The Sunday Salon-4

I do not know what has gotten into me! January started off so very well! I stayed on schedule with reading/blogging, and kept everything up to date, and then it all went down hill. Gah! I know I lack organziation skills, but jeez! Anyway, today is what I consider a "light" work day, so I will work on sorting out the schedule and fixing up some posts.


I'm wondering how you guys do it? How do you keep everything running smoothly, AND not have it feel like a job? That's my big problem with schedules. I love my books, I love my blog, but when I have a schedule it just feels to ...imposing. I hope that makes sense? Like I cannot put this book down and pick up something else because it's on the schedule and I HAVE to review it by (insert date.) Like I almost resent the book I'm currently reading, which isn't fair to the book or me.



So I'm open to suggestions, advice, anything really!

So, goals. I do have some this week. I want to read 2-3 books, schedules all my meme posts in advance, and work on my blog calendar.

There.

The Sunday Salon-(3)

So I think that I can count this last week as a success! I accomplished my goals (mostly) and read quite a lot! I have so many things coming up, both personal and bloggy, so the fact that I am feeling good is a great sign! :) So I am pleased.

So this week's post is going to be short and sweet! Party on! I'm going to keep on keeping on and see how next week is going to treat me! :)

Oh and also! Tomorrow starts another read-a-thon! Yay!



I would suggest signing up! :)

The Sunday Salon-(2)

Well, I did it! I am keeping up with my goals and seeing how fun (and stressful) it can be all at the same time! :) I have to find a way to put more reading time into my day though, otherwise I'll get behind! My reading schedule isn't horrible, but I do procrastinate a lot. Hmm..maybe I should get that fixed?


Bloggy Plans:
This week I have a full plate again!  I have reviews coming for a handful of fun books! Including one that my son read and LOVED! :) Starting Monday, I'll be participating in the Bout of Books readathon again, so that will DEFINITLEY help me make my goals again this week!



Life Plans:

I still need to work on my diet. We are in between paychecks so it's easy to rely on cheap foods instead of getting in what we need. This is going to take some getting used to, working on a balanced meal plan. My son has been given a preliminary diagnosis of ADHD, and I have read that diet helps. So that is another good push (if my growing gut wasn't enough!) We will just have to keep working on improving!

Well, another week is gone and a new one is starting! Here goes nothing....

The Sunday Salon

I had a wonderfully productive week! I sure did! So I am crossing my fingers for next week! My blog is up to date and spiffy looking with it's new amazingly cute back ground! My TBR stack got chipped away just a wee bit and I feel good about that.



Blog Plans for This Week:

• keep up my blog schedule (i have one now..sorta)
• visit more blogs! 
• read more! 

Hey you know what? I do have an awesome giveaway going! I'm hosting Crazy Dog T's on my blog so if you want to try to win a cool t shirt then hop on over to THIS post!

I'm looking forward to this next week! It's gonna be so much fun! I have my stack of books just waiting for me to dive into!

just thought i'd put this here

My Reviews:

• Cheat River Three
• Resonance
• God's Eye
• The Last Book in the Universe

The Sunday Salon

Howdy folks! Here I be again on this wonderfully cold Sunday morning, just sipping coffee and procrastinating on the cleaning I have to do! What about you? It's crazy how quickly this year has gone by, isn't it?

I turned 31 on Friday of last week. Yup I'm old-ish. I don't mind!  I have had such a great week just reading whatever I feel like, and I even got some wonderful surprises too! A few really awesome people gifted me some books that I've been drooling (no lie) over! I will post a thank you dedicated to them soon! Seriously, we are so broke right now that gifts weren't possible this year so these surprise books were just amazingly awesome to get! I cannot begin to describe how happy it made me! :)

I think that this next week I will have a personal read-a-thon! Most of my favorite shows are doing their mid-season break thing so I won't have many distractions so I'm going to read til my eyes go funny!

Speaking of funny..probably to just a few people but still..It's funny to ME!

I love Daryl from The Walking Dead! This guys is the reason this show rocks so hard! I would want him on my side during a Zombie Apocalypse!

The Sunday Salon

So it's Sunday. I've been awake since 3:30am for work. Didn't get to enjoy that extra hour, but I did go to bed really early so I'm not quite as tired as I had feared. I am kind of a bit stressed out. I have fallen behind on my reading, money is super tight, my son is feeling icky again, and I'm just tired all the time.  :(  So nothing much has been done lately. Hopefully things will get better this week. I'm crossing my fingers for that!


This made me giggle I hope it does for you too:

Yup! So there's my Sunday Salon. Informative isn't it? :) Let's bring on the week!

The Sunday Salon

So it's almost November..yay! November is a month of Birthdays for me, Hubby's is the 1st, mine is the 11th, and my sister's is the 18th! Then of course there is Thanksgiving! It's going to be very busy! I'm hoping for a much better reading month! October started out with lots of hope for a lot of books read, but alas, it did not come to be. I tanked. BIG TIME!

