Journal Jots

I Moved

2009-08-12T20:53:00.002-04:00

I have moved my blogs in together and changed locations. You can now find me at www.neverquiteperfect.com I hope to see you there. Please update your bookmarks and feeds accordingly.

Take A Chance Challenge

2009-07-22T20:46:00.000-04:00

I love to read and I'm always looking for new books to read. So I've decided to enter the Take A Chance Challenge over at Find Your Next Book Here. This challenge offers 10 random ways to find your next book to read. Some of them look rather interesting so I thought I would check it out. You can click on the button at the top of the post to get more information.

This challenge started on June 1, 2009 (I'm a little late starting, what can I say) and runs through November 30, 2009. That still gives me a little over 4 months to complete the 10 tasks. I can do this. I plan to post updates as I complete the challenges so you can keep up with my progress. Oh, and one grand prize winner will recieve $25 worth of books from Amazon (winners choice of books). How cool is that.

Teaser Tuesday

2009-05-04T20:20:00.003-04:00

For Teaser Tuesday we take the book we are currently reading, let it open to a random page and select two sentences from the page as a teaser. I am currently reading Face of Betrayal (A Triple Threat Novel) By Lis Wiehl with April Henry so that is where this teaser is from.

Here's the teaser, from page 178:

And that they should keep all their essentials - their ID and prescriptions - in one place, ready to go. Oh, and they should use a code sentence when they are on the phone and he can hear them.

For more Teaser Tuesday posts, head over to Should Be Reading for all the links. You know, in case your To Be Read Pile isn't quite large enough yet.

Musing Monday - TBR Pile

2009-05-04T14:05:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I participated in Musing Monday over at Just One More Page. But I am happy to say that I am participating again this week and will be trying to participate every Monday from now on. Anyway, here is this week's Musing:

How many books (roughly) are in your tbr pile? Is this in increasing number or does it stay stable? Do you ever experience tbr anxiety in the face of this pile?

Wow, my To Be Read pile is not as out of control as it use to be, but it is still in need of some serious taming. If you want to know how many actual books I have sitting at home waiting to be read, that number is probably around 200. Now I do need to go through those because some of them no longer interest me and can be weeded out.

Then you have the virtual To Be Read Pile. Those are the books that I want to read, but I haven't picked up yet. I don't have an actual list of these (something else for me to work on), but I would guess that number is somewhere closer to 100 and can easily grow any time I set foot in a bookstore or library.

The only anxiety this question brings up in me is the worry that my books are getting out of control and I'll never be able to read them all. Considering the size of my pile and the rate at which I add books, that is a legitimate concern.

This question reminds me that I really need to clean my bookshelves off and at least get my wish list of books to read written up. Ah yes, more tasks that need to be completed.

To see more answers to these questions, head over to Musing Mondays at Just One More Page.

Book Giveaways for Mother's Day

2009-04-17T11:18:00.002-04:00

5 Minutes For Books is hosting a Mother's Day Giveaway event. Between now and April 25 they will be giving away a different book every day. You can also enter the grand prize giveaway for one of each book that they are giving away. Oh how I love books, and free books are even better. So if you love books like I do, head over there and check it out.

Musing Mondays - March 30

2009-03-30T08:11:00.003-04:00

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about recording your reading…

Do you keep track of what and/or how many books you read? How long have you been doing this? What's your favorite tracking method, and why?If you don't keep track, why not?

I have been tracking my books read since I was in high school. It originally started as a paper list, then it moved to an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet lasted for a several years, but then that got to be a hassle to update. So for the last few years I was keeping a paper list again in the back of my planner. That method worked well for me until I gave up my paper planner this year. This year I decided to track the books I've read in a Google Document. This is working well because I can access it from anywhere with the Internet and I've even made my list public so anyone can see it. You should be able to see my list here.

I'm not sure how long I'll keep my list exactly like this. I'm always looking to improve things so I may get some good ideas from other answers to this question. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's responses to this one.

To see other responses to this Musing Monday question, head over to Just One More Page.

