Heaven Is...

A pregnancy wedge. Ahhh! Who would have thought that this little pillow, shaped like a slab of cheese, would be my salvation? Life is good, nights are even better. I take it everywhere: the car, the front room, and after last week, this little bad boy is going to church with me, too. (This isn't the one I have. Mine looks more like a triangle.)

Now all I need to make my life perfect would be for the dream I had last night to come true: my insurance company would call me and tell me that there has been a mistake and for some reason, my account has a surplus, so they would like to pay for laser eye surgery before August of 2009. Imagine, being able to see when you wake up! Unfortunatly, I think asking for more than the pregnancy wedge from the gods would be pushing my luck. Oh well. Glasses I can handle. Heavy baby-belly I cannot. I am happy.

Things I have Learned about Babies and Bellies

Most women don't really like to take pictures of themselves while they are pregnant. I, on the other hand, am glad to have a valid reason for gaining weight and finally having a socially acceptable reason for showing off my fat belly. That being said, some of these are still really bad pictures. Not in my finest hour. And I have come to realize that I am getting pregnant everywhere, not just the belly. But, for posterity, here they are.


I like to call this one: "Bad Hair at 16 Weeks". Notice the background--all of my belly pics are taken in the baby's room.

This one is titled "I Am Not Pushing it Out! Take the Stupid Picture! at 18 Weeks."

This one is called, "I Look Really Bad in Profile, So I am Striking a Maternity Model Pose at 20 weeks."

And this one doesn't have me in it. It's just a picture of the baby's room, completely finished sans crib. Believe it or not, I taped off all the lines myself, and they are mostly straight. My eyes started going a little wonkey near the end, so Joe did the last five or so. I chose browns because we don't know what we are having, and I didn't want a "baby" baby room, for resale reasons. Plus, how cute did it turn out? Poor Joe had to put in the chair railing and the quarter round (at the ceiling). Something I will never ever put him through again. He really loves me to do all of it with minimal swearing. And he only threw the saw across the room once. Such a sweet guy!

In addition to the pictures, I thought I would make a list of some of the most interesting things I have learned about being pregnant.

