Book Commentary - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Let me first say that, while it may seem odd to include book commentaries in a blog meant to chronicle my learning experiences as a woman with many hats, for me, it makes sense. I think it is important to include life-long learning in the balance of what it means to be a wife, a mother, and an individual, and for me that means reading...a lot. It has always been one of my hobbies, and in college it became my love and my temporary vocation. While I ultimately decided to pursue a life outside of the liberal arts (kind of), I still value its importance more than anything else in education.

Instead of doing book reviews, which, especially for this book, would be kind of pointless, I thought I'd just reflect on how the book impacted me, and in this way, maybe I can encourage others to read it as well. With that being said, here is my first book commentary...

It may be surprising that this is the first book I'm discussing on this blog. I realize most people read this in high school, but somehow, through all the English classes I took in K-12 and college, I never read it until now. Without really even knowing what it was about, I thought it might be good for me to read this staple of American literature, and thank goodness for that. It may be short and slightly odd, but it's a gem! I also feel like this was a great time for me to read it based on what's going on in my life right now. Here are some of the ideas I took away from Fahrenheit 451:

The Liberal Arts are Important!

"'School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about after work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?" (p.53)

 

"'Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs or the names of state capitals or how much corn Iowa grew last year. Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of 'facts' they feel stuffed, but absolutely 'brilliant' with information. Then they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving."' (p. 58)

I know I mentioned this earlier as a firm belief of mine, but this book solidified that for me. In fact, it made me want to abandon higher education and go work for the National Endowment for the Arts. Haha! For those of you who have read this book, you know that this book highlights the implications of a society that places technology and pleasure above liberal arts. What's scary to me is that I see our current society moving in that direction now. People are forgetting the importance of the more abstract subjects in the pursuit of international competition, and on top of that, are trying to put things like reading into an analytical box through the rigid format of standardized testing.

Know that You're Alive

 

"'I don't talk things, sir,' said Faber. 'I talk the meaning of things. I sit here and know I'm alive.'" (p. 71)

 

"'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories, Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that,' he said, 'shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass."' (pp. 150-151)

 

I think its easy to drift through life, comfortable and complacent. It sounds pleasant, but is that truly living? For me, truly living means pursuing things that challenge me, rebelling against certain societal expectations, and enjoying even the small things that surround me. I think the second quote is a good one to keep in mind. Don't be a sloth.

 

 



The Mindless Pursuit of Pleasure Can Negatively Impact All Areas of Our Lives

 

"'I've had two children by Caesarean section. No use going through all that agony for a baby. The world must reproduce, you know, the race must go on. Besides, they sometimes look just like you, and that's nice. Two Caesareans turned the trick, yes, sir. Oh, my doctor said, Caesareans aren't necessary; you've got the hips for it, everything's normal, but I insisted."' (p. 92)

 

 

This was also eerily similar to a trend we see happening today. Despite the fact that C-sections are major surgery, more and more women are choosing to have them when they don't need to, rather than "suffer" through any sort of vaginal birth. As a proponent of natural birth, I'm sure you're all aware that I'm not a fan of this mindset...judge me if you want...but I think it's clear here that this is a strong example of the type of selfish and mindless behavior that can result from pursuing pleasure and comfort over all else. Please note: I'm not saying that anyone who has had a C-section is a horrible person. They are a necessary form of birth for many reasons and I don't judge, at all, anyone who has had to have one.

 

Regardless of this however, I'm not highlighting this quote to debate C-sections, but rather found it to be a great example of where the pursuit of mindless, selfish pleasure can have a negative impact on your life and/or the lives of others. You see this throughout the book in the way people treat others and in the disappearance of things like love.

 

 

After reading Fahrenheit 451, I feel a renewed sense of watchfulness regarding my attitude and behavior. If you haven't already done so, read this book and experience a reawakening of what it means to truly live. 

Saving More Money wtih Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

Like I mentioned at the end of my last post, Justin and I have been looking into other ways to save money by making our own stuff, or by simply doing things the old-fashioned way (hello cloth diapers!). A few days ago we ran out of our Clorox Green Works Cleaning Wipes, and let me tell you, we use those things for everything! Instead of going to the store and getting another container for $3, which will generally last us 2-4 weeks, I decided to make some homemade all-purpose cleaner.

It's really easy to make...it's just equal parts water and white vinegar. And since you can buy giant bottles of discount vinegar I spent less than $1 on 4 cups worth of cleaner and have plenty left over for when I run out. Now, instead of using Clorox Wipes, I just grab an old wash rag, spray some vinegar solution on it, and go to town. It works really well to break down grease and it's also a disinfectant. The only downside is that it smells like vinegar when you're done (not cool), but it goes away after awhile. If it weren't so dad-gum hot outside I'd open a window, but I don't want to waste my precious AC!

