I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING

Today is my last PRABE entry.  It is a bittersweet feeling for me because I worry I will stop being as faithful about reading as I am when I have this assignment.  Having the assignment of 90 minutes of pleasure reading for the most part is wonderful and I am thankful for it because some weeks it can be very difficult to find the time or energy to devote to pleasure reading.  I have practically given up knitting since I returned to school and mostly due to guilt.   The constant pressure to be studying and working on homework makes it difficult to pick up my needles and yarn when I do have the opportunity to sit still.  To have someone take away the guilt and encourage me to keep another one of my hobbies is of great value to me.  When I attended college the first time and was only working part time I knocked out books like I was a reading fool and I am not referring to my text books.  I think I have grown as a reader because I have found myself reading books I would not have been opened to before I returned to school.  I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid because I am going to be a teacher soon and I want to be in the know for the popular books students are reading today (and I wanted to see the movie).  Now I find myself reading Hunger Games, a book I never would have considered before and thus far it’s a great book.  Expanding my mind and being open to a variety of genres I hope will help me relate to my students and show them my passion for reading and continually growing and learning.  My husband and I realized we have not been going on as many bookstore dates as we used to and we miss it.  It is a very economical date option and we always have a great time.  
 

Monday, December 5 – Friday, December 9 (10 - 15 minutes daily)

So excited because a wonderful lady I know was in the paper on Thursday with her picture and an entire article dedicated to her.  I bought my wedding dress from her and she has an amazing talent for knowing the right dress for her customers.  Her name is Reni and she is from Germany.  I think she is wonderful because she made me feel special and that she cared for me.  I appreciated her honesty and for each dress I tried on, I told her what I liked and did not like about the dress.  From that information she was able to quickly find the world’s most beautiful dress for me.  She knows all her dresses by heart so trying on dresses is an efficient experience, and she brought all the dresses to me.  I am not trying to be an advertisement for her I am just recalling a wonderful memory and I am so happy her greatness was put in print!

Saturday, December 10 (40 minutes)

Today my husband and I went on a bookstore date.  I read a few children’s books and started a book about a woman who loves Little House on the Prairie, but I really want to finish Jane Eyre.  Since it’s a classic so I know it will be at most any bookstore I go to.  I am disappointed I haven’t finished it by now, and I am thinking over break I should be able to finish it and watch the movie.  Thankfully, the wedding gets cancelled because (I knew it!) Mr. Rochester is a weirdo and bad guy.  He is still married to Grace Poole and she is insane, literally.  It makes since he doesn’t want to be married to her anymore, but even with his bad choice in a first wife I still don’t like him.  Jane knows she needs to leave and she isn’t sure where to go or what to do next.  I am interested to see where the story is headed next. 

BEING THANKFUL BEYOND THANKSGIVING

Tuesday, November 29 - Friday, December 2 (10 - 20 minutes daily)

Each week I read the newspaper and try to think focus on articles that capture my attention or get me thinking about topics beyond my world.  This week it just seemed to be regular drama and wrong doings.  However, the newspaper does a daily story about a family in need and I find myself thinking about the families and wondering about them.  They’re a reminder that there are everyday people struggling to get by and praying to get some relief so they can pay their bills.  I find myself often complaining about what I don’t have, and I think I am happier when I spend more of my time thinking about what I do have. 

Monday, November 28 (30 minutes)

This week I started wondering about Jane again.  Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane after he led her to believe that he was going to marry another woman.  Then he tries to change her by buying her expensive dresses and covering her in jewelry.  On one hand it makes sense because that is how woman of his rank live.  However, he is marrying below his level and she is a simple woman of routine and little money.  He also plans to send away Jane’s pet, Adele, to boarding school and who is part of Jane’s family now.  I was surprised to see that Mrs. Fairfax was not happy about Jane getting engaged to Mr. Rochester.  I agree with Mrs. Fairfax, but this was the first time she has said anything negative about him and it is obvious that she is privy to more than she normally lets on.  Then Jane and Mr. Rochester got in an argument the morning after their engagement and rarely speak to each other until now the day before the wedding.  I cannot stand Mr. Rochester’s games, manipulation and authoritative comments.  Jane is continually lamenting over how much she loves him, but my psychology side says she only thinks she loves him and does not know what a proper relationship with a male would be.  If I didn’t want to see the movie, I think I would have given up on Jane before finishing the book.

AN INTERESTING VARIETY

Monday, November 21, 2011 (20 minutes)

Hours before Jane’s aunt dies she reveals to Jane that Jane has an uncle who wanted to take her in and put her in his will.  Jane’s aunt told him she had died and she wanted Jane to tell her uncle that she was alive.  Jane forgave her aunt and asked for her aunt’s forgiveness, and even on her deathbed Jane’s aunt was cold hearted to her.  After her aunt’s death Jane stayed behind for three weeks to help her cousins.  I found it strange that Jane did not write to her uncle right away. 

Monday, November 21 & Tuesday, November 22 (10 minutes daily)

Since my co-worker gives me his newspaper I was only able to read it a couple of days this week.   

Friday, November 25 (1 hour +)

Went to the bookstore on Friday night and I was able to finish the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid that I started a few weeks ago.  I’m still debating my thoughts about the book, which is kind of silly sounding because it was a bit of a surface story.  I think I a holding my thoughts until I can watch the movie.  Then I started The Hunger Games, and I didn’t think it was my kind of story line, but it caught me right away.  Plus the movies are coming out in few months so I need to get going.  It kind of reminded me of the stories I had read about life for Jews during WWII, but with a futuristic storyline. 

