Booking it

I have never been more excited about reading than I am lately. I've been able to allowed myself to sit down and read more than ever before, and a generous addition to my book collection over Christmas has sparked the excitement even more. Combine that with hearing about books on the radio, combing through a new library, and accepting my Mom's English-teachery suggestions (she's either going to love or hate that I made that description up), I had to create an Up Next list for books. I've never imagined myself doing a book review post, but I've read so many good ones lately that I hope to pass on the excitement! Here's a quick peek at what I've been reading lately. Please grab one of them and curl up on your couch with a blanket and some tea. I know you're cold- this will warm you up.

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Shepherd's Abiding - Jan Karon I picked this gem up at the library the morning before Keagan and I hit the road for a 20-hour drive to Iowa. Although I didn't get around to reading the book on the way up, I started it during our vacation and finished it shortly after we got home. I've read Jan Karon's Mitford series before, and love the characters she's so gently placed into her fictional small town. Somehow, I always passed over this book, but decided to give it a go in the spirit of Christmas. If you've ever read a Mitford book, this does not disappoint. Every book is like going back to visit your hometown and reconnecting with the stories of those around you in the most delightful way. Karon's fiction is always an easy, delightful read, but also helps to challenge and inspire a faith-filled life of ministering to others while also pursuing balance in our own lives.

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Light From Heaven - Jan Karon Light from Heaven was another Mitford book I had missed. I also picked this one up before our long trip, and read it in a hurry before it's due date at the library. I'm glad I had missed this one, because it was so exciting to enjoy further tales of Father Tim and Cynthia that I didn't know existed! What an indulging read. Karon shifts away from Mitford a bit, as Father Tim and Cynthia take on a new adventure at Meadowgate Farm and beyond. Many of the favorite Mitford characters are present, but Karon also introduces us to a whole new crew of people I desperately wish were real. Of course, she can't resist throwing in a surprise here and there, and the last page will have you in tears. If you haven't read #9 of the Mitford series, please do. If you haven't read any book of the Mitford series, get to your library ASAP.

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The House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer When I told my brother-in-law that I wanted a book with his stamp of approval for Christmas, he gifted me this. This book is not a normal Hannah book. It's a little more sci-fi than I usually enjoy, and when I opened it I went in with the expectation that I was going to put it away after a couple chapters. However, I was proven wrong. Farmer's story-telling was simple, yet intriguing and I read it in less than a week. The main character, Matt, journeys through different levels of self-awareness, societal acceptance, safety, friendship, trust, and moral dilemmas. This journey is intertwined with his growing awareness of the dysfunctional family he is surrounded by, and later, a society completely new to him. If you're looking for something a little different than your normal reading, check it out.  It's technically Young Adult Fiction, but I feel that it will appeal to any reader older than that. I may have ordered the sequel the night I finished reading it... Thanks Wyatt for the suggestion and helping me to enjoy something that I normally wouldn't give a chance!

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Love & War - Mary Matalin and James Carville This book is proof that my interests are expanding thanks to my very politically-minded husband. As we were listening to NPR one day (yes, we do that now), Mary Matalin was a guest on one of their shows. I immediately loved her. She was sarcastic, honest, and had the same kind of humor that I've always loved (the kind that runs rampant on the Hansen side of the family). She mentioned a book that she recently wrote with her husband, and I had to get it from the library right away. To be honest, the book was not as sarcastically funny as I expected, but I loved it just as well. Reading a memoir was a good change of style for me, although I didn't read it as fast as I generally read other books. Oh, man, was it good though. Mary's strong Republican background and beliefs are so strikingly paired with her husband James' strong Liberal beliefs. It's a good eye-opener to each side of the story and reading about their unlikely successful marriage was refreshing. This book is a great insight on the political life of Washington, D.C., and after living in the area, I found it even more compelling than I probably would have in the past. Even though it kept me up way too late, I couldn't put down the book until I finished the section on 9/11. Mary was working for VP Cheney in the White House at the time, and her recollection of that day and the days to follow made an event that my 10-year-old self didn't really understand so much more real. If you're looking for an honest, insightful, and entertaining read...go for this one. There's so much diversity- from politics, to marriage, to parenting, to later life in Louisiana. James and Mary tell a great story.

