For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Write a haiku! (Five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables)
Side note: These are fun, and I couldn't narrow it down to one, so I submit several! What can I say, I'm a dork.
Crisp ginger cookies are good
Add some lemon curd
It is pure bliss in my mouth
Errands to run on Tuesday
Include dry cleaning
Jamie's work shirts get dirty
I want a Double Double
With spread only please
A side of animal fries
I'm writing one more poem
To even the odds
I think about more than food
Next week's prompt: 5/4/10 Would you rather be liked or respected?
Showing posts with label Blog Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Challenge. Show all posts
Blogging Challenge #11
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What's a skill you don't possess that you wish you did? Is there anything you can do to gain that skill? Why haven't you done it?
There are lots of things I wish I could do; the first couple that come to mind are play the piano and knit. I've taken steps to learn how to knit (took a class at Joann's) but because it's a slow process when you're first learning, I haven't been able to get into it enough to get better. It's a viscious circle, really.
I don't do it because I'm not good at it, I'm not good at it because I don't do it!
The second thing, playing the piano, is tougher... I can play Chopsticks, and I can play the top half of "Heart and Soul," but that's the extent of my ivory tickling skills... I could get a little keyboard and a book and start learning, but I'm fully aware of my shortcomings in the patience department... as I look back now, at 32 years old, I wish my parents had MADE me take piano lessons as a child! I wish I'd been forced to play scales and practice exercised for hours on end, because I wish that I could sit down now and play a piece of sheet music.
It's hard now, because I really worry I'll force Max into lessons he hates, because I wish I'd had the opportunity; be it guitar, piano, martial arts or art classes, I need to always remind myself that I've had my childhood, and Max needs to have his! LOL
Next week's prompt: 4/27/10 Write a haiku! (Five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables)
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What's a skill you don't possess that you wish you did? Is there anything you can do to gain that skill? Why haven't you done it?
There are lots of things I wish I could do; the first couple that come to mind are play the piano and knit. I've taken steps to learn how to knit (took a class at Joann's) but because it's a slow process when you're first learning, I haven't been able to get into it enough to get better. It's a viscious circle, really.
I don't do it because I'm not good at it, I'm not good at it because I don't do it!
The second thing, playing the piano, is tougher... I can play Chopsticks, and I can play the top half of "Heart and Soul," but that's the extent of my ivory tickling skills... I could get a little keyboard and a book and start learning, but I'm fully aware of my shortcomings in the patience department... as I look back now, at 32 years old, I wish my parents had MADE me take piano lessons as a child! I wish I'd been forced to play scales and practice exercised for hours on end, because I wish that I could sit down now and play a piece of sheet music.
It's hard now, because I really worry I'll force Max into lessons he hates, because I wish I'd had the opportunity; be it guitar, piano, martial arts or art classes, I need to always remind myself that I've had my childhood, and Max needs to have his! LOL
Next week's prompt: 4/27/10 Write a haiku! (Five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables)
Blogging Challenge #10
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Did you build forts as a child?
When I think back to growing up on Andalucia, forts are a big part of my summertime memories... it seems like we were always planning, building, decorating or cleaning up from a fort. There were the simple ones, couch cushion walls with a bedsheet ceiling, and as got older, they became much more involved affairs with bricks and pallets and landscaping.
I can't wait to build forts with Max! Cozying up with a flashlight in a darkened homemade fortress, reading books and telling stories until the wee hours (wee hours being at *least* 9pm!)
It's the simplest things that bring the greatest joy!
Next week's prompt: 4/20/10 What's a skill you don't possess that you wish you did? Is there anything you can do to gain that skill? Why haven't you done it?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Did you build forts as a child?
When I think back to growing up on Andalucia, forts are a big part of my summertime memories... it seems like we were always planning, building, decorating or cleaning up from a fort. There were the simple ones, couch cushion walls with a bedsheet ceiling, and as got older, they became much more involved affairs with bricks and pallets and landscaping.
