Janasayqua's Book Club*

*not to be confused with that OTHER book club.

OK so a few posts back I told you I was gonna read a book about cancer, which I thought I'd hate, but actually did enjoy, it was called "Middle Place" and when I finished it, at the end of the book the author described a piece she'd written and BAM it hit me. A few months ago (years?) someone emailed me a woman speaking from You tube, about women and relationships, and it had come at a time in my life where there had been drama with friends, as well as a loss of parents, as well as drama with our kids. It hit HOME, and the fact that the author of this book was also the person in this video, make me respect and appreciate her all that much more.

Here is that video:

TRANSCENDING

So after i was done, I promised myself I'd read "Pride and Prejudice", by Jane Eyre, as recommended to me by the women in the book I read about the potato peel pies.

This deemed far more difficult that I'd originally planned.

"Pride and Prejudice" is, in a simple description, NOT a summer read.

It is to be read on cold winter nights in front of a fire when all the kids are sleeping and you have nothing else to do.

NOT when it is beautiful outside and you have 8 million other things you could be doing. Oh my gosh. While I was reading this book, at least 4 people saw it and said, "Oh! One of my FAVORITE books!" Upon which I replied, "Yeah? When did you read it?" and the response was ALWAYS "in college".

Did you remember what you were doing in college? No-thing. Nothing. Therefore, you had time to fill your head with the 18th century prose that is far more difficult to decipher when you have a 2 year old shoving a sippy cup in your face saying "More mommy" and the sound of the Instant Messager from your 12 year old in the background as well as your 9 year old dancing to Lady Gaga...do you see my point here?

So it was nice when we went on a short vacation and I could sit by the pool and read it, without interruption. I was finally 'getting into it'.

Then we got home, and the book went missing. Hmm. I mourned for about 30 seconds.

I went right out and got Danny Evans' book "Rage Against the Meshuggenah" (from DadGoneMad) and will start it posthaste!

Oprah's got nothing on me.

winery

1. Must find out the name of that Riesling of which I finished entire bottle.

2. Must always remember to NOT eat cheese, even if it's Swiss, even if it's with crackers. Does not negate my lactose intolerance.

3. Must go to this winery more than once in my life.

Blog lest ye be blogged

Susie reminded me today what started all of this, my poor neglected blog. But right this second I am being reminded also of why I stopped. Trying to get through a blog post while working is almost impossible. There is always a CT brain scan or MRI to type. It ain't like it used to be, the carefree days I had of babysitting and making my own schedule, which was exactly what I was doing when I started this venture in 2005. But I refuse to shut er down, no way. I still have to keep my little place in the universe.

Why not blog when you're done working one might ask. Well, the summer has been a good one, and with a backyard that looks like this one does not want to be inside for any millisecond longer:




So what has gone on this summer? Well, the whole family went to Greece leaving me and Mo behind. We had fun without them but also missed them terribly. The review from Greece: Food was OK, the Acropolis and ruins were amazing, and they totally took their tops off at the beach, Mom!!!

Seriously, that is all I got. Some good pics though:



I had a 'cool mom' moment and let Al dye her hair pink:



I only consider this a success because I was able to do it without staining my floors, cabinets or walls. For me, this is a huge success. I rarely succeed at much.

I also succeeded in pissing off a lot of moms, cuz everywhere we went, tweens were squawking, "OMG! That is like, sooo cool. Mom, I want to do that to my hair!" Stink eye, everywhere I went.

We took the girls on a float trip, which was wonderful and lame at the same time, because my family is just NOT outdoorsy as I'd like them to be. Mo absolutely LOVED it, so maybe I'll just take her with me. Mo is a natural knee slapper, and will find any way at all to make people laugh. Her favorite way to get out of trouble:

Mo: Hey Mom guess what.
Me: What Mo.
Mo: Chi- wow wow.

This goes on and on and on. I'd say it never loses its humor, but, yeah, it sorta has. She loves chihauhuas, and now I can't say that word without saying 'wow wow'.

Finally, the reason that precipitated this blog post, was a conversation I had with LP last night. Bera in mind, I chose "LP' as his alias several years ago based on a conversation he and I had. He kept calling me his Life Partner, insisting to his uncle (involved in the conversation at this particular time) that he and I were meant to be, and that I was the yin to his yang. It was a bit tongue in cheek, but still nonetheless true. So LP was a good moniker for him, so I thought.

I was talking about something, and he quipped something in return last night. I laughed, and said, "Oh, I am SO Twittering that."

He became defensive.

"Now wait a second, I'm going to have to start charging you for stories, like Kramer did to J. Peterson. These stories and my witticisms are gold, and you can't just go and twitter them."

"Take it easy there pal," i said. "I believe in giving credit where credit is due. I always say you said it.

"Do you use my real name?"


"No."

"Well, I know you use Janasayqua or Vajana, what do you call me? I hope it's not ridiculous."

"I call you LP. You know why."

******silence******

"REALLY?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Well, I know you said you sometimes you and your internet friends were no-holds-barred, but I can't believe you call me that. That's great!"

"wait....uh, what do you think LP stands for?"

"Large Penis?"

...............

OMG. I am on the floor laughing so hard that I could barely type ROTFL if I tried.

summer time

sometimes i really hate living in the Midwest. just an observation.

Last year we went to Pere Marquette for a weekend and it was such a great weekend.

We went again this year, only it was COLD and the pool was crowded and the food was expensive and it just wasn't. the. same.

but Rug got her first horse ride, and she had some issues with her horse really liking to stop to eat and our guide, Enos, yes, his name was Enos, just had little patience with her and her inability to stop a horse from eating. I mean, really.