 

Boo on you October! Boo to you Sir!

I had too many distractions this month. Work and adjusting to that, my son getting sick, and basically just me being exhausted a LOT. So yeah, my goals went unmet. I hate that. :(

I am hopeful for a better month in November! I really want to hit my goal of  110 books in 2011 so I'll have to put the pedal to the metal! Rawr! 

The Sunday Salon for 6/26

Life: Well I have stumbled upon a newly formed schedule for my week..and *gasp* it's working! I've managed to keep my house clean, keep my work organized, and even keep my blog up to date! I'm not stopping this success-train for nuffin'! So yeah, this is a weird new thing for me and I'm embracing it FULLY! I feel so accomplished!

Saturday Night: Well last night me and the hubs popped open some Guinness and watched The Guild on Netflix...WHILST he was playing RIFT (online MMO)...how's that for life imitating art, huh? I stayed up WAAAY too late and feel like poo this morning.

Reading Today: Today I'm still reading Pride and Prejudice! I'm almost there people! I'm almost there!

and a cute picture that makes me smile ...

Mr. T reading The Lorax! Happy Sunday!

The Sunday Salon for 4/10

Well the read-a-thon was fun! I didn't get as much reading as I would like to but I enjoyed myself and enjoyed helping out with co-hosting! I'm still thinking I might volunteer again next time, but who knows! I met a lot of awesome bloggers and readers, so that is a BIG win in my book!

My stats where pretty wimpy but here goes:

Books Finished-1 (not from start though)
Pages Read: 448
Stayed Up from 7am til Midnight (cst)

So there you have it! I finished Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis and almost finished The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan.

I also won a random prize for being a commentator! I was so excited about that! I got to pick from the awesomesauce prize list! :) Can't wait for it! :) Also, even though I didn't finish a complete book from the start, I will still donate $15 to Kids Need To Read.

Bloggish news, again I will be attempting to organize my blog this week. I have my books ready to go and I feel good! If not tired...but hey, like I said in my read-a-thon post..I'm not a young whippersnapper anymore so I can't stay up too late! :)

This is pretty much a good summary of how I feel this morning!
But this is what I have to say to the week ahead...

Come at me, bro! I is ready for you! Grrrr.....*yawn*

The Sunday Salon for 4/3

Well my reading plans fell flat. I wished I had a good excuse. I just got lazy again. Ah well, what do they say? It takes 28 days to form a habit? Is that right? So here is to another week and another try to get organized again! Bright side!
I have my planner out and I'm gonna be a planning this week! It's super important and super exciting! Saturday is READ-A-THON DAY! I'm all signed up to participate and to HOST! Woot woot!

If you haven't signed up...get your butt over to the sign-up sheet and get your books sorted out!
Dooo eeetttt! You know you want to! It's so so so so fun! Click the button^^ Peeer pressure!

On a confessional type note, I have to admit to two very flimsy excuses for the not reading as much this last week thing.

One being the fact that I took on a few extra hours at work. Yes I work at home, but I still do WORK. I have to make the money so I can keep my book habit monkey fed and watered, right? OH yeah and those pesky little thingies called bills. Ah well. That's excuse numeral uno.

Excuse number two is this thing:
This game is creepy goodness and wonderful! I have been wanting to play it for AGES and I finally got my hands on a copy of it! So when I am not cleaning or working, this is what I have been doing. Playing til my eyes were droopy. Yes, I am a geek. I'm cool with that.

So there you have it. Today I will try to get as much reading in. I have some nifty things in store for you guys soon!

The Sunday Salon for 3/27

My planning for last week was a success! I read my two scheduled books AND one of my misc. books! I will continue on with this sort of planning for this week to see if it works as well again. I'm so exited and I hope I finally found a good routine for my blog! I'm kinda geeking out over the fact that I posted almost everyday last week! Yay for keeping my blog fresh!

My goals for this week are similar. Just two books are going to be planned, then the rest I have on hand are back ups!




This is what the sky looked like for us last night. We had a nice big storm come through our area. We had lots of wind, rain, and a ton of pretty lightning. My son was up and a bit nervous so we cuddled on the couch and watched tv until late into the night. So as it was sweet to get a chance to snuggle with my little buddy, it wasn't a very restful night. I'm pretty draggy this morning. So coffee is going to be my friend!


In My Mailbox This Week :


-The Baby Planner by Josie Brown

Katie Johnson may make her living consulting with new moms on the latest greatest baby gadgets no parent should be without, or which mommy meet-ups are the most socially desirable, or whether melon truly is the new black, but the success of her marriage to her husband, Alex, depends on controlling her own urges toward motherhood.

He's adamant that they stay childless. Sure, Katie understands that he's upset over the fact that his out-of-town ex-wife rarely lets him see their ten-year-old son, Peter. But living vicariously through her anxious clients and her twin sisters' precocious children only makes Katie resent his stance more deeply.

