What will 2011 be like?

In writing my 2010 post I realized just how much of last year I failed to document. A lot of it felt too personal, and some of it felt insignificant, but I did learn a lot and writing about things always helps that process. So goal number one will be to blog more. (Isn't it always the same goal over here?)

On a personal front 2011 will be about caring for myself on a holistic level. There is a lot that has been pushed aside for many years and a lot of self-sabotaging habits that I have picked up. Lately I have begun to examine my self and my life and I am working to find where I'm "leaking" energy and find ways to channel myself in a more productive direction, physically, emotionally and financially. I am looking forward to taking on the challenge of meeting myself again and seeing what I am capable of. I certainly have not stopped learning since graduating, and I'm looking forward to sharing with you all some of the exciting and engaging things that I have been reading and contemplating.

Business goals are also challenging, because I am at a point where I need to create another plan, another set of short and longterm goals. Certainly in the near future I will be completing the website. I am also going to be doing some close examination of myself and my own goals, and determining where they may lead the business. I think you will be hearing more about that later. Wherever it ends up there will be more designing and creating. That's a must.

Does anyone have any 2011 goals to share? Any resolutions?

P.s. Apparently I forgot about my 5 year blogiversary. It was in December. Wohoo!

On Paleo Eating and Tightwadery

I'm not sure how I end up getting myself into these situations, but sometimes I think I'm out to make my life difficult.

The problem is, I'm reading these two books simultaneously, and the result is somewhat confusing. You see, I am reading this book called The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet which has presented some convincing and intriguing science about why I should stop eating dairy, legumes and gluten, and instead revert to a paleolithic diet of animal protein and fresh fruits and veggies. Now, believe you me, growing up on a dairy farm, religiously eating whole wheat and lentils, this isn't what I wanted to be convinced of. In fact, I fought quite hard and still find myself twitching at times throughout the day. Never the less, Robb Wolf is one convincing (and funny) dude, so JusPup and I are slowly weening ourselves off these foods in preparation for a full on 30 day trial run in November (all bets are off for Thanksgiving day, though). I know, I know, it's counter to everything I've been taught, but JusPup is down 15 pounds, I'm down 3, and we aren't even totally on the diet yet!

Now, animal protein and fresh plants. Delicious! Healthy! NOT a good paring when in the back of your mind is all the tried and true budget advice from one Amy Dacyczyn (she swears it's pronounced like "decision", who's gonna argue?) of The Complete Tightwad Gazette which happens to be the other book I'm reading. "At every meal include at least one pantry staple" "Bake your own bread at least once a week" and on and on (there really are a lot of good tips in this book)! I love bread! In fact, I just inherited a bread machine! I love pantry staples! Give me rice and lentils any day! Of course, what I've realized is that I also get a tummy full of gas and pain. I sort of thought this was normal...

So, pair my tightwadish tendencies with a fresh-based diet (and a pension for locally, ethically grown) and what do you get? A headache. A budgeting nightmare. OK, that's what I get. (Also, some delicious roast chicken which became roasted acorn squash stuffed with chicken and then became some delicious chicken soup!) What you get is to read about my new adventures in the kitchen, trying to stock a pantry with everything except pantry food, while on a budget, in the soon-to-be-dead of winter.

Do you have a favorite cheap, grain-free, legume-free, dairy-free meal? Please tell me about it! (Also, if you know anyone with a lot of venison on their hands, I want it!)

Yes, these are affiliate links. I realized that a lot of what I write about is books, and thought that I might as well give this a shot. If it skeeves you out, just go to Amazon and search them yourself! I promise I will never speak well of a book that I think sucks. I don't have time for that. I hardly even have time to tell you about the books that I like!!

