New start, New Year

Ok, so in 24 minutes it will officially be a new year. This means New Years resolutions. I hereby declare my resolve to be better about posting on the blog and sharing my book-reading insights :) I'm excited to discuss Covey's book with you guys. Bring on the new year!

Kickin off the new year!

Hey Ladies!

We had a fabulous time over at Laura and Tim's house and had a wonderful discussion on talents. We are all pumped up about starting a new year and wanted to pick a book that will get us off on the right foot.

7 Habits for Families is the book of the month for January 2008! It can be the audio version or the book. Our meeting is scheduled for the 3rd Saturday in January. A location will be picked at a later date.

I am excited to meet our new member and excited to read/listen to this Covey book that is sure to be an excellent learning tool.

Let's all try and do our best posting this next month and having "discussions" of what we are learning!

Happy (early) (early) Thanksgiving!

Hey ladies!
I hope you all are having a wonderful November. I'm lovin life and lovin the holidays right now : ) I just wanted to post to remind everyone to pick out a hobby book for the month so you'll have something to share at our holiday soiree. To be honest I STILL have no idea what I'm doing : ) I'll have to raid the library -- I'm saving all of my pennies for Christmas ;) Here are the details for our next meeting:
Monday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Laura Harper. It will be a family-invited FHE, so bring your spouses and chillins. Emily will be teaching a short lesson, and each of us will have the opportunity to share what talent we developed this month. Laura and I will both be making a dessert and Amy will bring the paper goods. I'm so excited to end the first year of the Provo Book Nook with a holiday get-together!
I also have good news -- we have another new member! Delaina, a cousin of Laura (and now me) moved to Orem and is interested in joining us for the new year. She is really fun and is a SAHM to her little 3-yr-old, (and Shaylie's little friend-boy) Garrett. Hooray!

Happy reading
Marcie

Go book nookers

Hey ladies!
Thanks so much for your awesome participation on Saturday. Who knew you could have such a great discussion off of such a short audio book : ) I'm really glad we read this book together, I definetly feel more empowered to take my family scripture study to another level : )
I'm really excited to read The 5 Love Languages for our next book! I think it will be great to add a marriage book to our list. Remember we'll be discussing this one on Nov. 10. After that it will be a hobby book (so go ahead, start shopping around now, you know you want to!) and then we will be done for this year!
Keep posting as you read -- I love your online comments!

-Marcie

So long, farewell...

Hi, ladies-

Well, I think my time with the lovely Provo Book Nook has come to an end. As much as I have really enjoyed meeting with all of you and reading our book selections, now that I am in Pleasant Grove, it doesn't make as much sense anymore, you know? Long distance book clubbing isn't really working too well for me at this point.

I really did love my time with the group and am glad that it is growing and doing well. I will miss getting to see my book friends, but hope that we can keep in touch.

Happy reading and have a great rest of the year!

hello again

Holy busy week! Sorry I have been neglecting the book club : )
Ok, here is the rundown: So far, like Raven said, we have a dessert and Laura's side-dish. I will go ahead and bring the main dish (I'm thinking vegetarian lasagna because it could feed all of us and would be yummy with Laura's side-dish). We could have Amy bring a second side-dish and I think we'll be good to go.
Does anyone already have a bunch of paper goods? I can bring napkins and cups for sure.
Lets get a volunteer for :
Paper plates/utensils
Drink
Rolls
That way everyone is bringing two things, just enough for about 9 people (max-- Amy said Dusty might not be able to come, and Shaylie doesn't eat enough for a full person ; ).
Let's meet at 6 p.m. at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. I can try to come early and stake us a table that we can all congregate too.
Also, Amy and I will be distributing our CD for next book club, and sorry Raven, but I think we had better keep it early in OCtober as planned so we'll be on schedule for Nov. and Dec.
Please bring your recipe books if you have any recipes you want to share at our "meeting" and feel free to bring frisbees/balls ect. to keep our husbands busy while we gab.

Does this cover everything???

What is everyone bringing...

To the potluck? I just want to make sure we have it all covered. Looks like so far we have:

Side: Marcie's tomato cheese thing
Dessert: Raven's mini Oreo cheesecakes

That would be a pretty meager dinner...lol. The main dishes don't have to be pricey if you guys want to do a pasta or something like that.

Anyone?

October's meeting

Hi, ladies-

So, I just found out that I'm going to be out of town from Oct. 10-17. Since there will be so many people at this meeting, why don't you just go ahead without me? I've been the schedule mixer-upper recently, so I don't want to mess this one up too. I'll write some comments on the board before the meeting or something.

Anyways, we'll see you next week!

Raven

I motion to...

Change the name of our group to The Provo/Pleasant Grove Book Nook! lol Just kidding.

I have been so bad about cooking from the cookbook I said I would try. Maybe it was because the first 2 recipes I tried weren't that great! I will try to find a dessert to bring. So, I call dibs on dessert!

It'll be great to see you guys next week!

Raven

I'll bring......

my tomato/cheese side dish. i think you'll likey likey! :)

Reflecting

Guess what? We're almost to 100 posts : ) Granted, 25 of those were in our first month, and now, 8 months later it has taken us to get this far : ) (sorry for the convuluted sentence structure).
Anyway, I was looking back on our past posts and thinking about what we've read:
TJED, Pride and Prejudice, Anatomy of Peace, Finding Peace, Joy and Happiness, Jackrabbit Factor, Unique Ability, Cookbooks and now Family Scripture Study. I don't know about you guys, but I definetly feel that all of these books impacted my role as either mother, wife, or woman in some way. Thanks for being apart of this group!
You guys rock!

let's get together, yeah, yeah, yeah

Ok. Here is the final lowdown. I think.
Our next meeting is Saturday, Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. at a park. My two cents would be to just make the drive up to that upper park in Provo Canyon (I dunno the name), or to go to Rock Canyon park. Somewhere where we don't see the traffic from our picnic bench.
Everyone post what they would like to bring. There is four of us so if we have two main dishes and two side dishes we should be ok. My book was a salsa book, and since I don't think that necessarily goes with a dinner, I will just make something from my other new cookbook, the vegetarian one. Please post what you will bring (first come, first serve). Don't forget to bring spouses and children :D

Ok, on to Oct. Our next book is "Family Scripture Study" by Gene R. Cook. Amy and I will be making copies and distributing them. Or .... we could try e-mailing the file to you Raven through yousendit.com, that might be easier. Amy or Laura, would one of you like to volunteer to be the "parent" to lead our scripture study discussion for the meeting in October? The date of our next meeting will be Saturday Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. We will simulate the scripture study techniques that we learned through our reading.

Is that everything???
Oh yeah, I don't know how often Emily will be posting becuase she doesn't have the internet at home, but I know she will def. be at the meetings.

Make it a great week!
Marcie

Welcome, Emily!

Just a quick welcome to our newest member, Emily. We're excited to have you with us!

So, it sounds like we're meeting on the 22nd, is that right? For a potluck dinner? Do we want to decide who will bring main dishes and desserts, etc.? I'm looking forward to getting in to our next book.

Oh, and are you still Turbo Jamming, Amy? Are you going to do the training in October?

Raven

My vote

Sept. 22 and Oct. 13 work great for me. so we just bring one dish to share, is that right? what time? around 6ish?
for the books, I think the "everything I need to know...." by John Bytheway sounds most appealing to me. me and tim have already started listening to the mission statement one and are working on that. so....yea, there's my two cents. :)

Meeting Time

Hey Ladies! I'm trying to work out a meeting time ... All of a sudden September has become a crazy month! I know this is kind of late in the month ... but could we do Friday night the 21st? I have something on the evenings of the 13, 14, 15, 17,18, 19, 20. No Joke. (Actually that's not true, Trent has about half of those days and I have the others, but I would like him to be there since it is a FAMILY picnic : ) Soo.... we could do it the 21st, but I was thinking we could always choose a book before then, and start reading so that our next meeting doesn't have to be late in Oct. Does that work?
I don't have any book ideas yet .... ummmmm ... I was thinking it would be fun to read something about strengthening the marriage relationship, though I don't know of any really good books (that go beyond the basics : You need to communicate, you need to spend time together ... oooohhh wow, imagine that).
I know Amy has access to online books, so maybe we could do one of those this month, and simply listen to a book.
Post your feedback asap and we'll get moving on our next book selection.

