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<\/a><\/p>\n** 1 ** I have now finished my second week of employment at the library. I really like the job so far; 15 hours per week, weekday mornings\/early afternoons, so I can be home in time to make dinner before Atticus gets home. As I mentioned last week, it\u2019s a more physically demanding job than I realized it would be, and my arms and legs are getting a pretty sweet workout three days a week.<\/p>\n
Since I\u2019m staring at a large pile of books on my coffee table, I think I\u2019ll dedicate this 7QT to the books\/movies I\u2019ve recently acquired via the library.<\/p>\n
** 2 **<\/p>\n
I regret to inform that I have only watched Sense and Sensibility<\/strong> for the first time yesterday. *hangs head in shame* I laughed, I cried, I found myself liking Elinor much more than Marianne, which surprised me. I enjoyed it so much, that while I still have it (2 more days!) I\u2019m going to make Atticus watch it with me tonight. He would never admit it, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll mind; he liked Pride and Prejudice.<\/p>\n The other movie I checked out was The Informant!<\/strong> with Matt Damon in the based-on-a-true-story of the highest-ranking corporate whistle blower in the US. It might be hilarious, or awful. I\u2019m taking a gamble here. The commercials for it last fall made me laugh, so I hope it\u2019ll be good. Have any of you seen it? Thoughts?<\/p>\n ** 3 **<\/p>\n I have also found several new mysteries at the Library.<\/p>\n The Sunday Philosophy Club<\/strong> \u2013 by Alexander McCall Smith. He is noted for writing the No. 1 Ladies\u2019 Detective Agency books. The SPC is the second series he has taken on. The protagonist is a woman named Isabel Dalhousie, who lives in Scotland. She is the unmarried editor of the Journal of Applied Ethics, and eschews moral relativism with every fiber of her being. You can imagine I am hooked! All of her mysteries somehow involve philosophical matters, and she is always using philosophy to try and help others.<\/p>\n There are six books in the series. I\u2019ve been listening to them on cd while I do things around the house and make dinner, etc. I find it much better than having the tv on in the background. I\u2019ve \u201cread\u201d the first three books in the series: The Sunday Philosophy Club; Friends, Lovers, Chocolate; The Right Attitude to Rain.<\/strong> I have the fourth book The Careful Use of Compliments<\/strong> in print form and on the docket.<\/p>\n Agatha Christie\u2019s The Hollow<\/strong> is also in my pile. It\u2019s a Poirot mystery in which a doctor is murdered by his pool, seemingly by his wife. Poirot was on his way over to tea and discovered the scene. He believes the wife to be innocent, and sets out to prove what happened. Agatha is always solid.<\/p>\n Finally, for those of you who like DaVinci Code-esque books (intrigue, mystery, deception, the Vatican) but without that steaming side dish of heresy, look no further! The Third Revelation<\/strong> by Ralph McInerny (creator of Fr. Dowling mysteries!) is part of his new series The Rosary Chronicles<\/strong>. The Third Revelation involves a retired CIA guy coming to the Vatican to investigate the murder of a Cardinal, a priest, and a security guard. Someone has stolen the mysterious third secret of Fatima from the Vatican Archives. Mr. McInerney, who is an orthodox to the max professor at Notre Dame, is a much better writer than Dan Brown, and doesn\u2019t slander God while he\u2019s at it. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n ** 4 **<\/p>\n I got out Christopher West\u2019s Theology of the Body for Beginners<\/strong> for a little brush up on my TOB reading I haven\u2019t really read anything TOB related since last summer, so I figured I\u2019d check out this basic text and review it again. I\u2019m especially excited about the chapter on \u201cSharing the TOB in the New Evangelization\u201d.<\/p>\n Also on the Catholic front, I took out Kimberly Hahn\u2019s book on Catholic Homeschooling, Catholic Education: Homeward Bound<\/strong>. I know, I know, I don\u2019t even have kids yet, it\u2019s a bit early huh? To be honest, I don\u2019t even know for sure that I will homeschool. But for some reason, I love reading about it. I think it must be the teacher in me. I love reading about the different models\/schools of thought on homeschooling. I may not read the whole thing, but I will at least peruse it.<\/p>\n ** 5 **<\/p>\n I know I said that I\u2019ll never be a runner. I won\u2019t ever be \u201ca runner\u201d.\u00a0 But I am signed up for a 5k in October (the same day Atticus is running his first MARATHON), and I\u2019d like to not walk the whole thing. I\u2019d like to be able to jog part of it and not die.<\/p>\n So, I have found Running for Mortals<\/strong> by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield. It gives a ton of information about running, how to do it right so you don\u2019t get injured, etc. They have a helpful 10 week plan to get ready to walk-run a 5k. That\u2019s me!<\/p>\n I started it last week, but ran (haha!) into a problem. I used their recommended workout of alternating jogging and walking for 30 minutes. I felt fine, but then spent the next three days working at the library, doing roughly 30-40 squats per day. My leg muscles are not used to all that exercise, so by the end of the week, my legs were so sore I could barely walk. No more running.<\/p>\n I think I need to wait until my body is used to the muscle movements of shelving (which might take another week or so) and then try again to start the program.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a worthwhile book though, for anyone interested in running.<\/p>\n ** 6 **<\/p>\n The next two books are not normally the kind of thing I\u2019d pick up, but I was intrigued. If you\u2019ve read either book, let me know!<\/p>\n A Perfect Mess<\/strong> by Lisa Harper. Ms. Harper uses the psalms to talk about how \u201cGod remains our biggest champion, even when we don\u2019t feel anywhere close to holy.\u201d I thought it seemed worth a look.<\/p>\n The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families<\/strong> by Stephen Covey. I dislike using the word effectiveness to describe human relationships, but I\u2019m assuming here he means of functional, healthy families? Anyway, I usually find stuff like this cheesy, but I flipped through it, and one of the main ideas seems to be family mission statements, which sounds like a good idea to me. So I\u2019m going to give it a shot!<\/p>\n ** 7 **<\/p>\n There you have it friends, my library adventures! I\u2019ll leave you to start your weekend with this scene from Sense and Sensibility; I think my favorite one.<\/p>\n