Fourteenth Batch of Dewey Entries

On the docket this time: a book about observations while reading the Bible, literary hoaxes, a book about paper money, a book about hating God, teaching children about philosophy. 

Making My Way Through Dewey

001.94     O'Neill, Terry.  Mysterious Monsters: Fact or Fiction.

011.73      Pearl, Nancy.  Book Lust.

020           Johnston, Marilyn.  This Book Is Overdue.

031.02        Frauenfelder, Mark.  The World's Worst.

04_

051           Fraterrigo, Elizabeth. Playboy and the Making of the Good Life in Modern America.

060.42      Pohl, Alice N. Formal Meetings: How to Preside and Participate.

070.92     Andrews, Helena.  Bitch is the New Black.

081               Rakoff, David. Don't Get Too Comfortable.

098.3      Katsoulis, Melissa.  Literary Hoaxes.

108.3       McCarty, Marietta. Little Big Minds.

111.85   Ferrucci, Piero. Beauty and the Soul.

121.63    Berger, Peter and Anton Zijderveld.  In Praise of Doubt.

133        Horn, Stacy.  Unbelievable.

146.3      Bellamy Foster, John. Critique of Intelligent Design.

153.83   Welch, Suzy.  10-10-10.
158.2      Hotchkiss, Sandy.  Why Is It Always About You?

160        Vos Savant, Marilyn.  The Power of Logical Thinking.

177.7    Stone, Deborah.  The Samaritan's Dilemma.

181.45  Stone, Michael.  Yoga for a World out of Balance.

19_

200     Ward, Keith. Is Religion Dangerous?

215      Ecklund, Elaine Howard. Science vs. Religion.

221.6   Plotz, David.  The Good Book.

231.7    Schweizer, Barnard.  Hating God.

248.845             Neumann, Connie. Parenting in the Home Stretch.

255.1                Okholm, Dennis.  Monk Habits for Everyday People.

261.850973     Zacharias, Karen Spears. Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?

277.3083         Meyers, Robin.  Why the Christian Right Is Wrong.

289.3082          Solomon, Dorothy Allred.  The Sisterhood.

299.94               Russo, Steve.  What's the Deal with Wicca?

302.34082           Paul, Marla.  The Friendship Crisis.
305.4092             Merrill, Wendy.  Falling into Manholes.

310                      Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009.

327.73009            Dobbs, Lou. Exporting America.

332.02401            Epperson, Sharon.  The Big Payoff.

343.730523         Lange, James. Retire Secure.

352.480973        Rivlin, Alice and Isabel Sawhill. Restoring Fiscal Sanity.

362.196852        Schaefer, Jenni.  Goodbye Ed, Hello Me.

378.19822           Peril, Lynn.  College Girls.

381.120973        Mitchell, Stacy.  Big Box Swindle.

392.6                  Shapiro, Bill.  Other People's Love Letters.

400                     Bickerton, Derek. Language and Human Behavior.

417.2                 Battistella, Edwin. Bad Language.

428.13              Jackson, R. W.  You Say Tomato.

43_

44_

45_

46_

478.2421      Goldman, Norma W. English Grammar for Students of Latin.

48_

495.686421 Murray, Giles. Breaking into Japanese Literature.

500       Goodstein, David.  On Fact and Fraud.

51_

520.92     Head, Tom. Conversations with Carl Sagan.

530.11      Schwartz, Joseph and Michael McGuinness. Einstein for Beginners.

549            Kerr Casper, Julie. Minerals: Gifts from the Earth.

551.63      Smith, Mike.  Warnings.

567.91092 Lessem, Don. Jack Horner: Living with Dinosaurs.

578.768   Ring, Elizabeth. Wetlands.

588.73     Hibbert, Clare. The Life of an Apple.

591.65     Davies, Nicola. What's Eating You?

608    Cooper, Christopher.  Patently Absurd.

612     McCardle, William D, Frank I. Katch, Victor L. Katch.  Essentials of Exercise Physiology.

621.38456  Baig, Edward C.  iPhone for Dummies.

636.7527  Koontz, Dean.  A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog.

641.58      Hall, Dawn.  Busy People's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

658.812     Price, Bill and David Jaffe.  The Best Service Is No Service.   

663.61      Gleick, Peter H. Bottled & Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water.

677.2121  Robinson Masters, Nancy. The Cotton Gin.
676.34     Mingo, Jack. Lunchbox: From Comic Books to Cult TV and Beyond.

