Getting Back into Blogging

I received an email this week from a fellow blogger asking if I had quit blogging. My original plan was to take a week off. Somehow that week turned into two and the next thing I know I hadn’t blogged since August. To get back into the swing of things I’ve decided to provide an update. Here is my current status:

Work:

I am finally getting caught up at after an employee in my department resigned earlier this year. We were both working 40+ hours per week, so after she left my workload became overwhelming as I attempted to cover both positions. Initially, we brought in a temp who did not work out and were disappointed to learn she had asked the agency to be reassigned two full weeks before they felt the need to share that information with us. During that period she created an incredible mess; incorrect postings, duplicate payments and from what we surmise - throwing her mail away. We are still making corrections. We recently hired a full-time and a part-time employee who I am confident will be great hires.

Fitness:

I cancelled my gym membership and joined Jazzercise. With my increased work-load I was no longer able to attend the fitness classes I enjoyed at my old gym. Feeling depressed and lethargic, I asked a former gym member how she was liking Jazzercise. She loved it and invited me to a class. Impressed with the class variety, schedule, fitness instructors, location and the price (I receive a discount through my medical insurance) I joined and am back to working out consistently.

Reading:

Since my last post I finished reading Isabelle Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. I had an “aha moment” when Wilkerson mentioned of the three lives she followed for the great migration she considered Ida Mae the happiest. Ida Mae also lived the longest. Instead of living with regrets or trying to be someone she was not she accepted who she was and lived in the moment. I have spent years living in the future – retired, self-employed or anywhere but at work. This book inspired me to read Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown. Both books helped pull me out of my workplace funk and back to a more balanced state mind.

Anticipating:
Travel the World in Books read-a-thon: The Travel the World in Book's team has chosen October 18-31st for this year’s read-a-thon. I’m already compiling a list of books and have chosen Rosemary Sullivan's book Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva as my first read. Stay tuned for more information on the read-a-thon and our challenge.

Dog Update:
Buck, our golden retriever, was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this year. After deciding against chemotherapy, our vet prescribed a steroid regimen and told us to begin preparing for his demise. After a rocky couple of months, I am happy to report yesterday was Buck’s 12th birthday. We celebrated with lots of photos and birthday treats. He seemed to enjoy himself and now when someone says the word birthday he stands by the treat jar.

Watching:
In the spirit of a friend’s resent trip to Tuscany we watched Under the Tuscan Sun last night. This was one of those rare instances where I enjoyed the movie more than the book. The movie is quite different in that Francis is portrayed as single while in actuality she is married and bought the home in Tuscany with her husband.

Have you ever taken a lengthy break from blogging? Did you miss it? What brought you back?

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Three Amazing Books I Read in 2012 Along with Lisa Bloom’s Favorites

Last year in my post Three Amazing Books I Read in 2011, I included this quote from Lisa Bloom's book Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World:

"If you can't name three amazing books you've read in the last year, you're not reading enough."

In looking back at the books I read in 2012, I did not have as easy a time choosing three amazing books as I did last year. Most of the books I read in 2012 were not that memorable, but here goes:

The book that was the most eye-opening:
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick.  I read this book shortly after Kim Jong-il's death.  It follows the lives of six North Korean defectors while giving us an insiders look into what life is really like in North Korea.  I referred to this book in my post Making a Big Mistake at Work. 

The book that touched me the most:
Special Exits by Joyce Farmer.  This is a graphic novel based on Farmer's experience taking care of her elderly father and stepmother.  This book stayed with me for weeks.

A good story:
Holes by Louis Sacher.  I don't read a lot of fiction, but every now and then I crave a really good story.  This book was perfect.

I found it interesting that two of my three amazing 2012 reads came from Lisa Bloom's book recommendations she listed in her book Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World. For fun I tweeted @LisaBloom asking what were her three amazing reads for 2012. To my surprise and delight she responded. 

Here are Lisa Bloom's 2012 favorite reads from her twitter feed @LisaBloom:

My favorite counter intuitive-but-geez-she's-so-right book I read in 2012: Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) by Lenore Skenazy.

My favorite fiction of 2012: The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene. Everyone I've recommended this to has come to me with tears of gratitude.

My favorite international classic I read in 2012: Independent People by Halldor Laxness.* It is a must read if you visit Iceland. Which you should.

My favorite guilty pleasure page turner of 2012: Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. It is worth losing sleep, missing appointments over. Which you will.

My favorite book title of 2012: I Suck at Girls, by Justin Halpern. The book itself is giggle inducing too.

My favorite vegan fiction of 2012 (let's make this a genre!): The Adventures of Vivian Sharpe, Vegan Superhero, by Marla Rose. Fun YA.

My favorite history book of 2012: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt. Sumptuous escape

My favorite parenting/ social commentary book of 2012: The Mama's Boy Myth: Why Keeping Our Sons Close Makes Them Stronger by Kate Lombardi

My favorite autobiography I read in 2012: Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela . A must read for all world citizens.

Most surprisingly useful book I read in 2012: Mama Gena's Owner's and Operator's Guide to Men. She's got them figured out. Thx @MamaGena

My favorite cookbook of 2012 (by a mile): Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way, by @ChloeCoscarelli Every recipe ridiculously easy and delicious.

My favorite health book of 2012 (by a mile): The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever.

My favorite re-read of 2012: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Even better the second time and I rarely re-read.

My favorite should-be-a-classic I read in 2012: Walls and Bars: Prisons and Prison Life In The "Land Of The Free". Searing prison manifesto of Eugene Debs, imprisoned for opposing WW1.

Best writing book I read in 2012: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by, Anne Lamott. If you have a book in you, grab this now. Bonus points for being hilarious.

In case you are curious Lisa also tweeted her three favorite 2012 movies: The Sessions, Argo, and Silver Linings Playbook.

A huge thank you to Lisa Bloom.  I can now look forward to reading several amazing books in 2013. In addition to Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, Lisa Bloom is the author of Swagger: 10 Urgent Rules for Raising Boys in an Era of Failing Schools, Mass Joblessness, and Thug Culture.

*For those of you participating in the Around the World in 80 Books Challenge you may want to pencil this one in for Iceland.

If you liked this post you may also like:
"Light Reading"
Making Women Count - Ending the Year on a Low Note
Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" and Jealousy
Special Exits - A must read for those caring for aging loved ones

Miss Representation

Miss Representation 8 min. Trailer 8/23/11 from Miss Representation on Vimeo.

PREMIERING ON OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK OCTOBER 20TH @ 9/8c!

If you haven't seen this yet, watch it. After you’ve watched it hop over to Darryle Pollack’s blog and read her post Miss Rrepresentation: When will women wise up and rise up?

Army botches "The Message"

I choked back tears watching The Messenger last night as my husband recounted his real life experience with the Army’s Messenger. We were only a couple of scenes into the movie when my husband said, “The army sure botched my brother’s message.”

He doesn’t remember where he was that day; only that the scene he faced when he walked into his family’s home changed his life forever:

His mother was in hysterics. His dad was cradling the phone in his hands repeating over and over, "Richie’s dead," "Richie’s dead." His aunt had heard of his brother’s accidental drowning death in Corpus Christi, Texas on TV and had called to offer her condolences. He remembers prying the phone's receiver from his dad’s hands and hanging it on the wall. He remembers walking to the bus stop two blocks away (the longest walk of his life), to meet his sister as she came home from school. He doesn’t remember their conversation, but he remembers how quiet she was when they walked home. He remembers the army representative and the family's priest finally arriving at their home. He remembers he was the one to answer the door. He remembers saying:

"You're too late we all ready know."

Blind Shaft

For an intense, fast-moving, well-done, glimpse into what it is like working in Northwest China’s coal mines I highly recommend viewing Blind Shaft. My favorite librarian recommended this movie after I told him how corrupt China’s business practices actually are (see my review of Paul Midler's book Poorly Made in China).

Blind Shaft tells the story of two itinerant coal miners who devised a scheme to take advantage of China’s corrupt, unregulated coal mines. They befriend a co-worker; have him pose as a relative, murder him, collapse the coal mine making the murder look like an accident, then pocket the hush money. The perfect crime scheme begins to self-destruct after Song (one of the miners) develops a soft spot for 16 year old Feng, their latest recruit.

The movie was secretly filmed in China at illegal mine sites along the border between Hebei and Shaanxi provinces. Li Yang the movie’s writer-director used back-door bribes and smash and grab camera techniques to film Blind Shaft which includes 50 hours of underground shoots. Also interesting, the movie was banned in China because it was made without permission from the official film bureau.

Blind Shaft is in Mandarin with English subtitles and runs 89 minutes.