Showing posts with label about me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label about me. Show all posts

Thursday, October 13, 2016

A Lovely Blog..... Or Not





I was tagged for this by Kara from Flowers of Quiet Happiness awhile back but I didn't know it until the other day since I've been pretty scarce with the blogging and blog reading these days. Anyway, it's one of those "list interesting stuff about yourself" things and I'm wondering if I can come up with anything more interesting about myself that you haven't heard a thousand times already.



1. I accomplished a pretty big bucket item list this past month when I traveled to and from Illinois (total of 22 hours driving each way) by myself. I learned several things:

  • I enjoy driving alone which allows me to blast the music as loud as I want...which I did and was in heaven. I'm a serious addict to loud music. I wonder where this came from. Even at the end of a 12 hour drive I was sad to have to be done with the music. 
  • I enjoy staying in a hotel room alone, well, at least for a night. My guess this would get old after awhile. 
  • I don't enjoy eating alone, even going down to the hotel's breakfast made me anxious. And I refuse to even go into a fast food joint and sit there and eat alone. Drive throughs and eating in the car or hotel is how I survived this part.
  • I love seeing the country. It's big and beautiful and amazing. I've decided I don't even think Wyoming and Nebraska are boring anymore. They are both amazing. :)


2. I like doing laundry and folding clothes but I hate mopping floors and cleaning anything in the bathroom.

3.We're planning a trip for fall break to visit my sister and meet her friend that does our kpop channel with us....who we've never met IRL. Pretty excited about this. If you watch the channel you'll get to see us all meet for the first time 'cause you know we'll be filming it!

4. Last year at this time I had no knowledge about Korea's pop culture... or no desire to go there....this year it's all I can think about how fun it would be to go there and see... stuff and things and people. It's weird how a year can go by and life and can be so different. It sort of gives my brain whiplash.

5. I'm told my computer is ancient and that I need a new one. I'll ponder this for now and maybe act on it eventually. This is something about me, right? That it takes awhile for me to upgrade my devices. Or even to get them in the first place.

6. We don't watch normal TV much, but we just got a dish on our roof and are now Dish Network people. (They did a sweep through the neighborhood and either everyone was ready for a change or the dude selling it was especially charismatic, because he's been quite successful in his efforts! ) Anyway, I find this funny. But the cool thing is that when we DO want to watch regular TV we can do it on our tablets, which seems to be the way to watch TV lately at our house.

7. Well, this list has turned into more of a random thought list than a something about me list. Seriously. You know everything. I'm not even kidding. What does this say about me? Something I'm thinking.


All my bloggin' buddies have pretty much been tagged, but if you haven't and want to make your list, jump in and let me know so I can come and comment.




Wednesday, March 23, 2016

A Day in the Life: March 17, 2016


Last year, Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity hosted a fun blogger connecting event where she encouraged us to record the details of an ordinary day, post about it and then link up.

We loved it! It was a blast to see what everyone's days are like! We couldn't wait to do it again! And now, the day has come! Today is the post and link up day. Check Trish's blog for all the details. If you haven't recorded your day yet, you can still do that and link up soon!

Last time (check out my day from last year here if you missed it) I recorded a work day. (I work three mornings a week at the library.) This time I decided to try a non-work day for you to see what I do when I have the whole day ahead of me to do anything I want! (You'll see that some stuff doesn't change much from last time.) I took notes. I took pictures.

 And so I give you a very typical ordinary day (except for the fact that it was a book club day) in my very typical and ordinary life:

Thursday March 17, 2016

6:30 am: I wake up... before my phone alarm actually goes off. I pry my eyes open and read my phone for messages and notifications and what might be happening in the world. Not much is. But it is St. Patrick's Day!

7:00 am: I roll out of bed and drive my daughter to school without getting out of my pajamas. I always wonder what would happen if some sort of issue arose and I had to face the public. But luckily, today was not that day.

7:30 am: When I get home, I crawl back in bed and promptly fall into a deep sleep. Why is it so easy to sleep at this time of day but so hard at... say... 3:30 am sometimes?

