Something I need to learn to do
This afternoon, as I watched my perfectly happy four-month old playing with a Sprite bottle, I wished that I could be as easily amused as she is. Babies don't need all the stuff that we adults do. They can live without television, telephones, and computers. Their lives won't come to a screeching halt if they don't have access to their email, Facebook, or Twitter. To me, it seems as if babies see what life is really about: noticing and embracing the all little things. The way the sun dances on the surface of a puddle of water. Seeing the smile on the face of someone they love.
As parents, we are supposed to teach our children all sorts of things. It's part of our “job.” I can't help but wonder what sorts of things our children can teach us if we just take the time to see things through their eyes. How much better would our lives be if we could live them like our children live theirs?
As parents, we are supposed to teach our children all sorts of things. It's part of our “job.” I can't help but wonder what sorts of things our children can teach us if we just take the time to see things through their eyes. How much better would our lives be if we could live them like our children live theirs?
Teaser Tuesday (8/4)
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
“'I shall not pay them any such compliment, I assure you. I have no notion of treating men with such respect. That is the way to spoil them.'”
- Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen (pg. 27)
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
“'I shall not pay them any such compliment, I assure you. I have no notion of treating men with such respect. That is the way to spoil them.'”
- Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen (pg. 27)
Musing Mondays (8/3)
This week's Musing Monday is a Library Habits meme:
1) If you don't frequent your local library, why not?
I love my local library.
2) If you do visit the library, how often do you go?
I go at least once every two weeks, if not once every week. It just depends on how fast I'm going through my books.
3) Do you have a favorite section that you always head to first, or do you just randomly peruse the shelves?
I usually check out the new books first to see if there's anything interesting. Otherwise, I go to the fiction section.
4) How many books are you allowed to check out at one time? Do you take advantage of this?
It's my understanding that adult library cards can check out up to fifty items at a time. I've never taken advantage of this, yet anyways.
5) How long are you allowed to have the books checked out?
Two weeks
6) How many times are you allowed to renew your check-outs, if at all?
As long as the book or movie isn't reserved for someone else and isn't an interlibrary loan, you can renew them twice. You can't renew interlibrary loan books at all.
7) What do you love best about your particular library?
I love that they'll pull books for you if you request them online. It saves so much time. Plus I don't have to juggle a baby and all the books I check out for her while trying to search for books for me.
8) What is one thing you wish your library did differently?
I really wish they opened at 8 A.M. during the week. It would be really nice to go to the library before work so I don't have to battle the traffic in the afternoons.
9) Do you request your books via an online catalogue, or through the librarian at your branch?
As long as you aren't requesting an interlibrary loan book, you can do it either way. The only way to request interlibrary loan books is through the people who work the information desk.
10) Have you ever chosen a book on impulse (from the online catalogue OR the shelves) and had it turn out to be totally amazing? If so, what book was it, and why did you love it?
I do it all the time. The last one was Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce. I can't really put my finger on exactly why I loved it other than it was very well written and it just really drew me in.
1) If you don't frequent your local library, why not?
I love my local library.
2) If you do visit the library, how often do you go?
I go at least once every two weeks, if not once every week. It just depends on how fast I'm going through my books.
3) Do you have a favorite section that you always head to first, or do you just randomly peruse the shelves?
I usually check out the new books first to see if there's anything interesting. Otherwise, I go to the fiction section.
4) How many books are you allowed to check out at one time? Do you take advantage of this?
It's my understanding that adult library cards can check out up to fifty items at a time. I've never taken advantage of this, yet anyways.
5) How long are you allowed to have the books checked out?
Two weeks
6) How many times are you allowed to renew your check-outs, if at all?
As long as the book or movie isn't reserved for someone else and isn't an interlibrary loan, you can renew them twice. You can't renew interlibrary loan books at all.
7) What do you love best about your particular library?
I love that they'll pull books for you if you request them online. It saves so much time. Plus I don't have to juggle a baby and all the books I check out for her while trying to search for books for me.
8) What is one thing you wish your library did differently?
I really wish they opened at 8 A.M. during the week. It would be really nice to go to the library before work so I don't have to battle the traffic in the afternoons.
9) Do you request your books via an online catalogue, or through the librarian at your branch?
As long as you aren't requesting an interlibrary loan book, you can do it either way. The only way to request interlibrary loan books is through the people who work the information desk.
10) Have you ever chosen a book on impulse (from the online catalogue OR the shelves) and had it turn out to be totally amazing? If so, what book was it, and why did you love it?
I do it all the time. The last one was Feeling for Bones by Bethany Pierce. I can't really put my finger on exactly why I loved it other than it was very well written and it just really drew me in.