Not so great

Those muffins sound yummy, Marcie. Definitely will be wanting that recipe :)

So, my two recipes for this week didn't work out very well. The fries were fine (hard to go wrong with those), but the chicken never baked! I had it at 400 degrees for like an hour and it was still pink-ish inside! Plus, the recipe for the bread crumb coating wasn't the best and it all flaked off and didn't look that great. So, we made a pizza instead..lol. The banana lime cake is okay, but too limey for my taste. Guess I'll chalk these two up to experience. Oh, and this cookbook used ounces instead of cups for things like the flour for the cake. Annoying!

Hope the rest of you have better luck. Any thoughts on when we should meet, btw?

yo

So I have no idea why my last post didn't work. Oh well! I just posted that I tried some avocado type salsa that was wayyy good. I will be a party planning diva (as soon as we have space to host guests ;) with plenty of chips and dips!
I also tried a new recipe this morning for some Cinnamon Apple Raisin muffins (from my veggie cookbook) and they were really good for a change.
Keep on cookin ladies!

-Marcie

Round 2!

Everyone's recipes sound so great! This week I am baking a banana lime cake and making oven fried chicken (healthy version of normal frying) and homemade french fries. Mmm...

2nd recipe

we tried another tomato recipe...well actually 2 diff recipes, one is lion house tomato bisque, and the other a tomato/cheese salad-which is one of my fav. they're both real easy to make and taste great!!

mmm...mmm...good

wow, this one was grrrrrr8! me ans my mom made it. it's so fresh, very tasty and easy! all you do is chop up garlic, FRESh tomatoes from your garden ( store bought is not the same) and FRESH basil from your garden...which luckily my parents had both in their garden! and then oil, mix it, let it marinate for a couple hours, and then serve cold over cooked but cold noodles. right after i cook the noodles, i just dump the hot water and keep rinsing it with cold water so i don't have to wait forever. :) then you sprinkle shredded mozzarella or parmesan on top! it's Mucho delisioso!

me too!

Ok, so I tried the most basic, simple salsa recipe in the book -- one that included fully identifiable ingredients : D It was called "Real Salsa" (as oppossed to fake salsa??). I just had Trent taste-test it and it was a hit!! The only problemo is that I'm missing a piece to my chopper thingy so it did take awhle to chop the onions and they still weren't really "finely diced" but I loved the flavor. We're going to take it camping with us tonight. Yum! If nothing else, this recipe book has provided me with a basic salsa recipe for when I'm craving some chips and salsa (which is basically every day-- am I pregnant?? J/k)
-Marcie

I did it!

I cooked my two recipes! For dinner, I made a tomato bean soup and these twice baked potato things. The soup was pretty much your basic veggie soup. Tomatoes, veggie stock, mixed beans, celery, carrots, garlic, herbs, and zucchini. Is that really how you spell zucchini? Hmmm...It was tasty. For the potatoes, I rubbed them in oil, salt, and pepper and then baked them. Then, I scooped out the flesh of the potatoes and mixed it with yogurt, cumin, cilantro, mashed garbanzo beans, and some other herb that I'm forgetting at the moment. Then, I baked them for another 10 minutes. They were pretty yummy. Kind of tasted like humus. Oh, and on the soup, I put a dollop of this yogurt/basil/garlic/parmesan mixture. That was yummy and kind of added something special to the soup.

So, there you have it. Pretty healthy and definitely filling. I'm good doing the party whenever you guys want after Sept. 12th.

Raven

Hey ladies!

Raven, I'm glad to hear you're settled in to your new home!! Woo hoo for more space! You guys left the ward so abruptly that I don't think everyone realizes you are gone yet :D
Also, I had to post a link to this crazy article: http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/234734/
There was an AP poll conducted that determined that only 1 in 4 adults read a whole book last year!! Crazy. I honestly don't think there was a time in my whole life where I didn't at least read ONE book in a year (c'mon people, how hard is that?!). This is sad. How do people continue to learn if they don't pick up a book?? They should have interviewed my dad -- he read a total of 300 books last year. Yeah, that is a whole different kind of crazy ; )
I finally recieved my cookbook. Lo and behold it calls for ingredients I've never heard of. Great. So, needless to say I haven't ventured to the store yet to try to determine where these special types of dried peppers (ect.) are located. I haven't forgotten my committment to make two a week though : ) The recipes sound good, so as soon as I have the ingredients down I will be the salsa queen! No one else has posted yet... duh duh duuuunnnn... This was supposed to be "easy" remember?? : )
I'm fine with changing the Par-Tay date if you guys are. The next week would be fine with me.

-Marcie

Request

Hi, Ladies-

So, I have a question/request. I was thinking it over and wondering if we could change the day of our next meeting. My parents are visiting from NC from Sept. 5-12 and since they are only here for a week, I think I'd like to spend as much time with them as possible. Do you think we could change the date? I can do any other day (probably).

Sorry!

Raven

more salsa ...

So I tried another salsa recipe, and I think we're hooked. It definetely isn't "quick" to make your own salsa but it is DEF cheapter then buying the $3.50 fresh stuff (that lasts a day in our home), and it is healthier then that bottled junk that has like two chunks of tomato : ) This salsa was real similar to the first I tried but this one had two whole avocados diced in it. Delicioso! It would make a great party salsa .... so I'm just gearing up my repertoir for when we have a house and I can be a party host extrordinaire! I think our housewarming party (on this still future home ; ) will be a chip and dip party haha.
Anyway, my lasagna just dinged, I'm outtie!

-Marcie
btw, amy has officially dropped off the planet ; ) J/k she has been out of town alot, but I do know that she has tried one decadent chocolate recipe. Yum!

Post your books!

Hey Ladies,
Could everyone post the names of their books, and like Raven, post the names of the recipes you have/will try for the week? THat would be awesome!
I have ordered Chips, Dips & Salsas for my book and am still waiting for it in the mail :( I can't wait to try some recipes from it!
Happy cooking (instead of "Happy reading!")

-Marcie

Book Club Notes

Hey Ladies!
Here is a recap from our awesome meeting this morning.
For our next book we will each be choosing a recipe book. The goal is to use the recipe book TWICE a week in your meals/treats whatever. We want everyone to post what foods they are trying (though you don't have to post the recipe, just post each week). Our next meeting will be on MONDAY Sept. 10th at 7 p.m. at a park location which is currently unspecified. Each of us will collaborate and bring a dish or two that we tried from our recipe books so that we can have a big ol' potluck with our families. That night we will also share recipes we really enjoyed, and be able to have a FHE together as a group. I think it will be a ton of fun!! So .... Get crackin! Get your books asap becuase we want your posts to start this week telling us about your kitchen adventures!

-Marcie

Meeting time

I think everyone is aware that we're planning on meeting on Sat. the 11th (that is THIS saturday) at 10 a.m. right? :) I look forward to seeing everyone there -- and to discussing Amy's fun new idea for next months book.

-Marcie

I've emailed my question

Hi, ladies-
How is everyone liking the book? I've sent my question out to like 9 people and am waiting for their responses. Did anyone else find that you didn't want to offend anyone by NOT sending them the letter? I found that if I emailed my sister in-law, I had to email my brother because he might feel bad if I didn't. But I couldn't email everyone in my family! So, hopefully no feelings are hurt.

How's it going for the rest of you?

Book Meeting

Hey ladies, I have a feeling that the reason no one is making any headway in this book is becasue we haven't set a deadline. Time's up! haha. I say we meet on August 18 if everyone is going to be in town. I think Amy could possibly be gone then, so would anyone be oppossed to meeting on Aug. 11? (in two weeks) or should we drag it out to the 25th? That seems like a LOONG time for a book. I think I would rather read it and move on. Its not long, and the personal application part can take time, but I would at least like us to go through the book and have it ready to discuss (even if we haven't really made all of the application happen just yet). Let me know what you think!

