Working towards other goals

So...after 4 really busy months of painting and moving, I'm back in Edmonton, with a full time job. It's not a teaching job, but it is full time, working with kids.

I have bought a bike so that I can start training for the MS bike tour...man, do I need to start biking! 185 km in two days...yikes! Hopefully I can get back into shape and feel healthy again.

Reading hasn't really been happening. I need to get a library card, even if it's to borrow audio books so I can listen while I take Ginger for her walks. I have just been so freaking busy it's hard to keep up with everything!

Anyways, not a very long or insightful blog. I just really needed to get an update out there.

Bridget Jone's Diary

I 'read' Bridget Jone's Diary, I finished it on Monday, January 31st. I say that I 'read' it because I actually bought it on audio book. I have been so busy painting that I've had no time to read, an audiobook was the perfect solution. I found this book very entertaining. It's sort of a fluff read, light hearted and easy...just what I needed! I'm not sure what I'm reading next...I keep changing my mind and I have been having trouble getting into new books....so we'll see what happens.

Slow Progress

So...I haven't been getting anywhere with reading the last week. Cam took the week off and we have been painting. Painting...painting...and more painting. He's gone today though, perhaps I will get some reading done today.

Weight loss...I've lost 3 lbs. I still have 5 more lbs until I'm back at my lowest weight. I know 3 lbs is progress but it doesn't really seem like it because I had gained that weight after working to lose 20 lbs. It's definately time to get back on track, lose what I've gained and then keep going. It's been about 2 years since I lost 20 lbs...I think the break from really focusing on weight loss is over and it's time to get back to it.

Another goal...get a fulltime job. Two job postings went up late last week for teaching positions. One is half time and one is full-time. Half-time is more than what I've been working the last while. I'm not 100% qualified for either job, but I think I could be successful at either one. I'm going to spend part of today writing two really good coverletters and hopefully spend the next week or so scoring a job!

'A Tale of Two Cities' Finally Finished

I'm finished. I didn't dislike this book. I don't want to review it in any way, I think that I wasn't in the right mood to read this book.

My next read...for a change of pace: "The Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett.

Holes by Louis Sachar

  I loved this book. I'm so glad that I chose to buy it rather than look for it at the library. I'm always on the look out for good 'boy books'. I feel like female teachers have a hard time finding books that all of their students would enjoy. So many of the books that were on my teachers shelves were 'girl books', even as a girl this annoyed me. So, I am always on the lookout for books like this that I feel anyone could enjoy.
  I want to say more about this book but I'm scared I would give away too much. I loved it, the cover says the book is for ages 10 & up. It's definately and easy, fun read for a relaxing evening.
  Continuing on...'A Tale of Two Cities'. Perhaps I will take some advice and read things while I'm reading this book. Maybe I'll stop at the library and pick up a Roald Dahl book or one of the books from the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe series to read in between 'A Tale of Two Cities'. I feel like my lack of focus in reading this book is resulting in me losing the story line. I can't say that I don't like the book...I just have a huge lack of interest for some reason. I wish I could put my finger on it.

I'm not sure what to do....

So...I am definately behind on my reading. This goal is going to be unreachable if I keep going at this pace! I'm stuck on A Tale of Two Cities! I'm halfway through it and I"m just not excited. I stopped reading it to read 'A Christmas Carol' and now I've stoped again to read 'Holes'. I don't see the point in not finishing it when I'm so far in. I just am not excited about reading it! I read a chapter, which is only a few pages in most instances, then I give up! Well, for now I'm moving onto 'Holes' hopefully once I've had this little break (I should finish the book in an hour or so) I'll be able to move on.

Another thing I'm uncertain of..
A New Year is often a time to set new goals. I'm in a constant state of goal setting. I feel like I made this blog to set multiple goals...how many is too many? Which goals should I share? I would like to lose weight...I feel like this is a cliche. Will I be successful? I hope so, in previous years I lost 20 lbs, in the last year I've slowly gained 5ish lbs. That's pretty good for maintaining, but I never reached my goal weight. I felt that after 20 lbs it would be a good idea to continue eating healthy and focus on maintiaining. The recent weight gain is definately because I have gotten back into some of my bad habits. So...should I update my weight loss? I would like to get back in touch with some people and make more good friends in Taber. I'm not sure how interesting that would be to update on. It may even be awkward if those particular friends read this. Hmmm...so many more...what to do?

