Eagle
December 30, 2010 | Family,Holidays
We visited my aunt and uncle in Missouri over the holidays. While we were there, we did some sightseeing and saw this eagle.
About ~ new
December 28, 2010 | About me,Blogging
Check out my about.me profile!
I’m a journalist committed to accuracy (that’s why I edit and fact-check) and no-BS intelligence (that’s why I write about about media literacy and journalism ethics).
- What Working Mother magazine won’t tell you: Abbott
- Psst! Scientists prove girls prefer pink! Pass it on!
- SLBTM: Unilever/Dove’s ‘real beauty’***
- Books: Rumors of our Progress have been Greatly Exaggerated by Carolyn B. Maloney
I juggle freelance jobs and work part-time at my local independent bookstore.
I love books. And people who write them. And people who read them. And my library. (That’s my library up there.) I read a lot and I write about books. A lot.
- Books: Reshaping the Work-Family Debate
- Books: Game Change
- Books: No Excuses
- Books: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
- A little less conversation, a little more action, please
- Books: The Feminine Mistake by Leslie Bennetts
- Books: The New American Militarism by Andrew J. Bacevich
I also write about politics, war, ethics, motherhood, work and family, among other things.
I’ve been married to a Norwegian for 17 years. We have three children, an 8-year-old son and 6-year-old twin daughters. That’s me and the kids on the top of Jendemfjellet in June 2010 in Norway.
I live in Iowa. We moved here after seven years in Florida, where all our children were born. A long time ago, we lived in Nebraska, then South Dakota, then Florida (Tallahassee), then Norway. We moved to Tampa two weeks before 9/11. We survived that, then hurricanes, then alligators in our back yard. As if that weren’t enough adventure, we thought, hey! Let’s try winter in Iowa! So, for better or worse, here we are.
About ~ old
About me,Blogging
From 2008 (just posting this before I post my new “about” page).
I’m a journalist and mother of three (two of them are twins).
We moved from Florida to Iowa in the summer of 2008 to live closer to family. We moved from a two-story house on a lake with alligators, ducks and turtles to an acreage (complete with a barn) surrounded by corn and bean fields. We moved to a state whose population just reached 3 million, which is the population of the city we left in Florida. We moved from hurricanes to tornadoes and from “winter coat weather” meaning 50 degrees to wind chills that sometimes reach 50-below. It’s been an adventure, and it’s just beginning.
While I’m consumed with this life-changing turn of events, I still write about books, ethics, journalism, politics and whatever else strikes my fancy.
But do you recall the most famous … automobile?
December 23, 2010 | Holidays,Iowa
See the antlers? It’s a Rudolph car! Merry, merry, everyone!
A moment in time
Words
You know how someone says something that’s simply perfect? Linda Lowen just did that in her post about Elizabeth Edwards, Saying Goodbye to Elizabeth Edwards and Remembering Dana.
Let me just say that some things were simply meant to just … be.
A summer day spent on a beach with two close female friends may be special in and of itself. But we’re unable to retain a sense of the magic of that individual day when we see it as just one of many in a long line of bright, beautiful, shining days ahead of us, the days hanging like pearls on a strand, the years dangling like multiple strands on a necklace. It’s only when we take that one pearl out of context and suspend it on its own chain that we see how rare, how lustrous, and how small a thing it is.
Beautiful. Thank you, Linda.
Posted by Becky @ 6:00 am | 2 Comments
Books: The Mermaid Chair
December 21, 2010 | Books
I read The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd for book club this month. I was a bit annoyed with the main character and the monk … it just seemed as if they tried too hard. But I really enjoyed the story, and the author surprised me, which is always a bonus. The best thing about book club (besides the wine) is getting an explanation for something from another person’s point of view and realizing, wow, that is so true! I don’t like to do spoilers, so I won’t explain in detail. I’ll just say that I got another perspective on the main character’s father … that his act was selfish instead of selfless, as it was portrayed. Brilliant.
What is it about reading books lately about midlife-identity crises? I didn’t even pick this book! In any case, here are a couple of quotes that stuck with me.
The mind is so good at revising reality to suit our needs. I had seen what I wanted. I had reinvented the objectionable, the most indigestible pieces of my life into something just palatable enough to bear. (p. 246)
I can’t explain that, except to say there’s release in knowing the truth no matter how anguishing it is. You come finally to the irreducible thing, and there’s nothing left to do but pick it up and hold it. Then, at least, you can enter the severe mercy of acceptance. (p. 304)
Oh, yeah. I also read the Norwegian version, Havfruestolen, which my friend Else gave to me this summer. The translation was actually very accurate (which isn’t always the case).
Books: Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder
December 20, 2010 | Books,Family,Norway
The kids and I finished reading Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder by Jo Nesbø. He’s one of Norway’s most popular authors, and this is his first children’s book. I read one of his grown-up books (he writes mostly crime novels) in September and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had lots of giggles with the fart powder too.
And, look what I found. He’s got another Doctor Proctor book coming out in January. Whee!
It’s the season for lutefisk
December 17, 2010 | Holidays,Norway
I just learned that lutefisk is sold at my local grocery store. Lots of Norsky-Americans in these parts.
Posted by Becky @ 8:00 pm | 2 Comments
Sparkles & snow
Birthday,Family,Holidays,Weather,Winter
I got sparkles for my birthday.
Santa was in town today, but my kids would rather do this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
It’s great they had fun in the snow. (And we had hot chocolate afterward.) But it makes me wonder … they got videos from Santa. Was that enough for them? Or did it scare them? Or did something else scare them about Santa? Hmm.
Ah well. In any case. It was a great day.
