I love laundry

I am so wierd.  I really, really enjoy doing laundry.  I know there's something wrong with me.  But it's true!  It's the one household task that I don't really mind.  (Of course, I whine and moan and generally pay somebody else to do all the others.)  But there's something about laundry that satisfies me.  I think it's because I can always finish it.  It's methodical, it's not messy, and when it gets done, it's DONE.  I love that.

And it's a good thing I love it, too, considering basically my entire life is laundry.  Clothes, sheets, clothes, sheets, clothes, sheets, sheets, sheets, sheets.  

So a couple Christmases ago, Mom and Dad outfitted me with all sorts of awesome stuff from IKEA to make my tiny laundry room work better.  Now my laundry room looks like this:

Those bins on the left are on wheels, so I can roll them in and out and around the room as much as I want.  Very handy, since the room is so small.  The silver racks on the wall can either be folded up against the wall so they don't take up any space while I'm not using them, or they can come out and be used as drying racks.  And of course, my favorite, Otto the Octopus hangs from the shelves.  (Otto's legs also fold up so he's this funny pear shape when I don't need to use his clothespins.  

So that's what my room usually looks like.  But when I get back from a long vacation, it looks like this:

Every space, bin, rack, basket, and extra rack in use.  It's a huge mess.  (Five points to the first person to name that shirt with the "11" on it... c'mon, Middlebury, you know you can do it!  Mom, you can't play.)  And when I'm done, the laundry looks like this:

So full it requires a furniture dolly to move my basket of clothes!

And not to be undone, Andy needs a furniture dolly to move his computer:

...which really IS that heavy.  Our friends call it the Concorde because of the marvelous noise it makes when starting up.

And just in case you missed that oh-so-pathetic dog in the background of the picture, here's what Caleb does while Andy and I work on our computers and laundry:

And sadly... we let him.  

Gotta go fold some laundry.

Dundee Covenant

Today I played with Countryside's worship band for the last time as an official "member."  Oh, sure, I'll swing back now and again when we can do it, and I'll hang out at all the retreats and events until Dundee starts throwing their own shindigs, but it was still bittersweet this morning.  It hit me about halfway through the second service, when we were playing a song my friends and I usually poke a little fun at because of a version we've heard online.  While sort of laughing to myself (and hoping nobody noticed), I suddenly realized nobody at our new church knew our little inside joke.  And suddenly I was very sad (and really hoping nobody noticed). 

Not that it's all bad.  It's really not.  Many of you know that we're involved in planting a new church in a neighboring town out here in Oregon.  Dundee is pretty close to us (by Indiana standards)- only about a 15 minute drive down the road.  (By Oregon standards, that seems to be "you guys are crazy to drive all that way every Sunday!")  But anyway, we've been working pretty hard on this for a few months now.  Andy has been slaving (and I do mean slaving) over building a sound system that is awesome, inexpensive, and portable.  You sound guys can ask him how the heck he did that, because that combination is way not easy, and it was definitely a major feat.  (Actually, it's incredible.  I've been watching what he's doing and listening to the results, and what he did was serious.  And he's not even done yet!)  I've taken on heading up the worship with another friend of mine.  It's been a big change for me- I've been "in the band" for so long now that it's definitely different for me to be sort of "in charge."  Thankfully (for me and for the church) I'm sharing the "in charge" role with an awesome person and we have found we work really well together.  But I have taken the mic and had to dust off those front man skills.  Suffice it to say that the poor members of Dundee Covenant will have to listen to some interesting gaks until I stop being so nervous when I talk.  (Sing... fine.  Talk?  No script?  Yikes.  One time I actually stopped my very insightful mini lesson by saying: "Okay, I'm going to stop talking now."  Very professional.)

For me, one of the absolute best parts of this whole experience has been getting to really dig deep and do this project together with Andy.  We have always shared our love of music, but not always in such concentrated effort.  Little projects come and go, but we both had to throw ourselves headfirst into this, and the only way we're making it through is by holding on to each other and helping each other keep our heads above water.  It's almost as though we're running (starting) a business together- only this business that we're working on is so much bigger than any little moneymaker we could come up with.