-Marcie

My book has shipped!

My book has finally shipped! I ordered it a week and a half ago and it's estimated to arrive on the 16th. So, for my sake at least, let's not have this next meeting for a while, okay?

I'm excited to get it. Anyone reading theirs yet?

Unique Ability

Hey gals! I just wanted to post the link to our new book. I am starting an organization website and I have an Amazon aStore and I have this book in my "store" for my organization thingy. If you guys buy through this link I get a commission :) It is just like you buy from Amazon; same price etc. I really do think the cheapest I have found was through Amazon anyway.

I am excited we are dong this one. Just a forewarning though. This isn't a book to just read. There is a lot of interactive things that take time. We may really need to schedule our next meeting like 6 weeks out. I would suggest you do a little bit of the book each day. This is going to be a great discovery for everyone!

Unique Ability

me again ...

This time my thoughts are about the book : ) I'm just going to copy and paste a paragraph from my personal blog since that is where I was writing about the book:

THe other book I'm reading is "The Jackrabbit Factor" by Leslie Householder. This is the one we're doing for bookclub this month. It's written by a Morman, so it is a book about the law of attraction with (thankfully) God put in his proper place instead of this vague "universe" power that is getting all the credit. I do find the law of attraction interesting -- to be honest I was completely sick of hearing about "The Secret" and blah blah blah, until I listened to "Recieving Answers to Prayers" a book by Elder Gene R. Cook. In there he quotes the scripture "Ask in faith, believing that ye shall recieve ... " and then talked about how we should go as far as to thank Heavenly Father for the things we are asking for -- even though we haven't received them yet, becuase that is showing our faith and the belief that we will receive the righteous blessing. I basically decided that is what this law of attraction hooplah really is. It's about being grateful for what you have, determining what you desire, and, if that is a righteous desire, going to Heavenly Father in prayer, asking in faith, belieivng you will recieve and keeping your mind open for the inspiration that will come to help you achieve what you want. I guess the key is that the desire is righteous, and in tune with what God's plan. It's not the "universe" magically aligning things and dropping money on your doorstep -- It is Heavenly Father opening doors, and guiding you to achieve the dream you desire.

yo

"The theory behind cash rewards is that poor people are trapped in a cycle of repeated setbacks that keep them from climbing out of poverty"

-- Money is never the answer. If they think cash rewards will teach people and help them out of poverty then they are wrong. The answer lies in knowledge, in education on how to apply correct financial principles. I truly believe that anyone who has experienced financial set-backs that put them in the "poverty" income level can break out -- if they do not have a poverty mindset. The only thing that actually traps people is their mindset. I look at my in-laws who have experienced a true financial set-back with Tina's 2 1/2 week hospital stay and major surgery operation (without any health insurance). Do I think that they will hit rock bottom and fall into the poverty cycle?? Heck no, while this experience sure could have thrown someone else into the poverty cycle of chasing payments and never making ends meet and thinking their is no "way out" (unless something like winning the lottery happens, or other unprincipled ways of getting money), I see them as people who will turn their brains on, and find a way to increase their means and work smarter to pay off this debt.

"The program "gives New Yorkers in poverty a financial incentive to look ahead and make decisions that will improve their prospects for the future," he said in a statement."

-- What about teaching them true incentives, such as being a good steward, and living by principle, rather than thinking the government should swoop in and pay you for getting an A on your report card?

"It just reinforces the impression that if everybody would just work hard enough and change their personal behavior we could solve poverty in this country, and that's not reflected in the facts," said Margy Waller, co-founder of Inclusion, a research and policy group in Washington. Waller, who served as a domestic policy adviser in the Clinton administration, said it would be more effective to focus on labor issues, such as making sure wage laws are enforced and improving benefits for working people."

-- I would really like to know what "facts" this socialist is citing to say that changing personal behavior can't solve poverty. True, it's not just about behavior, it is in your mindset. I just think it is complete socialism to once again think the problem is minimum wage, and lack of benefits. Look at the church's way of helping people in poverty. They say, ok, you're on hard times, let us help you with some food. In exchange will you help clean the church this saturday, work at D.I. ect ect... tehy're not teaching dependence on the church, their emphasizing self-reliance. It just makes me think of President Benson's talk, "The Proper Role of Government"

I just thought I would bounce back my thoughts. I think it is related to our book Amy, in that the answers are never in THINGS, Heavenly Father doesn't care about things, and things aren't important, they are mere tools that we use to bring about God's plans. Heavenly Father does care, however about our thoughts, and how are actions reflect those thoughts. Anyway, if you feel strongly that I am way off base, please feel free to post a reply ; )

-Marcie

Off topic (sort of)...

I read this article today and was appalled. Paying poor people state tax dollars for good behavior and grades! The more I learn why rich people are rich and why poor people are poor; the more I really believe that poverty, or staying in poverty rather, is a choice. It's like you are just fixed on finding that "paper sack" and your peripheral vision is cut off and you are so ignorant, so caught up in the consumer / scarcity mode you miss your opportunity that might be right in front of you. We are in control of our lives. We determine the outcome of our circumstances. This article is like open socialism in the US. This won't help poor people become better.

Taking a chance

Hello!
I totally agree, Laura. And it is definitely one of those books that you want to share with everyone, huh? My dad read it when he saw it on my nightstand and he thought it was great and gave me another book to read. It's called Jonathan Livingstone Seagull and it's by Richard Back. It's only 127 pages long and it sounds like it's really similar. It's about a seagull who decides to find higher meaning in his life even though his flock finds his decision threatening. It was written back in the 70s. I haven't read it yet, but I'm going to soon. I guess it was super popular.

Happy reading!

Meeting Times

Kudos to Laura and Raven who are kicking butt and creating posts. I admit, I haven't started the book yet. I've been caught up in another and keep putting off picking it up. Since it's such a page turner I don't think I'll have a prob. once I get it (tonight potentially ... : ) Anyway, in order for all of us to (finally) meet together once again, lets say we wait until Raven is back in town and shoot for the morning of July 30th for our meeting. The only hang up could be if anyone is going away that weekend becuase it is the weekend before the 4th of July. Otherwise we might just want to meet during the week in the last week of June. Lemme know what you think,

Marcie

Finished!

I finished this last night, it was definitely a page turner! I really liked the Epilogue, told a little of when they were older. I can't wait to discuss this book! :) btw...any meeting date yet?

Amen

I totally agree, the people who are in the rat race, or "looking for paper sacks" have their brains turned off to all the bright ideas out there, they're not using their head, or thoughts, to better their life. I am really enjoying this book, i am almost done! i kept interrupting my hubby to share some of the excerpts from the book that i really like, and he wants to read it....although, after all i've shared with him, he probably doesn't need to read it now. :) lol

Workin' nine to five...

Hi, ladies-
I think this book has some great and persuading points in it. My husband and I have been talking for a while now about how he doesn't want to follow the typical route of working 8 hours a day for the next 40 years in hopes of a better "paper sack" down the road. Basically, he wants to attract the rabbits to him. I'm going to recommend the book to him because it discusses the same principles he has been wondering about. If other people can find extraordinary things to do with their lives and support a family, why not us?

What do you guys think?

Got my copy!

Hello from North Carolina! I just got my copy of the book and from what I have read so far it seems pretty great. I am excited to discuss it with ya'll (sorry, that just slips out when I'm back in the South...). If you want to wait for me, I will be back in UT on June 22nd. So, any time after that would work fine for me.

Happy reading!

Date

i got my book! wahoo. :) so, have we decided when we're gonna finish this by to meet?

Jackrabbit

i had no idea what this was about, so i got onto amazon to see and you can see a sneakpeek of what it's about. anyways, so they only had like 4 pages in it, but as soon as i got to the end, i was dying to read more right then! that's how good it was to me. :) so i hurry and bought it and it's on it's way now. yay. good pick whoever recommended it!