1. I can't walk anywhere without a hand. It's amazing that all of a sudden, my chances of being hit, mugged, or beat up by some random person have dramatically increased. At least, that's the only thing I can figure out, because I can't go anywhere now without Joe's hand securly in mine.
2. I fully realize how much people love my baby. No one cared when I had to walk on ice last year, now it's the utmost concern of Joe, Joe's dad, and others. No one said anything when I walked up and down my three flights several times a day for the last three years, but now, three flights!? It's too much for a pregnant woman! I have been making dinner for us for three years, and seeing how Joe's pants were a little tight for him this last week, he hasn't been starving. But now, Joe's mother sends home dinner once in a while because she figured I might not feel like cooking. Very sweet.
3. Now, when someone asks me how I am, they fully expect a detailed list of my many ailments. Usually when someone asks you how you are feeling, they don't really care. Not any more. The best part is, when I say that I am fine, no complaints, they look at me like I am crazy. I feel like I am cheating them of a good conversation because I have had a really easy pregnancy.
4. Babies don't ever sleep at night, in-utero or out. At least mine doesn't. It never fails that around 8:30 or 9:00 p.m, I will start getting kicked, and it will go on until about 1:00 in the morning. It doesn't hurt or anything, but the problem is, I am so fascinated by what I am feeling, I don't get a lot of sleep.
5. I am no longer lazy. I am pregnant. It's interesting that before I was pregnant, a messy house meant I wasn't a good housewife, a fact that I was willing to fess up to, but now? No, I'm not bad. I'm just pregnant. You don't want to go to the gym? Of course not...You're pregnant. It's okay if you don't grade those papers. You need a rest. You're pregnant. It is so wonderful to not feel guilt all the time. I don't think this little baby understands the joy it has brought into my life already.
6. Before, if I wanted a donut, it was because I had no will-power. Now? Those donuts must have something in them my body is craving, otherwise, I wouldn't want them. Therefore, because my body needs whatever those donuts have, I should eat them.
7. The baby has taken my brain. This one I had heard about, and I am sorry to say, I really didn't believe it. I just thought people had a lot on their mind with a new baby coming, and that's why they were stupid. I here and now sincerely apologize for ever thinking that. I thought I was going nuts until I watched The Biggest Loser finale, where Allison Sweeny, the host, who was eight months pregnat, kept calling everyone by the wrong names and mispronouncing a lot of words on the teleprompter. It was then I went, it isn't just me! It really is the baby! I'm not crazy! Unfortunately because my students this year will never know me not pregnant, they will never realize this. They will just move on next year thinking, my English teacher was nutty.
8. Once you hit about 20 weeks or so, your belly grows 1 cm a week. In our non-metric nation, that sounds small. Until you realize, like I did this past week, that a centemeter is exactly length of eight dimes stacked on top of each other. I'm serious. Stack eight dimes together, and that's how much my belly grows. A week. And I have 17 weeks left! That means my belly is going to grow 136 more dimes (if I've done the math right)!
9. I love my old garments. I know that I shouldn't really be lamenting my underwear, but I had the kind that were kind of stretchy, which meant they stayed in place when I pulled up my jeans and such. Even though I am a fan of materinity garments (pull it WAY up over my belly) I do miss the stretchy, non-moving underwear of what, I am now referring to as my skinny days (imagine--my size 10 pants were my SKINNY days!)
10. Every pregnant woman is different when it comes to pillows. I am a stomach sleeper, which is why I haven't had a lot of rest lately. I have had much advice on the pillow situation, and I have tried everything. I simply cannot figure out what will make me comfortable. I had Joe tuck me in, surrounded with pillows so if I roll on my back, I will still be propped up, but I didn't like that because I felt like I was sleeping by myself. My poor husband was on the edge of the bed. Then, I tried a pillow between my legs, but because I turn a lot in my sleep, because my body wants to lay on my stomach, the pillow never stays there, so it's pointless. The only thing I have found that works is to put the body pillow on one side, and Joe on the other. I either cuddle the pillow, or a cuddle Joe. If I cuddle the pillow, then Joe scoots really close to my back. That way, if I roll over, then he props me up. If I cuddle Joe, then when I roll over, my pillow props me up. It's the only way I can figure to stay on my side, which is really inconvenient to Joe, I realize. But he has informed that he doesn't mind, because I keep him warm. And he doesn't like feeling like he's sleeping alone, either.

So, those are the 10 things I have learned over the last 23 weeks. I am sure I will learn more in the last 17, and keep everyone posted on any new break-throughs.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So I haven't blogged for a while, therefore, you are all going to be subjected to what I like to call Blogorhhea, in other words, I have had much building up, and it's all coming out now. I just realized how disturbing that was....sorry.

First on the list was our new tradition, the annual viewing of The Christmas Carol at Hale Center Theater in West Valley. Scary place, good theater. Joe's parents used to take his sisters and him to the play every year when tickets were relatively cheap, and now Joe feels very strongly about continuing the traditon. As an avid theater-goer myself, I am on board. My first Christmas Carol was last year, and one of my dear, dear, friends, Adrien (affectionatly known as "adge-rawn". It's a college thing) was Fred's wife, and the singing homeless woman. Last year my favorite part of the Christmas Carol was seeing Adrien, and hearing her sing again. She has the beautiful voice--it's a high, gorgeous soprano, with a vibrato like chocolate. I hadn't heard Adrien sing since she graduated SUU and I came back home to finish up at UVSC. I was determined that she was going to sing at my wedding, but she was on her mission. Oh well. Back to the point. The point was that this year, Adrien wasn't in the play, and I missed her a lot. The other woman who sang "Silent Night" was an alto, and it didn't feel quite right without my wonderful Adrien. But it was still good. The Christmas Carol is always good. Joe and I have decided that we are going to keep up the tradition of taking our kids to the play, even if it means saving up for a year for the tickets, once our kids are old enough to sit that long.

The next weekend, Joe and I went to Temple Square with Joe's good friend Steve, and his wife Emily. They got married just two months after we did, so we do stuff with them once in a while.

