My Music Challenge 2011--How Did I Do? And Looking to 2012

I was reminded today about the challenge that I created at the beginning of 2011 for myself.  I called it My Music Challenge 2011.  Unfortunately, I didn't meet my goals entirely, but I accomplished some of them.
My goal was to listen to and review 52 CD's.  I think I reviewed 33, from what I can tell.  I invited people to do the challenge with me, but only one person said they would, but they never followed through.l  No problem.  What I did do was listen to more than 5 new CD's.  I probably listened to about 15-20 new CD's.  Not too bad.  I was exposed to a lot of new music.  
One thing I have learned is that forcing myself to listen to a different CD each week is a bad idea!  I like to listen to the radio and to CD's both while I am driving to and from work.  Sometimes it took me longer than I thought to listen to a CD.  I liked the challenge of listening to CD's, and I still have a load I need to listen to.  But I have discovered that putting myself on some kind of timeline like that is really not something I enjoy.
What I would like to do this year is something much simpler.  I plan to still post music reviews on Mondays.  I enjoy doing that.  I plan to get all of my music reviews put on one page of my blog (the one marked "Music" might make sense, don't you think?).  As I  am able to do so, I will listen to CD's and review them here--so watch for that.
Another thing I would like to do on here is occasionally post a video of my singing.  That may sound strange, but I have mentioned in the past that I am a singer--a classically trained singer, as a matter of fact.  I had aspirations at one time to be professional, but that was so long ago, I can hardly remember that.  I used to have a church ministry--I sang in the church choir, directed various choirs, sang solos, etc.  In the past few years, that ministry has waned.  It seems that wherever God puts me now has no choir and virtually no music ministry.  And so many people don't know what to do with my voice.  I guess you either like it or you hate it.
I miss singing for people.  I really do.  So I thought that maybe you guys might occasionally be my audience.  You don't have to like it.  Goodness, you don't have to listen to it at all.  Just humor me.  
I will make a post later on this evening detailing my challenges for this year.  And I will try to get back to updating you on my challenges every Sunday I can.  That seems to work well.  
So no new music challenge this year.  I've learned my lesson!

This Day in History January 1, 1502

Doesn't it look breathtaking even if it a little crowded?  I say let's go t here now!  Well, we have the Portuguese to thank for discovering this beautiful place on this date in 1502.  If you haven't guessed the site yet, it is none other than Rio de Janiero, Brazil!


Because it was discovered on the first of January as the Portuguese entered Guanabara Bay, and this bay was considered the mouth of the river, they named this place in honor of the day--Rio de Janiero or January River.  Andres Goncalves is the one credited with making the discovery.


However, at least one site calls this merely "tradition."  It is suggested that it was a couple years later in 1504 when the area was truly discovered Gonçalo Coelho.  All I can say is, who knows?  And when it comes down to it, what does it matter.


Bottom line, Rio was discovered, and just looking at the picture will confirm that no matter what, tourism has not died there!  


If you would like to read more information, please check out these sites:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0860748.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Introduction-to-the-History-of-Rio-De-Janeiro&id=6571761
http://www.macalester.edu/courses/geog61/chad/history.htm
http://www.rio-de-janeiro-pictures.com/?gclid=CKfL3Nmirq0CFcYbQgodMjbImQ


Thank you so much for your support of my blog and continuing to read these posts.  It is so wonderful to go into this year knowing that my blog has some kind of "niche."  If you come across any information that you think should be featured in this section, please let me know.  Thanks!

This Day in History December 31, 1948

Anyone recognize the Queen of Disco?  As we end this year, we can celebrate that Donna Summer was born on this date in 1948.  I am not her biggest fan, but I recognize the fact that she is talented and has quite a voice.

Her birth name was LaDonna Adrian Gaines (I think--some of the sites don't exactly agree) in Boston, Massachusetts.  Her father was a butcher, and her mom was a schoolteacher.  Her mom said of her that all she really did as she was growing up was sing.  Her debut public performance was at her church at the age of 10.  The singer who was supposed to sing did not show up, so the priest had her fill in, and everyone was absolutely blown away at the voice that bellowed out of her.

She was the first female singer to have back-to-back multi-platinum double albums as well as the first female artist to incorporate synthesizers.  In addition to this, she was also the first female singer to create an extended play song.  She was also the first female artist to have a Billboard number one album and single at the same time.  

Her awards include an Academy Award for Best Song Last Dance, R & B Grammy Award for that same song, Rock Grammy for Hot Stuff, Inspirational Grammy for He's a Rebel, Best Inspirational Grammy for Forgive Me, and Best Dance Recording for Carry On.

I was first introduced to Donna Summer's music a few years ago when I ordered a recording of:

She played the role of Elizabeth, and I then realized that I heard her in a duet years ago with Barbra Streisand.  There is a lot more I could tell you, but instead, I will leave you with some links for more information:
http://www.answers.com/topic/donna-summer
http://www.mahalo.com/donna-summer/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0838595/bio
http://www.biography.com/people/donna-summer-9499073

Blogger Opportunity! Valentine's Day Love of Reading Kindle Giveaway Sign-Ups Open

The Mommy Bunch is sponsoring a Kindle for an upcoming Valentine's Day Love of Reading Giveaway!

