Books

The Big Read is an NEA program designed to encourage community reading initiatives. They've come up with this list of the top 100 books, using criteria they don't explain, and they estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of these.So, we are encouraged to:

So, we are encouraged to:

1) Look at the list and bold those we have read. (I had to underline them in order to get them to stand out)

2) Italicize those we intend to read.

3) Underline the books we LOVE

4) Reprint this list in our own blogs and share!






1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (LOVED IT)

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (1 out of 3 anyway)

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible (no but I should considering I follow beliefs taught from this book.

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (I think)

12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (almost… minus a few)

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (Hillarious)

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky


28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (Hated it...really I did not enjoy this book)

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen (Loved it)

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (definitely on the list, I love Jane Austen)

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (I tried too)

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood (I had to look this one up to make sure I read it, but I did, I believe it was a Woman's studies class, very interesting from what I remember)

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert (working on it)

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (again, not a Steinbeck fan)

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (no, but I've read Frankenstein... does that count?)

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (I think)

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte's Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo


Ok, my total was 18, which is not quite my best friends 23, but oh well. It is still better than the average 6. Plus, I am working on Dune, really, I am on page 90 something. And honestly, I think I have read some of them, but simply don't remember, because it was so long ago. Plus, I think I tried to read quite a few of them (3 Musketeers) and Les Miserables when I was young (i.e. 12 to 13) and should probably try again. I do note as well that many of these are award winning movies. It may be worth watching some- you know cliffs notes to make sure the book would be something I might read.

Moving States, New Jobs, New School, New House etc.

Well, it has been a ridicolously long time since posting, but alas, I have been busy.
Alex and I both started our new jobs on June 9th. Some saintly women from the Fout family (Grandma Karen and Aunt Jen) helped us out and watched James until he could start day care on June 30th. We have both had adjustment times at work. My work is very challenging on an intellectual level, but I am really enjoying it. Alex had to get his new account into shape and drivers into line, but he has done so, and things have calmed down for him too.

July 4th James and I went to the trailer, and well, some weekends are best left untalked about. Nothing bad happened, it was just a little more stressful than I bargained for. That being said, it was great to see my cousins and their kids.

The rest of July was spent working and being lazy on the weekends. When you are livng in an apartment (something we have not done in a while) there is a whole lot less to do "around the house" on the weekends. So, we did not do much. I did go to Ohio the last weekend in July and went to the Irish Fest with Anne and saw one of our favorite bands Gaelic Storm. It was fun, but really hot! I have to admit, Irish Fests do lose something when you can't drink.


So, while I did not write at all in July it was because there was not much going on in apartment living. Overall, apartment living was not for us and we are happy to report that as of this past Saturday, August 2nd, apartment living came to an end.

We are also happy to report that we no longer own the house in Kansas! We were very fortunate in that we only had a 15 day overlap in homeownerships. We closed on the house here on July 15th and the house in Kansas closed on July 30th. As you can imagine, this was a HUGE relief. The stress in our household went way down knowing that was done and we were not going to be paying a double mortgage.

So, we are in the house, with only the stuff we brought for the apartment. It looks pretty barren, but I am already enjoying my new kitchen. The rest of our household goods (163 boxes plus furniture) is supposed to arrive tomorrow in between 10:00 and noon. So, that should be fun.

James is loving the new house, he has a sand box and swing set and run of the house, no more small apartment! He is so much happier, it is amazing. He has been having a hard time adjusting to day care, or at least he has a problem in the morning when I drop him off. He does not shake off, I am told, until usually about half hour to 45 minutes after I leave, but when I a pick him up, he seems happy. However, I am hoping the mornings will get better soon, especially since he already seems so much happier in the house.

So, that is what is going on with us. I will try to post more often again, but that is a quick summary of our summer!

Alot Going On

So, we have had a lot going on lately, that is why no post in such a long time. I have talked to and/or seen most of my readers though. The first week of work went well despite that I was sick as a dog (nasty sinus infection, that started out as a cold the on the previous Monday), but other than that good. The cat is out of the bag at work, they know I am pregnant. I can't say that they are thrilled, but I have six months before I have this baby to prove to them, I was still a good choice and I plan on it. However, most of you simply just want to see pictures of the house we bought (or are in the process of buying) so, without further adeu, here they are, it will probably be a long post!