Our customary Joe-Take-the-Picture picture

Here is the Nativity on the Reflection Pond

The temple is so beautiful!

I have other pictures, but right now my computer is being retarded and won't let me pull 'em off the camera. Dumb technology.

Our actual Christmas day was so fun. Joe got a stool for work, clothes, and lots of videos and video games. I got a print that I've been wanting for some time now, the Lehi Roller Mills picture by Eric Dowdle:
I also got the BBC Romance collection (YAY!) complete with Pride and Prejudice (ahhhh....Collin Firth), Jane Eyre (who doesn't love a romance about a teacher and a crazy lady in the attic?), The Scarlett Pimpernell (those crazy French. They're always chopping off someone's head), Tom Jones (I hear this one is dirty. I don't know if I'll be watching it...), Emma (I hear Clueless is loosely based on this one. Very loosely), and a few others I can't remember right now. I was a very happy camper, even though I have only seen Pride and Prejudice. I have new sick movies. YAY!

And a recipe book holder. Just what I wanted--no, not to cook, but to hold up my books at school. Silly, I know, but I have been dying to have something hold up my books while I am busy typing the many quotes I use when creating assignments. So, fun. We love Christmas! And, I am even more excited to report that, since this is the last Christmas without baby, that it's the last Christmas to be spoiled, spoiled, spoiled, by a husband who shows his love in many ways, but particularly in gestures.

Perhaps my favorite gift of the season would have to be baby-related. Joe and I have been saving for a couple of months to buy the glider I have wanted for the baby's room, and the day after Christmas, thanks to a few gift cards from family, we finally had enough to go order it and pay for it in full! You should have seen the lady's face at Vintage Oak when I informed her that we wouldn't be needing a payment plan...we'd been saving. And the look got even better when I handed her a envelope full of cash to pay for the chair. I must say, I am now becomming more Bingham than Jones. Paying for something with cash?! Unheard of, in the Jones clan. Those darn Binghams!

My other favorite gift was my 22 week ultrasound! On December 23rd, we were able to go get a good look at Baby, now no longer a gummy bear, and see everything safe, sound, and oh-so-cute! So what are we having? See if you can tell. If you tilt your head to the right, you can see the baby's face. His/her hand is on his/her cheek with the thumb sticking up. Can't tell what the baby is? That's okay. Neither can I. And the doctor didn't look, either.
And we're not going to find out. I know that people are really frustrated. I have had more than one person tell me that I can't have a shower because "what will I buy?" Guess what? Babies need more than clothes, even though I know that's what people like to buy. So, if you are so inclined, and this is mostly for those few family members that are having fits over what to buy, Joe and I are registered at Babies R Us and Target. (Please note: I am not asking for presents. I have just had a lot of people ask me how they are supposed to know what to buy if they don't know what I'm having. How did people eve have babies before all of this technology?) If the colors look kind of boyish, it's because I let Joe pick them out, since I seriously doubt a baby girl would be really upset if we got a blue diaper bag. It's not because I know something you don't. (Side note: I was so close to going back on my resolve--I want to know, too! But it was my idea, I talked Joe into it, and he was going to hold me to it. They asked if we were going to find out the sex while I was in the bathroom, so I really didn't have a say. Sigh)

So, what are we doing now that Christmas is over? Well, I have been working for hours on lesson plans for when the baby comes, and today I went to the high school to get late work graded and entered since the term end the week we get back to school. Joe goes to work everyday, but doesn't really do anything. Even with all this snow, people are reluctant to fix their cars. We cleaned our house, an event that doesn't happen too often, and it has (happily) stayed clean over the past few days. That's about it. Merry Christmas to everyone, and we hope that you have all had a wonderful Christmas, and that everyone will be safe on the roads tonight. But if by chance you do have fender bender, take your car to AutoMenders on 45th south. Behind Lowes. Happy New Year!

