Wes's 2012 Reading List!!!

And the post you've all been eagerly awaiting since last year's list, the 2012 Reading List is finally here.  

Disclaimer:  There is a slight chance that my analytical work has bled into my personal life.  (And yes I'm aware that this is documented proof that I'm a geeky engineer.)

But first a little buildup:  

In 2011 I switched buildings, got a shorter commute, and exchanged my kindle reading on a bus for a steering wheel and daily navigation of Houston traffic.  I feared my reading time would be extremely limited and I would have a much shorter list in 2012 than 2011.  That is until I got this little beauty (the Bose Bluetooth Series 2 Headset) for Christmas from me . . . and some cash from some of you (did I mention you're great).

Figure 1 Bose Bluetooth Series 2 Headset a.k.a Little Beauty

With this I could and did listen to books a lot.  Not only did it cover my commute but suddenly I was listening to the Outsiders while changing poopy diapers (yeah I said poopy), I was swept up in Steve Jobs life as I fixed the kitchen sink for hours, and suddenly I could play tea party at Scarlett's table for a lot longer.

A typical morning:  Alarm >> Shower >> Dry ear with a Q-tip >> Insert Bluetooth >> Listen:  Conference Talks 15 Min. >> Podcasts 15 min.  >> Latest Book variable min.  

Alright no more preamble, here it is:  Wes's 2012 Reading List and Analysis

Pages read: 11,120; down 865 from 2011.

Books read:  30 books; 2 up from 2011.

I have several books partially read right now so I'd say overall I came out pretty close to last year.

Table 1:  The Nitty Gritty Raw Data

Figure 2 Page Count and Format Breakdown

Figure 3 Breakdown by Genre

Bonus Material:

Podcasts of Note:

This is a mind map (iThoughts) of all things Brandon Sanderson (a favorite author and writing instructor).  He is prolific and I've captured my progress thus far and some of the material I've yet to consume in the picture below.  For a closer look you can download an HTML version at Wes's Brandon Sanderson Consumption a borderline unhealthy pastime.

My Brandon Sanderson mind map in iThoughts.

Figure 4 My Brandon Sanderson Mind Map (in iThoughts)

Podcasts of Note:

General Conference (Great start to the day.)

Writing Excuses (For the fiction writer in you.)

Quick & Dirty Tips (These are awesome and there are a ton of them on multiple topics (e.g. The Tech Talker, Grammar Girl, Math Dude, Everyday Einstein, Money Girl, The Domestic CEO, . . . )

Well, I suppose I've exposed enough of my inner nerd for one night and Jen says she can wait no longer for Wes's 2012 Reading List and I can't bear to let her down.  So, there you have it.

Christmas 2012

My mom and Jerry came to visit for Christmas.  Despite Wes' cough and Jerry's leg problems, they accomplished a lot, while the rest of us got pretty sick.  By the time Christmas came, Scarlett, Desmond, my mom, and I were on antibiotics.  Somehow amidst all of that, we still had a pretty great Christmas Day.  We came downstairs Christmas morning to an empty plate of cookies, a half-eaten zucchini, and an empty glass of milk.  Scarlett spent about twenty minutes discussing that exciting event with us.

Santa dropped off some toys for Scarlett and Desmond and filled all of our stockings.  He even left two on the couch for Nana and Grandpa.

Here's a close-up of Scarlett's gifts.  Santa even got one of her old dolls to showcase her new doll high chair.  He's so good at laying out his presents with a little bit of style!

Desmond got two toys and some sweet new clothes to fit his ever expanding baby body.  He seemed very pleased with his Christmas!

Scarlett immediately got busy on coloring her some sweet Dora pictures.
"Swiper, no swiping!"

Then she drew some of her famous faces on the whiteboard side.

Then it was time to go skating!  She's a natural, of course.  They went outside and skated some more after she got dressed, but I only caught that on video.

First fall.

First twirl.

I had gotten a sweet deal off our local "Craigslist" type online classifieds.  So, we gave her these princess dresses.  She was pretty excited about them.

Daddy helped her with her costume changes.  Snow White first.

Then, Sleeping Beauty.  She also got Belle, but I had switched to video by then.  This is her "I can't believe how amazing Christmas is" smile.

Desmond said, "This was a fun day, but I'm pretty tired."

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Best Friends and Placebos

I've had two experiences recently with Scarlett that I had to share here on our blog.

Situation 1 - The Placebo

Desmond has been having a really hard time sleeping lately because he's teething and last night he was fussy all evening.  So, before putting him to bed, I decided to give him some tylenol.  Scarlett saw this and freaked out because she wanted medicine.  She was already on the edge because we had put Desmond's crib together and had just told her that he would be sleeping in the new bed instead of her.  So, just wanting all of my kids to stop screaming I thought fine I'll just give her some fake medicine.  So, (when she wasn't looking) I put some water in her little medicine cup and put a drop of green food coloring in it and gave it to her.  She looked at it suspiciously and said, "Nasty medicine?  I need chocolate."  That's how I get her to take nasty medicine like the antibiotics she took twice while she was sick in the last two months.  I said, "no chocolate, its not nasty medicine."  She looked at it very unconvinced and took a sip.  I totally expected her to scrunch her little face up and say, "nasty."  Instead she looked at me very confused and said, "Mommy, that's water."



