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Choose Your Own Adventure: Simplify in December, Create in January

January 8, 2015 by Jana 20 Comments

Can I say how much I love all the choose your own adventure challenges? Not only do they help keep me focused (which, let’s face it, it’s in short supply these last few months) but being able stay focused while picking my own rules for doing so is basically the best way to go.

When the topic for simplify came up for December, I planned to apply it to blogging. And did I ever! In fact, I simplified so much that I didn’t blog for almost 3 weeks. It was necessary to do, given my mental health situation, and man, did it feel good. I mean, I missed writing and reading blogs and chatting with people during the day but all the other pressure? Gone. The ideas for posts kept flowing, I gained new perspective on what I want to do with the blog, and I realized that I need to go back to my blogging roots. Whatever those are, I’m not quite sure, but I do know that I need to stop obsessing about all the parts that stressed me out.

I don’t blog for stats and likes and shares. I don’t blog to compare myself to other bloggers. It’s not why I started and it’s not why I need to keep going.

I blog because I love to write, I love to share my story, and writing has always been my dream job. While I don’t get paid for it (yet. Fingers crossed that it changes), I’ve realized that my blog is a step, a big one, towards achieving that dream. That’s what I need to remember, along with the fact that blogging is a way to connect with people I might not have otherwise had the chance to connect with.

That’s the important stuff.

The other important stuff is my simplified blogging plan.

The specifics: I’ve decided that I will no longer blog 5 days per week. If I have enough to say, I might blog 4 but for the foreseeable future, I’ll be blogging on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. I’ll be sharing some old posts on Facebook and Pinterest on the days I’m not publishing new content and hopefully, by the end of the month, I’ll have a newsletter established for a special series I wanted to share on the blog but for now, will only be sharing with those who want to read it. I don’t want to shove it down your throats.

This simplified blogging schedule will also allow me time to work on editing my first book. Publishing a novel has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember and it’s time to stop thinking about it and start actually doing it. And trust when I say the book needs A LOT of work. On another note, if anyone else is working on a big project and wants an accountability partner, let me know because I’m all for that.

The two new projects, editing and starting the newsletter, also fit in with the theme of this month’s challenge: COMPLETE. For me, it’s important that I complete the first pass of editing as well as complete the set up for the newsletter. Not only to keep me in content and connecting with readers but as a self-esteem boost. I haven’t completed a project in years. I’m hoping this will help me gain momentum I desperately need.

Also on tap for this month’s challenge, complete the update of my photo frames in my living room as well as the decor in my daughter’s playroom. We organized the shit out of it over my break and now it’s time to make it look a little nicer. I have some ideas, too, and I can’t wait to share them!

If I haven’t yet said it, thanks for sticking with me through all of this. I appreciate it more than I can say and I’m hoping, in the coming months, to have lots of good stuff for you guys.

Are you participating in this month’s challenge? If so, what are you working on?

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Monthly book chat: December edition

December 9, 2014 by Jana 16 Comments

It’s my favorite time of the month. The day we all talk about what books we read!

After last month’s book reading blitz, I slowed down for November, only finishing 4 (well, 5 but I’m not reviewing one of them). It averages to one book a week and I’m quite pleased with that.

Last month, I also told you that I’d review Laura Vanderkam’s 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think because I wanted to work through some of the exercises she recommended. While I fully intended to do those, I ~~maybe sort of~~ definitely didn’t do them, although if I want to prioritize how I spend my time next year, I will (specifically the list of 100 dreams and a time study). But I wanted to share my thoughts on the book.

So, Jana Says: The book is loaded with fantastic ideas and concepts for thinking about how to manage and use your time. After reading this, there’s really no excuse for complaining that you can’t get everything done. It’s all about how you choose to manage your time and being realistic with your goals, plans, and how you’re really spending your days, and it’s essential to figure where you’re spending your time. Does it match with your core competencies? Are you as busy as you think? Questions to think about and answer. However. Many of the ideas and concepts are presented with a very middle to upper class privileged bias, and sometimes it’s hard to see past her entitled attitude. Also, she believes exercise is crucial and as non-negotiable as sleep and eating. She has a point but I felt like she harped on it too much and almost went out of her way to make those who don’t have a regular exercise regimen feel like shit. Recommendation level: High. Even if you don’t read the book, check out her website or Facebook page for related information and downloads for the time study.