New Book ...

Well ladies, it looks like the new book for the month is The Jackrabbit Factor by Leslie Householder. Since everyone seemed interested in Mans Search for Meaning we should definetly consider that for next time. We haven't picked a date for our next meeting yet. I don't remember what date Raven gets back in town, so we'll play it by ear for a little bit. By the way, I just want to say that I hate the "comments" feature!! I never think to check those when I check the blog, so I think that no one has posted -- until I finally figure it out. Just thought I would share. Anyways, happy posting and happy reading until we meet again (even though I basically see all of you on a more-than-weekly-basis).

-Marcie

My votes

Wow, we seem to have lots of good book ideas this time. We should remember these when it comes time to choose again next month. At this point, my vote would be either The Jackrabbit Factor or Man's Search for Meaning.

Anyone else casting a vote?

Raven

More book ideas ...

Here are my two ideas:

The 7 Habits for Highly Sucessful Families (Covey) - I know I said I didn't want to do this as a book club book before but it is so stinkin good and I'm only halfway through. It would be great to discuss.

The Jackrabbit Factor -- This has come to me highly recommended. I believe it has a little to do with the law of attraction (which always makes for interesting discussion) as well as dreaming big and accomplishing those dreams. It is written by Leslie Householder -- a Utah mom.

-Marcie

Book ideas

Hi, ladies-
As agreed, here are some books that I would be interested in reading (completely this time) for our next meeting (I've linked each title to its amazon page):
-The Alchemist
-The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography
-Man's Search for Meaning

I have been wanting to read all of these. What do you think?

Raven

me too

i have a confession that i've only read like 4 chapters of the book . :( it's been so darn hectic with the baby blessing, and my mom being sick-trying to help her. but i guess i can still talk about what i read so far. :) I'm not trying to get off the hook, i'm just lettin ya know how far I am. :D

Daily Decisions

This book really encourages me to "stand a little taller" and make the most of this life. His emphasis on the daily decisions of life helps make this less overwhelming. For example, he says, "How are you using [this mortality] you were so anxious to receive? Do daily decisions lead you toward those goals you so eagerly anticipated as a spirit in the premortal life?" (10). We did all choose to experience this life and we were excited at the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy of celestial glory. All too often, this truth gets lost in the Adversary's tools of distraction that Elder Scott talks about. It's easy to fill our lives with good things, but it is imperative that we fill our lives with eternally important and imperative things. I think it all comes back to those daily decisions. If we take it one day at a time (I will read my scriptures today; I will say earnest prayers this morning), I think it is more manageable. I think this will become a personal motto of mine (Do daily decisions lead you toward those goals you so eagerly anticipated as a spirit in the premortal life?). I can't lose my celestial potential to the distractions of mortality.

See you Sat.!

Sorry Raven, You're not off the hook that easily : ) We're still on for Saturday. I'm still working on the book too but we can still have a good discussion if we're not 100% done. Plus then we can assign a book for next time : )
See everyone Saturday! Post post post in the meantime ; )

Marcie
p.s. I say we make Amy post a really long in depth post to make up for skipping town on us ; )

To meet or not to meet...

So I have a confession to make. I have only read like 15 pages of the book so far. However, if we are still planning on meeting on Saturday, I will have it done by then. Are we still meeting? I know it was kind of up in the air since Amy won't be here. I am leaving on the 24th and won't be back until June 22nd, but you guys can always meet without me this month if that would work better for everyone.

What do you all think?

Cool FYI

Hello, again!
Did you know that Elder Scott painted the image on the front cover and the one of his wife and baby on the back cover? I had forgotten that he is an excellent artist. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with him a couple of years ago in his office and I can testify that this man truly is an Apostle of God. I am excited to be reading such a terrific book.

Raven

Just a thought...

Hi, ladies-
So, I have a question for you all. I would really like to get involved in some kind of long-term service project. I feel the desire to help others in our community, as I'm sure you all do. I was wondering if we could somehow incorporate mini service projects into our book group meetings. We could tie baby quilts, or make those really simple fleece blankies where you fringe and tie the edges, or anything that you can think of. What do you think? I think we could chat and tie (or whatever) at the same time. I would love to hear some of your ideas. If we decide to just focus on reading and chatting for now, that's fine. I just thought I'd put it out there.

Any thoughts?

Raven

What an amazing man!

I just wanted to post and tell you all that I think this is an amazing book. I love Elder Scott's writing style and it really does feel like a one on one conversation. He shares personal experiences and his clarity on such a complex matter is beautiful. I have always loved Elder Scott but I have so much love for him after reading his book. (and no I have not finished)I think my entire book will be yellow in highlights and black with notes. I can see why he suggests to grab a notebook and pen when you begin.

I will post more about the book but I just wanted to share my thoughts about the reading.

P.S. I am a dork and will not be able to be at our May 19th meeting. I know that a lot of people had a lot of stuff going on so if you have to have it without me I understand. I will be in Nauvoo getting a personal tour from Susan Easton Black and stying in her condo that weekend :) Let me know what you guys want to do....

New Book

Hey ladies here is our book club info for the month:
Our new book is Finding Peace, Joy and Happiness by Elder Richard G. Scott. I just cheked online and it is going for $15.95 right now so I imagine that it is the same in stores. I don't know how long it is yet, I'll have to pick it up tomorrow.
Our next meeting is on May 19th (right??!)
Happy Posting!

Marcie

Food eh?

Hey ladies,
Raven recommended smoothies for our meeting shnack. Sound good? I have a ginormous load of strawberries. Any other volunteers for smoothie fruits? I will most likely make some muffins to go with that (I'm addicted -- what can I say?). Sign up on the blog for your smoothie contribution.

-Marcie

So....

Are we still going to meet for this book? So far, I haven't heard from anyone. I can meet this coming Saturday or this coming Wednesday or Thursday. Anytime. I think we need to do this soon if we're going to do it because the next weekend my family will be busy with graduation and then it's May. I will be out of town from May 25th until June 22nd, so the meeting for May might have to be a bit early as it is. Let's figure out a time for April so we aren't left with 2 weeks to read the next book.

Come on , ladies! :)

Babies are humans, too

I totally agree, Amy. This book has helped me change the way I see people. So often we only see people as inconveniences or as objects rotating around our own lives. But we are all living important lives! And if someone needs your help, you need to evaluate why they are asking and not just brush it off because it is inconvenient. We need to be willing to take off our shoes for each other.

I've really found this kind of attitude helpful with my baby. It is so easy to get frustrated and think only of how she might keep me from doing things, etc. However, she is a precious little human, a daughter of God, and she deserves to be loved and to have her needs met by me. When she cries it isn't to frustrate me, it is to communicate some need.

Think of how different this world would be if we all simply recognized the divinity and humanity in everyone around us instead of seeing them as "enemies" or "different" or "wrong". And I agree with Amy that we are taking a big step in the right direction by meeting together to discuss and implement the ideas of texts like this one.

The Truth Can Make You Free :)

OK I know this is like the only post I have done on The Anatomy of Peace so far but I was listening to a book today and it reminded me of something that I gained from Anatomy.

When we see people as objects there is all kinds of deception going on in our minds. (Whether this is deception is for self-justification, stubornness or a whole host of other reasons the fact remains that we are deceived.) Truth cannot abound where deception is present. To stay in "The Box" is to violate, ignore and cut short our true developmental process that Heavenly Father wants us to achieve.

When we refuse to move out of the box or are ignorant to whatever box(es) we may be in is to enslave ourselves to those deceptive feelings and hault us in the very growing process we are fighting to acheive. There is power in knowledge. There is power in knowing and being able to recognize when we are in a box. You are able to gain emotional and spiritual maturity when you can hear a person that may be acting not nice to you and then think to yourself, "OK. I heard what she/he said, but what did they really mean?" Not taking offense to remarks is a sign of emotional maturity. That type of maturity is essential to learning to get out of your boxes.

I believe that by being a part of this club together we are in a sense "taking off our shoes" for one another and creating a space where we can just be! Women. Mothers. Sisters. People. Friends.

