My Fall TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

First I am planning to finish my current read, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, but after I complete that, I will start reading from my Fall TBR list....

Reading The Shadow of the Wind #365frandz #project365 #amreading #bookstagram #readersofinstagram

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on Sep 18, 2016 at 9:57am PDT

The Girl with all the Gifts by Mike Carey

Recommended by a friend

One of the high school Battle of the Books choices

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Got a great deal on the Kindle version

I think the story sounds interesting

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Recommended by a friend

I have borrowed her signed copy

Teacher books

I have 4 teacher books I need to read

I like reading teacher books :)

What are you reading this fall?

Weekly Wrap-Up (September 25, 2016)... Another Round of ROW80 Ends

A new round of ROW80 has begun.

Progress on my goals is at the end of this post.

Blog Posts

I did not blog this week.

What I read
I am still reading The Shadow of the Wind.   I am really enjoying it.

Interesting Stuff I Found on the Internet
I have not been on the internet much.

ROW80 Goals
Round 3 of ROW80 has ended.  This round ran from July 4th to September 22nd.  I started a little late, so my number of weeks and days is a little different.  I did not accomplish any of my goals this round.  Here is my progress:

1.  Read 9 books (4/9)
I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind.  Other books I have read this round are:
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Armada by Ernest Cline
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2.  Continue with my blogging schedule (8/10 weeks)

You can check out my weekly posts through the links at the beginning of this post.

3.  Edit 5 chapters of ZF (0/5)

I would really like to complete this goal this round but I have not begun yet.

4.  Write daily (24/66 days)

Monday:  :(
Tuesday:  :(
Wednesday:  :(
Thursday: :(
Friday:  :(
Saturday: :(
Sunday:  :(

5.  Continue my Creative Every Day challenge

I started a Tardis baby blanket this week.

6.  Swim at least twice a week. (4/10 weeks)

Even though the pool has reopened, I still did not go swimming this week.

How did your week go?
Do you have a blog post or interesting link you'd like to share with me?

Weekly Wrap-Up (September 18, 2016)

A new round of ROW80 has begun.

Progress on my goals is at the end of this post.

Blog Posts

Monday Musings... Family Stories

August Book Reviews

What I'm Reading Wednesday #25

Personal Stuff
I feel like I am starting to adjust to my work schedule, although I have been going to bed a lot earlier than usual.  I feel like I am making progress on a lot of projects.  I am still not writing every day, but I still try.  That's what's important.

What I read
I am still reading The Shadow of the Wind.   I am really enjoying it.

Interesting Stuff I Found on the Internet
I have not been on the internet much.

ROW80 Goals
Round 3 of ROW80 has begun.  This round runs from July 4th to September 22nd.  I started a little late, so my number of weeks and days is a little different.  Here is my progress so far:

1.  Read 9 books (4/9)
I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind.  Other books I have read this round are:
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Armada by Ernest Cline
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2.  Continue with my blogging schedule (8/10 weeks)

You can check out my weekly posts through the links at the beginning of this post.

3.  Edit 5 chapters of ZF (0/5)

I would really like to complete this goal this round but I have not begun yet.

4.  Write daily (24/66 days)

Monday:  Morning Pages and NaBloPoMo prompt
Tuesday:  Morning Pages and NaBloPoMo prompt
Wednesday:  :(
Thursday: :(
Friday:  :(
Saturday: :(
Sunday:  Letter to a new penpal

5.  Continue my Creative Every Day challenge

I finished a star baby blanket this week.

6.  Swim at least twice a week. (4/10 weeks)

Even though the pool has reopened, I still did not go swimming this week.

How did your week go?
Do you have a blog post or interesting link you'd like to share with me?

What I'm Reading Wednesday #25 (September 14, 2016)

As usual, Wednesday ROW 80 check-ins will reflect on my reading goals.  I am still reading The Shadow of the Wind  by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.  Nothing has changed since my last update.

My goal for this round of ROW80 is 9 books.

Anyway, here is my progress so far... 
2016 Goal: 32 books
Books Read = 25/32
Books from TBR list: 5
Series completed: 1
ROW80 Round 3 Goal:  4/9
2016 Pinterest Board

January
1.  Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
2.  Foreign Gods, Inc by Okey Ndibe
3.  Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy by Dinty W. Moore
4.  Thunder and Lightning by Natalie Goldberg

February
1.  The Double Life of Fidel Castro
2.  Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (Started a new series)
3.  Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult (TBR)
4.  The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld (Completed a series!) 

