books

Bibliophilia: Redux – NaBloPoMo

Posted on November 8, 2015 Written by Tonya

I don’t know if it’s because both my parents were educators, they read to me a lot as a child, I love spending time (not to mention lots of money) in bookstores and libraries, or because my playpen, as the story goes, was in a room surrounded by shelves and shelves of books, but my first word was “book”.

I read to my children everyday. Lola’s current favorites are Curious George and Dancing Feet and Lucas can now read chapter books and has discovered Nate the Great. He is dying to start the Harry Potter series, which believe it or not, I haven’t read!

Sadly, since I’ve had children my leisure reading has been cut in half. I miss it very much. There is nothing better than getting lost in a good book. Historical fiction modern day fiction are suspense novels are my favorite.

Books can transport you to another place and time and introduce you to interesting characters that you don’t normally encounter in your day-to-day life. I enjoy the relaxation of reading, especially when hours have passed and I don’t even realize it because I’m so enthralled in a good book. Sitting quietly with a juicy epic is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures and brings me a lot of peace.

My Personal Book Facts:

I am a founding member of a book club called JUGS (Just Us Girls) that my friend, Nancy and I started almost 12 (!) years ago and I used to live for our monthly meetings. Our discussions were always lively, fun and thought provoking. If it weren’t for our group, there are many books I would have missed. Unfortunately, despite many attempts to revive the group, it hasn’t met since 2010. People just got too busy.
I have a really hard time starting a book without finishing it, no matter how much I may want to throw it into the fireplace (i.e. Saving Graces, a terrible JUGS selection), however, the older I get, the more I realize life is just too short to read crap!
I always start books in bed.
One of my very best friends is in my life today because we initially bonded over books. Thank goodness for Patricia Cornwell and Kay Scarpetta!
Since 1999, I have kept a list of every book I have read maintaining (pre-mommyhood) an average of 35 books per year. Now it’s more like 15. My father also kept a list of the books he read and I often turn to it for recommendations.
My husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas 2014 and the purist in me took six months before I downloaded my first book and several weeks to actually read it, but now I’m head over heels hooked!

Some of my favorites include (in no particular order):
1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
5. The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult
6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
10. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
11. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
12. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (this book moved me so much I write a blog post about it called Unwavering.
13. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
14. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (the first book I read on my Kindle!)
15. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
16. My next book!

Love her or hate her, I believe Oprah Winfrey single-highhandedly got our nation reading again when she established her book club in 1996. All hail the Queen!

As any voracious reader knows, there are so many books out there, it can be hard to choose just what to read next. I’m always in the middle of book, even if ends up taking me a month to read! At the moment I am in between books and this is a place I don’t like to be.

What’s up next on my reading list? Good question. My husband and I are going to New York next week without the children, so I want something juicy and epic for the plane ride there and home. I have a ton of titles on my Goodreads list to read. 979 to be exact and I’m always adding to it, but I want to know recommendations! I’m thinking The Goldfinch. Have you read it?

What are you currently reading?

I wrote a version of this post in October 2009 called Bibliophilia.

Summer So Far

Posted on August 4, 2015 Written by Tonya

It has been almost two months since my last blog post. I was hoping to have a lot more free time this summer to dedicate to my writing and Letters For Lucas, but that wasn’t meant to be. Instead it has been a crazy busy couple of months filled with pick ups and drop offs, play dates, visits with family, beating the heat and very little down time. We’re making memories and having fun but it’s going by way too fast!

With what little ~~time spent without children~~ quiet time I do enjoy, I prefer to work out, take photographs and read.

I have stayed up way too late to read some awesome books so far this summer… Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch and The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. And I started Judy Blume’s In the Unlikely Event last night. I adored Blume as an adolescent and teenager and so far I’m not disappointed.

I turned 43 the end of June and my husband and I spent a magical weekend in Palm Springs. We stayed at The Parker and I have thought about it ever since. More to come on this…. Trust me when I say, this hotel deserves its very own blog post!

I took a six week photography class and while I may still be utterly confused by depth of field, exposure modes and apertures, I love getting to know my camera. This was my best shot. In my ever humble opinion.

June 25, 2015 – Orange Coast Community College, Horticulture Center

Shortly after I took this, I tried to photograph a lily and fell on the side of a pond and damaged my lens. It has been at the repair shop for 10 days. I also ruined my favorite pair of white capris and I did not get the shot.

A week ago, Lola turned 18 months old and I’m still in shock. She’s wild and silly and is enjoying testing her boundaries and giving us all a run for our money. She loves to go for walks around our neighborhood and sit at the bar stools around our kitchen island instead of in her high chair. She’ll eat anything her brother doesn’t and wants to play with whatever he is. Lola is awesome.

