Turns out, I DO remember how to type

Tap. Tap. Is this thing on? Can anyone hear me?

My body has mutinied on me. My fingers have absolutely refused to write anything at all lately. I mean, I have written many a (very eloquent, I might add) post in my head as I lay awake in bed late at night, but those musings have somehow never made it onto this blog. Whose sole purpose is to record those musings.

Anyway, here's my best effort to condense the last however-long-period into one post.

1. I have read two compelling books for my book club lately. The first is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and the second is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Both were non-fiction, but that is their only similarity.

Unbroken, the story of a young man's against-all-odds survival during a brutal WWII experience, wins best book of the year for me. What happens to him would seem unlikely in even the most outrageous fiction novels. That his story is actually true? Unthinkable.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle challenges its readers to rethink the way they eat. Kingsolver and her family vow to eat only locally grown (defined by their county limits) food for a year, with the exception of coffee, dried fruit, and spices. I will admit that it has inspired me to start a garden for myself, as she claims that the food one can grow in one's backyard outshines the produce found in one's grocer, both in taste and in quality. So who wants to hoe a garden for me? I promise I'll water it!!

2. Coralie has earned the title of a Three Year Old. Charming, delightful, smart, and a  h a n d f u l. After you hoe a garden for me, care to babysit? I kid, I kid.

3. Madeline is practically running everywhere. Today in Dillon's, I turned to look for an 8 oz bag of cheese per my coupon instead of the 16 oz bag which was at my eye level (my life has many exciting parallels to Unbroken, don't you think?), and she had run down two aisles and was trying to pull kitty litter off the shelf. Coralie found this delightful; I found this rather harrowing.

4. Speaking of harrowing, Coralie can "swim". I promise you, her teacher means to near-drown her at every lesson, but somehow that little girl can get from one pool wall to another without meeting her Maker. I avoid going to her lessons if at all possible because it is all too stressful to watch. Ryan assures me this will be the case no matter what recreation my girls take up. This got me thinking-- every stinking hobby really is dangerous! Getting spiked in soccer or track. Getting hit in the face with a ball in basketball, softball, or volleyball. Getting carpal tunnel in piano lessons. Tripping up the risers in choir. Show me a "harmless" recreation and I'll show you an inherent danger.

5. In case you missed the news, Christmas is just around the corner! We are trying to do something special every day to celebrate the season, and it's much easier than I imagined. Today we went shopping for our Angel Tree girl, and tomorrow we are doing special pedicures. I know, I don't know how we are fitting it all in, but we are.

6. Also, I think I have pretty much figured out how to reconcile Jesus and Santa, thank goodness, but don't you go confusing my girls with your normal Christmas stories. I've worked too hard to get my story straight.


Ok, well, maybe you're up to speed? I am not sure when I will be able to write again, since typing is such a risk-infused activity and I don't want to take any unnecessary chances this close to Christmas. I hope you and yours are doing well and that you find yourselves in good health and good company this season!


PS-- We are not doing Christmas cards this year because I never did get my usual inspiration to undertake that project. Please don't take us off your Christmas card list!! I hope to be back up and running as usual next year. :)