Fate and Faith: Julia Quinn

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sunday Sundries--Gratitude Edition First Installment

Coming up on Thanksgiving, I needed to get a few things down in a gratitude journal. It had been a few years since I put a bunch of pages in one of my blank books. So, here are some things to share.
1. Just got a call from my sister in law and my brother will have to have some surgery later in the next year. I'm grateful for my brother and his family and I worry. This made me smile:

As I'm his only sister.
2. I'm so very glad this year's elections are over. I hate the divisiveness it caused and I pray everyone will pull together to take care of all the issues that need to be dealt with. I tried to keep this blog and my Facebook page fairly free of politics. This is all I'm going to say:

What a great ad campaign, huh?
3. I love word play, writing and I even love editing. I have a few friends who are serious about using proper grammar and spelling and I truly respect that. This made me smile too:

Yes, it is important.
4. Friday nights are Girls' Night Out and friends and I have been going out to do things for a very long time. Three of us headed out for lunch and a craft show yesterday afternoon. While this continues the kind of adult theme, it's true:

Can't have enough friends, can you?
5. I have a carved wooden box some friends gave me that I use to keep memories in, until I can get them in the larger storage bin downstairs or organize. I've had a wonderful life and I'm grateful for the pictures, program books, invitations, etc., that make me smile. But:

Keep moving forward.
6. While I was raised to be a lady, my mother taught me to not be afraid to strategically use a curse word. So, here's another thing that sounds funny to be glad for, but sometimes we need "that kind of day" to make the rest of your life feel great:

I just pray they don't hit that often.
7. Earlier in the year, my buddy Pam Asberry went to the Magnolias and Moonlight conference and got me an autographed book from one of my favorite authors. This was a huge thing, as I have been collecting autographed books since I worked at a bookstore in the 1980s. This was the book:

So, this gratitude includes books in general, romance and friendship also.
8. I had an unusual childhood, but we had some great adventures. I need to get this button:

It's made me what I am now, so no need to look at the past with regrets.
9. Those past experiences have made me very practical in my perspective on life. I need to get this t-shirt:

Besides, I look good in red.
10. I'm grateful I've been able to lose almost sixty pounds in the past year and keep it off. This shirt made me laugh, though:

11. I do occasionally have what I call "brain farts," but I've learned not to sweat it as much. This is true and made me smile:

12. I'm also grateful for the space program and all the wonderful science it's given us:

There's the first installment of my gratitude list. More later, I promise. Everybody have a great week--I'm grateful for all of you!

Freely admitted--I'm a book ho.

I grew up in a library. Mom worked at our small town library in the '60s and '70s. I volunteered in the middle school and high school libraries. One of my college workstudy jobs was at the library. I was a retail bookstore manager for almost ten years. I had a temp job at a medical library. On vacations, my husband and I usually scour the local bookstores. You get the picture.

So, when I started writing again, I wanted to get back into the swing of things. I was on the road for work and spent a lot of time reading, which I considered research. I got back into my Regency romance obsession when I found Stephanie Laurens' Cynster series, the first two in one volume, on a bargain book table. Since 2007, I've kept a list of books read and in 2008, I read well over a hundred titles.

When I signed onto Facebook, Blogger and Goodreads last year, I discovered whole new worlds of authors and reading communities in which to wallow. While it's been very enjoyable, it's significantly cut into my reading time. Plus the fact, I've been writing my own stuff. I've skimmed through parts of dozens of books, but only read enough of maybe two to consider I've "finished" them.

That hasn't stopped me from buying books, though. Whether it's checking out what they've got for $3 at Big Lots, spending a hour skimming the huge wall o' books at The Mission Store or pointing and clicking on-line at Better World Books http://www.betterworldbooks.com/ I check my printed out list (not that I've EVER bought duplicates grumblegrumble) and give an inner squeal when I find things I don't have. I've been checking the book giveaways on various blogs and on Goodreads periodically http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway and it's a real thrill when I get a package in the mail with a "freebie." Another obsession is autographed books and if I see a posting by an author I follow that they're doing an autographing somewhere, I have a credit card and I know how to use it, unfortunately. Other new and used bookstores, Walmart and last month's Evansville Vanderburgh County Public Library sale add to the growing piles of books in the dining room. Let us not forget the closing of our local Borders, where my husband and I purchased our birthday and Christmas presents for ourselves at 40-70% off.

So, here's a PARTIAL list of what I've acquired this past three months, new, used and freebie. Imagine if I started reviewing stuff--no, therein lies madness.