What's On Your Nightstand?

2009-03-24T00:00:00.001-04:00

Since our new library opened this month I've been going to the library more and checking out books. And amazingly, I've been reading them too. It's so nice to be getting back to reading.

Right now I'm reading Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, Book 1) by Richelle Mead. Lately I've been in the mood for a supernatural book, but I didn't want anything that was too far out there. So this is what I wound up with.

Here's a brief summary of the book:Georgina Kincaid is a succubus in Seattle with a day job at a bookstore. She can't even kiss another person without it sucking away part of their life force so her dating life is a bit dull.

Her favorite author, Seth Mortensen, has recently moved to town and is using the cafe in the bookstore she works in as his writing locale. Of course she can't even have a relationship with Seth because of her succubus nature. Meanwhile, another force is at work in the Seattle demon underground. So far a vampire has been killed, a demon seriously injured and a note left by the perpetrator for Georgina. And I'm only about a third of the way through this book.

I hope to finish up this book this week. I've pretty much been sucked into it already so that shouldn't be a problem. I may wind up a little sleep deprived, but I will finish this book in the next few days. Then I will move on to the sequel Succubus on Top (Georgina Kincaid, Book 2) which I checked out from the library the same day so it's already waiting on my nightstand.

To see what books other people have on their nightstand, head over to 5 Minutes For Books.

A Stationary Giveaway

2009-03-13T07:53:00.004-04:00

Just Pure Lovely is hosting a giveaway of $150 in Fashion Office Line products from Carolina Pad. The winner gets their choice of two different styles. The picture is for the Eye Candy style which is my favorite.

Head over there and check it out. The giveaway ends Friday, March 13th (that's today people) at Midnight so you only have a few more hours to enter.

Online Journaling Community

2009-01-22T05:00:00.000-05:00

I previously posted about the Embodiment community at Live Journal. The whole point of the community is to get you to write in your paper journal every day. Even if this isn't a goal of yours, I still recommend stopping over to browse their community posts. Some of the members post pictures of their journals and you can get some great inspiration there. There are also lots of good text posts. All in all, I think its a nice journaling community and worth checking out if you're into paper journaling.

Magazine Inspiration

2009-01-21T20:59:00.003-05:00

Lately I've been coming across lots of offers for free magazines and I've signed up for some of them. These magazines can be great sources of inspiration for journaling. For example, in the mail today I received the current issue of Nylon magazine. There are a lot of pictures in there that I can't wait to cut out and add to my journal. I think I'll wind up collaging some of them. It's been awhile since I've gotten that much inspiration from one issue of a magazine. The poor magazine has only been in my house a couple hours and I'm already ripping it up.

Have you gotten any inspiration for your journaling from magazines? If so, which ones?

Wednesday Weirdness #39

2009-01-21T10:50:00.003-05:00

WW #39

1.) Do you drive with your hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel? Sometimes

2.) How long do you keep cards given to you on birthdays and holidays before throwing them away? If you don't throw them out, what do you do with them? Some of them I keep forever and some get thrown away whenever I clean up the table where they got plopped. The ones that I keep are in my file cabinet.

3.) If, when you die, you could will any one of your characteristics to your children (child/future children), what would it be and why? My sense of humor because it can get you through some tough times.

4.) What is the best personality trait you got from your mother and the best personality trait that you got from your father? Dad - Sense of Humor; Mom - Being able to push people's buttons and annoy them like crazy. Ok, so some people wouldn't consider this the "best," but it can be fun.

5.) What is something that you wish you had a better understanding of? My husband.

6.) What makes you nervous? Bad drivers. Especially when they are near me on the road.

7.) What is the strangest household object that you have ever or would ever use for help in masturbation? Right. I think I'll skip this one.

8.) What do you have sitting on the counter top in your bathroom? Toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrush, a couple screws, a jasmine plant, nail clippers. There are probably a few other things, but I can't remember them right now.

To see more answers to these questions, head over to Wednesday Weirdness.