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Unbroken- Laura Hillenbrand So, I'm cheating a little bit because I read this one in June, but I still can't stop thinking about it and strongly suggest you get to it before it comes out as a movie this December. Do yourself a favor and read it. Now. I read it after seeing many good comments about it. After I read it, I told at least 8 people to read it and they all loved it. So don't wait. Get to it. I might just have to read it again.








Up Next:

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
The Eliot Family Trilogy - Elizabeth Goudge
In the Company of Others - Jan Karon
The Lord of Opium - Nancy Farmer

I just realized I have 6 more books I want to add to this, but to avoid crazy book lady status, I'm not going to. Please give me grace and pretend you didn't read this sentence.

The Turquoise Dresser

So let's talk about that turquoise dresser sitting in the corner. It's really nothing special. It's old, very simple, and the drawers don't quite operate properly. But once upon a time, it called a farmhouse in Storden, MN home- the house that my mother grew up in. It eventually made it's way to our house in Jackson and later to Mountain Lake. Somehow, it ended up in my hands. At first, I tucked it away in my closet as extra storage. It sat in my closet, full of papers and stray ankle and knee braces, notebooks, and all sorts of other weird stuff. Then, the dresser made it to my first apartment in Mankato. It safely held my clothes for a year, and then made it's first move out of state, when Keagan and I moved into a farmhouse in Paullina, IA. It's first military relocation brought it to Stafford, VA, where it brightened up yet another room of white walls. Then, to Pensacola, FL it went. It sat for awhile, looking kind of awkward.

We had talked about the dresser for awhile- getting it fixed up and repainted, but the nostalgic part of me wouldn't quite let go. Honestly, I liked the odd turquoise color (despite it's many chips and scratches). It was unique. Looking at the dresser and remembering where it had been was a strange sort of comfort- it's really the only physical thing that's been everywhere I have been. I liked that it used to belong to my mother. I liked how in so many white-walled rooms, it added an interesting bit of color. Anyways, I'll move on from the boring backstory now. Point is. It's a dresser. It's kind of special to me, and we decided to paint it.

Early this week, thanks to another delay in Keagan's training and my classes, we decided to finally tackle a couple of projects we've been putting off. We made the guest bathroom an acceptable place and started to work on our bedroom. We picked out a comforter, curtains, and a couple of big mirrors that were on sale (yay!!). And then, we picked up some paint. You see, as much as the turquoise colored dresser was unique...it really needed help.

We made a game plan and got to work. First, we stripped the paint. It was messy, and took a couple of coats, but worked pretty well.

Then, after sanding out the imperfections as well as we could, we used a spray primer to get it ready for painting. (Later, we realized that priming the entire dresser was totally not necessary. The drawers were all that really needed it).

Then, we got to the fun part. I went to work painting the outside of the dresser, while Keagan sat to do the math for the drawers. It was all fun and games, until we realized that our chocolate-brown was really not anything close to chocolate brown and prompted us to come up with some less-than-nice names for the paint color...

But life goes on, and we picked up a new, darker paint color that looked way more like perfectly-rich-and-delicious-chocolate and less like pond-scum-booger-slime-greenish-brown.

Keagan, the brains of this project, taped up the drawers and we painted the blocks. We found out that peeling the painting tape off while the paint is still wet is the way to go. Our lines were way more perfect than we expected them to be. After letting layer two of the paint dry, we added the new handles.

And then it was done! It was so fun to work on this project together. We were both itching to work on something, anything. Having a lot of free time is great, for awhile, but we are definitely at the point where we needed something to help us feel accomplished. We're loving the new look. And even though it's not a unique turquoise, I love that it's still the same dresser, still has the same history, and is now evidence of a project we worked on together.

Photobooking Virginia

One of the things that I'm slowly learning about military life is how to embrace each spot that we are placed,but also how to let go of it in a positive way when it is time to move on. I'm not great at documenting life. Scrapbooking was never really my thing, I don't print out pictures like I used to, my journaling is sporadic, and I tend to get overwhelmed trying to keep up with documentation. In the past, when I've tried to organize memories, they just end up as half-finished projects sitting in boxes.

