Our Simple Life

Update

Have had much happen so I haven't been on here in a while so I'll try to cover everything.

Last Saturday (the ninth) I hurt my left hip at the gym and haven't worked out since. I'm adjusting but it was very hard the first several days! To rest is difficult for me because the thing I want to do most is MOVE!

I read a novel called A Wedding in December last week. It had me hooked and I read it pretty quickly (five days or so) but when I finished I realized it wasn't so great. The storyline wasn't that strong but the characters were very believable and Shreve describes the setting extremely well which is why I read all of it.

Currently I am reading Sea Glass. It's historical fiction-1929. So far it is good.

Born To Buy

The other night I was reading an article about consumerism online and a book was recommended called Born To Buy by Juliet B. Schor. I picked it up today at the library. From what I've read so far, it is frightening how much focus there is on advertising to children and the materialistic view children now have.

While reading today, I started to realize one of the reasons I have always struggled with "things", wanting more and the desire to be like "the Jones'" has to do with the decade that I was a child. I am 27 years old, born in 1980. During that decade, channels exclusively for children were first introduced on cable. It didn't take long before channels like Nickelodeon were huge advertisers. I remember feeling deprived at times because my mom wouldn't buy certain cereals that she thought were unhealthy (but that I'd seen a commercial for and just HAD to have). 

There were also other forms of advertising geared toward children that came out when I was a child like the Sears Toy Book. It seriously was a book and I remember every Nov/Dec my older sister and I would go through that thing over and over, circling things we wanted and making side-notes for our parents (you know, to make it easier on them!)  How unhealthy and self-satisfying is that stuff?

Anyway, more once I've read more....