Here is one view of the front view of the house. Now, it was raining, and I had parked out front of the house, so it was hard to get a great picture. Besides that, the house is actually blocked by two large trees.



Here is another front view.



This is the entry way to the house, looking at it from the dining room. Basically when you walk in the house, there is the stairway in the center, dining room to the right, and a half bath to the left, along with the hall way into the kitchen. If you look in this picture you can see the door to the half bath on the other side of the stair case.


This is the dining room. The chadelier does not stay. Which, while it is gorgeous, am kind of glad they are taking, because I don't want to clean it.


Here is the family room, the huge family room!


Here is another picture of the family room, I think this one shows the vaulted ceilings a little better. We loved this room, it was so big, we knew we would always be comfortable in it.



Here is a picture looking into the kitchen from the family room. Very similar to the set up we have now. There is one step up into the eating area.



Here is a picture of the kitchen.


Here is another view of the kitchen. These pictures do not truly give just to the granite counter tops. Mainly because the inspector and Alex were both using it as an office.


This is the formal living room, which is right off the kitchen. In the original layout, I am sure this was supposed to be the dining room, and the now dining room, was the formal living room, but the owners switched it, and we think it works and will probably leave it that way.


This is the half bath.


Here is the basement.


This is the laundry room/mud room. You walk into this room from the garage. There is even a nice little utility sink which is a plus.

NOW FOR THE UPSTAIRS....

This is the hall bath upstairs.


This is a mural in one of the bedrooms, it would also be known to Jenna, as Glory and her nine puppies! Yes, it is indeed a painting of a mommy beagle and nine puppies.


This is a master bedroom.


This is the master bath.


And here is just a picture of the mural over the very large garden tub! I can't wait to take a bath in here.

Kind of a long week

Well, it has been kind of a long week here. Alex had to go Indiana again this week to learn his new job. Both he and I will be starting on June 9th. That left me at home with James, which up to this point has not been a problem. However, this week, when James came home from daycare on Tuesday, he was acting very, very lethargic. He was also very hot to the touch. I took this temperature, and it was 101.5. Now, James has had a fever before, but I had never seen him so taken down by it. His breathing was kind of labored, his eyes were just pouring water and he would not move. In short, it was freaking me out. I called Alex a few times, and then decided to take him to Urgent Care at 7:00 we got to Urgent Care. We left at 10:45. It was diagnosed as just a virus. However, his glands were swollen, so they had to do a "rapid" strep test. I wwould use the word "rapid" very lightly. James did however have a nasty looking ear which the doctor believed was going to be an ear infection without question, so we did get some amoxcilin. Luckily, James slept from 8:00 to 9:30, but I did not get a nap at Urgent Care. I did however get the popsicle that James would not eat. James went to bed at 11:00 on Tuesday night. I went to bed shortly thereafter after a shower. Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story. James has not slept well all week due to the fever, which hung on until yesterday. He has night terrors every night. This generally requires me to wake him up to get him to calm down, which is sometimes not very easy. I also got sick with some throat thing along with some lovely sores on the roof of my mouth that made it diffucult to eat (I know gross!). I also ended up at the Walgreens clinic (it was quicker than the regular doctor.) I went to make sure I did not have strep throat, mine rapid test was also negative. Furthermore, the nurse practioner was also kind enough to rule out herpes as the problem in my mouth. (Gee thanks! I am not sure where she thought my mouth had been). In the end, I do not know who was happier to see Alex when he walked in the door last night- me or James because we are quite at our wits end with each other.

Even this morning after a fight over waffles that I am not quite sure was about except the fact that James does not like syrup, I, not my two year old yelled for Alex to come intervene. I felt I was tattling! Oh well. In the end I think nerves are running high this week since we leave for Indiana for good on Wednesday and the little guy obviously has picked up on mama's tension.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I hope everyone is enjoying a nice memorial day weekend. The Porterfield family is currently hanging out at home, as it is raining outside. James and I are still in our pajamas and I'm quite content to stay that way for a while. The gray day is not so motivating. Plus, I have also decided that tomorrow I will start getting up with an alarm clock again. I have had a blissful four weeks without one (well if you don't count a "mama" alarm clock going off every morning around 6:50), but if I expect to be half way normal on my first day of work, that must come to an end.