8:15 am: I wake up for the second time and nudge the hubby awake too. While he gets ready for work, I read in bed. I'm not even close to finishing the book for book club happening later this evening, but I plan to give it a shot. However, I'm interrupted many times and the morning's reading session is only mildly successful.

Reading in bed.
9:15 am: I get out of bed with the intention to exercise. But first, my sister texts me and we continue our ongoing Korean obsession discussion that has been nonstop since Jan. 8 when we discovered a music group we can't get enough of.  The topic of this morning's discussion is the fact that one of the boys has announced his departure date for his mandatory two year stint in the Korean military. We mourn the fact that this particular boy will be forever changed by this experience. He is the sweetest most softhearted one of the bunch with the most angelic voice ever. Imagining him surviving boot camp and the stuff that must go on at such a place kills us. Ah. I hope he comes back tougher, stronger, but not truly changed. Sigh.

Ryeowook from Super Junior

9:30 am: I continue on down the stairs where I put on a Zumba DVD and dance my heart out. Oh, before I went down, I made the fatal mistake of stepping on the scale, because I've been doing pretty great for two weeks now with the dancing and the not eating so much. Well, it's no surprise that there was not one bit of change. So I went down with a heavy heart thinking it's all in vain. But still I went. And still I had fun. Despite the fact that it seems to do no good. Sigh.

Zumba with Beto

10:30 am: I return up the stairs all sweaty and disheveled. I eat breakfast and shower and finally actually get ready for the day. I clean the kitchen a little too. I blast music. From here on out, just know that the music is a given and is with me for the rest of the day until the evening. (Most often I'm blasting from this Spotify playlist.)

Breakfast

Music is a constant presence in my day.

11:00 am: I get on the computer! ARGH! I only meant to check a couple of things, and make a shopping list, but I get sucked in.. AGAIN... by the Korean boys. Dang, they are distracting! Well, I manage only 20 minutes of watching a few videos, which actually isn't that bad and I don't lose too much time. At one point I stand up and just had to dance. After all, no one is watching. Then I turn around and see this:

Mika wonders what the heck I'm doing.


11:20 am: I focus and figure out what I want to make for book club this evening and I make a shopping list.

11:45 am: Finally, I'm out the door to the store. Sheesh. It's almost freaking noon! How does this happen?
Grocery store of choice.

12:45 pm: An hour later I'm home with food. I'm exhausted. I unload the groceries and plop in the chair and allow myself about 15 minutes for a breather.

I always underestimate my purchase plans.
I thought the small cart would be just fine this time.
It wasn't.

1:00 pm: Time to get busy. I make treats for book club and potato soup in the crock pot for dinner. One of the book club treats gives me grief and it's a miracle I don't chuck two uncooperative appliances in the garbage. I make a much bigger mess than is necessary, but I still manage to get it all done in an hour.
Potato soup in progress

Avocado spinach dip that didn't want to get
pureed up!

2:00 pm. Time to multitask. The cookies are still baking, so in between batches, I get online and join the weekly family sister chat. For about in hour we chat about life and random things. I can't remember anything worth reporting. At the same time, I'm working on Bloggiesta emails and stuff. I probably wanted to write a blog post, but I don't think I managed it. I feel anxious because I haven't read any more of the book club book. Also, all I want to do about now is curl up with the latest Kdrama I'm watching. Sigh.

My office space has changed and gotten
much more cluttered since the time I posted a picture!

3:45 pm: It's been nearly two hours on the computer now. I'm on call to go pick up the daughter from school. She is staying after for some stuff. At this time, I get the text to come get her. So out the door I go. Did a say yet what a gorgeous day it is outside? Thus, the obligatory mountain picture to prove it:

This view kills me sometimes.


4:15 pm: We are back from the school. There's so much to do still before book club! I gotta get busy! I find a few St. Patrick's Day (and Easter) decorations and switch them out with the Valentine's stuff that's still up. I change the quilt wall hanging. I vacuum a bit and throw out some garbage. I print the list of books that won our vote for books we want to read this upcoming year. I bounce from thing to thing, trying to get it all done. So that I can:

5:00 pm: Crash with the book for just a little bit at least! Now it's time to read and try to fight of sleeping! How do you think I did? I read some. I slept some.

