Happy Mondays: Sleep it out

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So, if you have been inhabiting the Mom-sphere or the Twitterverse or the world in general, you have probably already heard about Gretchen Rubin, and The Happiness Project. The message she wants to share with the world is that we have to stop feeling guilty about having it all or not having it all or winning the battle of working mom vs. non-working mom and give ourselves a break. And with the crummy weather and bad economy, don't you think that's a great idea? I do. Even though the whole world has heard about Ms. Rubin, her work was new to me, so I thought I'd give her happiness challenge a go, and share the results with Team Puppet Opera. Not that I'm un-happy, but after looking at what she had to say, I did realize that there were things I am making myself feel bad about (what?!?! I'm not knitting my own children's muesli? I feel terrible about that!) that are really kind of stupid. So first on the list is to get more sleep.

More after the jump.

Learn Something New: Turn Around Bright Eyes

Hey there, sleepy mom! Yes, you, the one who woke up three or four times last night because your darling little angel is getting his second molars! Poor mommy! Check out this very awesome how-to video from the magicians at Clinique about how to achieve I-just-spent-a-week-relaxing-in-the-Maldives bright eyes on a stayed-up-to-watch-all-series-1-of-Homeland-with-a-bottle-of-red budget. Hooray for makeup!

Things I Love Thursday: Story Time

J.K. Rowling

 That's what I'm talking about. Take some time today to tell someone a story. Could be a long one, could be an anecdote, could be a really good joke. A good story costs nothing and can provide as much pleasure as a wonderful gift! Enjoy your story Thursday!

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Book Report: A Thousand Years of Prayers by Yiyun Li

The fact that Yiyun Li was only 33 when she published this dazzling collection of stories is annoying; the fact that she only began writing in English six years before is downright maddening. When you take on William Trevor you really need to know your stuff, and this lady has got some serious game.

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, her debut and also winner of the Guardian First Book Award, is an extraordinary jewel box of a collection of stories about modern China, a China undergoing tremendous change, confronting its complex history of suppression and guilt. The stories take us from Beijing to Chicago to remote mountain towns peopled by beautifully human characters, struggling with questions of identity, faith and voice as they navigate the complicated landscape of the human condition. In 'Immortality' a man with a striking resemblance to the dictator discovers the key to a second life; in 'A Thousand Years of Good Prayers' a father struggles to understand his daughter, now living a lifetime away in America; in 'Extra' an elderly woman befriends a young boy who has become an outcast in one of China's new private schools. Knowing literally nothing about this China I was utterly captivated by Li's confidence, her lyricism, her old-fashioned ability to tell a story. By turns horrifying and breathtaking, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers brought to vivid life a country as distant and bewildering to me as the dark side of the moon. 

Write On!

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Squillionaire author Dan Brown is in the news today, not only because he has a new book out but also because in today's Guardian, he revealed his cure for writer's block to be hanging upside down from a pair of gravity boots. Indeed, the subject of writer's block was the subject of a discussion with Louise Doughty on the BBC's Today Programme. Seems like this murky malady is finally getting some stage time. Anyone who has suffered from the crippling paralysis of writer's block will know how frustrating it is to hold your pen above a blank page and have nowhere to go. John Cheever found solace by writing wearing only his underpants and Truman Capote found inspiration in a cigarette and a cold martini, but for some, the block is insurmountable. Interestingly, Louise Doughty claimed a tool she uses to be able to churn out an impressive number of novels was to have a house full of children, knowing she had exactly two hours to write while the kids were at playgroup, and that such narrow boundaries were, for her, a goad to productivity. In all honesty, I can say I have never found children to be much help when any activity requiring serious concentration was going on, but it certainly seems to be working for Doughty. Whether it's gravity boots, sleeping bags, weak tea or kids, may whatever works keep working for you!