did you read? round 2

Very funny, Sam

The tax man has a sense of humor. Unfortunately, I think he prefers sardonic wit. Case in point: the image above is of three letters from the IRS we received on the same day. The good news is that Uncle Sam reconciled a past error he made, and we only owe him $17. The bad news is that it took him three pieces of paper to tell us this news, in three different envelopes, all on the same day. Your tax dollars at work (ah, irony). I don’t have anything else to say on this topic, but I didn’t have a picture for my {Did you read?} series post, so I thought I’d share. Now onto stuff I’ve read lately…

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Tiffanie of Corner Blog wrote an account of her attendance at an art workshop. The post was inspiring, and I’m not even an artist! I loved reading the three things she came away with from the day at the bottom of the post. As a wannabe writer, I can appreciate the need to “put pen to paper” to continue growing.

I enjoyed this Forbes article back in January about Jenny Lawson’s (The Bloggess) “Traveling Red Dress Movement.” It’s a moving example of a positive use of social media. And while we’re on the subject of The Bloggess, here’s why I’ll now be referring to my husband as ol’ Nater-Tater

Have you seen Design Mom’s new “Love the Place You Live” series? My favorite of last month’s first edition was an overview of Shaftsbury, VT, once home of Robert Frost when he wrote Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. I want to go! I shared my love of being surrounded by history in Lexington and Concord. She hosts the link-up again at the end of the week, where I’ll share more about our recent visit to Walden Pond

I related so well to Sorta Crunchy’s post about giving her children grace in sticky situations. I do well at remaining calm during my children’s moments of high emotion, like after a fall or during a temper tantrum. I am their compass by which they can steer back to even keel. But it’s during these short, intense moments that something spills, or I walk upstairs to discover they’ve pulled out all the wet wipes from the container–AGAIN–that I struggle. I try to give them grace and let them learn to control their emotions, but I still need help controlling mine sometimes.

The Fiddler on the Subway is a great read by Gene Weingarten. The book is a collection of articles he wrote as a feature writer for The Washington Post. The title article is about when the world famous violinist Joshua Bell came to DC to perform to a sold-out audience, and Gene Weingarten asked him to perform in the Metro to see if people would notice his music was something special out of context. In a word: no. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite article, but I might have to go with “The Great Zucchini,” about a children’s entertainer. [A note of caution: There is an article about the woman who travels the country teaching people about the danger of accidentally forgetting your child is in the car. Nate made me promise I wouldn’t read it because he said it was too sad and graphic, so I’m passing the warning along. If you’re a parent, skip it.]

Tina Fey is one of the most honest writers I’ve ever encountered. If you like self-deprecating humor, you will love her memoir Bossypants. I enjoyed her introspective accounts of growing up with older parents, joining the ranks of a summer glee club, and her career track. This book consistently made me laugh out loud, reminding me of the days that I used to scare people by bursting out laughing in a subway car full of silence. It was kind of my “thing.” Anyway, even if you don’t watch 30 Rock (and why don’t you? It’s on Netflix streaming!), you should pick this one up if you haven’t yet. If nothing else, it’s inspiring to read the tales of such a successful creative woman. You don’t read stories like hers every day.

What have you read lately? Do tell, so the next time I make it to my book club–if it ever happens–I’ll have something intelligent to suggest.

xoxo
~J

Editor’s note: This post is part of Book Sharing Monday