Jason Mraz, I'm Yours

So Joe was a huge sport and accompanied me to the most wonderful concert I have ever been to: the one and only Jason Mraz. I am proud to say that I have been a big fan of his since his first album debuted, which I constantly must remind all of those who think they are fans NOW simply because of the new hit, "I'm Yours." There are a lot of you posers out there. For example, I have had a Jason Mraz poster hanging in my classroom for the last five years (his first album was released six-ish years ago), and every year my students ask who he is. This is the first year they have said, "Oh, Jason Mraz! I love that song!" And I always ask, "Which song? "The Remedy"? "You and I"? "Did You Get My Message"? "Forecast"? "Please Don't Tell Her"? Because those are my favorites." Without fail, I am always met with a blank stare. "He has more than one song?" Posers. All of them.

So, when I was on Ticket Master last July looking for So You Think You Can Dance tickets and saw that my wonderful Jason was coming in concert, I thought, "Screw you, Chelsie Hightower! I've got a date!" And I bought myself my own birthday present. And wonderful Joe, who doesn't really like Mr. A-Z, agreed to go and be my camera man so I could pay attention. He loves me.

So, on October 28, we headed to the E Center and enjoyed the best concert I have ever been to. There was dancing, there was singing (of course) there were pictures, and a about a 25 minute encore. It was so worth it being tired; I had arranged to take the next day off work so I could sleep.

This is Joe and me before the show. For some reason, Joe can't take a picture without closing his eyes. I don't get it, because he's the one pushing the button. He knows when it's gonna flash.

If you watch America's Next Top Model, you'll get this nex joke. We decided we wanted to practice "smiling with our eyes," as Miss Tyra Banks would say. She's not the brightest bulb in the box.

This is us with "dead" un-smiling eyes.

This is us "smiling with our eyes." It's a process that involves squinting and dipping your chin. Those models. What will they think of next? Rocket scientists! Every one of 'em!

Awesome shots from the main event:


1) These were the horn guys. They were freaking amazing! They would go out in the audience and pop up once in a while and play like...wow. It was cool.
2)This is a shot of the stage. You can see those screens behind Jason (yes, we're on first-name basis). Those were really cool. Before the show started, they had a number you could text messages to and they appeared on the screens. You could also take pictures with your phone and send them, and they would also appear on the screen. You can even look up Salt Lake City concert pics on Jason Mraz's website.
3)A close up of Jason on the screen. Isn't my husband a wonderful photographer?
4)The trombone guy. I had no idea trombones were so bitchin'. 5) Jason. He had this cute/funny little dance where he would wiggle his butt and nothing else. It was just fun!

The clip below was a pain in the freaking rear, but I had to figure it out because this is when Jason was singing really fast (which is his specialty) during "The Remedy." Joe pans over in the middle of it because apparently I was freaking out, but you can't see anything.

It really was an awesome concert, and I am not saying that because I am biased. Even Joe, who's not a big fan, said it was really good. I had a couple students come to school screaming at me about how awesome it was, and we were jumping and squealing like he had actually winked at us or something. I would pay for that again.

I feel sad for all of you who missed out on the concert. I am even more sad for those of you who don't care. It's like not caring about starving children in Africa, or that our ozone is going to crap. You're losing so much, without even being aware of it. I also feel sad for those of you who are new fans. How much you missed. Posers.

Effects of Baby

Disclaimer: Throughout this and subsequent blogs, I will be referring the Baby as 1) Baby or
2) He/him. This is no way "announcing" anything. As stated before, we will not be knowing the gender of Baby. I am choosing to use "him" as the preferred pronoun because writing s/he and him/her very tedious. Also, I refuse to call baby "it," and, being the level 1 Grammarian I like to believe I am, I cannot bring myself to use the plural pronoun "them," even though it is becoming more and more accepted. Therefore, despite the un-political-correctness of it all, I am choosing to use the biblical pronoun "he" to refer to both genders. In short, I choose God over politics.


It is very exciting to hit week 12, almost 13! Joe and I heaved a collective sigh of relief that Baby has made it this far, and it looks like he is here to stay! I have been very lucky, since I have almost no sickness or anything since Baby's arrival on the pee-stick, but Baby has been a little naughty so far and has had a stern talking-to.