Andy and I have both taken a role that we've always been comfortable in, but it goes to a whole new level when we're putting it to work for something that is so important.  It's such a blessing to be able to watch God pick us up and put us to use as His tools.  A beautiful friend told me a story this summer about a very talented Potter creating amazing, priceless works of art using His ancient, rusty, cracked, broken, beat up old tools.  I definitely feel beat up and broken.  God couldn't have picked a more flawed tool to do His work in Dundee.  But I have seen the beginnings of many amazing creations and know that what we're doing is not wasted.  I can't wait to look back on this in five years and see what that picture looks like.  Hopefully more together than this:

This is a slideshow from our first preview service.  We had as much fun as it looks like.

Oh, and we eat.  So come by Dundee Elementary, Sundays at 10:00, hear some good news and have some free food.  (Yes... I bribe people to come to church by offering them food.  Hey, whatever fills the seats...)

Oh well...

It came to my attention that I had a very old picture posted as "us"... very old.  So I put up a more recent picture.  Observe us in all our glory.  Then it came to my attention that I was wearing the same clothes both the old and new pictures.  

Then it came to my attention that I should go shopping.

Then it came to my attention that I could have posted the picture that I REALLY wanted to...  but Andy doesn't like for people to see "the real me"... so I didn't put that picture up for all the world to see.  

Then it came to my attention that I could put it here.  

And that's why he loves me.  Who wouldn't?

Still sick... still bored

I didn't get a transcription assignment today, and this is a very small room.  I am very, very bored.

A Bucket List: 

(someone else's combined with my own... the x's are mine but you can try to figure out which items are mine and which are theirs, but I'm sure not going to tell you.  And hey, you person-i'm-borrowing-the-list-from: you might have some problems.  You REALLY want do to THAT?)

(x) Been to Europe

( ) Been skydiving 

(x) Gone on a blind date

(X) Skipped school

(x) Watched someone die 

( ) Been to Italy

( ) Been to Australia

( ) Been to Greece

(X) Been in a plane 

(X) Been lost with no hope of return, wilderness-style 

(x) Been on the opposite side of the country 

(x) Been to Washington, DC

( ) Seen the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.

( ) Been to Japan

( ) Seen the Cherry Blossoms in Japan

(X) Been to Vegas

(X) Swam in the ocean

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(x) Sang in concert

(X) Played cops and robbers.

( ) Flown an aircraft

( ) Owned a boat 

( ) Owned a horse

( ) Owned a pool

( ) Watched my children grow

( ) Watched my grandchildren grow 

( ) Colored a refridgerator masterpiece

( )  Been to the Kentucky Derby

( )  Been to a rodeo 

( ) Sang Karaoke 

(X) Paid for a meal with coins only

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't

(X) Made prank phone calls

(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

( ) Danced in the rain

(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus 

(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe

(X) Watched the sunrise with someone

( ) Seen the green flash at sunset 

(X) Blown bubbles

( ) Gone ice-skating

(x) Met the love of your life

(X) Married said love

( ) led someone to Christ

(x) Influenced someone to Christ

(x) been at the bottom

(x) felt at the top

( ) US, motor home, slap 'em together

(x) won THAT STUPID GAME

(x) gotten bored and can't come up with anything meaningful on a bucket list

A sick day

Well, I made it pretty far into 2009, huh?  All the way until January 21 until I got sick.  Probably some conspiracy of the new health care plan to pay me back for yesterday's post.  Oh, well.  I think I made it all of 2008 without any real sickness- that was Andy's year to monopolize- so I can't really complain.  I think I had a stomach bug or two but those don't count.  But last week a poor unfortunate client came in even though she had a tiny little cough that she thought was just "a tickle" and ended up being (we find out two days later) viral bronchitis.  Now we're just a little paranoid.  So here I am, banished to "the sick room" aka my office aka Caleb's daily hangout aka the guest room... don't worry, we sterilize it from top to bottom whenever anybody comes to visit to minimize the doggy/germy/joziness of it all.  Okay, fine, we're disgusting.  So don't visit.  Wait, not true.  That's just the sickness talking.  Please visit, we'll clean, I swear.  

