Happy Black Thursday . . .

er, I mean Thanksgiving.

Give it a few years and we'll be celebrating Black Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

We were at Costco last night and as crazy as that store can be, leaving me wondering if I should switch back to Sams, one reason I'm happy to be a patron is they give their employees holidays off to be with family. We discovered that on Memorial Day during our Phoenix trip when we were looking for a cheap place to feed the kids and discovered Costco was closed. How refreshing! So thankful for stores that value employees and family.

I'm also thankful for a brother-in-law who decorates my house for the holidays and LOVES it. Because I really don't enjoy it that much and don't have an eye for decor.

I'm thankful that since moving into this neighborhood three years ago, a bunch of boys have moved in also who are Erik's age and they've all become friends.

I think Nate is thankful to finally inherit Erik's shirt. He's been eying it up for awhile. I thought it was quite fitting that he wear it today.

Book Club

I've been part of a book club for almost 8 years now. I don't think when it started that any of us thought it would still be in existence 8 years later.

Initially, it began in conjunction with the Gordon Lane Ward as part of the mini groups the General Relief Society for the LDS Church wanted to see implemented. After several years we converted it into just a regular old book club. Really, the only difference was it was no longer announced in Relief Society and we didn't have to get the bishop's approval on our book list.

Several of us have moved and keep coming back and one member is now part of a different ward due to a ward split, so it really does feel like an actual book group. There are around 12 regulars and a few of us that are on and off.

We take turns hosting at each others homes. The hostess gets to pick the book to read for the next month and the previous hostess brings treats (rarely do you ever host and provide the treat too). One month, usually January, we discuss our book and then watch a movie. In November we do a book exchange and then don't host in July or December since those are some crazy months.

It has really stretched me in some of my reading and given me a reason to read things I would never have picked up otherwise. I think my most surprising read has been Dreams from My Father by President Obama. I don't like him as a president, but I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed his memoir and found that he is a good writer. To date we've read 84 books as a book club (my record keeping isn't 100% accurate; I'm sure I've missed recording a couple). Of those 84 I have read 71. That's a pretty good track record.

It would have been so easy to skip out when we moved, but I'm glad I keep going. It keeps me involved with old friends and keeps me reading. If I'm not reading the current month's book, I'm reading to hopefully come across one of those gems I can pick for my month. Although I will admit that I have picked a couple of duds that I didn't even like.

Anyway, here's our book club list since February 2006, in alphabetical order. I've put a star by the ones I really enjoyed. The italicized ones I have not read. The bold ones I really disliked. 

