Sunday Six, July 15, 2012

Well, last week was even more of a challenge than the one before that. Things kept coming up that needed my attention, so I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to meet my goals.

Last week

1. Created several genre shelves so that I could add at least one to each book listed as "to read" on Goodreads. That way, if I'm in the mood to read something from a particular genre (horror, classic, etc.), I can just pull up the list for that shelf and make my choice. I resisted doing that at first but finally conceded that it's a useful thing to do.

2. Finished reading two books. I finally finished one that I'd started a while back. Before that, I read something else from start to finish; it was pretty short, though.

3. Posted a review of Wheat Belly. This is the one I had intended to post a week earlier but hadn't quite finished the final draft.

This week

1. Post on at least two blogs. I haven't been online much lately, so I'd like to start catching up.

2. Start reading a new book. I don't have any books in progress right now, which means it's time to choose another one and start reading.

3. Finish writing my latest book review.

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Do you read in a wide variety of genres, or do you tend to stick to a genre or two?

Sunday Six, July 8, 2012

Last week was a challenge. Despite some major time constraints, I did manage to accomplish a few things.

Last week

1. Finished reading The Scarlet Pimpernel, which I'd been meaning to read for years.

2. Wrote and posted a book review of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I actually intended to post a review of a different book, but I wanted to tweak it a bit, so I postponed that one.

3. Revived Diary of a Non-Person with a post about SnackWell's cookie cakes.

That means I did what I set out to do last week.

This week

1. Organize my "to read" shelf at Goodreads. It has almost 200 books right now, so I'd like to add a few genre shelves for classification purposes.

2. Finish reading a book. I'm hoping to finish the other book that I've been reading so that I can finally start another one (or two).

3. Post a book review. This will probably be the one I intended to post last week but replaced at the last minute.

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Do you have a long list of books you'd like to read?

Sunday Six

I've decided to list three things I accomplished last week, followed by three things I'd like to accomplish this coming week. It's not everything on my lists, but it adds up to six!

Posting goals for the following week should help hold me accountable and make me actually do something. At this point, I don't know whether or not I'll make this a regular Sunday topic.

Last week

1. Put up new posts at four of my blogs, including this one. The topics included writing contests, animal welfare, and personal goals.

2. Finished reading Wheat Belly. It had taken a while because once I got to the recipes, I pretty much lost interest. I finally decided to read them and actually saw a couple I might have to try.

3. Reorganized the freezer. Older items were getting shoved to the back when new ones arrived, causing me to forget what we had, so it was past time to deal with the situation.

This week

1. Finish reading another book. Even though I finished one last week, I'm in the middle of two others.

2. Write at least one book review to post at Goodreads. I don't expect to write a long review, but I'd like at least a few sentences.

3. Revive another one of my blogs. I have six but let them all go for too long. Now that I'm posting at four of them again, I'd like to revive another one.

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Does posting your goals help you, or do you tend to let them go?

If Only I Had Listened

If I could live my life over, I would--wait a minute. Just hold it right there.

I'm not going to get all philosophical or "if I could go back and change things" wistful or weepy; I'm just going to state a simple fact.

I wish I'd listened to my husband sooner.

There. I said it.

I have to give him credit for finally persuading me to try almond milk.

As far back as I can remember, I've thought milk tasted sour. Chocolate milk is only slightly more palatable. Cooking with milk is fine, and I like many other dairy products. I just don't like milk.

A while back, I bought some coconut milk, thinking it might be the answer. Unfortunately, it seemed very watery to me, so I wasn't crazy about it. My husband, on the other hand, really liked it, so we bought that for a while.

Then I decided to buy a carton of almond milk. Again, he liked it, but I still wasn't sure. Instead, I continued my custom of adding small amounts of regular milk to my granola. One day, I fixed a bowl of granola before remembering we didn't have any regular milk, so I tried the almond milk. After all, my husband had been trying to get me to try it, so I figured I had to at that point.

It was good.

I still haven't cooked with almond milk, but I've had instant breakfasts made with it. (Yes, I know the dry mix contains dairy milk, but I don't notice that.)

So, the point to all this?

I wish I'd listened to my husband and tried almond milk sooner.

Is there a product you wish you'd tried sooner?

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This post is a response to this week's GBE 2 writing prompt, "If I Had My Life to Live Over..."

Changing Course

When a friend told me recently that she'd finally gone back to a hobby she's loved since childhood, it made me think. Actually, it did more than that. It made me act.