Voting results for book clubs schedule next year.

The Easter tree.

5:45 pm: I realize that the daughter needs to go again to a school thing, and she should eat first. So I  finish what needs to be done to the soup. However, she doesn't eat it and just goes (driving herself this time because there's now a car available.)  The husband comes home and we sit for a moment together and have dinner. In between all this, I fold the laundry that's all over the bed.

I'm such a good folder! LOL!
(And bed maker, obviously.)

Potato soup finished!

6:30 pm: I curl up with the book again. I do a pretty good job this time reading and not sleeping. Still I'm about 100 pages short of the end.

So close and yet so far!

7:15 pm: Ah! I should get the treats and water and other such things ready for book club now!

The book club spread: avocado dip, mint chocolate chip cookies and candy.

Ready for book club!

7:30 pm: Book club starts! We discuss the book Life After Life. Most people thought it was boring and too repetitive and what was the point!!?? I enjoyed what I'd read so far and a couple others thought it was okay. No one seemed to love it. Sad. We discussed the books we plan to read next year and assigned them all a month. We talked about other books we've read this month. It was a great meeting! I'm so happy my sister who lives in the area joined us again! It's been awhile since we've seen her there!

During book club!
Isn't everyone so festively green for St. Patrick's Day?

10:20 pm: Book club is over! I'm tired. I get in bed and finally, I plug myself into the tablet and watch an episode of my current kdrama... My Love From the Stars. Gah. It's getting good. Too bad I can't just keep watching. But my eyes are tired and I do have to work the next day.

Professor Do Min Joon
He's so sad here. He's stopping time in order to not hear
the girl confessing love to someone else.
Because what else do you do? 

12:00 am: I sigh, flip the tablet closed, and curl up to sleep. Another day is over.


Monday, February 15, 2016

BBAW Day One: Five Books Introducing Me



It's Day One of the all new revived Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Thanks again to The Estella Society for bringing it back!

Today our task is to introduce ourselves by listing five books that define us. If that's not a loaded question, I don't know what is! But I'll give it a shot and I'm sure there'll be cheating along the way.

FIVE BOOKS THAT DEFINE ME

1. The Book Thief, or anything by Markus Zusak actually. As any long time reader of this blog knows, I have a thing for this author. He amazes me, and I love all his books with a passion.



2. I'll say Pride and Prejudice to represent anything and everything Regency and/or period piece-y and or British. Because it's a pretty sure guarantee that I'll like anything with this feel, both old and new. And it's not hard to get all worked up and passionate about books and/or movies and/or actors that have anything to do with this particular subject!


3. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. So I list this book to represent all the timse I've read books and LOVED them for the fact that they teach about worlds and cultures not my own, which I adore. (As you may or may not know, I'm currently deeply entrenched in the study of Korea! And I need to find books about this country quickly!) Anyway, this above book BLEW ME AWAY when I read it and is a good one to illustrate this aspect of me and my fascination with the world and cultures around me.

4. At the risk of just listing my favorite genres here, I must mention some book of the SF/F or really anything of the speculative fiction persuasion. Because not only do I love the actual world we love on, but those we do not. But which book to list? This is where I get especially overwhelmed! I've decided on a Brandon Sanderson:



5. And finally, I've decided to list The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson just because it's about a bookworm Heathcliff loving clarinet playing band geek (while I don't play anymore, I relate) who loves a swoony broody boy and is dealing with real life issues, as we all are. (I just looked up my review and yeah, I need to re-read this book!)


Well, not sure I did a very good job actually representing myself, but there you go! Happy BBAW week!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: Resolutions



Many pooh pooh the whole New Year goal making tradition, but I can't seem to let it go. I have an overwhelming urge at the change of the year (or the season, or the school year) to make an effort to start again, to recommit, to make lists. Here are some thoughts I've had for various areas of my life... for now:

Reading:

  • My Goodreads number for this year has been set at 80! 
  • I want to read more adult books, more non fiction books and more classic books.
  • And yet, I still want to keep up with the favorite YA authors and series and local authors and their new books!
  • I want to host a couple of read alongs again. (We are thinking of a Little Women one... soon. Very soon!)
  • I will probably not accept many ARCs this year or request much from NetGalley. 