A Room with a View . . . E.M. Forster 

A Train to Potevka . . . Mike Ramsdell

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn . . . Betty Smith
*Alas, Babylon . . . Pat Frank 
All the Pretty Horses . . . Cormac McCarthy 
At Home in Mitford . . . Jan Karon 
Band of Brothers . . . Stephen E. Ambrose 
*Black Like Me . . . John Howard Griffin 
Christmas Jars . . . Jason Wright 
Cold Sassy Tree . . . Olive Ann Burns
*Cutting for Stone . . . Abraham Verghes
Dandelion Wine . . . Ray Bradbury
*Dreams from My Father . . . Barack Obama
*East of Eden . . . John Steinbeck
*Ella Minnow Pea . . . Mark Dunn
Emma . . . Jane Austin
Falling Leaves . . . Adeline Yen Mah
Flowers for Algernon . . . Daniel Keyes
*Follow the River . . . James Alexander Thom
For One More Day . . . Mitch Albom
Gods and Kings . . . Lynn Austin
Half Broke Horses . . . Jeanette Walls
Heaven Is for Real . . .Todd Burpo
*Jane Eyre . . . Charlotte Bronte
Juliet . . . Anne Fortier
*Life of Pi . . . Yann Martel
Little Women . . . Louisa May Alcott
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand . . . Helen Simonson
Molokai . . . Alan Brennert
*Mrs. Mike . . . Benedict Freedman
My Antonia . . . Willa Cather
*Nothing to Envy . . . Barbara Demick
Of Mice and Men . . . John Steinbeck
*Peace Like a River . . . Leif Enger
Persepolis . . . Marjane Satrapi
*Phantom . . . Susan Kay
Plain and Simple: A Woman’s Journey to the Amish . . . Sue Bender
Pride and Prejudice . . . Jane Austin
Seeking Persephone . . . Sarah Eden
Shattered Silence . . . Melissa Moore
The Anatomy of Peace . . . Arbinger Institute
The Bean Trees . . . Barbara Kingsolver
The Blue Castle . . L. M. Montgomery
The Bluest Eye . . . Toni Morrison
*The Book Thief . . . Markus Zusak
The Burning Within . . . Ranelle Wallace
The Chosen . . . Chaim Potok
*The Color of Water . . . James McBride
*The Count of Monte Cristo  . . . Alexandre Dumas
The Devil’s Arithmetic . . . Jane Yolen
*The Dovekeepers . . . Alice Hoffman
The Five Love Languages . . . Gary Chapman
The Five People You Meet in Heaven . . . Mitch Albom
The Giver . . .Lois Lowry
*The Glass Castle . . . Jeanette Walls
The Good Earth . . . Pearl S. Buck
The Great Gatsby . . Scott F. Fitzgerald
*The Guernsy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society . . . Annie Barrows
The Help . . . Kathryn Stockett
The Host . . . Stephanie Meyer
The House of the Scorpion . . . Nancy Farmer
*The Hunger Games . . . Suzanne Collins
*The Kitchen House . . . Kathleen Grissom
*The Kite Runner . . . Khaled Hosseini
The Last Lecture . . . Randy Pausch
The Lost Wife . . . Alyson Richman
The Memory Keepers Daughter . . . Kim Edwards
The Peacegiver . . . James Ferrell
*The Poisonwood Bible . . . Barbara Kingsolver
The Rent Collector . . . Cameron Wright
*The Scarlet Pimpernel . . . Emmuska Orczy
The Secret Life of Bees . . . Sue Monk Kidd
The Sunflower . . Richard Paul Evans
The Winter Sea . . . Susanna Kearsley
The Woman in White . . . Wilkie Collins
*These Is My Words . . . Nancy Turner
Three from Galilee . . . Marjorie HolmesTo Kill a Mockingbird . . . Harper Lee
Tuesdays with Morrie . . . Mitch Albom
Twilight . . . Stephanie Meyer
Two from Galilee . . . Marjorie Holmes
When the Emperor Was Divine . . . Julie Otsuka
Wish You Well . . . David Baldacci
Zen the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance . . . Robert Pirsig
 

Lake Powell

Do you remember the days when kids actually went to school? . . . For an entire week?

It seems my kids have more days off than they're really in school.

For some reason they had a Monday off a couple of weeks ago so we decided to head to Lake Powell to try some striper fishing.

Well, rule number 1: Don't try to get on the lake right before a storm. The wind was threatening to sink our little boat. Even though the sky was clear, the waves did not help our fishing cause.

Rule number 2: If by chance you get a fish on your line, you had better pull and reel with everything you have or that whale might just suck you right in. Erik had experience with rule number 2.

And that's about it. We came home with two striper so I wouldn't call it a wasted trip although in previous years we've hauled home a lot more.

My kids have never been to Lake Powell, so for them this was certainly an adventure.

We love fish tacos and striped bass is one of the best fish when making them. In my opinion the sauce is what distinguishes a good fish taco from a bad one.