Journaling the Inauguration

2009-01-20T14:24:00.002-05:00

No matter what your political views, I think that we can all agree that today is a historical day. So why not take some time to write about the inauguration in your journal? Years from now you will probably be glad you have those memories written down. Here are some questions to get you started:

Did you go to the inauguration? Watch it on tv? Neither?
What moments from the inauguration stood out for you?
What do you think about the crowd of people gathered for the inauguration?
How do you feel about the new President?
How do you feel about our new ex-President?
How did you feel when President Obama stumbled over the Oath?
Do his speech move you?

These questions are just to get you started. Once you get going you should be able to write and write.

Thursday Thunks

2009-01-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

1. Whats the coldest temps you've experienced? I hate the cold weather. Why did you have to bring that up and make me cold again? I'm sure we've had 0 degree weather, but I don't know how far below zero I have experienced. Not much I'm sure and I prefer to block memories of that much cold.

2. Whats for dinner tonight? Spaghetti and Italian sausage

3. Would you consider this job in Australia? Hmm, let me think about that... Oh yeah, I would love it. At least until I got sunburn. And I always get sunburn.

4. What was your favorite subject in high school? Drafting

5. How many hours a day is your tv on? Maybe 2.

6. Have you ever received an award? Like a real award? Does honor roll back in high school count?

7. Whats your mousepad look like? What mousepad?

8. Do you think Bud should do the Thursday Thunk meme? Sure. I'm sure he could provide some interesting answers.

9. How many browser tabs do you have open right now? Just 2. Not very many for me I know.

10. If you are a parent, have you or did you ever put Vicks VapoRub on your children under the age of 2? I've put Vicks BabyRub on my daughter's chest does that count? And I'd do it again too. Just don't tell my husband. He would freak.

11. If you had to pick one insect to infest your house for 1 day and after that day they would just suddenly vanish, which insect infestation would you pick? Ants. The stupid ants return every spring and I'm tired of them.

12. What color is your underwear that you are wearing right at this moment? Plain old White.

13. What was the last think you watched on tv? Good eats. Gotta love Alton Brown.

14. What are your plans for the 4th of July this year? Comfort my dogs and grumble about my neighbors setting off fireworks. Oh and maybe a cookout. It's a little early to make plans isn't it?

15. Tell us about one absolutely wonderful thing that happened to you as a teenager and every time you think of it, it brings a smile to your face. I'm coming up with nothing. I'll have to think on that and get back to you.

16. What product could you sell someone based on your love for it? Wii Fit

To see more answers to these crazy questions, head over to Thursday Thunks.

Thursday Thunks

2008-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

1. Do you like waffles? Yes

2. Name 3 things that is within your reach right now, excluding anything to do with your computer/laptop. My hot tea, a picture of my daughter and a container of gum

3. Do you hang laundry out on a line outside? No, it isn't allowed in my neighborhood.

4. Loss of vision, ability to speak or hearing - which do you choose? (you have to choose one....) I guess loss of vision since my vision is so bad already.

5. On a scale from 1 - 10, how are your computer skills? 8

6. Do you volunteer or donate to anything around the holidays? We donate. I don't really have time to volunteer, heck I'm trying to find time to clean my house.

7. If a person receives a DUI while in government office, should he lose his/her position? Yes, if they aren't responsible they should not be there. I would wait until they were found guilty of DUI though. I do feel it's important to stick with the whole innocent until proven guilty deal in situations like that.

8. Do you take vitamins? When I remember

9. Do you wear fingernail polish? Sometimes, but not that often. Although I do have a lot of fingernail polish.

10. If every flower in the world only grew into one color, which color would you want? Purple. I love purple.

Thursday Thunks

2008-11-27T00:01:00.001-05:00

1. Today is the biggest day in your chosen career. You have THE job interview. Everything must be spot on. As you are getting dressed, you realize Oops!, you forgot to do laundry. You have NO clean underwear. What do you do? Go commando, wear yesterday's dirty undies, wear them inside out, buy new ones on the way to the interview or just say screw it and go back to bed? Go commando.

