Vietnam, Mary, & Being a Woman

I usually make a real effort to only read one book at a time.

Somehow I'm currently reading three. I'm not sure how it happened, but it's going to confuse me.

I'm reading the first Vietnam book mentioned in yesterday's post, plus The Privilege of Being a Woman, by Alice von Hildebrand and Mary Mother of the Son Volume 1, by Mark Shea. Can you see how this might make my thought life quite interesting until I'm finished with all three?

This Mary book is the first I've read that I'm really getting into. I've read good stuff, but Mark Shea knows the perspective of a former Protestant, plus he's smart and freaking funny. Smart and funny is the best combination for a writer. Add truly Catholic, scripturally sound, and well-researched and I think I'll be recommending this book!

Aren't all housewives doing this?

Reading about Vietnam, I mean.

I'll admit I appreciate my diverse interests, but every now and then I feel unusual. Does anyone else find this stuff interesting?

It all started with an episode of Man vs. Wild, a show Kevin and I love. Bear went to Vietnam and in between his death-defying stunts he mentioned a bit of the history of the war over there. I never knew it included France! So I asked my dad (who literally knows everything) and lo and behold he had three books about it! He delivered them to my house within 48 hours along with a syllabus. I have to read the intro to one book, another one cover to cover and a third to whatever extent I'm still interested. All three of these books are covering the conflict BEFORE the U.S. even became involved. Sheesh. There were guys over there suffering in the heat with leeches and barely any idea what they were doing for DECADES before our country even jumped in! I never knew.

Now... what good this learning will do me, I will never know. Maybe one day one of my daughters will ask about France's involvement in Vietnam. You think it could happen?

Just for fun, here's a great quote from the Foreword to Street Without Joy - the French Debacle in Indochina (page 10):

The fragmentation of organized society into a host of small nations, mostly former colonies, without political experience and with little or no hope of ever attaining economic viability, but fiercely nationalistic nevertheless, has provided rich ground for the seeds of an ideology which promises an easy and profitable retreat from the cul-de-sac of political ineptitude and economic stagnation.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

Favorite Item From the Grocery Store

I just spent $160.00 at the grocery store for the next week.

I admit I spent a little extra on those ready-made refrigerated cookies for Halloween. And a little MORE extra on a couple of decorative gourds. Plus the Smart Balance peanut butter Mike Nalley told me about.

But my favorite item? The orange marmalade. Every now and then you gotta have a jar of that in your refrigerator.

Monday, Monday...

Today was a true Monday. After ending last week with five fevers in our household, we started out this week behind on school, housework, and confidence. Kevin took a long lunch and swept us all away to the park and McDonald's and that helped me reclaim some perspective. So... back to "normal" tomorrow. My "normal" is figuring out how to NOT catastrophize things.

In other news, I have an attractive sunburn on the left side of my face and neck from standing in the sun and 55 mile an hour gusts yesterday for our parish festival. Why no sunblock? Sheer neglect.

Bring on Tuesday!

Diary Entry for October 2, 2009

Dear Diary,
Today we are home sick. Not homesick. You have to be away from home to be homesick. And we have not been away from home in days. On the up side of this, the minivan gets a long rest.

Joe seems to be over his fever this morning. Cayna is still medicated and has a weird cough, but not too bad. And John woke up with a fever. Somehow, I've escaped having three kids sick at once until now. And, really, it's not that bad. They watched TV earlier while I cleaned the bathrooms, truly my activity of choice.

Once again, we have a two year-old in the house. For an illustration of what this is like, see this photo:


John climbs onto the countertops as well as all the furniture. He also enjoys jumping off said furniture, which is really more of a problem than the climbing. He's taken two nosedives off the tall kitchen chairs, and regularly bangs his head on the light fixture above the kitchen table when he's up there dancing and taunting me.

Spitting is his all-time favorite hobby. It sounds funny, but believe me, on day three of constant John spit, it gets more than a little annoying. Imagine a cute little group of us at the school table: Mom patiently trying to explain math to Joe, Cayna diligently working on handwriting, Bethanie drawing a picture of her pet mouse. Enter John. In the midst of our idyllic school moment, he climbs on top of the table, dancing and spitting for all the world to see. Sigh. That two year-old would keep me on my toes if he weren't wearing me out.

Well, T.G.I.F. is all I've got to say. And a busy weekend ahead, IF the fevers are gone. For today, I think I'll go watch a little TV with the kids, ignore the dishes, maybe snooze on the couch a little. Not so bad, really.

Woolly Mammoth For Sale!

Why not purchase a woolly mammoth skeleton as a unique piece of decor for your family room or foyer? For the price of a small house in the Midwest, this beauty can be yours:


Day after tomorrow there's a "natural history" auction at the Venetian Hotel so we recently went to see the "preview". Joe was the photographer, and he got this shot of John and me with the Triceratops (I think it's a triceratops - it's been a long time since I studied dinosaurs.)
Don't you like how it seems to be poking me in the head with it's horn thing?

Mammoths aren't your thing? The real centerpiece of the auction is a T-Rex. They're hoping to nab a few million for the thing. Decoratively, it boggles my mind to think where I'd put such a specimen as that. Apparently, they're hoping it's purchased by a museum, but if not, I really hope to read about who does get it.

Profound Outcome of a Week Without TV

It was Kevin's idea.

I look forward to turning my brain off and crashing on the sofa night after night when the kids go to bed, but I'm always up for something different.

So here's what we've done instead: sleep.

Hm. I guess I've kept up on e-mail better and done a little reading, too.

The real question is whether the "week off" will include tonight's episode of "The Office". If so, I'm thankful for the DVR.



And - off topic - I'm home right now with two kids with fevers. Pray for us.