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11. Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

A very good read about a teenage girl on the autism spectrum who is in the foster care system. The story takes us through some relationships and experiences with both her foster and birth parent -- from whom she had been forcibly removed a few years before the story starts. There's a bit of a "mystery" element to the book (although it's not really a mystery to the reader, who just wonders why all the adults around Ginny are such idiots for so long ...). Also some good character development and a good story. Really enjoyed the book. 

12. The Adventures of Johnny Bunko by Daniel H. Pink and Rob Ten Pas

Career guide in comic book form. Not really any new advice, (do what you like, not what everyone else tells you to; the job is about the company/wider goals, not about you, etc.), but fun and easy-to-read format. Would be good for a high school class discussion, I think. 

13. Crossing the Goal Line Line by Kim Findlay

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6. Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Rooney Doland

First, to be clear: the title of this book is an utter lie. There is no way you could do every project she suggests in this book, which range from things that address an actual 9 to 5 job, to household chores and housekeeping, to hobbies, calendaring, clothing, etc. in one week -- whether you were actually working outside the home 40 hours that week or not. You couldn't even do all this stuff if you stayed home all week, didn't sleep and used the bathroom only once or twice. All week. It's just a cute and convenient means of organizing the book -- and yet she persists in referencing this delusion throughout the book (e.g., "since you did this on Tuesday, ...). Also, since it was published in 2010, a few of the resources she references seem to be out-of-date. Since the book does combine advice about organization at a 9 to 5 job and home organization (most books seem to focus on one or the other), it does have some more useful organization/filing tips that are applicable to business than a lot of other home organization books do. Overall, though, nothing really outstanding or exciting. 

7. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (for friends book group)

I had never heard of this book or author until someone else picked it as a selection. Turns out, she was rather well known in her day, particularly for a semi-autobiographical novel called Elizabeth and Her German Garden (she was married to a German count in the 1890s). This particular book appears to be set in the early 1920s (the references to "the war" are clearly WWI) and is about some British ladies who end up renting a house in Italy for the month of April. It's kind of Under the Tuscan Sun-y in the beautifully atmospheric and romantic descriptions of the house, gardens, climate, etc. of Italy.  The sunny experience in Italy also opens up the restricted lives of the proper British ladies -- and, in some cases, their families as well. I enjoyed it.  

8. Evicted by Matthew Desmond (for church book group)

This was well-written and, in terms of the language and reading style, an easy read. In terms of the topic, it was incredibly depressing. It's narrative nonfiction, incorporating research, statistics, and the author's personal experiences (he's a sociologist who did "on-the-ground" field work) about the topic of eviction in what he tried to choose as a representative medium-sized U.S. city (Milwaukee). He didn't want to choose something like New York which, be definition, is its own thing. The fact that it is so representative is what's depressing. He delves into systems that are basically set up against people, cites studies that show what the factor most likely to contribute to being evicted is (having children. Told you it was depressing), and tells the stories of various people. He does propose what he thinks are things that could help but they're things that require systemic shifts. 

9. One Question: Life-Changing Answers from Today's Leading Voices by Ken Coleman

The topics of the questions could be inspirational (John McCain on courage, Jimmy Carter on reinvention, etc.) but I don't know if I'd call them life-changing. The format of the book is that the author relates a personal experience according to each chapter's topic (others include health, criticism, gratitude, leading with love, and more), often incorporating a conversation or story from some other person as well. Then he poses "one question" on that topic to the famous person featured in the chapter title, prints the excerpt of their response, and then shares a few more reflections on what they just said. I did enjoy the book -- and want to look up his podcast to see additional interviews referenced in infographic boxes in the book -- but that was because I enjoyed his personal stories and reflections and, honestly, I enjoyed the stories of the "preview" people just as much as, if not more than, the bold-face names featured in the chapter titles. Unfortunately, the "preview" people don't get the same star treatment or highlight. I also enjoyed the interview format and the writer's skill as an interviewer (for both the big names and the "preview" people). 

10. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

The conclusion of the trilogy begun in Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend. A fun and satisfying conclusion to this soap opera-ish read: the author did leave some possiblities where I could see him coming back to this storytelling milieu, but he also wrapped up all the various plotlines satisfactorily so you weren't left disappointed or worried about your favorite characters. (Speaking of favorite characters, there's some in this book that I would have liked to see more of.) Also, the movie of the first book in this series is coming out this summer. Sounds like it could be fun to see. 