Meeting?

So, when are we meeting? Should we just try for this next week sometime? I can meet Wed, Thurs, or Sat. Let's decide on a date.

Happy reading!
Raven

Sorrrrrrryyyy....

Ladies,
My scatterbrained self apologizes for not being on top of things this month. I say that we just plan on meeting this Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon. I will be happy to make pancakes if we are interested in doing that again, or I am open to food suggestions. Make sure to come ready with new book ideas ... I have two or three that have come to mind : ) Please post if this WILL NOT work for you k? Gracias ladies! I'm excited to (FINALLY) discuss this book .... it's been forever!

-Marcie

Meeting

Hey ladies,
So once again my crazy schedule is conflicting with the meeting. I'm throwing Chelsee's bridal shower this Saturday from 10-noon. Would anyone be open to meeting on a weeknight? We could do a frozen pizza dinner or something easy and just meet on a weeknight potentially. This way we don't have to put it off a whole 'nother week. What day works for everyone? I'm game for Tues, Weds. or Thurs. WE could also still do it on Saturday, just later in the day.
Lemme know what works, and make sure to post, post post before our meeting. I know i will do better this week,

Marcie

Good luck, Marcie!

Best of wishes to our group founder, Marcie, as she prepares to welcome baby Truman to the world! We are all so excited for you and know that everything will go just wonderfully. I, personally, can't wait to meet the little guy!

~Raven

Agreed

I have to second Raven's comment. These books (and the others similar, Leadership and Self Deception, The Peacegiver, ect.) all focus on one thing: Finding peace happiness in your own life. Finally someone is saying you can stop blaming your boss for your crappy pay, your bad childhood for your unhappy marriage ect., and take responsibility for your own peace and happienss. Heavenly Father didn't send us here to be acted upon, he sent us here to act, and that means we are responsible for how we feel, our relationships with others, and where we are going in life.
I wish I had the book in front of me to do it more justice, but I really liked the overall focus on personal accountability. Sure these people had really difficult children, but they were taught that only once we recognize what we can do to change ourselves can we start to see our challenges in a different light. The difficult part is constantly evaluating our responses to our trials and recognizing how we are either acting as a reactive or proactive person.
I think this book does a good job of helping you to recognize and look out for ways that we can recognize more clearly how we are responding -- I'm sure we'll have some good discussion on the chapter about the "boxes" when we all get there.
-Marcie

In control of our attitudes

Hi, all-
I'm so excited--the first official post about our latest book! I just wanted to say that I love this idea that we are in control of our attitudes and our lives. We may not be able to decide what events or circumstances come our way, but we ARE in control of how we react to them. We can choose to see people around us as objects or humans. That is so key. It's a bit overwhelming sometimes because it means that we need to be constantly aware and thinking of others, but I think it's ultimately a healthier and more productive way to live. This book isn't just about solving conflicts. It's about becoming a better human being.

Glad to see you back, Laura!

Raven

Pumped up to read

hey, I'm back...almost in one piece. =) thanks for the congrats! i'm surviving. it is definitely a challenge, but like everyone says, it will get easier......that better be true. LOL
I'm excited to get started reading this book as well. doing something else other than feeding, sleeping, diapering and burping sounds great to me! I have wanted to read this for quite some time. April 14 seems like a great time to do the meeting, I'm pumped to get this goin again! =)

Congrats to Laura!

Just wanted to post an official Book Group congrats to Laura on the arrival of her new baby! I look forward to hearing how she is doing.

Also, my book is almost here from Amazon; I'm excited to get started on it. Oh, and I think that the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 14th, at 10 am. I can't believe there will be two new little ones added to our group by then!

The Anatomy of Peace

I just wanted to have an official announcement of our new book for the month. Somehow I just know that we will be up and posting in no time.

Just an FYI...I ordered my copy from Amazon for $14.46 and it will be here Tuesday. I checked Deseret and it was a lot more expensive. Can someone post when our next meeting is going to be? I already forgot :)

Where's my mind?

Ladies,
Sorry for the absence on the blog. I get the feeling all of us have had a couple of crazy weeks. I feel as if I don't think of anything until the last minute — like the fact that I should probably talk about tomorrows meeting!
I hope everyone (meaning you Raven because I talked to Amy this morning: ) is still planning on coming to the meeting tomorrow morning from 9 -11 a.m. What would we like to eat? I'd be happy to make smoothies, or muffins or something. Any ideas?? Something low-key since there is only three of us this month. If nobody posts somthing they'd like to bring I can figure something out :)
Make sure to come ready with questions and ideas for discussing. Even though Raven will be leading the discussion it will be great for all of us to have some thoughts to contribute without making her do all the work : )
Also, as we talked about last time, lets have some solid book recommendations. Can everyone have TWO books they would like to recommend for next month? That will make it easier. Tammy, if you have some books you would like to read then feel free to post those on here so you can make sure to have a say as well!
I will plan on seeing everyone at my placce unless I hear from you otherwise.

See ya tomorrow!
Marcie

Finished : )

I just finished -- and let me just say once you get near the end you can't put it down. Finally the romance comes together for everyone and it's exciting in a chick-flick kind of way.
Anyway, I was just thinking after reading it of a question or two that came to mind:
First, if you were reading this with your teenage daughter, what thoughts do you think she would have about marriage?
How do you think the author portrays families in this book?

Just some thoughts,

Marcie

Notes on Pride and Prejudice

Hi, ladies-
Here are some notes on the historical context of this novel. I will continue to post notes like this (including some discussion questions) during this week leading up to our meeting.

"In her own day, Austen's work signified a break with the Gothic and sentimental novels that had long been fashionable, in which heroines were always virtuous, romance was always sentimentalized, and unlikely but convenient coincidences and acts of God always occurred to bring about the dramatic climax. Instead Austen represented the ordinary world of men and women as it—sometimes mundanely—was, a place where love and romance were constrained by economics and human imperfection; where women had distinct and often sparkling personalities; where characters were never simply good or evil but more complicated amalgams, reflecting both their own moral nature and the virtues and failings of the families and society that shaped them.
In these ways, Austen seems very much in tune with today's sensibilities. We love her strong, unpretentious heroines ("Pictures of perfection as you know make me sick & wicked," Austen said of them), who think for themselves and say what they mean when appropriate and don't take themselves too seriously. They are not, in today's parlance, victims. We are as interested as ever in Austen's favorite subjects of love and marriage, while also identifying with her steadfast refusal to romanticize romance; with her acknowledgment that money, class, and what other people think matter in the real world; that marriage does not result in a happy ending for everyone; and that it is dangerous to let passion blind us to reality. Living amidst the cultural fallout from the self-absorbed, sensibility-prone 1960s, we appreciate Austen's emphasis on reason, moderation, fidelity, and consideration for others."

What do you think? What do we love about Austen? What do we see as her failings?

Raven

Pride and Prejudice

Soo.... I'm guessing by the silence on the blog that everyone else is having as hard time as I am divining great truths and virtues from this book. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally enjoying reading it, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be learning from it, or what makes it a classic. I did cheat and read the questions provided in the back of TJED to see what I could be thinking about, and that did help a little.
So far I've had some interesting thoughts on pride -- at this point I'm not sure how Darcy will ever become likable in my eyes, I find his pride (though they say it is warranted in the book) to be obnoxious and overbearing. I also find many of the characters to be silly (esp. the mother).
I'm just getting in to some of the observations on marriage which are also interesting — though it makes me wonder, did people actually think and act like these people? It makes me glad to live in modern times.
I'll be interested to get everyone's ideas on the book — specially yours Tammy because you're down there in AZ reading them all by yourself! (complete side note: Tammy was your luggage ever found??!?!)
I also hear rumor that Laura will most definetely NOT be joining us for our book club this Saturday. She has lucked her way out of this novel by having a baby. Last I heard she has an inducement date on the 9th, so I think we'll let her off hte hook to have a baby. Hopefully she won't have to wait even that long and will have the baby on her own this week :D

- Happy Posting,
Marcie

Book Club Divas

Our first meeting! Aren't we a sight for sore eyes?! Our first meeting was a great success. Thanks Marcie for pancakes and leading the discussion and to everyone else for such brain on comments!