Well, first, I did have some thinking to do. I thought about how I typically spend my time. I tend to focus on one thing so much that I end up neglecting everything else. For example, when I'm at the computer, I always tell myself I'll be getting up frequently to walk around and get a drink of water. Do I actually follow through? Sometimes, but not nearly as much as I'd like. That bothers me.

As a result of all this introspection, I started making lists of things I want or need to do. They're still incomplete--and probably always will be, since I'm always coming up with new ideas to include--but they're great resources. I've already incorporated some of them, such as more reading and exercise time, into my schedule.

The next step is to prioritize everything and decide how much time to allot each item, as well as how often. This will take a while to figure out, and some items will inevitably be removed or at least placed so far down the list that I'll never get to them. That's okay. The important thing is to figure out exactly what the priorities are and then follow through on what I can. I just need to pay more attention and change how I go about things, so I'll keep plugging away.

Have you ever sat down and completely restructured your time? How did it go?

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This post is a response to this week's GBE 2 writing prompt, "Self."

One Lovely Blog and Kreativ Blogger Awards

This was a nice surprise! Lisa at Diary of a Square Toothed Girl honored me with two blogging awards: One Lovely Blog and Kreativ Blogger. Thanks, Lisa! I wholeheartedly recommend following her blog if you haven't yet.

As a condition of accepting these awards, I just need to answer a few questions, provide ten facts about myself, and pass the awards along to seven more blogs. Let's start with the questions and answers.

What is your favorite song?

Favorite song? Are you kidding? That probably changes every time anybody asks me. Instead, how about I tell you which one is in my head right now? It's "Little Talks," by Of Monsters and Men. If you haven't seen the video, I recommend checking it out; it's fantastic.

What is your favorite dessert?

Are you trying to trip me up? All I can say for sure is that chocolate has to be involved--well, unless it's fresh peach or blueberry pie. I prefer fresh peach and blueberry pies to their baked counterparts.

When you are upset, what do you do?

That depends on how upset I am and why. If I can pull it off, the best thing for me to do is just take a nap. I'm usually calmer when I wake up.

What was my favorite pet?

Favorite pet? I can't possibly choose. They've all been special.

What do you prefer to wear, black or white?

Probably black. White clothes get ruined too easily when you tend to spill things.

What is your biggest fear?

I don't even like to type the word, but it's those eight-legged creepy crawlies.

What is your attitude mostly?

I'm pretty realistic most of the time, but I do get my occasional bouts of pessimism.

What is perfection to you?

I guess it would be when everything goes the way I think it should.

What is your guilty pleasure?

All I can think of is when I finally eat something that contains wheat after going a few days without any wheat at all.

Now, for ten random facts about me:

1. I used to be a voracious reader but slacked off considerably, so I recently signed up at Goodreads as an incentive to read more.

2. I'm a listmaker from way back. I even make lists of lists to make!

3. I'm pretty forgetful, so it's a good thing I make all those lists.

4. It really bothers me when I'm watching something and the sound and picture aren't in synch.

5. I'm always surprised when one of my favorite shows gets renewed for another season. Most of my favorites throughout the years didn't last long.

6. I'm never surprised when one of my favorite products gets discontinued or "improved" in a way that makes me hate it.

7. Black plums are probably my favorite fruit, and I'd never even tried one until a few years ago.

8. Broccoli is by far my favorite green veggie. I don't like it raw, though.

9. I like those peanut butter kisses that are only available around Halloween. You know--the chewy peanut butter candies wrapped in wax paper. Some have orange wrappers and some have black ones.

10. I drink more water more than anything else.

Last but certainly not least, I'd like to pass these awards along to the following terrific bloggers:

Becca at Lost in Thought
Betsy at My Five Men
Dana at The Daily Dose
Kate at The Suddenly Kate Show
Janna at Pastry and Poetry
notes4neta at Rabbit Trails
Sherri at Sherri's Graphomania

Wrapping Up the A to Z Challenge

The Blogging From A to Z Challenge wrapped up on Monday, April 30. I took some much-needed downtime for about a week, but now it's time to reflect on how the challenge went for me.

This year, I entered three of my blogs, and each had a theme for the challenge:

Ellie's Blank Book (this blog) - things you'll find on Pinterest
Ellie's Couch - music videos
Help Michigan Pets - pets in urgent need of help

My Self-Imposed Rules

1. Post at all three blogs for every letter.

2. Stick to a naming format. I like looking at the sidebar and seeing the posts in (reverse) alphabetical order by the first letter of the title.