681.6       Schneider, Stuart and George Fischler. The Illustrated Guide to Antique Writing Instruments.

695        Ortho's All About Roofing and Siding Basics.

701.18   Barbe-Gall, Francoise. How To Talk to Children About Art.

712.60973  Great Gardens.

728         Koones, Sheri. Modular Mansions.

739.27075  Schiffer.  Popular Jewelry of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

745.5        MacKay, Kate and Di Jennings. Alchemy Arts.

750.11        Richardson, Joy.  Looking at Pictures.

769.5      Parker, Nancy Winslow. Money, Money, Money.

771.33         Revell, Jeff.  Nikon D5000: From Snapshots to Great Shots.

782.421649  McQuillar, Tayannah Lee.  When Rap Music Had a Conscience.  

794.000     Orbanes, Philip E. Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game.

808.02       O'Conner, Patricia.  Words Fail Me.

817.000 Scottoline, Lisa. Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog.

828.92    Browning, Guy.  Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade.

838.91209 Benjamin, Walter. Berlin Childhood Around 1900.

84_

850.02   Lerner, Betsy. The Forest for the Trees.

86_

87_

883     Mitchell, Adrian.  The Odyssey.

89_

902        Hendriksson, Anders. Non Campus Mentis.

910.4     Leffel, Tim.  Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune.

929.2097472  Welch Kids.  The Kids Are All Right.

937       Nardo, Don.  Life of a Roman Slave.

940.21   Netzley, Patricia D.  Life During the Renaissance.

956.7044  Life.  Last Letters Home.

966.9     Heinrichs, Ann. Nigeria: Enchantment of the World.

973.92      Strauss, William and Elaina Newport.  Sixteen Scandals.
979.777   Historical Society of Federal Way.  Images of America: Federal Way.

985       Takacs, Stefanie.  The Inca.

993       Masson, Jeffrey Moussaieff.  Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand.

Emotional Investment

It's easier to not care.  When I say "easier," I mean far less consternation / less cognitive dissonance / less risk of disappointment.  Emotional investment leads you down a path where emotions are rampant and cloud rational thinking, and there is a large amount of risk that you'll get sucked into something you can't easily get out of.   

That's not to say that a person shouldn't become emotionally invested in things.  But there are a vast number of things/people to get emotionally invested in, and you have to know what are the best opportunities to invest in.  After all, you don't want to invest in anything that comes your way.  On the other hand, you don't want to be so emotionally distant that you don't ever engage with anyone or anything.

As everything, it seems like there's a precarious balance.  I know that I tend to err on the side of not caring.  Apathy is a lot easier emotionally.  I like to guard my emotions carefully and not get sucked into anything for fear that I won't ever get out of it.  I have to wonder how many opportunities for greatness I have missed and whether I want to make a conscious decision to engage in things I would ordinarily pass up. 

I owe you a picture

I owe you a picture for Day 10 of the challenge, don't I?  Ummm, yeah, I'll be working on that. 

Today was a snow day.  Wahoo!  Of course I didn't make as much of it as I should have.  I should have cleaned the house from top to bottom, should have started painting the trim, should have done at least two workouts, and should have saved the world. 

What I DID do: one workout, took a nap, watched a Lifetime movie with the middle sister from "Charles in Charge."  Oh, and I picked up my new lenses for my glasses and did a massive grocery shopping trip.  Still, not much in the way of accomplishment for the day. 

Right now I'm wondering if we'll get our tax refund tomorrow.  

10 Day Challenge, Day 9

The challenge origin is from here.

Two songs.

1. The Fray "You Found Me."  Love the song, love the video, love Isaac. 

2. My homage to 1990s hip hop - a mix song, if you will.
Paperboy "Ditty"
Snoop Dogg "What's My Name"
LL Cool J "Who Do You Love"
Dr. Dre "Ain't Nuthing But a G Thang"

10 Day Challenge, Day 8

The challenge origin is from here.

Three films.  Not so easy.  These aren't necessarily my favorites, but they are ones I have enjoyed watching and got something out of.

1. Footloose.  Gosh, I love the 80s and defying authority to put on a school dance.  :)

2. Little Children.  Interesting movie.

3. 500 Days of Summer.  Relationships, and the motivations of the people in them, are so complicated.

10 Day Challenge, Day 7

The challenge origin is from here.

Four books.  Oh boy, this is difficult.  It's not that I don't read.  Actually it's quite the opposite.  I read so much that everything sort of blends together. So here's my quirky list that I have amended to include magazines.

1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - LOVE this book.  LOVE LOVE LOVE ♥

2. Smart Money - I love this magazine.  It's so full of good info on personal finance, and I feel so much more knowledgeable after I read it.

