a life beyond running shoes.

in the loosest sense of the word, i am a researcher. i like to read multiple things about one thing. the paris wife: a novel . by paula mclain. oh, i loved it. but it took a few things that i happen to have already loved:  the idea of paris in the 20s; ernest hemingway, fitzgerald, picasso; cafes, writers, wine; a different era. it was a world away.  it was hemingway's world in paris, spain, italy, etc.  this is the story of hemingway and his first wife, hadley.  i think it is mostly based on their letters and hemingway's memoir a moveable feast .  i loved living in their tiny apartment, meeting with gertrude stein, and having drinks with f. scott.  having just seen midnight in paris (woody allen film) a few months ago, i was ready to be swept away.  too bad hemingway's marriage is short lived but his stories live on...... i also tried hemingway's boat: everything he loved in life, and lost, 1934 - 1961 by paul hendrickson.  it w...

wow! first grade open house. art show and all.  we got to see his turtle art but he was also super  proud of some things in his classroom. he let us read a story he wrote  that had a beginning, middle, and end. my favorite was his weekend journal which concluded "all in all, it was a good weekend." love it!!! hard to believe he was hardly reading just over a year ago. i think peanut has made the transition rather well. now, if only i could feel as settled.

seems like most have read her.  this is one of my new york finds...... sitting on a stoop, pick up, read. i have a pile of those.  i am trying to get through some of that pile. sometimes you win..... sometimes you don't. this was a win - for me. rise and shine . by anna quindlen two sister, two new yorks. one the media darling of american, one a social worker in the bronx.  they are formed by tragedy of their youth, manage to remain consistent in their relationship but live in different worlds. perhaps i loved the small details of new york that a tourist might miss.... the reference to a grocery store, the way to navigate sidewalks, or the reality that there are multiple cities within new york.  maybe i like the story of sisters. i have one that i love. we are different. these sisters are different.  perhaps, i like that i was caught in a story that concluded.... not resolved or tied up nicely but finished with just a bit of redemption. i enjoy...

it is where we have spent almost every saturday. what is great is that there are three kids in peanut's class.... all the other kids go to his actual school or live on our street.  we actually feel like we are getting to know people.  and frankly, his uniform is just super cute! and his brother, while not playing himself, gets all decked out in his own version of a uniform..... which includes a jeter jersey.  we are merely tolerated but since californians are actually lame sports fans, we get by.

the prodigal god: recovering the heart of the christian faith by: tim keller the parable of the prodigal son.... but really there are two lost brothers. and there is one redeeming father who gives a feast for those who return. to be reminded so eloquently of the father's love for me through a closer look at this parable was not only refreshing for my soul but also amazingly convicting. keller redefinition of lostness shows me the mirror to my soul taking me that much deeper in my understanding how how great my need for a the true elder brother (Jesus) who loves, obey, sacrifices, and pursues perfectly.  some quotes: the hearts of the two brothers were the same...both were alienated from the father's heart; both were lost sons.  they both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. this means you can rebel against god and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping them dilig...