I can't wait to build forts with Max! Cozying up with a flashlight in a darkened homemade fortress, reading books and telling stories until the wee hours (wee hours being at *least* 9pm!)
It's the simplest things that bring the greatest joy!
Next week's prompt: 4/20/10 What's a skill you don't possess that you wish you did? Is there anything you can do to gain that skill? Why haven't you done it?
Blogging Challenge #9
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What's an Easter memory from your childhood? How is/will be your child's Easter celebration different or the same?
I think that the biggest difference, when looking at Max's Easter vs. my childhood Easters, i s church. We are not currently a "church on Sundays" family, because currently, our only morning off as a family is Sunday, so we think that spending that time together is more important right now, and God understands that. When I growing up, we went to church pretty much every Sunday, and Easter Sunday meant a new dress, probably a hat or gloves (or some similarly antiquated accessory) and a basket for the egg hunt after church. Max's first Easter was brunch at Katie's house with an egg "hunt" in the yard (read: putting egss on the ground and hoping he'd pick them up! LOL)
We maintained the new outfit tradition, but I don't know if we'll do that this year... it's hard, since my mom is out of town visiting Grammy this year, so Easter is going to be a laid-back picnic at the park with Katie and family and my dad.
Next week's prompt: 4/13/10 Did you build forts as a child?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What's an Easter memory from your childhood? How is/will be your child's Easter celebration different or the same?
I think that the biggest difference, when looking at Max's Easter vs. my childhood Easters, i s church. We are not currently a "church on Sundays" family, because currently, our only morning off as a family is Sunday, so we think that spending that time together is more important right now, and God understands that. When I growing up, we went to church pretty much every Sunday, and Easter Sunday meant a new dress, probably a hat or gloves (or some similarly antiquated accessory) and a basket for the egg hunt after church. Max's first Easter was brunch at Katie's house with an egg "hunt" in the yard (read: putting egss on the ground and hoping he'd pick them up! LOL)We maintained the new outfit tradition, but I don't know if we'll do that this year... it's hard, since my mom is out of town visiting Grammy this year, so Easter is going to be a laid-back picnic at the park with Katie and family and my dad.
Next week's prompt: 4/13/10 Did you build forts as a child?
It's Back! Blogging Challenge #8
In the hecticness of the holidays, I dropped the ball on the blogging challenge, but it's BACK! We'll be posting on Tuesdays now, so stay tuned!
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What's a movie you can't not watch if you come across it on TV?
My first job was in a movie theater, shoving popcorn and tearing tickets... it began a love of movies that I still have to this day... there are lots of movies I can watch over and over (and over and over and...)
Those are the movies that I can recite along with the actors, and if I find a line from them making its way into regular conversation, I just might be derailed by a quick re-enactment/scene interpretation.
I've spent more than a few Saturday afternoons surfin' the boob tube, watching whatever chunks of movies I can catch. The ones that hold me for the duration are: Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, and any "urban teen overcoming adversity by either making or dancing to hip hop music" movie.
Next week's prompt: 4/6/10 What's an Easter memory from your childhood? How is/will be your child's Easter celebration different or the same?
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What's a movie you can't not watch if you come across it on TV?
My first job was in a movie theater, shoving popcorn and tearing tickets... it began a love of movies that I still have to this day... there are lots of movies I can watch over and over (and over and over and...)
Those are the movies that I can recite along with the actors, and if I find a line from them making its way into regular conversation, I just might be derailed by a quick re-enactment/scene interpretation.
I've spent more than a few Saturday afternoons surfin' the boob tube, watching whatever chunks of movies I can catch. The ones that hold me for the duration are: Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, and any "urban teen overcoming adversity by either making or dancing to hip hop music" movie.
Next week's prompt: 4/6/10 What's an Easter memory from your childhood? How is/will be your child's Easter celebration different or the same?
Blogging Challenge #7
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
It's Friday the 13th! Do you have any superstitions?