Argentina: Retrospective

1. It's a plan!, 2. Old Man Plant, 3. Zorro with his tools, 4. Can't help myself..., 5. My view, 6. Onion, Carrot, Garbanzo Bean Soup!, 7. Mom and Me at Casa Rosada, 8. Packing up, moving out, 9. All bundled up, 10. Cacti!, 11. Glad I Wasn't Driving..., 12. Ninja!, 13. "Little Bird, Big World" Inspiration

Argentina is the single biggest topic of my year, and therefor deserves her own post! This isn't to say that nothing else happened since I left Argentina, but I think it's safe to say that the bulk of my excitement took place during those 5 and a half months (or really, during the last month). I learned to weave, to cook, to speak Spanish, to identify birds (in Spanish!), and to have faith. I taught Federico (the man at the hardware shop) to make hula hoops! I learned to party, I learned to navigate, to observe, and to take things as they come (though robbery is hard to let go). I learned that friendly knitters are universal but good yarn is not. I learned that I can feel at home in another land. I learned to slow down and then promptly forgot in the instant my plane hit the tarmac...we're just not a mellow people!

Looking back, Argentina has had a profound impact on me. Some lessons have been forgotten, but I am left with a profound need to go back with awareness I have now and see what new lessons await me!

Fiber Friday: Plans on a rainy day...

Last year I made it my mission to knit every gift I gave for Christmas, and I succeeded (baaaaaarely). The only exception was the goodybag you see above which I sewed for my Aunt and filled with a pattern she wanted, some gorgeous Jitterbug, and a set of batching stitch markers that I made. I would have knit her something too, but she loves to knit as much as I do (and we knitters always like knitting goodies*)! Having set the bar so high last year, I feel like there's no way I can back down from the challenge this year! My list has been made (and way overly ambitious) since January, but I haven't gotten much done in the way of knitting yet.

I know that the Yarn Harlot has her own special friend who makes her knitting schedule for her every holiday season. I think I'm going to try! I'm sure you all think I'm crazy for thinking about these things now, but just you wait! Of course I'm not going to tell you what I'm planning, both so that it'll be a surprise for the giftees and so that when I fail miserably there isn't any proof, but let me just say that it involves sweaters (yes! plural!) and vests (also plural!) and fairy wings..and on and on. I know I might sound like I'm complaining but I swear I'm not. I LOVE giving handmade gifts, in fact I'll go out of my way to come up with an excuse to gift. Onward with the knitting!

How soon do you start planning for Christmas? Do you like to make your own? Is anyone willing to talk me off the ledge when I'm about to commit Christmas Eve Knitter Harikari with my double pointed #5's?

Want more Fiber Friday? Click it!

*By the way, if anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas, it's a box bag from Jess of Stitched by Jessalu! Just sayin'...

Border crossing...

We made it! Customs was scary. There was a girl on our bus who didn't claim the two apples she had in her bag for a snack, and she got dragged off into a dark room and questioned, then charged a $214 fine, US dollars, for the two apples. The view was incredible though.



After 8 hours on a bus and in customs we arrived in Valparaiso, a city on the ocean that really lives up to its name. It looks like paradise. Every single person we encountered told us to take off all our jewelry and be very, very careful. So we did....but we were nervous. So far, so good. We are now in Santiago for the day, and this evening we are getting on another 13 hour bus for Pucon, in the south.





We made it to Pablo Neruda's house while we were in Valparaiso. We are pitifully bad at seeing museums, so we were quite proud of ourselves.



You can find a few more Chile photos ::here::

SA Sunday: Packing up, moving out

Packing up, moving out, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

I was going to show you a photo of my packed backpack for our trip, but all of my laundry is still wet, so my bag isn't packed. It's causing me a good deal of stress. Instead I'm going to spend the afternoon reading through some travel guides and packing up my suitcases to put in storage!

I've decided that I can't bear to leave my second BsAs hoop behind. It's my Project Spectrum hoop and it's perfect. I've doubled it up and hopefully it will travel home safely in my suitcase. Cross your fingers for me!

We are in the midst of refining our travel plans, and I have to admit I'm feeling some anxiety. I just feel like we don't have enough time! Maybe I set my heart on accomplishing too much. We're off bright and early Tuesday morning, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to take a deep breath and just let things roll forward. We'll get to what we get to, I suppose. It's going to fly by so fast! I'll try and keep you updated as things change!

