Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Progress report - 2010 reading challenges

At the beginning of the year, I overextended myself by signing up for way too many reading challenges. *smile* It was too much, especially considering that I had signed up to read the entire Bible in 90 days. That didn't leave much time for reading anything else, which I consider a good thing.

I've made good progress in some of the challenges, completed some already, and haven't even started others. I had no idea it was so difficult to think of book titles with colors in them! Overall, on my 100 book challenge, I am exactly half done. That's pretty good timing as the year is already half gone.

I've read too much Christian historical fiction in the past six weeks and I'm pretty burned out on it. I probably won't be picking anything up from that genre for awhile. I haven't finished a book in almost a week but I'm reading several nonfiction books concurrently. Nonfiction takes me a bit longer to finish than fiction reading.

I keep swinging from one end of the reading pendulum to the other. At times, I want to read as much as possible. Other times, I don't want to touch a book with a ten foot pole. We'll see how the second half of 2010 goes!

Christian Historical Fiction Challenge
1. Distant Dreams (Ribbons of Steel, Book #1) - Pella, Judith
2. The Outsider: A Novel - Gabhart, Ann H.
3. Bachelors Puzzle - Pella, Judith
4. Sister's Choice - Pella, Judith
5. How Do I Love Thee? (Ladies of History, book #4) - Moser, Nancy
6. Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) - Moser, Nancy
7. Eighth Shepherd (A. D. Chronicles #8) - Thoene, Bodie
8. Her Mother's Hope (Marta's Legacy, #1) - Rivers, Francine
9. Michal - Smith, Jill Eileen
10. The Apothecary's Daughter - Klassen, Julie
11. Lady of Milkweed Manor - Klassen, Julie
12. The Inheritance - Alexander, Tamera
13. A Lady Like Sarah (A Rocky Creek Romance, #1) - Brownley, Margaret
14. The Hope of Refuge: A Novel (An Ada's House Novel, Book #1) - Woodsmall, Cindy
15. A Bride Most Begrudging - Gist, Deeanne
16. A Bride in the Bargain - Gist, Deeanne
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Biblical Fiction Challenge
1. Eighth Shepherd (A. D. Chronicles #8) - Thoene, Bodie
2. Michal - Smith, Jill Eileen
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Christian Non-Fiction Challenge
1. How Women Help Men Find God - Murrow, David
2. Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement - Spencer, Irene
3. 3:16: The Numbers of Hope - Lucado, Max
4. Radical: Take Back Your Faith from the American Dream - Platt, David
5. Intimate Issues: Twenty-One Questions Christian Women Ask About Sex - Dillow, Linda
6. Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment - Osler, Mark
7. Loving Your Man Without Losing Your Mind - Davis, Susie
8.
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10.

Jane Austen Challenge
1. Emma
2. Emma & Knightley: The Sequel to Jane Austen's Emma - Billington, Rachel
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Birchall, Diana
5.
6.
7.
8.
Extra - (Related, but doesn't count toward the challenge) Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners: Compliments, Charades & Horrible Blunders - Ross, Josephine
Extra - The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World - Sullivan, Margaret C.
Extra - Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) - Moser, Nancy

Colorful Reading Challenge
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8.
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Memorable Memoir Challenge
1. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia Gilbert, Elizabeth
2. A Year in Provence Mayle, Peter
3. Sweet Mandarin: The Courageous True Story of Three Generations of Chinese Women and Their Journey from East to West Tse, Helen
4. Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement Spencer, Irene
Extra - A Thousand Days in Venice - de Blasi, Marlena

South Asian Author Challenge
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Chunkster Challenge
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Support Your Local Library Challenge - Almost every book I read is from the local library. If I read one that isn't, I'll mark it with a * in the list below.