Moving on to the books I read this month.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Jana Says: My Rainbow Rowell binge read is finished for the year as this was the last book of hers I needed to read (she’s written 4). This lands as my second favorite, after Eleanor and Park. It turned out to be a very cute, very creative love story that kept me reading long after I should have put the book down and I adored that it took place in the late 90s around the time of the Y2K obsession. I found myself liking all of the characters in the book, which almost never happens, and I want Lincoln to be a real person. Actually, thinking about it, he sort of reminded me of Jim Halpert. John Krasinski would be the perfect person to play him if this book ever becomes a movie.

The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard. Jana Says: After reading her book Reunion, I had high hopes for this book. I should have lowered my standards. Told from the first person plural perspective of a group of boys obsessed with a girl gone missing and her younger sister (which continued into adolescence), I found the book boring and tedious at times and some of her depictions about teenage (and later, adult) boys were stereotypical and cliche and annoying to read. At other times, though, it was weird and engrossing and made me glad I picked it up. I’m glad I read Reunion first because if this was the first book of hers I read, I wouldn’t read any more.

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little. Jana Says: This was a fun little book. If you’re looking for an intriguing mystery along the same lines of Gone Girl, this is not it (despite what people say). The writing is more immature than Gillian Flynn’s, and the plot gets convoluted, and you don’t feel the same emotions but it’s still a good read for a Sunday afternoon while your husband is watching football and you need something else to do. I liked the almost real-time element of TMZ updates and blog posts and “breaking news” and the submystery of “where did Janie go”. I hated the ending, though. Not in the Gone Girl “I hate this” but I genuinely hated it. I definitely rate it lower because of it.

The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley Jana Says: I genuinely don’t know how to review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, even if the pro-life agenda hidden in the story line bugged me from time to time (it was kind of preachy) but within the context of the story, it makes total sense so I’m willing to let it slide. The backstory between the two main characters was incredibly touching but I found myself getting annoyed with almost all of the characters at one point. The author did a wonderful job of handling the subject of infant loss, giving it the respect it deserves, and the controversial nature of the plot reminded me of Me Before You and some of Jodi Picoult’s books that deal with morally ambiguous (I can’t think of the actual word I want to use), and that makes for interesting reading.

On the December/January list: Yes Please, Leaving Time, Fourth of July Creek, and Why We Broke Up, among others.

Now it’s your turn. Link up below and share what you’ve read:

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#inthedrawer: Holiday Instagram fun

December 1, 2014 by Jana 15 Comments

I know today was supposed to be the final post in my cheer mom series but I need to share this with you guys instead. The cheer mom series will wrap-up next Monday instead.

I’m not sure if I ever talked about this before but I loathe the Elf on the Shelf. It creeps me out, I’m too lazy and forgetful to move the thing every night, and I really don’t want my kid thinking there’s a crazy miniature stalker temporary living in our house, reporting back to Santa every night. Plus, if the elf “makes a mess”, who has to clean it up? That’s right. Me. I barely like cleaning up every day messes. Why would I purposefully make an extra mess?

I mean, I know she’d enjoy the whole Elf on the Shelf thing. But I just can’t do it. And I do other stuff. Just not the elf. I’m fairly certain she’ll survive (also, I feel like since there’s now the Mensch on the Bench, I’d be discriminating if I just did one of them).

However.

Remember this meme Nadine posted a few weeks ago?

We decided to turn it into a fun Instagram challenge (I don’t know that challenge is the right word but I don’t know what else to call it). For the next 24 days, instead of the Elf on the Shelf, bust out your old Barbies (or buy one. They’re like $5 for a basic doll. You can get them at Walgreens or most drug stores) and, using the themes below, be as creative as time allows.

