presents Blood Lite: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories</u> Edited by Kevin J. Anderson<br />39. <u>Mixed Vegetables, Vol. 7</u> Ayumi Komura <br />40. <u><i>Cannery Row</u> John Steinbeck</i><br />41. <u>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 6 Retreat</u> Jane Espenson<br />42. <u>Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side</u> Edited by Charlaine Harris<br />43. <u>Highlander: An Evening at Joe’s</u> Edited by Gillian Horvath<br />44. <u>Bullet</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />45. <u><i>Bitter Grounds</u> Sandra Benítez</i><br />46. <u>A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World</u> Tony Horwitz<br />47. <u>Farscape: Gone and Back</u> Keith R. A. DeCandido<br />48. <u>B is for Beer</u> Tom Robbins<br />49. <u>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</u> Stieg Larsson<br />50. <u><i>Ivanhoe</u> Sir Walter Scott</i><br />51. <u>Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope</u> Chris Warner<br />52. <u>Pippi Longstocking</u> Astrid Lindgren<br />53. <u>Superman: Red Son</u> Mark Millar<br />54. <u>Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest</u> Douglas Preston<br />55. <u>Bill Bergson, Master Detective</u> Astrid Lindgren<br />56. <u>Mixed Vegetables, Vol. 8</u> Ayumi Komura <br />57. <u>Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison</u> Piper Kerman<br />58. <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 1</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br />59. <u><i>Because of Winn-Dixie</u> Kate DiCamillo</i><br />60. <u><i>Nim’s Island</u> Wendy Orr</i><br />61. <u>Cities of Gold: A Novel of the Ancient and Modern Southwest</u> William K. Hartmann<br />62. <u>One Day</u> David Nicholls<br />63. <u>Dark and Stormy Knights</u> Edited by P.N. Elrod<br />64. <u>Keys to the Repository</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br />65. <u>The Freddy Anniversary Collection</u> Walter R. Brooks<br />66. <u><i>The Windows of Brimnes</u> Bill Holm</i><br />67. <u>These Children Who Come at You with Knives</u> Jim Knipfel<br />68. <u>Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files Storm Front Vol. 1</u> Mark Powers<br />69. <u>The Hunt for Red October</u> Tom Clancy<br />70. <u>Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 2</u> Hiro Arikawa & Kiiro Yumi<br />71. <u>Death’s Excellent Vacation</u> Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner<br />72. <u>Rules of Engagement</u> Peter Morwood<br />73. <u><i>Babbitt</u> Sinclair Lewis</i><br />74. <u>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</u> JK Rowling <br />75. <u>Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files</u> Jim Butcher<br />76. <u>Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</u> JK Rowling<br />77. <u>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</u> JK Rowling<br />78. <u>The Hunger Games</u> Suzanne Collins<br />79. <u>Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food</u> Anthony Bourdain<br />80. <u>Nightshade</u> Laurell K. Hamilton<br />81. <u>Firelight</u> Sophie Jordan<br />82. <u>Catching Fire</u> Suzanne Collins<br />83. <u>Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making it Work</u> Tim Gunn<br />84. <u>The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise</u> Julia Stuart<br />85. <u>Misguided Angel</u> Melissa de la Cruz<br />86. <u>Mockingjay </u> Suzanne Collins<br />87. <u>Star Wars: Tag and Bink Were Here</u> Kevin Rubiobelsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-2881216946522262392010-12-15T08:57:00.000-08:002010-12-15T09:01:20.423-08:00This Week in MenaceWe’ve been re-crib training Ronnie the past week. She’s been refusing to go to bed at night. I’m not really sure what happened. Mr. b thinks our Thanksgiving travels “broke” her. I admit, the timing is suspect, but I don’t know that staying at her great-aunt’s house is the actual culprit. Still, it has sucked since we got back. First she would go to sleep quite quickly in one of our laps while we were watching TV, so it didn’t really strike us as any big deal. But then we realized we were totally getting played. Still, if you put her into her crib, she’d stiffen and stand up and start screaming. And that’s hardly fair to her brother who has to actually go to school and learn and stuff.