* * * * *

Fish Tacos

white fish (cod, bass, tilapia) 
¼ c. green onions, thinly sliced
¼ c. fresh cilantro, chopped
3 T. mayonnaise
3 T. sour cream
1 t. lime rind, grated
1 ½ t. fresh lime juice
¼ t. salt
1 garlic clove, minced 
tortillas
fresh limes
salt
cabbage or coleslaw

Bread the fish with some flour and cook in a pan with butter until it flakes easily. For the sauce combine the green onions, cilantro, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime rind, lime juice, salt, and garlic in a small bowl; set aside. To prepare tacos, divide fish evenly among tortillas. Squeeze fresh lime juice over fish and lightly salt. Top with coleslaw and sauce. 

Note: For an easier meal, you can use fish that’s already crusted and bake according to directions on the package or cook up some fish sticks.

Three book reviews

MY STORY
By Elizabeth Smart
 
Elizabeth Smart gets 5 stars and more in my book. Her book whom she coauthored with Chris Stewart only gets 3. I have to think having Chris Stewart on the team didn't help; I've never cared for his writing style. I've seen interviews with Elizabeth who is very well-spoken and eloquent and kind of expected the same from this book. But that just wasn't the case.

However, that said her story is absolutely remarkable. I remember the day she was kidnapped and followed all the news stories up until the day she was found, another day that stands out vividly in my mind. I wanted to read this book for the details which the public didn't get a lot of when she was found (she simply tells us what happened to her without getting graphic and tells a lot of what she was thinking and why she didn't do some things we as the public expected her to). Kiersten is that same vibrant 14-year-old and I couldn't help thinking through the whole book, could Kiersten have endured what Elizabeth did and come out of such tragedy to become the person Elizabeth is today. She only briefly tells at the end how she has been able to rise above her ordeal without any real medication or counseling. And quite simply it has been her faith, her faith in a God who knows her and loves her. Many who are not religious will question why a God would allow such horrific crimes to happen to people, especially children. But she knows that God gave man his agency and he cannot stand in the way of that. However, she does detail several experiences she had that left her knowing God knew what she was going through and that he had not left her alone.

Her mother also gave her some advice shortly after her return that was really the start of her healing process. Her mother told her that her captors had taken 9 months of her life that she would never get back and to not let them have one more second of her life. Elizabeth needed to move forward with her life and be happy. That would be the greatest punishment she could give two very evil people.

If you overlook the writing, the story is simply one of the best about survival and rising above the scourge of the earth to become someone extraordinary. 

* * * * *

THE POWER OF EVERYDAY MISSIONARIES
By Clayton Christensen

What a great book on such an intimidating topic as missionary work, especially member missionary work. I actually checked this book out because I loved his book How Will You Measure Your Life? but it sat on my nightstand until it had to go back to the library. I was going to return it on my way out of town and after reading several chapters, decided to keep it, finish it, and pay the late fees. I did not regret that decision. This is a book every Mormon should read who is sincerely wanting to be a better missionary. It gives you ideas to think about, it gives real-life examples of ordinary people who simply opened their mouth to their friends and had amazing results. I read it in 2 days but I would really recommend reading it over time and contemplating some of the ideas and actually putting them to work. This actually got me excited about my own missionary work and left me thinking, "I can do that!" 

* * * * *

INFERNO
By Dan Brown

It was pretty much like every other book I've read of his (suspense, fast-faced, a lot art, foreign places), and as much as I liked his other books, I really did not like the premise of this one. I thought Dan Brown took a very political stand against families and procreation. I consider myself extremely pro-family and felt that this book was very much against families or at least the rights of every human being to decide for themselves in regard to their own familial life, which is pretty funny to say since it's suppose to just be a suspense book. I think Dan Brown couched his personal opinions very smoothly in this book, and I'm not sure I'll read another one of his.

Sleigh Ride Fantasy Duet

I have now watched this video several times and love it every time.

I even bought the music and will try to convince Kiersten to play it with me. Except convince is the wrong word because she will totally be on board with it; it's just going to be finding some time to practice.

And play is the wrong word because I'm coming to the realization that Kiersten has become a much better pianist than me simply because she practices. She could probably sit down have this piece nailed down in no time. Me? I'm going to need a lot of practice before we can actually attempt to play it together.