3. US Weekly - I enjoy reading about celebrity gossip.  We all have our vices.  Mine include cheesecake and US Weekly. 

4. Textbooks. I've always liked reading textbooks.  I feel I understand more complex subjects after reading them, most are written in a logical format, and the answers to odd-numbered math problems are in the back of the book.  :)

10 Day Challenge, Day 6

The challenge origin is from here.

Five foods.  Well, that's freaking easy.  So I'm trying to make it a little harder.  Five foods that pleasantly surprised me - those foods that I thought I wouldn't like at first sniff/glance, and I actually was wowed by them.

1. Feta.  Love love love feta even though it smells and looks a little suspicious.

2. Pesto.  Pesto is wet, green, and kind of lumpy.  Kind of STD looking (and yes, I worked at a gynecologist so I feel like I can make analogies to STDs).  But it's very yummy - pesto, not STDs.

3. Teriyaki sauce.  Seattle has a heavy Asian influence, and my mother hates spice and Asian food. Therefore, I wasn't really exposed to a whole lot of Asian food or spice growing up.  Once I tasted teriyaki in college and I really liked it.  Now I have something to order when I go to Asian restaurants, and we have teriyaki chicken at home.

4. Gumbo.  It was one of those intimidating foods that I really wasn't sure about, but it was really good.

5. Cumin.

10 Day Challenge, Day 5

The challenge origin is from here.

Today I'm on six places.  Places I've been or places I want to go?  Not sure.  As I don't have a huge list of places I want to go, I'll instead focus on where I've been.

1. Pittsburgh, my hometown.  It's actually the outskirts of Pittsburgh where I lived for my first few years.  I loved that there were four distinct seasons, that it was distinctly working class there, and that it's home to so many good memories.

2. Scotland.  I went there for my college graduation present...with my mother.  Eh, the company wasn't so great, but I did love Scotland.  I love the Scottish attitude, the scenery, the peacefulness, the castles, and I hate the food, which is awesome because it means I eat less.  :)

3. Las Vegas.  After you live in the land of greed, I think you learn to have a better relationship with money.  Money gives you far more than things; it gives you security.  And you get a sampling of how hot hell can be when you're in Vegas.  Effing hot.

4. Seattle.  Love it.  Love the diversity, the greenery, the non-uptight-ness, being close to the water and the mountains.

5. Texas.  It's like a whole other country.  Maybe not so much the major cities, but I lived in two tiny Texas towns, and it was awful.

6. Ohio.  Depravity.  Depravity teaches you things, I suppose.  It was a sad time we lived there (right after my mom divorced my dad), and then we ended up being burglarized.  Talk about being in a place that kicks you when you're down.  I went back there a few years ago, and - guess what - it seemed just as full of depravity.

10 Day Challenge, Day 4

The challenge origin is from here.

Today is seven wants.  I'm presuming world peace and singing around the campfire for all of eternity are not what we're talking about here.  I'm presuming it's more like personal wants.

1. A sports car.  A nice one.  Red hot, sexy, fast, six speed.  As I've not driven that many of these in real life, I'd test drive a Porsche 911 Turbo, an Acura NSX, a Viper and a few others, and then I'd pick the one based on the test drive.

2. Health.

3. Endless supply of sleep/ability to nap whenever I want and stop time, you know, like that chick on that 80s sitcom...what was the name...Evie from "Out of This World."  That's what I come up with without googling.

4. Laser eye surgery.  Something about my corneas not being thick enough currently.  Whatever.

5. Lose 15-20 pounds.  How about 20? 

6. World peace.

7. Sustainable tax structure to provide needed government services

Note that I don't have money on this list.  As long as employment prospects for myself and my husband look decent, I think I will have enough to live a happy life.  I don't need any more.  And if I did instantly get rich, I'd still work.  I like to work.  Maybe I'd cut back my hours though.

10 Day Challenge, Day 3

The challenge origin is from here.

Today is eight fears.

1. Rats.  I call this my irrational fear, like how some people (cough cough, husband) freak out over spiders.  I don't "get" the spider fear.  It's not like the spider can do anything to you.  I put tigers and bears you meet in the forest in the legitimate fear pile.  But spiders?  No way. Rats?  Yeah, they can bite you and infect you with the bubonic plague...in a .05% kind of way.  But those little vermin freak me out irrationally.  They are just nasty, and the thought of a rat ever being anywhere I may potentially sleep or eat or even walk creeps me out.

2. Causing someone or an animal injury or death.  I am afraid of hitting a pedestrian when I drive, and I'm paranoid about running over someone's Fluffy even if Fluffy darts right in front of my car.