Today is the only day I had any clients this week, which means I had to cancel on all of those poor souls.  But at least my transcription assignments get emailed to me so I won't be completely bored.  (Those of you who know me know what a ridiculous statement that last was.)

So here's what I look like when I get sick:

Yep, I pout all day and hide from everybody, behind my hair if there's no door available.

And here's what I do when I get sick:

1. What is your occupation right now?

germy, lazy sloth.

2. What color are your socks right now?

white, I think... everything's so fuzzy... can't... make... out...

3. What are you listening to right now?

Caleb licking himself.  Don't ask if you don't want to know.

4. What was the last thing that you ate?

the Andes candy at the end of my soup, salad, and breadstick feast at Olive Garden

5. Can you drive a stick shift?

Boy, you don't want to be in my way when I got the power in my hand.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?

A very disappointed massage client (confidentiality, please)

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?

Even though I recognize this question as the original author's desperate need for validation, yes, I do.

8. How old are you today?

I believe the correct answer is, "one foot in the grave."

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on tv?

The Colts aren't a sport.  The Colts are a way of life.  

10. What is your favorite drink?

Despite the sea of orange juice I am currently swimming in, it is diet cherry vanilla dr. pepper.  Wait, I know I've typed that before, and the only reason I would type that... hey, have I taken this survey already??

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?

Oh, gracious, there was that one time, you'll have to ask Kara about it.  First and last- we were going for blonde highlights, and the best way I can describe what happened to my head is "manila folder."  Took me a year to get rid of that.  Okay, I know I've taken this survey before.  Someone send me a new one.  I'm bored.

12. Favorite food?

I'm sorry.  That's like asking Caleb to choose a favorite rawhide.  It doesn't matter what kind... the more the merrier!!

13. What is the last movie you watched?

Here's where you find out how honest I am.  Don't judge me.  "Rumor Has It"- it was streaming Netflix video that I watched in 2-10 minute increments in between my files.  I always have some video up that can distract me for a couple minutes in between typing stints.  It has to be mindless, though, hence this last.

14. Favorite day of the year?

My birthday, of course, I get all the presents and don't have to share.

15. How do you vent anger?

See question #5.   And get out of my way.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?

Probably my newest one.  Ask my mom if anything outlasted the trip to the toy store.

17. What is your favorite season?

Fall.  It would be nice to see a Fall again.  I think I liked that season a lot.

18. Cherries or blueberries?

I hope there's not some hidden meaning to this one- cherries.  (I was kind of turned off from blueberries by the story of my brother's very blue face when he emerged from his potty training lesson... you can figure that one out on your own.)

19. Living arrangements?

Tiny room, lazy dog... until I get better.

20. When was the last time you cried?

I'm not sure... I know last night in my dream I cried alllllllllllll night long, it was a nasty one!

21. What is on the floor of your closet?

Oh, here we go.  Laundry basket, multiple pieces of clothing in the "not-dirty-enough-for-the-laundry" state, multiple pieces of clothing that have fallen out of the laundry basket, multiple pieces of clothing that have fallen off of their hangers, bag full of the wares from my last trip to the mall, bag full of wares from my last trip to Target, "beach clothes" that I got out to put on but then it rained, backpack, book bag, shoes, slippers, and socks that have escaped from their respective living quarters, and lots of dog hair because for some reason Caleb has started sleeping in our closet at night instead of on my face.  Wait.  I'm in my office.  Nevermind, that was my bedroom closet.  In here there's only a stack of totes, a stack of boxes, a filing rack, and a bag of books... all where they belong.