On Friday, Lucas completed his fifth and final week of camp and will be at home with me for the remainder of his summer. I’m looking forward to a looser schedule, lazy mornings and some fun afternoon outings. He goes back to school September 2. As challenging as it is to have two children home for the summer with such varied interests, not to mention abilities, I love spending time with my loves and I’ll be missing Lucas when he starts first grade (!) in the fall. Four short weeks from now.

Today is Todd and my eighth wedding anniversary. A bronze milestone. Whatever that means. I suppose bronze is stronger than iron and copper, symbols of earlier years of marriage. A union of two lives and the strength resulting from combining time with perseverance. I like that and I love him. I’m so lucky he picked me to share this life with.

Eight years and counting…

How is your summer so far?

My Little Bookworm

Posted on May 20, 2015 Written by Tonya

I never want reading to be a chore for my children. I want them to love it as much as I do. I want them to let books take them to far away places and introduce them to new and interesting people. I want them to fall in love with characters and words and share their favorite titles with me someday. I want reading to be one of their favorite pastimes.

You can imagine my excitement and worry when the book report assignment came home from my son’s Kindergarten teacher:

One book report per night, including weekends.

Must include:

Title of the book

Author

Favorite character

Two-three sentences about the book

Picture

No make-ups, unless ill and for every ten book reports turned in, there is a prize; books, gift certificates to favorite local eating establishments, the honor of being able to read to the Principal, Vice Principal and Pre-K class, pizza lunch with the teacher, etc. If you turn in 100 book reports, you get your very own stuffed Mighty Monkey (the class mascot).

The directions clearly state that book reports are “not mandatory” and should not be considered part of the child’s nightly homework.

Tall order for a fiver-year-old, (not to mention his parents) but guess who hasn’t missed one single book report yet?

This guy!!

Lucas has made the nightly book reports part of his homework and almost always enthusiastically completes them. It’s harder to get him to do them on the weekends.

He carefully chooses books from the many we have lying around our house, (usually overdue library books) and we will snuggle up and read them together. Then he diligently draws an accompanying photo and describes his favorite parts. His spelling isn’t always perfect, but it is phonetic and his writing is atrocious. I must repeat, “neatness counts” a dozen times throughout the process.

As of last week, Lucas was only one of four in his class of 19 to have reached this milestone! He’s still reading and has until the end of May to keep turning in book reports.

I am so proud of my little bookworm.

On Disappearing & A Review Of “The Age Of Adaline”

Posted on April 29, 2015 Written by Tonya

Nowadays with Netflix and Amazon instant video, movies going to DVD within months of their release on the big screen, RedBox rentals, On Demand, AppleTV and the 500 channels cable companies provide, there really is no reason to see a movie in the theater anymore.

But, in the theater is my favorite way to enjoy a movie.

Growing up, going to see a movie was a family pastime and with two small children, something I seldom do anymore. My husband hates going to the theater and it’s rare, but I can drag him to see something or if there is something I am dying to see, I’ll go alone.

And so today, I blew off cardio barre and a ton of errands and disappeared into the dark for just under two hours.

I took myself to see The Age of Adaline.

I loved every moment.

Both the disappearing and the film.

I knew I would.

One of my favorite books ever is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and I liked the movie too. Time travel is fascinating as is defying age and beating mortality.

Like with The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Age of Adaline asks the viewer to suspend all belief in things that cannot be explained scientifically and let the movie take you to an extraordinary place.

You have to believe that miracles can happen.

Adaline, played by the stunning Blake Lively does a remarkable job. Her voice and her mannerisms are flawless much like her appearance as Adaline Bowman.

After having been in a car accident, a series of unlikely events occur at the same time and Adaline ceases to age, forever remaining 25.

Adaline’s story is fluid and original and also very sad. Adaline is close to very few people and picks up her life every decade or so to move to a new town and assume a new identity. She lives this way for 60 years and then an encounter with someone she used to know forces her to come clean and let go.

The movie was also visually beautiful with San Francisco as the background and the gorgeous and elegant costumes made for perfect eye candy.

I know how difficult it is to get away, but if you need a wonderful escape, I highly recommend this lovely and thought provoking film. If you do happen to see, please let me know your thoughts.

For photo credit, click on image.

From IMDb: After miraculously remaining 29 years old for almost eight decades, Adaline Bowman has lived a solitary existence, never allowing herself to get close to anyone who might reveal her secret. But a chance encounter with charismatic philanthropist Ellis Jones reignites her passion for life and romance. When a weekend with his parents threatens to uncover the truth, Adaline makes a decision that will change her life forever.

A Visit To The Easter Bunny

Posted on April 3, 2015 Written by Tonya

When Lola and I picked Lucas up from school yesterday I asked him if he would have his picture taken with his sister and the Easter Bunny and very much to my surprise, he said he would!