Anticipation
Today's Sunday Scribblings question: What are you looking forward to, for better or worse?
Angie stared straight ahead, not looking to the left, not looking to the right. Just staring straight ahead, not able to focus on anything. She could feel her nervousness deep down in the pit of her stomach. If only she could focus on something, anything. But there was nothing near her that offered any kind of distraction.
She needed a distraction. Something to take her mind of the clock. Something to make her stop hearing the clock, the sound of the second hand to taking what seemed like hours to tick from one second to the next. Something to take her mind off the burning itch that seemed to consume her wrists and ankles. If only she could go back in time or better yet just fast forward a bit. If only she could do something, anything to bring about an ending, whatever that ending might be.
Her eyes barely registered the heaviness they were beginning to feel. Her head growing heavy, her mind becoming fogged with sleep. Everything she'd just heard tumbled around in her head until it formed a jumble of words so thick she couldn't comprehend anything any more. She knew that everything she'd said was true, but, mixed with everything everybody else had said, it made no sense. Hopefully they would figure out that someone was lying. Hopefully they'd realize that she was telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Hopefully they'd realize this before it was too late, before something terrible had happened. Something that couldn't be taken back.
She jolted awake as she heard the door clank open. “Come on, Angie. Get up. It's time to go back to the courthouse. The jury's made their decision.”
Another Reading Challenge
I've decided to join another reading challenge: The Harry Potter Reading Challenge hosted by Galleysmith. I'm looking forward to starting this one because I've been wanting to reread all the books for a while now.
Here are the details for the challenge (taken from Galleysmith):
Here are the details for the challenge (taken from Galleysmith):
What: Read or listen to all seven books in the Harry Potter series
- Sorcerer’s Stone
- Chamber of Secrets
- Prisoner of Azkaban
- Goblet of Fire
- Order of the Pheonix
- Half-Blood Prince
- Deathly Hallows
When: The challenge will run from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010. I know we’re all busy with life and work and other such fun things so join up whenever you want, there are no deadlines to the challenge besides the end date above.
Where: E-to the Everywhere! Post reviews on your blog, chat about it on messageboards, post vlogs or podcasts, comment on and converse about it in the monthly post I create here on Galleysmith. It’s entirely up to you, as long as there is some evidence of your having completed each book along the way you are good to go.
How: Sign up to join in and play, cause you know….Harry would want you to and all! Then, post a kick off post on your blog and link it back up according to the details on the monthly HPRC post also available here on Galleysmith.
Organizational Issues
I realized within the last few days that I haven't thought this blog out well enough. I'm going to take the next few days to really think through what my plans are for this blog. I'm also reworking my 101 list yet again to get rid of the goals that I don't believe will benefit me in the ways I think these goals should.
Edit @ 12:45: I guess I should also say that I'm putting my goals on hold until I figure this all out.
Edit @ 12:45: I guess I should also say that I'm putting my goals on hold until I figure this all out.
Teaser Tuesdays (7/28)
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
"She seemed like such a sniveling, cowardly fool that no one bothered about her until there were only a handful of contestants left. It turned out she could kill viciously." - The Hunger Games, Suzanne Phillips (pg. 41)
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
"She seemed like such a sniveling, cowardly fool that no one bothered about her until there were only a handful of contestants left. It turned out she could kill viciously." - The Hunger Games, Suzanne Phillips (pg. 41)
Musing Mondays (7/27)
Today’s Musing Mondays: Do you have an account with an online book database site (LibraryThing, Shelfari, GoodReads, etc)? If so, do you have a preference? Do you use it for - your own record keeping? finding new books to read? social networking?
I have a GoodReads account. Right now, I mainly use it just for record keeping. I just set up my account a few days ago so I haven't really had time to start browsing through to find new books to read or to use it for social networking. I also didn't realize there were other online book database sites. (I need to get out more!) So, I guess I'll have to check them out and decide which one I like best.
I have a GoodReads account. Right now, I mainly use it just for record keeping. I just set up my account a few days ago so I haven't really had time to start browsing through to find new books to read or to use it for social networking. I also didn't realize there were other online book database sites. (I need to get out more!) So, I guess I'll have to check them out and decide which one I like best.
Goal Focus - Week #2
Organization/Home
- Clean and organize my bed side table and the top of my dresser.
- Create a morning routine.
- Create an evening routine.
- Create a weekly schedule for household tasks.
- Create a home management notebook.
- Read Scribbit's ebook Blogging in Pink: A Woman's Guide.
- Listen to one audiobook a month.
- Join and complete at least 8 reading challenges: the Everything Austen reading challenge and 101 books in 1001 days
- Start database or spreadsheet for family addresses/phone numbers and keep it updated.
- Complete 31 days to build a better blog.
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