3. Write and post them on the day they're due. In other words, no writing or scheduling posts ahead of time.

4. Make-up posts are not allowed.

What Do I Have Against Doing Posts in Advance?

Absolutely nothing. As someone with three blogs in the challenge, I can certainly understand why it's a good idea. Nevertheless, I didn't do it, for two reasons.

1. It's more of a challenge to me if I write the posts on the days they're actually due. This isn't procrastination; it's just how I choose to challenge myself. For me, the challenge isn't just having a post for every letter of the Roman alphabet but also writing those posts on the days they're due. I do allow myself to research, take detailed notes, and write rough drafts in advance, but not the final posts.

2. For my pets blog, it wouldn't have been possible to write the posts very far in advance, since they were about specific pets in urgent need of adoption. Although some have been designated as "urgent" for a quite a while, others are constantly being added, and some are removed from the list (which we always hope is for happy reasons).

Results

I read an incredible number of fantastic posts. I got many new followers and followed quite a few new blogs myself, with more to come.

Even if I had entered just one blog, I would have had a hard time keeping up with return comments and visits. That's something I'll be working on now that the challenge is over.

Will I Do This Again?

I hope so, although probably with fewer blogs. I've already been thinking about possible themes. In fact, a few days into the challenge, I remembered that I'd chosen and started planning a completely different theme months ago. Oops!

Thanks

Thanks to Arlee Bird and the rest of the A to Z team for hosting the challenge.

I'd also like to thank everyone who visited, commented, and/or followed any of my blogs.

Malfunctioning Followers Gadget

I've been having trouble with the followers gadget on one of my blogs, Help Michigan Pets, for months now.

I can't see the followers most of the time; sometimes they briefly show up as it loads, and then they disappear, leaving an empty box where the avatars should be. They show up just fine in the preview (when I'm fiddling with the design), but as soon as I get out of the preview mode, they're gone. So far, nothing I've tried has fixed it.

Some people have reported that their followers gadgets indicate that they don't have any followers yet, but that's a different problem.

One thing I've read is that it has to do with my computer settings. If that were the case, all my blogs would be affected.

Maybe I just need a new template. I'd really like to keep the one I have, but it's looking as if I have no choice. Then again, I have no idea whether that would even fix the problem.

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Just a few hours after this post was published, the followers gadget started acting up on this blog too! It comes and goes. This is really discouraging.

Down to the Wire: Blogging from A to Z

If you're interested in joining in on this year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge but haven't signed up yet, there's still time. You'll have until Monday night (April 2).

Check Arlee Bird's latest post for a terrific last-minute check list to help you prepare. There's even a cool countdown clock on the right sidebar.

As for my own preparations, for the last few days, I've been devoting most of my online time to getting ready for the challenge. While I don't write the final drafts in advance, I do as much as I can beforehand.

As I previously announced, three of my blogs are participating. The info is here.

Have fun with the challenge, and I hope you enjoy my posts.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2012

In my last post, I wrote about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge that kicks off on April 1. At that point, I hadn't yet decided which of my blogs would be participating. Now I know.

For this year's Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, I'll be posting on three blogs every day.

Here are the themes for each blog during this challenge:

Ellie's Blank Book (this blog) - Pinterest
Ellie's Couch - music videos
Help Michigan Pets - animal welfare in Michigan

If you're interested in participating in this fun blog hop, be sure to check out the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge website.

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is the brainchild of Arlee Bird, who has several co-hosts this year. Here is a list of the official team members:

Tossing It Out (Arlee Bird)
Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas)
Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)
Life is Good (Tina Downey)
Coming Down The Mountain (KarenG)
Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons)
Retro-Zombie (Jeremy Hawkins)
The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence)
The QQQE (Matthew MacNish)
Author Elizabeth Mueller (Elizabeth Mueller)
Pearson Report (Jenny Pearson)
No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow)
Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp)

Getting Ready for the A to Z Challenge

Last year, I participated in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. Ellie's Blank Book didn't exist at the time, but now that it does, I want to use it for this year's challenge. After all, I created it mainly for blog fests and challenges.

Essentially, Blogging from A to Z involves posting a topic for every letter in alphabetical order during the month of April. Normally, posts are Mondays through Saturdays, with Sundays off; this year, since April begins on a Sunday, the "A" post will be that day.

I haven't actually registered yet; before I do, I want to know exactly which of my blogs are going to be involved (besides this one). I'm hoping to pin that down this week so that I can go ahead and sign up.

To prepare for this, I've been making lists of potential topics beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Each participating blog will adhere to a theme chosen for that blog. Themes aren't required, but they can be helpful.