2. If you took a fully cooked turkey and a ripe watermelon and dropped them from 50 ft up, which would make a bigger splat and mess? I would think the watermelon

3. An ex lover, friend, or spouse is in a serious accident, they have lost their current memory and think you 2 are still together. S/he keeps calling for you from their hospital bed. The family calls begging you to come visit until s/he regains current memory. Do you go? I highly doubt it. These is a reason they are an ex.

4. You have the opportunity to meet your favorite famous person. You have heard the person isn't nice in real life. Do you go ahead and meet them or choose to keep your fantasy of them real to you? Why or Why not? I say keep the fantasy real. I don't deal well with nasty people so if I met them it would probably end badly. It's best to just avoid situations like that if at all possible.

5. Do you like lemons? Do you use them to clean with or just as a food source? I'm not very big on lemons. Lemonade iced tea is about the extent of my lemon usage.

6. If chosen to be in a horror/suspense movie, would you do it? If so, would you be willing to be the first person killed in the movie? I always thought it would be cool to play a dead body on one of those shows like CSI. So yeah, I would be willing to be the first person killed in the movie.

7. It's raining. It's cold. You cannot leave the house. How do you spend the day? Curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book.

To see more answers to these crazy questions, head over to Thursday Thunks

Wednesday Weirdness

2008-11-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

1. What are you thankful for this year? My family, both my husband and I having jobs,

2. Since some of our participants are not in the US, what do you think about Thanksgiving? I'm in the US and I love Thanksgiving. I think it's a great start to the holiday season.

3. What is your favorite part of the holiday/ your least favorite. Spending time with family.

4. Mashed Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes? Mashed potatoes, definitely.

5. Do you own eating pants? Describe. Sorry, no.

6. What is your favorite thing to do with the Thanksgiving leftovers? Eat them. Ok, turkey sandwiches are good. By the time we're done with the turkey I'm sure we'll be sick of it though.

7. Who are you most looking forward to seeing? Least? I would like to plead the 5th on this questions. I don't know which of my familiy members will read this and I don't want to start any drama.

8. Do you go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving? I did for several years, but I'm not sure if I will this year or not. Now that I have a baby it takes a lot more to motivate me to get out there and shop on Black Friday.

To see other answers to these questions, head over to Wednesday Weirdness.

Thuirsday Thunks

2008-11-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

1. Do you like potatoes? Yes What kind? Baked, french fries, mashed potatoes
Edited to add - Knish. How could I have forgotten knish? Talk about yummy potato goodness.

2. If you were dressed up in a fish costume and you went underwater and a shark saw you, what would you do? If I'm underwater in a fish costume I'm probably already drowning because I am a horrible swimmer. Plus I wouldn't even see the shark because I don't open my eyes when I'm underwater. So I guess I would be completely oblivious until the shark came up and bit me.

3. Does Jello make you happy? I'm told that when I was a child jello made me hyper so it was forbidden. Now it cane make me smile depending on how its prepared. Jello shooters anyone?

4. If you could have any animal, exotic, extinct or other type, what would it be? A Monkey. Come on, you know it would be cool to have your own monkey. (Sorry I forgot to answer this one earlier)

5. Would you fill up a pool with pudding and jump in? That would be a waste of good pudding.

6. When you are feeling icky with the sickness feeling, what is your first choice for feel-better medicine? Hot tea

7. Do you count with your fingers or in your head when it comes to mathematical equations? Usually in my head, but I have been known to tap my fingers to help count on occasion.

8. Do you have any key chains on your keyring? Yes How many? 3 Actual key chains and 13 of those plastic store cards What kind? a plastic scooby, a metal scooby locket type and a brookstone purple led light

9. What do you dunk your french fries in? Heinz ketchup or nothing

10. When I say "Moo I'm a duck" do you think of a cow or a duck? Cow

11. If you had the chance, would you go to the very bottom of the ocean? No, I think I'd have a panic attack being under that much water. It would be interesting to see video of it though.