One thing I decided I must document, though, is each home that we live in. I know that through the course of Keagan's military career (and maybe even after that), we will live in many homes. I want to remember each place for what it is- a place for memories, growth, and life. I decided that the easiest and most efficient way for me to do this would be to create a small photobook of each house. Throughout the time that we live in each place, my goal is to take pictures of every room, the scenery of the neighborhood, places we visit, and everyday moments. I try to capture pictures of what made each place feel like home to us. Then, after we move I force myself to sit down for however long it takes, and put them into book form.

 I'm kind of bad at it. I've realized that I am way too picky when it comes to designing photobooks. It's hard for me to narrow down pictures to only the ones with the most meaning. It's hard for me to arrange them in a layout and order exactly how I want them without spending an insane amount of time on the project. It drives me crazy, for almost a full day, but then it's done.

So far, I've been so happy with the two books I have made. I love flipping through them and remembering the beauty of each place. I'm excited that someday if we have kids, they'll be able to open the books and know about each place that we've been. I feel that where we've been and what we've done is something to celebrate and cherish, so I'm glad that I have these reminders of our life in each place.

For both of our books so far, I've used Shutterfly's 8 x 8 hardcover book. I decided that I'd always go with whatever site offered the best coupon or deal at the time, and so far it's been Shutterfly both times. Now that I'm used to their system, I might stick with them. Plus, I kind of like the uniformity of the books. Shutterfly's photobook system is pretty easy to work with, once you figure out it's kinks. I've gone the custom route (because I'm picky, remember) both times, but using the Autofill feature would work great too, I'm sure! I probably spent a full day on each book, but to me, it's worth it.

This time around, I altered things a little bit. Instead of just including pictures of our house/yard, like I did in Iowa, I included a cover page with "key phrases"- events that happened/memories while we were in Virginia. I also added a couple pages of pictures of "life" in the back. Since I've accepted the fact that I probably won't get around to documenting our lives in a bigger way, I figured a couple extra pages of pictures (even if they aren't related to our house or apartment) would be worth it.

 Check out a digital version of our Virginia book below!
If you're interested, here's a link to our Iowa book.

Click here to view this photo book larger

The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.

So far in Florida...

It's not as sunny as we expected. We've had a lot of rain and a couple of thunderstorms.

I'm amazed at how much sand gets trampled into our apartment.

We're laughing at how often we get teased for how we dress. Apparently 60° is not as warm as we think it is back home.

Keagan has not started Introductory Flight School yet (thanks to some miscommunication...of course). His start date is unknown.

Keagan has consequently been playing a lot of Halo. :)

We found a big Baptist church to attend.

We're slowly picking up Alabama accents thanks to the radio...

I'm spending a lot of time talking to customer service representatives. I think working as one last year makes it harder for me to sit through some of their antics..

We're laughing at the absolutely hideous military-issued glasses that Keagan is lucky enough to wear and realizing how expensive glasses really are (neither of us have had glasses before).

I'm trying to find a good recipe with churizo. Two have been disappointing so far.

We're fighting over the leftover guacamole.

I'm loving having extra time to read (for fun!) while waiting for my next class' book to come in the mail.

We're watching Parks & Rec, Modern Family, The Middle, and How I Met Your Mother. (I've never watched this much TV before!)

I'm trying to remind myself that having to paint everything back to white in a year or so is a very good reason not to paint the entire apartment...

I'm trying not to give up on the 1000 piece puzzle in the corner of our living room.

We're enjoying a year without a winter, although we might miss it eventually.

We're content with where we're at and making the most of the phase we're in.

Zulu Meets the Gulf of Mexico

It's pretty obvious that I've become a little bit of a crazy dog lady since Zulu came into our lives, but seriously, I've been amazed by how much joy a little creature can bring to a human's life. So, I'm sorry if you're getting bored of hearing about our dog or seeing the million pictures I take of her, but I simply can't help it. She's the most exciting part of our lives. ;)

On Tuesday, we decided to take advantage of a sunny (and fairly warm) day and took Zulu to the beach on base. We've enjoyed visiting this particular beach because it is quiet, relaxing, and because it reminds me a little bit of the beach in Anne of Green Gables...


This was Zulu's first time on the beach, and it was obvious that she loved it. When we let her off the leash, she ran as fast as she could, kicking up the sand, and chasing birds. She even got brave enough to take a dunk in the water- unfortunately, she was a little shocked by a cold wave swallowing her up. She got out of the water as quickly as she ran in.