3. Puke.  I hate puke, even the thought of puke.

4. Failure.  I'm getting better about this, but I was so very paralyzed with fear of not being good enough for most of my childhood.  Someday I'll blog about my pivotal moment when things changed, which wasn't that long ago.  But old habits die hard, and I always think I'm 1) going to be fired, 2) I'm going to run out of money, 3) I'm going to be alone eating cat food for the rest of my life.  The healthy coping mechanism that this fear has developed is back-up plans.  I have a back-up plan to my current job, and then I have a back-up plan to my back-up plan, and perhaps a 3rd back-up plan too.  Then there's the fourth back-up plan of opening my own business.  And my back-up plan to my husband leaving me is, well, I gotta work on that back-up plan because as it is stands now, eating cat food alone is probably where I'd be headed.

I'm having a hard time gathering more fears.  It's not that I'm not afraid of things (because I am), but most things are situational and I have faith that I'll get past them one way or the other. I will eventually die and however that happens is what happens.  Oh well.  I try not to be too cavalier, but you can't take everything so freaking seriously that you stop living in today.  Here are some of the more common fears and my reaction to them:

5. Death.  This I know will happen.  I'm not quite sure about how it will happen, but I know the body subconsciously drowns out the pain if it's too extreme.  I'm not quite sure what will happen after death, but my spirit will go somewhere.  My body will become dust or mulch.

6. Heights.  I think I could skydive.  It really all is based on the speech I get while we're getting to the point of jumping out of the plane.  If I'm with someone who has done this hundreds of times and I have verification that my parachute is working properly, I'd probably do it.  I'm quite the thrill seeker.  Now if you give me skydiving death stats that aren't particularly appealing as we fly, then I probably won't do it.  But if the odds are good and you have a good speech, I'll totally skydive. 

7. Me vs. Wild Animal in the Forest.  I know I'm toast.  I can't run THAT fast, I can't climb trees that fast, I'm screwed.  I do walk around the woods by myself as it is, but there's not a huge chance of being cornered by a tiger in these parts.  And then we go back to #5, which I'm not really that fearful of.  Maybe this will change as the time gets closer.

8. Being famous.  I don't want to be famous, I would fear losing all the privacy that I enjoy now.  I like living in relative anonymity.

I don't like Valentine's Day

Dear Valentine's Day,

You're kind of a stupid holiday.  You seem to make everyone bitter.  If you're single, you're reminded that you have no one, which is an unpleasant reminder of what you don't have.  If you're with someone, you have these overhyped expectations about what the day should have in store.  High expectations tend to lead to disappointment.

It's probably good that chocolate is the staple of Valentine's Day because we can drown our disappointment in chocolate. 

I am not bitter.  I have had many, many Valentine's Days "with" someone.  I think I haven't had a Valentine's Day without anyone since I was 14.  However, I still think it's a stupid holiday, which is why my celebration of it extends to eating those little conversation hearts and helping Julia get together her valentines for her friends.

Stupid "holiday."

Sincerely,

me

P.S. However, I am a sucker for a cute valentine's day story.  If you do like someone and wonder if it is reciprocated, I am all for using the stupid "holiday" as a way to see if your intended is also interested.  A cut out heart with a message on it is sooooooo cute.

10 Day Challenge, Day 2

The challenge origin is from here.

Nine loves...hmmm.  I am fairly open about the things I love.  I can give you a list of nine things fairly quickly: roller coasters, scary movies, walking, daydreaming, baths, naps, LL Cool J, my pillow, and space heaters.  However, I've talked about all of these things before, and it's not really a challenge, per se.  The goal here is to challenge myself, right?  Deep sigh, turn on The Fray, and here I go.

9 People I Love(d):

Shane - loved how he'd blow his hair out of face instead of getting a haircut, his smile, his extremely long-winded letters

Will - loved how he was completely organized and germophobic, even to the extent of wrapping his remote control in plastic.  Given what his day job was (changing semi tires), it just seemed odd.  I also loved that he never judged me, and I tried to reciprocate non-judgment.

Dave - loved his entrepreneurial sense, and I could count on him.

Bryan - he was such a good person even though he tried so hard to be an ass.

Alex - loved his faith

Marc - loved his reliability and sensibility

John #1 - loved his sexiness

John #2 - loved his idiosyncrasies and intelligence under a layer of cluelessness

S - love everything

10 Day Challenge, Day 1

I decided to embark on a blog challenge.  For one, my creative energy has been eluding me lately.  For another, I am task-oriented.  Give me a task, and I'll try to achieve it.  Something to check off a list, if you will. 

So here it is:

The challenge origin is from here.

Day 1 is ten secrets.  This is difficult because I've probably spilled all of my spill-able secrets already.  While I'll try to use ones that I haven't already used, I'm sure there will be repeaters:

1. I really don't like to use cash.  I carry about 23 cents around in cold hard cash.  Money is literally dirty.  Plastic is less dirty. 

