10 Things - Random Facts

On the 10th of the month, Shimelle and friends share a list of 10 things. Any 10 things you want. I've been a sporadic participant but decided to jump in at the last minute this month to share 10 random facts about...

this girl

 1. I love road trips.
 2. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be on a beach or a sailboat so I could wake up and see the ocean every day.
 3. I can hold an entire conversation using nothing but movie quotes.
 4. My first car was a sunshine yellow 1972 Volkswagon Beetle. It had a rusted out area on the passenger floor and a manual transmission. I have never loved any other car as much as that clunker.
 5. I am a cancer survivor.
 6. I have a piece of the Berlin Wall.
 7. I regularly buy things from QVC. (Yes, you could call it an addiction...my husband does.)
 8. I hate roller coasters and love to dance around in summer rainstorms.
 9. My favorite food is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
10. I sleep with a stuffed turtle every night. His name is Seymour.

Want to share 10 things? Join in and link up to Shimelle's post here.

10 on the 10th - 10 Moments To Remember

This month's 10 on the 10th captures 10 moments of this summer that I want to remember. Always.

I want to remember how blessed I am to witness the bgeinnings of a deep friendship between the daughters of two of my best firneds. There is something beautiful and meaningful in the continuity and interweaving of mothers and daughters.

I want to remember how lucky I am to have such a wonderful mother. I'm totally enjoying watching her with her grandchildren. My only child recently graduated fromhigh school. When he was younger, I was too overwhelmed with struggling to find my own parenting style and too insecure to appreciate all the insight that my mother had to offer. My brother and his wife married young but waited several years to have children. I love how relaxed I am with my niece and nephew. I can see now how amazing my mother is - and was - with children.

I want to remember all the warmth, laughter, adventure, exploration, giggles, hugs and love that we shared with Jim's sister and family. Good times.

I want to remember the scarifices made by all of the servicemen and servicewomen so that I can live in a country where I am free.

I want to remember how wonderful it is to have a group of women friends who exemplify everything that is right about being a woman.

I want to remember how much I love this young man, how scared I am about the changes coming our way and how hard it is to let go...

I want to remember how much I adore this man. He is my everything.

I want to remember the free and easy feeling of relaxing by the pool. I want to remember that I had the courage to put on a swimming suit, even when I thought I was too fat. I want to remember how cleansing it feels to dive into the cold water. I want to remember going off the diving board and doing handstands under the water.

I want to remember experiencing the magic of the musical Wicked with these fabulous people.

I want to remember the sounds of a ballpark in the summer.

What do you want to remember this summer?

PS If you want to see more 10 on the 10th, check out Shimelle's blog here.

10 on the 10th - 10 Books That Changed My Life

Welcome, readers! Today I am initiating a new feature on my blog inspired by Shimelle Laine and her Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers class called 10 on the 10th. Each month on the 10th I will unveil a new listing of 10 - it could be 10 things I love, 10 ideas I Wish I Had First, 10 Favorite Desserts, even 10 Things I Hate This Month.

I really love this feature.

For this month, I wanted to showcase something a bit meaningful and truly personal to me. Ask anyone that knows me well to name one of my defining characteristics and the majority will tell you that I am a reader. I love to read, always have and always will. I am prolific in number and eclectic in taste. I believe that books have the power to shape and change what we know, what we believe and even who we are.

Here are 10 books that changed my life, changed in both big and small ways.

The Velveteen Rabbit is the first book that I remember reading on my own. My mother had read it to me many times and I always associate this story with her. Loving something (or someone) so much that it becomes real is a theme that resonates deeply in me...and has remained with me since my earliest days.

Bridge to Terabithia is beautiful story of friendship, love and loss. It is the first book that touched me so much that I cried. It was also the first time I really identified with a character. I vividly remember sitting at our kitchen table, sobbing as the story came to its close. I was 9 or 10 years old but I knew then that I wanted to be gifted with this type of friendship, a deep, loyal and abiding friendship. And I have...

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was the quintessential coming-of-age novel for girls like me, becoming a young woman in the 1980s. I walked each step with Margaret as she moved, made new friends, had her first crush and even started her period. Her confusion, insecurity and courage were supremely reassuring to an awkward teen like me. I knew if Margaret could do it, then I could, too. This book gave me strength at a time I desperately needed it.

The Handmaid's Tale was a revolutionary read for me, delving into gender roles, feminism, patriarchy, the religious state and childbirth as a reflection of society. It challenged my rather narrow view of the world and pushed me to think of myself in terms of my sex.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is a novel I return to again and again. I love the exploration of spirituality, social justice and fate. This is the first book I ever read that explored the Vietnam War and its effects on America's psyche. It opened my mind and my heart, reinforcing my own belief in God and a commitment to evolving my own life's purpose.

The Prince of Tides introduced me to the wonder that is Pat Conroy. He speaks my language, knows my heart. This story also cultivated a lifelong love of the South Carolina Low Country, despite or maybe because of the very foreignness of this place compared to my own home in the Midwest. A story filled with the beautiful balance of comedy and tragedy, love and loss, forgiveness and rage and family.

Bridget Jones's Diary was the breath of fresh air that brought me laughter, hope and a renewed belief in love when I was scrambling to find a way to believe that I might be happy again after a crushing heartache.

The Harry Potter series holds a very special place in my heart. This is the first set of books that my son and I read together, every one. We started when he was 5 and finished when he was 15. All but the last two novels I read aloud to him, even when he was clearly capable of reading them alone. We shared and inhabited this wondrous world together. We discussed concepts like destiny, magic, sacrifice, love and honor. My son is a fervent crusader for social justice and always looks to uphold the rights of the underdog. I like to think of this as a bit of the "Harry Effect" and it makes me smile.

Life of Pi was an amazing adventure to me, filled with equal parts beauty and horror. Themes dealing with religion, what it means to be human and what it means to be animal captivated my imagination. I dwelt on the nature of solitude and the concept of a strong, independent self. I wondered at my capacity for survival. I questioned if I could kill. And I celebrated in the very notion of being alive.

The Kite Runner is one of the most beautiful and tragic stories I have ever read. Its themes of family, betrayal, shame, love and redemption set against a backdrop of war torn Afghanistan are difficult to read. There is violence and horror, racial and religious persecution that sometimes is sickening, but it is tempered with friendship, loyalty, forgiveness and love that is a balm to the soul.

This list is by no means exhaustive. I'm sure I could come up with another 20 or 30 books that changed my life. But I'm more interested in you right now. What are some of the stories that changed your life?