Books!

Hi folks,

Thanks for all the kind words and responses to my last post.  It really does mean a lot to me as we try to be patient about the timing of having kids.  And I'd be happy to talk to anyone else dealing with infertility; I find it's really important to be able to talk to someone outside of your husband about it, or else feelings can get bottled up.  I tend to find people online through message boards (Babycenter) and other groups, though I'm less involved lately.

Anyway, I've been reading like crazy and have lots of additions to my reading list so far.  I'm up to 10 books finished so far this month, with a half dozen more started.  Apparently I'll be knocking out the 52 on the early side if I keep this up, though in some ways I'm not surprised.  There was a summer around 6th grade when I read nearly 100 books thanks to a fellow library patron who decided to challenge me more than the reading program at the library was.  I feel awful that I don't even know that woman's name, but perhaps soon I'll challenge a young reader myself and make it a tradition!

The books I've added are Injustice: Gods Among Us Volume 1 and Injustice: Gods Among Us Volume 2, which are comics involving the Justice League characters (Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, etc).  The storyline was written as a prequel to a video game (I didn't know this when I read it or I might have hesitated), but it was so well received as a comic that more volumes are being published to continue the story.  Most of the story revolves around the idea that the superheroes with all their power are nearly gods, and to some people are as one group takes over ruling the earth.  It's really well written and I highly recommend it.

Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont is a great guide to the natural trees, shrubs, and small plants of the south grouped by how they're found in nature.  It was a fantastic read (if you're into plants like me) and I'll be using several of the plants I found in here to craft my garden with.

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale was a light read, that was fun and a follow up to her first Austenland book, with more of a mystery twist.  These books aren't as well written as the YA books she's known for, but I enjoyed them anyway.

The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country was a book that I had high hoped for, but was mostly disappointed by.  It had a lot of information that wasn't useful to me interspersed with a bit that was.  It read more like a textbook than anything though, making it dull enough that I skimmed it for what was interesting and finished it fast despite it's large size.

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome by John Scalzi is a prequel to Lock In, and more of a novella than a full book.  It's available to read online for free here, which is how I read it.  I thought it was definitely as good as Lock In, if not better in some ways.  It reads a lot like World War Z by Max Brooks, giving a great historically styled narrative.

So, that's a bit of what I've read in January and I have so much more to update you all on regarding the Pins, but that will have to be in a follow up post.  If nothing else this post shows just how eclectic my tastes in books are, and it's just the tip of the iceberg!  More interesting book choices to come, including a Pulitzer Prize winner and more gardening books, plus a new comic choice.  I'll see you all again soon.

Love,
Lydia

A Bit of Reflection

Hi everyone,

So, I know it hasn't been long, but that's exactly what I was hoping for as I work towards making good habit in writing and life in general.  Here goes.

One of the things on my mind lately has been having kids.  Frankly a lot of my thoughts stemmed from contemplation of a couple posts here on Feathers in Our Nest.  Aliesha talks about how she's having another wonderful baby join her family, but knows that can be hard to hear for some folks, and writes about the loss she has experienced herself.  And it's fantastic to hear more and more bloggers be open about their experiences surrounding having and attempting to conceive children.

I know, a bunch of you out there are probably wondering why after two years a couple like Bryan and I haven't produced progeny yet.  Well, we'd love to.  In fact it's been one of our goals for quite a while, but it just hasn't happened for us so far.  And why is a good question I suppose.  We haven't found much in the way of medical reasons, and after 20 months of trying we're still in the testing phase.  We're not really looking for advice, but it's something that we know people will want to give us if the subject comes up because the natural response is to try to help in any way.  However, we're healthy and blessed to have our needs provided for enough we can support kids if we chose to have them or eventually adopt if it comes to that.

And for now we're buying a house, I'll be starting a garden, continuing to build my business, exploring, creating, and developing all kinds of wonderful things.  And I don't want to take any of this time to ourselves for granted, and as introverts we value it.  So I want to use my time wisely.

When I was in high school I wanted nothing more than to get married and have kids, babysitting and childcare were what I was good at.  I didn't really want to go to college, thinking my family couldn't afford it anyway.  Sure I had other goals, writing a book, making music, reading all the books I could get my hands on, and traveling too.  Then after a little while working I realized I could at least try a bit of college at the local community college.  And things changed, I didn't find the right person to marry right away, I fell in love with photography, painting, and Ireland first.

And when the time was just right I met Bryan, who knew he wanted to settle down and have a family; I was 27, things were good.  For now we're building a home (literally!) that we hope to raise our family in.  Some days it's still depressing for my own part, but I don't ever tire of seeing all those who are happy with kids and babies of their own.  I only get tired of having to answer the same questions about myself because I can't give the happy answer people are wishing for.  On the bad days I take it personally, as if there's something wrong in the depths of me.  But there are more than enough who need love in this world to go around, and I'll give it to whoever I'm blessed with.  And I wouldn't change a thing about my life so far, even if it's not what I expected.

Love,
Lydia