Thursday Text: French Women Don't Get Fat

I recently read the book, French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Giuliano, and it was tres interessant!  The advice it contains is about learning to eat for pleasure.  Enjoy what you eat - just make better decisions!  And drink A LOT more water.  And be more active - but that doesn't mean going to the gym...  This is a lifestyle I can get behind.  And the book gave me a chance to practice some French!

Thursday Text: Your Happily Ever After

Last night was our Young Women in Excellence event.  We used President Uchtdorf's talk, Your Happily Ever After, as the theme for the evening.  Here is a quote:

Isn’t it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of “once upon a time,” complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”

Thursday Text: from Ulysses

I was reminded again recently of how much I love Tennyson.  Here's a bit from Ulysses that you might be familiar with:

Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. 

Thursday Text: C.S. Lewis Quote

Today I wanted to share a fabulous quote by C.S. Lewis that I found on Pinterest.  We recently set up a Pinterest account for our Young Women (here), and I've added a Pin it button to my posts so that we can all share great ideas!

Thursday Text: Austenland

A serendipitous happening during our weekend in St. Louis was discovering that Austenland was playing at the Plaza Frontenac theater.  So I attended the film while my husband went to the new Robert Reich documentary - that was a great arrangement!  Now I'm thinking that I need to read the book.  Have you read it?  The movie was so silly and cute.  I love Keri Russell and JJ Feild.

Thursday Text: Love in Autumn

Sara Teasdale seems appropriate now that it's autumn - her seasonal poems are so delightful.

I sought among the drifting leaves,
The golden leaves that once were green,
To see if Love were hiding there
And peeping out between.

For thro' the silver showers of May
And thro' the summer's heavy heat,
In vain I sought his golden head
And light, fast-flying feet.

Perhaps when all the world is bare
And cruel winter holds the land,
The Love that finds no place to hide
Will run and catch my hand.

I shall not care to have him then,
I shall be bitter and a-cold --
It grows too late for frolicking
When all the world is old.

Then little hiding Love, come forth,
Come forth before the autumn goes,
And let us seek thro' ruined paths
The garden's last red rose.

Thursday Text: D&C 88:119

I know I've posted this verse before, but it is important to me in my life.  I made a handout for one of the Young Women lessons that I taught, so I thought I would share it!  This is a 4"x6" card that I made in Illustrator, and you can download it as a PDF for your personal use.  Enjoy.

   Organize Yourselves

Thursday Text: Pretzel Making at Home

When we were in Missouri, we found this book at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.  Pretzel Making at Home by Andrea Slonecker features fabulous pictures and great instructions for making soft pretzels, hard pretzels, and all kinds of dips.  I'm excited to try it out!

Thursday Text: I Remember Nothing

Our latest book club topic was personal essay, so I read I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron.  I like her insight.  As with I Feel Bad About My Neck, there was a lot of name dropping - but she lived her life in New York City among many famous people (admittedly, I did not know who a lot of them were...).  I enjoyed reading her thoughts and stories.  I found it especially poignant since it was the last book that she wrote before she passed away.  The last segments are lists of things that she would not miss and things that she would miss.  I will miss Nora Ephron!

Thursday Text: DK Eyewitness Travel

My favorite travel guides are the DK Eyewitness Travel books.  They have tons of pictures, of course.  Some of them are fascinating cutaways of buildings and other sites.  The information is not as detailed as other guides, but you can always go to the web after seeing something of interest.

Thursday Text: Nutshell Library

I think everyone should have a set of Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library.  Do you remember these stories from when you were young?  The set includes "Alligators All Around," "Chicken Soup with Rice," "One Was Johnny," and "Pierre."  Such fun stories and drawings.

Thursday Text: Great Children's Stories

Did you have this book as a child?  I saw it at my sister's house and was reminded how great the stories really are.  (The Bremen Town Musicians, The Billy Goats Gruff...)  It looks like it's getting hard to find a copy, though.

Thursday Text: Victor Hugo?

I was going through some family papers and found the funeral programs for my great grandparents.  They had a quote on the front that was attributed to Victor Hugo.  In searching for the origin, I have only been finding it referenced in religious texts that may or may not be correctly identifying the quote.  I thought it was interesting, though, and so I'll share it.  (I found this version online.)

Thursday Text: Wrenard of St. Paul's

I have been trying so hard - with no luck - to find a picture that we saw at St. Pauls' Cathedral in London.  It was a photo of a fox who was living in the cathedral.  They caught him and took him to a wildlife hospital until he could be released but not before he inspired a children's book.  Wrenard of St. Paul's by Robin Ollington is a cute little book about an adventurous fox.  {Happy Independence Day!}

Thursday Text: Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis

This month for book club the topic was biography.  I didn't finish my book, but I've been enjoying it.  I'm reading Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis by George Sayer.  Sayer was a friend of Lewis, and this is considered the definitive biography.  I'll let you know what I think when I finish...

Thursday Text: Literary Map of the British Isles

I think I saw this on Pinterest...  (It's not a quote or a book.)  It's a literary map of the British Isles - what a brilliant idea!

Thursday Text: Matched

Another recommendation from my sister for the science-fiction/fantasy category was Matched by Ally Condie.  She forgot to tell me that it was part of a trilogy, so it was a real cliffhanger at the end!  It's kind of in the vein of The Giver or The Hunger Games but without the violence (and with more romance...).  I just finished the second installment (Crossed) and am about the request the third (Reached) from my library.

Thursday Text: Fablehaven

My sister and my nephew have been recommending books to me.  One that I read for this month's science-fiction/fantasy themed book club was Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.  It was highly recommended by my 11-year-old nephew who waited for hours to meet the author at a book signing.  It's a fun story about two siblings who go to stay with their grandparents only to find out that they are the keepers of a magical preserve.  What my sister and nephew neglected to tell me was that it's the beginning of a 5-book series!  I'll be busy this summer...

Thursday Text: Pippa's Song

A snippet of this poem came to me the other day, and when I looked it up I realized how appropriate it was for this time of year.  The name doesn't give much of a clue to the content, though.  It's Pippa's Song by Robert Browning.

The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven--
All's right with the world!

Thursday Text: 1776 (Illustrated Edition)

History was the topic of this month's book club, and it made me pull out this fabulous book that my parents gave me.  It's an illustrated edition of David McCullough's bestseller 1776.  This edition includes beautiful artwork and replicas of letters and documents from Colonial America.  I haven't read the whole thing, but I would say it's definitely worth browsing!