Cheapooks...

I called the BYU Bookstore and they don't have any copies of the "Dover Thrift Edition" (the cheap copy of Pride and Prejudice) in stock. Borders doesn't either, but they have a Bantam Classics version in for $4.95. That's basically what I would have paid (with shipping) online at half.com so I'm going to go pick one up. If anyone finds the way cheap Dover one anywhere let me know ; )

-Marcie

Pride and Prejudice

So, anyone started our next book yet? I was looking at the calendar today and guess what ... We meet again in only TWO weeks (give or take a day or two : ). So don't forget we have a shorter amount of time to read this time around. I know I'll be making a trip to the bookstore this weekend!

-Marcie

MEETING

Ok Ladies, the time has (FINALLY) come to have our first meeting. We're planning on meeting at my place from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday morning.
I will be more than happy to make a ginormous stack of pancakes (either blueberry or chocolate chip ... any preferences?)
Would everyone else like to chip in a bring something? Someone (or someones) could bring fruit, beverages, paper goods, or toppings (just some ideas). Just post what you'd like to bring -- first come, first serve.
Come ready with notes (or notes in the margins) of what you'd like to talk about from our book. Also we'll choose our next book, some come ready with ideas : )

See everyone there!

Marcie

Trolley Square Shootings

Hi, ladies-
I pray that none of you were directly affected by last night's horrible events. I am still in a bit of shock. What a horrible act of violence. It makes me want to raise up righteous children who will defend what is good even more. Although I blame the young man for his actions (he knew what he was doing), I also blame the nation that has chosen to make God politically incorrect and chosen to give our children educations devoid of morals for producing such a person. What a tragedy.

Raven

German homeschooled teen incarcerated

my dad sent this over my way, it is so ridiculous! gets me all fired up!

http://www.netzwerk-bildungsfreiheit.de/html/pe_erlangen_en.html

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54135

okey dokey

that's A ok with me.....it's actually taking me longer than i thought to read it...lol, so i will most definitely have it all read by the 17th.

Change of Plans

Ladies,
Sorry for the last minute change of plans but I won't be able to have the book club meeting at my house this Saturday. I just found out I have to attend this church training thingy that morning. Considering there are only four of us in the group I am going to ask that we switch the date to the 17th rather than go on without me : ) Does that date work for everyone?? Sorry that we keep putting it off -- I'm sure everyone is done with the book and ready to go! I promise to make some incredible pancakes to make up for it ; ) Let me know if anyone has a conflict schedule, so far Raven and Amy have ok'd it, so it's up to you Laura : ) I'm ready for a new book!! Let's start applying what we've learned eh?

-Marcie

Private Schools

Yeah, that is weird, huh? My father in-law was telling me that people don't want to support vouchers that would allow people who want to send their kids to private schools to put some of their tax dollars toward tuition. He said that people are saying that this is taking money away from public schools. But then he made a good point and said that public school people should actually encourage the vouchers because they way it works is that if it takes $5,000 a year (totally made up number) to educate a child in public schools, the voucher would only be for $3,000. So, the public school actually ends up with $2,000 not designated toward a particular student that they could use.

And, really, why are people so defensive about public schools? Does any parent really think they're the best education available? It's almost like they feel that if their kid isn't getting a private school education, no one else's should either. Bryce and I have decided to start saving now so that our kids can go to private school.

Anyways, that's my rant for the day ;) And I'm always up for ice cream and brownies!

Tasty thinking!

I agree, we deserve a treat for 100... I think, after seeing postings on fam websites and other blogs and such, that girls have always been the ones most likely to respond more.... who wouldn't want to post on this way coolio post anyways! :) so treat, my vote is ice cream with chocolate, berries n brownies! :) we can have our hubbies buy an ingredient and we bring it, then we don't have to do any work! lol
ok, so about education :)me and tim have been listening to FM100, and in the past couple days we heard some radio ads about education. one was really good, it was promoting private schools for kids, and it was just a positive ad, wasn't beating down on public schools or anyone. then today we heard one where the guy was saying that our tax dollars shouldn't support/go towards private schools! why? they'd rather have it go towards public schools which are going to pot nowadays?? kinda messed up thinking...:)

Woo Hoo I'm the 25th!

I agree Amy -- 100th post and we definetly deserve a treat. Problem is one of us would have to make it so it might not be such a treat afterall: ) It reminds me of what your husband was saying the other day -- pointing out how funny it is how we use all of these "treats" and consumable things as ways to motivate us to do things that will bless and benefit us anyway! Who hasn't had a scripture reading chart at some time in their life and then got an ice cream cone for finishing the Book of Mormon or something. I still remember getting a challenge in Primary to memorize the order of the books in the Old Testament, and we were promised a large candy bar for doing so. That night I went home and had them memorized (and still remember them to this day) all for a candy bar!!! I guess the important thing is just that we're doing the good act, even if we have silly rewards -- our heart is still in the right place. Ok that had nothing to do with TJED... sorry : )
-Marcie

24th Post

I just wanted to point out that this is officially the 24th post ( i know I should have waited at least until the 25th post to celebrate but whatever!)

I am just very happy to see us utilizing this blog. We haven't even had it a month and it has 24 posts on it!! Look at all of the stuff we would have been missing if we wouldn't have had a place to share it all!!

You guys rock and I think we need to celebrate the 100th post :)

Crazy

Isn't it amazing how much we're hearing and seeing about TJEd now that we know about it? My relative, Marcie's work story, Amy's visit...wow. I love that, Marcie-"radical homeschooling parents". Yeah, because anyone that wants something for their children other than the conveyor belt must be wack-o ;)

Feb. 10th meeting

No worries Laura, you're off the hook. We'll just stick with TJED for the first meeting and then we'll tackle one of the classics from the list in the back of the book for our second meeting. Everyone look over the list -- hopefully we can find a book we've all wanted to read but haven't.

Ciao
-Marcie

That's awesome to hear about that school Amy, thanks for sharing! sounds like a school totally opposite from the public schools today. If it's still around when my kids grow up, I will definitely be sending them there....public schools is out of the question! So are we reading TJED + another book? I will be lucky if I get just one book read! ha..not much of a reader, but that's going to change! :)

Random...

So after Amy's beaming accounts of The Pinnacle Learning Center (formerly Kimber Academy) I totally would like to visit one myself.
Get this though, I was signing on to a computer at work to make a photo assignment for a story I'm working on, and I saw this photo assignment in the computer:

Pinnacle Learning Center
(Then the description of the story for the photographer reads:)
Feature about center that helps radical, home-schooling parents give their kids an education..

It didn't say what reporter put in the assignment,and it might not be someone in our office because it is a North County story, but still, to describe the place as a school for "radical, home-schooling parents?" My first vibe from that description is that they think it's a school for weirdos who actually want their kids to have a unique religious education. There is a lot of bozos out there eh? I'll be interested to see this article when it comes out.
I remember back when the elections were going on last year one of the reporters who was doing a story on the libertarian candidate and was mocking him for having a platform that stood for the privitization of schools (though her article was "fair and balanced" it's still interesting to hear what people have to say about it behind the scenes).

Just a note, sorry it wasn't inspirational or uplifting,

Marcie

Relative at GWC

I just found out that a relative of mine on my husband's side is at George Wythe College getting his Ph.D. Cool, huh? He used to be the director of the American Leadership Academy charter school. Here is the blurb I found on him after remembering that he was involved with the charter school:

"Ruel Haymond believes very strongly in Leadership Education, particularly using the Thomas Jefferson Education approach. He has his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Utah State University and is currently working on this PhD in Constitutional Law from George Wythe College. For the past year, he has been working on the Peaceable Schools project with Brigham Young University’s College of Education, under the direction of Dean Richard Young. The work has involved creating literature guides, using classic books, to teach at-risk youth from academic strategies to social skills. He has worked as a director of a Charter School and is currently working in a variety of educational arenas. He strives to implement and incorporate the principles of TJED into every facet of inspiring and learning.