SA Sunday: It's a plan!

It's a plan!, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

Two weeks from Tuesday my friend Ashley and I will embark on our cross-country adventure! We will be flying up north, then busing down through northwestern Argentina, into Chile, and then down and back into Argentina. This map shows our plans! The towns I hit are the "major" towns, or rather, our base camps. There are great places to see surrounding all of these areas, and we may end up spending some time in those as well! We're very excited, and trying hard to come up with a feasible budget plan for this. Ashley just bought her plane ticket to Jujuy, and I'm working on getting mine as well!

If you'd like to see the map larger so you can actually read some of it, click here!

From the top:
Jujuy, A
Salta, A
Tucuman, A
La Rioja, A
San Juan, A
Mendoza, A
Santiago, C
Valparaiso, C
Vildavia, C
Osorno, C
Bariloche, A
El Bolson, A
Buenos Aires, A

We're very excited! I'm not sure how consistent my blogging will be, but I promise to do my best!

Don't forget that my Etsy Discount Offer is still available, until this Thursday!

Want more SA Sunday? Click it!

There's a word for it!

There's a word for why I don't always want to go out and party, why if someone shows up two hours early for a get together, I'm likely to run out of steam before I planned, and why my mom is always telling me to make sure I have my own space. There's a word for why I find craft fairs as exhausting, and turn grouchy at the thought. There's a word for why I totally panicked when I realized what exactly this Study Abroad adventure would entail.

"Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

....

What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: 'I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses.'"

Caring for your Introvert by Jonathan Rauch as discovered on Barbara's blog.

WIP: 'arry Potter!

Work in Progress, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

Aha! And you thought all I did anymore was knit! (That's sort of true, actually.) My latest challenge is reading Harry Potter! "A challenge?" you may ask. "Yes!" I will say, because it is in Spanish! Depending on my level of concentration, it can be really slow going. I have to be in just the right mindset, or I'll either obsess over looking up every single word, or I'll look at every word as if I'm reading, but not take any of it in. Last week I had a great read, for a whole hour I just sat outside my Uni building and read. I think I made it through about 20 pages! Currently Ron and Harry are meeting Professor Trelawney, which is funny in any language. It's helpful that I already know the story pretty well, but I like to think I'm doing alright! One thing I didn't consider is the fact that most of the book is written in the past tense (woe is me!) Also, the Spanish don't use quotation marks, they often use "em dashes" (as in this book) which takes a helluva long time to get used to!

As it turns out, I was wrong about the 50 Book Challenge serving it's purpose and getting me back in the reading habit. This is only the second book I've read for pleasure ALL YEAR. NOT OKAY. Anywho, since I really can't be bothered to do anything that isn't on Ravelry (okay, all I do is knit) and Ravelry has a 52 book challenge group I figured, why not? I'll jump back on the horse. I started May 17th. So far I've read 1 and a half. I have until April 1st, 2010. Here goes!

Looking for other WIP Wednesday posts? Click it!

Nobody wants to change their own mind...

Is Love Enough - Michael Franti and Spearhead

Usually Memorial Day is a family holiday, a day off, a day to spend with the people I love. This year it's different because I'm far away, in another country, and I've been thinking. I've gotten a range of reactions from people when I tell them that I'm from the US. Most of the positive ones are from people who think NYC is a magical place, and they imagine that I live there and ride around in a limo and drink champagne with supermodels. Not so. Most often I get sort of an awkward "ohhh". You really reflect on your own country when you leave it behind, even if it's temporary, because you have to learn to navigate in your new environment, with new cultural norms and new social laws.