So far I've had a good experience with it. I've been able to get some tough grease off of our stove that I'm sure has been there since before we moved in and it made cleaning around the bathroom faucets super easy. It also makes me want to clean more! There's a sense of gratification that comes with successfully cleaning the kitchen counters with something I made myself. If only this translated to some of our other chores...

Speaking of which, here's an update on our recently-implemented chore chart: Just as I predicted, Justin was a little hesitant to use it at first, but he's come around (yay!). We haven't worked out a perfect system yet, but the longer we use it, the more on top of things we become. I'm sure Levi's arrival will throw us off for a while, but I'm glad we already have a (somewhat) working system in place to fall back on when we're ready to start operating with routines again.

Saving Money with Homemade Liquid Handsoap

Part of becoming a new mom, at least in my situation, is learning how to be even more frugal than we have been throughout our marriage. I would say that Justin and I have been operating at a nearly professional level of money saving for our entire marriage, sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes because, quite frankly, why wouldn't you? We don't have cable, we rarely go out to eat, we keep our thermostat at warmer or cooler than average temperatures depending on the time of year, and I plan our weekly menu with coupons and cheaper food items in mind.

With all of this already in practice, it would seem that we were on the right track to be able to afford this baby, but if there's one thing you learn during pregnancy, it's that babies are EXPENSIVE! We've already been able to cut some of the heavier costs by using cloth diapers and wipes instead of disposables items, as well as by planning to breastfeed (assuming all goes well in that department), but I've been feeling like there's more that we can do. Also, I think going all cloth in the diaper department has put me on an all-natural kick.

That being said, we were running low on liquid hand soap in the bathroom late last week, so I suggested to Justin that we make our own instead of continuing to buy refills or new pumps. Being the awesome and like-minded guy that he is, he got just as excited as I was and told me to go for it. I'm so glad we did! After doing some research, I got my recipe from this blog. I won't repeat the recipe here, so feel free to go there if you are interested.

For our soap, I used Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap in Almond. It's a fair trade, organic product made with essential and vegetable-based oils, so you know its good for you, the environment, and social justice (win win win!). I spent about $8.50 total on the soap at the Vitamin Shoppe here in town (they're cheaper at the store than on the website above), and then about $.84 on a gallon of distilled water from Walmart. So, for about $9 I made A BUNCH of soap. After I finished with everything I filled 2 liquid hand soap dispensers and two half-gallon glass jugs (I'm guessing...they may be bigger) that I already had around the house. I'm guessing I won't have to make more soap for probably a year, but we'll see.

As far as the soap itself, it seemed pretty snotty and kind of gross when I was stirring it and later when I poured it into the containers, but when you get it out of the dispenser it doesn't feel any different from store-bought soap. It also works really well and rinses easily, leaving your hands feeling clean without feeling dried out. Justin especially loves it and refuses to help me finish off the rest of the store-bought soap we have in the kitchen and bathroom. Haha!

Overall, it feels good to be able to save money in this way and, while hand soap is not a major expense, anything helps, especially when there's a kiddo in the mix. This has also convinced Justin and me to try other homemade items to help save money in other ways. So far, on the non-baby front, this is all we've pursued, but we will also be making our own all-purpose cleaner soon (maybe tomorrow?) to replace our Clorox Wipes, and are researching homemade laundry detergent, though we're a little hesitant to do that (what if we do it wrong and ruin our clothes?). Finally, we'd also eventually like to go from paper towels to cloth napkins (and I can embroider them to make them more fun!).

Upping Productivity and Organization at Home

In an attempt to get more organized before Levi gets here and throws us into hectic chaos, I decided to create a Chore Chart to keep us on track. Call it nesting if you will…haha! I don’t know how on board Justin is with the idea, but he did say that it would be good for us to have a set routine and to get used to it so that we can set a good example for our kids. I know he hates prescribed to do lists though, so we’ll see. I assigned different chores to different days and spread things out throughout the week so it wouldn’t get overwhelming. I know, I know. This sounds so simple and obvious, but we, unfortunately have not been using this strategy up to this point. We’ve been going based on need and not efficiency. No more! I’m also convinced that if we keep up with it, everything will take less time to do because it is done regularly.

I originally made the chart in fun bright orange and fuchsia, but Justin shot that down (no pink!)…so now it’s classic Baylor colors – green and gold (well, pale yellow). Wife created, Husband approved. I’ll let y’all know how it works out, but so far I’m loving it! I’m a to-do-list kind of person, but I can get stressed out if I can’t cross off everything on my list. This chart doesn’t let me cross things off, but I can see what needs to get done all the same. It feels more flexible. I posted it on our fridge inside a sheet protector so it’s easily accessible and out of the way. 