I'll post more when I have the rest of the details worked out.

Ten on Tuesday 11/1/11

I just found out about Ten on Tuesday, so I'm going to give it a try. It's sponsored by Chelsea at Roots and Rings.

1. What is your favorite month?
Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's October; the air feels great, it gets dark earlier, and the leaves are gorgeous. Halloween, complete with spooky music, scary movies, and candy, is a bonus.

2. What is the best candy to get while trick or treating?
The important thing is for the candy to be small instead of full-size bars. That way, I can have two or three small pieces of different kinds.

3. What kind of pen do you use?
I like Pilot pens.

4. You go to a new Italian restaurant, what is your go-to order?
That depends on what I'm in the mood for. It would be either fettucine alfredo or some type of pasta with diced tomato, basil, and garlic.

5. If you could choose to have any celebrity’s hair, who’s would you choose?
I don't pay much attention to celebrity hair unless I think it looks awful.

6. What’s your favorite board game?
It's been a long time since I've played a board game. I'm not sure I actually have a favorite at this point.

7. Do you know how to play poker?
Nope.

8. What do you think about Old Navy commercials?
I'm not crazy about them.

9. What hurts worse- a stubbed toe or a paper cut?
Normally, I'd say a paper cut is more painful. However, I stubbed my toe a few weeks ago, and when it still hurt two weeks later, I finally had to concede that I'd managed to break it.

10. What’s your favorite kind of pie?
Are you kidding me? I can't pick just one. Some of my favorites are chocolate cream, fresh peach, fresh blueberry, and deep-dish peach.

Wednesday Hodgepodge 10/26/11

This is my first entry in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, hosted by Joyce From This Side of the Pond. Joyce provides the questions, and I provide the answers. Let's see how it goes, and when you leave this post, please check out the Wednesday Hodgepodge posts from other bloggers and consider joining in the fun.

1. What gives you goosebumps?

It's rare, but sometimes I hear a beautiful song performed in a way that gives me chills or goosebumps.

2. Halloween-are you a lover or a hater? Okay, that sounds harsh...Halloween-yay or nay?

I've always liked Halloween. It comes around at the perfect time of year, when the air is crisp and cool. There are also plenty of fun things associated with it, such as bats, spooky music, scary movies, costumes, and candy.

3. Can you respect someone you do not trust, and can you trust someone you do not respect?

Probably not.

4. Apples or oranges? Yes, you have to choose.

Apples are much more versatile, but oranges win the prize for taste and smell. I hate to peel them, and they have to be juicy and seedless, but if I have to choose, oranges win.

5. What is something you wish was in your town? (shop, restaurant, attraction, etc)

Ooh, that's a great question. Our Don Pablo's restaurant closed down a few years ago, and I really wish we could get it back.

6. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer?

There's a bottle of fish oil supplements in the refrigerator. They probably expired long ago; I should check on that.

7. Are you at all superstitious?

Not really. I might eventually think of something I'm superstitious about, but I'm definitely not so superstitious that it affects me very much.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I think One Life to Live's Victor should have changed his name when he found out who he really was. Yes, I know he did what the writers had him do, so the writers should have had him change his name. Just about anything would have been better than being named after Victor Lord. I'm just saying.

Blank Books

I've always been drawn to blank books--you know, the pretty journal-type books you see in bookstores. They come in a wide variety of colors and designs, and the ones intended for writing purposes usually have lined pages. I'm partial to the ones with fabric or cloth covers, which were the first ones I ever started buying. It was hard to choose just one, so I would think about possible uses and then buy at least two.

Blank books are good for many things. You can keep one as a type of diary or journal in which to write your thoughts as they come to you. You can have one to keep track of expenses, another for lists of books you have read or want to read, and another for article topics, to name just a few ideas. They're large enough to be useful but small enough to fit inside all but the smallest purses as well as tote bags, briefcases, backpacks, and diaper bags.

When trying to come up with a name for this blog, I rejected a few ideas before Ellie's Blank Book came to me. Thinking it over, it just seemed right.

Welcome to Ellie's Blank Book

I have several blogs, but each one is a niche blog devoted to its own particular subject. I needed one where I could be free to write about anything and participate in blog hops and blogging challenges that didn't fit in with any of my existing blogs. That's why I decided to start yet another one.

Ellie's Blank Book is my latest and most versatile blog. It will be for blogging challenges, blog hops, and other cool posts so I don't have to miss out or temporarily change the focus of the others. Although I can still do some of the challenges on the others, most of them will be here.