On My Bookshelf

One of the goals that I have set for myself this year is to increase my reading.  You wouldn't believe how many books I have around the house, on my Kindle and in my Audible account that I have yet to read. I'm announcing to the world that I am a book hoarder and I need help. In an effort to control and reverse my book buying habit, I have a subset of actions that I will take.

1. I will read at least 100 books during the 2012 calendar year.
2. I will not purchase any new books (unless I already have them on pre-order). New titles will come from the library.
3. I will sale, trade, donate or gift at least 50 books from my shelves. This does not include books that I need to return to friends.
4. To keep myself accountable, I will keep a running tally on the blog and do at least one book review a month.

Being that January is almost over and I have not read anything, I am terribly behind. To make it through 100 books in a year, I have to read roughly 8+ books a month, but since I'm down to 11 months, I'm looking at 9+ books a month.  I need to get started!

My first selection of the year happens to be written by a friend of mine, Victoria Thurman.  I met Victoria a few years ago at a book conference (I meet such great people at conferences!) and we have been friends since. When I am dying for wine and curry, she is one of the first people that I call. Her book, The Dating Dilemmas of Delilah Dunnfield,  hit the shelves in October, but I have been waiting to start reading it until my other wine-and-curry buddy, Angela, got her copy over in Indonesia. She confirmed receipt last night so we are ready for a Read-A-Long.  If you are interested in reading along with us, leave me a comment and I will include you in our discussions.

I'm sure many of you can relate to the opening lines of this book.

I have often heard it said of life that there are watchers and doers.  It doesn't take a genius to figure which of those I am.

When I read these words, my heart jumped then sank because I was just thinking this of my own life. As I am gearing up to meet a boat load of inspiring women at Blissdom, I can't help but think of all the things in my life that I keep saying I will do but haven't made the time to do. I have to stop watching and start doing.  Hopefully as I read along with Delilah's journey, I will make some changes in my own life and thinking.

You can read an interview with Victoria over at Elizabeth Byler Younts' blog.There is also a giveaway so go over and say hi. And if you think of any other questions for the author, let me know.  I'm sure I get her to dish a little more over a glass of wine and a curry.

The Standout Completed

This was a three day project that is not for the faint of heart. I can’t say that I will be rushing to bling out my cell phone but I do want it done.

These are the gems that I used, purchased from Michael’s. I painfully picked out all the pink and purple variety and started applying them with the jewelry adhesive that I already had in my supply.

As you can see, I used quite a bit of it. But I am disappointed that the last tube that I opened (BRAND NEW BOX!) was no good. I barely got two drops out of it. The rest had solidified inside. No amount of massaging and squeezing was going to get any more out of the tube. This was a $5 purchase that was a complete fail. I love this product for doing earrings, but I would not recommend it for this type of project. I did like that I could move slowly and apply a bead at a time which was good because I did not separate out all of my beads at one time. I alternated between pulling out beads and applying them to the laptop case. I would have liked to be able to spread the adhesive a little better, but the goal in this case was to use what I already had.

I’m not sure if t was the nature of the beads being cheap or the adhesive being too caustic, but the foil on the bead did crack after the adhesive dried. This takes away from the bling of the bead, but not a significant amount. Next time, I’ll try an adhesive that’s more appropriate and see if there really is a difference.

I ran out of beads so I was not able to get all the way to the edge of the top cover, but I think this is best as the beads take away from some of the flexibility of the case making it a little more difficult to take off. So the extra space on the edges will be helpful. I also used some beads to go around the edge of the bottom case. I worry about these popping off due to the wear they’ll get from being in contact with my wrists as I type, but I’ll deal with that when I have to.

All in all, I am very happy with the outcome of this project. I will do it again (crazy me). I have so many beads left over, I have to find something to use them for.

Do they sell clear cases for Kindles???

If you try this, let me know and leave a link to your blog in the comments. I would love to see it.

If you’re attending Blissdom ’12 in Nashville, you’ll know its me when you see this laptop. Come by and say HI!

Save The Date?

Because I’m procrastinating so much, I decided to take a stab at doing my own save-the-date postcards. It has been close to impossible for the boy and me to get a good photo together so I’m stuck with singles. What do you think?