I'm not a generally superstitious person... I'm clumsy; I've broken my share of mirrors and have owned a black (or mostly black) cat for the vast majority of my life... they're bound to have crossed my path at least once or a thousand times! Heck, my parents *met* on Friday the 13th! (Of May, in 1966...) That's not bad luck, if you ask me, 44 years later... I do remember going through phases of superstitiousness when I was a kid... I learned about the tradition of tossing salt over your shoulder, so in a better-safe-than-sorry move, I'd toss salt AND pepper over BOTH shoulders. A girl can't be too safe in this crazy world!
Next week's prompt: 11/20/09 What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
It's Friday the 13th! Do you have any superstitions?
I'm not a generally superstitious person... I'm clumsy; I've broken my share of mirrors and have owned a black (or mostly black) cat for the vast majority of my life... they're bound to have crossed my path at least once or a thousand times! Heck, my parents *met* on Friday the 13th! (Of May, in 1966...) That's not bad luck, if you ask me, 44 years later... I do remember going through phases of superstitiousness when I was a kid... I learned about the tradition of tossing salt over your shoulder, so in a better-safe-than-sorry move, I'd toss salt AND pepper over BOTH shoulders. A girl can't be too safe in this crazy world!
Next week's prompt: 11/20/09 What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?
Blogging Challenge #6
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
The short answer is I'd quit my job and travel. More specifically, I'd homeschool Max and the world would be his classroom... we wouldn't read about the Berlin Wall, we'd visit the site. We wouldn't watch videos about glaciers, we'd find one and climb it! We'd take a year (yes, a year!) and do the Cruise West Voyages of the Great Explorers from beginning to end. We'd eat sushi in Japan, raise a glass in Ireland, go shoe shopping in Italy.
When I got too old to travel, or needed a break stateside, I'd still love to get my RN and work in a NICU or on a transplant floor. I've seen, extensively and first-hand, what a difference great nurses can make, and I think I can be one of those great nurses.
I'm sure Jamie would want to make sawdust all day (when we weren't travelling) so we'd have to move somewhere that he could have a huge, Festool-sponsored workshop... probably Auburn or somewhere... get a couple of acres for when we just need to get away from it all.
When the lottery gets over about $200,000,000 we buy a couple of tickets, and then lie in bed talking about what we'd do with the money... the first cars we'd buy, the first trip, who we'd buy houses/cars/nada for, kids we'd set up trust funds for... if only money was no object... in the meantime, while it *is* an object, I'll be content to daydream and ponder...
Next week's prompt: 11/13/09 It's Friday the 13th! Do you have any superstitions?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
The short answer is I'd quit my job and travel. More specifically, I'd homeschool Max and the world would be his classroom... we wouldn't read about the Berlin Wall, we'd visit the site. We wouldn't watch videos about glaciers, we'd find one and climb it! We'd take a year (yes, a year!) and do the Cruise West Voyages of the Great Explorers from beginning to end. We'd eat sushi in Japan, raise a glass in Ireland, go shoe shopping in Italy.
When I got too old to travel, or needed a break stateside, I'd still love to get my RN and work in a NICU or on a transplant floor. I've seen, extensively and first-hand, what a difference great nurses can make, and I think I can be one of those great nurses.
I'm sure Jamie would want to make sawdust all day (when we weren't travelling) so we'd have to move somewhere that he could have a huge, Festool-sponsored workshop... probably Auburn or somewhere... get a couple of acres for when we just need to get away from it all.
When the lottery gets over about $200,000,000 we buy a couple of tickets, and then lie in bed talking about what we'd do with the money... the first cars we'd buy, the first trip, who we'd buy houses/cars/nada for, kids we'd set up trust funds for... if only money was no object... in the meantime, while it *is* an object, I'll be content to daydream and ponder...
Next week's prompt: 11/13/09 It's Friday the 13th! Do you have any superstitions?