Make sure you follow me and Nadine on Instagram so you can see all of Barbie’s drunken Christmas adventures. And use #inthedrawer (we decided not to use the word “whore” because, you know, Instagram creepers and porn) so we can see what you did.

I know you’re thinking “Jana, if you can do this, surely you can participate in the Elf on the Shelf”. You’re probably correct.

But Barbie is a drunken whore.

The Elf is a stalker.

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Random Thursday: Podcasts, candles, and questions

November 13, 2014 by Jana 18 Comments

This has turned into quite a strange week. My husband took 2 vacation days and my daughter was off from school for two days and then she was sick yesterday so I kept her home because I refuse to be the mom who sends her sneezy, hacking child to school to spread her vile child germs to other kids and now how the hell is it Thursday? I’m pretty sure I blinked and the week disappeared.

I don’t like when that happens. If I’m going to blackout and lose time, I’d rather there be wine involved.

There was no wine this week.

And now for more random thoughts (brought to you this week by the letter D as in Dimetap, our medication of choice for a sick child):

- My little sister’s birthday is on Monday. She’s going to be 27. I remember being 27 even though it was 10 years ago. She’s not allowed to be 27 because that means I’m old.
- Deciding to do NaNo this year was a big mistake. Huge. I’m so far behind and have to write a ridiculous amount of words to catch up. I’ve basically accepted the fact that I’m not winning this year. On the plus side, at least I have a terrible first draft of a book.

I finally downloaded that podcast, Serial, and I haven’t been able to listen to it yet. It’s making me crazy! It’s such a unique and creative idea and the thought of listening to something like that makes me feel like I’m in the 1930s waiting for my weekly radio program. And that’s so freaking cool.
Do you italicize or put quotation marks around podcast titles?
Speaking of podcasts, I have Big News!!! I’m co-hosting a podcast! We’re aiming to launch it in January. I’m so excited even if I have a terrible shrill voice that someone once to me reminds him of Wendy the Snapple Lady and will probably make some people hate me instantly but I don’t care because hosting a podcast is super fun!
Have you guys been watching Red Band Society or Gracepoint? Please tell me if you are. If not, you need to get on them immediately because wow, are they fantastic shows.

The other night, I lit a candle in my living room and I think neither my husband nor I remembered to blow it out before we went to bed because I know I didn’t and he said he didn’t but the candle was out in the morning. This confuses and frightens me on so many levels.
I need a new fall/winter nail polish color, preferably on the pink spectrum. Any suggestions?
Remember all those goals I outlined for the November Choose Your Own Adventure challenge? I have completed approximately zero of them. I’m starting to get nervous that I won’t do anything and have a failure month again. I did make an effort last weekend but the dollar store did not have the supplies I needed and I didn’t have the time to go anywhere else. I’m annoyed because organizing the homework station is as close to a Pinterest worthy DIY project I will ever get.
I’ve had Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name Of” stuck in my head for weeks but I know a lot of you guys read this at work and it’s maybe not the most appropriate song for a professional environment so instead, I leave you with this picture:

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

Linking up for Stuff and Things

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Monthly book chat: November edition

November 11, 2014 by Jana 24 Comments

Today’s post is all about books. Because today is the day you show us your books!!! And it’s also the day Steph and I share with you the books we’ve read over the last month.

Last month was a busy month, reading-wise for me. I not only blew past my Goodreads reading goal of 37 books but I added a bunch more. In fact, I read 8 books between the last books post and this one. I don’t know exactly how it happened except for telling you guys upfront that I read a bunch of not very long, YA books and I can typically polish off those in a day, maybe two. And I also had a ton of waiting time at appointments and cheer and tumbling practices and since I didn’t have errands to run, I read.

I don’t expect this coming month to be as productive, reading-wise.