Bloggers/Authors can get more likes and follows by signing up to be a part of this giveaway. The giveaway will be for a Kindle Keyboard 3G with special offers and will run from January 23 to February 6th (so the winner can get it in time for Valentine's Day).

For bloggers to sign up for the first link it is $5.00 paypal cash to jesicaj1@yahoo.com as a personal GIFT. Each additional link is $2.00. The giveaway will be a big one as Kindles are hot items and I am looking to get between 30-40 bloggers participating (I will possibly consider more depending on interest).
I am also looking to have authors participate by offering a free e-book for the winner for their first link, and $2.00 for any additional link.

The deadline to sign up will be January 16th, or once all spots are filled. Sign up by filling out this form.

Once you've signed up please join our facebook group to get the html for the blog post to start promoting today, as well as to get the html and RC code for the giveaway once it goes live: Kindle Giveaway Group

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My New Year's Resolutions for 2012

I am very grateful to Diana over at Hormonal Imbalances for creating a linky over at her blog and posting about her New Year's Resolutions.  I kind of did this when I posted for the 3 in 30  challenge I am beginning this year. I will incorporate those into this post, but in a grander sense.  I know many people are against resolutions, and I really overdid my challenges last year.  There are only two I completed, and they were spring and fall reading challenges.  And I guess I did a couple month-long ones for the month of January.

I am going to keep my resolutions simple and specific.  That is often the problem with resolutions,  Everyone puts it into just a few words rather than treating it like a goal.  And I will not make more than 10 for the year.

1.  I will lose the rest of my weight that has just not wanted to come off for the past few years.  For those who know me, they know that I lost a lot of weight, and I have kept it off for years now.  But it bothers me that I cannot get my last 10-15 pounds off.  I stay right around 150, but my goal weight is 135--and all the charts and my doctor agree that is a good goal for me.  I know that a lot of the trouble is my exercise level.  I often only have the energy or desire to work out 3 times a week.  I absolutely must work out 4 times a week or more for 25-30 minutes.  I also need to cut out the extra sugar from my diet.  I get tired, and I give in.  This will be the year when I can finally say as we end 2012 that I weigh 135 pounds.

2.  I will organize my room and basically keep it as a sanctuary.  This is a hard one for me.  About two and a half years ago, I moved from a whole house down to about two rooms.  I live with parents, and I now have to hide stuff from my dad--food that I am eating that he will eat if I don't hide it.  (My dad is diabetic but doesn't take care of himself and inhales carbs and candy.  I have expensive diet foods that he feels he is entitled to eat if I don't keep it hidden.)  I have supplies for my blog, my crafts, my office, and so much more.  I am always behind.  I will at least keep my room picked up so that I don't feel like it is right now.

3.  I will have a blog that I can be proud of that has at least 3000 followers, and it will be visually appealing and organized. This is kind of the hard one.  I love my blog, and I really do put a lot into it.  But there are things that need to be organized.  I know that.  I  am looking forward to being able to make it more organized.  I am bad about putting my reviews together, my recipes together, etc  I have the pages ready, but I just forget to organize it.  This will be the year.  I may not be able to get to this until summer, but it will get done.  And 3000 followers is probably a low goal to strive for because I already have at least 1800.

4.  I will continue to grow in my spiritual walk, and that will be reflected in all my relationships.  I struggle with my dad--I won't go into details.  I sometimes lose it with my daughter, my mom, and Martin.  I struggle with my daily quiet time, but it is better than it used to be.  My main concern is when I get angry at my Dad, and my daughter is nearby.  I have a really hard time because Martin is not a Christian, and he tells me to do one thing, but God would have me do another.  I get so tired of it!  But I will improve but only with the help of God.

5.  I will complete one craft each month that I can give as a gift.  Crafting is something I loved long ago.  Since the birth of my daughter and my divorce, I have barely had time.  This is something I really would like to do again.  I have saved a lot of stuff on pinterest, but I have not done one blame thing!  I will do it this year.

6.  I will read at least 50 books this year.  I will do reviews, and post them in all the places I should.

7.  I will clean my e-mail inbox out.  Enough said.

8.  I will try something new each month.  I can't be too specific on this one.  I just don't know what I will do, but I want to step out of my comfort zone.

I think this is truly good enough.  There are a lot of goals/resolutions, but they are attainable.  And while I may not do everything, I am not going to give up!

And I am also linking up at 5 Minutes for Moms.

This Day in History December 30, 1816

Do either of these two people look familiar?  They are Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley.  And it was on this date in 1816 that they got married.  And the scandal surrounding them reads like something from today's headlines.