22. What did you do last night?

Went to Guitar Center... again... grabbed dinner at Olive Garden, came home and watched The Biggest Loser.  Resisted the piece of cheesecake I brought home for dessert.

23. What are you most afraid of?

Tie... cockroaches, and being wrong.  (Priorities, priorities)

24. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?

cheese, with flavor- not spicy though.

25. Favorite dog breed?

my mutt.

26. Favorite day of the week?

day-with-no-alarm

27. How many states have you lived in?

Indiana, Tennessee, Oregon, three.  

28. Diamonds or pearls?

Diamonds.  See question #14.  September 17th.

29. What is your favorite flower?

The one I just received.  That's a hint, not a riddle.

30. Nickname?

I don't think this is the appropriate place. 

31. Mother's name?

Bernie

32. Body piercing

top of my ear, much to the chagrin of my in-laws, those wonderful earring-loving-gift givers.  Every year I'm tempted to go out and pierce my lobes.

33. How much do you love your job?

Meh...

34. Birthplace?

Goshen, Indiana.  HOOOO YEAHHHHH!  

35. Ever been to Hawaii?

I'm looking at my wedding picture right now.

36. Ever been to Africa?

No.

37. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner?

I'm a woman, I lived alone, you do the math.

38. Ever been on TV?

Yes, conveniently a mere week after the disastrous "manila folder" event described above.

39. Ever steal any traffic signs?

Yep.  Those were the days.

40. Ever been in a car accident?

Yep.  Three mile 75 car pileup.  I was car #74.

41. Drive a 2-door or a 4-door vehicle?

Both right now.  Well, 2 and 5, technically.  I hate hatchbacks.

42. Favorite movie?

Probably The Princess Bride, although I am quite the movie freak.  Least favorite movie?  Currently it's "Rumor Has It."

43. Favorite dessert?

See question #12.

44. Favorite holiday?

See question #14 and question #28.

45. Favorite brand of body wash?

Um, you have seen the inside of my closet... I'm not bringing you into the shower as well.

46. Favorite smell?

Immediately after the rain- only in the country.

47. How do you relax? 

TV, cross stitch, chocolate, soda.  Yes, all together.

48. How do you see yourself in 10 years?

just a tad more broken down.  It's only a matter of time.

49. Furthest place you've traveled?

London

50. Glad to be done?

Wow.  Yes.

51. If you've read all the way to the end?

Post a comment and I'll send you a treat.

MY President

Warning... politics ahead.

So, I usually try to keep this blog pretty light, friendly, just a bit of an update here and there about what we've been up to for everybody who doesn't get to see us that often.  (And those who do who want to see pictures of themselves.)  And I know both Andy and I are on here so it looks like I'm speaking for us both... but this time it's just me, Jozi, the soapboxer who just can't keep my mouth (keyboard) shut.  

Today is January 20, and about nine hours ago we inaugurated our new President.  I am not going to offer my opinion on this event or this person, because, as you will see, my opinion matters little.  What I just have to put out there is my take on how rockstar this whole campaign, election, and inauguration have become.  I was trying the other day to remember the last time I saw something in the US as popular as our new President.  I thought of movies, movie stars, rock stars, books, events, anything I could think of that brought the country to the near hysterical levels it is now reaching.  And honestly, I couldn't come up with anything.  Never have I seen "an entire country, nay, an entire world" (I'm quoting an online newscast) become so wrapped up in a single event or person.  The closest I can come up with are pictures in my memory of, say, communist or dictatorial countries that are required to have statues and images of their beloved leader scattered at regular intervals throughout their soil.  Think I'm exaggerating?  Well, think of the last time you saw the American flag posted in some sort of venerable manner.  Was it alone?  The iconic image of America, freedom, dreams, success... or was someone's face superimposed upon it?  Yeah, that's what I thought.  I've seen more pictures of our new President's face on postcards, billboards, bumper stickers, and posters than I have seen actual American flags displayed throughout the streets I travel and live on.  (Yes, I realize that every time I see the President's "logo" I am seeing a "flag" as well... but that so doesn't count.  It's like calling fat-free chocolate a tasty treat.  Just doesn't work for me.)