Proud of the fact that I didn’t have to put up a fight or that he asked for nothing in return (I have found that age five is all about the art of the negotiation), I told him after pictures I would take him to get an ice cream cone. He made an awful face and said no, so I offered him a trip to the cupcake store and again he said no. Starting to feel very confused, I said, “cookie?” and that was when he sheepishly asked if we could go to the bookstore and he could get a book instead of a treat explaining, “Because mom, an ice cream cone will be gone in like two seconds, but a book will last forever.”

Be still my book loving heart!

Also?

Who is this kid?

After both children were absolute rock stars waiting in the hot sun for nearly an hour to have their photo taken with a giant person stuffed into an Easter Bunny costume, Lucas got not one, but three new books!

And as if my son hadn’t impressed me enough already, one of the books he chose was a gift for his friend. I love the ways my children surprise and delight me.

Here’s our photo! It isn’t great, they both have goofy looks on their faces, but I love it. Lola is wearing a beautiful hand-me-down dress from her cousins, who are now 13 and 11 respectively.

Lucas, 5.10 – Lola, 14 months

Happy Good Friday, happy Easter and happy Spring, everyone!

10 Things My Parents Did Right

Posted on March 23, 2015 Written by Tonya

It’s easy to hold my parents up on a very high pedestal since they are no longer living, but they really were good people. Warm and funny and able to talk to anyone. They dedicated their lives to educating children all over the world and always made me feel special. They did a lot of things wrong but they also did a lot of things right.

10 Things My Parents Taught Me:

1. How to be a good friend.
My parents taught me how to be a good friend, trustworthy and honest and always have a strong moral compass. They showed me the importance of sticking up for the underdog while treating everyone with kindness and respect. They also taught me to practice hospitality. The door to our house was always open and my family loved to entertain guests and made anyone who entered our home feel comfortable.

2. A love of reading.
My parents instilled a love of reading in me early in life. The walls of our home were lined with books, my first word was “book” and I remember getting my first library card at the age of five.

3. Respect for myself.
A small example of this would be that a boy should never honk the horn and expect me to come running out to his car, he should get out, walk up to the door and greet my parents. This only happened to me once.

4. How to have fun.
I was taught that there is a time for work, a time for play, and maybe even a time for both.

5. Compassion for my fellowman.
My parents gave when they were able and taught me that I should always show mercy and kindness towards other people and treat them in a way that I want to be treated.

6. A love of school and learning.
My parents taught me to value education and to excel in school. Maybe because they were educators themselves, but I have always loved school and hold a very special place in my heart for teachers.

7. A love of travel.
My parents decided to work and live overseas when I was seven-years-old and we never looked back. Their career spanned almost 30 years in seven different countries, many of them third world. My childhood was spent in four different countries and seeing so many different cultures was an amazing way to grow up. I have had the “travel bug” forever and continue to enjoy long journeys to far away places in large part due to my mom and dad’s adventurous spirit.

8. Argue in private.
I can’t even count on one hand the number of arguments I witnessed my parents having, although I’m sure they did. They weren’t perfect but to my knowledge they kept that side of their marriage separate from me.

9. The art of conversation.
I swear my mom and dad could talk to anyone! They always expressed an interest in my friends and it was important to them to get to know them, even some of the unfavorable boys I dated. My father was particularly comfortable with strangers and curious about where the people he met came from and what made them tick.

10. They let me go when I was ready to leave.
As a mother myself, this must be the hardest parenting task there is. And also the most critical. My mom and dad did it beautifully and continued to love me unconditionally and support the decisions I made as an adult.

I miss my parents everyday and wish so much that they could see me as a mother. I wish I could turn to them for parenting advice. I draw on how I was raised to raise my children and I can only hope that I am doing it right.

What did your parents do right?

10 Things To Smile About

Posted on March 9, 2015 Written by Tonya

It’s easy to focus on the negative and not so wonderful things going on in our lives but today I’m choosing to highlight the positive and a few things that make me happy!

10 Things To Smile About:

1. Lola started walking!

2. Hawaii. I went to Maui for five days in February with two of my girlfriends and we saw whales swam with turtles, enjoyed some decadent meals and soaked up the sun.

3. Lucas has started playing AYSO soccer. His first game was Saturday and although they lost, they played well. Go Red Dragons!!

4. Lucas’s Kindergarten class has an elective book report to complete every night (including weekends) and he is one of only FIVE in his class of 19 to have reached 40 book reports so far this school year and was awarded by having a special pizza lunch with his teacher. This makes me deliriously happy!! I’m very proud of him and love that we share a love of books.

5. Speaking of reading… I’ve read five killer books this year. All of which I would highly recommend: