Great Expectations

at 10/09/11 12:03PM
After many interruptions I finally finished Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, this afternoon.

I realized after reading it that I was feeling very agitated. I tried to analyze the reason for my agitation and it was that I was dying to discuss the book with someone, and upon further analyzing, realized it was because that someone was my dad. That so very much stinks.

So, since I can't call him and chat with him about the thoughts swirling around in my head, I will ask you one of the questions I have been stewing about. Those of you who have read the book...do you prefer the original ending, or the revised ending?

I am not sure how I feel about it yet. Probably because I haven't yet settled on how I feel about Estella. Lots to process there.

Any thoughts on the book itself? Miss Havisham? I'm sure we could talk for weeks just on Miss Havisham alone.

Any good BBC adaptations you especially love?
  • bestill
    Your dad would so have enjoyed a good discussion with you about it. Yes, it stinks. I'm afraid I'm not very well read. It's a shameful fact. I made sure my sons read the classics!
    by bestill at 10/09/11 8:50PM
  • didow
    I've read it but it's been many years ago. I remember enjoying it very much. If I remember correctly there is a character that has a family and never seems to have enough money to make ends meet. He said something like, "We're always busy doing things that don't bring in any money." I remember at the time that I felt the same way.
    by didow at 10/10/11 1:34AM
  • sallyanne
    Hey...I didn't get your e-mail. I sent you an e-mail from my phone. Our Internet has been down for several days so I'm relying on little doses of 3G :)
    by sallyanne at 10/10/11 10:51AM
  • sallyanne
    I am back online :)

    I love Dickens! Great Expectations is a wonderful book. I actually read it again last year! I really like both endings for different reasons. I *think* I like the second ending better...though the first ending also leaves a good feeling of closure. Estella is so much improved...justice (for me) has been served...lessons learned...she seems (to me) as much as a victim as Pip--in several ways at least.

    Miss Havisham has been an image in my mind since I first read the novel in high school. Honestly, that description of her has never left me. She is a perfect example of bitterness to me. Such a sad waste of a life.

    My favorite novel by Dickens is A Tale of Two Cities. I read it annually :)
    by sallyanne at 10/10/11 2:15PM
  • deputyheadmistress
    You need to post again.

    If you find Miss Havisham interesting, you might try Jasper Fford's books. One of them features Miss Havisham as one of the main characters, and it's pretty amusing (there is, as I recall, some profanity)
    by deputyheadmistress at 02/28/12 2:06PM

Courageous

at 10/04/11 10:13PM
It's hard to be an inspiring facilitator of home education when you're getting sick.

So, what to do to save my voice but still feel like I've accomplished something from the day? I remember that it is $5 movie day (except I found out when I got there that they've jacked the price up to $6) and that we have wanted to see the movie Courageous. We knew we would like it because we've liked every movie we've seen by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, the producers of Flywheel, Facing the Giants and Fireproof (there may be more I'm forgetting).

While those were all wonderful movies, Courageous trumps them all. It was outstanding. I felt fear, sadness, grief, happiness, provocation, suspense-you name it, I think I felt it today during that movie.

There were many themes woven throughout the movie but the prevailing theme was biblical fatherhood and as an extension, biblical parenting.

If I could somehow pay for everyone to see this movie, I would. I think it is that important. I will be going back to see it-not just to monetarily support a film like this in the face of modern Hollywood, but just to sit and be reminded again of how important the message is.

Even though we know how important and holy the job of raising children is, it is so easy to forget as we get caught up in the day-to-day stress of life. I know that I will be watching this movie many more times in the future for those times that I've lost sight of what I'm really doing here on earth as a mother of children.

Go watch this movie!! Tell others about it.

Be COURAGEOUS.

"Your spouse and your children are not just people, they are eternal beings with spirits. What we do in our homes is so much more important that just parenting. We are given charge over an eternal soul. When we interact with our child, we are talking and communicating to a spiritual being."
~ Nicholeen Peck
  • crazy_mama
    I was really looking forward to seeing Courageous and then giving birth a week before it came out I wasn't too hopeful that I'd see it anytime too soon. My healing has been slower than I would like but my husband thought it would be a good idea to get me out of the house to see this movie. It was Amairah's first movie! Boy did I LOVE it. We both did. It really is an amazing movie!
    by crazy_mama at 10/05/11 12:00AM
  • missy
    Jady and I went and saw that Monday night. It was SOOOO good! I loved it, too.
    by missy at 10/05/11 7:59AM
  • nthnswmn
    I can't wait.
    by nthnswmn at 10/05/11 9:04AM
  • stitchinmom
    I am so looking forward to this movie! Do you have the camp cold too? :(
    by stitchinmom at 10/05/11 9:44AM
  • lori_in_pa
    I DIDN'T GET TO VISIT WITH YOU AT CAMP! I am sad about that. I love you, though.
    by lori_in_pa at 10/05/11 12:03PM
  • sallyanne
    How is Trina? Josh was so concerned about her!
    by sallyanne at 10/05/11 12:10PM

07/28/11 11:07PM

"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."

~Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

That, my friends, is some fine writing. I loved that sentence. It gave me, as Anne Shirley would say, a thrill when I read it.

There is a reason some books are classified as classics.

That is all. :)
  • sallyanne
    I really enjoy Dickens! Some of my favorite lines are from his books!
    by sallyanne at 07/29/11 6:22PM
  • lori_in_pa
    Excellent thought, excellently put!
    by lori_in_pa at 08/01/11 6:40AM
  • she_seeks_wool
    beatiful! I love literature!
    by she_seeks_wool at 08/02/11 3:36AM
  • sallyanne
    Peru...she's really a trooper, but I *know* (as far as I could possibly since I haven't experienced it) that she is suffering greatly.

    We have been plagued with cancer in our congregation and ... it just seems everywhere. So many to pray for!
    by sallyanne at 08/06/11 2:27PM
  • thejoyoftom
    We almost listened to Great Expectations on our trip, but alas we could not find the CD's. We listened instead to Eragon, enjoyable, but will probably not make the classics.
    by thejoyoftom at 09/04/11 12:42AM

Get checked, ladies!!

at 07/26/11 11:35PM
I mentioned awhile back that I was seeing a special doctor about hormone imbalance. I knew that I was estrogen dominant/progesterone deficient. Today I got results back from blood and saliva tests done over a month or so ago. Turns out, my thyroid is just fine. Yay! But the reason I thought it was low thyroid was because hormone imbalance mirrors the same symptoms as low thyroid. But the bigger thing the tests showed today is that I have next to no testosterone. Yeah, I know, that's mostly for the guys, right? Well, turns out we ladies need it too. It's pretty important, actually. I was also very deficient in DHEA, which supports testosterone.

What's the big deal if your testosterone and DHEA are too low for too long? Well, it's like waving a red flag at cancer, diabetes and heart disease saying, "Please!! Please!! Here I am! Come get me!" So...I'm pretty glad I caught it early.

The main point here is you just don't know until you get it checked. And the thing is, most women start experiencing some level of hormone imbalance when they hit their 30s. I feel pretty certain I was starting to get little signs of it a few years after moving to TN. And then I drove my adrenals into a tail spin my last couple of years there with the stress of having Trina, my dad's illness and death, my skin cancer and surgery, the whole homeschooling/public schooling dilemma and finally our move, among other things. Stress is bad news for us, ladies!! We have to eliminate the stressors in our lives. It leads to bad, bad things.

Talking with my doctor today I am convinced that most of us are walking around with major hormone imbalance but we just don't know it or we know something is off, we just don't know what to do about it!! So...get checked!!
  • madtomkidd
    Sounds like you have a good doctor to acknowledge hormone issues. Stacey went through a few before finding one that would even consider hormones as a root cause - and they found Adrenal Fatigue as the underlying problem. She has been SO MUCH better after making some lifestyle adjustments and adding some supplements.

    So, yeah - find a good doctor and get checked. You can also get the hormone saliva tests done without a Dr. - they're around $400, but it's worth it!
    by madtomkidd at 07/27/11 7:19AM
  • jenkegley
    I actually just got blood work done and my DHEA level was deficient (just barely), but still deficient. However, after doing some research on it, I am not thrilled about taking a supplement for that. It is basically a steroid and I have been on steroids before - not a pleasant experience. -- and long-term use of DHEA can lead to certain cancers. So, I haven't started taking it yet. I'm going to see my gyn doctor tomorrow and will talk with her about it. What to do, what to do? :/
    by jenkegley at 07/27/11 7:23AM
  • nzmom
    So how did you get them to check? Did you ask? Or did they suggest? Is this part of a routine blood test / exam? I'm past-due for my annual and will be scheduling it for the fall.
    by nzmom at 07/27/11 9:52AM
  • crazy_mama
    So glad you got this checked out and got these results. It's always nice to know what is going on with your body. I actually just read an article about testosterone and estrogene in women and men and how we all need both of them just in different amounts and how the different amounts do different things for us that make us men and women. It's amazing how God made our bodies. Just fascinating! Hope they are able to help you get to where you need to be.
    by crazy_mama at 07/27/11 10:35AM
  • mjintexas
    Good knowledge! I hope everything gets straightened out soon- isn't it interesting how our bodies really are rather complicated chemical factories?
    by mjintexas at 07/27/11 9:13PM

My Fitness Pal

at 06/13/11 10:08AM
So...I'm curious if any of you are on myfitnesspal and if so, would you like to be friends so we can encourage each other to live healthy?

Look me up-I'm matermagistra.

:)
  • mjintexas
    hey, look at that! I have that app. I dont' think I've used it yet though. Harumph.
    by mjintexas at 06/13/11 11:06AM
  • nthnswmn
    Can I just say I am really liking the Charlotte Mason organizer? Thanks for passing that along.
    by nthnswmn at 06/14/11 9:25PM
  • missysnapp
    I'm on Loseit.com. A couple of friends talked me into it.
    by missysnapp at 07/05/11 2:02PM