I've been robbed twice now (as I've written about) and my initial reaction is rage. Rage at a government for not employing adequate security in a HUGE city, rage at an economic structure that causes so many people to exist with so little. After fuming and storming for a while I realized what I really feel is rage at this society in which so few people extend a hand, or a smile, much less any help. Two weeks ago I started buying cookies and juice for a family of children that sits at the corner near my Subte stop. I've made friends with the business owners on my street, the man in the hardware store, the guys in the produce market, the Chinese family that owns the supermarket, the woman from Peru who sells fruit in the market on Estado de Israel. Once a week or so I visit the used book vendors near my Subte stop at school to have a chat and see what they've got. To get robbed after making these connections, after finally building a little community for myself, was almost enough to make me pull back completely. It has occurred to me over the last few days that if I do that I'll only be perpetuating the problem here. I can't fix the economy, I can't make the city hire more police, but I can show people that I care, that I am interested in their stories. I can show them that I am human, and they are human, and we are all human together. We all have stories, in that we are all the same.

It was difficult to find a song that was appropriate for today because I wasn't sure how I was feeling about the day. I'm not a political blogger, and I'm grateful for that. I hesitate to share political views because so often they shut down opportunities for conversation, rather than opening them. I'm still an idealist. I support our troops as human beings, and because they protect the rights that I have as a citizen of the United States. I do not support the global social and political mindset in which guns and bombs are necessary to secure our beliefs. I do not support the decision to bowl through other countries on the basis that we know what is good for them, without allowing them to search for their own new way of life. I believe in human connections, regardless of how we name it in our churches and temples. I believe we should bring our troops home because if we really, truly respected them as human beings we would not ask them to die for us without first trying to resolve our problems in a human, non-violent way. We are distinct in the animal kingdom because we alone have the ability to chose how we arrive at our future. I believe we should exercise that ability and speak, in memory of all who have given their one, single, irreplaceable life.

Looking for more Music Monday? *They're usually not politically driven!*

On Getting Robbed in Argentina

Apparently it's a rite of passage. Apparently you have not lived in Argentina until you've been robbed. In that case, consider me initiated.

I was saving the first part of this story for a rainy day, so to speak, but after tonight's events I think I'll just spill. About a month ago I was bird watching with my South American Birds class, and we were sitting in a field on a nature reserve drinking mate when two young guys walked up to us, pulled out a gun, and robbed all 12 of us sitting there in the grass. I was pissed. It's a horrible feeling, to watch someone take something from you and know there's nothing you can do about it. We were by all logic absolutely safe. A large group of people, daylight, not carrying much, dressed in our grubs because we were sludging through mud. We were not flashy, we were not making a scene, but we still got robbed.

When someone puts a gun to your face your body sort of takes over (and if it doesn't, you should let it.) While in your head you obviously don't want this person taking your stuff, the fact that there's a gun in your face makes you give it up because honestly, it's probably not loaded and it might not even be real, but you've only got one brain, and you can buy another pair of binoculars. Until now I was able to find humor in the irony of our getting robbed, while in a nature reserve watching birds. It's humorous. It doesn't erase the fact that I'm jumpy as all hell as a result.

I have hardly left the house since then. Yes, I've been sick, but mostly I've been tired and afraid. I'm tired of jumping out of my skin every time someone looks at me funny or approaches me too quickly. I'm tired of clinging to my backpack, of leaving my camera at home, of exiting the ATM with my heart in my throat and my money in my bra.

This evening I went out for the first time in 5 weeks. I went to meet my friends at a jazz concert in a university. I walked 15 blocks down well lit avenues, didn't meet anyone's eye, just looked straight ahead. I had examined the map before I left so I would know where I was going. I had only a small purse, with the money I might need for the evening, a scarf, tissues and a cell phone (my new one, since the other was stolen.) I turned the final corner, off the main avenue, and I could see my friends standing outside the music hall. I walked past a young woman sitting on a step, and two steps later another woman stepped out in front of me and asked for money. I was late. I said "No, I'm sorry" and tried to pass. She stepped in front of me again and tried to grab my purse. I turned around to cross the street away from her and the other woman was behind me. They backed me into a corner and started grabbing at my purse again, yelling at me. One had her hand in her pocket. I gave them my money, $100 pesos. I gave them my Metro card with another $20 pesos in it. They tried to take my other cards but I showed them my student ID and said that was all I had. I insisted I still hadn't bought another cell phone since the last time I got robbed. I insisted I didn't have anything left. I was pissed. They were my size. I should have hit them. I should have refused to give them my money. I work hard for what I have, they don't deserve it any more than I do. Why should they have my money? Why should they be able to tell me what to do?

