The Accounting Continues

Alright!  Who's ready for night 2??  Hahaha.  Here are the next 6 items I've checked off on my 40 Before 40 list...


9.) Hike the Y -- well, we're gonna erase "the Y" portion and call it good.  Hahahaha.  I decided to let our "hiking" in Zion's National Park count, since we ran out of time while in Provo to hike the actual Y mountain.

(I think this was the "Emerald Pools" trail?)

10.) Go camping -- "glamping" counts, right?? I was hoping to do some actual tents-in-the-wilderness kind of camping while on our road trip last summer, but decided instead that the cabins we stayed in while at Zion Ponderosa Ranch were a good enough equivalent.  ;)  (Also -- side note -- a huge chunk of my list was checked off over the course of last summer's road trip, in case you hadn't noticed.  Hahahaha.)

(Definitely glamping.)

12.) Read 40 books -- I actually read around 60, but technically at least a dozen or so of those were books that I read to Isaac.  It would be way too tedious of a recapping to go over all of those, but if you're REALLY interested, you can be my friend on Goodreads and check out everything I read and what I think about it.

To give you a sampling of those thoughts, I'm going to post my favorite reads (and thus reviews) of the last year:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (5 stars)

"I feel like I could almost write a novel of my own just in my reflections and thoughts while reading this book and then thinking about it (constantly) once I was finished. I don't think anything I'm about to say will be articulated very well, but I wanted to write this review while the book is still fresh in my mind. 

my first exposure to "a tree grows in Brooklyn" was as a kid. I remember seeing the movie on tv (in my mind I remember it being black and white) and really being drawn to the main character. fast forward a couple decades and I decided to finally give the book a whirl after hearing from so many friends that they loved it. I don't often read the forewords on books because I tend to find them annoying and kind of like who cares what so-and-so famous person/author thinks about this book. but this i one foreword that I loved almost as much as the book itself. probably because I agree with so many of her thoughts and observations of the story myself. 

I loved this book, but it also made me kind of sad. (although, truth be told, I actually really like books that make me feel my feelings.) when I was a kid, there were many books I read that had a "coming of age" type element to it and for some reason, it always gave me this aching sadness when the story ended and the main characters were on the verge of grown up. it almost made me reluctant to grow up myself, because it seemed like that would be the end. reading this story reminded me of that feeling, but not in a depressing way. possibly because i AM grown up now. and I can authoritatively say that "growing up" and leaving home, ISN'T the ending -- it's the beginning.

things I loved most about the book:
* Francie -- she was a kindred spirit. probably because she thinks so much about everything and tries to analyze her own life and growing up experience while she's still growing up and living.
* the historical aspects -- I've always loved getting glimpses of what life would have been like way back when.
* the humanity -- the human experience is a smorgasbord of interacting with people: good people, bad people; kind people, mean people; rich, poor; happy, sad; lonely, vibrant; black, white, and everything in between. I loved how honest the book is in showcasing all of these characteristics without making making them heavy with symbolism.
* the coming-of-age -- I think everyone can identify with that shift that comes when you realize that the real world isn't quite what it seemed to your younger self.
* SO many truths -- I kind of wish I had been reading with a pencil in hand to underline all of the sentences that hit me so profoundly.
* the image and symbol of that tree growing in Brooklyn -- its just really beautiful.

and there you have it. there were obviously things that seen from the perspective of the 21st century are absolutely outdated and probably offensive to some, so I don't want to go without recognizing that, and I'm grateful that many of those views have improved significantly since the time this story was set. thank you for letting me ramble and get this all out of my system. ;)

(also -- this is completely aside from the story, but I absolutely adored the cover art on my [75th anniversary] edition of the book.)"

The War That Saved My Life (5 stars)

"I absolutely loved this book. Jane picked it out for me for Jolabokaflod this year because they just read it at school and it's now her favorite book and she thought I would like it, too. she was right! also, I don't know why, but I always seem to identify with "prickly" protagonists. hahaha. there's a lot of heart in the story and I really love that. (also -- side note -- this was the last book I read in 2019. I was really happy to be ending the year with a 5 star book versus the 1 star book I STARTED the year with.)"