2. I don't wear coats.  I'm always hot, so if I wear a coat, I end up taking it off.  And then I forget the dang coat, so I end up losing my coat.  Another alternative is that I end up holding the dang coat, which is also inconvenient.  Thus, I make it easier on myself and don't wear one. 

3. I love love love indie movies.  Quirky coming of age comedies or bleak dramas.  I'm not too picky.

4. I don't measure much when I bake, which irritates my husband.  It's little things like that which make me an ISFJ instead of an INTJ.  I trust my gut more than a calculator sometimes.

5. I lost my virginity on Valentine's Day. 

6. I don't like gifts - receiving gifts, giving gifts (because I suck at it). I'd gladly enter a gift neutrality zone where I never receive or give another gift again with everyone I know. 

7. My first concert was Sir Mix-a-Lot. 

8. I googled my 6th grade crush, and he's a gay man living in San Francisco (or else he buys real estate with men-who-are-just-friends and then gets his house in interior design magazines on a lark).  Oh heck, he's really, really gay.  But I am jealous of his job in finance.  I knew he'd go far. 

9. I really don't like my laptop.  There are three big problems with it.  1) If you play a movie or music or, you know, anything with SOUND, you cannot hear it even if it is sitting on your lap.  It's on the maximum volume, and I cannot hear any distinct words.  For what it's worth, I'm not deaf.  I'm one of those people who hears every single noise.  My husband can't hear anything from it either.  It's not just me.  2) The volume is a dial on the front of the laptop.  Probably doesn't make any difference because you can't hear anything anyways, but if the laptop is on my lap, the volume slides as I type and rub up against it.  Not that it ever gets loud, but music will go to almost nil all of a sudden, and it's because my shirt spun the dial as I was moving.  3) It doesn't play many DVDs and CDs.  Just flat out refuses.  Stupid machine.  Don't buy a Toshiba laptop. I still miss my Dell 1.5 years later. 

10. I'd love to write a book one of these days. 

Thirteenth Batch of Dewey Entries

I've been reading about parasites (YUM!), wetlands, dinosaurs, yoga, writing, the cotton gin, the philosophy of beauty, lunchboxes, and apples. Don't forget pens.  Yes, pens.  A book about pens has got to be the most boring thing in the world to read.  I'm fine with a Bic retractable in blue medium point.  The 680s are a sad Dewey section, full of guns, welding, and pen collecting.  Reading about pens seemed easier than reading about guns ... until I learned about a zillion kind of pens that some people choose to spend $1,000 each to buy. Snore.

I'm thrilled because I only have 18 holes remaining in my Dewey list.

Making My Way Through Dewey

001.94     O'Neill, Terry.  Mysterious Monsters: Fact or Fiction.

011.73      Pearl, Nancy.  Book Lust.

020           Johnston, Marilyn.  This Book Is Overdue.

031.02        Frauenfelder, Mark.  The World's Worst.

04_

051           Fraterrigo, Elizabeth. Playboy and the Making of the Good Life in Modern America.

060.42      Pohl, Alice N. Formal Meetings: How to Preside and Participate.

070.92     Andrews, Helena.  Bitch is the New Black.

081               Rakoff, David. Don't Get Too Comfortable.

09_

10_

111.85   Ferrucci, Piero. Beauty and the Soul.

121.63    Berger, Peter and Anton Zijderveld.  In Praise of Doubt.

133        Horn, Stacy.  Unbelievable.

146.3      Bellamy Foster, John. Critique of Intelligent Design.

153.83   Welch, Suzy.  10-10-10.
158.2      Hotchkiss, Sandy.  Why Is It Always About You?

160        Vos Savant, Marilyn.  The Power of Logical Thinking.

177.7    Stone, Deborah.  The Samaritan's Dilemma.

181.45  Stone, Michael.  Yoga for a World out of Balance.

19_

200     Ward, Keith. Is Religion Dangerous?

215      Ecklund, Elaine Howard. Science vs. Religion.

221.6   Plotz, David.  The Good Book.

23_

248.845             Neumann, Connie. Parenting in the Home Stretch.

255.1                Okholm, Dennis.  Monk Habits for Everyday People.

261.850973     Zacharias, Karen Spears. Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?

277.3083         Meyers, Robin.  Why the Christian Right Is Wrong.

289.3082          Solomon, Dorothy Allred.  The Sisterhood.

299.94               Russo, Steve.  What's the Deal with Wicca?

302.34082           Paul, Marla.  The Friendship Crisis.
305.4092             Merrill, Wendy.  Falling into Manholes.

310                      Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009.