It was nice to get outside and enjoy a little sun. We enjoyed sitting, relaxing, laughing at Zulu, and watching planes and helicopters fly around. Being on a military base is fun. Keagan is very anxious to start his next phase of training, but hey, getting to enjoy afternoons like this makes the wait a little less unpleasant.

Battleship Memorial Park

One thing (of many things) that is awesome about being married to someone in the military? Gaining new interests. Before Keagan and I started dating, I rarely set foot in museums, much less military museums. Military history was just eh to me. Sure, I thought it was alright, but I would have never gone out of my way to learn more. Now, thanks to Keagan's interests and career choice (and always living close to military installations), I've developed a whole new appreciation for all things military. Marriage is cool like that.

Last weekend, we got in the car, turned on NPR, and journeyed to Mobile, AL (we only live15 minutes from the Alabama border) and visited Battleship Memorial Park. The park is free to visit for active duty military and offers a discounted rate for any guests of an active duty military member. The biggest attraction of the park is probably the USS Alabama, but the park also offers a hanger filled with military planes, an old submarine to tour, and military aircraft and tanks scattered throughout the outdoor portion of the park.

Walking into the USS Alabama was like taking a step back in time to the WWII era. We were able to tour both the outside and inside of the ship. The rooms were set up with props (and original memorabilia); it was almost like we were on the ship as it was in the 40s.

 We were able to see sleeping quarters (some just in the middle of the hallway), cafeterias, bakeries, doctor offices, dentist chairs, chapels, and post offices. It's amazing how ships can be their own floating villages. I decided that as much as I appreciate that time period and find it fascinating, living on a ship would get old fast. I don't think one could survive as a claustrophobic sailor.

 As I mentioned, we were also able to tour an old submarine. If I thought it'd be hard to be claustrophobic on a ship, a submarine would be way worse. I couldn't believe how tight everything was packed. Yet, it was still very interesting to see what life on a submarine would be like.

 The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering through the park as Keagan quizzed me on the names of tanks and aircraft (I failed...). Nevertheless, it was interesting to hear stories about the different models and when they were used. My husband's knowledge of the military always surprises me. Someday I'll remember which tank is which, Keagan. Someday.

Get Engaged When You're 23...Or Don't.

If you have any Facebook friends around 20-25 years old, you've no doubt seen this post 23 Things to Do Instead of Getting Engaged When You're 23 being passed around. And then, you saw a few counter-posts explaining why getting married at a young age is awesome. And then...you got sick of seeing it all.

Honestly, I'm tired of hearing how getting married young is a mistake and on the other side, how waiting to get married and settle down is stupid. Are we really that shallow that we have to ridicule others for their relationship status? Each and every relationship (and person) is very different, marriage is a huge decision, and we don't need to throw labels on each other based on that. For some, getting married young is the answer. For others, there's nothing wrong with waiting. The right thing to do is not universal.

When we got married, I was 21 and Keagan was 22. We heard our fair share of negative and positive comments, which was totally weird. I never expected my peers to flat out tell me I was "stupid" and "wasting my life." Honestly, at times I felt very self-conscious about getting married young. I had to remind myself to focus on the encouragement from friends and family and the reasons why we decided to marry when we did.

In regards to some of the comments in the article, our marriage was not a cop-out. It was a decision that we took very seriously. I met the guy that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, we sat down and talked about the future, and came up with a plan that benefited our future together, not our lives separately. That's what we wanted. We both knew that Keagan would soon move across the country for the Marines and I was not interested in spending years living across the country from each other until we reached the "Proper Age to Marry." Would we have been fine waiting to get married? Yes, probably. Am I glad we got married when we did? Absolutely! I would have missed out on an important part of my husband's life and those years apart are something I would have hated to waste. And Vanessa, I'm not hiding behind a significant other instead of dealing with life's highs and lows on my own. If I hadn't gotten married when I did, you know what I'd be doing? I'd be finishing up my second year of grad school for a career that I wasn't passionate about. I'd be living comfortably in my home state, not taking any risks. Because we got married, I had to give up a "plan" that I had originally created to keep me comfortable. Because we got married, we came up with a new plan and now I've lived in 4 states in the past two years. I've learned that things I once valued and based my worth off of were unbalanced. I'm still learning who I am and what my dreams are, and probably will continue doing that for the rest of my life. And you know what? That's okay. I've got someone who is committed to that journey with me for the rest of our lives. That's one of the best things I could ever imagine. It's what I needed and what worked for us.