Layered (5 stars)

"I first saw this cook book at my sister's house this summer, and -- as weird as it is to say this -- I couldn't put it down until I had read through the entire thing! and I don't mean just looking through the pictures (which are beautiful) and skimming the recipes. I really enjoy the author's writing style and found her blurbs to be interesting and entertaining."

Into the Wild (4 stars)

"the fact that I would like this book is a no-brainer -- it's well-written and researched, has a compelling storyline, and has survivalism at its core. I don't know why I am so drawn to reading accounts of people who attempt to survive in the wild (because there is no way in heck I would ever want to live that storyline) but I am. I've read some criticisms of the book that the author inserts too much of himself and his own story into the mix, but I actually quite liked the comparing and contrasting if you will. shouldn't a good story cause you to reflect on your own life? overall, I really enjoyed the book."

Recursion (4 stars)

"okay, so my obvious bias for time travel motifs in books aside, I found this a fascinating and page turning read. I think I just really like the way Blake crouch writes science fiction. I guess I have this long-ago-formed impression that sci-fi is super robot-y or space-y or futuristic or whatever -- which is not necessarily my thing -- but this kind of science fiction is definitely up my alley. I thought the whole memory-time travel concept was really interesting and I really appreciated the way the story unfolded from start to finish. I really enjoyed it!"

A Case for the Book of Mormon (4 1/2 stars)

"I really enjoyed this book! lots of interesting examples and laid out with logic. 4 1/2 stars -- I would have given it 5, but I felt there were some parts that seemed repetitive. still, a great resource."

The Ten Thousand Doors of January (5 stars)

"oh my goodness, I loved this book so much! it's very possible that I had a slight bias towards it going into my reading because I was so tickled by the fact that Isaac (my 4 year old) picked it out all by himself for my Jolabokaflod gift. hahaha. it did start a little slow for me and took me a little bit of time to get into the world-building of the story, but by the end I simultaneously couldn't put it down and didn't want to finish because then it would be over and I wanted it to last forever. if that makes sense. hahaha. in some ways it reminded me a lot of the Inkheart trilogy (which I also loved), but it's not exactly the same. a blurb on the back of my book called this "a gorgeous, aching love letter to stories" and I think that's absolutely right. it was also a love letter to me of the power of words. which is totally my jam. so, I loved it!"

To Kill a Mockingbird (5 stars)

"this is hands down my favorite book of all time. I usually re-read it every year or so, and this year I timed that reading to correlate with grace reading it for school. it's a funny thing about this book -- even though I love it and it's my favorite, every time I re-read it I'm always slightly nervous that maybe this time I'll end up disillusioned with it. perhaps it's because when I read it the first time I was so young -- 6th grade/12 yrs old -- and loved it from the start and that makes me wonder if it's more of a nostalgia thing that makes me love the book so much. but then, every time I read it again, I come away with a solid assurance that yes. this book is amazing. and I love it. I think I probably have parts of it committed to memory at this point, but there really are SO many profound and truthful statements throughout the story. I always wish (too late) that I had a pencil with me for underlining while reading, but so far it hasn't happened. maybe next time... ;)"

Just Mercy (5 stars)

"I think I have to give this book 5 stars simply for the stunning tour de force that it is. however, as an idealistic and empathic person, this was a VERY hard read for me. like very. I started the book at the beginning of January and only just finished it this weekend because I had to keep putting it down and taking breaks. there is just so much injustice and heartbreak being exposed in this book that it was hard for me to handle. STILL. this was VERY well-written and the subject matter -- while heavy -- needs to be addressed and exposed."

13.) Visit my 40th state -- the kids have convinced me that I should be able to count the states that I've only driven through and not actually stopped in and "visited."  It's counter to my logic, but I decided to let it slide in order to check this item off my list.  ;)   Arizona gets the distinguished "40th state" sticker for being the last new-to-me state I've been to.

