What I Am Into - March 2013

What I Am Into :: MARCH 2013

On My Nightstand:

I finished Kathleen Norris's The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and "Women's Work", and it was consistently lovely throughout. There were so many beautiful gems of wisdom, and I'm certain I'll be picking it up again and again in hopes of letting a bit more of that wisdom sink in deeper.

I also read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, which has been on my shelf waiting to be picked up for years. I needed something a bit more mindless than the non-fiction books I've been slogging my way through lately, and this was perfect. It was a quick and easy read while still being engaging.

The boys and I are currently reading The Burgess Animal Book for Children as our daytime read-aloud. We finished Holling's Pagoo last month, which follows the life of a hermit crab from birth through adulthood in a fictionalized but highly accurate and detailed manner. The illustrations in Pagoo were incredible, and one chapter was never enough. The Burgess Animal Book, while lacking the beautiful illustrations, is similar in its presentation of scientific facts through storytelling. Quite enjoyable.

On the screen:

Well, I finally sat down and watched the final two Twilight movies. It had to be done. While there was some improvement between the first movie and the last, it wasn't enough to prevent a good deal of cringing and mocking. Sorry, Twihards.

As for TV shows, we're pretty much squealing over the return of weekly Doctor Who episodes. WE LOVE YOU, DOCTOR!!!

Speaking of the Doctor, the darling husband was away recently and returned bearing gifts for each of us.

(Except the baby. He totally skipped over her. He's basically the worst dad ever.)

(Just kidding.)

Anyway. Returned bearing gifts, yadda yadda yadda, and I now drink my far-too-frequently-consumed hot chocolate out of a mug with a heat-sensitive vanishing TARDIS. Which is basically awesome. So there you go.

Oh! One last one, because more happy laughter is always a good thing: Paint. Go watch. Laugh. Watch some more. Laugh some more.

You're welcome.

In My Kitchen:

These coconut oil chocolates had been calling to me from Pinterest for a full eight months, so it was About Time when I finally made them last month. Totally worth it. They were so fast and so delicious. Perfect to keep on hand for guilt-free satisfaction when those chocolate cravings hit!

Also gracing my kitchen right now is a jar of tulips. They make me kinda ridiculously happy every time I walk by them. It's the little things.

You know what's not in my kitchen? The half bag of surplus Mini Eggs left over after we stuffed the Easter eggs yesterday. What can I say? Those things are like beautiful little pieces of Easter crack. No regrets.

In My Ears:

Where to start? I went a little crazy with an iTunes gift card I'd been hanging onto since Christmas, and NoiseTrade had some excellent offerings this month as well.

Let's start locally. Guys, you have to listen to this album, and then buy it, and then listen to it over and over again. Because it's just that good. Or, at least, it's perfect for me right now. I turning into one of those old folks who can't handle all the noise in music these days. Tom Wuest is so beautifully mellow and simple and calm. There's no irritating rattles or overwhelming drums or anything. Just lovely lyrics and simple instrumentation, perfect for quiet devotional time or personal worship. I'll definitely be checking out his other two albums as well.

Josh Garrels and Page CXVI both had albums on Noisetrade in March, which was of interest to me since both have been on my radar lately. While I have some favourites from each of them, I can't say I'm super enthused about any particular album as a whole. Still, Josh Garrels' "Farther Along" is one of my current top ten songs, so that's definitely something.



But back to albums I'm super excited about, I absolutely adore A is for Adoption on NoiseTrade. This incredible album, which I listened to basically all the way to Edmonton, is a compilation to celebrate the life and adoption of Marcus James Norsworthy (which was made official last week, praise God!). All of the artists and bands featured have donated their songs to help to raise money for Marcus's adoption expenses. Download the album, leave a tip to support the Norsworthys, and then head to their adoption blog to find out more about their story.

Okay, I'm almost done, I promise. Just two more.

I won the second volume of Hidden in my Heart: Scripture Lullabies in a giveaway recently, the news of which I received just as I was considering buying it myself! So that was neat. The CD is beautiful. I love having it playing in the background during the day. I always get ridiculously excited over kids' CDs that are actually enjoyable to listen to - as in, I listen to this one even when the kiddos aren't around. That's good music, that is.

Finally, and on a completely different note, there's my guilty pleasure: P!nk. What can I say? I think she's awesome. I went to purchase her most recent album, The Truth About Love, and discovered that I'd missed hearing about her release of Funhouse a few years back. Two new albums to rock out to after the kids are asleep? Yes, please!

(Okay, I'm going to cheat on my "just two more" promise and toss out that I've also been enjoying some Sandra McCracken and Sara Groves lately. Check them out too if you haven't already.)

(Alright, I'm done now. For real.)

What I'm Looking Forward to in April:

This is really the boy's month. He turns six (six!) in just a couple of weeks. He starts soccer this month, which he is so excited about. (I was rooting for circus school, personally, but then his dad mentioned soccer and there was no changing his mind after that. What is it with kids having minds of their own? Sheesh.)

Other than that, it's kinda of a downer of a month, with a couple of farewell parties as our church officially shuts down and our former pastor and his family leave the country. It's a strange and sad feeling, having nowhere to go this Sunday, our first one on our own. Disorienting, I think is the best word to describe it. So we'll be figuring that all out too, which I guess could be something to look forward to (but not likely, if past church hunting experience is any indicator). Still, God is God and He is always faithful, never changing, our rock in this disorienting season.

Well, friends, that is What I've Been Into this past month. What about you?

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