Now, you might think that I'm bashing the President.  I'm not.  I am the least political person you've ever met... honestly, I'm so unpolitical it's definitely into the "lazy citizen" category.  (I have my reasons.)  What I am commenting on is our reaction to our new President.  I mean, I understand that many people feel we've had a pretty sour eight years.  So therefore we want change.  We want answers.  We want a difference.  We want a fix.  We want salvation.  We want to be saved from this horror that we've decided the last eight years were.  Save us from our recession, our war, our educational system, our borders, our ideals, ourselves!  Finally, the Savior has arrived!

Wow.  Poor President.  You know, that's a pretty tall order.  I don't know of any human alive who can do that.  Take this giant mess that people have created, built up, slept in, and buried themselves in, and snap his fingers and make it go away?  There is no way that one man can solve the problems of an entire world's creating.  But that's what we're asking him to do.

And yet, someone has already done that.  We've been saved already, by One who took our petty, selfish, and lazy little problems on Himself and removed from us the burden that we ourselves created.  We've been given a free ticket to Paradise, unconditional love, and an assurance that all will be well.  That no matter what- no matter what- we are saved.  These little problems we deal with in our lives are so useless to spend our time on.  So our bank accounts are low.  Who cares?  We can't take them with us.  And no POTUS is going to be able to promise us that he will love us unconditionally, never leave us or forsake us, or take the burdens we cast upon him.  But One already did.  And so I ask those of us who are madly in love with our new President and spreading his image around with adoration- what about our real Savior?  Where is His photo?  Where is His logo?  Where is His party, His giant salary, His big house, His cheering crowds? Where is our gratefulness for what He has brought to our lives?  And most importantly, why is no one talking about it?  

I don't know what Obama can do for our nation or for me.  But I know what Jesus has already done.  And for that I will fill my heart with gratitude and love, and never stop worshipping him- not because he did those things for me, but because He is the only One that is worthy of my praise.

Ah, life

Along with massaging, I transcribe insurance files for a living.  Adjustors record their interviews with people who have been in fender benders and stuff like that.  This is awesome because it's totally mobile- I do it all from home normally but if I'm ever on the road I just pack up the computer and get my assignments wherever I am.  So that's great and I love it.  But every once in a while it's just a little more great because you get to see awesome names like "Tina Spankmeier" and "Gigi Craphosen".  And then every once in a great while you have a really awesome time where all the stars aligned purely for the amusement of the transcriber- like today- where Gregory Peck rear-ends Jennifer Lopez on Wash Up Avenue.   My, that was fun.  I couldn't make it up if I tried.

I read too much

Okay, I decided I read too much. I read when I'm getting ready in the morning, when I'm working out, when I'm walking around the house, when I'm waiting in offices, when I'm eating, when I'm going to bed, and until people from church started noticing and honking at me, when I'm walking down the sidewalk.  I listen to recorded books when I'm driving, when I'm walking, when I'm trying to fall asleep, and on one rarely discussed occasion, when I massage a very deep sleeper.  I read everything, kids' books, teen books, chick lit, mysteries, crime novels, weird hippy books that want to prove a point, silly little girls' series, and all those books that I loved when I was a kid... over and over and over again.  Sad, but true: I've read The Sleepover Friends as many (probably more) times than I've read The Hobbit.  And John Grisham as many times as The Chronicles of Narnia.  

Here's how I pick what I'm going to read:  

I walk to the library with Caleb.  I tie him up outside.  This causes a minor disturbance, as he wants to lick everybody that walks past, and everybody that walks past wants to pet him.  (This was especially disastrous the time that traffic court and children's story hour let out at the same time, crowds were streaming past him, and he got so excited he broke his leash and ended up running around all over the inside of City Hall, which unfortunately for me shares the building with the library.  But as the other option was tying him up outside Sesame Donuts, which also shares the building, you can see why I chose the side that I did... little did I know that felonious drivers and their doggie-hungry children would soon be released from the whisper-quiet prisons.)  

