My Required Reading

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One of my goals for 2010 is to read 12 classics. (Last year I read 12 non-fiction books) Having done the majority of my schooling in Europe, my list of English classics that I have read is sorely lacking. (That said, I've read a bunch of neat classic Spanish books!) I consider it to be an important part of my intellectual development, and the fact that I have never read a one of Shakespeare's works bothers me not a little.

Ideally, my goal is to purchase these 12 books that I plan to read this year, so that after I have read them, they can take up residence in my home. :-) These cloth covered Penguin classics that Anthropologie sells are beautiful, but I am looking for something a little more vintage and a little less $$$$$. I'm a sucker for vintage hardcover books, but I'm finding that true classics are really hard to find. Any suggestions?

I've read pretty much everything that Jane Austen has written (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, etc) , Frankenstein, and I've also read Jane Eyre. I need some other suggestions friends! Here's what's tentatively on my list this year:

1. Great Expectations
2. A Tale of Two Cities
3. Oliver Twist
4. Wuthering Heights
5. Hamlet

I know there are tons more, so which would you recommend? They don't have to be particularly interesting, just classics. :-)

My Required Reading

credit

One of my goals for 2010 is to read 12 classics. (Last year I read 12 non-fiction books) Having done the majority of my schooling in Europe, my list of English classics that I have read is sorely lacking. (That said, I've read a bunch of neat classic Spanish books!) I consider it to be an important part of my intellectual development, and the fact that I have never read a one of Shakespeare's works bothers me not a little.

Ideally, my goal is to purchase these 12 books that I plan to read this year, so that after I have read them, they can take up residence in my home. :-) These cloth covered Penguin classics that Anthropologie sells are beautiful, but I am looking for something a little more vintage and a little less $$$$$. I'm a sucker for vintage hardcover books, but I'm finding that true classics are really hard to find. Any suggestions?

I've read pretty much everything that Jane Austen has written (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, etc) , Frankenstein, and I've also read Jane Eyre. I need some other suggestions friends! Here's what's tentatively on my list this year:

1. Great Expectations
2. A Tale of Two Cities
3. Oliver Twist
4. Wuthering Heights
5. Hamlet

I know there are tons more, so which would you recommend? They don't have to be particularly interesting, just classics. :-)

Final 2009 Recap

I've kept you updated throughout the year on how we were progressing on our goals for 2009, so I won't go into great detail about the things we accomplished this year. Here's a quick recap;

• We met various financials goals like increasing our emergency savings, saving for a car, etc.
• We did fun stuff over the summer like going to the Renaissance Festival, going camping, and throwing fun parties like the Yellow Party.
• We took vacations to Wisconsin and California, both to see family, and had a great time.
• We made family a priority and saw them pretty much once a week. It really seemed to have an impression on our nieces and nephews, I think it's safe to say we're the favorites! :-)

I also set a goal for myself to read twelve non-fiction books this year. I can read fiction easily, and I prefer to read fiction, so this was a hard goal for me to accomplish. I did it though, and read some really interesting books like;

• A Chance to Die (a biography of Amy Carmichael)
• Beyond the Ranges (biography of missionary James Fraser)
• Queen of the Dark Chamber (biography of a Christian woman in China)
• I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebecca (book on marriage)
• Hansi, the Girl who Loved the Swastika (autobiography of a former Nazi)
• Financial Peace (great financial advice)
• Hedges (another marriage book, this one not so great)
• Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God (a book on being a wife, with interesting perspectives on a wife's role in the home.)
• Queen of the Reformation (biography of Martin Luther's wife)
• Revolution in World Missions (a wakeup call for privileged first world countries)
• Created to Be His HelpMeet (an excellent book on marriage)

We also worked on the castle quite a bit, finishing the living room, and guest room, mostly finishing the dining room and master bedroom, and revamping the front of the house for more curb appeal.

It's been a productive and fun year, and we're looking forward to accomplishing lots more in 2010. What was your favorite part of 2009?

