August Blog Challenge Day 28

Today's challenge is to document 5 books that I would recommend and why. Hmmm, this might be tough. I have read, and forgotten, so many books and even though I have a lot of books that I really loved, I'm not certain they would be 'worthy' of recommending to others. But, here are some books that I can recall that I think at least some of you out there might also appreciate.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Classic novel. Great story. If you have missed reading this, you are a fool. I think everybody should read this book....and see the movie.

2. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore - I have spoken about this book in the past. It is just one of those books that made me laugh out loud. I'm sure a lot of people would find it offensive as it is a little sacrilegious, but it is still funny.

3. The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco - I first read these books in my "Mystery as Literature" class in college. Again, some may find them walking the edge of sacrilegious, but I don't care. They are suspenseful and intriguing and keep your mind occupied while you are engrossed in them. They would probably fall into the "can't put down" category.

4. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - This book, and the whole Thursday Next series of which this is the first, are great books for literary aficionados, and others as well. I love the play on words and ideas through out this series. However, it is also just full of fluff and nutter, which I also love.

5. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - This goes back to my childhood reading, obviously. But I love this book and think it is one of those great books that teaches you to accept creatures no matter what they look like and to not take a blanket view of somebody just because of your history with people "like" them. You should accept everyone as an individual. I mean, even the rat turned out to be pretty decent....oh and of course I cried at the end.

August Blog Challenge Day 27

Today's challenge is to post a picture of myself as I was last year and how I am now and then document how I have changed since then. Well, I'm not going to do that....My Blog My Rules!...besides, I think there has been more than enough pictures of me posted in the recent past.

I will, however, document how I have changed since last year. 

I will start off with sort of recapping my year. This time last year I was the Team Lead for my current team. I was traveling to Washington DC every other week and failing miserably in both my work and personal life. I took the leadership position thinking that it would be a smooth hand off and that I would actually be productive in the position. However, due to circumstances that I really do not want to hash out here, nor do I really think I want to ever revisit them, I was actually a pretty ineffective leader. And, because of the travel that was required, I was coming home worn out and unhappy. The weeks that I was home were unproductive on a personal level because I was so very stressed about the work situation. Luckily, come November/December time frame decisions were made that led to my demotion (see Celebration!!). It took a while for all the moving parts to click into place and for the stress to be removed from my plate, but eventually it was. 

My Dad got sick, though he is now on the mend, but that struck home with me that my family is so very important to me and I need to work harder to spend time with them. I mean, I moved back from California so I would be closer, and yet I still don't see them as much as I should. 

I then had the opportunity to do some wonderful traveling through Europe last spring, which was so amazing and I will not go into detail here as it has already been widely documented. 

In the recent months, I have made an effort to 'find myself' and in doing this I have found a church that I like going to (which is really exciting to me because it has been decades since I have found any meaning in organized religion). I have started exercising again, even though I will probably never reach some of my earlier goals, I am at least trying to get healthy. 

In recent weeks, okay this past week, I have found myself back up in my studio doing some quilting and quilt designing, which I haven't had the energy or drive or spark to do in so long that I truly can't remember when. I'm excited about creating again, and that feels good. 

I'm starting to think about what I want out of life and trying to find that balance between being a good worker bee and being the artist that I know is somewhere inside me. 

So, back to the original question...what has changed in the last year? 

A lot and not enough. I am coming to grips with who I am and who I can be. While I am still pretty self-deprecating, I'm learning to love myself again. I cry...a lot...and mostly at good things. I admit that I'm sad and alone sometimes but I don't let it get me down, much. I'm happy, though, that I am alone because I do not have to consider somebody else when making plans, or not making plans. Don't get me wrong, I would still love to have somebody in my life and I'm still looking, but if it doesn't happen, I think I'll be okay with that.....it'll just mean that my niece and nephew get to take care of me in my old age. 

So, to wrap it all up with a pretty bow..... I'm continually trying to change and improve myself. It is a never-ending process of self-discovery and awakening and acceptance. Oh! And I'm no longer as stressed as I was and in general, I'm pretty happy. 

August Blog Challenge Day 26

Today's challenge is to discuss 5 books that are currently in your "to read" stack. Well, I have A LOT more than 5 books in my "to read" stack, so instead, I'll post about the books that I'm currently in the process of reading, and yes, I am reading more than one at a time.... 1. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - I am so in love with this book, and to be totally honest with you since I am writing some of these posts ahead of time by the time you are reading this post I will have already finished this book. 2. The Twilight of Lake Woebegotten by Harrison Geillor - This is a spoof on the Twilight series as well as the radio program Lake Wobegon by Garrison Keillor. It is an okay book, don't think I would recommend it to many folks, but I am enjoying the light read. 3. The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide - This is providing me some knowledge in preparation for my next path. 4. The Minstrel Boy by Laura Vosika - Entertaining book. It is the second in the Bluebells Series, which nobody has probably heard of as it is something that I just stumbled across. Again, not something that I would highly recommend but I am enjoying the read. 5. Teaching the Dog to Think by Kimberly Davis - This was a recommendation from my Mom and it too is interesting. It is helping me to better understand how to work with Leo to, hopefully, make him a better behaved beast. All of these books are on my Kindle, which is where I have most of the books that I read anymore. Perhaps I need to go visit my shelf of books and select something from there to read next....

August Blog Challenge Day 25

Today's challenge is to discuss my greatest fear. Now, I have a number of fears... Dieing alone Being put in charge Speaking in front of crowds Wearing horizontal stripes But my deep down fear has always been houses on fire. I worry that my own house is going to catch on fire, which is why I overly careful with candles and lighting the fireplace, which I've never done. I always make certain that the burners are turned off on the stove. I am diligent about unplugging hairdryers, curling irons, toasters, irons, etc. I have a new fear ever since I saw the book If Only I Could Talk in the suggestions list from Amazon.com The description is: Trapped in a house fire, Nelson is dying. If only he could open the door. Nelson whimpers his final goodbye to Rascal, his canine soul mate, their paws almost touching through the heavy glass that separates them.... And then I get weepy and can't read any more and so now I worry whenever I leave the house and Leo is in his crate, what would he think if I didn't come home and worse yet, what if he was trapped in this house and it was on fire. I would feel so horrible. So there you have it, my biggest fear is a house fire and the second would be anybody, or anything, being trapped in a fire...