So, because the dog is hyper and on a short leash tied to a garbage can, I need to make my trip inside the library quick.  As I'm walking through the doors, my backpack is coming off my back and ready to receive.  

I go to the kiddie section.  (The novels, not the picture books.)  I go to "A."  I start at the beginning and pick the first three books that I have not yet read- checking to make sure they're not a sequel to something else I have not yet read.  They go in the backpack.  (FYI, I am halfway through the B's.)  If I have tied Caleb up outside a window where I can keep a covert eye on him from this room (I usually have), I go over to the picture books, pick the first five that I have not yet read, sit down at a table, and spend the next five minutes torturing the dog through the window by very thoroughly appreciating all the wonderful pictures and small sentences that picture books bring whilst very casually and carefully ignoring his pleas through the window for me to come release him from his garbage smelling prison.  I'm a wonderful dog mother.  I give him an obligatory tap at the window as I leave the kiddie section, because I love him.  (I am not even a quarter of the way through the A's yet in the picture books... mostly because even though I talk big, I feel sorry for the pathetic little muppet trying to break through the glass to sit on my lap so I cut my reading time short.)

Next, I go to the "youth" section.  This is where the teenager books live.  Stuff like "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" and "Twilight" and 500-page epics about dragons named Eaineos or some other such nonsense.  I go to the A's and peruse from left to right again until I find the first three books that I haven't yet read (checking again for sequel spoilers) and put them in my backpack.  I'm a little over halfway through the B's here.

On to "fiction"- this is the adult fiction.  Not the dirty kind of adult fiction, but big thick books that think they're important, intellectual, or full of enough swearing or illicit affairs to be considered big people reading.  I find most of these books pretentious, especially the ones written by people with only one name, like "Arameus" or "Shaman".    I read them because every once in a while one surprises me and I find that an adult can actually have something to say to another adult.  But usually I blast through these impatiently because I much prefer the books for younger readers, where the author is trying to entertain me instead of educate me into their realm of higher thinking.  Honestly.  If I wanted to learn, I would go to the nonfiction section.  (You'll notice I avoid that section.)  Entertain me, people.  When I want to learn, I learn!  Don't try to sneak your opinions in on my fun time.  At any rate, I start, you guessed it, with the A's and pick the first couple books I haven't read, minus sequel spoilers.  (I hate reading things out of order.)  I only pick two of these books, though, because I can't read them as fast.  Into the backpack.  I'm hovering between A and B here, because I usually only get two of them at a time.

One last section.  I go to "new books" where the books are labeled with a little sticker showing the date of their release.  I find the oldest new books.  I grab everything with the oldest month sticker on it (usually three or four) and eliminate everything that's a sequel, and... in the backpack.  

Now, if you're doing the math here, I have anywhere from ten to twelve books in my backpack.  There is one last stop- audio books, where I start with A and grab the first books that look untedious.  I'm a lot pickier about these... a high number of CDs and bad cover art will deter me quite quickly.  (I should point out that while almost nothing is off limits when I pick up all books, I usually skip over anything that looks like a fantasy and most science fiction... I enjoy having a large vocabulary and hate those books because when I read them I end up adding fake words to my already pretentious word bank.  You know, "orc", "flayrah", etc, etc.  Once after reading Watership Down I spent about a month talking Lapine and not even realizing it.  Speaking of, I love that book.  Not because of the very important lesson it teaches us all, but because it's fun to imagine the warrens... sort of underground Swiss Family Robinson Treehouses.  Oh, and Swiss Family Robinson... never read it.  I believe I'm digressing.  Oh, yes, audio books.)  Anyway, I pick up enough audio books to top off my backpack so it is full to the top of the zipper.  This is very important, becuase it's usually raining when I do this, so the plastic coated CD cases protect the books from the damp backpack on the way home.  (When I get home, I load the CDs onto my mp3 player and return them.  I have a stash of about 12 books waiting in my laptop to be listened to.)