Baby gave me zits. It's not that I have never had them before, but they were few and far-between, only occurring once in a while in my hair line when I used hairspray--thank you, Grandma Jones! (Those injuns have the best hair and skin.) However, since Baby's arrival, I have had numerous breakouts that not even Proactive is being very good at combating. I do realize that Baby is only a Baby and doesn't know any better, but honestly! So we had a little talking to, and I told him, very Super Nanny-like, that zits were not acceptable, and Mommy does not appreciate it, and if he does it again, he will be sent to time-out (which I am designating as around the bowel area. I don't know if that is possible, but it's really the worst place I could think of.) I think we have an understanding.

Also, I was wondering if babies can kick you in the head? Because Baby is giving me headaches! If this continues, it's time-out for him!

One thing that I am very grateful to Baby for is my figure. I know this is the part most women don't like. But when you have grown up battling weight, crying every time you come home from Weight Watchers, and not allowing yourself to eat even a little tiny cookie, you become grateful for nine months of not dieting. And, it's okay to gain a few pounds--not only is it okay, but you know why you are gaining it! Don't get me wrong, I'm not going crazy with food or anything. In fact, I have stuck pretty closely to my Weight Watchers lifestyle, just allowing a few extra points, and taking the workout down a couple of notches. And I am gaining weight. And for the first time in my life, I don't feel guilty about it. Thank you, Baby, for making me feel better about my belly, even though I am used to looking top-heavy (thanks, Mom), and now I look a little like a Star-Bellied Sneetch. (I am aware that no one else notices this shift. But I do. And Joe does. And that's all that counts.)

Besides the physical, Baby has affected me in many ways. I have never been one much for worrying. No matter what happens, things that have to get done have a way of getting done. This has always been my theory. But last week, I looked at the stack of essays, projects, poems, journals, and book reports that needed to be graded, and I thought about how I had to go to scouts, we were leaving for the weekend, I needed to put together a Christmas Program, and possibly come home from my weekend early so I could go to Relief Society, well, I started to bawl. I usually don't cry for things like this. I typically only cry when I am really really sad; I simply deal with stress. But last week I broke down on the way home from Blimpie and bawled. I think I scared Joe a little bit because he was trying to solve all my problems, which made me cry harder because I didn't want solutions. I can figure it out for myself! And then I started crying because I was crying and I'm not a cryer. I think I can chalk this break-down to Baby. And today, one of my sweet students came in and asked if I needed help on Thursday with stuff because "I looked a little frazzled" in class today. Which is weird because I didn't feel frazzled. I think I can thank Baby for that one, too.

But, I am so thankful that I have to deal with zits, headaches, Star-Bellied Sneetch bellies, and breakdowns. I paid a lot of money to feel this way, and I am so grateful I did. All in all, I am glad that Baby is here, and if he continues to behave himself, I think we will get on very well. I never thought I would be so happy feeling so crummy. Yay, Baby!

I don't feel like I am showing any that people will notice besides myself, so I haven't taken any pictures of Baby yet, but I will once I feel like I look pregnant rather than fat.

Ooooh! Fun!

I always like anything that plays with new names.

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Dave Blazer

2. YOUR GANGSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe):
Rocky Stilletto
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Cat
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Jane Provo

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name): Bin Sa

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Maroon Juice
7. NASCAR NAME (the names of your grandfathers): Winton Ray Tracy
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Ewell Evanston
9. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower): Autumn Daisy
10. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing right now): Pineapple Jeans
11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): (Marshmallow) Maties Willow

So I think my favorites are Dave Blazer, Rocky Stilleto, and Autumn Daisy. Maybe I should name my first child Rocky Stilleto? Hmmmmm.....

And the verdict is...

So, I found this list of books on a friend's blog (thanks, Becky!) and since I am an English teacher, and a self-proclaimed reading nerd, I thought it would be fun to see how many books I really haven't read. SO here's my list, and I hope you enjoy it.

"The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you love.
4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated.
5) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and force books upon them! :)"

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

So, 27 books read, 10 books loved, 23 books I intend to read, and 10 books I don't intend to read, or hated when I did read them. Very interesting. I did better than I thought I would, but maybe not as well as a respectable English Major should do. Then again, there aren't a whole lot of American Lit books here, of which I am a huge fan...