Flowers at work

Today I got beautiful roses and lilies delivered to me at work. It was the sweetest moment of my life. ( ok, I don't really know that, I tend to forget things but still-as far as I remember this is the sweetest thing) I am so a flutter right now it's a very lovely feeling. If you can't guess, a guy dropped off the flowers. We have gone out just a couple of times so it's even more of a surprise to get flowers and sweets (he also brought beignets!). I am so flattered and excited to be getting to know him and for him to be so interested in me! Wow. Wow wow wow. That's all I wanted to share! It's looking to be a very good day!

Book review time again!
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen.
Fantastic memoir! This book made me laugh out loud so often I had to start reading it in private. I was asked by a waiter on my lunch break where I was reading it if I was "ok" because I was laughing so hard he thought I was sobbing... The book tells of Rhoda's divorce and the aftermath of it all. She has such an interesting take on life and had such an adventure after the divorce. She ended up moving back in with her Mennonite parents and talks about the differences between them now. It's really great to read a memoir about the healing and pain she was going through that is still light enough and comical enough to make you laugh. Rhoda has a great outlook on life and a wonderful writing style.

The Treehouse Book by Candida Collins
This is really a coffee table book. I am "reviewing" it because there is no place I would rather live than a tree house. And some of the ones in this book make me start eyeing the trees in my neighborhood they are so wonderful. If anyone reading this has a tree house and it is currently empty... I am willing to lease!!! :) Great photography through out the whole book. Also has a bunch of different styles of houses.

Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Salomon
Holy crap I love this book. It really embodies a lot of what I already believe so it's kinda an obvious fit for me. It's all about getting away from the "Jones's" and really living with the space you actually need. Needed space in a home is a heck of a lot less than we here in the States build or even think! It has some blueprints and lots of advice. I can't recommend this book enough, go check it out. Preferably at my bookstore! :)

Declaration

"When in the course of humanevents it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independant.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff, and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among these are Personality, Purpose and Passion. The history of the present indies is a history of experiences and excitement, which we will continue to establish as we set our sights on a more unconstrained state. To prove this, let's bring each other along and submit our own experiences to an unchained world.

We, therefore, the Kindred Spirits of IndieBound, in the name of our convictions, do publish and declare that these united minds are, and darn well ought ot be, Free Thinkers and Independant Souls. That we are linked by the passions that differentiate us. That we seek out soul mates to share our excitement. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the strength of our identities, we respectively and mutually pledge to lead the way as we declare that we are IndieBound!!"

This Declaration (from independant publisher, IndieBound) is part of what makes the bookstore I work at so special. The support of local businesses and companies helps us to not be part of the homogenization of American cities. Let's strive to be different in everything we do. Let's support and encourage business's that are creative and inspiring, let's also support those business's that are fighting against the corporate companies. Let's keep our town unique and interesting. Let us also keep our lives unique and interesting. I feel like with a couple of changes this is MY declaration. I want to be different and unique in everything I do. So here's to being our own personal version of IndieBound!!!

Books to read

I have just finished a couple of really interesting books and thought I would share a bit about them here.
The first is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. It's being made into a movie soon and has been on a number of reading lists so I thought I would check it out. The book is about a 13 yr old girl who was conceived as a perfect genetic match for her older sister who has luekemia. It's her story of trying to get medical emancipation from her parents so that she doesn't have to be an organ donor for her sister. It's written from each of the people involved in this process's view points (lawyer, parents, brother, sister, ad litem, and the girl herself). I absolutely loved it. It was really challenging to read since you didn't know what the right thing was or what you would do in such a situation. I would love to know what others think about it!!!

I also just read American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. It's a novel about a first lady and her life before the white house, and essentially it's about Laura Bush. It is a piece of fiction but I know that some of the events and things in the book are based on actual events. It gives a really interesting look into the marriage and life of the Bush's. It really is a wonderful way of seeing Laura Bush- she has always been so quiet in my mind that this gave a lot of voice to who she might really be! It also kinda helped see a little bit of why she married who she did! I liked this book alot. It was well written and attention grabbing.

I am in the middle of reading the latest Laurie Notaro book, The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death. If you haven't read anything by Laurie I strongly suggest that you do. Make sure you are alone and not eating or drinking anything you might choke on when you suddenly bust up laughing. I swear, she is the funniest author I have ever read. I am reading her book while at the book shop and it's probably the worst place possible to read it, I am constantly looking around to see if anyone is watching me... I even fell out of my chair just a few moments ago. So, check out Idiot Girl's Action Adventure Guide, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, and We Thought You'd Be Prettier, they are all excellent!

That's all I have for now, just thought I would keep ya updated on what I am enjoying!

Dream Trip

I had this fantastic idea to take a road trip down the west coast. To start in California and go all the way up to maybe Washington. I was just in the area south of San Fransisco for a week and loved it. The farms all along the seaside are just beautiful. And I oh my gosh, the wildlife... I saw seals! And whales!!! I know this is goofy but I was just thinking, how awesome it would be to take a couple of people with me and just get a car and drive up highway 1. Rent some wetsuits and boards and stop often to just take it all in. Cooking out in the open. It sounds so fun and now that I am typing about it I feel that it is nessecary to do it. I need to plan this! I need to find the funds for all this of course but, it could be do-able if people came along! Yay. Time to go scheme.

First time on

So, I feel like it's about time for me to start something like this... Blogging is something my generation is supposed to fell comfortable I think and yet, this is daunting. I wanted to start this so that I could write about some of my travels, experiences and even books that I have liked or not liked. My passion is to experience cultures and new places. I love to travel. I am also in love with the idea of full circle farming and sustainable agriculture and am hoping to eventually go to school for it! And that's a part of what I hopefully will be able to share here. Thanks for reading.