Blogging:

  • In order to make way for some other goals, I think blogging will take more of a back seat role this year. We'll see how it goes... and maybe you'll not notice much. Maybe it will make me too crazy, but basically, I plan to not blog as often...as in, not every day. Maybe more like three times a week or so. Unless I have way too much to say!
  • I want to shake up my review system a bit, but I'm not sure how. I'm going to bag the discussion question and just write a quick blurb and a quick reaction. We'll see how it goes and maybe the change will also end up being very subtle.
  • I want to keep Book Bantering with Jenny!
  • Visit more blogs and reconnect with long lost blogging buddies!
  • Get caught up on print out some blog posts and adding them to the binder.


Writing:

  • This needs to become more of a priority, like... ahead of blogging.
  • I want to make changes to the first book according to feedback from beta readers.
  • I want to finish and revise the recent Nano book and start getting feedback for it.
  • Which means the other book will still have to wait it's turn for some attention.
  • I want to start researching agents and the like. Freaky! Which means maybe NEXT year I'll be ready to query and pitch. Maybe.
  • I plan to attend two conferences. Maybe more.
  • I hope to keep the online writing group going. And if that doesn't work.. find a real, in life serious writing group. Sigh.
  • Keep going to UVW when I can. Renew membership in March.


Personal:

  • Zumba, every day! (Or, at least four or five times a week.) Other strength exercises that work for me and that I have the ability to do. (Whatever that is!)
  • Eat healthy. (Just as soon as all the chocolate in this house is gone! LOL!)
  • Finish the hexagon wall hanging quilt!
  • Clean up some hoarder stashes found in various corners of this house! Get rid of junk!
  • Figure out what it means to be a grandma and do it. (Babysit? Re-enter the picture book world? I don't know!)
  • Make some vacation movies... print up the pictures.
Well, I'm sure there's more, but I'll stop there. And yeah that's more than ten, but that was just a guideline, right? 

What do you have planned for the new year? Link up over at The Broke and the Bookish today!




Monday, December 21, 2015

Favorite Songs of 2015

Thanks to Spotify's new Discover Weekly feature that they rolled out in July, I've discovered lots of new-to-me music to love this year. It's hard to pick just a few to share. But truly, it's been a great year for me and music. I hope next year is as sweet. Do keep in mind that some of this stuff is new (as in this year) and some is not. Basically, it's just music that I loved and played non-stop over the days and months.

Anyway, here are a few of them. Let me know if you listen and love any of them. And also, I'd love to know what music you fell in love with this year.


Our Destiny by Thomas Bergersen. I discovered this artist after loving the music to the trailer they used for Interstellar I think it was. And then they had a new album last year maybe... it's called Sun and this year I listened to that album over and over again and love every single song. This music is what I referred to in my Favorite Things post as epic music.... which I describe as music that sounds like it's from a soundtrack but isn't. Dramatic, big, orchestral... epic. Anyway, this is one of my favorite songs from that album. Thomas Bergersen also works with a group called Two Steps from Hell, and their music is also epic and loud and awesome.



 Cool by Kendji Girac. I recently did a whole post about my new Kendji obsession. It's still going strong, though I'm having a hard time find his music. (The new album that was on YouTube got yanked... and he is not on Spotify and his albums... being imports from France... are not readily available to buy. Frustrating!) Anyway, this one of his makes me so happy I just... I love it.



My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy. This group is not my normal but I tend to seem to love their stuff, strange as it is. And this particular song to me is the perfect hand banging rock song with both awesome drums and guitar.




Louder Than Words by Les Friction. This is a one album group, which makes me so sad. I wish they would do more stuff. But they fit into the epic genre of music too and I just recently discovered this particular song and seriously. This is so up my alley it's scary. I feel like it's a total soundtrack to the story I just wrote for Nano and I can't seem to get enough of it.



Neverland by VanLadyLove. I don't know what it is about this song...but it makes me so happy and I think I could play it over and over and never get sick of it.