Final 2009 Recap

I've kept you updated throughout the year on how we were progressing on our goals for 2009, so I won't go into great detail about the things we accomplished this year. Here's a quick recap;

• We met various financials goals like increasing our emergency savings, saving for a car, etc.
• We did fun stuff over the summer like going to the Renaissance Festival, going camping, and throwing fun parties like the Yellow Party.
• We took vacations to Wisconsin and California, both to see family, and had a great time.
• We made family a priority and saw them pretty much once a week. It really seemed to have an impression on our nieces and nephews, I think it's safe to say we're the favorites! :-)

I also set a goal for myself to read twelve non-fiction books this year. I can read fiction easily, and I prefer to read fiction, so this was a hard goal for me to accomplish. I did it though, and read some really interesting books like;

• A Chance to Die (a biography of Amy Carmichael)
• Beyond the Ranges (biography of missionary James Fraser)
• Queen of the Dark Chamber (biography of a Christian woman in China)
• I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebecca (book on marriage)
• Hansi, the Girl who Loved the Swastika (autobiography of a former Nazi)
• Financial Peace (great financial advice)
• Hedges (another marriage book, this one not so great)
• Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God (a book on being a wife, with interesting perspectives on a wife's role in the home.)
• Queen of the Reformation (biography of Martin Luther's wife)
• Revolution in World Missions (a wakeup call for privileged first world countries)
• Created to Be His HelpMeet (an excellent book on marriage)

We also worked on the castle quite a bit, finishing the living room, and guest room, mostly finishing the dining room and master bedroom, and revamping the front of the house for more curb appeal.

It's been a productive and fun year, and we're looking forward to accomplishing lots more in 2010. What was your favorite part of 2009?

November Recap 2009

It's December! We woke up this morning to a dusting of snow, which was a nice way to start the month. Come January 1stFebruary I'll be fed up with the stuff, but I like having snow for the Christmas season.

My unofficial goal was to have all of my homemade Christmas projects done by December 1st. Out of five projects I got two completely done. Which isn't bad, but I need to get cracking!Here's how we did on our other goals this month.

• Increase savings for new car We're currently at 57% of our goal.
• Increase emergency savings by 1K. We're at 36% of this goal.
• Stock pantry and freezer with food, meat and non-perishables. I think we can say we accomplished this goal.
• Improve sewing skills. I'm working on replacing my wool coat lining, and if I have to say so myself, I'm doing a pretty good job.
• Continue getting involved in the ladies' ministry at church. I'm working with the leaders to get more ladies involved in the prayer groups for the missionaries. It's going well so far!
• Continue learning piano - Right now I am working on some of my favorite christmas carols like O Holy Night and Carol of the Bells. I'm doing pretty good!
• Develop a consistent habit of devotions. We've been working on this all year, and it's finally becoming a consistent part of our routine. I'm usually even able to stick to it when Luke is out of town.
• Read 12 non-fiction books. This month I finally finished this goal. Hurrah! I read Revolution in World Missions and The Man Whisperer to complete my goal of 12 books!

This month my priority is Christmas. I need to get the gifts done, the shopping done (it's almost finished), the cookies made, decorations up and everything wrapped. I love this time of year!

November Recap 2009

It's December! We woke up this morning to a dusting of snow, which was a nice way to start the month. Come January 1stFebruary I'll be fed up with the stuff, but I like having snow for the Christmas season.

My unofficial goal was to have all of my homemade Christmas projects done by December 1st. Out of five projects I got two completely done. Which isn't bad, but I need to get cracking!Here's how we did on our other goals this month.

• Increase savings for new car We're currently at 57% of our goal.
• Increase emergency savings by 1K. We're at 36% of this goal.
• Stock pantry and freezer with food, meat and non-perishables. I think we can say we accomplished this goal.
• Improve sewing skills. I'm working on replacing my wool coat lining, and if I have to say so myself, I'm doing a pretty good job.
• Continue getting involved in the ladies' ministry at church. I'm working with the leaders to get more ladies involved in the prayer groups for the missionaries. It's going well so far!
• Continue learning piano - Right now I am working on some of my favorite christmas carols like O Holy Night and Carol of the Bells. I'm doing pretty good!
• Develop a consistent habit of devotions. We've been working on this all year, and it's finally becoming a consistent part of our routine. I'm usually even able to stick to it when Luke is out of town.
• Read 12 non-fiction books. This month I finally finished this goal. Hurrah! I read Revolution in World Missions and The Man Whisperer to complete my goal of 12 books!

This month my priority is Christmas. I need to get the gifts done, the shopping done (it's almost finished), the cookies made, decorations up and everything wrapped. I love this time of year!

October 2009 Recap

For my recap for October, I am going to do something a little different.

We are still making progress on our listed goals for 2009, but I have nothing new to report on that end. I'm still reading non-fiction books, still working on new piano pieces, still sewing some projects. We're still saving, still spending time with family, and still working on the missions trip to Spain.