Of the books I read, I LOVED one (Me Before You), I really liked a couple, and the rest were just average. Unlike last month, there wasn’t one particular book that I hated, which is nice, but I don’t know that I’d highly recommend most of them. If you have a hole in your reading schedule, or you need a book to read on a moderately long plane ride, then they’d be good; they’re filler books.

Let’s get more specific:

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Jana Says: I loved this book. It’s powerful and sad and uplifting all at the same time. It turned out to be a timely read, with the Brittany Maynard story being front and center in the news, but I’m confident I’d feel the same way even if it hadn’t been relevant. Recommendation level: High. Read it ASAP.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Jana Says: I adored the story and plot of this book. So different from anything I’ve read lately. I did struggle at times as I couldn’t stop thinking of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory narrating the book, and that bothered me. And Rosie sort of reminded me of Penny (a dark version of Penny. But Penny) and thinking of Sheldon and Penny together got disturbing. But it was good enough that I put the sequel on hold at the library. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!! Recommendation level: High. Read it soon.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Jana Says: This is one of the books I read in a day. John Green (who is so freaking awesome I can’t stand it) is a compelling storyteller and not only does he make you feel all the feels, I love that he makes teenagers complex and weird and smart and stupid; everything teenagers actually are. This book wasn’t nearly as sad as The Fault In Our Stars but if you’re not careful, it can make you a tad weepy. If this is ever a movie, I’d totally see it. Recommendation level: High. Great for a Sunday afternoon.
Magnificent Vibration by Rick Springfield. Jana Says: Remember how I freaked out over Rick Springfield’s memoir? Well, imagine how excited I was to learn he wrote fiction. Then I read the book. And my balloon deflated. It’s not that it was a bad book, per se, but the story jumped around too much and some of the sections bugged me because they were annoying to read, although everything did eventually come together. Also, the narrator’s tangents about his…manly fantasies got to be bothersome. I truly wanted this book to be better. Recommendation level: Moderate. If you want something different and don’t mind lots of discussion about masturbation, have it.
Reunion by Hannah Pittard. Jana Says: I learned about this author from Buzzfeed Books and she seemed interesting so I thought I’d give her latest book a try. The premise of the books isn’t anything special but the way she writes her characters definitely is. The narrator has alcohol, money, and relationship issues (she talks quite a bit about her credit card debt and her infidelity) and while you hate her at times, you feel for her, too. I wholly enjoyed reading her story. It’s a quick read, too. Recommendation level: High. Winner for main character who seems like a real person you could know.
Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Jana Says: After loving Eleanor and Park and Fangirl, this one sort of disappointed me. I mean, I loved that she finally wrote about adults, and like John Green, she’s a wonderful storyteller, but I had a hard time buying the relationship between Georgie and Neal (the married main characters) which made it difficult to truly appreciate their struggle and their story. Recommendation level: Moderate. Don’t expect Eleanor and Park awesomeness in this one.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Jana Says: I almost never say this but I think if I’d seen the movie, that would have been good enough. This book stood out for me only for it’s sappy YA cheese and the author really needs to learn from Rainbow Rowell and John Green how to write teenagers so they don’t sound like oversimplified assholes. However. There were parts of the story that were quite sweet and well written, and she wrote the family dynamics realistically and the out of body narration made for an interesting read. Recommendation level: Moderate. Or just watch the movie. I’m pretty sure it covers everything.

The eighth book I read this month was Laura Vanderkam’s 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think but I’m going to wait until next month to review it. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads however, there are a few exercises I want to try before I review it for you guys. They might change my mind.

So there you have it. All my October books, laid out for you in all their glory. Now it’s your turn. Show us your books (and nonbloggers, tell me your favorite or least favorite book in the comments):

An InLinkz Link-up

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Choose Your Own Adventure: Simplify in December, Create in January

Monthly book chat: December edition

#inthedrawer: Holiday Instagram fun

Random Thursday: Podcasts, candles, and questions

Monthly book chat: November edition

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