I crossed the street and joined my friends. I told them, through tears of embarrassment and frustration, what had happened. One told me that her profesora had been robbed on the same corner by two women, likely the same, and that when she refused to give them money they pulled knives on her. They told me I had done the right thing. They told me it was better to give up the money than to fight.

They have never been robbed. It's about dignity. It's about faith in human kind. It's about not being afraid to go to the grocery store, to cross the street, to leave the house. Why didn't I make a scene, draw attention to myself, try and scare them away? Why can't I defend myself? The fact of the matter is they have the power. It's easy to think what I might have done, now that it's over, but if you find yourself backed into a dark corner by two people desperate enough to rob someone in public, your instinct is to find the path of least resistance. If you're living in someone else's country, under someone else's laws, that means giving it up. They say getting robbed is a right of passage, that you've truly been here once you've experienced it. If this is how I'm supposed to feel living here, I want nothing of it.

South America Sunday: Little Bird, Big World

"Little Bird, Big World" Inspiration, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

I took this photo while waiting on the corner of my street, Loyola, and the closest avenida, Scalebrini Ortiz. I was just sitting watching cars and people rush by, and this little pigeon was standing at the edge of the crosswalk. I snapped this shot and that's when the new name for my blog occurred to me. I feel a lot like a little pigeon here, just one in the crowd with people rushing by and paying me very little mind. Every day when I leave the house I'm not sure what I'll experience, what I'll come across, who I'll encounter. Leaving the house I feel like a little bird getting pushed out of the nest, learning to fly for fear of falling.

Statement of Intent

Self-Eval, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

I have something I need to declare, and I need to state it publicly because it's harder to back out of something once you've told other people you'll do it (I hope.) Starting tomorrow (only because I already can't remember today's list) I'm writing every single thing I eat or drink in that little book in the image above (which also happens to be my impromptu knitting idea book, so the incentive to carry it around is good.)I haven't decided what to do with that information yet.

I think I just need to take stock.

I know I eat a ton of those cute high-fiber crackers with suns and wheat stalks imprinted on them.
I know I eat a ton of lite Finlandia cheese (cream cheese but a lot lighter.)
I know I eat a lot of Activia yogurts, because they have the best flavors...(unfortunately the low-fat one's suck.)
I eat a lot of tomatoes...

My energy is really low, and I'm always hungry.
I can't summon the energy to go out with Ceci and friends because I can't handle having to speak The Language all night.
My mood is swinging violently.
I can't seem to kick the cough lodged in my chest.
I think I'm sleeping way too much.

I think I'll add also that I'm keeping track of how much I sleep, how much I get out of the house and how my energy levels feel throughout the day.

Basically I want to be able to write a post like this. Or this. Or this.

I feel like with all the hustle before I left for this trip I didn't get to do my yearly self-evaluation and re-adjustment and I think now is the time. Something's gotta give or I'm going to waste this adventure away...

Faith

I made my flatmate laugh today...in Spanish. Through her I am beginning to find faith. Faith in the power of human connections that erase all barriers of language and culture and make all things possible for those who are willing to open their hearts and minds.

My Unforgettable 21st Birthday...

(Click any photo to enlarge)


...was spent in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, population 80 people, 90 diseased dogs, and thousands of fleas.

Above is a photo of our shack, and us waiting outside in the rain for the monster truck to come carry us away. (Little did we know that there wouldn't be another bus out for six and a half hours.)


(My bedroom)


(The shower...also the bathroom)

Cabo Polonio is first and foremost a beach town, and seeing as it was pretty much raining for the entire time, there wasn't much to do once we had visited the 6 little vendor stands and climbed the lighthouse (which is not called "casa de luz", just so you know for future reference). Below you'll find a view of the entire town...