Friction by Imagine Dragons. When this album came out earlier this year, I instantly gravitated to this song. Another rowdy rock song that I love to blast as loud as possible.



Reconte-Moi Une Historie by M83. I don't know why I haven't been familiar with this band sooner. Because they are another one that is totally my thing. They are so different! So cool! So awesome! Hard to pick a favorite, but this one stood out to me because of its uniqueness... and also the message of the story. (At least the message I take from it!) I love it more each time I listen to it.



I'll stop there, though I could go on and on. What were some of your favorite songs that you discovered this year?


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Favorite Things of 2015



For the past few years I've done a year end post of things that ended up on my favorites of the year, things not so bookish, since bookish will be the subject of another post. Things not necessarily new, but stuff I've discovered or learned about or found throughout the year. Things that just made my day! Here's a few of those favorite things for this year:


Back in the summer, Spotify rolled out a new program where every week, you get a new list in your side bar of music that Spotify thinks you'll think, based on them music you've been listen to a lot. Each week, the list changes, so if you like something, you have to save into a new playlist. I can't even tell you how much new-to-me music I've discovered and fallen in love with through this new thing! It's called Discover Weekly, and it's the best! (Click the link to log into Spotify and see my list.)



 While I was poking around learning about one of the new pieces of music from Discover Weekly, I happened upon this French dude named Kendji. And now I'm obsessed and he has become my new favorite of the year!



When I got back from my trip this summer, I saw a bunch of buzz about something called Poldark. What is this, I wondered. I looked it up and BAM. I knew I had to find out for myself what it was all about. I watched the terrible quality versions on YouTube, but have since bought my own DVD set and watched them again. Love. (Poldark: A Masterpiece Classic period drama done by the BBC staring Aidan Turner.)


Speaking of TV, another new show I discovered this past year is The 100. It is pretty much as intense and character driven as The Walking Dead, and that's saying a lot.



Once upon a time I had to worry about my phone dying when I was somewhere I could not charge it. That is all changed now since I discovered battery packs! Who knew something so simple could make me so happy!

So, I've know about and used Pixlr, an online photo editor, for years, but it was just this year that I embraced its usage for the making of collages. I even had to dedicate a Pinterest board to save them for future posterity!



This year I realized I have a favorite pen. It's the Pilot G-2 1.0, not the .7, not the .38, but the 1.0! The BOLD point! I love it! All the colors! Though most of the colors only come in .7 sadly.

I went to my first Storymakers writing conference this year...finally. I'd been avoiding it for years for some reason. But I went, I learned, I loved, I'm hooked.


So I learned that there's a music genre called Epic Music. And I learned that I seem to adore this genre. I learned that there is music composed that sounds like soundtrack music but is not soundtrack music. It's epic music. I can't seem to get enough of it! Do you know and love this type of music? If so, send me your suggestions for new music to fall in love with! (A favorite song post will come next week, and much epic music will be on that list!)


When in Italy, you must eat gelato every day. It's part of the experience. It's a given. And we did. And it was most awesome. I have no idea what my favorite flavor is, but if were to choose from the picture below, I'd probably pick menta! :)



If you are interested in taking a look back in time, here are my favorite thing post from the past years:

Favorite Things of 2012
Favorite Things of 2013
Favorite Things of 2014

What were some of your favorite things of this past year?

Monday, November 9, 2015

Fifty Things I've Learned



Today is the last of my countdown to 50 lists! Birthday week has arrived. (Ugh.) But, I hope you've enjoyed them. I've had fun thinking them up and stretching my brain a little to do so.  Anyway.... here's fifty things I've learned so far.