Blogging Challenge #5
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What is your favorite Halloween candy of all time?
I have an admitted *serious* sweet tooth... my taste in candy tends towards the stuff you liked as a kid; if I have to choose between a "grown-up" semi-sweet Godiva truffle rolled in cocoa and a box of Gobstoppers, those Gobstoppers win every time!
I've been known to stash sweets in my desk at work; Jolly Ranchers and Atomic Fireballs are the usual suspects... but Halloween candy is different.
There's something about it that I can't put my finger on; it's just different. The picture I've posted (left) is one I just found through Google images... it's not my candy, I don't even know where that stash was collected, but I know what it smells like! Looking at that picture, I remember the thrill of dumping out my pillowcase on the floor, suspiciously eyeballing my sister, to make sure she wasn't stealing my booty. Keeping an eye on my parents, who supervised the sorting, and I'm sure had to "quality test" my Junior Mints and Reeses. The smell of all that candy and packaging, the cheap Halloween make-up and rubber masks... it all comes rushing back as I look at that photo.
But back to the candy! One of my favorites, that I always picked through for first, were the "Oh Henry" bars... weird thing is, I don't think I've *ever* had a full-sized one! I've only ever had them in my Halloween treats... it makes them all the more special! Reeses have always been beloved as well, but that's pretty universal I think... I can also tell you that the stuff leftover come Thanksgiving? Those rock-hard bullets of Double Bubble that lost their flavor after 4 seconds of chewing... I made a decision a long long time ago to never give out that junk, and I've stuck to it!
Next week's prompt: 11/6/09 If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What is your favorite Halloween candy of all time?
I have an admitted *serious* sweet tooth... my taste in candy tends towards the stuff you liked as a kid; if I have to choose between a "grown-up" semi-sweet Godiva truffle rolled in cocoa and a box of Gobstoppers, those Gobstoppers win every time!I've been known to stash sweets in my desk at work; Jolly Ranchers and Atomic Fireballs are the usual suspects... but Halloween candy is different.
There's something about it that I can't put my finger on; it's just different. The picture I've posted (left) is one I just found through Google images... it's not my candy, I don't even know where that stash was collected, but I know what it smells like! Looking at that picture, I remember the thrill of dumping out my pillowcase on the floor, suspiciously eyeballing my sister, to make sure she wasn't stealing my booty. Keeping an eye on my parents, who supervised the sorting, and I'm sure had to "quality test" my Junior Mints and Reeses. The smell of all that candy and packaging, the cheap Halloween make-up and rubber masks... it all comes rushing back as I look at that photo.
But back to the candy! One of my favorites, that I always picked through for first, were the "Oh Henry" bars... weird thing is, I don't think I've *ever* had a full-sized one! I've only ever had them in my Halloween treats... it makes them all the more special! Reeses have always been beloved as well, but that's pretty universal I think... I can also tell you that the stuff leftover come Thanksgiving? Those rock-hard bullets of Double Bubble that lost their flavor after 4 seconds of chewing... I made a decision a long long time ago to never give out that junk, and I've stuck to it!
Next week's prompt: 11/6/09 If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
Blogging Challenge #4
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What was your (or your child's) "best" Halloween costume ever? (Bonus points for photos!)
I shopped in thrift stores before the age of grunge, before it was cool. Before it was "retro vintage" and it was just old clothes. My dress up box as a kid, I can now appreciate, held some fabulous examples of late seventies women's wear.
When I was in fourth grade, my mom found this dress at Good will; it was a white, strapless, probably mid-1950s, tea length prom dress, and it fit me and I loved it. It even had wires in the bodice that gave my prepubescent body some curves... I was a *magic* dress.
My friends and I decided to dress up in a theme that year, and we were a wedding party... Rachel was a bride, Mattie was the groom, and I was the maid of honor (in white?!?!) and Mattie's dad dressed up as a chauffeur and picked us up from school in her family's old Rolls Royce.