We spent the better part of the trip sitting in the one open restaurant drinking wine and watching the waves and the rain. Really that's about all we did in the 18 hours we were there. The people (all three of them) in the restaurant were very nice, and we practiced lots of Spanish, sang some songs, and ate a couple meals there. The waiter even brought me some flan with a candle in it!



Somehow we slept in the icky beds in the icky house (it helped that there was no electricity so we could not see where we were sleeping) and the following morning (my real birthday) we woke up to a drippy roof, and that brings us back to the first photo of this post. We caught the monster truck (here's a shot of ours from when we first arrived) intending to catch the bus that should have come at 8:40am.



We got the the bus stop, it was pouring rain by then, and waited for a bit. No bus. Nikki and Alison went to ask when the bus would be coming and discovered that since it was raining there would only be one bus...at 3pm...
They asked to use the phone to call a cab to get us into a town. No minutes left on the phone...So they asked to buy a phone card from the little stand next door..."The kiosco won't be opening today because it's raining..."
Not taking no for an answer, but ready to kill someone, Alison found an old man to drive us into town in the back of his truck for UY$400 pesos. They assured us there would be more buses leaving from the terminal there in Castillos. Turns out the bus didn't leave there until 2:45...the same bus we would have caught. Fine, we say, we're in a town at least! Turns out Castillos has the highest suicide rate in Uruguay, because there's nothing to do there...
seriously.

Anyhow, we eventually made our way back to Montevideo, hooked up with the rest of our travel group and some new friends found in Punta del Diablo, and the new friends took us out for a fabulous Asado! It was a grand old party and we went out later and they sang me happy birthday in 6 languages!



Back to our familiar and comfortable hostel for the evening, and then we caught the Buquebus ferry home in the AM. Can you see how happy we are to be going home? It was a great trip, and I'd do it all again, but it certainly got a bit tense at times! For 9 people to head of on an adventure like that when half had only known one another for 24 hours is pretty crazy, but the fact that we all came home fabulous friends is a gift!

A Christmas of Knitting

I am WAY LATE making this post, but it's still January, so here goes!

I wanted to share a little bit of what took over my life for the last three months of 2008. Sometimes I go a little crazy with plans...this year it was Christmas knitting. I convinced myself I was planning so far ahead, starting in September, it would be no trouble getting through my list. Never mind that I was full on into sale season and driving every which way across the state in the middle of a hectic semester while still balancing a part time job. Never mind that I need to sleep at night. Or that I planned to knit my brother an entire sweater in the month of November, or that I decided to do it from calculations rather than a pattern. Never mind that finals were the week before Christmas, and I'm trying to get the paperwork done for a study abroad (more on that later.)

No, I was determined. What happens when I'm determined to get something done? I usually do, for better or worse. This year was no exception (well, except the two projects I didn't get done, but they were sort of "if I have time" projects anyway.)

Here's the damage:



1. Manly Lace for Jamie II, 2. Mom's Porphyria, 3. Justin's Gloves, 4. Jordan's Sweater, 5. Joe's Turn a Square, 6. Amanda's Halley's Comet, 7. Joanne's Fellow Knitter Goodybag, 8. Dan's Turn a Square, 9. Helena's Modified Fetchings, 10. Dad's Thuja

The Burn Out

I feel a little bit like this. (This being my very first car, which spontaneously burst into flames one day on my way home from work.)

I HATE this time of year. I hate it because it is the most beautiful time to live in New England, and yet I spend so much time in a melted puddle of anxiety and fatigue that I can't appreciate it like everyone else can. I hate that I feel so disconnected, even though I know there are people who love my and think of me. I'm sleeping 8-10 hours a night, and I fell asleep for an hour in the library today. All I want to do is go home and sleep, even though I know that on top of my regular course reading and jewelry shows I have three tests and three papers and Salt and Pepper shakers to complete in the next two weeks. I think that all my determination to ignore this problem is going to have to bend, because I'm sick of being so unproductive and listless. I think it's time to go sit on a sofa and have a chat with someone.

Do other people struggle with seasonal depression (because I suspect that's what you'd call this)? Is anyone willing to share their experience, or what has worked for them?