100+ Reading Challenge
1. All Through the Night - Bunn, Davis
2. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia - Gilbert, Elizabeth
3. Distant Dreams (Ribbons of Steel, Book #1) - Pella, Judith
4. A Year in Provence - Mayle, Peter
5. The Outsider: A Novel - Gabhart, Ann H.
6. Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners: Compliments, Charades & Horrible Blunders - Ross, Josephine
7. The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World - Sullivan, Margaret C.
8. The Swiss Family Robinson - Wyss, Johann D.
9. Bachelors Puzzle - Pella, Judith
10. In the Time of the Butterflies - Alvarez, Julia
11. Sister's Choice - Pella, Judith
12. Shanghai Girls - See, Lisa
13. June Bug - Fabry, Chris
14. How Do I Love Thee? (Ladies of History, book #4) - Moser, Nancy
15. The Wisdom Of Eleanor Roosevelt - Wigal, Donald
16. Sweet Mandarin: The Courageous True Story of Three Generations of Chinese Women and Their Journey from East to West - Tse, Helen
17. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto - Pollan, Michael
18. How Women Help Men Find God - Murrow, David
19. Mona Lisa in Camelot: Jacqueline Kennedy and the True Story of the Painting's High-Stakes Journey to America - Davis, Margaret Leslie
20. Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage - Andersen, Christopher P.
21. Now and Always - Copeland, Lori
22. Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement - Spencer, Irene
23. Knit the Season: A Friday Night Knitting Club Novel - Jacobs, Kate
24. Emma - Jane Austen
25. Emma & Knightley: The Sequel to Jane Austen's Emma - Billington, Rachel
26. Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) - Moser, Nancy
27. A Thousand Days in Venice - de Blasi, Marlena
28. Beguiled* - Gist, Deeanne and Bertrand, J. Mark
29. The Silent Gift - Landon, Michael
30. 3:16: The Numbers of Hope - Lucado, Max
31. Radical: Take Back Your Faith from the American Dream* - Platt, David
32. Pride and Prejudice - Austen, Jane
33. Eighth Shepherd (A. D. Chronicles #8) - Thoene, Bodie
34. Intimate Issues: Twenty-One Questions Christian Women Ask About Sex - Dillow, Linda
35. Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma - Birchall, Diana
36. Her Mother's Hope (Marta's Legacy, #1) - Rivers, Francine
37. Michal - Smith, Jill Eileen
38. The Apothecary's Daughter - Klassen, Julie
39. Lady of Milkweed Manor - Klassen, Julie
40. The Perfect Match (Deep Haven Series #3) - Warren, Susan May
41. The Inheritance - Alexander, Tamera
42. Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment - Osler, Mark
43. The Inheritance - Alexander, Tamera
44. A Lady Like Sarah (A Rocky Creek Romance, #1) - Brownley, Margaret
45. The Hope of Refuge: A Novel (An Ada's House Novel, Book #1) - Woodsmall, Cindy
46. A Bride Most Begrudging* - Gist, Deeanne
47. A Bride in the Bargain* - Gist, Deeanne
48. Loving Your Man Without Losing Your Mind - Davis, Susie
49. An Amish Gathering: Life in Lancaster County - Wiseman, Beth
50. Sarah's Garden (Patch of Heaven Novel) - Long, Kelly

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Green smoothies and quilting

I am so excited to have my camera back up and running! I don't use it a lot, but I really notice when it's not available.

My awesome green smoothie:



That's two bananas, 6 ounces of frozen raspberries (bought fresh but frozen for use), a handful of spinach, and a splash of water. It blends up really pretty!



おいしい! Delicious!

I started working on my quilt again. It's amazing what you have time for when you don't play around while cleaning and waste time surfing the internet.



All I completed today was a set of strips to strip piece my double nine patch. For some reason, I have a hard time visualizing how to use the rotary cutter. I'm extremely grateful for the library having loaned me Rotary Magic. It's much easier to figure out what I'm doing when I have pictures and a detailed explanation in front of me.

Off to relax with the hubby! I hope everyone is having a great evening!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Dinner

I am making breakfast burritos for dinner. If we're not eating them at breakfast, are they still considered "breakfast" burritos?

Tortillas, diced and fried (in very little oil) tofu, hash browns, rice, guacamole, fresh tomato, salsa, onions... yum yum!

It's been just shy of six months since I've intentionally eaten dairy, whether it be eggs, milk, or cheese. I don't miss it much, as there are very good non-dairy ice creams available. I do miss this very unhealthy pasta salad I used to make on a weekly basis - rotini noodles, ranch, Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, peas, and olives. Extremely tasty and extremely fattening. It's little wonder I was 50 pounds overweight.