12. Would you rather be spiderman or batman? Spidergirl. Climbing walls would be so cool.

13. Would you rather be in a hurricane or a tornado? A tornado would be more interesting if I knew it wouldn't kill me

13 is bad luck... last question by me (Berleen)

14. Do you like pumpkin pie? It's ok Do you cheat and buy a premade one or do you make it from scratch? Last time I made it using canned pumpkin (not completely from scratch, but not premade either) Heck, do you even make pumpkin pie at all? Once

To see more responses to these crazy questions, head over to Thursday Thunks.

Wednesday Weirdness

2008-11-19T12:05:00.002-05:00

1.) Have you ever taken your clothes off for money? No, can't say that I have.

2.) Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning Person

3.) Do you take any kind of medication daily or regularly? No. If so, what? I try to take a daily vitamin but forget to take it more often then not.

4.) Do you ever have naughty thoughts about any of your friends significant others? Nope

5.) What are your favorite comfort foods?

6.) Would you rather direct a porn or star in one? If I had to choose one it would be direct. I don't think my naked body needs to be filmed.

7.) Have you ever seen a "donkey show"? No, I hadn't even hear of them until I read this. Would you ever be interested in seeing one? No, that's a little too out there for me.

8.) On a scale of 1 to 10, how gullible of a person would you say you are? A 3 maybe. (I'm assuming 1 is the least gullible).

To check out more responses to these questions, check out Wednesday Weirdness.

Teaser Tuesday - For A Few Demons More

2008-11-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

For Teaser Tuesday I am taking my excerpt from For A Few Demons More By Kim Harrison. These lines are from page 208.

"So he had gotten me hot and bothered. It wasn't hard to do when you know what buttons to push, and my demon bite was huge button, easy to hit and hard to miss."
For more Teaser Tuesday excerpts, head over to Should Be Reading.

Thanksgiving Journal Prompts

2008-11-17T19:54:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just over a week away. To help celebrate I thought I would post some Thanksgiving related prompts.

What family traditions are you looking forward to this Thanksgiving?
What family traditions are you hoping to avoid this Thanksgiving?
Are there any special family recipes that you use for Thanksgiving?
Where is your family celebrating Thanksgiving?
Who will be at your Thanksgiving feast this year? Are there any new additions? Anyone missing?
What activities does your family participate in while they're waiting for dinner?
Do you use the good china or the paper stuff?
Who prepares the meal? Did you make any culinary contributions to the meal?
Write out the menu and who prepared what.
What was your favorite dish? Least favorite?
Where does everyone sit for dinner?
Were there any interesting conversations during dinner?
Write about dessert.
Who cleans up the mess?
What activities did your family participate in after dinner?
What was your favorite memory of this Thanksgiving?
Compare the Thanksgivings of your childhood to the Thanksgivings of your adult life.
What was different about Thanksgiving this year?

If you want to prepare yourself for Thanksgiving, you could always write out 100 Things You Are Thankful For. It's not as easy as you might think to come up with 100 different things.

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile

Thursday Thunks

2008-11-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

1. Have you ever pooped in the woods? No, can't say that I have.

2. You are starving. You have not had anything to eat for days. In front of you is poison ivy, a live hissing cockroach, and a rotten stinky piece of some sort of mystery meat to eat. Which would you pick and why? The poison ivy. Hissing cockroaches are just nasty and the smell of stinky meat would make me sick. Thank goodness I'm not allergic to poison ivy.

3. Bottled or Tap water? Bottled usually, sometimes tap. It's more of a convenience factor.

4. Your dream job, what would it be and why? I'm not really sure and I've been trying to figure that out. My thoughts on that have changed over the years, but I do know I would much rather work for myself. Working for someone else has its benefits, but I don't feel like I'm cut out to do this forever.

5. Do you have any snow globes? Yes, Two of the PartyLite Christmas globes.

6. Do you like your bed? Yes If not, what kind of bed do you want? I really like my bed. My father made it for me from a design book I found a few years ago.

To check out other responses to these questions, head over to Thursday Thunks.