March
1.  The Magician by Michael Scott (Book 2 of a series)
2.  The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
3.  Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

April
1.  The Art of X-Ray Reading
1.  Doodle Art Handbook by Lana Karr
2.  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

May
1.  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (TBR)

June
1.  The Interior Circuit by Francisco Goldman
2.  The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
3.  Frida's Bed by Slavenka Drakulic

July

1.  The Beach House by James Patterson and Peter De Jonge

2.  The Haters by Jesse Andrews

3.  Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis (TBR)

4.  Room by Emma Donoghue (TBR)
5.  The Sorceress by Michael Scott (Book 3 of a series)

August
1.  Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (Book 2 of a series)
2.  Armada by Ernest Cline
3.  Wild by Cheryl Strayed (TBR)
4.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

What are you reading this week?  How are your reading goals going?

August Book Reviews

This August I read four books.  Here are my reviews.

1.  Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness 
From Amazon:  "Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey."

My thoughts: This took me a long time to read, but it was a great book.  I love reading different authors' interpretations of witch and vampire lore, and this one was very interesting.  It's the second book in the series and thankfully did not end with a cliffhanger like the first one did.  I don't think I could have handled that again.  I really like teh character Diana Bishop.  She does not let the controlling vampires control her life.  I also love that she is a historian who gets to time travel.  I am not a history buff, but I liked seeing her get excited about experienceing a different time and meeting all the people she had only read about before.  4/5 stars

2.  Armada by Ernest Cline
From Amazon:  "Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure. 
But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe. 
And then he sees the flying saucer. 
Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.  
No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.  
It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar? "

My thoughts: Like Ernest Cline's previous book, the story involves a video game and a lot of popular culture references from the 80s.  The story was entertaining, although familiar and, at times, predictable.  Overall I enjoyed the book and give it 3/5 stars.

3.  Wild by Cheryl Strayed
From Amazon:  "At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone. 
 
Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her."

My thoughts:  Wow!  I loved this book!  It had me crying more than once, and the story was captivating.  It left me feeling inspired and glad to be human.  5/5  

4.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
From Amazon:  "It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement."

My thoughts:  It took me a while to get used to the writing style of this book.  The lists at the beginning of the chapters and the narrator's blunt foreshadowing distracted me at times, especially at the beginning.  Once I got used to the style, I enjoyed this book.  3/5 

Monday Musings: Family Stories

This post was inspired by the August NaBloPoMo prompts on Blogher.

Starting a new book. #365frandz #project365 #erinsbookchallenge5 #erinsbookchallenge #amreading #cherylstrayedwild

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on Aug 9, 2016 at 5:44pm PDT

Recently I read Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  As her mother is dying, in the beginning of the book, the author realizes that she knows everything there is to know about her mom.  She has asked her everything she wants to know, has memorized the details of every story, has learned who her mother was in the past.

Reading the passage, I was reminded of how little my sister and I ask about our families.  Now all our grandparents are dead, and their stories have died with them.  There are no stories in my family that have survived two generations.

I know that my great granny Doyle was strict and like people to sit up straight (she definitely would have hated me).  I know my granddad did not like my dad when he started dating my mom.  I know my dad was in at least one serious car accident.  I'm pretty sure that my granny Jordan had a little love triangle thing going as a youngster.  But I never heard the main characters tell their stories, well except my dad.  And now I wish I had.  I wish I could say what Cheryl Strayed wrote:

"All through my childhood and adolescence I'd asked and asked, making her describe those scenes and more, wanting to know who said what and how, what she'd felt inside while it was going on, where so-and-so stood and what time of day it was.  And she'd told me, with reluctance or relish, laughing and asking why on earth I wanted to know.  I wanted to know.  I couldn't explain."

-Cheryl Strayed, Wild

Weekly Wrap-Up (September 12, 2016)

A new round of ROW80 has begun.

Progress on my goals is at the end of this post.

Blog Posts

Monday Musings:  Women Who....

Top Ten Guilty Pleasure TV Shows

Currently...

Randomly On a Thursday: Do People Steal Couches?

Personal Stuff
I am surrounded by injured people recently.  My cat injured her tail and won't stop chewing on it and reopening the wound, so she has a cone collar on.  She hates it. 

Not everyone is having a happy #caturday #caturdaycuties #catsofinstagram

A photo posted by Lisa (@lalocadesigns) on Sep 3, 2016 at 1:25pm PDT

My husband started out with a sprained ankle and has now been diagnosed with Plantar Faciitis, so he has new shoes and stretches and splints and things.  I feel like the healthiest one in the house :)

What I read
I have been reading The Shadow of the Wind.  I tried reading it in Spanish a while ago but I couldn't make it through.  Now I know why.  The author uses very complex vocabulary that would have been difficult to wade through in a different language.  I am enjoying it more now that I am reading the book in English. 

Interesting Stuff I Found on the Internet
I have not been on the internet much.