327.73009            Dobbs, Lou. Exporting America.

332.02401            Epperson, Sharon.  The Big Payoff.

343.730523         Lange, James. Retire Secure.

352.480973        Rivlin, Alice and Isabel Sawhill. Restoring Fiscal Sanity.

362.196852        Schaefer, Jenni.  Goodbye Ed, Hello Me.

378.19822           Peril, Lynn.  College Girls.

381.120973        Mitchell, Stacy.  Big Box Swindle.

392.6                  Shapiro, Bill.  Other People's Love Letters.

400                     Bickerton, Derek. Language and Human Behavior.

417.2                 Battistella, Edwin. Bad Language.

428.13              Jackson, R. W.  You Say Tomato.

43_

44_

45_

46_

478.2421      Goldman, Norma W. English Grammar for Students of Latin.

48_

495.686421 Murray, Giles. Breaking into Japanese Literature.

500       Goodstein, David.  On Fact and Fraud.

51_

520.92     Head, Tom. Conversations with Carl Sagan.

530.11      Schwartz, Joseph and Michael McGuinness. Einstein for Beginners.

549            Kerr Casper, Julie. Minerals: Gifts from the Earth.

551.63      Smith, Mike.  Warnings.

567.91092 Lessem, Don. Jack Horner: Living with Dinosaurs.

578.768   Ring, Elizabeth. Wetlands.

588.73     Hibbert, Clare. The Life of an Apple.

591.65     Davies, Nicola. What's Eating You?

608    Cooper, Christopher.  Patently Absurd.

612     McCardle, William D, Frank I. Katch, Victor L. Katch.  Essentials of Exercise Physiology.

621.38456  Baig, Edward C.  iPhone for Dummies.

636.7527  Koontz, Dean.  A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog.

641.58      Hall, Dawn.  Busy People's Slow Cooker Cookbook.

658.812     Price, Bill and David Jaffe.  The Best Service Is No Service.   

663.61      Gleick, Peter H. Bottled & Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water.

677.2121  Robinson Masters, Nancy. The Cotton Gin.
676.34     Mingo, Jack. Lunchbox: From Comic Books to Cult TV and Beyond.

681.6       Schneider, Stuart and George Fischler. The Illustrated Guide to Antique Writing Instruments.

695        Ortho's All About Roofing and Siding Basics.

701.18   Barbe-Gall, Francoise. How To Talk to Children About Art.

712.60973  Great Gardens.

728         Koones, Sheri. Modular Mansions.

739.27075  Schiffer.  Popular Jewelry of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

745.5        MacKay, Kate and Di Jennings. Alchemy Arts.

750.11        Richardson, Joy.  Looking at Pictures.

76_

771.33         Revell, Jeff.  Nikon D5000: From Snapshots to Great Shots.

782.421649  McQuillar, Tayannah Lee.  When Rap Music Had a Conscience.  

794.000     Orbanes, Philip E. Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game.

808.02       O'Conner, Patricia.  Words Fail Me.

817.000 Scottoline, Lisa. Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog.

828.92    Browning, Guy.  Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade.

838.91209 Benjamin, Walter. Berlin Childhood Around 1900.

84_

850.02   Lerner, Betsy. The Forest for the Trees.

86_

87_

88_

89_

902        Hendriksson, Anders. Non Campus Mentis.

910.4     Leffel, Tim.  Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune.

929.2097472  Welch Kids.  The Kids Are All Right.

937       Nardo, Don.  Life of a Roman Slave.

940.21   Netzley, Patricia D.  Life During the Renaissance.

956.7044  Life.  Last Letters Home.

966.9     Heinrichs, Ann. Nigeria: Enchantment of the World.

973.92      Strauss, William and Elaina Newport.  Sixteen Scandals.
979.777   Historical Society of Federal Way.  Images of America: Federal Way.

985       Takacs, Stefanie.  The Inca.

993       Masson, Jeffrey Moussaieff.  Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand.

A new dinner record

This is what my daughter ate this evening.  Forewarning: it's not the healthiest, I know that.  As long as she gets in some fruits/veggies, some protein, and a minimal amount of milk, we do tend to let her choose what to eat the rest of the time.

a whole apple (50 cal)
a whole orange (50 cal)
slice of pumpkin bread with butter (80 cal)
fruit roll up (50 cal)
2 chicken nuggets (100 cal)
1.5 strawberry shortcake ice cream bars (160 cal each x 1.5 = 240 cal)
3-4 ounces of whole milk (60 cal)

Holy cow!  600 calories ingested after coming home from daycare.  I wonder if she didn't eat anything all day at school...

