I was looking forward to playing on here this evening but I've spent my evening throwing together a Spanish research paper I didn't realize was due...tonight. Thankfully it was on a cultural event and I had just heard something on the radio about a bull attack. Bingo! instant MLA styled research paper on the running of the bulls. Which is fitting considering I feel like I'm running with them only my bulls are deadlines. Work, school, household, kids, life. Everything is on a timeline and none of these seem to be working together to coordinate to keep me sane. Funny thing is, I've adjusted and there's no panic anymore - just a shrug of the shoulders, a deep breath, and carry on until the next thing comes along. So maybe I'm getting more than an academic education through out all this degree seeking madness. I'm learning endurance, patience, and definitely not to sweat the small stuff. Tomorrow's my day off and I'll spend it working on laundry, biology, grocery shopping, writing some reviews and working on some other writing projects. But best of all, I'll breathe in deep, smile, and enjoy the fact that this aging dog is learning so new tricks...not sweating the small stuff.


Sent from my iPhone

I'm playing with blogger templates and css coding so please excuse my mess while I move things around and pretty up the place. I liked my old template but it was a little too dark for me....literally not figuratively. Plus as I gain more blogger experience I sort of want a more experienced looking layout. I'm not sure if this one will stick but I'm liking it as of today. Let me know what you think or if you have any problems with any of the links or buttons.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people" 

— Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

The Second is my recent read, Hide and Watch by Jill Hicks Lawson. This is a quick but a powerful read telling the story of how God's plans aren't always so clear but in due time he makes them clear. Its also a wonderful story of the strength the author had to go through her mother's illness and come out blessed in the end.


(check back in the coming week for my review of this one; plus author interview and fun and a book giveaway)

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your answer in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks

It's a fantastic Friday for me. I have a coworker who has written an amazing book that's been published!

Have you noticed that it is easy to speak of God's faithfulness in times of prosperity, but that in times of suffering, such praise becomes lost?

In Hide and Watch, a true tale of sorrow and distress, of hope and triumph, Jill Hicks Lawson shares how she was spiritually transformed by overcoming her doubt in God during times of struggle. From enduring her battle with weight, her mother's kidney disease; to experiencing debilitating infertility and painful divorce; and eventually to becoming her mother's only hope for life, Lawson's personal accounts speak to the universal human experience of suffering, both physical and emotional, providing firsthand proof that, regardless of circumstance, God is in the business of giving hope.

By recounting moments of pain and progress, Lawson demonstrates that anguish is the only pathway to experiencing the dramatic joy and peace that result from God's intervention and healing, assuring those amid the battle that, in the end, what does not kill your faith makes it stronger.

In celebration of Jill's book, I'm hosting a "Hide & Watch" week with a review of the book,  an interview with the author, games, and how could we go without a book giveaway?  So stay tuned for more details.

I've decided to follow the lead of one of my fave bloggers and participate in MizB's Reading Challenges. Starting October 1st through to the end of December 2011. Here's the premise:
For this challenge, you should…

* Think about what is most important to you in your life… is it your health? your family? your friendships? your career? ALL of the above?

* Come up with a list of 12-14 things you can do this year to make that (those things) a priority in your life (maybe one thing/focus per month?)… what can you start (or stop) doing to get the fullest enjoyment out of your everyday life? What would make you feel that you were living your life to the best of your ability each & every day?

* Keep some sort of journal to record your progress!

Since I've not slept all night I won't even begin to list my things to do this year or even consider my priorities until I have some serious REM action going on. But I am looking forward to getting to know myself better and keeping tabs on myself when comes to my self development and keeping an eye on what is truly important to me.


**UPDATED**
Still no sleep but here's my list. I'll modify it and fine tune it as the year goes on and as I change focus. I think to live a full life you have to make adjustments. 

• My Family
• Grow closer to God
• Education (obtaining AA & transferring)
• Losing weight
• Personal life (my personal life non kid personal life)
• Write manuscript

• Make time (any small amount of time) for alone time for each of my children each week.
• Pray harder….more diligently
• Work on full load of classes from  now until May. Prioritize to get this done!!
• Make time for personal time other than school work or projects at least 15 minutes every day.
• Go out once every month or two with a non-family member for fun stuff. (No work or school related activity)
• Cut back on soft drink consumption.
• Increase physical activity.
• Write at least something every day. (This needs work. I have a project I’m working and I’d like to actually get the first draft completed and assembled by then end of 2011)

Recently one of my fellow bloggers who inspires me in numerous ways, left a post about her struggles with blogging, career, and life itself. And here I thought I was the only one. Initially, I feared her post was a farewell post. Luckily, it was mainly reflection and a musing on losing readers if she mixed up the schematic of her post...adding general commentary in addition to book based memes among other things. How funny it is that even in the blogsphere we worry what others will think of us, will they approve? Disapproval kills us in any form. Why? After all, we ourselves disapprove of things from time to time. I don't think we do more than scrunch up our noses and move on. As humans we seek approval from every angle we can get it. Is it because we don't approve of ourselves? We see the things we think, the things we feel, the hatred, the disgust, every dark thought we have. Perhaps we fear that others, even those in blogsphere, will see the darker sides of us. See through the words into the small ugly parts in us.
Or perhaps, we just bore them and that too confirms we are average; no more special than the next clone sitting in the cube next to us. We all strive to shine in some small way. To shine; to be special; to prove we deserve this existence is one of our biggest goals in this life but it isn't our only goal. I know I lose focus on that from time to time. I want to feel special just as much as the next person. I've come to realize though that there are small moments in life that make me feel more special than all the accolades in the world both in the physical world and blogsphere. A moment of a teenage child thanking you for being hard enough on him to do the right thing but encouraging enough to put a smile on his face. Small moments like reading a blog and realizing you aren't alone in this world. Your thoughts are ok. Someone else is struggling with the same fears. And while you thought you were sinking in those fears, you maybe just far enough ahead to help someone else pull themselves up, dust themselves off, and trudge forward.
I love to write. I love to read. Most important, I love to live. This blog is my little world where I can put down in words the things that compose me...the funny, the dark, the sad, the analytical, the books I love and not love so much...all the things that compose me. That's all I think any of us can do. Put out to the world what composes us and hopefully it will touch someone...help them grow...or simply put a smile on their face (even if because they are so happy they aren't in our shoes). We are who were are and that my friend, is forever changing.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sent from my iPhone

The following are just random YouTube moments that put a smile on my face. I'm simply adding them here to give you a glimpse at how warped I am and how much professional help I truly need.  Enjoy!



The Techno Nerd in me loves this one.



I love stop motion animation and this is why.



And finally this is my favorite impression of me at that the gym.



That's it for now. I'm going back to the semi-real world. Have a great day!

• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
• Becareful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if the like your teasers!

• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
• Becareful not to include spoilers! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if the like your teasers!