100+ Book Reading Challenge 2011--I Have Begun!

 

I mentioned this challenge in yesterday's post, but because I subscribe to the old adage that what you do on New Year's Day is what you will do all the next 364 days, I wanted to ensure I read for pleasure on 1/1/11--and I did.  Sign up and join us--all the details are on the sign-up page linked above and my reading list is currently housed at the bottom of my blog (until I can learn the art of setting up pages in Blogger).  There are other reading challenges listed here as well (the library challenge looks quite interesting and with as much research as I still have ahead of me, I may try that one as well; a book read for one challenge can also be counted for another).  But now to my first review of 2011--

I've never read a graphic novel; I tried comic books when I was younger but never got hooked.  However, when my beloved author Diana Gabaldon announced she was re-telling the story of Jamie and Claire Fraser from Murtagh's POV, I knew the time had come to "go graphic".  My autographed copy came during NaNo and I reluctantly put it away but I made sure I took time to honor it as my first read of 2011.  Once more, Diana did not disappoint.  Covering about the first third of OUTLANDER meant that it was a quick read (after all, the graphics are supposed to overshadow the story line, right?), but it was still superb--and the artist's renderings of Jamie and Claire and Black Jack are wonderful.  I will re-read this again simply to enjoy the drawings and also to catch the nuances between the depictions of Dougal and Murtagh and Kenneth.  OUTLANDER fans will not be disappointed, and newcomers to the series may enjoy a short peek into the saga.

So, one book down and 99 more to go...

"The Times...They are a Changin'"

 I looked everywhere for a still photo of my favorite scene in John Water's Hairspray where Divine as Edna Turnblad is sitting with her husband Wilbur (played by the wonderful Jerry Stiller).  As much as I love the remake starring John Travolta as Edna, I miss what seems to me to be the signature line from the whole movie--"It's the times...they are a changin'".

That's my motto for 2011--the times are changing, and I need to be flexible enough to embrace those changes.  Changes at work are a certainty--a positive attitude regarding those changes helps the company realize I am an asset.  Changes are needed in my eating habits--that saying, "You are what you eat" should not mean I am fast, easy and cheap LOL.

Changes are needed here on my blog as well--a more disciplined approach to posting is forthcoming.  My intent is to post each Sunday at the very least, even if it is only what I shall call a "Sunday Snippet".  That snippet may be a quote, an interesting website I've found, a short book review, or perhaps a (totally unsolicited) product recommendation.

Stampin' Up! has given us a great opportunity to have a blog directly on our website, so my cards and other projects will often be featured there beginning this year (although I may post a picture here as well).  I intend to make my paper crafting more of a priority this year as it is the cheapest form of therapy I know other than reading.

Speaking of reading, we can tell from the list at the bottom of my blog that I failed to meet the 100+ book challenge for 2010...I did read a few more books than those listed, but rather than go back and try to recreate the list, I'm giving myself permission to move on.  Here is the link to sign up for 2011 and as I am an incurable optimist with these challenges, I'm heading over when I finish this post and signing up for this year.  Thank Heavens for my Kindle (and for Kindle for Android)!!

Finally--I am forging ahead with my writing.  Much of today was spent organizing research notes that had been stacked in various spots throughout the apartment, and a trip to the library is on the schedule for tomorrow.  As I found out during NaNoWriMo 2009, I do not write well when I am not organized, so I'm giving my OCD tendencies more control over my writing life.  I'll post pictures soon of my writing corner as I intend to spend many productive hours there this year.

If you have read this far, I thank you.  It was a long post but expressing goals and dreams becomes wordy at times.  To all of you--A Blessed New Year and may you experience many positive changes in this new decade...I wish love and happiness to you all!

What a Decade it Has Been...And a Glimpse of What's Ahead

First..the glimpse (if you haven't already noticed LOL)--I've remodeled my blog!  Since the apartment got remodeled this year, I felt I could do no less for my blog.  For the moment, the changes are mainly cosmetic, but my post tomorrow will outline some plans and ideas I have to improve Multicoloured Imagery...as they say on more traditional media, "stay tuned"...

Now, a look back--a bit of reflection on where I've been...

Ten years ago, I was in a loving, committed relationship and working for a major metropolitan city.  We were anxiously awaiting whether or not the entire computer world would come crashing down on our shoulders due to Y2K.  It didn't.  We survived.  Then came 9/11/2001.  I'm a native Dallasite who was in fourth-grade music class when JFK was assassinated; I was a housewife shopping for groceries when Challenger crashed.  Neither prepared me for the tragedy of 9/11, but neither brought up from the core of my being a love of the United States of America that the aftermath of 9/11 stirred from my unconscious self.  That intense patriotism lives to this day.

On a personal level in the first half of the decade, I realized commitment from one party in a partnership is not enough to sustain the relationship.  I left (he was grateful).  I changed jobs after hitting the glass ceiling repeatedly (I was happy).  Looking back, there was a year or two when the outside world may have thought I was floundering a bit.  I certainly realize now that while I was reinventing myself as a single woman in my late forties, I was also suffering from depression.  I tried a geographic cure, thinking that a complete change of scenery would do me good--and it did.  New Orleans gave me strength and a sense of self I had never experienced.  I fell in love with the people and the character of the city--it was quirky enough that I could allow myself to simply be me.  Sure, I didn't like much of the social inequity I saw, but I also understood its roots and was accepted into the lifestyle and community in a way I had never before experienced.

Then came August 29, 2005 and a hurricane named Katrina.  Once more, I faced a crossroad.  Rebuilding my life from scratch back in Dallas just seemed logical at the time simply because I still had friends and family here.

Fast forward five years--I'm single and loving it.  I have a great job that supplies all my needs and many of my wants.  I live in a fantastic apartment in a decent section of town.  My friends and family ebb and flow in and out of my life as we grow as individuals--some stay for a season, some for a reason, and a few for a lifetime.  All is as it should be.  I salute the challenges and accomplishments of the last decade and I give thanks to the Creator who made all this living of life possible.

And I look forward into a future filled with hopes, dream and possibilities...Welcome to the world, 2011!

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas--some folks celebrate the day as a religious one and others celebrate home, hearth and family while still more observe the commercialism of the season.

Whatever you do on the 25th of December, I hope you enjoy it with all the wide-eyed wonder of a child...and if you have health, hearth, food, family and friends, consider expressing gratitude for all the Blessings that are manifest in your life...

"Why it is Good to Write"

A quick addendum before bed--one of the cozy mystery authors I follow posted this on her blog today and the Universe in all its wonder decided I needed to have some of my thoughts validated...how cool is that?  If a published author can make it through horrendously bad first drafts and still come out the other side, why can't I?

Go check out Elizabeth Spann Craig--she's cool ;-)