Not a Mullet

Yesterday I collapsed for the day really early.  I had only 2 hours of sleep on Sunday night, and then I did 80 minutes on the elliptical.  That combo induces collapse.  Head hits pillow, and then I was unconscious for the next eight hours.  I need to remember that in the future. 

Last week I had a dream about Richard M a r x.  I saw him on the street, and I was about to go up to him, and then a prostitute came up to him and they went off together.  Odd dream since I am not a fan of his in general.

I need to cut my daughter's hair.  Her spiral curls can be utterly adorable (think Cindy Brady pigtails), but most of the time her hair is like a bushy Afro.  It's just so darn...big.  She got her first haircut in January of 2010.  I had told the lady back then to cut some off the top and then some off the front.  She said, "You mean, like a mullet?"  Eh no, but I guess that's how it does sound.  I just want to ... tame it.  I've never had curly hair.  Even when I purposefully curl it, mine only stays curled for about 10 minutes and is back to straight. In theory curly hair sounds cute, but now that I style it every day, I know it's a pain in the butt.  I need someone to do something to her hair.  And of course she won't let anyone touch her hair.  So that will be a Xanax worthy event whenever I get up the courage.   

Delusional vegan is at it again. 

My 3 for the Day

1 - On my way to work, I am on city streets until I get to a main intersection, and then it suddenly turns rural and then I pass a megachurch and a huge timber company. Before that main intersection, I sometimes get cut off by my fellow drivers.  Maybe 10 times a year or so.  Inevitably, EVERY time I get cut off the person then turns into the megachurch.  Every.  Stinking.  Time.  Not once has the person that cut me off go to the timber company.  The nimwad always turns into the megachurch.  Let's just say I'm not feeling all that holy toward the employees of that megachurch.

2 - Our detective game came in.  Hubby and I are going to try to solve a mystery in Japan this weekend.

3 - There are some really crappy books at the library.  Thanks to my Dewey project, I now know this.  Of course that wasn't the intent of the Dewey project, but it is one of those side knowledge pieces. 

Organic Follow-up

I had a conversation with the meat guy at the local store.  He told me that the certified organic designation on meat is very difficult and tedious to get because everything that touches the animal has to also be certified organic.  He told me the name of a local meat company that has good practices, doesn't add anything (preservatives, hormones) to the meat, and is reasonably priced.  It's on sale this week at one store for $3/lb (boneless, skinless).  So bye bye, bagged chicken that heavens know what is in it.  It's going to be the local grown chicken as much as possible. 

As far as the organic dirty dozen is concerned, one of the local stores only sells organic produce, AND they have weekly specials where some of the produce is 99 cents per pound!!!  I think this is a great deal, that even beats the prices of some non-organic produce and this stuff is organic too. 

Today's shopping:
9 lbs boneless, skinless chicken from the local company
3 boxes of my favorite rice crackers
1 loaf of bread for hubby (otherwise known as "I'm not eating it")
2 lbs grapes
2.5 lbs apples
1.5 lbs oranges
1 lb tangelos
1 lb sweet potatoes

Total spent: $45

Not too bad. 

The Dirty Dozen

Have you heard about the dirty dozen list?  It's the twelve produce items with the most pesticide residue on them, and for this reason it's recommended that you buy these organic.  Wouldn't you know it - I regularly eat all of the items on the dirty dozen list: cherries, blueberries, potatoes, peaches, etc.  I don't buy these items organic right now, which I should definitely change. 

The organic craze was one of those that I did initially roll my eyes at.  It seems like everything has an organic version, which of course to me is just a reason to double the price.  So for the past 5 or so years, I've happily bought my non-organic produce that stays fresh for seemingly months...now I know why. 

Julia and I are the produce consumers in the house.  My husband....ummm....well, do maraschino cherries count?  He does eat apples...in pie.  And he eats cucumbers...pickled and on his burger.  So, yeah, it's really just Julia and me who eat produce. 

I don't want to get all maniacal about this organic thing.  I think a sound strategy is to start buying local/organic the foods on the dirty dozen list.  If that goes well, I think buying some meat from a local farmer might be a nice next step.  I did some research on the local farms, and they primarily sell beef around here.  I don't really eat beef, so buying half a cow when you don't eat beef might not make a lot of sense.  I do eat chicken, but I cannot find a farmer who sells chickens within 100 miles.  So I'm not sure what to do about that.  Maybe I can ask around about the meat thing.  And if any reader has tips on the meat thing, please let me know.

