Book Review: The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck

This book is the third in a loosely related trilogy.   You would not have to read the other books to follow this book.   It is a storyline that stands alone.    I absolutely loved this story.  The main characters Charlotte and Alex are immediately likeable in their own ways.   The story is set about 125 years ago which also adds interest to the story.   While the reader may guess the outcome of the story, one would never imagine the twists and turns the author takes to get there.   The book never seemed to drag on.   It is hard to put down because you wonder what is going to happen next.   The ending is a nice surprise.   I would recommend this book great for curling up and reading on cold nights or taking to the beach on a hot summer day.  I would be interested in reading other books by this author.   I enjoyed her witty and engaging story.  

 I received a copy of the book for the purposes of review, but all opinions expressed are my own. 

Thrifting for Me

I needed a little retail therapy, so I hit a couple of thrift stores.  The first one was a "nicer" thrift store in that the cheapest item was $3.   I found a cute jacket, but it was a really bright green.   I wasn't sure if the green was me.   I passed on it, but now wished I had gotten it and dyed it a different color.   There was also a blue/white ombre skirt.   It was a little big.   It was interesting through.  I'm planning to go back to check it out again.

Next, I went to the one of those digging thrift stores where there were racks and racks of clothes and people everywhere.   I scouted out the glassware to see if I saw anything interesting.   Everything of value was priced accordingly.   No deals to be had there.  Next I started working my way through the clothes.   When I got to the skirt section, I struck gold.  I found a pencil skirt with some great detailing in the back.   The slit is not a slit, but a wide pleat.   It was too cool and too cheap to pass up at $1.50!

The other skirt I found was cute, but I wasn't sure it was me.   It was bright red with sequins.  I tried it on and decided no.  I hung it on the try on rack.  I paid for my one skirt and walked out.  I walked down the street to check out some other stores, then I walked back.   As I was walking past the thrift store, I glanced over and saw this cute red skirt in the window.   It was the skirt I passed on.   Since my second impression of it was positive, I quit second guessing myself.  I went back in the store and bought it for $1.50!   Good choice?

I have decided that a white button down would be super cute with either skirt.   Maybe I'll find one of those for $1.50 too!

Some Shopping

I visited a nice second hand children's store.   The first time I went in, I just looked around to see what they had.   Truly, I was planning to get my son some new pants, but instead I found this stuff.

My daughter loves the velour outfit.   The pumpkin shirt wasn't anything special, it was probably last year's Target shirt, but I paid $2.   The brown skirt and green top were my personal favorites.   Here she is modeling it.  I have to laugh at her face because I was also playing with my camera while taking her picture. After about 20 different shots she was so over it!

I went back to the shop the other day and found a cool princess dress.   It was marked 50% off.   It is a lot nicer than some of the princess dresses I have seen.   My daughter loves it because it goes to the floor.

I plan to do some thrift shopping for myself soon.  I love that I never know what I might find. 

Suzuki Violin

Taken last year when we actually owned three different sized violins.  We have since sold the middle one. The largest is my daughter's current violin and the smallest is about to be my son's violin. 

My kids take Suzuki violin.   Before you write me off as a Tiger Mom, my daughter pulled us into this journey.  We started talking about playing violin when my daughter was two and a half.   My husband had to go to Korea for an international trip as part of his MBA program.  We were trying to help my then 2 1/2 year old daughter understand where Korea was and what Korean people looked like. Somewhere we found a Korean child playing the violin.   My daughter was captivated.  She wanted to watch the youtube video over and over and over...you get the point.  Next, she started asking to play the violin.   This is a child who loves to experience life.  We thought this might be something she just wanted to experience.   The earliest you typically start a child in violin is age 3.  We put her off for a few months.   She kept asking to learn to play.   Then, we moved cross country. She kept asking to learn how to play.   We got settled in our new house and she kept asking to learn how to play.   During this time, my husband started researching how to teach child to play violin.   We decided that the Suzuki method was a developmentally appropriate way for a child to learn violin.  Finally, after her fourth birthday, we let her start violin lessons.