I think the next step in our diet reform is to replace the vegan junk food with whole foods. We still eat crackers (long chemical sounding ingredient list so they can't be healthy), a bit of soy, and a few other highly processed convenience foods.

I really wanted to post a picture of my smoothie this morning but my camera batteries were not yet fully charged. Hopefully tomorrow! Raspberries and bananas make the best smoothies.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Restless

I am restless. It's an odd feeling, one I'm not used to. I've been feeling this way for the past week or so.

Our apartment is clean. My daily chores take under an hour because everything stays clean. This is a great problem to have, but I am used to housework taking half the day! I have organized most everything in the apartment, sorting through our belongings and paring down as much as possible. We still have a few packed boxes stacked up in the spare room but I haven't convinced myself to discard those yet.

I spend between an hour and 1.5 hours per day studying Japanese. I feel like I'm actually learning something! Yesterday, I tried listening to a podcast and understood small pieces of it. When we finally reach Japan, I'm hoping to be able to communicate with those who live there.

I don't know what else to do with myself. I've read way too many historical Christian fiction books in the past three weeks and I'm kind of burned out on fiction. I need to spend more time quilting but haven't yet set aside blocks of time to do it.

The basic cause of my restlessness is that I'm trying to eliminate activities that are useless. I don't want to waste my life on earth, having God ask me what I did with my time. Several bloggers I follow have been talking about what is Good vs. Better vs. Best. They are encouraging their readers to spend time on what is Best, rather than what is Good, Better, or Bad. Now I've been spending a lot of time determining if my activities qualify as the Best use of my time/resources/energy.

If I hold myself to a higher standard of only pursuing activities that are considered the Best, what does that include? I still don't know.

A rambling post, but a few of my thoughts.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Two cats left

I really do intend to post but I have no AA batteries and thus no camera. Everything that I want to post about requires photos!

We have had a rather traumatic past several weeks. We are now down to 2 cats instead of our normal 3. Several years ago, when we rescued our first cat, we visited the apartment office to sign an addendum to our lease that states we have paid a pet deposit. Check in hand, we notified the manager that we needed to sign some paperwork and make our cat "legal." She was impressed that we had rescued a kitten and, being an animal lover herself, decided to waive our deposit and not add the cat to the lease. At the time, it was a real blessing. Our apartment requires several hundred dollars in pet deposits and an additional monthly pet rent.

Fast forward several years, several new managers, anxiously dealing with any necessary visits from maintenance (if the office decided to get angry about our cats, they could legally evict us)... We ended up rescuing three cats total. Our first was a 6 week old kitten found in someone's backyard in the middle of winter, freezing cold and close to starving. The second cat was a 7 year old female that no one wanted due to her age. Our third rescue and adoption was a one day old kitten whose mother had been frightened off. My husband and I bottle fed that kitten and he's now two years old.

We didn't have any intention of adopting three cats. They all kind of adopted us. But the apartment only allows two at a time. For awhile, we ignored the limit but I started feeling really bad about it and wanted to make things right. After much discussion and prayer, hubby and I decided that when we renewed our lease this summer, we would add two cats. That meant one cat had to go.

No one wanted the seven year old cat 2.5 years ago when we adopted her. That would make it even more difficult for us to find her a home now as people tend to want kittens. I am VERY attached to our two year old cat as I'm his mom (seriously, he sees me as his mother because he never knew his). That meant that the cat we adopted first needed to find a new home.

Several ads online, much stressing, and a whole lot of prayer resulted in us finding a potential adopter on Sunday evening. We took the cat, some food, and his toys over to the new home and dropped him off. We stuck around for a few minutes and it looked like the lady liked our cat and that the cat would adjust well. It has now been 72 hours and we haven't heard anything from the new owner, so I would assume everything is going well.

On Monday, we went to the office to sign a new lease and declare our two remaining cats. The paperwork wasn't ready on Monday so we returned yesterday to sign everything. We dropped off our $300 check and received all the lovely paperwork for the one year lease we just signed. The manager gave us a rent concession so our rent dropped enough that when we added on the additional $35 monthly pet rent, our total comes to only $5 per month more than it was last year.