I wore that dress for every dress-up occassion I could think of, for a year or so, as long as it fit me, and by then the fragile, ancient fabric was falling apart, and I'm sure the dress got tossed in one of the many purges of the accumulation of crap in the house... but I'll always remember that dress... I credit it with starting my love of vintage clothing, something that stays with me to this day.
Next week's prompt: 10/30/09 What is your favorite Halloween candy of all time?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What was your (or your child's) "best" Halloween costume ever? (Bonus points for photos!)
I shopped in thrift stores before the age of grunge, before it was cool. Before it was "retro vintage" and it was just old clothes. My dress up box as a kid, I can now appreciate, held some fabulous examples of late seventies women's wear.
When I was in fourth grade, my mom found this dress at Good will; it was a white, strapless, probably mid-1950s, tea length prom dress, and it fit me and I loved it. It even had wires in the bodice that gave my prepubescent body some curves... I was a *magic* dress.
My friends and I decided to dress up in a theme that year, and we were a wedding party... Rachel was a bride, Mattie was the groom, and I was the maid of honor (in white?!?!) and Mattie's dad dressed up as a chauffeur and picked us up from school in her family's old Rolls Royce.
I wore that dress for every dress-up occassion I could think of, for a year or so, as long as it fit me, and by then the fragile, ancient fabric was falling apart, and I'm sure the dress got tossed in one of the many purges of the accumulation of crap in the house... but I'll always remember that dress... I credit it with starting my love of vintage clothing, something that stays with me to this day.
Next week's prompt: 10/30/09 What is your favorite Halloween candy of all time?
Blogging Challenge #3
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What is a specific moment/event that made you realize you were truly "a grown-up"?
I moved out on my own when I was barely 19, and other than about 6 months back with my folks when I first got sick, I've been on my own ever since. It wasn't any time around my first apartment (a 450 square foot studio) that I truly felt like a adult.
It was about 5 years ago, shortly before Jamie and I moved into our current house... I went to Target with my mom, a totally normal errand for us to run on a Saturday morning.
The thing that was different about this trip was one specific item I bought: a toaster.
It's a fabulous toaster; it's a red Kitchen Aid, 2-slice with a bagel setting. And I LOVE it! It makes fabulous toast, and the bagel setting is the greatest invention relating to the toaster since, well, sliced bread!
I don't know if it's obvious yet, what about buying this toaster made me feel like such a grown-up... half of this post has been me swooning and fawning over a small appliance. Getting that new toaster made. my. week.
I would have blogged about, had I blogged back then. I'm pretty sure I posted about it on my message board of the time... I think I even made the realization back then that the level of excitement I felt over a new kitchen gadget meant I had truly "arrived" in Adultville.
I've gotten equally excited over other appliances since then (my Dyson and french door fridge being two that jump to mind!) but there will always be a special place in my heart for that first toaster...
Next week's prompt: 10/23/09 What was your (or your child's) "best" Halloween costume ever? (Bonus points for photos!)
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
What is a specific moment/event that made you realize you were truly "a grown-up"?
I moved out on my own when I was barely 19, and other than about 6 months back with my folks when I first got sick, I've been on my own ever since. It wasn't any time around my first apartment (a 450 square foot studio) that I truly felt like a adult.
It was about 5 years ago, shortly before Jamie and I moved into our current house... I went to Target with my mom, a totally normal errand for us to run on a Saturday morning.
The thing that was different about this trip was one specific item I bought: a toaster.
It's a fabulous toaster; it's a red Kitchen Aid, 2-slice with a bagel setting. And I LOVE it! It makes fabulous toast, and the bagel setting is the greatest invention relating to the toaster since, well, sliced bread!
I don't know if it's obvious yet, what about buying this toaster made me feel like such a grown-up... half of this post has been me swooning and fawning over a small appliance. Getting that new toaster made. my. week.