<br /><br />Back to crib-training methodology. Since late last week I’ve refused to bring Ronnie out of their bedroom, instead holding her while sitting on the edge of Brother’s bed. She’ll quiet down right away but then stiffen and stand and scream when I set her down again. Thankfully Kirk seems to be able to fall asleep during this circus. Some nights it has taken over an hour of letting her cry for five minutes, hold for five minutes, cry for five minutes, before she’ll fall asleep in my arms and I have to carefully lay her down lest she wake up and start the whole process over again. Sunday night it was taking so many trips into their room that I caved and brought her into the living room to sit with us. And she got all rowdy, having “won”. We ended up bringing her to bed with us and all had a fitful night’s sleep. I think she knows she lost the war though. Monday night she still fought but last night I only went in there once before she fell asleep. We’ll see if this keeps up or if it’s only a lull.<br /><br />I’m not sure if this is a reversion signaling a new development or not. She gets into <i>everything</i>. Not just the usual menacing that we’ve been dealing with. We have child-proofed cabinets and drawers but Mr. b has resorted to taping the refrigerator closed. Otherwise she’s always in there, helping herself or bringing us sandwich meat or pickle jars, demanding that we get her some of whatever she’s carrying. He told me he just taped shut the craft drawer that contains the crayons as well. We hardly have any crayons left; she chews them all into nothing.<br /><br />I think this new round of destruction actually coincides with her burgeoning language skills. My dear friends Hot Stuff and Keith Moon are adopting an adorable little man from China. He’s just a couple of weeks older than Veronica and I told them they should learn her vocabulary in Chinese so they have a starting point with communication. Of course he’ll have a toddler accent so maybe that won’t help anyways... Here’s Miss Ron-Ronica’s list of current words – keeping in mind that “current” means two weeks ago when I compiled this list. She’s already got new ones and keeps adding something nearly everyday. Context is clearly everything.<br /><br />No<br />No – Nose<br />No – Snow<br />Dek – Yes<br />Mine<br />Mama<br />Daddio<br />Bubba – Brother<br />Biss – Please<br />Hi<br />Bye<br />Go<br />This<br />Ow<br />Uh-oh<br />Ball<br />Bus<br />Bess – Mess<br />Bat – Bath<br />Poohn – Spoon<br />Knee<br />Eye<br />Sss – Juice<br />Oose – Shoes<br />Baby<br />Baby – Blankie<br />Nake – Snake<br />Ut – Hook<br />Hot<br />Butt <br />Buht – Bookbelsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-76722671365540617782010-12-03T12:44:00.000-08:002010-12-03T12:45:24.937-08:00NightshadeMy friend <b>Peachy Keen</b> discovered that Laurell K. Hamilton wrote a Star Trek novel! Naturally we were aghast and titillated, imagining vampire sex orgies on the Enterprise. Since she doesn’t have decent library access, I was tasked with tracking down a copy of <u>Nightshade (Star Trek The Next Generation No 24)</u>.<br /><br />Nightshade takes place largely on planet Oriana where Picard, Troi, and Worf make up the ambassadorial team sent to help end a 200 year civil war. The fighting has so thoroughly destroyed the planet the opposing forces are willing to meet for peace talks simply because their self-annihilation is imminent. Naturally Picard gets accused of murder and Worf has to take over as Federation Ambassador. The B story takes place on an alien vessel where the Enterprise has been called on a rescue mission. Geordi, Crusher, and Data are working to repair the damage and save the crew.<br /><br />At first, I found myself paying far closer attention to the writing style than the story itself. I was fascinated with trying to get a glimpse of Anita Blake in the text of this book published in 1992, a full year before <u>Guilty Pleasures</u> came out. This novel switched perspective too many times for my taste. Certain of the characters were much weaker but thankfully Troi, Geordi, and Worf were written very well. Perhaps because they got the most “screentime”. Troi in particular was fully formed right from the start. Hamilton is always great at showing how being so short and small affect Anita’s view of the world and that came through for Deanna. I never particularly connected with that character on the show but here she seemed much more than a drinking game “I can sense his anger, Captain” joke. Hamilton also excels at describing what altered states look and feel like and how various powers affect the users and those around them. Again, this seemed perfectly suited to Troi and her Betazed empath abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed all the passages where she was sensing the emotions of those around her, whereas that shit bugged <i>hard</i> on the show. Unexpectedly, the ability to clearly show other mindsets worked well for Worf and Geordi as well. Worf’s Klingon-ness and Geordi’s VISOR sight were relevant in ways I would not have expected but they were absolutely perfect for the story.