A Birthday List

Since today is my birthday and I print my blog annually--at my birthday--as a journal of sorts, this is the final entry into Volume Three of Life on Celestial Circle, the book.

Since that is the case I'd like to make today's post a list of top five things I am thankful for in my life.  Please feel free to add or comment on whatever strikes you.  Or make a list of your own and share.  I'd enjoy that.

1--My family, of course.  And I mean my family of origin and my family here on the circle with Genius Golfer.  How else could I have ever learned all the things these precious people have taught me?!

2--GG's job.  Or his career, to be more specific.  Because he works--consistently and regularly--in a field  he is really good at, he makes a comfortable living for all of us.  And because he does that, I am free to do the PTA, community and church volunteer work I love doing.  I wouldn't have the time to do all this if I had to work too.

3--My health.  Let's face it: the older I get the more my body want to rebel.  And who really knows how long I have with all the parts in working condition?  I just relish the days when all systems are go, and I feel great.  It speak to my age that I even can tell the difference, right?

4--Wonderful friends.  One of the best things I enjoy is a collection of friends, regardless of the place I am.  I have groups of friends I have met in church, through PTA, with activities my kids are involved with, and as neighbors.  Lucky for me many of my groups blend into other groups thus giving me double-dips of friendships with people I really care about!

And 5--The Gospel of Jesus Christ.  All of this experience on earth would really be a disappointment if we didn't have a plan for the next life.  Our experiences here will only add to our understanding, knowledge, relationships and appreciation in the hereafter.  Without a loving, wise and ever faithful Savior, it wouldn't matter at all.  None of it.  But because of Him, we have the opportunities of reuniting with loved ones, living as families, and making personal improvements throughout eternity.  And what could be better than that?

A List, Of Sorts

In light of the news fro Japan this morning, I have been at a mental block for anything worthwhile to write today.  Instead I have baked four loaves of bread and have two pans of cinnamon rolls waiting to go in the oven when The Girl gets off to swim practice.  So the house smells really yummy, and safe.

And people wonder why some of us eat to soothe our souls?!

Anyway, I thought I'd do today's post as just a list of things that have held my attention this week:

1. Radio news, most of the day today.  Most of that has been about Japan, but additional information has come in about Hawaii, northern California, and South America's Pacific coast bracing for the worst.

2. I saw a YouTube video yesterday of a flash flood in Australia in January of this year.  It is hard to imagine the force behind the water being enough to wash and entire parking lot full of cars away, one car at a time.  But then, there is Japan.

3. I received the quote for Earthquake insurance I had requested from our home owner's insurance people.  It is a toss up.  Is it peace of mind, or just another piece of worry?

4. Each month, on the 11th, a local business sponsors free fountain drinks all day--one per customer--at a local Gas 'n Sip.  I stopped in today before the schools all got out to have some lemonade on ice.  I think I should write them a thank you note.

5.  Speaking of notes, I got an email and a phone call yesterday inviting me to put some more of my spring time floral note cards in a women's boutique the first weekend of April.  That was nice.  I hope I can sell some.

6. I am reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage, with the goal to have it done by Easter.  There is a lot about the Savior's life that I just haven't picked up on from the scriptures, apparently.

7. I heard tell last night of a Young Women's president with has two counselors who are refusing to help her because they are too busy.  One is a stay-home mom and the other works full time.  They both blame their respective 9-5 situation with them being too busy to help out.  Huh.  Wonder what that is like?

8. Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday.  Which means: dark when the kids go to school, and light still when I am totally exhausted.  But spring must be coming.  The tulip greens are poking up.

9.  I wonder how long it will take to get my legs tan enough to wear a skirt or shorts?  Or, does that self tanning lotion really work?

And, 10. I live in a pretty isolated world, day to day.  I do my thing in my place with my people.  But I am sure glad God is in charge, worldwide.  I just can't seem to take it all in.

Never Judge a Book....

I happened on an article in a magazine that asks "famous" people for the 5 most influential books they have ever read. Obviously, some celebretants (Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, etc., etc.)would have to be excused from this exercise, as they haven't read anything save their own press clippings in years.

This particular article was a list from Ben Affleck. His list is a bit heavy on foreign policy type reads, but the article in general made me think. Which books have really and deeply affected me?

I'm just going to exclude all Scriptural texts from the list, albeit they are the most influential books in my life. Just assume that the Bible and the Book of Mormon have had the most impact in my personal life than anything else, but if read in the correct spirit that would be the outcome for anyone else too. So let's keep this list secular in nature, shall we? My list, by the way, is in no particular order or ranking.

In eighth grade homeroom, my teacher, Mrs. Alarcon, read aloud to our class To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I don't recall ever feeling so much as I did during that reading. What a powerful story. What a promise of justice and fairness. What an example of a well-read, well-respected, honorable father. I loved the relationship of Atticus and Scout. I still do.

A little later in my life I read the J.K. Rowling Harry Potter series and fell in love with the fantasy. It came along at the right time for me to renew a love of literature--even fantasy. I love that this woman has written a complete and total universe that I otherwise couldn't have visited. Plus, don't you wish you could just wave a wand and say "Scurgio" and the house would be clean? Sure! Who wouldn't?

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan was one of my favorite books from our RS book club. I know that the draw of this book was the strength of the heroine and the struggles she faces. The other draw was that this story was written by a man. Not to be sexist, but he really "got" this woman character. While I have never scalded a hog and made lard from its fat or birthed a baby on my kitchen floor without help, but I suspect this guy hasn't either. That is good storytelling.

During high school and college, I think I read almost all of his published works, but my first Shakespeare read was The Merchant of Venice, even before Romeo and Juliet. What drew me into his writing was the universality of themes. Vengeance? Mercy? Forgiveness? Who hasn't felt some of that? Plus, what a cool dad that names his daughter, Portia--yeah, well. But people are people, still.

And I can't leave this list without including Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I read this as part of the required reading in freshman English at BYU. It was a mental block at first. then I began to see Lizzy Bennett as one of my friends, she would have been if she were a real person, you know. This book was so funny and witty and clever and man, did Jane just nail relationships?! This was years before I saw the 1995 A & E version with Colin Firth, I might add. Now I am a Jane Austen addict--and I am reading or listening or watching her characters and her words nearly all the time. And like Shakespeare, she is dealing with topics still relevant today and to me. Plus, I love British stuff in general. You can't get much more British than Jane Austen and Shakespeare.

What I love about reading is the escape and the examination you can achieve when reading a really good story. I can identify issues in characters and then see them reflected in my life. I can also explore solutions theoretically before I try in real life. Plus, when I am reading something worth my time, I get the feeling that my brain is not turning to mush, as I had previously feared.

Any reader favorites I should also have considered? Five books is a very short list, I know, but it is a good exercise to pare down the list to what I REALLY love. Feel free to drop a comment with your favorites. Let's compare. Plus I just finished Pope Joan yesterday, and need a few new suggestions. I'm headed to the library later today.