And now I have my treasures.  It takes methe time of the walk from the audio CDs to the self checkout (our library rocks) to pull out my library card.  I hate the checkout desk, I get real tired of saying stuff like, "yep, road trip, I need all these CDs," and "yep, I read them all" to the ladies there.  They're nice, but anybody will stare in disbelief at a stack of 15 books and 5 audio books when you check it out.  So I check out, stuff my backpack, and head out the door.  Caleb by this time has had at least three minor cardiac episodes as little children walk by and their parents force them to ignore the wet mangy mutt that is drooling at their bright pink Crocs, so he is more than happy to see me.  He usually stands on his two hind legs with his two front feet in the air until I get there, then he slams his paws on my leg, ensuring that upon arriving home my pants go straight to the washer and he goes straight to the bathtub.  And we head home.

But wait, there's more.  If I get through all those books (I usually do) before they're due and we do this walk again (every three weeks), then I go to my shelves.  Ahh, my shelves, full of the Ramonas and Charlottes and Laura Ingalls of my past.  Yes, sadly, they're in alphabetical order by author, so I pick the first one I haven't reread in the last year and... I'm off and running.  (I'm in the S's, in case you were wondering... and I started at the A's of my shelf in February.)

So, you can see why I decided not to take up space in this blog with all the junk I read.  I've already bored you enough with this account, yes?  (Some of you slightly weirder readers enjoy such details of my way-too-boring life, so that's why everybody had to suffer through this.)  But some people (readers) are always asking what I'm reading and how I like it.  Now that you know how I choose what I'm reading and realize that I'm not doing it for any personal betterment but rather entertainment... you readers might not care anymore.  But just in case, because this is my readabookaweek year, I added a link to a book blog where I will rant and/or rave about everything I'm reading... which is mostly juvenile nonsense far below my reading level, barely thought-provoking, mostly time-fillers, and stuff I LOVE nonetheless!!  

That's all.  I'm tired, I think I'll go to bed.  Probably read myself to sleep.  

Reada Booka Week

One of my loverly friends, Wendy, whom I perhaps envy as an overachiever- mostly because I am a decidedly UNDER achiever- read my life story and you will find recurring instances where I left the chance to be a person of ambition drowning in the dust of regret- is a part of a forum that, again, has much more well-rounded minds than mine.  But her group of admiringly smart people decided to make 2009 the year that they read a book every week.  Like Wendy said, this sounds pretty easy because I am a ridiculous bookworm.  I have books stashed all over the house with bookmarks in various pages- there's even a book in my car for those pesky waits at gas stations when the attendants to finish their snack instead of pumping my gas.  So, I took up the challenge.  I'm only informing you so that there's pressure to do it.  Expect a book report every week.  Or so. 

This reminds me of one of my favorite books from when I was a kid- "Mostly Michael" by Robert Kimmel Smith.  I loved that book because I was always a sucker for books written in "dear diary" format.  (Which is why I have a secret obsession with The Princess Diaries.  That, and who wouldn't want to wake up to find they were a princess?  Oh, the sparklies...)  Anyway, sadly, that book got lost in the many times I moved and I can't find it in any of the stores anymore.  (I'm too lazy to order it from Powell's archives- see "under-achiever" above.)  Anyway, one of those things that Michael had to do was make a poster to encourage kids to read.  He came up with kids should read a book a week, and his poster went through about 50 versions, and ended up with "Tryta Reada Booka Week."  I thought it was a terrible poster but he won the national contest.  So, bottom line is, be a kid in a book and you either wake up a princess or win whatever contest you enter.  I still liked the book, though.  

That is not my book report.  That is a random thought from my wandering mind.  A ranwandomering.  This week, I'm tackling that great novel of old (and short) "A Christmas Carol."  I know it's past the season, but can you believe I never read it?  Never once.

Now go do as Ramona did, and D.E.A.R.

(5 points to the first one to name that reference...)