My One Little Word: Commit

Lovely necklace from Sky Koltun on etsy.

Back in 2007, scrapbooking guru Ali Edwards started a project for herself called One Little Word. She chooses a word for the coming year, and uses it to guide her life during that year. Here is the link to her blog for this year's word. From the beginning of this project, Ali has invited people to join her on this journey and come up with their own "one little word."

Last year, I picked one little word for 2009. That's as far as it went. This year I've decided to pick a word and live by it throughout 2010. My one little word for 2010 is COMMIT.

2009 was a really tough year. It had some very high highs, and some very low lows.  I needed a word that would help me make 2010 a better year.

I brainstormed a list of at least 20 words before deciding on commit. The word has been swirling around my head for a while, but it really hit me this morning during my yoga class. I can make all my New Years' resolutions reality if I commit to my one little word.

Here are my plans for my word and how I'm going to let it guide me through 2010.

Commit to creating more layouts

Commit to observing everyday life and putting it in my 2010 scrapbook

Commit to make time for myself and preserve my sanity

Commit to Andy and make our marriage stronger

Commit to the memory of Aunt Sue and live my life how she lived hers

Commit to the libraries in which I work and make them better
Commit to my yoga practice
Commit to my family
Commit to my friends
Commit to weight loss and finally achieving my goals

To Be Read Book Challenge

Miz B is hosting a reading challenge in 2010 that I will be taking part in. Here are the details.
** Pick 12 books – one for each month of the year - that you’ve been wanting to read (that have been on your “To Be Read” list) for 6 months or longer, but haven’t gotten around to.
** OPTIONAL: Create a list of 12 “Alternates” (books you could substitute for your challenge books, given that a particular one doesn’t grab you at the time)
** Then, starting January 1, read one of these books from your list each month, ending December 31.
(for more information, please read the challenge FAQs)
By the end of the year you should’ve knocked 12 books off of your TBR list! (of course, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have added *at LEAST* 12 more to the ever-growing pile by then! LOL).
The good news is, though, that you’ll be making some progress! ;o)
Additional rules/guidelines for this challenge:
* the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months — you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.
* you should have a list posted somewhere for others to see
* you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, of the current year!!!
* you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).
* audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed
* re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren’t TRUE “TBRs”
* you CAN overlap with other challenges
* OPTIONAL: you can join the Yahoo! Group created for participants of the TBR Challenge, if you want to have a place to keep your list, or just to share with others about how you’re doing!
These are the books that I'll be reading for this challenge. I have twelve alternatives just in case the book I'm reading doesn't grab me.These are all books that have been sitting on my bookshelves for a very long time.

To Be Read
1. Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursu
2. Every Secret Thing by Lila Shaara
3. The Wishing Year by Noelle Oxenhandler
4. Hateship, friendship, courtship, marriage by Alice Munro
5. The Feast of love by Charles Baxter
6. Where is Joe Merchant by Jimmy Buffett
7. The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe
8. High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby
9. The Ha-Ha by Dave King
10. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
11. Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian
12. Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

Alternates
1. Truth and Consequences by Alison Lurie
2. Patchwork by Karen Osborn
3. Five Things I Can't Live Without by Holly Shumas
4. The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker
5. An Alphabetical Life by Wendy Werris
6. Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
7. Mr. Maybe by Jane Green
8. Envy by Kathryn Harrison
9. The Worst Thing I've Done by Ursula Hegi
10. What to Keep by Rachel Cline
11. March by Geraldine Brooks
12. The Tattooed Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

Friday Five: Christmas Gifts

Merry Christmas to all! Here are five Christmas gifts that I am giving this year.

1. Rocking Motorcycle: This is going to my nephew. He is only nine months old, so he’s a little young for it, but I can’t wait to give it to him.

2. Food Face Plate: I found this on Perpetual Kid. I think my nieces will have lots of fun with them.

3. Bon Jovi: Well, I didn’t buy Bon Jovi for someone, but close enough. I got my friend Vicki in our Secret Santa gift exchange, and I bought her the new Bon Jovi book, When We Were Beautiful, and their new CD, The Circle. I think she’s going to love them! I know I do!

4. Jimmy Buffett: Again, I didn’t actually buy Jimmy Buffett for someone. I did buy his new CD for my grandma. She’s kind of a cool grandma.

5. Books: What would Christmas be without a book as a gift from a librarian? I bought my mom the new Lisa Scottoline book. Since Lisa Scottoline is one of her favorite authors, I know she’s going to love it!

Friday Five + One: Reading Challenges

Until this year, I had never heard of reading challenges. Now, I feel like they’re everywhere. Maybe not everywhere, but now I just am paying more attention. I found a reading challenge that sounds really fun, and at the same time, it’s manageable. The What’s in a Name? Challenge asks you to read in 6 different categories. This is the third year of the challenge, and this year it’s being run by Beth of Beth Fish Reads.
Here are the categories, and some of the ideas for books that I’ve come up with.

1. A book with a food in the title:
Bread Alone by Judi Hendricks
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Better Than Chocolate by Susan Waggoner
Belle in the Big Apple by Brooke Parkhurst
Carrot Cake Murder by Joanna Fluke
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti: A Memoir by Giulia Melucci

2. A book with a body of water in the title:
The Ocean Inside by Janna McMahan
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Sea House by Esther Freud
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman

3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title:
The Doctor’s Wife by Elizabeth Brundage
Wedlock : The True Story of the Disastrous Marriage and Remarkable Divorce of Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore by Wendy Moore
The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli
The King of Ragtime by Larry Karp
The Prince of Nantucket by Jan Goldstein

4. A book with a plant in the title:
Lime Tree Can’t Bear Orange by Amanda Smyth
The Penny Tree by Holly Kennedy
The Brambles by Eliza Minot
Wildflowers by Robin Jones Gunn

5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title:
Capturing Paris by Katharine Davis
Prague by Arthur Phillips
Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White
Molokai by Alan Brennert
Honolulu by Alan Brennert

6. A book with a music term in the title:
A Song I Knew By Heart by Brett Lott
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan
The Song Is You by Arthur Phillips
Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult
Music of Falling Water by Julia Oliver

Friday Five: Movie Quotes

Here are a few of my favorite movie quotes.

1. “Ted Nugent called. He wants his shirt back.” Ocean’s 11
2. “Oh man, my dick’s on fire.” The Recruit
3. “Let’s cut the chit chat, a-hole.” The Rock
4. “He’s a nutbag. For all we know, he’s dancing around in his grandma’s
   underwear, rubbing peanut butter all over himself.” Seven
5. “It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack
   of cigarettes, it’s dark & we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.” The Blues Brothers

What is your favorite movie quote?

Friday Five: Book Covers That I Love

You always hear the cliche, “Never judge a book by it’s cover.” With such great titles out there, how can you not? I’ve always been one of those people who judges a book by the cover. It’s probably a sin to do so as a librarian, but I can’t help it.
When I’m at the library or a bookstore, I browse the shelves and displays and see what jumps out at me. It is often the book covers that catch my eye. I’ll add them to my LibraryThing catalog because I like the cover and want to read the book. Here are five book covers that I love.