Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Lists, lists, lists....

A bit late, but back with my first list of "13 in '13". This one was really easy to compose, quick and painless. The only challenge was not having it turn into 20 or 30. As it happens, I had to omit some books I really would like to read this year in favour of a couple of book club picks.

Why then, is #13 empty? Well, I thought it might be fun to wait for someone to jump in and fill that one for me. I was tempted to add in Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, but I know I'd want to tackle the whole Century trilogy and book three isn't due out until next year. And I'd forget what the heck happened in the first two by then. So I'll wait on that one.

Now, you might be thinking "Thirteen books? Pffft. Big deal." You wouldn't really be wrong. Prior to having kids I could read that much in a good month. But something happened to my brain after having those lovely little people. I have a heck of time concentrating on books. They have to really pull me in and even when they do it can take me six weeks to muddle through a novel that I would have devoured in days, once upon a time.

So, here is my list. And I may or may not be cheating...some of these may be 2 or 3% read on my Kobo. But I still have to tackle the other 97%.


I finished the first book on the list just a few nights ago. A prime example of a book that took me forever to wade through. And then....it ended. Huh? I think I missed something with this one. It was good. It was certainly really well written. It just felt like it never fully got off the ground. And then...it ended. We discussed it at our January book club meeting and most everyone felt the same.

I started book number two last night and it hooked me right away. Funny, I find non-fiction easier to read these days. I wonder why? This one even reads like fiction, but with so much fact stirred in it moves quickly.

Before coming here to post my book list I was procrastinating reading some other blogs. First stop is always Ali's blog. I already knew I was going to be posting again about lists so I was really excited to see she had posted about lists today too! Such a neat sounding project. So of course I clicked on over to that link as well. I'm definitely going to incorporate that into my "13 in '13". Likely under #12; Thirteen new projects. That list isn't complete yet.

Okay, back to tackling lists. Of course this afternoon is more of a to-do list sort of day.
  1. exchange socks
  2. cook dinner
  3. put away laundry (can we talk about laundry?)
  4. jailbreak an iPhone (what?)
Stay warm!! 

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Happy New Year!!!!!






Happy New Year!?! Errr, ummm. Right. Actually, I'm being serious. Sort of. Clearly it's the end of January and the bubbles have long gone out of the champagne. And likely by now you've totally forgotten your resolve to quit eating chocolate forever and ever. Am I wrong?

But here's the thing, we ALL had big ideas on December 31st. I think most people see the dawning of a new year as a chance to start new projects. To wipe clean the slate. To make sweeping changes. To improve. To do better. To be better. As if there is something wrong with who you are already. Pfffft.

Fast forward a few weeks (make that four) and maybe you've forgotten what you resolved to do this year. Or maybe you haven't forgotten at all but just haven't started. If you're like me, the fact that the starting line is far behind you can make you take off your running shoes, climb into pajamas and call it a year.

Don't do it. Not this time. I resolve to start at my start. To not pick some arbitrary date to begin doing the things I want to do. To start the projects I want to start. I had big plans for this year and just because it's not January 1st does not mean I have to put them off for another year. Or wait until Spring to start, or Summer, or back to school....or whatever "start" date seems logical.

I'm armed with lists galore and big plans for all the projects I want to do in 2013. Because I love numbers, I'm calling this overall project "13 in '13".  Deep and clever, I know.  The idea came to me around 12:05am on January 1st. Five minutes before I fell asleep.

I've come up with a list of 13 areas of focus. Some are big, some are small. Most of those are broken down further into a list of, wait for it, 13 things. I'm rounding out the lists tonight and will be back tomorrow to give some more detail on exactly what I'll be up to this year.

Start at your start. Really, the most logical start date is today. Today. It's my start point. Will you join me? What do you want to do this year?