ROW80 Goals
Round 3 of ROW80 has begun.  This round runs from July 4th to September 22nd.  I started a little late, so my number of weeks and days is a little different.  Here is my progress so far:

1.  Read 9 books (4/9)
I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind.  Other books I have read this round are:
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Armada by Ernest Cline
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2.  Continue with my blogging schedule (7/10 weeks)

You can check out my weekly posts through the links at the beginning of this post.

3.  Edit 5 chapters of ZF (0/5)

I would really like to complete this goal this round but I have not begun yet.

4.  Write daily (22/66 days)

Monday:  :(
Tuesday:  Morning Pages and NaBloPoMo prompt
Wednesday:  :(
Thursday: :(
Friday:  :(
Saturday: :(
Sunday:  Morning Pages and NaBloPoMo prompt

5.  Continue my Creative Every Day challenge

I've been working on writing a baby blanket this week.

6.  Swim at least twice a week. (4/10 weeks)

The pool is closed for maintenance.

How did your week go?
Do you have a blog post or interesting link you'd like to share with me?

Randomly, on a Thursday...... Do People Steal Couches?

Do people really steal couches?  Because when I watch this commercial, I keep imagining these two guys breaking into this house to steal the couch, then when they try to leave, it won't fit out the door, so they have to stop and remove the legs and twist it in different directions to get it through the door until they get so frustrated they just give up.

Who steals a couch?!?

Currently........ (September 7, 2016)

Currently...


Writing... morning pages
Although I do not always complete them in the morning, I have been enjoying the brain dump.  I usually write about two pages of whatever nonsense is on my mind and then use a writing prompt to write the third page.  It has been my most successful daily writing experiment so far.

Reading... The Shadow of the Wind
Honestly I have been too exhausted to read much of anything recently but my bookmark is placed in this book, and I plan to finish it before my library loan is up.

Listening... to ¿Puedo ir al baño?
I'm back to school, and this song is one of my students' favorites.

Eating... Welch's island fruit snacks
I just finished a pack and I already want another.  My favorite are the green ones which I think are kiwi flavored.  Yum.

Drinking... water
Ever since I got my Fitbit, I have been tracking my water intake more closely.  I feel so good when I get to my 64oz every day.

Wearing... pajamas
Work has been so exhausting that I have been spending all my free time in my pjs.

Feeling... tired but satisfied
The return to work is overwhelming but it is amazing to watch students get excited about learning Spanish.

Weather... rainy and gloomy
The perfect back to school weather!

Wanting... a Yumm bowl
If you have never been to Cafe Yumm, you might want to visit the Pacific Northwest and get yourself a Yumm bowl.  I am having a serious craving.  Wednesday night dinner!

Thinking... this movie is not as good as the first one :(


Watching... Now You See Me 2
I like movies about magicians.  This one is not holding my attention so well.

Enjoying... letter writing

I have found some new penpals and I love writing and receiving letters.  I even bought some new stationery.  It should be arriving in the mail tomorrow, and I cannot wait to write my first letter on this pretty paper.

Top Ten Guilty Pleasure TV Shows

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

The theme at The Broke and the Bookish this week is something related to television, so I decided to share my top ten guilty pleasure tv shows.  These are the shows that I watch all by myself when I have some free time.

1.  Pretty Little Liars
I am not sure why I started watching this show.  I think Netflix reccomended it to me.  I immediately knew that my husband was not going to want to watch this show, so I started watching on my Ipad while ironing.  Now I am hooked.  Who is A?  And what does he/she want?  I love all the teenage drama.

2.  Project Runway (the original and All Stars and Under the Gunn and Junior)
One of my greatest weaknesses is a show where people make things.  I love making things and I love watching other people make things too.  More drama.  Yay!

3.  Project Accessory
Why was there only one season of this show?  I want it back!

4.  Face Off
Another one of those creative shows.  I know absolutely nothing about creating special effects make-up but I learn a little bit more every season of Face Off.

5.  Ink Master
This one is also a creative show but this one has a lot more swearing and yelling.  So much drama!

6.  Bar Rescue
Oh!  The drama!  This guy yells at people who are failing at running a bar and tries to help them turn their business around.  

7.  The Following
I started watching this one with my husband but he got tired of it, so I continued watching by myself.  How can these people be so obssessed with each other?  If they hate each other so much, why isn't one of them dead yet?

8.  Flea Market Flip
Another creative show!  It's so much fun to watch them buy junk and then refurbish it but my favorite part is guessing who will make the most money.

9.  Judge Judy
Judge Judy has taught me so much over the years: always keep your dog on a leash, don't lend money to friends or family, take pictures at the beginning and end of a lease..... the list goes on and on.  Thank you, Judge Judy!

10.  CSI franchise
I am currently making my way through CSI New York but I am also a big fan of the original CSI and the Miami version.  