<br /><br />I did find some of the Trekkie jargon to be jarring. It was as though Hamilton was given a dossier and checked off character and episode references as she worked them into the narrative. I suppose it might have been some sort of fan-service but knowing that this was an actual novel-for-hire project makes the check list scenario more likely. And the alien names were definitely unwieldy. I glossed over “Orianian” because it just never flowed off my mental tongue. Some of the alien character names too were just silly. But that’s a minor quibble. The biggest Trek issue I had was the heavy-handed moralizing and allegory. But again, that seemed to me like part of the assignment and not any kind of message from the author. And it certainly fits in with Star Trek’s MO from the very start.<br /><br />There were some very gruesome moments and Hamilton’s panache for gore really served the story well. Without being explicit, she was able to imbue a sense of dread and horror into the places it was most needed. <br /><br />Hamilton’s ability to write about how characters rely on each other without having to discuss it aloud was also a strength in this story. Because it was underscored throughout by Troi’s and Worf’s relationship. Since the book was published a full year before my beloved “Parallels” even aired, I have to wonder if that was her own decision or part of the franchise mandate to set up the shipping to come. I loved everything about their interactions with each other, their complete trust and reliance on each other, the care and affection they showed each other. Yes, a part of me would have loved to read <u>Incubus Dreams</u>-era Hamilton’s take on a raunchy Troi/Worf sex scene. But I know it was better this way.<br /><br />Ultimately, Nightshade served to remind me of what Hamilton can do when she actually tries. Oh, the writing wasn’t perfect. She used some of the phrases that drive me nuts in the Anita Blake series (Riker relaxed a muscle he didn’t know he was tensing / Anita let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding) and as I mentioned above, the switching between perspectives was neither successful nor consistent. But it did make me put the new Blake novel <u>Hit List</u> on my library wait queue for when it’s published next year. It should be interesting to see if my opinion of that series changes for having read this foray into sci-fi.belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9503926.post-89787571710626200632010-11-02T17:41:00.000-07:002010-11-02T17:51:11.363-07:00Halloween 2010It will come as no surprise that Kirk went as Indiana Jones for Halloween this year.<br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3179.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/100_3179.jpg" border="0" height="332" width="444" alt="Indiana Jones"></a><br /><br />Continuing the apparent new tradition of father-son costumes, Mr. b was Henry Jones Senior.<br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3181.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/100_3181.jpg" border="0" height="332" width="444" alt="Junior and Senior"></a><br /><br />They looked great!<br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3182.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/100_3182.jpg" border="0" height="444" width="332" alt="Professors Jones"></a><br /><br />Ronnie was not happy about being a Sith baby, which is weird because she was loving the cloak as I was trying to put finishing touches on it earlier in the day. She'd try to grab it out of my hand and shout "Mine!"<br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3184.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/100_3184.jpg" border="0" height="332" width="444" alt="The Phantom Menace"></a><br /><br />I went as a Doctor Who character, River Song, which of course no one recognized, as expected. It was fun playing with spongey rollers and ringlets in preparation.<br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3165.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/th_100_3165.jpg" border="0" alt="spongey rollers" ></a><br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3168.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/th_100_3168.jpg" border="0" alt="ringlets" ></a><br /><br />I think it turned out great! <br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3173.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/100_3173.jpg" border="0" height="332" width="444" alt="River Song"></a><br /><br />Once again my sister and A2 and A3 joined us and we all had a great time trick-or-treating.<br /><a href="http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/?action=view¤t=100_3190.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a222/belsum/100_3190.jpg" border="0" height="332" width="444" alt="Happy Halloween!"></a>belsumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06943795389862466294noreply@blogger.com4