Situation 2 - Best Friends

Scarlett has been going to a preschool co-op since September.  She loves it, I love it, its been the best thing I could have done for Desmond, Scarlett, and myself.  Its Tuesday/Thursday from 9-12 and  all of us moms take turns teaching for a week.  So, I teach once every five weeks and the other four Scarlett's at one of their houses.  There are five little girls total in the class and they're all such sweet little girls.  One of them is Abbie and Abbie is the one Scarlett sees most frequently.  Abbie is in Scarlett's nursery class at church, her preschool co-op class, and her mom also serves in Young Women with me and because of her husband's work schedule she has to bring Abbie to mutual each week.  Scarlett has to come to mutual each week too because Wes works with the Young Men and I make him take Desmond!  She also sees Abbie whenever we have our Young Women Presidency meeting each month.  Scarlett is a little obsessed with Abbie.  Luckily, she plays it pretty cool in front of Abbie and doesn't stalk her or drive her crazy (I don't think).  But as soon as we leave Abbie's presence, Scarlett starts talking about the next time she'll see her.  We were eating breakfast last Saturday and Scarlett was quietly chewing her food and all of a sudden looked up at me and said, "Scarlett see Abbie today?"  She's always asking me if Abbie's sick or if Abbie's asleep or if Abbie's eating.  So, you get the point.  Last Tuesday night (which is when we have mutual) I told Scarlett at dinner,

"We're going to church to night and you get to see..."

"ABBIE!!!" she cut me off and yelled her friends name once she realized what church meant.

"You love Abbie, don't you?  Abbie's your friend."

"Yes, but she's not my best friend."

This surprised me because a) I had no idea she knew the term 'best friend' and b) I figured since she did know the term then it might be Abbie.

"Who is your best friend?"

I totally expected her to say Mason because he's her other favorite little friend.  We know him from our city's mother's group.  But what did that cute, sweet, adorable little girl say while filling her mother's heart with more love and joy than she knew was possible?

"Mommy!"

Yep, my cup runneth over.


Here's a shot of my two sweeties just for posterity's sake to show how much they love one another!

Growing up

When you have your first baby especially, everyone tells you how fast the time goes and how quickly they change.  Scarlett's first year did not go quickly at all although she did change quite a bit!  At the end of her first year, I looked at pictures of her and thought she did change a lot but it wasn't a shock.  The changes taking place that first year are so blazingly visible and obvious.  The second year, a little less so, but still pretty visible.  This last (third) year, I'll admit, her growth kind of snuck up on me.  I was looking at pictures of the three years we've gone to the same place to get our Christmas tree since she was born.  It seems like no time has passed since last Christmas and when I looked at these pictures it hit me...I only have one baby now and its not Scarlett.  (We all know she'll always be my baby, but you know what I mean!)  She's a little girl and I adore the person she's becoming.

Christmas 2010 - Just a little 9 month old baby.

hating Santa Claus

 Christmas 2011- Still a little tike toddling around with chubby little legs.

loving Mickey and Minnie

Here it comes...









BAM!

Christmas 2012 - A sassy little girl sauntering around to wherever her heart leads her.

checking out Frosty

giving her, "I'm getting kind of bored, let's ditch this place" stance

Still not crazy about Santa

but loves her Daddy and Desmond and train rides.

 finally old enough to play on the inflatables (you have to be two)

"Ready or not, here I come!"

"That was awesome!"

A Meal for Desmond

"This is a fun change.  What's this chair called?"

"Hmmm, I don't know what 'high chair' means, but I love being this high off the ground...oh wait..."

"What's that you got there?"

"What's Oatmeal Cereal?  Where's my bottle?  Quit messing around!" 

 "I can't focus with everyone staring at me like this."

"I haven't really decided about this "solid food" thing, but it IS fun having Sister and Daddy hang out with me!" 

"Hey Scarlett" 

"Listen Scarlett, the more I eat of this, the less I like it.  Will you tell Daddy to stop?" 

"Seriously, this is disgusting!  Make it stop!" 

"Maybe if turn my head like this, he'll forget I'm here.  (Look at how it clumps and clings to my finger!  Milk would never look so disgusting.)" 

"Nope, didn't work.  Scarlett, I need your help!  Sibling to sibling." 

 "No more, no more.  He doesn't like it!"

"Are you stopping Daddy?  He doesn't want anymore!" 

*Hack*  *Cough*  *Gag*  "What's the matter with you people?"

"At least I know you've always got my back."