What are your favorite guilty pleasure tv shows?

Monday Musings: Women Who.....

Recently people on social media have been sharing articles, written by women, explaining what it is like to be a woman.  Well, I happen to be a woman and I disagree with their explanations.

The first article explains the real reason women drink.  The author claims that women drink to hide from their sad lives where they are constantly being held back by men.

I, for one, do not drink to hide from my problems or to cover up the things that make me unhappy.  You see, in general, I am a very happy person.  I have a job I enjoy where I feel respected.  I am married to my best friend, and we live with an elderly cat.  I love where I live and I have lots of hobbies to keep my mind and hands busy.

Sometimes my job is very stressful but I don't run home and crack into a bottle of wine to hide from my stress.  I deal with it.

Sometimes my husband and my diabetic cat (did I mention that the elderly cat is diabetic?) drive me crazy but I don't meet my girlfriends at the nearest bar and drink myself into oblivion.  I deal with it.

Sometimes my old house threatens to fall down around me but I stay sober and deal with it. 

Drinking to hide or run away from problems and dissatisfaction doesn't work.  Alcohol is a depressant; it's not going to make you feel better if you already feel down.  

So, why do I drink?  I like a beer or a glass of wine with dinner and I like to celebrate the joys and successes of life (probably why mimosas are one of my favorite drinks).  I drink to celebrate the happy times, not to hide from the difficult ones.

The second article discusses what it is like to be a woman and a vegetarian.  The article's tagline reads "Making apologies and being invisible are what I'm pre-programmed to do."  The author's premise is that as a woman she has been taught to be invisible and think of others first, so she doesn't tell any of her friends that she is a vegetarian and feels guilty when she passes on the beautiful meat dishes they have made.

I have been a vegetarian for about twenty years now.  Even worse, I am a vegetarian who doesn't like cheese.  I am not allergic to cheese; I am not a vegan; I have no good reason to go around requesting that dishes be made with no cheese.  I still do it.  Why?  In the words of L'Oréal, because I'm worth it.

Reading this article made me feel very concerned about what we are teaching our youth.  Are we really teaching girls to be invisible and not stand up for their own wants and needs?  

Personally I was always taught to stand up for myself and to make my needs clear.  As a child, I was a picky eater (hard to believe, I know.....a person who doesn't like cheese, picky? Not possible).  I did not like sauces.  My parents still took me to nice restaurants and encouraged me to ask for the meal the way I wanted it.  My mom always referenced the restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally but I don't think I was that bad.  If the chef could accommodate, great, and most chefs would.

I have never gone to a friend or family member's dinner party without letting them know about my dietary needs.  I know that I would feel like shit if someone came to my house to eat and couldn't eat anything I had prepared.  I don't ask anyone to prepare me a special meal but I want them to know why I am not eating the fancy steak they prepared.

If I had an allergy, I would tell everyone.  Why should it be any different with other dietary restrictions?

Sorry for the rant but like I said, these articles did not sit right with me.  Hey Internet!  If you are planning to publish an article that tells me and other women why we do things or how we should act, please stop and rethink.  Write it in your journal and move on.  Thanks.

Weekly Wrap-Up (September 4, 2016)

A new round of ROW80 has begun.

Progress on my goals is at the end of this post.

Blog Posts

Teaser Tuesday

What I'm Reading Wednesday #24

Personal Stuff
The school year has officially begun, and I am back at work.  This week was the most exhausting experience I have ever had.  I am teaching 6 and a half different classes this year and I am feeling a little overwhelmed right now.  I know it will get easier as the year goes on—it always does—but right now, I'm feeling a little brain-dead.

What I read
I did not read anything this week except for education blogs.

Interesting Stuff I Found on the Internet
I have not been on the internet much.

ROW80 Goals
Round 3 of ROW80 has begun.  This round runs from July 4th to September 22nd.  I started a little late, so my number of weeks and days is a little different.  Here is my progress so far:

1.  Read 9 books (4/9)
I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind.  Other books I have read this round are:
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Armada by Ernest Cline
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2.  Continue with my blogging schedule (6/10 weeks)

You can check out my weekly posts through the links at the beginning of this post.

3.  Edit 5 chapters of ZF (0/5)

I would really like to complete this goal this round but I have not begun yet.

4.  Write daily (20/66 days)

Monday:  :(
Tuesday:  :(
Wednesday:  :(
Thursday: :(
Friday:  Morning Pages
Saturday: :(
Sunday:  :(

5.  Continue my Creative Every Day challenge

I've been working on writing a knitting pattern this week.

6.  Swim at least twice a week. (4/10 weeks)

The pool is closed for maintenance.

How did your week go?
Do you have a blog post or interesting link you'd like to share with me?