Happenings

It has been an incredibly busy month for me, and it isn't even over yet! I just finished a month long visit with my little sisters, E & L. They are 7 and 8, full of insane amounts of energy (seriously, they get up with the sun!), and are incredibly smart for their ages. Okay, so maybe I am a bit biased on that last part, but I swear they are incredible kids. Their visit taught me several things: 1) not all Disney channel shows are KF, no matter what the Disney folks may think (strongly worded letters may soon reach those folks); 2) I have become attached to the characters from Wizards of Waveryly Place, iCarly, Shake It Up Chicago, and Good Luck Charlie (please, someone blow up my television); 3) when putting sunscreen on little girls, don't forget sunscreen for yourself (sunburn #3 is finally healing). We had a really good visit that included trips to the pool, the library, Wal-Mart (their idea, not mine), and the Dollar Store. We found paper dolls and coloring books. We read like maniacs (more my idea of course). I learned how to operate a Nintendo DSi. They wanted ramen noodles and tuna sandwiches for every single meal. Oh, and oatmeal (blech!).

During their visit, I started and completed several projects. First, I launched my blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. So far so good on these. I'm enjoying this blog thing a lot! We managed to almost finish the remodeling project in the living room. New paint, new flooring (good bye fur embedded carpet, hello tile), new trim. All that is left is some touch up painting and replacing a few light fixtures and the project will officially be closed. It only took three months. The touch up painting will be done over the next week and my dearest Daddy will be replacing the light fixtures when he has the time. No one in this house is qualified to work with electrical wiring so we wait patiently for him. My third project was difficult for me to start and it is definitely a work in progress. I am addicted to the internet and my method of absorption is internet games. Notdoppler.com is a favorite. As is Facebook games. I have blocked all Facebook games after some serious whining. I took NotDoppler off my bookmarks. I have stubbornly refused to quit playing "mind" games like Sudoku, Kakuro, Rummikub, Mahjong, and Hearts. They are intellectually stimulating, right?

With all the extra free time on my hands sans internet games, I have been able to read a lot more. That makes me so happy, you don't even know. I used to read a good 30-40 books a year at least when I was in high school. In college, that dropped down to about 20 a year, mostly over school holidays, between semesters, and between classes. I was busy! Then came World of Warcrack and Facebook. My reading dropped considerably, maybe 5 books a year if the internet was out a lot. That is depressing. I've never been a television person. I loved Buffy when it was on. I love Glee now that it is on. That is about it. Internet gaming has been my time consuming, entertaining, book replacement. I kicked the WoW habit after several years, but really just replaced it with MORE Facebook games. Since I blocked all the games, I have read 7 books! Even with the girls here, I managed a lot of reading. I was still active online (minus a few days when I was sunburned so badly). I maintained contact with friends and family. I made sure the girls didn't turn feral and run away with the cats.

Yay for old loves coming back full force! How much do you read? What keeps you from reading? What helps you focus on reading?

Moral of the story: Turn off the television and close the games. Open a book and turn on your imagination!