Wednesday Weirdness

2008-11-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

1.) When was your last visit to an emergency room? Earlier this year, towards the end of winter. What happened? My daughter had a high fever.

2.) Who do you look more like: Mom, dad or another relative? My mom

3.) What sounds annoy you? Squeaky brakes, knuckle cracking, whiny people.

4.) What are three movies could you(or have you) watch(ed) over and over and still love? I really don't watch movies over and over. Heck, I don't have time to watch movies once anymore.

5.) Do you ever wish you were someone else? Nope. I don't see the point in wasting time on things like that. It's not going to happen so why make yourself miserable?

6.) What do you think of when you think of Paris? Crazy fashion

7.) What' s the last sporting event you watched? I can't even remember. I'm really not into sports so I don't watch them as a rule.

8.) What do you think about sexual Role Playing? I think it's pretty cool.

To check out other answers to these questions, head over to Wednesday Weirdness.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-11T20:46:00.003-05:00

For more Wordless Wednesday, head over to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Teaser Tuesday - Swallowing Darkness

2008-11-11T08:14:00.004-05:00

This is the first time I'm actually participating in Teaser
Tuesday hosted by Should Be
Reading. Head over and check out the other posts to get an idea of what
other bloggers are reading.

My Teaser Tuesday comes from Swallowing
Darkness by Laurell K Hamilton this week. These sentences are from page
294.

"A shower of rose petals blew across us, like pink snow. I felt the man
shudder underneath my hands, and there was more pain, more blood, and another
nail fell into his half-open hand."

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-06T04:00:00.001-05:00

This week is my first week trying out my new Thankful Thursday method. Every night before I go to bed, I write down 5 things I am thankful for that day. I try to keep it relevant to that day's events. It wouldn't be a very good exercise if I wrote the same things over and over again. So, here are the things I have been thankful for this week:

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The free razor I received in the mail today.
My older dog's ear is looking a lot better. Hopefully the staph infection is clearing up.
My husband cooking dinner for me.
NPR - My main source of news anymore.
Gas prices are dropping.

Friday, October 31, 2008

My daughter's first Halloween
Time with my family. They came over for family game night and to celebrate my brother's birthday, but we didn't get around to playing any games.
Getting off work 45 minutes early
Seeing all the kids in their Halloween costumes. I love seeing how everyone dresses up every year.
The deals I found on Halloween candy. Yeah for sales, coupons and rebates.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Getting my errands run.
Getting more Christmas shopping done.
My husband only needed 4 stitches in his hand. I'm very thankful that the injury wasn't worse. People (like my father) have been known to cut fingers off with those razor knives.
Finding the Glade flameless candles free after coupon at the grocery store. I love these.
Free magazine subscriptions. We always have reading material around here now.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

The wood on our bay window has now all been replaced and the job was completed without any new injuries.
Getting my kitchen and pantry cleaned up.
Seeing the joy on my daughter's face when she crawls around after our dogs.
My digital camera. I love being able to take pictures of my daughter for my blog and to share with family and friends.
All the beautiful fall leaves adding color to nature. Fall is my second favorite season.

Monday, November 3, 2008

My husband picking our daughter up from daycare so that I was able to get home 45 minutes earlier then usual.
Reaching 100 posts on both of my blogs.
My elephant journal. It's just so much fun to write in.
Time to walk my dogs at night. They love it and the exercise is good for me.
Our stockpile of food and such. It helps us save money.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The election is finally over.
Finding out Super Fresh has triple coupons this week.
Time to work on my blogs and get some posts scheduled
Being able to leave work an hour early to go vote.
The can of coup that was in my desk at work. Without it I wouldn't have had lunch today.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Time with my daughter. She is such a sweetie. She brings joy to my life in ways I had never imagined possible.
Contentment. I don't know exactly why, but lately I find that I am content with my life in ways that surprise me. I think I will have to post more on this later.
Flex spending accounts at my husband's job. They save us tax money. Yeah!
The tour of Raven's Stadium I got to take today. It was so much fun and I loved seeing the different areas of the stadium.
My datebook. Without it I would be lost.