9 Loves

 

For the 10 Day You Challenge I skipped my 9 loves on accident and went right to my 8 fears.  So this is my back tracking post to tell you all about the 9 people, places, animals, and whatever else I feel deserves to be on this list.

1. My little family.  My fiance and 2 kitties make me so happy and make me feel so loved.  I love coming home and having those two little fluff balls run up to me, meowing for attention and food.  My fiance constantly encourages me, helps with chores, goes for sushi, and so much more.

Engagement Photo

Princess Leia & Toothless

2. The rest of my family, my in laws, and my adoptive/stand in families.  I have so many people in my life considered family, whether by blood or not they sure do help keep life interesting. They are helpful, considerate, kind, goofy, and always good for hugs.

Bridesmaids

Dad, Big Bro, and Me

Group shot from watching Chris run the Half Marathon

3. Travel.  I love to go places, anywhere really.  From being a tourist in my own city (well town) to traveling across the world, seeing new places and meeting new people is always exciting.  My list of places I want to see is constantly expanding and I love hearing about other peoples travels also!

4. Trying new things.  This kind of goes hand in hand with traveling, but it isn't limited to trying new places.  I used to be the queen of trying weird foods.  My friends would always have me try something first and tell them whether it was worth a shot.  I love experiementing with new beer and wine options, different types of exercise, and different cultural experiences.

5. Speaking of food... It's definitely one of my loves.  I actually really love to cook and bake.  I don't have nearly enough time to devote to it though.  I try to bake or cook something new and exciting once a month and have my stand by fave recipes for busy times.  I have let baking slide lately, but hope to change that after the wedding- there will be lots of new toys to try out. :)

6. Books.  Really really love books.  I am in one book club currently, and probably joining another in the next few months.  I read pretty much every genre except romance.  Romance books literally make me laugh out loud and I find them corny(sorry all you romance fans). 

7. Back yard BBQs and deck time.  Anyone I know with a deck, beware because I will sit out there forever.  Unless it is 90 degrees and humid, then I will be in the AC.  Otherwise, I can't imagine a better day than sitting on a deck, drinking a beer, and having some delicious grilled --insert any food here--. 

8. Lake Time.  Preferably with a deck. Or a boat. Or on a hammock. But always with beer.

In my defense... it was really windy

Kayaking @ Itasca

9. Being active.  I love going for bike rides, running (sometimes), playing hockey, rollerblading, hiking... basically all things outside.  Darrin and I have awesome bikes that we plan to take on trips to Itasca State Park and we sometimes race each other on the greenway.  I want to go on a boundry waters trip which would be all about kayaking. Note to self- work on arm strength. And I have signed up for multiple races in the next year.  I must love being sweaty. :P

~Anne

1984

I grew up in one of the tiny little towns that dot Northern Minnesota.  We had 3 televisions stations and dial up internet- If I wasn't outside or at a hockey rink you can bet I was curled up on my bed reading.  I was "that girl" who spent half her lunch hour reading, after I reviewed the lunch hour gossip that is.

During English class one year we were told we had to read one book each quarter- outside of our normal class assignments- this was obviously completely fine with me.  These books were ours to choose(from a specific list- of course) and if someone else choose the same book we were allowed to get to gether during class time and discuss.  There were two books that still stick out in my mind seven years later, but for wildly different reasons.  Catcher in the Rye made me want to pull my hair out, while 1984 made me want to read everything George Orwell had ever written. To this day I still see references from 1984 and point them out obnoxiously to anyone nearby.

Photo Credit to Google

As I have mentioned before, I participate in a bookclub once or twice a month with two of my best friends.  During these meetings we discuss hockey, soccer, beer, food, Scotland, travel plans, grad school dilemas, wedding details, oh... and eventually the book of the month.  I decided book club would be an excellent opportunity to hear new oppinions and insights about this novel that has, until recently, maintained its title as my favorite book.   

Before diving into 1984 again, I thought it would be a good idea to try and decipher why this book has stuck with me so long.  I only read it the one time, but I can still quote parts of it word for word.  Why did this book, out of the 20 to 30 I read a year, stay one of my favorites?

 

One of the main reasons is becasue it was different than almost anything I had read before.  I had been some what stuck in a Nancy Drewesque rut for a while.  I had only read mysteries, mysteries, mysteries, maybe a historical fiction book thrown in there for fun, and more mysteries.  This was my first foray into dystopian novels and man did I get hooked.


It's also creepy, but not horror movie- you will never sleep again so why bother trying- creepy.  Moreso, it is disturbing- at first glance a person thinks "This could never happen" but then the further into the book a person delves the more similarties they can see between orwell's version of society and our reality.  This is an intersting thought that leads to even more connections, thoughts, and discussions. 

Photo Credit to Google

Books that provide a segway into discussions- more so than oh that was a quick read- are so amazing.  How a person interprets a book and what conclusions they can draw from it are a reference point into how that person thinks about and sees the world. This has to be the second reason for loving 1984- it is one of those books you can discuss for hours beyond just literary themes or character development.

I am sure there are many more reasons that this book has stayed in my "recommend to everyone" pile.  However, I am interested to see how it holds up after April's reread.  Perhaps it wont have as much kick as I remember, or maybe it will have more.  I am fairly certain the ladies in book club will bring up ideas I never had thought of, that is if they can get through it- I know Dystopian novels aren't everyones cup of tea.

~Anne