While helping a new client—Seth Harris, a high tech entrepreneur who must raise Sadie, his newborn daughter, as a single parent after the tragic death of his wife in childbirth—maneuver the bittersweet journey from mourning husband and reticent father to loving dad, Katie’s own ideals about love, marriage, and motherhood are put to the test as she learns ones very important lesson about family: How we nurture is the true nature of love.

(look for a review AND a giveaway coming soon!)

***
I Won!

The Chaos-Rachel Ward

The curse of the NUM8ERS continues in Rachel Ward's CHA0T1C, earth-shattering sequel!

Adam has more than inherited his mother's curse: When he looks in someone's eyes, he not only sees the date of their death...he feels the searing, shocking pain of it. Since Jem died, Adam has lived by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But when rising tides flood the coast, they return to London. The city is an alien, exciting, frightening place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can't help but clock how many people's numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year's Day. What chaos awaits the world? Can he and Sarah stop a catastrophe? Or are they, too, counted among the "twenty-sevens"?

***

And....

The Silenced-Brett Battles (review coming poss. Monday 3/28)

-The Ice Princess-Camilla Lackberg

All in all I had a great week and hope to continue with this trend! I hope you guys all had good ones too!

The Sunday Salon for 3/20

As you all can see I took a few days off from blogging. I did not however take a break from reading! In fact, I have spent a LOT more time reading lately than I have in a while. Unfortunately, I've been going through yet another case of Book ADD. I've got three books going all at once, so you can imagine my brain is a big mushy puddle of word-goo.

So after giving it much thought, earlier today I whipped out my planner and PLANNED!! *cue Law and Order sound*

I have planned out my reading for this month and next month! I have dates that reviews are going to be posted, and baring extreme illness/lack of internet/zombie apocalypse they shall be posted on that date! Sounds lame, but this is the push I think I need. I have so many awesome books just stacked on my desk that I just feel so guilty and lazy for not zipping through them like I know I can and should. This will put the fire under my tushie and get me more organized.

I have also decided on a few weekly memes to commit to doing each week. I'll stick with these for now:

• What Are You Reading? -Monday
  
• Tuesday Teasers-Tuesday
• Mailbox Saturday-Saturday
• Sunday Salon-Sunday

I think this should help me keep my blog in good shape and current. So go me!

Well that is all for now! Look out for Monday! My son is back to school and I am going to get MUCH more reading done (woot!) Can't believe it's Spring already! I'll be sitting on my porch with a glass of lemonade and a book soon!

Here is a list of all the other participants of The Sunday Salon:

Sunday Salon: Sunday July 26th

Books Read: (not as many as I'd liked)
-Ravens (reviewed)

Books Reading:
-A Darkness Forged In Fire-almost done.

Books Up Next:
-The Light of Burning Shadows (book tour on Tuesday)

Updates on my life:
Very exciting events are happening here! On Tuesday I have orientation for what could possibly be my first out-of-home job in almost 7 years! My son is starting Kindergarten in August. My husband is shifting his work schedule around and he is seriously considering getting back into karate. I have piles and piles of books that I need to read so I'm going to finish up these two blog tour books then spend a wee bit of time getting my books in order.

So there is my little weekly summary. Lots of changes coming up for me, and hopefully I can keep up!

Sunday Salon-May 31st

Hmm, where should I start? This week's been full of ups and downs here in the Caldwell household. I didn't get my usual "let me sleep in" time on Monday (my husband wakes up with the kiddo on Mondays, because we had to be somewhere. I should have known from the start that things weren't gonna work out for us. After running our errands our car started to act crazy. *yay* Then my husband utters a string of colorful words under his breath. Then I look at the dashboard and realize that our car is overheated...sooo we sit parked on the side of the road for almost 30 minutes. My son is bored. I am bored and tired and worried. My husband is grumpy of course. The car is a fun place to be right then and there. Luckily it all turned out okay. After conversing on the phone with my father about this situation, he helps us figure out the problem. *And we had a big DUH moment* (Turns out the water tank that looked quite full was in fact bone dry. How we overlooked that I will never be able to explain)

On to the good parts! I had a very busy mailbox week! I got a good handful of books (both ARCs and Wins and swaps) I'm always a happy girl when I go to the mailbox and find something other than bills! *hint hint ;)* My mail carrier is certainly going to hate me as I think I have close to 20ish books coming in soon. My desk is full, my book fetish is sated and my geeky smile could not be ..well geekier.

I am currently working on getting my associates degree completed so I can move on in school. The financial aid process is always a fun time but this time it's gone by rather smoothly. I'm very thankful and count this as one of the better things that has happened this week. If you've been to school and had to deal with financial aid stuff then you know how much of a pain in the you know where it is!

Reading-wise I have gotten a good chunk of books read and two reviews done (thats my goal)so I am pleased with this!