States I've Been to:

Alabama * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Florida * Georgia * Hawaii * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Massachusetts * Michigan * Mississippi * Missouri * Nevada * New Jersey * New Mexico * New York * North Carolina * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah *  Vermont * Virginia * Washington * Wyoming

And those bonus states I've at least driven through:

Iowa * New Hampshire * West Virginia

14.) Finish the Old Testament -- way back in 2014, I started reading the Old Testament from the very beginning, with the goal of finishing it by year's end.  {It was the Sunday school curriculum that year for church, and I wanted to be able to read along for all the lessons.}  Well, I got up to Isaiah and then my resolve slowly started to fizzle out and I never ended up reading that last half of the Old Testament.  Last year -- after making this list -- I decided this would be one of the first things I wanted to tackle.  By switching gears from reading to listening I was able to finish off the book over the course of about a month, by listening to the audio version while cleaning up the kitchen each morning.  I view this as one of my biggest accomplishments!  :)

16.) Develop a new talent/skill -- okay, so my initial "talent/skill" I developed was landscaping our yard.  I checked this off last spring and blogged about it then.  HOWEVER, I'm always looking for a good project and this past month, I've added interior decorating to my skill set as well.  Hahahahaha.  J/K, j/k.  I wouldn't say I'm very skilled at it on my own, but I'm VERY good at copying other people's ideas.  And so that's what I did to redo the boys' room (which has been blah since we moved here).

(A mess, I know, but I forgot to take Before pictures and this is the only one I could find from last summer after we had put the bunk beds together.)

The bedroom itself has gone through a couple of transitions in the past year and a half, and up until July of last year, it wasn't even the "boys' room."  It was affectionately named "The Tweedlearium" and it was home to Alex, Jane, Isaac -- and sometimes Sophie.  When we finally convinced Grace to move downstairs into the library (so that Maxwell couldn't ruin her carpet upstairs anymore with his not so occasional accidents), it caused a trickle down effect.  Sophie and Jane moved into Grace's old room and Alex and Isaac now had THEIR own room.  The girls took the two beds from that room with them and the boys were excited when we ordered bunkbeds for their new room.

Fast forward to about a month ago, when a girl I follow (who I kind of knew from church when we lived in St. Louis but had only met once) on Instagram posted a bedroom makeover reveal and I pretty much copied her entire design. (I've linked to her blog post HERE.)  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right???  Hahaha.  Anyway, it wasn't a complete carbon copy, but I certainly used most of her elements for inspiration and as of this weekend, the bedroom is completely finished!

 (The Window Wall -- I had to create mock-ups for the room to make sure everything fit and to know what measurements I needed for the dresser and the shelves, etc.)

(Drapes from Home Depot.)

  

(The Bunk Bed Wall.)

(I think Alex was super stoked to be able to have a place to display all his LEGO creations.)

(The Dresser Wall.)

(The dresser is also from Home Depot and was one of the first inspiration pieces I copied.  The boys haven't had a dresser at all, and it was becoming too problematic to try and store their clothes in bins in a cubbyhole.)

(I made the shelves following Rachel's specifications in her post.  I did change the measurements for the picture ledge and used a 1x2 nailed to 1x3 instead.  We already had all the books and toys, but I got the metal letters from Hobby Lobby, the balloon elephant from Home Goods, and the alarm clock -- which also plays white noise -- from Target.)

(I made the shelves, but to be clear, all I really had to do was stain the boards after getting them cut to the right size.  Ethan was my helper with the table saw for that.  I wanted to try and get the shelves to look similar to the dresser, so I ended up using 3 different stains in succession to get that kind of weathered look.  I used "Dark Walnut" first, then wiped it off and immediately applied "Weathered Oak" and wiped that off.  After letting the boards dry for a couple of hours, I thought the tone was still a little too warm compared to the dresser, so I slapped a coat of "Classic Gray" on them and wiped it off right away.  I kind of love the way they turned out.)

(I went with LEGO superhero prints to hang over their dresser.  I found them on Etsy, and I absolutely love them.  And so do the boys. )

(The prints finally came in the mail yesterday -- all the way from Latvia apparently -- and I was able to put them in the frames [that I got from Hobby Lobby].  The prints are 11x14 in case you are wondering.)

(The lighting at the end of the day yesterday was kind of terrible.)

It was a lot of fun, honestly, and now Sophie, Jane, and Grace are all impatiently waiting for me to makeover THEIR rooms.  So I guess stay tuned for that.  Hahaha.


And that's a wrap for night 2!  More to come tomorrow...