I would have blogged about, had I blogged back then. I'm pretty sure I posted about it on my message board of the time... I think I even made the realization back then that the level of excitement I felt over a new kitchen gadget meant I had truly "arrived" in Adultville.
I've gotten equally excited over other appliances since then (my Dyson and french door fridge being two that jump to mind!) but there will always be a special place in my heart for that first toaster...
Next week's prompt: 10/23/09 What was your (or your child's) "best" Halloween costume ever? (Bonus points for photos!)
Blogging Challenge #2
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Do you enjoy reading? What do you read and when? What's your favorite book ever?
I am absolutely a reader. I'm reading all the time. When I was kid, I was reading the cereal box at breakfast, slowing my eating down, driving my mom crazy. I always had my nose in a book; being sent to my room wasn't a punishment! It was a chance to read uninterrupted for a while!
Along with my constant reading is the spotting of typos; it comes with my work. They make me crazy, and can turn me off an otherwise great story in moments.
I read whenever I can; part of me wishes my commute (50 minutes/50 miles) was into the City so I could take BART and have free reading time... I usually have a book with me. If not in my hand, it's in my car. I read when I'm waiting for appointments, I'll squeeze in a few pages while pumping gas, and I've even glanced at a page or two when stuck in exceptionally bad traffic! (It was at a crucial part of one of the Twilight books... I couldn't help it!)
I'll read almost anything that's handed to me... trashy magazines, British chick lit, sci-fi thrillers... I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but if a topic really interests me, I will. I read fast; it's not a big deal for me to finish a book in a day or two. Since I've been off hemodialysis, I have a LOT less time to read... Max isn't into letting me sit quietly and get lost in words.
I'm currently reading a Harlen Coben novel, and just read a Dean Koontz book last week... my dad and I tend to get kind of obsessed with authors; Dennis Lehane, Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich, Harlen Coben... we'll read all of an author's books back to back, handing them back and forth between us.
I don't have a favorite book ever... I usually say it's whatever the last thing I read was; I rarely, if ever, re-read a book. Jamie had read the Lord of the Rings books a dozen or more times, he loves them that much. I'm not like that... I'd rather meet new characters than revisit ones I already know. (Unless it's a new book in a series... I *love* characters that span series of books!)
So I can't name a favorite, but a few books that I've read that have stuck with me are: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: A series of 3 books featuring a woman named Thursday Next... kind of complex and hard to follow at moments, but very interesting! The Know-it-All by AJ Jacobs: He's a very funny writer who decided to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. Lots of interesting little tidbits scattered throughout this super easy read. Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande: Very. very interesting collection of anecdotes from this doctor who has travelled the world. And last is the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella... I love British chick lit for some reason, and even though there were more than a few times I wanted to *strangle* Becky Bloomwood, these were fun, easy reads that are perfect for lazy days at the beach sipping frilly drinks with umbrellas in them.
Next week's prompt: 10/16/09 What is a specific moment/event that made you realize you were truly "a grown-up"?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Do you enjoy reading? What do you read and when? What's your favorite book ever?
I am absolutely a reader. I'm reading all the time. When I was kid, I was reading the cereal box at breakfast, slowing my eating down, driving my mom crazy. I always had my nose in a book; being sent to my room wasn't a punishment! It was a chance to read uninterrupted for a while!
Along with my constant reading is the spotting of typos; it comes with my work. They make me crazy, and can turn me off an otherwise great story in moments.
I read whenever I can; part of me wishes my commute (50 minutes/50 miles) was into the City so I could take BART and have free reading time... I usually have a book with me. If not in my hand, it's in my car. I read when I'm waiting for appointments, I'll squeeze in a few pages while pumping gas, and I've even glanced at a page or two when stuck in exceptionally bad traffic! (It was at a crucial part of one of the Twilight books... I couldn't help it!)
I'll read almost anything that's handed to me... trashy magazines, British chick lit, sci-fi thrillers... I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but if a topic really interests me, I will. I read fast; it's not a big deal for me to finish a book in a day or two. Since I've been off hemodialysis, I have a LOT less time to read... Max isn't into letting me sit quietly and get lost in words.
