Monthly Archives: March 2007

Mar 16 2007

recommended reading

Originally published on March 16, 2007 at Onward & Upward

So I’ve been meaning to highlight some of the sites that I especially like that are on our sidebar. These are rather recent websites and blogs I’ve come across, and I am eager to share them!

DesignTalk: Home Design Help
I came across this website/blog when I was looking for help with my living room, and I really like it! They answer questions about home design and have a lot of great ideas. They are clear, easy to understand, and illustrate their ideas with pictures which is nice for visual people like me.

PDF Online
Do you have a file that you need converted to a PDF, but don’t have Adobe Acrobat Pro? Well this site is a great resource for you! It’s fast, easy, and best of all – free. They do a variety of documents (including Microsoft Word), and there’s no registration necessary. I used this service especially when I was searching for a job two years ago.

DivShare
Since I work in the printing industry, I am often having to transfer really large files to and from clients. When something is too big to email, I recommend DivShare to them. No complaints yet!

What the Font?!
With a clever name, this site has been very useful to me as a designer! I can upload an image with the font I want to identify, and they come back with their options. If you don’t have an image, check out Identifont for a similar service.

ChiliTried
For those who are familiar with ChiliHead, she now has a new site with product reviews! I especially enjoyed her review of a just-for-redheads makeup brand. :-) I can imagine this site will be a valuable resource as I continue to learn about how to be a homemaker.

Number Gossip
Okay, this site is just for fun. :-) You type in a number, and it tells you all the cool things about that number. You might appreciate this more if you are a math lover.

Finding Contentment in the Suburbs
Started by Lindsey from Enjoy the Journey fame, a blog about avoiding the common pitfall of always wanting more-more-more money. This site comes at a perfect time for me, as my husband and I are approaching (albeit slowly!) that same quandary. It’s not about get-rich-quick, but about being content with what God’s given you.

Frugal Living Journal
While we’re on the subject of finances, I have enjoyed this website which gives practical tips of living frugally. Being a good steward of God’s resources and being content with what He’s given to you go hand-in-hand.

Happy Tails
Animal lover that I am, I was excited to see that Mrs. B has a blog devoted just to animals! She already has posted some great advice about dogs, and I look forward to future posts. It makes me want to start a blog about my own pets…

Living in Peru
Okay, I’m not sure if ANY of our readers will find this interesting, but here is a site all about living in Peru – AND it’s in English! As most of you know, I grew up as a missionary kid in Peru so I always enjoy finding resources like this. :-) You can read my 10 Things About Peru here to learn more about this beautiful country.

That’s all for now! Happy reading. :-) And if you have a site you recommend, let us know!

Mar 13 2007

hanging with lil' sis

Last week, Amy came down to visit for her spring break. I really enjoyed having her here! She got to meet Jera for the first time, and it was love at first sight. :-) Amy helped out with a few projects around the house, like painting the living room. (Yay! Only a few more things left to do, and then I’m going to post some “after” pictures.)

On Tuesday, I took the day off work and we went to Zoo Atlanta to see the baby panda. Mei Lan is six months old and SUCH a cutie! They have the panda exhibit open to members only from 9 to 9:30, so we took advantage of that and I’m glad we did. She was adorable… At one point, she fell off the contraption from where she was sitting, and landed on the soft floor with a plop! She kinda sat there like, How did I get here?

After seeing the panda, Amy and I wandered around the rest of the zoo. It was still quite early (the zoo opens to the public at 9:30), so a lot of the animals were still asleep. We really wanted to see the lemurs and the red panda (Firefox!), but both were asleep the whole time. I remembered last time we went to the zoo, and the lemurs were soo cute, running around and chasing each other. This time they were more interested in sprawling around on the ground being lazy. We enjoyed our day at the zoo, though.

We also did some shopping and got stuff for the living room. I’m really excited about how it’s going to look. :-) I took Amy to REI, which Amy loved. Paul and I are still looking at tents to buy to camp. I think we’ve decided on the one we want; we just need to get it. We also have to get a few more things, and then we’ll be ready!! I think by April it will be warm enough to camp and I’m looking forward to it. I got some books on tent camping in Georgia and the Carolinas, and have been poring over them trying to decide where to go first. Fun stuff. :-)

During the week Amy was here, I also got a really bad cold. At one point I had to stop talking! I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right, it just about killed me to be silent like that. I am all better now, thank God. :-) In Peru, my colds always lasted at least 6 weeks but now that I’ve lived in the States they seem to be much more infrequent and quicker. That’s a relief! A relief for Paul, too, because he can’t understand my finger spelling as fast as I can sign it. :-)

Last Friday, Amy, Paul, and I headed up to the Garrison’s house to meet Adrian. We needed to check him out and make sure he lived up to our standards for Susan, and I’m happy to say he passed with flying colors. (Although I’m not sure it mattered either way whether we passed him or not. :-)) Susan also helped me sew the curtains for the living room, and this evening I went back up to finish them. It’s so nice to have a friend with a sewing machine! I will have to hand sew the hem, but that’s better than sewing two sets of 8 ft. long curtains. :-) (Thank you, Susan!!)

Overall, it was a fun visit with Amy and I’m so glad she came! It’s so much fun being able to spend time with my sister. We are as opposite as night and day, but we can still hang out together and have fun. I think I prefer being friends with my sister instead of enemies! Now, for some pictures:

Jera loves Amy

Mei Lan, the baby panda (with Lun Lun, her mama)

Aww sleepy panda!

Mar 13 2007

books, books, books

Originally published on March 13th, 2007 at Onward & Upward

I saw this meme on Amanda’s blog, and decided to steal it for myself. :-)
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I generally don’t have a preference, since I buy most of my books used. I will most likely choose the cheapest option. However, if it’s something special I want to keep, then I’ll go for the hardback.

Online purchase or brick and mortar?
I love Amazon and get most of my books from there. I do like walking around bookstores, though. I will buy books on clearance from stores.
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
I really have no preference. Aren’t they the same store? ;-)
Bookmark or dog-ear?
Oooh I hate dog-eared books! I always use a bookmark. Usually whatever is lying around. It’s not too uncommon to see me using a piece of Kleenex as a bookmark. :-)

Mark or not mark?
I like to mark my Bible and I did underline my college textbooks, but just normal reading-for-pleasure books I tend to leave clean & pure.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
I usually group my books by subject.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
Well it depends how often I am moving. There is no better way to pare down your unnecessary books than to move a lot! I tend to keep everything, though.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
I usually keep it, unless it’s not in good condition. When I worked at the library in college, I would cover the dust jackets that I particularly liked.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I always remove it. I’m scared of bending the edges of the dust jacket and causing it to look ratty.

Short story or novel?
Novel.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?
I really don’t have a preference!

Lord of the Rings or Narnia?
Narnia Narnia Narnia. :-) Although Lord of the Rings certainly isn’t bad.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Chapter breaks. I need some sort of closure.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
I think I prefer the former – it’s more dramatic.

Buy or Borrow?
Depends on what kind of book and if I’ll get a future use out of it. If it’s something I will want to refer to often, or something I want to take my time reading, then I’ll buy.

New or used?
It doesn’t matter as long as the book is in good shape!

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Either recommendation or browse. I rarely read reviews, unless they’re written by someone I know. (As in, I’ll read a review on a blog, but not necessarily by a professional reviewer for a newspaper.)

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
I can’t stand loose ends not being wrapped up. So tidy ending unless it’s just a part of a series.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or night time reading?
Nighttime reading, right before bed. Unfortunately Paul doesn’t like the light on and he always goes to sleep before me… Must come up with a solution for that…

Standalone or series?
Either, as long as the series is ended in an appropriate time.

Favorite series?
Anne of Green Gables. Chronicles of Narnia is a close second.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Hmm how to choose… Letters Never Sent by Ruth Van Reken really, really impacted me… Oh and I’m a HUGE fan of Mary Stewart! My favorite is definitely The Moon-Spinners. When I was younger, I really enjoyed Enid Blyton’s Adventure series. They were great! Now I want to read them again…
Favorite books read last year?
Hmm… Well it’s hard to say. I really liked The Cat Who Came for Christmas. And I finally finished the Anne of Green Gables series, although technically I read the last book or two in 2007. :-) I also found Taking Charge of Your Fertility really eye opening.

Favorite book of all time?
Anne of Green Gables.

Three questions I am surprised not to see . . .

Fiction or NonFiction?
It depends if I am reading for pleasure or for research. For pleasure I enjoy fiction, especially historical fiction. If I’m trying to learn something, then I will pick up and enjoy a nonfiction. Nonfiction books that I read for pleasure are biographies and historical events.

One book at a time or have several in process at the same time?
Usually only one, although I will have several sitting out waiting to be read.

Crack the spine or leave it unbroken?
Hmm I seriously never think about this. I guess I like the book to remain as pretty and untouched as possible, but I also hate reading a book where it takes all my finger strength just to keep the pages open.
Yeah, that’s right, we are bibliophiles–not just readers, book-lovers.

Mar 12 2007

paul's love languages

This really surprised me, because I totally thought Paul’s love languages were quality time and acts of service. I never realized how much physical touch meant to him. Since it’s my least love language, I guess I’m going to have to make a special effort to “fill him up”! :-) In the same way, his least language – receiving gifts – is my primary one. No wonder I’m always complaining about it. :-) (Read mine here.)

The Five Love Languages (Paul)

My primary love language is probably
Quality Time
with a secondary love language being
Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Quality Time: 10
Physical Touch: 7
Words of Affirmation: 7
Acts of Service: 6
Receiving Gifts: 0

Take the quiz