A Christmas Carol

 
 Wow! This goal may be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. Perhaps the holiday season is not a good time to gage how much time I will have for reading. I have started reading Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities", however, it is not a fluff book, it's a book that you really need to focus on.
    I decided to take a break and in honour of Christmas read "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. I loved it! This is definately more my style than "A Tale of Two Cities". I realized as I was reading it that I have never heard the actual story, only children's remakes staring characters like Mickey Mouse. Reading the adult version is definately more thought and emotion provoking than the watered down children's versions. Anyways, I loved it, it was nice to read a book about the true spirit of Christmas during the Christmas season. Merry Christmas everyone :)

Now...Time to finish "A Tale of Two Cities"

Les Miserables

   Tonight I finsished 'Les Miserables' (abridged). At first I did not really enjoy this book. It was difficult to follow. (this may be because it was abridged). Victor Hugo writes about individuals' stories, throughout the book he slowly connects these people. The more I saw the connections the more I enjoyed the book.
    This book challenges the reader to think less in terms of black and white and more in terms of grey. The main character Jean Valjean is a convict. Placed in prison for stealing bread to feed his sister's starving family. When Jean Valjean is released he is treated very poorly. He steals again, he is caught, but the man he steals from claims they were a gift. This sets Jean Valjean on a new path. He constantly shows that he is a good man. He lives under a different name to avoid being treated as a convict and being taken back to jail. He gives himself up when he fears the wrong man is being accused of his past crimes.
    Later his son-in-law discovers the truth about Jean Valjean, that he was a convict. He decides to keep Jean Valjean from his daughter. His son-in-law discovers the whole truth about Jean Valjean, despite being an old convict, his son-in-law forgives him. Consistantly we see Jean Valjean living in the grey area and being treated as though everything in our world is black and white. He is punished very harshly for small indescretions. In the end we finally see Jean Valjean get the treatment he deserves.
   I would definately suggest that you read this book. The way that Victor Hugo connects the characters is fantastic. You are left constantly wondering what the fate of Jean Valjean will be. I would love to hear what you may have gathered from this book.

Next Read: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

 
  My first read: "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". I know this may come as a shock to many that these were not part of my childhood. I'm not really sure how I missed  these books, but I did. I have had this one on my shelf for a couple of years, I just hadn't gotten around to reading it. It was really nice to finally hear the beginning and the end of this book. Last year I read the middle to a grade 4 class.
  I enjoyed this book. C.S. Lewis is very creative in creating a new world. I'm not sure that I would include this with my favorite children's books, however, I'll wait until the end of the series to judge that for sure. My friend turned me on to the Golden Compass series, she compared them to the Chronicles of Narnia, I think that that series is more my taste. Every book left me wanting more. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe hasn't done that for me, but we'll see what the other books in the series can do for me.

My next read: Les Miserables (Abridged Version)