I'm currently reading a Harlen Coben novel, and just read a Dean Koontz book last week... my dad and I tend to get kind of obsessed with authors; Dennis Lehane, Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich, Harlen Coben... we'll read all of an author's books back to back, handing them back and forth between us.
I don't have a favorite book ever... I usually say it's whatever the last thing I read was; I rarely, if ever, re-read a book. Jamie had read the Lord of the Rings books a dozen or more times, he loves them that much. I'm not like that... I'd rather meet new characters than revisit ones I already know. (Unless it's a new book in a series... I *love* characters that span series of books!)
So I can't name a favorite, but a few books that I've read that have stuck with me are: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: A series of 3 books featuring a woman named Thursday Next... kind of complex and hard to follow at moments, but very interesting! The Know-it-All by AJ Jacobs: He's a very funny writer who decided to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. Lots of interesting little tidbits scattered throughout this super easy read. Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande: Very. very interesting collection of anecdotes from this doctor who has travelled the world. And last is the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella... I love British chick lit for some reason, and even though there were more than a few times I wanted to *strangle* Becky Bloomwood, these were fun, easy reads that are perfect for lazy days at the beach sipping frilly drinks with umbrellas in them.
Next week's prompt: 10/16/09 What is a specific moment/event that made you realize you were truly "a grown-up"?
Blogging Challenge #1
For info on this challenge, check out this post!
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Why do you blog? What do you hope to get out of this challenge?
I jumped on the blog bandwagon back in July of 2005... it seemed like all the "cool kids" on my scrapping board were doing it, so I figured why not?! Jamie and I were just dating then, and I was anticipating a proposal, so I knew I'd want to keep track of the wedding planning process, and thought a blog was as good a way as anything! Over the last 4 years, the purpose of this blog has changed... I want to say it's evolved, but I don't know if that's true, since by definition, evolution moves things forward, and this hasn't always done that. It's been a place to collect ideas (while planning various events and projects), to ask for feedback (when I was wedding planning), it's been a place to make information available and save us from dozens of daily phone calls (when Max was in the NICU and his status changed daily), it's been a source of heartbreak (some of you may remember that I found out about my sister's first pregnancy when someone posted an anonymous comment on here, linking me to a post where she talked about it), it's been a receptacle for me to dump stuff (both words and photos) but above all, it's been a running commentary of my life.
I blogged back in the beginning because, often, I was looking for validation. I would update and then run to the message board to get people to come read it, to get them leave me comments. Tell me how funny my anecdotes are, how creative my crafts are, which wedding invitation I should send out... I blog now because I need to document Max's life. All those little things that get lost to time... I want him to be able to look back, years from now, and see what I saw. I want him to know his own story as well as I do.
I started this challenge because I need something to keep me writing; my day to day life, with work and dialysis and raising that boy, it's easy for those little things to fall by the wayside.
Already, and Max is only 17 months old, there are things I know I've forgotten. I never got a chance to document his grunting, when he was little tiny. He was the noisiest sleeper I've ever met! Now, he snoozes quietly (but snores a little if he's sitting up, like in his carseat) and those adorable little pig noises are gone... I took them for granted and never grabbed the video camera to document them.
I hold friends' newborns and try to picture Max that tiny... last week, I met my friend Nichole's week old son, Nolan, who weighed in at 9 lbs or something when he was born, and I could *not* for the life of me remember Max being so tiny! I know he was! For like 5 MONTHS he was tinier than that, but I can hardly remember it!
It's those little things that I want... no, that I *need* to remember.
Next week's prompt: 10/9/09 Do you enjoy reading? What do you read and when? What's your favorite book ever?
Click here to see a complete list of the prompts.
Why do you blog? What do you hope to get out of this challenge?