YA Challenge 2008

So I was browsing through Nymeth's various (and awesome) blogs I came across the YA Challenge and joined because I needed another challenge, obviously. I just couldn't resist! (Do you see what results from a couple comments in a blog?)

And so, from Thoughts Of Joy I bring you The YA Challenge 2008.

This is really just a glorified excuse because I love quality YA novels. I'm being careful to read new ones (only a couple of these are nostalgic re-reads). I'm going to link each to my comments on it as I read them.

1. The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card
2. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
3. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
4. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D Taylor
5. The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum
6. The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
7. Best Shorts: Favorite Stories for Sharing by Various, including Avi, Peterson, Alexander and some other favorites
8. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I'm finally breaking down and going to read this)
9. The Secret School by Avi
10. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
11. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
12. Take a Thief by Mercedes Lackey

Super excited, and these are bound to change.

EDIT:
I'm subbing The King of Ireland's Son in and taking out The Book Thief.

ANOTHER EDIT:
It's just occurred to me that the reason I didn't like The Book Thief was because I was looking for The Thief Lord (there seems to be a lot of thieving on this page). So maybe I'll replace something else with the book I was really wanting to read.

The Author ABC Challenge

"...so when my manager (i work at a used bookstore) mentioned that one of her customers used to chose authors alphabetically, i thought, now that is peculiar and promptly decided to take up a new reading project! As soon as i got home i started to brainstorm and came up with some guidelines. Since i didn't want to spend the next 6 months trudging through books just cause i needed a letter, I allowed books that i have finished in the past 6 months to be included, and i would henceforth complete the rest of the alphabet. If I read a compilation, the editor's last name would apply. Most recent reads would be listed, even if i find them embarrassing (see "F"). In order for the book to count, I'd have to read it completely. No rereads. First names don't count. No cheating. Rated yes, no or maybe so. Here goes..." - readyset_no on Livejournal.com

I'll be including the books I read in the last 12 months, because I'm a busy girl...


Read:

A: Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
B: J. M. Barrie - Peter Pan
C: Aiden Chambers - The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn
H: Frank Herbert - Dune and Dune Messiah
K: Thomas Kelly - Empire Rising
L: Madeleine L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
N: Mary Norton - The Borrowers Series
P: Tamora Pierce - Trickster's Choice
S: Anita Shreve - Body Surfing
T: Junichiro Tanizaki - Naomi
W: Tad Williams - The War of the Flowers

To Be Read (or finished):

D: *Ram Dass - Be Here Now
E: *Ianto Evans - The Hand-Sculpted House (Almost finished)
F: *William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
G: David Guterson - Snow Falling on Cedars
I: John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany
J: *James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
M: Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes
O: *Kenzaburo Oe - The Silent Cry
Q: Raymond Queneau - Zazie in the Metro
R: *Ayn Rand - Anthem
U: John Updike - The Witches of Eastwick
V: *Kurt Vonnegut...not sure which yet
X: *Cao Xueqin - Story of the Stone (Read parts of)
Y: Banana Yoshimoto - NP (Is her name really Banana?)
Z: Roger Zelazny (Because he's got two z's!)

* signifies that I have the book on my shelf
I'm excited to say I haven't read anything by any of the authors in my TBR pile! Adventure awaits!

EDIT: My "Y" author is going to be Jane Yolen's "Touch Magic" rather than Banana Yoshimoto. Maybe I'll still read Yoshimoto, who knows?
My "F" is now Nancy Farmer's "The Sea of Trolls", "The House of the Scorpion" and any others I can get my hands on! I'll probably still read Faulkner at some point.

What's in a Name? A reading challenge

The challenge is to read a book who's title fits into each of the 6 catagories found What's in a Name.

My list is as follows:

1. A book with a color in its title: The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde (heh, does that count?)

2. A book with an animal in its title: Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

3. A book with a first name in its title: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

4. A book with a place in its title: Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

5. A book with a weather event in its title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

6. A book with a plant in its title: Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet