New Member

Kelly kindly suggested that as a new member of the book club it would be fitting to say a little something about myself. So without further adieu-dieu (a high-brow French word meaning, literally, "goodbye doodies") ... let's begin!

I have a dog. Coda is half German shepherd, half pit-bull, all scaredy cat, and yes, her breed dictates that she will disfigure your young ones should they cross her path. Actually, the reputation of her breed falsely precedes her. She is a sweet, medium-size, wonderful companion and we trust that she will be as gentle with children as we trust she will wake us up at 4:00 a.m. and again at 6:00 a.m. every morning to adieu-dieu.

Dan is the sweet, tall, dark, and handsome man in my life. He is a wonderful provider and husband. Yes, he talks a lot in his sleep, including whispering “66666666666” repeatedly in a snakelike hiss, but he really is quite pleasant other than that. He works incredibly hard as a sales manager, and when he is not working or being a great husband, you can find him tickling keys as he writes songs, or burying his face in a book about finances, business, or personal development.

I, too, have taken up nocturnal activities. When I am not sleeping or drooling I can be found hallucinating in my sleep. It’s become rather common for a person to climb across my ceiling in the middle of the night, for a hand-sized cockroach to crawl into our dresser drawers, or for Dan to be both in bed with me and standing next to the bed beside me. Not to worry, I am now at the point that I am usually aware I am hallucinating as I do it, and after screaming at Dan to “kill the cockroach!” I often follow up with, “it’s not really there, I know I’m just dreaming.” This can get complicated when I am not sure which Dan to talk to.

By day I write for leisure as well as tend to all things domestic; I am my dog’s mom, my husband’s girlfriend, and by night I am apparently the next best thing to Linda Blair. I am passionate about learning, my favorite topics being human development, religion, psychology, writing, leadership, philosophy, spirituality, and organizational behavior. I grew up doing dance and vocal performances, as well as horseback riding. I have no idea what I will be doing in 5 years, and I am torn between thinking that statement is very stupid of me, and thinking it may just be one of the smartest things I have going.

Dan & I have lots of goals to improve our lives and the world around us! We place a great deal of value on health (all kinds), knowledge, responsibility and accountability, balance, security, truth, respect, and preparedness. We want to have a lot of resources so we can give a lot to others. We enjoy developing our talents. We love learning and growing. Our mission statement thus far is the lovely quote by Bertrand Russel: The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

That’s us! Adieu-dieu!

Phrenology

Last Friday night, Caroline and I (with our respective husbands) delved into a bit of head-bump reading. For those of you who still haven't stated/finished The Guernsey Lit book, one of the characters becomes quite an avid phrenologist. Her skills even save the day at one point. Anyway, I just thought you might like to know what my head bumps say about me:

As near as I can tell (it's rather difficult to read your own head bumps) I have:

• concentrativeness
• tune
• time
• combativeness
• and possibly language, though I can't tell if I really have a head bump there or I just wish I do

I'm asking for a book to learn head bump reading for my birthday next week.

Sale on Etsy!

Hey guys! A few months ago, I mentioned a craft fair that my sister and I did. Now we are trying to get things going on the internet. We are having a big one day sale on Monday, November 23rd. Everything will be on sale and a free pair of earrings is included in every sale over $10. We have a bunch of cool bags for sale. Take a look and tell your friends! Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
www.stroodel.etsy.com

News

I'm on a roll! Here's a reminder about:

1. Our cooking blog is having a cookie contest. Become our fan on facebook, send us an email with a Christmas cookie recipe, and then, if you win, pick your preferred kitchen utensil. Tell everyone you know (no, seriously. We'd love for you to tell your friends and family about it)! We want more readers and more cookies to try! You have until November 30 to enter.
   
2. My Christmas Chorus Concert: Dec 5 at 1:30 or Dec 6 at 7 in the chapel next to the mental hospital in Provo (just off of center street). We'll be singing an array of Christmas Carols and Benjamin Britton's Ceremony of Carols, which is quite amazing if you've never heard it. And we even have an excellent harpist.
   

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm breathlessly waiting to hear what Nikki thought about the book. My proposal is that if you miss a book club, you post your thoughts some time within the few days (which I do believe was our original intention, but somehow we haven't been so good at it). Let's hear it!