I jumped on the blog bandwagon back in July of 2005... it seemed like all the "cool kids" on my scrapping board were doing it, so I figured why not?! Jamie and I were just dating then, and I was anticipating a proposal, so I knew I'd want to keep track of the wedding planning process, and thought a blog was as good a way as anything! Over the last 4 years, the purpose of this blog has changed... I want to say it's evolved, but I don't know if that's true, since by definition, evolution moves things forward, and this hasn't always done that. It's been a place to collect ideas (while planning various events and projects), to ask for feedback (when I was wedding planning), it's been a place to make information available and save us from dozens of daily phone calls (when Max was in the NICU and his status changed daily), it's been a source of heartbreak (some of you may remember that I found out about my sister's first pregnancy when someone posted an anonymous comment on here, linking me to a post where she talked about it), it's been a receptacle for me to dump stuff (both words and photos) but above all, it's been a running commentary of my life.
I blogged back in the beginning because, often, I was looking for validation. I would update and then run to the message board to get people to come read it, to get them leave me comments. Tell me how funny my anecdotes are, how creative my crafts are, which wedding invitation I should send out... I blog now because I need to document Max's life. All those little things that get lost to time... I want him to be able to look back, years from now, and see what I saw. I want him to know his own story as well as I do.
I started this challenge because I need something to keep me writing; my day to day life, with work and dialysis and raising that boy, it's easy for those little things to fall by the wayside.
Already, and Max is only 17 months old, there are things I know I've forgotten. I never got a chance to document his grunting, when he was little tiny. He was the noisiest sleeper I've ever met! Now, he snoozes quietly (but snores a little if he's sitting up, like in his carseat) and those adorable little pig noises are gone... I took them for granted and never grabbed the video camera to document them.
I hold friends' newborns and try to picture Max that tiny... last week, I met my friend Nichole's week old son, Nolan, who weighed in at 9 lbs or something when he was born, and I could *not* for the life of me remember Max being so tiny! I know he was! For like 5 MONTHS he was tinier than that, but I can hardly remember it!
It's those little things that I want... no, that I *need* to remember.
Next week's prompt: 10/9/09 Do you enjoy reading? What do you read and when? What's your favorite book ever?
Blog Writing Challenge
Prompted by my post from the other day about feeling like my blog has become a dumping ground for photos of Max and nothing more, I have started a weekly writing challenge on my mom's group message board.
Every Friday, I'll be posting a writing prompt, and everyone that's participating will post on their respective blogs, their response to the prompt.
If you aren't on my board but still want to join in, we'd love to have you! Just link up to my weekly blog post... this is going to be general stuff... sometimes about being a mom, about being a woman, I'll collect memes that seem interesting... if you have a prompt suggestion, let me know, and I'll add it to the list! Don't hesitate to interpret the prompt however you want; the important thing is to get you writing... to document your thoughts. Write as much or as little as you want... this is what you make of it!
Participation is important; please try to read as many fellow participant's posts, and comment on them as well! We all love feedback!
Anyway, the first prompt is this: Why do you blog? What do you hope to get out of this challenge?
Your response to this prompt, if you want to play, should be posted on Friday, Oct. 2
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Every Friday, I'll be posting a writing prompt, and everyone that's participating will post on their respective blogs, their response to the prompt.
If you aren't on my board but still want to join in, we'd love to have you! Just link up to my weekly blog post... this is going to be general stuff... sometimes about being a mom, about being a woman, I'll collect memes that seem interesting... if you have a prompt suggestion, let me know, and I'll add it to the list! Don't hesitate to interpret the prompt however you want; the important thing is to get you writing... to document your thoughts. Write as much or as little as you want... this is what you make of it!
Participation is important; please try to read as many fellow participant's posts, and comment on them as well! We all love feedback!
Anyway, the first prompt is this: Why do you blog? What do you hope to get out of this challenge?
Your response to this prompt, if you want to play, should be posted on Friday, Oct. 2
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
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