Her first teacher was Christina David.  My husband did the initial search for a teacher and found her.  We went to observe a lesson.   I really liked her so we signed up.   She had me read Nurtured by Love by Shinichi Suzuki and to Learn with Love by William and Constance Starr.   She started my daughter on a box violin and encouraged me to learn to play as well.   My daughter and I started learning the Twinkle Variations on a Foamalin.   After about four months with Christina, she found out she was moving to California.  We started our teacher search again.   I met three teachers.   The first one said she used the Suzuki, but I think that was false advertising.  The second teacher was good, but I didn't really connect with her.   By this time I was getting discouraged.   I heard of a good teacher, but she was in a suburb of Houston a good distance from my house.  Finally, Jason started scouring the violin shop teacher lists in search of a good teacher and found Meredith Harris.   I went to observe her and really liked her.   She recently graduated from Rice with a Master's degree and was building her studio.  She was a Suzuki kid going through book 10 of the Suzuki literature.  We started lessons with her.  One day she noticed my church bulletin and mentioned she went to my church as well.   It was a God thing that He lead us to this wonderful teacher who was also a Christian.   We've been with Meredith now three years and love her.   My son now takes with her as well.

One of the benefits of learning the violin is that it challenges the kids' minds.  My daughter can not just get it right the first time.  She has to work at it to play well.   This is developing her work ethic and perseverance.   My son has a very laid back approach to life.   Violin challenges him to focus and work hard as well.  As an educator, I love thinking about the various pathways they are forming in their young brains learning to play the violin.  Yes, I just said that and yes, I'm a nerd. 

My daughter loves to perform for a crowd.   Through violin she gets to play at recitals and organized events.   She loves it.   My son is the polar opposite and doesn't like getting up in front of a crowd.   We cheer if he will participate in the studio recitals.  It stretches him outside of his comfort zone, but in a safe way.   He has loosened up a bit about getting up in front of people. 

Most people ask me about practicing.   Do the kids like to practice?   I wonder, "Do you like to do something over and over again to master it?"   Um no, but the Suzuki method encourages lots of positive feedback and gently corrects the imperfections.   They kids can also self correct.   We practice everyday, well 6/7 days is truly accurate.  It seems one day a week our practice is sabotaged for whatever reason.   Meredith gives us lot of creative ways to practice, so that the kids can find joy in it.   Usually the hardest part of practicing is getting the practice session started.   Once we start we can roll through it and the time passes quickly.   There are days where practice is a struggle, particularly learning a new piece or breaking an incorrect habit the kids have picked up.   On those days, I break practice into tiny tasks that can be small victories for the kids.   We put those victories together to make up our lesson.  There are days when we put the violin aside and end our lesson prematurely.   Typically, the child will ask to finish their lesson when they are collected again.   We  persist in daily practice and enjoy the fruits of seeing progression. 



If your child thinks they might want to play the violin, interview some teachers, take a trial lesson, and see if it is right for your family.   It is a big commitment, but for our family we think it is worth it.

Digital Library Books

My daughter is a voracious reader.   The kid can go through library books faster than fast.    As the true nerd I am, I keep myself current on all the library services.  I knew that I could get ebooks, but I hadn't tried because I didn't have an ereader of any type.  For the nontech savy, I don't have a Kindle, Nook, IPad....and the like.  I am still waiting for a tablet that has everything I want at a price I want to pay.   I recently discovered that Houston Public Library lends their ebooks in a format from Adobe that can be read by an Adobe program called Digital Editions.   I downloaded Digital Editions onto my computer and we've been enjoying an endless supply of books without continuous trips to the library.  

My daughter is truly a child of the digital age because she has no qualms about reading on a computer screen versus reading a book.    We still make regular trips to the library, but it is nice to also have some ebooks stashed away in the computer.   The checkout time for HPL is 14 days.   You can "return" them early and check out more titles.   They allow five titles at a time.  I can use my library card and my daughter's card and get 10 titles at a time.   Patrons can also hold books.   I am currently 97 out of 200 for The Help.   I may read it this century.   The library will e-mail when it is ready for check out.  I have 48 hours to download it and 14 days to read it.  

Modern technology is a marvel.