We have had a nice weekend so far, on Saturday we went to the zoo! James absolutely loved it. His favorites were the lions and the gorilla. We even went for a camel ride! Here are some pictures from our zoo adventure.


Here is the camel ride.


This is about 3/4 around when James waved at his daddy and said "Hi Daddy, I ride a camel!"


James did enjoy the ride and thought it was pretty interesting.

Here are some of the animals we got to see.

An elephant enjoying a snack.


A gorilla eating a snack.



A lion eating leaves. Anyone see a theme here?


Finally, we finished up our trip to the zoo, by riding the carousel with Papa Larry. We of course rode the gorilla, because that was our favorite animal. This was actually James favorite animal last year as well.

After our successful trip to the zoo, we came home and all took a two hour nap. This rejuventated James, but Mommy and Daddy who had actually walked for almost 5 hours straight, were pretty much done for the day.

Yesterday brought errands and hanging out at home. It was actually 90 degrees outside, so we only played outside for a little bit, because James got so overheated so fast.

Again, I hope all of you are enjoying your long weekends.

Relief

Well, I went to the OB today and I am very obviously glad to say that we heard a heartbeat and everything appears to be fine. The doctor had no problem finding it and it was around 167 beats per minute (another boy?) which is a really good heart rate. I am now at 11 weeks so the doctor said that upon hearing the heartbeat, most of the "danger" has passed. That is percentage speaking, the likelihood of something happening is low. I actually cried when I heard the heartbeat. I had no idea how much I was really worried until I finally heard it and knew that it was ok. I am also doing ok, although I have not gained any weight, the doctor was not concerned but told me to expect a decent gain spurt here in about a month. I have defintitely "popped" and for those who know me, my acne is a sure fire indication that I am indeed pregnant. The acne is in fact worse then it was with James. I currently have more now than I did at five months with James (again, another boy?). We shall see. That is my news, I now most go do something from productive. People keep telling me I am moving in two weeks.

Daycare Drama, No House News

So, as some of you know the daycare situation with James has been a bit difficult. After being told James would have a spot at the DFAS daycare in June, when I spoke with the office manager last week she told me June was iffy, but to call back next week (i.e. today) and see if she had any more news. So, of course we panicked and made alot of phone calls and even sent Alice on a scouting mission to Abacus daycare in Carmel. The good news was that we did find a place for him to go. However, it looks like the plan has again changed this week. I called the DFAS daycare today, and as it turns out, we got a firm start date of June 30th. So, this is all how it breaks down.

DFAS has an older 2 room and a younger 2 room. James needs to go into the younger 2 room which is full. However, there is a little girl ready to go into the older 2's, but that is full. There are 2 little boys in the older 2's who need to be moved, but apparently are not doing well with their potty training, and course, you can set a start date when depending on a 3 year old to get potting trained. However, there is a third little boy, who, is not quite 3 but IS potty trained. This little boy can not move to the 3's until 2 weeks before his 3rd birthday, which is July 13th. So, this means can start daycare on June 30th, for sure, got all that?

So, the hiccup here is obviously that Alex and I both start our jobs on June 9th. So, we have called in some reinforcements. Mom has graciously agreed to watch James for 2 weeks. Jen will watch him the beginning of the 3rd week, but then she has to go to St. Louis to see Wally defend his thesis. So, Alex will hopefully be able to work home those last two days. Anyone else's head swimming?

If you are wondering, we decided on the DFAS daycare, because while it may not be that close to where we are looking to buy a home, it is $21 a week cheaper, and this amount of money adds up quickly. Not too mention, with me expecting the infant rate is probably going to be about a $40 week difference when we start the next one, so then you are looking at approximately $240 a month. Even if Alex has to go to DFAS to daycare occcasionally, I am pretty sure it is not going to be $100.00 in gas, but with gas prices, who can say?


In house news, there is no news. We had a second showing on Saturday, but have heard nothing. We had an open house on Sunday, with a whopping amount of 2 visitors. We have been told at least twice that we are people's short list (top 3 or top 2), but unfortunately have been nobody's #1. But, we continue to pray, but the emotional roller coaster is difficult to bear. With each showing, you don't want to get your hopes us, but yet during this process you must remain hopeful. So, we continue on.

FYI. I have an OB appointment tomorrow, am very nervous, I am now two weeks past when I lost the last one, but have not been back for 3 weeks. I will let you all know what I find out, for now, it is bubbles time for James!