That was our situation. That might not be everyone's situation. And that's okay. Get married before 23. Or don't. Make that decision and don't think that your decision is the only one.

Shoes overflow the hallway rug that doesn't really fit in a very convenient spot.

Dog food is pebbled across the floor and miscellany peeks out of a not-so-discreet tote.

Like the blanket tossed on the floor and the mess of cords in the corner, not everything is perfectly pretty or put away.

But it is our home. 

And we're living in it.

To me, that's beautiful enough. 

As I think about home tonight, I also think about warmth. I think about safety, and comfort, and clean dishes drying on the dish-rack. I think of recently folded laundry sitting on a dresser, hamburger thawing in the fridge for tomorrow night's supper, and a food supply that is never lacking. I think about the smell of Christmas-y candles burning, creating cozy contentment and relaxation. I think of the rare Florida chill that requires a knitted blanket draped over my knees. 

Tonight, the temperatures are dropping to dangerous levels in much of our country. Tonight, we'll go to bed under warm sheets with the luxury of a furnace running. Tonight, our needs (and wants) are taken care of. 

I am thankful.

Okay, Okay.

 So, what is it about sitting down and writing a blog entry after a blogging break that makes it so hard? So much has happened that it seems silly to pass by without mentioning it, but then again, so much has happened that it's pretty near impossible to catch up. But hey, I've gotta start somewhere, so I'm going to sit down, get something out on the blog and we'll go from there.

We have now lived in Florida for a month. A month. That seems crazy. We did spend 11 days of our time on the road and back home for Christmas, so I guess that's how it went so fast. But wow, a month. And slowly...it's beginning to feel like home.

We spent the first couple of weeks here getting organized, settled in, planning a trip "home" and exploring the area. We have been working a little harder on making this apartment feel like home, since we might actually be here longer than a year. Keagan starts Introductory Flight School on the 15th, so up until now he's just been reporting to base for formations, PT, miscellaneous duty, and medical appointments.

We finally got our internet set up! Between our new internet company and some issues with our apartment, I played middleman until it was finally worked out. Not having internet at home was okay, sometimes, but when you're an online-student who just moved and has a lot of loose ends to tie up...it means a lot of trips to the library (or a fast food parking lots). Because I didn't want to spend forever and a day on my internet-trips I simply did my classes, paid the bills, did some Pensacola research, and checked to make sure nothing Earth-shattering happened on Facebook without my knowledge.




We went home for Christmas! It was so nice that Keagan's training schedule worked the way that it did, so that we could use his leave and see both of our families for Christmas. We packed up our car and left at 5 PM the Monday before Christmas, and arrived in Iowa on Tuesday. The nearly 20 hour drive through the night was not the most fun we've ever had, but it is the first time we've gotten to drive across the country in the same car. We were so grateful for the time with family and friends. It went so fast, but it was a refreshing reminder of how blessed and thankful we really are for our lives on both ends of the 20 hour drive. (Even if one end is really cold, makes your skin dry, your hair full of static, and gives you an instant cold).

We got home, unpacked, got back on "schedule", had dinner with some friends, and then spent a couple of days doing a lot of laying around. Unfortunately, we've both has a bit of a stomach bug the last couple of days.

And now, it's a new year. I almost sat down on the first and wrote a crazy-reflective post, but I figure there's enough of those out there already, so I'll keep it short. As we look back on the last year, it's been busy, crazy, exciting, challenging, and wonderful. We've lived in three states, Keagan finally got to start his long-term goal of becoming a Marine Aviator, I have been exploring new goals, we've spent valuable time with family, and made wonderful new friends. God has protected us, led us, and taught us so much through the experiences and that's why for 2014, I'm keeping my goals simple. Instead of focusing on me and what I want to accomplish, my goal is to leave my heart open to whatever he wants to teach me and use me for. This year might be a little less "exciting" and "hectic" than the last, and I'm ready for the change of seasons.

-Wishing you all a fresh and wonderful start to 2014!

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