Back to the organic dirty dozen list.  I was looking at local CSAs.  Those are where you pay upfront (about $600 here) for 20 weeks of produce during the prime harvest season.  So for about $30 a week you pick up a box of fresh local fruits and veggies.  The downside is that you typically don't get to pick the mix of produce you want.  You get what you get.  I'm not fond of a variety of veggies (turnips/radishes/beets) and some I don't use THAT often (onions, tomatoes) and, again, I'm the only one who eats them in this house.  So I'm not sure a CSA is for us. 

Several of the CSAs also have farm stands in the summer, or they participate in local farmers' markets.  I think this is an excellent way to support local farmers.  The farmers' markets run from June - October here, and I haven't ever been before, so I will definitely check them out this summer.  That seems like a great option.

So what do I do until June?  I think what I'm going to do is price compare four natural foods/organic food stores around here.  I'm going to write out my dirty dozen list and then columns for each of the four stores (Trader Joe's, Marlene's Market, Fred Meyer (organic section), and a corner market) and see how things stack up.  My hope is that I can figure out what store is typically the best deal and make a weekly run to that store for the organic versions of the items on the dirty dozen list.

One other option is www.spud.com.  They deliver in this area. It's an online organic grocery store.  Kind of like a CSA, but you pick what you want.  Pretty awesome except for the $50 minimum order.  A $50 order for just me would be a LOT of produce. 

Right now I'm in the information gathering phase of this.  I want to start making some more conscientious decisions about eating organic and supporting local farmers, but don't expect me to start making hemp necklaces or anything.  It's all about finding the right balance. 

On another note, I've finally got all our stuff ready for tax filing.  I love doing taxes.  I think my husband married me because I like financial sorts of things; he really doesn't have to remember much in that facet of his life.  I tend to the vast majority of it.  And he does the vast majority of the home fix-it projects because I cannot be trusted with a screwdriver. 

It all started with a tackle

As most everyone knows, I have this high-strung toddler who may or may not have a raging case of OCD.  My husband and I adore her because she's so...her.  The daycare "thang" has been interesting because she really did NOT like it when she started, and slowly she's been making her way into socialization.  Not well, because remember who her parents are.  But she's making her own strides.

My little J has a very low need for physical affection.  She may or may not pull away if you give her an unsolicited hug.  She says, "I need my space," a lot.  From my perspective, that's fine because I. Am. Just. Like. Her.

About a year ago, there was a little incident on the playground.  This little boy Daniel decided to run over to Julia and jump on her - you know, like a big dog might do and then the person falls backward with a huge kerplop.  Daniel leaped on Julia, which propelled her backward, and then he was on top of her.  Of course the daycare workers were ready for a Julia meltdown for 1) someone invading her space 2) the anguish of falling backward into the wood chips 3) and the boy that was bigger on her sitting on her.  So they immediately go to her rescue, and my little "I need my space" girl is laughing.  She's absolutely loving it.

So what does she do the next day?  She tackles Daniel in the same way he tackled her.

Then somehow we got dropped into a Daniel obsession.  She started singing the Daniel song, talking about him, and generally resembling Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction."  Her daycare teacher said that she always insisted on sitting by Daniel, and she spent most lunch and snack times staring at him instead of eating.  She would stare at him, sigh, and say, "Daniel," in much the way 13 year old girls say the name of the boy they like.

It was pretty weird to have a not even 2 year old so obsessed with another kid, and of course since it was a boy it was even weirder.

Over the summer things started to change at school.  Julia spent more time with 2 girls.  They would play on the seesaw and take care of baby dolls together.  I was relieved that she was getting along with girls.  Of course, they would have their fights.  It seemed like Julia was ticked off at one of the girls a lot, but for the most part they got along okay and she stopped being Glenn Close-like towards Daniel.

The not-so-great part is that at the beginning of January, both of these girls stopped coming to daycare.  One is on an extended vacation internationally, and the other's mother is on maternity leave.  There are other kids at daycare, but Julia is one of those picky kids who will only play with who she wants to play with.  Ummm, yeah, she ignores the kids she doesn't like (who does that remind you of?).  There is one child that she's been in daycare with for 2 years now.  They started the same time as 6-7 month olds.  We talk with his parents, and they seem like good people.  The boy definitely gives off the vibe that he's going to be a football player.  His favorite activities are throwing balls and running and just generally being a *boy*.  He's that rough and tumble, all-boy type.  Julia never talks about Brayden, despite them being together for 5 days a week, 8 hours a day for two years.  If I ask about him, she knows who he is, but she's not much for actually talking about him spontaneously.

This is the conversation I had with Julia yesterday.

Me: What did you do at school today?
Julia: I played with Daniel.
(I remember seeing Brayden when I dropped off Julia.)
Me: What about Brayden?  Did you play with him?
Julia: No
Me: Why?
Julia: Because
Me: Because why?
Julia: Because I like Daniel.