Praise the Lord.

Everything worked out really well, though I still feel guilty for adopting out one of our cats. I've always been of the opinion that when you adopt an animal, you adopt them for their life. It creates trauma in an animal's life to move them around from owner to owner. However, there was nothing we could do in this situation. We either had to find him a new home or lie on our lease paperwork that we didn't have any pets.

I think we made the right decision.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Decluttering

I am still trying to declutter our apartment. The more stuff we own, the more money we've wasted and the more time I spend cleaning or taking care of it all. No thanks. I've been inspired by Lara's blog, especially this post, this post, this video, and a few other posts in her archives. It really is freeing to get rid of excess.

So far this year, I have given away, thrown away, or sold the following:

140 articles of clothing (both mine and hubby's, though mostly mine)
9 pairs of shoes
14 hangers (many more to go)
6 towels
1 heating pad
60+ books
14 misc. items
21 items from the medicine chest
13 items from under the bathroom sink

I haven't even touched the closet in the spare bedroom.

I still have too many clothes. I've been eating fairly well and exercising so I've lost 39 pounds so far. As far as I can tell, all of the clothes I've shrunk out of are gone. As I continue to lose weight, I'm going to get rid of everything that doesn't fit. I don't think I will have anything to wear when I reach my goal weight as I haven't been that size since before I got married.

I've decided to try an experiment. I pushed all of my clothes to the back of the closet. As I wear something and wash it, I will leave it hanging in the front. In 60 days, whatever is still in the back of the closet is going to the donation bin. That way, even if I don't continue to lose weight, I'm still paring down my closet to only what I wear. The 100 things challenge, Cassandra's closet. From skirts and tops to shoes and t-shirts, I'm going to own as little as possible.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Caught up

It's so nice to have all the housework caught up. I know housework is never "done" but it's so much easier to stay on top of it when you're not deep cleaning all the time. Today I came home from my workout, ate breakfast, washed the dishes, and spent some time cleaning the kitchen. There wasn't much to do - wipe off the counters, wipe off the cupboard doors, clean out the microwave, sweep, and spot mop the floor.

Because I didn't have to spend much time on my cleaning today, I spent extra time working on my Japanese. We don't have money for college classes, so I'm using resources online. Today I studied for two hours. Usually I aim for an hour a day, 6 days a week, but I studied way more than was planned this afternoon. My brain is fried. In a good way.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Green Smoothie - Banana/Raspberry/Spinach

I just had an awesome green smoothie. They are really simple to make.

2 bananas
6 ounces raspberries, frozen
Generous handful of spinach
Splash of water

Blend. Eat.

I wish I could have taken a picture because it was really pretty. Alas, my rechargeable camera batteries are all old and won't recharge.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Household projects

One of my current projects is putting together a recipe book. Hubby and I have been eating a vegan diet for the past five months but half of my recipe collection requires dairy. It's time I finally update my recipes.

I've been looking for a three ring binder for quite awhile. I wanted something pretty and durable. After looking at Wal-Mart, Target, Office Max, Amazon.com, and Staples, I finally found the perfect binder.



I love it. It's very elegant and pretty. Perfect for a homemaker!

Now I have to type out all of my recipes. I've recently fallen in love with Microsoft's OneNote program and am slowly adding all of my recipes to a virtual notebook. I love that the notebooks can be set up with tabs so I can easily find the recipe I'm looking for. It's so much easier to use than Word.

I'm still trying to perfect my "refried" beans recipe. The last batch came out rather bland. I write down all the ingredients in each batch so that I can figure out the perfect combination to make fat free, flavorful beans. Making "refried" beans from a bag of beans is very simple and just involves tossing everything in a crockpot. I also know it's way cheaper and healthier than buying them canned. But I'm still trying to perfect the taste.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

7 Days

A week of company seems to require a week of recovery. I am almost feeling back to normal, though my body has not yet returned to a normal sleeping pattern. Maybe this week?

I want to get back to regular posting, now that I'm returning to some semblance of a schedule. I'm just not used to going, going, going all the time. That week with company was lovely but I am happy to be back to the quiet. Peace and quiet. I love my husband!