My Booklist

Title	Author(s) First Name	Last Name	Date Finished
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Douglas	Adams	2010
On The Road	Jack	Kerouac
Watership Down	Richard	Adams
The Five People You Meet In Heaven	Mitch	Albom
Little Women	Louisa May	Alcott
Flowers In The Attic	Virginia	Andrews
Kane And Abel	Jeffrey	Archer
Behind The Scenes At The Museum	Kate	Atkinson
The Handmaid's Tale	Margaret	Atwood
The Clan Of The Cave Bear	Jean M	Auel
Emma	Jane	Austen
Persuasion	Jane	Austen
Pride and Prejudice	Jane	Austen
Sense and Sensibility	Jane	Austen
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull	Richard	Bach
The Wasp Factory	Iain	Banks
Captain Corelli's Mandolin	Louis De	Bernieres
The Bible		Bible	2010
Noughts And Crosses	Malorie	Blackman
Lorna Doone	R. D.	Blackmore
The Faraway Tree Collection	Enid	Blyton
The Magic Faraway Tree	Enid	Blyton
Jane Eyre	Charlotte	Brontë
Wuthering Heights	Emily	Brontë
The Da Vinci Code	Dan	Brown	2010
Notes From A Small Island	Bill	Bryson
The Thirty Nine Steps	John	Buchan
The Master And Margarita	Mikhail	Bulgakov
The Secret Garden	Frances Hodgson	Burnett
Possession	A. S.	Byatt
The Princess Diaries	Meg	Cabot
The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric	Carle	2010
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland	Lewis	Carroll
Papillon	Henri	Charriere
Shogun	James	Clavell
The Alchemist	Paulo	Coelho
Artemis Fowl	Eoin	Colfer
The Woman In White	Wilkie	Collins
Heart Of Darkness	Joseph	Conrad
The Power Of One	Bryce	Courtenay
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory	Roald	Dahl	2010
Danny The Champion Of The World	Roald	Dahl
Fantastic Mr Fox	Roald	Dahl
George's Marvellous Medicine	Roald	Dahl	2010
James And The Giant Peach	Roald	Dahl	2010
Matilda	Roald	Dahl	2010
The BFG	Roald	Dahl	2010
The Twits	Roald	Dahl
The Witches	Roald	Dahl	2010
House Of Leaves	Mark Z.	Danielewski
The Inferno		Dante	2010
A Christmas Carol	Charles	Dickens
A Tale Of Two Cities	Charles	Dickens
Bleak House	Charles	Dickens
David Copperfield	Charles	Dickens
Great Expectations	Charles	Dickens
Oliver Twist	Charles	Dickens
The Pickwick Papers	Charles	Dickens
Crime And Punishment	Fyodor	Dostoyevsky
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	Sir Arthur Conan	Doyle
The Hound Of The Baskervilles	Arthur Conan	Doyle
The Count Of Monte Cristo	Alexandre	Dumas
The Name Of The Rose	Umberto	Eco
Middlemarch	George	Eliot
Silas Marner	George	Eliot
American Psycho	Bret Easton	Ellis
The Horse Whisperer	Nicholas	Evans
Birdsong	Sebastian	Faulks
Magician	Raymond E	Feist
Bridget Jones's Diary	Helen	Fielding
The Great Gatsby	F Scott	Fitzgerald	2010
Madame Bovary	Gustave	Flaubert	2010
The Pillars Of The Earth	Ken	Follett
The Day Of The Jackal	Frederick	Forsyth
The Magus	John	Fowles
Angus	Thongs And	Full
Sophie's World	Jostein	Gaarder
Cross Stitch	Diana	Gabaldon
The Forsyte Saga	John	Galsworthy
The Beach	Alex	Garland
Sunset Song	Lewis Grassic	Gibbon
Cold Comfort Farm	Stella	Gibbons
Memoirs Of A Geisha	Arthur	Golden
Lord Of The Flies	William	Golding
The Wind in the Willows	Kenneth	Grahame
The Diary Of A Nobody	George and Weedon	Grossmith
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night	Mark	Haddon
Far From The Madding Crowd	Thomas	Hardy
Jude The Obscure	Thomas	Hardy
Tess Of The D'Urbervilles	Thomas	Hardy
The Mayor Of Casterbridge	Thomas	Hardy
Catch 22	Joseph	Heller
The Old Man And The Sea	Ernest	Hemingway
Dune	Frank	Herbert
High Fidelity	Nick	Hornby
Point Blanc	Anthony	Horowitz
Skeleton Key	Anthony	Horowitz
Stormbreaker	Anthony	Horowitz
The Kite Runner	Khaled	Hosseini
Les Misérables	Victor	Hugo
Brave New World	Aldous	Huxley
A Prayer for Owen Meaney	John	Irving
The World According To Garp	John	Irving
The Remains of the Day	Kazuo	Ishiguro
Ulysses	James	Joyce	2010
Three Men In A Boat	Jerome	K.
The Far Pavilions	M. M.	Kaye
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest	Ken	Kesey
It	Stephen	King
The Green Mile	Stephen	King
The Stand	Stephen	King
The Poisonwood Bible	Barbara	Kingsolver
Kim	Rudyard	Kipling
The Unbearable Lightness of Being	Milan	Kundera
Sons And Lovers	D. H.	Lawrence
To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper	Lee	2010
