Charles Dickens

As a kid, reading was instilled in me and my sisters as the most important thing ever. Besides my dad saying cooking was. As a very young child, I remember my Mema (grandma) reading to me. I would always pick a book out of her massive collection, as she is a retired school teacher, and beg her to read to me. When I was old enough to have learned how to read, I remember grabbing a book and coming to sit in her lap and asking her to read to me to only be met with disappointment. She knew I could read!

Every summer, my sisters and I spent a few weeks with my grandparents in Arkansas. Mema would sign us up for the free library program, where they had prizes for the top readers of the summer. We spent our summers…and school days… reading. Sounds exciting, huh? Well, Mike always tells me he is jealous that I can read so much and so fast. I don't think its that impressive. Seems pretty boring to me. I would rather have been able to be an awesome skateboarder and be able to pick up athletic activities quickly and amazingly like Mike can. Or even have been able to be even remotely decent on a video game or been in a dance class or been remotely decent in anything that is impressive and exciting as a child to carry me through being an adult. But libraries were free.

Mike says that my reading has gotten me this far in my life, to have finished college and be in a promising career. I can't be completely negative about my "great" ability to read. When I was in my early teens I remember reading Charles Dickens "Little Dorrit". Though I don't remember the whole book or probably did not pick up the underlying themes at the time, the book is written in a way like no other. The man lived in the 1800s and writes very weird to our standards. I'm surprised I even understood his words at such a young age. Recently I "picked up" a couple free books for my free Kindle App on my Iphone of Charles Dickens. 

Of course for Christmas, I read the famous story of "A Christmas Carol". I have watched many versions of the movie, but to actually read the book is an inspiration in itself. By the peculiar words Dickens uses, you can feel the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge instead of just see it. My favorite quote right now comes from this book:

"It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour."

The way Charles Dickens writes can be the most annoying or most insightful to someone. Its so plain and clearly points to the culture of his day. There are also underlying themes to most of his stories. For instance, in "A Christmas Carol" the children at the spirit's feet names' were Ignorance and Want. On pages 778-781, this showed that you are responsible for not holding on to these characteristics for yourself. I'm glad I rediscovered the comical views and writing style of Charles Dickens once more.

Next on the agenda is reading "A Tale of Two Cities" with the famous intro to the book: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Camping Memories

In the summer we also enjoy camping. We enjoy camping at Bear Lake that is only a couple of hours away to the north. That was the first place we camped together. Last year before Mike left for Iraq we went there a couple of times, especially after Mike got the tent to go in the back of his truck.

This year (after Mike got back from Iraq), we ventured out to other areas. Shown in previous posts, we camped in Moab at the hottest time of the year. And then we camped in Yellowstone in some pretty low overnite temps.

We also ventured to the Utah mountains all the way to the north. We even had to go through Wyoming to get to the mountain. Mike and I went up with 2 other couples from Mike’s work. The destination was Whitney Reservoir but we must have not gone far enough or took a wrong turn. The other vehicle was pretty new and was not in the mood for offroading to find it so we camped in an open spot under the trees. Across from our spot was a weird looking tree…and that was the only picture taken. Though Mike and I were in the awesome truck tent off of the ground and had no problem keeping warm, the other couples had ground tents and apparently did not have a good night’s sleep. We only spent one night but at least it was Mike’s first time in Wyoming.

Another time this summer we went to Nephi, UT and camped with some friends of ours. It was a nice campground with a pool. No roughing it this time, but it was free for us to camp, so we can’t complain too much. On the way back we took the scenic route and took pictures along the way.

Mike, Paige, Erica, and Jaimie

Happy New Years! (a little late, I know)

One of the first times I noticed Mike was at a before New Year's Eve bible study. We had been going to the same bible study for awhile without even knowing each other. But this night, the subject was talking about past New Year's resolutions and future ones for the upcoming year. Of course, me being the planner I have always been had plenty of answers to each question. But when the discussion landed on Mike, it was a different story. He was so laid back and said basically "I don't know" to everything. Even though there were no past or future resolutions, he did say his goal is to "have fun". I was impressed. I thought I had to plan my life and have goals every year to achieve. But here was somebody that was laid back and accomplished everything he has set out to do with a smile and no stress. You could tell he was a little uneasy sharing that he had no resolutions or goals in a goal setting meeting, but I was awakened to the opportunity of living life free of restraints of goals and resolutions. Our goals and resolutions and plans never work out, and its usually for the best, anyways. So this was the first time Mike caught my attention...and it was the sole characteristic of being laid back and completely open to life in general. That's how I want to live my life this year.
Happy New Year's to all.  Make the most of your 2011, you only live it once :)