I did the Tour de Cure, not a lot of miles but 15 anyway. I could have done 30 but the girls wanted to go to the water park.

I have pictures but i need to get them developed first, as i forgot my camera and had to buy a disposable!! :)

this is a lame post and i should probably delete it. but i wanted to post some pics so endure please.




Rug singing take me out to the ballgame in the dugout at Busch Stadium. How cool is that? We had a great day, touring the stadium and hanging out.





Al has a boyfriend. There, I said it. He has been instant messaging her for months, and finally admitted it last week. I would freak out, but, my first boyfriend was in 5th grade so whatever. I asked her why she likes him, and she said, 'he is funny, smart, and the most honest boy i know.'

what more could I ask? :) Thank God it wasn't, "he is always in the hallway and I love how he talks back to teachers."

Then again, let's wait and see what happens with Rug. I don't even want to think about Mo dating. Yikes.

Daily Assignment

I started blogging in February of 2005. I started mostly so I could be a part of the comments section on Dooce, and that is where I found a gaggle of ferocious personalities, many of whom I still consider internet friends.

Somehow, through that venture, I met Deb.

Not sure how or when, but I know that when I found her blog, it instantly went into my bookmarks under 'Favorites'.

Deb was soon thereafter diagnosed with leukemia, and I saw her through her first round, kicking its ass along the way, up until last week, May 18th, when Deb succumbed to the disease she fought so valiantly against.

I was always amazed at how upbeat and positive Deb was, regardless of her circumstances. She was frank, and honest, and held nothing back. I always left reading her blog feeling empowered to take on anything that stood in my way.

Many days, Deb would give her readers an 'assignment'. This assignment could be simple, like saying hi to a stranger, or more in depth, like taking your mom/dad out to dinner, or forgiving that one person you've been denying forgiveness. Deb set out to let us see the power we possess, and the choices we had daily to do good in the world.

When she passed away, many of her blog friends, including myself and Circus Kelli, wanted to do something to pay tribute to such a 'fabu' lady.

Since many of us have Twitter pages, we came up with the idea for a Twitter page for Deb's Daily Assignments. That way, Deb's idea of helping others find the good in themselves would continue, in her honor. CK designed the page, and I will be posting the daily assignments, with anyone who wants to suggest and post assignments to happily do so as well.

I decided to start with the very first Daily Assignments that Deb herself suggested, taking them from her blog and follow them as closely as possible. Once they are done, I'm sure we will be inspired to come up with many of our own!

We hope that this Twitter page will be a great place to discuss how we each interpret and 'complete' the assignments, as well as a lot of Chuck Norris jokes, because as you may know, Deb really enjoyed those.

Finally, as Deb asked us to do, we will have a link to the fund set up for Zoe, Deb's daughter, because Deb's last assignment was for all of us to take care of her. She is a special girl and deserves nothing but the best. Plus, she's awful cute.

I hope you will find the time to follow this Twitter page and help us honor Deb with her daily assignments, and we can continue the Queen of the Universe's reign.

Debutant's blog:

http://www.debutaunt.com/archives/000847.php

Twitter Daily Assignments:

http://twitter.com/dailyassignment

Regret

book club

i put this pic up, becuz this is the one i like better, Mo did something that made Al and I laugh, and Rug was, well being Rug, so this fits us nicer than the 'posed' pic from before. Love it.

I went to Borders with the girls the other day as we had some time to spare, and I was looking for a book someone had suggested, "I am the Messenger". I looked everywhere, but could not find it, and had a 2-year-old tearing through there knocking books down and causing havoc, so I just gave up. I grabbed a quick Greece travel guide for LP and of course the other 2 had already picked out about 15 books between the two of them, of which I told them to narrow down to one each.

At the counter, the woman at the register said, "Did you find everything?" a question I know they are required to say to me, to get that one last sale, and I said, "NO DAMMIT! i NEED A book to read! and I can't find one!"

(you who have read my blog for years know, of course i didn't say this but it sounds so much better than the 'not realllly' that was uttered). She pointed to a stack of books next to the register and said, "this will make you laugh". I grabbed one off the top, gave it to her to scan and said, 'Done.'

I NEVER do this. I have to know about a book before I buy it, and really want it. It takes at least one good review or recommendation for me to even get a book at the LIBRARY.

When I got home, I started to read it, and could barely get through the first chapter. This was with LP watching baseball, and Rug and Mo wrestling on the bed I was trying to read it in.

The next night I gave it another try, and could not put it down. Then of course, I made the biggest reading mistake and read the rest of it in one night. Now I'm sad it's over.

In the first few pages, we learn about the main character, who used to work in bookstores, and who talks about how her and her co-worker would NEVER suggest the books near the cash register, as they were usually the ones the publishers are trying to push, but instead take the reader to Jane Eyre way in the back.

At that point, I realized I had just been duped by a publisher...but happily so. Because although I read (and loved) the publisher's pushed book...it also convinced me to go read Pride and Prejudice, a book the character would have recommended instead anyway!

Now I'm off to start another book, one I've already decided I probably won't love, since it's about CANCER and really, not too excited to read but it was a gift, so I feel compelled. After that I'm re-reading "On a Pale Horse" a Piers Anthony book I read in junior high, about the Immortal Death, that I want Al to read but want to be sure it's not too racy for her...and then Pride and Prejudice is next on the list.

So I'm not the lady at the cash register, and I would wholeheartedly recommend "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" to anyone who wants a good, funny read. You'll love it. Just get past the first chapter. :) In a sense, it reminds me of my internet friends, people whom I have never met, and probably never will, but we can band together and feel as close as anyone can in 'real' life. My own society, as it were.

No potato peels though. That's just gross.