We've accomplished a lot of our goals for 2009, and we've also worked on the house a lot. This month we've been focusing on the basement renovation, but we are still working on demolition and garbage removal. It is a huge task. We're also still tweaking the floor plans, there is a lot we want to include in the space downstairs, and it is taking some master planning to be able to include everything.

A few weeks ago I listed my goals for fall. So far, we have:

• FINALLY finished Project Curb Appeal. Watch for some awesome before and after pictures at the end of the week.
• Finished the fall cleaning. Just in time for my brother to move in, and I feel like I have my sanity back, now that my house is sparkly clean.
• We had a small birthday party for Lover at the beginning of October. It was a fun day with family, and he got some great gifts.
• We carved a small pumpkin on Halloween, in between handing out candy to little ghosts and goblins.

I'm still working on some of the other goals;

• I've purchased all of the supplies for the Christmas gifts I'll be making for the nieces and nephews, and our siblings as well.
• I've also purchased the fabric to replace the lining in my winter coat. I am totally intimidated by this project, I will letcha know how it goes.
• We're working on stocking the freezer and pantry, although it is definitely harder with another hungry man in the house!
• We're hoping to go to a corn maize before it gets freezing cold. Our weekends have been really busy, so I'm not sure if it will happen.

And of course, we are still looking forward to lots of yummy food at Thanksgiving! That is, of course, if we can figure out who we'll be spending the holiday with. It's definitely a blessing to have so much family, but a challenge as well!

Don't forget to vote today!!!

October 2009 Recap

For my recap for October, I am going to do something a little different.

We are still making progress on our listed goals for 2009, but I have nothing new to report on that end. I'm still reading non-fiction books, still working on new piano pieces, still sewing some projects. We're still saving, still spending time with family, and still working on the missions trip to Spain.

We've accomplished a lot of our goals for 2009, and we've also worked on the house a lot. This month we've been focusing on the basement renovation, but we are still working on demolition and garbage removal. It is a huge task. We're also still tweaking the floor plans, there is a lot we want to include in the space downstairs, and it is taking some master planning to be able to include everything.

A few weeks ago I listed my goals for fall. So far, we have:

• FINALLY finished Project Curb Appeal. Watch for some awesome before and after pictures at the end of the week.
• Finished the fall cleaning. Just in time for my brother to move in, and I feel like I have my sanity back, now that my house is sparkly clean.
• We had a small birthday party for Lover at the beginning of October. It was a fun day with family, and he got some great gifts.
• We carved a small pumpkin on Halloween, in between handing out candy to little ghosts and goblins.

I'm still working on some of the other goals;

• I've purchased all of the supplies for the Christmas gifts I'll be making for the nieces and nephews, and our siblings as well.
• I've also purchased the fabric to replace the lining in my winter coat. I am totally intimidated by this project, I will letcha know how it goes.
• We're working on stocking the freezer and pantry, although it is definitely harder with another hungry man in the house!
• We're hoping to go to a corn maize before it gets freezing cold. Our weekends have been really busy, so I'm not sure if it will happen.

And of course, we are still looking forward to lots of yummy food at Thanksgiving! That is, of course, if we can figure out who we'll be spending the holiday with. It's definitely a blessing to have so much family, but a challenge as well!

Don't forget to vote today!!!

Fall Goals

In honor of the first day of fall, I've made up a list of goals to be completed before December 22nd.

Productive goals:

• Finish up Project Curb Appeal
• Replace lining in winter coat
• Update grocery database with essentials for pantry and freezer
• Stock freezer with basic meals
• Fall cleaning
• Make Christmas gifts for siblings
• Make Christmas gifts for nieces and nephews
• Pick apples, make apple pie and applesauce, maybe can some of the sauce?

Fun goals:

• Go to a corn maize
• Have a birthday party for Lover
• Eat lots of food for Thanksgiving
• Carve pumpkins

Ambitious? Yes, but attainable, I believe. :-) I'll letcha know how it goes.

Fall Goals

In honor of the first day of fall, I've made up a list of goals to be completed before December 22nd.

Productive goals:

• Finish up Project Curb Appeal
• Replace lining in winter coat
• Update grocery database with essentials for pantry and freezer
• Stock freezer with basic meals
• Fall cleaning
• Make Christmas gifts for siblings
• Make Christmas gifts for nieces and nephews
• Pick apples, make apple pie and applesauce, maybe can some of the sauce?

Fun goals:

• Go to a corn maize
• Have a birthday party for Lover
• Eat lots of food for Thanksgiving
• Carve pumpkins

Ambitious? Yes, but attainable, I believe. :-) I'll letcha know how it goes.