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Received free candy at work for Valentine's Day.

My mom came to visit for the weekend. She repaired a cookbook of my daughter's that had a plastic spiral notebook type binding that had come apart (tied through the holes with strong crochet thread). She also brought a fleece zip-front vest that had belonged to my grandmother and that my mom no longer wants. It fits me. 

Paid off summer camps for my daughter through a nice Grandma contribution plus the remaining "refund" from last year's dependent care FSA (probably the last year we will use that service). 

Took a Pinecone Research survey and checked my balance. 

Signed up for getreferred.com based on Money Saving Mom's post. 

Was notified that my Disney Movie Rewards points would expire if I didn't do something with them; redeemed some for a $5 concession cash coupon that does not expire until end of this year. 

Finished three library books. (Ginny Moon is quite good.) 

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Now that we have reached February (and Imbolc/St. Brigid’s Day/Groundhog’s Day – and almost Chinese New Year), it’s time to get my hopes/dreams/plans/goals for 2018 out there into the world. 

In part, I didn’t do this in January because I was sitting with them for a while; in part because time just got away from me – every time I would think about doing something, some requirement would come up in my work or personal life; and in part because January is a time of reflection, of Janus’s looking both forward and back. 

Also, plus side: I seem to have already accomplished some of my scribblings.

Here are some of my goals and dreams for the year, in various categories:

Health:

- Exercise:

     •  Yoga

        - buy self a yoga mat

      • Hikes

      • Swimming

      • Snowshoeing

- Massages

- Fruits and Vegetables from farmer’s markets

- Get out on the lakes in a boat

     • Canoe?

     • Kayak?

     • Paddleboating at Centennial Lakes/Three Rivers?

- Reiki session(s)

- Participate in walk while the moon is full events

Possibility: salt caves

Beauty:

- Manicure(s)

- Pedicure(s)

- Regular use of face masks

- Skin care regimen

Possibility: try a facial

Family:

- N soccer referee training

- N horseback riding lessons

- Watch Dance Moms with N

      • Find a new show/something to follow up with after we’ve completed

- Read books N recommends

- Spa days with N

- Cooking with N

      • Grocery shopping/budgeting

- N register for confirmation

- N pick MNHS sites for 6th grade use

- Ice skates for N

- Tubing at Buck Hill

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Phenology: 1. The scientific study of periodic biological phenomena, such as flowering, breeding and migration, in relation to climatic conditions

2. The timing of a periodic biological phenomenon in relation to climatic conditions 

(Source: American Heritage Dictionary)

The concept of phenology, or noticing the seasonal changes around us, is something that I was first introduced to through the writings of Waverly Fitzgerald, and since have seen discussed in posters at my local parks and in a “backyard phenology” small calendar pamphlet handed out at the 2017 Minnesota State Fair.

I want to make my own seasonal observations; here they are for the first month of this year, January 2018, for Minnesota in the area around the Twin Cities.

Temperatures wildly fluctuated this month, with some days seeing actual temperature highs in the below-zero digits Fahrenheit – some accompanied by wind chills in the 20 and 30-below range – while other days, the temperature climbed up into the 30s or 40s Fahrenheit. 

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As Epiphany approaches, I’m writing a Christmas wrap-up for the end-of-year holidays of 2017. 

We had an at-home Christmas with our little family on Christmas Day, unwrapping presents and having a Christmas dinner of ham with maple/brown sugar glaze and pineapple slices (Nora specifically requested the pineapple slices to go with the ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner rolls, our family cheeseball recipe with crackers, our traditional molded strawberry jello salad, and Christmas cookies for dessert. We also had our traditional snacky Christmas Eve dinner, with a big tin of popcorn/caramel corn/cheese flavored popcorn, and little smokies done in the crockpot with barbecue sauce.

Food memories and thoughts: <lj-cut>We only had part of the strawberry jello salad this year, because at first I opened the mold, then realized that I needed to run hot water over it to loosen the jello from the mold, and did that, but possibly didn’t get the lid put back on tightly all the way, because when I was done running it under hot water and attempting to transfer it over to the serving bowl to unmold it, the lid popped open and most of the pink layer created with the sour cream and red jello liquid ended up on the floor and then in the garbage. (The dog licked the floor a little bit, but apparently this wasn’t her favorite Christmas dish.)