The Nursery is Finished (well...pretty much...) Part 2

I'm sure my last post left people wanting more. I mean, I didn't even post anything about what's actually inside Levi's nursery. Sorry! Here's what his actual room looks like:

Just in case anyone wasn't sure whose room they were entering, I put this sweet pennant on the door from the baby shower put on by my cohort. Friends, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Emily made this. Thanks girl! Bonus, the colors match his room perfectly!

 

 

Here's what the room looks like when you peek in. You can see the rocking chair that I got from my parents (the same one that my mom used when I was little), Levi's toy boxes under each window, and the bookcases. As I mentioned in my previous post, our apartment is rather small so even though Levi's room is now a nursery, we still needed to use the space for our books like we had when it was our office/study before. The blanket on the back of the rocking chair was made for Levi by my mom. She used the monster shapes from a set of sheets as a template for the quilt. It's absolutely precious!

 



 

Here's a close-up of the wall art above the bookcase. I painted a verse that Justin and I picked out onto an orange canvas.

 

Here's the wall next to the door when it's open. This is where the rest of our books are. I tied it into the rest of the room by hanging some Julius Alphabet flashcards above the bookcases. Please excuse the lighting, I'm not the best photographer with an iphone...haha!

 

 





Here's the far wall with the crib. I made three monster pictures for him as well as a pennant with his name on it. Close-ups are below.

 

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of one of the letters of Levi's pennant. I cut the letters out of felt and then stitched them onto pre-made pennant triangles that I found at Hobby Lobby.

 



 

Finally, here is the diaper station. I found this great antique buffet at Ms. L's Chic Tiques here in Waco (I also got my coffee table from them!). They had already painted it and replaced the drawer pulls...I couldn't resist the sunflower yellow! Click here to visit their Facebook page and see all the cute stuff they make!

 

 

 

Yay for a finished nursery (almost)! Hopefully I'll be able to find a replacement cushion soon (or learn how to recover this one...).

The Nursery is Finished (well...pretty much...) Part 1

I got my last needed item in the mail today (hello, white lamp stand!) and can finally say that Levi's nursery is ready to go! Granted, I'm still looking for a new cushion for the rocking chair since the sage doesn't really match anymore (and I've only been able to find other fall shades in stores lately...lame), but other than that it's ready!! Here's what we've got goin' on...

Because we live in an apartment with limited storage space (understatement!), I've expanded Levi's room to include the little entryway just outside of his door. Thanks to one of those cube storage units from Target, this space now makes up for the lack of storage in the bathroom, kitchen, and Levi's room. Yay! I topped the storage unit with a name board that my sister made (super cool!), a set of sock monkey nesting dolls (just combine my two favorite things why don't you?) and some vintage baby books that I got at one of my showers (thanks Cindy!).

 

 

Here's a close-up of the name board that my sister made. It's pretty neat! You can see other cool stuff she does here.

 

 



 

I'll post more pics soon of the rest of the room.

More Natural Birth Motivation

I'm sure lots of women firmly believe that they are married to the greatest guy on the planet, but I just can't imagine anyone else having a better husband than Justin. Not only does he get me as a person, which can be hard when you're a reserved introvert like myself, but he constantly helps me better understand myself and cheers me on in my endeavors. (What a great quality to have in husband, right?)

Today Justin was able to go with me to my 36 (and-a-half) week appointment with my OB-GYN. This was the big one...the one where we found out for sure if Levi was head-down (he is...yay!), and where we found out if I was dilated and/or effaced at all yet. This was also the appointment where we discussed my birth plan with my doctor, so I was a little nervous. This may come as a surprise to some people, but I actually hate conflict and will avoid it at all costs when talking to someone I don't know well (like my doctor). I could tell this was going to be a problem because, as supportive and awesome as my doctor is, she is definitely a fan of pain-relieving drugs during labor. I knew I would have to come into my appointment with confidence, and having Justin there to support me was such a great help.

While I would rate my performance of confidence as mediocre, Justin was a great support. After the appointment Justin sat down with me and asked me how I felt after the appointment and expressed his conviction that he firmly believes in my ability to accomplish a natural birth. In my last post I talked about a quote that I found to motivate me during this process - today, Justin provided an unforgettable (and funny) image for me. He said, "Approach your labor the way that Ron Swanson approaches a steak." Haha! My fellow Parks and Rec fans know what this means, but in case you aren't a fan of hilarious mockumentaries, here's a clip of Ron Swanson, the epitome of all that is man, ordering a steak: Ron Swanson Ordering Steak

I absolutely love my husband and I know it would be tough to be committed to natural birth without his support. Let's be real, lots of people don't support/understand/appreciate the decision or desire to have a natural birth. As frustrating as that may be, it's ok, because the one person that matters, the one person that will be in the room cheering me on, believes I can do it.