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader	CS	Lewis
The Last Battle	CS	Lewis
The Magician's Nephew	CS	Lewis
The Horse and His Boy	CS	Lewis
The Silver Chair	CS	Lewis
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia	CS	Lewis
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe	CS	Lewis	1-Dec-10
Goodnight Mister Tom	Michelle	Magorian
Love In The Time Of Cholera	Gabriel García	Márquez
One Hundred Years Of Solitude	Gabriel García	Márquez
Life of Pi	Yann	Martel
Rebecca	Daphne du	Maurier
The Thorn Birds	Colleen	McCollough
Atonement	Ian	McEwan
Moby Dick	Herman	Melville
Winnie the Pooh	AA	Milne
A Fine Balance	Rohinton	Mistry
Cloud Atlas	David	Mitchell
Gone with the Wind	Margaret	Mitchell
The Cruel Sea	Nicholas	Monsarrat
Anne of Green Gables	LM	Montgomery
Lolita	Vladimir	Nabokov
The Time Traveler’s Wife	Audrey	Niffenegger	2010
Master And Commander	Patrick	O'Brian
Animal Farm	George	Orwell
Nineteen EightyFour	George	Orwell
Man And Boy	Tony	Parsons
Gormenghast	Mervyn	Peake
The Shell Seekers	Rosamunde	Pilcher
Good Omens	Neil Gaiman and Terry	Pratchett
Guards! Guards!	Terry	Pratchett
Hogfather	Terry	Pratchett
Men At Arms	Terry	Pratchett
Mort	Terry	Pratchett
Night Watch	Terry	Pratchett
Reaper Man	Terry	Pratchett
Small Gods	Terry	Pratchett
Soul Music	Terry	Pratchett
The Colour Of Magic	Terry	Pratchett
The Fifth Elephant	Terry	Pratchett
The Truth	Terry	Pratchett
Thief Of Time	Terry	Pratchett
Witches Abroad	Terry	Pratchett
Wyrd Sisters	Terry	Pratchett
The Shipping News	Annie	Proulx
His Dark Materials	Philip	Pullman
The Godfather	Mario	Puzo
Swallows And Amazons	Arthur	Ransome
All Quiet On The Western Front	Erich Maria	Remarque
Frontal Snogging	Louise	Rennison
Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets	JK	Rowling	2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows	JK	Rowling	2010
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	JK	Rowling	2010
Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince	JK	Rowling	2010
Harry Potter And The Order of Phoenix	JK	Rowling	2010
Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone	JK	Rowling	2010
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban	JK	Rowling	2010
The God Of Small Things	Arundhati	Roy
Midnight’s Children	Salman	Rushdie
Holes	Louis	Sachar
The Little Prince	Antoine De	SaintExupery
The Catcher in the Rye	JD	Salinger
The Lovely Bones	Alice	Sebold	2010
The Silver Sword	Ian	Serraillier
A Suitable Boy	Vikram	Seth
Katherine	Anya	Seton
Black Beauty	Anna	Sewell
Frankenstein	Mary	Shelley	2010
A Town Like Alice	Nevil	Shute
I Capture The Castle	Dodie	Smith
River God	Wilbur	Smith
Heidi	Johanna	Spyri
East Of Eden	John	Steinbeck
Of Mice And Men	John	Steinbeck	2010
The Grapes Of Wrath	John	Steinbeck
Treasure Island	Robert Louis	Stevenson
Goosebumps	R. L.	Stine	2010
Dracula	Bram	Stoker
Perfume	Patrick	Süskind
The Secret History	Donna	Tartt
Vanity Fair	William Makepeace	Thackeray
The Hobbit	JRR	Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings	JRR	Tolkien
Anna Karenina	Leo	Tolstoy
War and Peace	Leo	Tolstoy
A Confederacy of Dunces	John Kennedy	Toole
The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾	Sue	Townsend
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists	Robert	Tressell
They Used To Play On Grass	Gordon Williams and Terry	Venables
The Color Purple	Alice	Walker
Brideshead Revisited	Evelyn	Waugh
The War Of The Worlds	H. G.	Wells
Trainspotting	Irvine	Welsh
Charlotte's Web	E. B.	White	2010
The Once And Future King	T. H.	White
The Picture Of Dorian Gray	Oscar	Wilde
Bad Girls	Jacqueline	Wilson
Double Act	Jacqueline	Wilson
Dustbin Baby	Jacqueline	Wilson
Girls In Love	Jacqueline	Wilson
Girls In Tears	Jacqueline	Wilson
Girls Out Late	Jacqueline	Wilson
Lola Rose	Jacqueline	Wilson
Secrets	Jacqueline	Wilson
Sleepovers	Jacqueline	Wilson
The Dare Game	Jacqueline	Wilson
The Illustrated Mum	Jacqueline	Wilson
The Story Of Tracy Beaker	Jacqueline	Wilson
The Suitcase Kid	Jacqueline	Wilson
Vicky Angel	Jacqueline	Wilson
The Day Of The Triffids	John	Wyndham
The Shadow of the Wind	Carlos Ruiz	Zafon
Germinal	Emile	Zola

*Books listed as finished in 2010 are books that I have read prior to beginning this goal.