Saturday, November 26 (1 hour+)

We were visiting the family and my father-in-law bought a book called Hard Work by Roy Williams.  I’ve been a KU fan as long as I can remember and I have always liked Roy Williams so I picked it up.  I had no idea he had such a rough and tough childhood and he really overcame a lot thanks to his high school coaches and teachers.  I was able to read up through his first coaching job.  Next time we visit I won’t have to worry if I forget to bring a book. 

SUNDAY EVENING POST

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of November 14 (10-15 minutes every day)

This week I read my daily Wichita Eagle and the story that caught my attention this week was about Wichita considering closing five elementary schools, “in favor of larger schools that draw students from areas well beyond their current boundaries” (Tobias, 2011).  The idea is that the smaller schools would close and bigger schools would be “expanded.”  Currently, it is just a proposal that the school board is considering with many parents concerned about their children not being able to attend their neighborhood school. 

Source:

Tobias, S. (2011, November 17). Kids could travel farther. The Wichita Eagle, p. 1A

Friday, November 18 (20 minutes)

A friend gave me her People magazine after she finished reading it.  I really enjoyed the article about Gabrielle Giffords.  She has an inspiring story of persevering and hope and she kind of makes me want to get out and do something. 

Saturday, November 20, 2011 (30 minutes)

Didn’t get to read as much of Jane Eyre as I would have liked, and when I was at the bookstore I saw the movie on the shelf so I have to get on the ball.  Hopefully, with Thanksgiving I can get a bit more reading in.  Jane is still at her aunt’s house with the sisters Eliza and Georgiana and they are awful.  Her aunt has not died yet and I am not sure where things are going to go from here. 

BOOKSTORE DATE

Monday, November 7 – Friday, November 11 (10-15 minutes every day)

I try to read a bit of the Wichita Eagle every day and thus far I’ve been successful, but life is getting very busy so I hope I can stick with it.

Saturday, November 12 (1 hour plus)

Headed to the bookstore with my husband and I had a great time.  We used to go on bookstore dates all the time and now we have to drive a bit to get to a good bookstore, it’s sad.  We usually go into a bookstore and head opposite directions and then meet up and discuss our findings.  Today I headed to the kids section and had a great time being that annoying person who bursts out loud laughing.  Below is a listing of the books I read and now highly recommend:

-          Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

-          You Will Be My Friend by Peter Brown

-          Splat the Cat: Back to School by Rob Scotton

-          Skippyjon Jones: Class Action by Judy Schachner

-          Skippyjon Jones: And the Big Bones

-          Skippyjon Jones: In Mummy Trouble

-          Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice

-          Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

I only got half way through Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but my husband thought he had the book in his classroom and said I could borrow his copy to finish the book.  My husband bought a book about K2 and I always love listening to him tell me about books he is reading. 

Reading to Relax

Monday, October 31 – Friday, November 4 (10-15 minutes every day)

I was able to get the Wichita Eagle newspaper from friends and co-workers every day this week which was really nice because I often don’t have time to catch the local news.  The only story that really caught my eye was a story about student loan debt and how many students have major loan debt straight out of college and even for years after college.  On one hand it was nice to know my husband and I aren’t the only couples with lots of student loan debt and on the other hand it was really frustrating and disappointing. 

Saturday, November 5 (45 minutes)

So I was in Oklahoma for a race and right before going to bed there was an earthquake and with all the excitement I could not go to sleep.  Needing to get a good night’s rest for the run I whipped out my kindle to catch up on some Jane Eyre until I got relaxed enough to fall asleep.  Mr. Rochester tells Jane he is going to propose to another woman and meanwhile, Jane’s mean aunt who sent her away is dying and calling out for Jane. 

I'M A JANEITE

Monday, October 24 (45 minutes)

In my Jane Eyre readings this week things took an unexpected turn.  The story got kind of weird and Mr. Rochester dressed up like an old fortune teller lady and made all his female guests and Jane get their fortune told.  By the way no one knew it was Mr. Rochester, but he did reveal himself to Jane.   I guess I didn’t see this coming because Jane is religious and she was excited to see the fortune teller (before she knew it was Mr. Rochester) and I would think a religious person would not want to get mixed up with a fortune teller.  The thing is, even though I don’t really like this part of the story I kind of really want to know what happens next. 

Friday, October 28 (20 minutes)

I had a really stressful day, I had to take a big test and I didn’t feel like reading something where I had to think or pay attention.  I splurged and bought myself a chi tea latte and a People magazine.  The only article I really got into was the one about the daughter-in-law of Bernie Madoff.  She is speaking out because Ruth and Andrew Madoff (Bernie’s wife and his living son) have a book out about their side of the story.  Anyway, she talks about her husband Mark who committed suicide due to shame of his father and how she is coping with her two young children.

Sunday, October 30 (30 minutes)

So my favorite yarn store twitted that they had a limited stash of Interweave Knits – Jane Austin special edition left and thought they’d be out by the end of the weekend.   Let me back up a bit.  Knitting is a big hobby of mine that has gone on the backburner since I started school.  I just can’t do it all.  I usually guilt myself out of knitting, and by that I mean every time I consider knitting I tell myself, if I have time to knit, I have time for homework.  I’m my own mom.  My husband and I had already decided that our cruiser ride would be our workout for the day and we just couldn’t decide where we wanted to ride.  Thankfully I saw that tweet because after we cruised to the yarn store I got one of the last ones.  It had lots of patterns that fit Jane’s time and that would look good on a modern girl like me.  It also has lots of articles about knitting and Jane Austin.  After we picked up my magazine my husband was cold and hungry so we biked over to the coffee shop to get him fed and I got to read my new magazine.  It was a wonderfully guilt free afternoon.