January Reading List

Books Read in January

001 - 01 Solomon's Oak, by Jo-Ann Mapson (1/3)
002 - 02 Thanksgiving, by Janet Evanovich (1/5)
003 - 03 Changing the World, edited by Mercedes Lackey (1/6)
004 - 04 Stranger in My Arms, by Lisa Kleypas (1/8)
005 - 05 Murder with Peacocks, by Donna Andrews (1/12)
006 - 06 Friday's Child,  by Georgette Heyer (1/14)
007 - 07 A Thread So Thin, by Marie Bostwick (1/14)
008 - 08 At Last Comes Love,  by Mary Balogh (1/15)
009 - 09 The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, by Bridget Asher (1/15)
010 - 10 The Nonesuch, by Georgette Heyer (1/16)
011 - 11 Restless Hearts, by Marta Perry (1/16)
012 - 12 Yankee Doodle Dixie, by Lisa Patton (1/19)
013 - 13 Honey Moon,  by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (1/22)
014 - 14 Heartstrings and Diamond Rings, by Jane Graves (1/25)
015 - 15 The Husband Test, by Betina Krahn (1/28)
016 - 16 Historical Christmas Stories, by K. James, L. Elliot, H. Pozzessere (1/29)
017 - 17 The Lost, by JD Robb, P. Gaffrey, M. Blayney, R. Langan (1/29)
018 - 18 Talk of the Town, by E. James, J. London, RH Lee, J. Navin (1/30)

On the inside, looking out

Tom let a bird into church today. I don't think he meant to, although as a pastor I supposed he should encourage all of God's creatures. But a blue jay really isn't happy inside, and this one kept running into windows trying to find a way out instead of using the doors we propped open for it. At one point, the poor thing literally knocked himself silly, and we thought for sure we would be burying it before the end of the day. But Tom managed to coax the bird outside, and it flew off without a backward glance.

No Resolutions

I have come to a realization. I'm a list-maker. I've always been a list-maker.

For a long time, I honestly thought I was writing out goals. That's what you're supposed to do, right? Make a list of everything you want to do (your goals), then do them. So I wrote my goals out. A list of goals to accomplish for the day. A list of goals to knit for the year. A list of goals to accomplish by the time I reached my 50th birthday. Weight goals. Household goals. Life goals.

And every day, no matter how much I get done, I never managed to complete the goals for that day. Or that year. Or that lifetime. It's very discouraging. No matter how good my intentions are, I'm a failure because I just can't seem to meet all my goals.

This past week, I've been making a list of my goals for the year. I have a list of things that I want to knit (many of which were on my list from last year). I have a list of things I want to accomplish (many of them left on the list of things to do before my 50th). I have a list of things I want to get for the house. Then I thought of a list of places I want to go. And a list of books I want to read. And a list of things I want to try. And I started looking at my lists, and realized that they weren't lists of my goals. They were just lists. I'm a list maker.

Each day at work, I list everything that needs to be done. I'm never going to have time to do everything on the list. But by writing it all in one list, I can see which things absolutely have to be done, which things I should do, and what I can do when there's time in between the important tasks. I'm not getting everything done, but the list gives me the opportunity to see the possibilities.

I like that -- I'm listing possibilities rather than goals. I don't have to feel guilty for being a failure because I didn't meet all my goals. I can be proud of how many possibilities I met. This year, I'm going to embrace the listmaker in myself, and the only resolution I'm making for the new year is to enjoy the possibilities.

What's for dinner?

One of the joys of living in Florida is finding lizard in the house. I don't really mind. They're kind of cute. I just wish that they would find a better place to hide than my oven...