2010 Books

**** Pick it up from the library today!
*** Add it to your reading list.
** Eh, it was ok...
* Forget you ever heard about it.

Fiction

The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran - "A common bat on the other side of the world elects to sink its rabid fangs, and one's cozy existence is finished." ***

The Vagrants by Yiyum Li - "The day started before sunrise, on March 21, 1979, when Teacher Gu woke up and found his wife sobbing quietly into her blanket." **

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese **** - "After eight months spent in the obscurity of our mother's womb, my brother, Shiva, and I cam into the world in the late afternoon of the twentieth of September in the year of grace 1954."

Daughter of Kura by Debra Austin - "Something obscured the horizon." *

The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher- "'Sue, the garden of number 84 is nothing more than a sort of playground for all the kids of the neighborhood.'" *

Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - "Late in the afternoon of a chilly day in February, two gentlemen were sitting alone over their wine in a well furnished dining parlor in the down of Pee in Kentucky." **

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - "Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl." ***

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safrean Foer - "What about a teakettle?" ***

Pearl of China by Anchee Min - "Before I was Willow, I was Weed." **

Elysiana by Chris Knopf - "Stretched out she just fit, slightly wedged, between the padded armrests of the Catalina's backseat." *

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon - "We are on our way to the hospital, Ryan's father says." **

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry - "Once upon a time there was a family named Willoughby." **

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - "It was four o'clock when the ceremony was over and the carriages began to arrive." ***

The Believers by Zoe Heller - "At a party in a bedit just off Gower Street, a young woman stood alone at the window, her elbows pinned to her sides in an attempt to hide the dark flowers of perspiration blossoming at the armholes of her dress." **

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - "It began with my father not wanting to see the Last Rabbit and ended up with my being eaten by a carnivorous plant." ****

All Souls by Christine Schutt - "Mr. Dell, in his daughter's room, stuck his face into the horn of a stargazer lily, one of a... one of a... must have been a dozen, and he breathed in and said wasn't that something." **

Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun -**

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F Scott Fitzgerald **

Sherlock Holmes ***

The Secret Garden **

The Help by Katheryn Stockett - "Mae Mobley was born on a early Sunday morning in August, 1960." ****

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters ***

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Von **

Non Fiction

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan - "Live through this." ***

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - "Welcome, and congratulations." ***

On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam - "With a baby in your future, everyone seems to state the obvious "Life as you know it will never be the same." ***

Stitches by David Small - "I was six." **

The Big Short by Michael Lewis -- "Eisman entered finance about the time I exited." ***

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman - "At 30,000 feet, somewhere between Buffalo and Dallas, he put his magazine in his seat pocket, turned in my direction, and asked, "What kind of work do you do?" **

Little Princes by Conor Grennan - "It was well after nightfall when I realized we had gone the wrong way." ****

... X-Ray Vision

Here's what you'd see if you had x-ray vision into my tummy.

Here's what you'd see if you didn't.


One version is decidedly much cuter in my opinion.
One version is becoming fairly difficult to cover in a modest fashion.

One version I stare at all day.
One version I touch all day.

Both versions make me exceedingly happy.
Hey, it's the south. Everyone's kinder to pregnant women. ;-)

... Flat Stanley's Big Adventures

Megan, my niece, read the book Flat Stanley this year in school. Stanley is a little boy who gets flattened. He's a bit sad about it at first, but then realizes he can be sent through the mail for some exciting times. So what do you know, Stanley got sent to us for a visit!

We had a ball taking him around town to see the sites. Day one: Colonial Williamsburg followed by The College of William and Mary.


Turns out the Stanley is a pretty popular dude. People were stopping me asking if Stanley was available for photos with them.

Day Two: Virginia Beach Oceanfront where we saw the Shamrock Marathon & King Neptune Statue.



Rounding it up: Downtown Norfolk for a visit to the Pagoda and USS Wisconsin.


We had such a great time with his visit and are hoping that next time Megan, Ashlynn, and their parents are flattened so they can visit too!

... Coming Home Dress

I though baby girl should have something special to wear for her arrival home. Not that she'll care at the time, but still.


I'm so pleased with how this turned out. I've never attempted to sew clothes before so I feel quite a sense of accomplishment.

The very next day I made another dress/top for a friends baby.


I think I'm going to like having a girl. :)

... McDonalds turns Smurf

At some point in time, the attic in our house was converted into a loft. It's a really neat space with lots of angles, window seats, benches, and exposed brick (the fireplace chimney juts up through the center of the room).

We've had a few roommates live up here, making one half their bedroom, and the other half their living area. It's really rather large as it extends the entire length of the house.


One of the roommates painted it yellow. As in sunshine yellow. Golden arches yellow. It was really bright. We weren't so into it.

Since I'll be moving my office up here to make room for the nursery downstairs, we figured a now was the time to paint it.


5 gallons of paint and 1 month later, we're done. I had no idea how much work it would be. It's a good thing I like it 'cause we're not painting it again. Ever. :)

We'll slowly be making additional repairs and adjustments to the room. Like new carpeting. I envision one day having all the furniture and accessories be black and white. But for now, I'm happy with the fresh coat of paint.

... Our Little Girl

It's a she!

The tech prematurely announced our little thing was a girl, but then quickly added "but we'll make sure in a few minutes, I could be wrong". What a cruel joke that would have been if she'd changed her prediction. Not that I didn't want a boy, but as soon as she said the word "girl", I was hooked.


So was Jeff. I've heard him talk of wanting a daughter ever since I've known him. I'm not entirely sure he knows what he's getting into though. A very large portion of his family is male so a girl will be a little new to him.


Baby girl moved quite a bit, waiving hi to us, chillin' with one arm tucked back behind her head (just like mommy and daddy do).

Seeing her like this just makes her all the more real to me. Soon enough she'll be in my arms. We can't wait! :)

... The Halfway Point

While working in my office today (soon to be the nursery), I took a break to shoot some photobooth pics of my growing midsection.

Does it seem like I'm on the large side for 19.5 weeks? Man! :)