Fifty Things I’ve Learned

  1. going to movies is fun, just do it
  2. life usually won’t turn out how you think it will
  3. embrace your passions
  4. exercising doesn’t always work
  5. having kids messes up your body
  6. but it makes Christmas more fun
  7. traveling is fun and hard
  8. loud music is good for you
  9. sometimes you just have to say, it doesn’t matter
  10. you are never too full for ice cream
  11. no matter how old you get you still feel like a teenager inside
  12. if you worry about something sometimes it happens
  13. if you dream about something sometimes it happens
  14. you can write a book if you actually sit down and type some words out
  15. chocolate solves a lot of things
  16. as does listening to Josh Groban
  17. if you lay down to have a nap, the phone will ring or the door will knock
  18. don’t give up
  19. don’t believe everything you read/see/hear/watch
  20. hang in there, tie a knot in your rope if you need to
  21. always having something to look forward to is good thing
  22. being judgmental accomplishes nothing
  23. always be yourself
  24. and sometimes yourself is a little different in different situations, which is okay
  25. read whatever you want
  26. do something fun every day and don’t feel guilty about it
  27. be flexible and spontaneous
  28. pets are both a pain and soothing for the soul
  29. life happens fast, don’t procrastinate stuff
  30. enjoy kids when they are little
  31. enjoy them when they are big too
  32. life is good even when it feels like it’s not
  33. if you say you’ll do something, do it
  34. pick your fights wisely
  35. be nice, even if you don’t feel like it
  36. smile a lot
  37. food is good for you, eat it
  38. getting old, it happens
  39. and it’s also a good thing since it means you’re alive and all
  40. if you mop the floor, it will be dirty again the next day
  41. reading, writing and watching makes you have ideas
  42. just like the math teacher said, you will use math in your life no matter you chosen vocation
  43. you can never have too many notebooks, pens, or books
  44. as soon as you leave the grocery store and get in the car, you’ll remember something else you needed
  45. take a book everywhere, because you never know when you’ll want it
  46. create, create, create
  47. having dessert for dinner now and then won’t kill you
  48. sometimes it’s okay to get rained on
  49. if you put stuff on hold at the library, they will all become available on the same day
  50. if all else fails, be happy and be nice

What things have you learned so far in your life?


Monday, November 2, 2015

Fifty Things I Want To Do



And the countdown continues! We are just over two weeks away! Make times stop!

So, I've listed fifty things I've done and now you get the other list, the bucket list per say, the more common list... the list of things I still want to accomplish in life. Well, some of them. Actually, I struggled coming up with this list, and yet, I know there are a ton more I could add.


Fifty Things I Want to Do

  1. go on a writing retreat (particularly the Writing Excuses cruise!)
  2. live in England for a summer
  3. have a beautiful yard and garden
  4. finish the hexagon quilt wall hanging
  5. lose 20 pounds
  6. visit all 50 states
  7. go to San Diego Comic Con
  8. ride in a helicopter
  9. see the Northern lights
  10. get published
  11. meet Josh Groban
  12. watch a shuttle/rocket/spaceship launch
  13. visit PEI in Canada
  14. visit other places in Canada.. Quebec/Montreal stand out
  15. drive across the country on back roads, no freeways
  16. put together, glue and frame a puzzle
  17. finish a scrap quilt
  18. see Donny and Marie in Las Vegas
  19. finish my Classic Club list
  20. be in the audience of a talk show (once upon a time I would have said Oprah or Regis..but now I don’t know what)
  21. visit New England
  22. visit all the continents
  23. wade in all the oceans
  24. have Jenni successfully teach me how to crochet something
  25. see Markus Zusak IN Australia
  26. watch all the Supernatural seasons
  27. finish all the Buffy seasons
  28. be “The Book Grandma”
  29. buy a convertible
  30. clean up my “craft” room
  31. meet John and Hank Green
  32. build, decorate and furnish a miniature doll house
  33. go to a Sundance Film Festival movie
  34. do Zumba for a year
  35. try whole food eating for a month (maybe a week…)
  36. take the Lord of the Rings tour in New Zealand
  37. stay in a beach house for a week
  38. try a vlog with Megs… at least try
  39. start up journaling again
  40. blow up vacation pictures onto canvases and make a collage on the wall
  41. have an herb garden
  42. finish putting home videos onto DVDs
  43. cosplay at Comic Con, once
  44. go to BEA
  45. finish The Wheel of Time series
  46. write life story essays
  47. revamp my wardrobe
  48. empty my email inbox
  49. take up boxing
  50. think happy thoughts and fly

Any suggestions for how to accomplish some of these things? :) How are you doing with YOUR bucket list?

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