He was raised in the Washington, D.C. area and now lives in Santaquin, Utah with his wife and six children."

Small world, huh? I'm going to try and get in touch with him.

-Raven

A Real Thomas Jefferson Experience

A Thomas Jefferson Education is really about realizing your responsibility as an individual to educate yourself but does so in a manner where you feel it's a privilege. It's an environment where policy and regulation get out of the way and let teachers inspire and children educate themselves. It's a place where children and adults alike learn how to think, how to analyze, how to relate and how to be leaders. It is a school that is lead by a spirit of goodness and greatness. It is a school that helps children feel comfortable in their skin and confident in who they are and what they can become. It's a school where learning is sought after even “after-hours”. It is a school that paves the way for children to be solid leaders of their families, communities and the nation.

Pinnacle Learning Center is where a real TJED takes place. It's in Lindon and they really put the mentor/classic approach to work. Dr. Kimber was running the school up until this past September. Now Dr. Kimber is writing “curriculum” for the schools that apply the mentor/classic method.

The other day I was reading a blog and I noticed that the principal from Kimber Academy had left a comment. I immediately emailed him and told him how much I admire a school like Kimber Academy that applies the TJED approach. He emailed back and asked me to come to the school and have a look for myself. I did.

As I walked in the school I was greeted by smiling students, teachers and a few parents. The walls were decorated with pictures of the Prophet and apostles and leaders of our nation. The children were just finishing up a break.

They have a snack bar where treats can be bought. The young lady running the snack bar was being mentored and was learning about profit margins. She could go to Costco and by Snickers to sell and get a smaller profit margin or she could purchase Oreo packages and get a 100% return on her money. The learning process was amazing. She had a job and responsibility. She was a steward over the schools money and she was learning entrepreneurship skills. After she learned about that her brain is turned on and she realizes that there are more possibilities out there and more ways she can be a good steward, expand that knowledge and be responsible. What could be better than that?

I sat and listened to the 9-11 year-olds begin their class. The teacher had thought that some one had done something that was not very nice to another student and the teacher had gotten wind of that and suggested they all write apology letters to the girl. The teacher started the class explaining the situation as she new it to the children. They listened to her but then explained to her the situation as it happened. The teacher had made a mistake. Then an amazing thing happened...the teacher actually treated them like adults and listened and went right in to her lesson.

They began giving reports and the children stood with confidence one by one and gave their report. The other children gave comments, feedback and questioned what they were hearing to gain a better understanding. It was a great thing to witness.

I then went to visit the 5-8 year-olds. They were al gathered around a table learning. Many of them were too excited to have a visitor to pay attention to their lesson, but with a little encouragement were back on task. On the whiteboard were magnets of a Book of Mormon time line and more pictures of leaders of the Church. The children were adorable and very well mannered.

Next I went to visit the seniors. They were having their Book of Mormon class. A few parents were joining the class and they came prepared with their homework too. The teacher was leading a discussion. Questions were asked. Hands flew into the air. Their comments were respected as well as challenged to ensure a solid understanding. They were having fun and learning a great deal. They were explaining the symbolism of Moroni renting his garment, what tokens are and much much more. I walked away knowing that I was witnessing a TJED school in session.

My overall impression of the school was so in-line with what the TJED book teaches, I walked away feeling so inspired. I am coming back on Wednesday to teach a class on entrepreneurship and genealogy and I may even volunteer to teach some electives for them like dance and the principal even suggested a class like genealogy for kids or something. Anyone who may want to get involved is welcome to do so. You could volunteer your time (or get paid) to teach an elective a few times a week. Today was karate day! There are only about 36 students there now, but they are constantly growing.

Teachers inspire. Students educate. Inspiration and education was what was happening at Pinnacle Learning Center, right here in Lindon, Utah. Those children are preparing themselves for greatness. The teachers are first class mentors. The students are first class educators.

Teachers inspire.

Children educate.

whaddya think?

I think I could manage to read The Screwtape Letters before Feb. 10th, but I don't know about everyone else's schedule. We can take a vote ; ) If we want to just go ahead and discuss TJED on the 10th and then choose one large, or two small classics for our next meeting that would be fine with me too. Depends on what everyone has time for, so let your voice be heard if you have a strong opinion one way or the other. The important thing is that we're all on the same page so that we can have a quality disucssion.

If you want...

I would be willing to be the "discussion leader" for this new book we're reading if you guys want. But if there's someone else who really wants to, that's fine too. Here are some that I have already read that I think would make great books for discussion (they aren't as long as some, either, if someone needs to read the book for the first time): Jane Eyre, The Screwtape Letters, The Chosen, Pride and Prejudice. These are all favorites of mine. If you guys want to do something else, some that I've been dying to read, but haven't yet are: The Seven Habits..., Robinson Crusoe, Great Expectations, Les Miserables, The Weight of Glory, Paradise Regained, Walden. Some of those (like Expectations and Les Mis) are a bit lengthy, so I, for one, would probably need a bit longer to attack them.

Anyways, just let me know. My top picks would be The Chosen and The Screwtape Letters. They are both terrific and both are a pretty quick read.

-Raven

I second that motion

Ladies,
I think it would be a great idea to read a classic together and then have a discussion following the outline he provides in the book. We'll need someone to prepare and volunteer to be the discussion leader and we'll need to decide on a book. The appendix has great resources for leading a discussion and lists of books. I don't have my book here at work with me, so i can't think of a classic on the list that we might have all read — unless it's from the Young Adult classics list : ) I love that he provided a bunch of books to get started, and I think it's great that so many of them are fiction novels. I've always loved fiction, but like Amy, haven't really done the work of "learning" from them. I just did quick read-throughs for pleasure. If anyone has any ideas of books they have read before that fit the bill, just post them on here ... I'll check my book when I get home and we'll see if there is something we could potentially do before our next meeting. Although it would be kind of fun and interesting to read a new classic that none of us have ever read to see what we each glean from it.
After reading this book I looked back on my education and thought about how I was taught. I can honestly say that only one scholarly class that i took taught me HOW to think. It was an advanced Comms class in ethics that I really enjoyed. All we did was read books, take notes on what we were reading and then come to class and have discussions and debates about the ideas that we were learning. I now know why I enjoyed that class — because it was stimulating to exersize my brain! To practice thinking rather than regurgitating info : ) I think I will write that teacher a thank-you note for having such a brain-on class!

-Marcie

Re: Amy's Posts

I think reading a classic together is a great idea. I had been thinking the same thing. I will say that my English education has taught me a bit about how to read a book and apply it to the larger scheme of things. Do we want to have this read by the 10th when our meeting is? If so, maybe we should find something we've all read before so we wouldn't have to read another book by then. Just a thought. We could reread it instead of approaching a brand new text. I am so excited to begin my reading routine.

Also, should this post have been a "Comment"? I'm not sure what the difference is (besides that Comments get cool little pop-up windows).

-Raven

Learning How to Read

I am just remembering something that I came across while reading the TJED. DeMille talks about how to analyze a book a lot but one of the things that really struck home with me and made me realize that I don't really know how to read is when he talks about the thought processes you should go through.

For example, when reading a classic you should understand story, character, plot etc. Then you should apply the story to your life. Step three would be applying it to those around you. And finally, step four would be to apply it to the entire human race.

Wow is all I can say. I may be on my own here, but I will just expose myself and let you gals know that I don't think I have ever read a book like this. I am excited to develop good reading and analytical habits so that I can really be an educated person. I really want to think like this.

Upcoming Meeting

I would like to propose that we take time in our upcoming meeting to share ideas on how to get started, or rather steps we can take to incorporate these things in our lives. We could help one another get on sort of a blue print to success.