Percy himself was married to a woman named Harriet. Unfortunately, he fell in love with Mary, and they began to live together.  A couple years later, Harriet killed herself which meant that Percy and Mary could finally get married (she had already given him a child, and she was pregnant again).

They spent most of their married life fleeing Percy's creditors, and they also had five children.  Unfortunately only one lived to be an adult.  Shelley was drowned in a sailing accident, and Mary became a young widow.  She is most known for her book Frankenstein, and she also was a promoter of her husband's works.

There is a lot more information I could give you, but to make things easy, I will leave some links that you can look up for more information.



http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/percy-bysshe-shelley-and-mary-wollstonecraft-godwin-wed
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/percy_bysshe_shelley/biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Shelley#Percy_Bysshe_Shelley
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Shelley-Mary.html
http://www.biography.com/people/percy-bysshe-shelley-9481527?page=1

Top 10 Books of 2012 That I Am Looking Forward to Reading

I have absolutely loved participating this week even though it has been difficult at times.  I have been the "oddball," but in a good way.  I know I tend to look at things differently, but there have been some awesome posts from others as well.  I even picked up a book today from someone's list--Jinx by Meg Cabot. I would never have known about that book!

Thank you to the hosts:
http://twochicksonbooks1.blogspot.com
http://alifeboundbybooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.fiktshun.com/fiktshun/
http://www.totalbookaholic.com/

I am going to break the rules from the outset.  I am participating in a Just For Fun Challenge:


So I thought I would go ahead and choose 12 books (I might have chosen 13) so I can read once each month.  These are all hard copy books that have been sitting on my bookcase, and I definitely want to read them.  So these are the top books I am looking forward to reading in the New Year.  Not in any particular order (except the first one).  

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I have gone back and forth with this book for quite some time.  Do I read it or don't I?  I won this book a few months ago, so I decided it was time to read it.  And when I realized that the movie is coming out in February, I decided I had to read it.  So it is first on my list!

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

I don't know much about this book, but it's historical fiction and Egypt.  And I love the cover.  So there you go.  I don't think I've ever read a book that takes place in Egypt.  Ought to be good!

Bride Flight by Marieke van der Pol, Colleen Higgins 

I picked this book totally at random, and now I see that it is based on a true story and it has been translated. I am truly intrigued now!

The Life Ready Woman by Shaunti Feldhahn, Robert Lewis

I remember winning this book last year.  I am always up for a good Christian women's self-help book.  It had really good reviews, so hopefully it will live up to it!

Isolde Queen of the Western Isle by Rosalind Miles

I bought this at our library last year for two reasons.  It is written by the same person who wrote the Guinivere trilogy (which I have yet to read, but it looks good), and I know the story of Tristan and Isolde since I am a student of opera.  I studied Wagner, so I kind of know the story.  So this ought to be good!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I can heard the collective sigh now.  "You mean you've never read this book before?"  Nope.  I only heard of it when the movie came out, and since it didn't look very good, I decided to not read the book.  To avoid it like the plague.  I won the book last year.  Time to read it and just see if it is my kind of book.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I commented on a number of people's posts this week saying that I just had to read this book.  I won it last year, and the time has come to see if it lives up to all the hype!

The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore
Don't know anything about it.  I won it last year.  It came highly recommended.  And I like the cover.  And I picked it by random.  Let's see how it goes!

Midwives by Chris Boyjalian

I read about this book on a couple blogs last year.  I bought it in the thrift store.  I hadn't realized it was an Oprah book club pick, but I won't hold that against the book!  (Not a big-time Oprah fan, but I have to say her book club picks are generally good.)  I know very little about it, and I will keep it like that.  Until I read it.

Dawn of the Morning by Grace Livingston Hill

When I was younger, I read a lot of Grace Livingston Hill's books, so I happened to buy a stack of them at a  church yard sale this summer, and this is one of them.  It ought to be exactly what is expected from one of her books.

The Amazing Mom Book b John MacIntyre

I won this book, and the blogger has a nice note on it saying I will really enjoy it.  So let's hope so!

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

I nearly shrank away from this book when I saw the picture and read the title, but then I figured I would give it a try.  Another of my winnings.  It is a dark book, but I hope it will be good.  And perhaps something different.

And finally:

Confessions of a Catholic Cop by Thomas Fitzsimmons

I remember winning this book.  I was quite intrigued with the premise behind the book and the picture.  I will see if it lives up to my expectations!

There you have it--13 books.  I know it's too many, but this time, I believe rules are made for breaking.

I am sure many people will be putting books on their lists that cover various books coming out this year.  I have to admit that I know of some sequels that I may get to read, but I am not certain.  I often don't know what I am reading from one month to the next.  I am generally reading books for review, and I am often reading 3-4 books at once. I am pleased with my progress this year.  2012 should prove to be a very promising year.  I now have a kindle, so we'll see if I get more e-books this year.  

Till next year (because I'm sure this will be a yearly tradition now), au revoir!