One idea that we can do is to all pick a classic to read (one that is in the back of the TJED book) and then we can use the analytical questions in the back of the book, answer them ourselves and then have a real group disscussion and really put in to action what we are learning. I am really excited to try and fiure out "how" to think and learn. I am so excited to read SO MANY books but wouldn't it be great to read a classic and then learn how to read and think so that we can glean so much more info out of the other books we read?

Just a thought. Of course, I am open to anything. This is just one idea that I had.

The Classics

I totally agree, Marcie. Isn't it amazing how little our college degrees have taught us? I mean, here I am, about to receive my MA in American lit. and I haven't actually read most of the classics of American literature (i.e. Moby Dick, The Death of a Salesman, A Farewell to Arms.. ). I've spent most of my educational career "playing the academic game" as DeMille puts it. I figured out just how little I could do and still impress my teachers and get by with pretty good grades. But what's the point of that? I now regret this, but I can't totally blame myself--that is exactly what the current American public school system teaches us to do. So, now I am determined to catch up on all the reading I never did and become truly knowledgeable.

Sorry for all the posts--who knew I would be a blogaholic? ;)

-Raven

Brain on ladies

Thanks for the great ideas and posts everyone.
Just in comment to what Amy said — this book really does a great job of illustrating the power in knowledge. Just this weekend I had been feeling stressed out and grouchy and pretty negative about the upcoming week. I thought my problems were Shaylie and Trent making messes for me to clean up — basically I was being a victim extroidanairre. What would happen in my life if I had never learned and sought out books that taught me about self-deception and problem solving? I would probably go on being miserable and trapped in my own victimhood. However, I have had the opportunity to read some great books on recognizing self-deception (when you think everyone else is the problem you're wrong) and on problem solving (analyzing your thoughts and emotions to determine what I can do about my situation). Thanks to the knowledge those classics geared me with I was able to become a positive producer again.
I know that Heavenly Father can send us inspiration that we have never heard, or don't neccessarily understand, however I also know that for me, a lot of my inspiration has come through Heavenly Father bringing things to my rememberance. I've already done the job of filling my head with good ideas, and he blesses me with the ability to recall those when I need him.
Ok, now on to Raven's post, what are we going to do with this knowledge? Well, I'd like to think that we're all doing something right now — just by sharing it! By telling others (spouses, friends, family ect) what we've been learning and inspiring in them a desire to learn it for themselves as well. In this way we can act as true teachers and inspire those around us to learn. Before I graduated from college all of my learning was for liesure — primarily because I felt I was reading enough stuffed-shirt books as requirements for school. Once I graduated and began to be introduced to powerful books with lasting ideas that were actually interesting (unlike many of the books I read for school : ) I discovered how much I could enrich my life and improve by seeking out books that actually taught me something. I'm so glad that I've been exposed to books like "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," (which I would have never picked up on my own in a million years) or "Positive Imaging." ect ect. Now that I've read TJED I understand even more the importance of feasting upon the classics and comparing them to the truths that I continually need to be seeking out in the scriptures.
IN OTHER WORDS (readers digest version of what I'm trying to say): I'm committing to being more proactive about seeking out books that will fill my mind with knowledge and principles that can help tutor me to become a better person. I definetely want to tackle some of the books on the reading list in the back of TJED and learn things that my fancy shmancy college degree didn't teach me : )
Amen!
Marcie

So what are you going to do about it?

Great post, Amy. I totally agree with everything you said. So, my question to all of you is: with this desire to be better and learn more, what are some of the specific ways that you plan on changing your habits and routines to actually become better? I think one of my goals is to get the book I mentioned before and begin a daily routine of reading and studying good books so that I can reeducate my mind.

Any thoughts?

-Raven

Increased Knowledge Encourages Higher Standards for Self

"Who we are changes as we set higher and higher standards of what life is all about and what we are here to accomplish." (pg 63)

I know that this applies to all types of learning in this life. With the Gospel, the more you learn, the more your strength and faith in the Lord increases, your ability to roll with the punches increases too because you are able to see the bigger and eternal picture.

As I read this book, my hunger for true and deep knowledge grows. I want to learn how to think again! When I realize how much I am missing in life because I don't know how to think my determination amplifies to better refine myself. For example, I love the phrase, "Daughter of a King." When I think of that I remember that I am a princess and therefore Daughter of a King. It makes me want to be kinder, serve more, speak with a gentle tongue and be an educated and refined mother, daughter, wife and friend.

Ignorance is what keeps people in bondage and (I know it sounds trite but...) knowledge really is power. The more knowledge we have we become better people and can rise to the task that has been appointed to each of us on earth. Like Raven pointed out, each of us really do have genius inside of us. As we take the necessary steps to cultivate that knowledge and share it, we will truly be blessed and we will be blessing the lives of all around us by being instruments of God. What can be better than that?

Book I plan on reading

A book my sis. in-law recommended and that is next on my list is The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Bauer. It looks excellent if you are a reader. Check out the description at amazon.com.

-Raven

We ARE all geniuses

Hi, ladies~
Well, I've only just started TJEd, but so far I'm loving it. One of the many things that has really struck me is his notion that, "Greatness isn't the work of a few geniuses, it is the purpose of each of us. It is why we were born. Every person you have ever met is a genius" (pg. 8). Wow. This is so true. Heavenly Father didn't send us to Earth to be mediocre, He sent us here to do great things! I think we too often choose to live comfortably in mediocrity. We are lazy. We ought to live greatly! I think this takes a lot more energy and requires much more of us, but what is the point of settling for something other than our greatest potential? Life isn't about choosing the easy road, it's about choosing the right road and learning to be ultimate leaders some day. This should inspire us to study and grow rather than just "get by."

What do you think?

-Raven

Book

I have wanted to read Anatomy of Peace for awhile, ever since my mom has told me about it. definitely sounds like one I'd be interested in! ;) that's got my vote

Book recommendations

Hey gals,
I can't wait to see posts on your thoughts about "A Thomas Jefferson Education," as you guys really get into it. Amy has your copy arrived yet? I hooked Raven up with a copy, so everyone should be happily reading : ) -- In fact I definetly need to go back through it so I can post as well.
In the meantime I'm always looking for great book recommendations. These could either be books you'd like to consider for future club readings, or just books that you loved in general.
Here are some I've read recently that I would definetly recommend:
"7 Habits for Highly Effective Families" -- I'm still working on this one because we are using it as our FHE material. I have read a bunch of books on families/parenting and none have been as powerful as this book. I love it.
"Hard America, Soft America"
John Stossel's first book -- it has a very very long name, but he is a fantastic writer
"Master Key to Riches"
"The Anatomy of Peace" -- Out of all of the books I've read from the Arbinger Inst. (or people involved with it) this one is the most powerful when addressing family issues and self-deception. (Other ones I've read from them [or associates] were Leadership and Self Deception, The Peacegiver, and I started one from Amy, I think it was called The Bonds That Set Us Free, but I didn't finish becuase it is basically the same material from the first two : )
Right now I'm starting on Stossel's second book (also with a very long title) and have borrowed "The Ultimate Gift" from Dale -- a book which could potentially be a great book club book.
So ladies, what are some recommendations? What have you read that you would hands down pass along to a friend?
Thanks !

-Marcie

Awesome Blog!!

man, it took me forever to find out how to do a new post...lol this is gonna be awesome, I def. love the colors as well! thanks for setting this up Amy. and the title has a ring to it...love it!! :)

Book Babes Unite!

Go Amy for setting up this rad blog (and it is a great color I might add). Props to Raven for making the step and posting her first ever blog entry. (I think I've done like 7 posts total so it wont take you long to catch up.)
I'm excited for everyone to start posting notes/thoughts/ect. on here.
Raven if you can't get one at the Provo library let me know, I might be able to borrow one from my Bro.-in-law Dale and then let you use my copy.
Happy postings ladies!

-Marcie

My first blog post...ever

How exciting! ;0) Now if only I could get my hands on a copy of the book...The BYU bookstore doesn't carry it and when I went to the BYU library and found a copy to check out, I was told that it is on hold for someone else. Bummer. Guess I'll try the Provo library next.

Oh, and I love the name, whoever thought of it. Good work!