A Review of Great Day Every Day by Max Lucado

Lately I had been in a bit of a rut. Nothing bad had happened, but I just felt "blah." After reading this book, I feel like I have been transformed and put back on track! As Lucado points out, Psalm 118:24 says that THIS is the day the Lord has made, and I should rejoice and be glad in it, even if it's tax day, final exam day, divorce day, etc. Every day is a gift, even when it seems like it is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. We should rejoice in the big days and the little days. Lucado offers a "daily compass" after every chapter that helps readers adjust their attitudes and get back on the path to having a great day. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a bad day!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A follow up to the bedtime experiment

Let's just say, I haven't been doing very well with it. Boo. I'm still cranky. Let's try this again on Sunday night!

The bedtime experiment...

I need sleep. This isn't the whiny refrain of someone who's a little tired either. I genuinely need sleep. According to most of the literature I've read about sleep, adults need 7-8 hours of sleep per night. My fitbit says I regularly clock around 6-6.5 hours per weeknight and anywhere from 7 to 11 hours on weekends. My sleep schedule is erratic, and it has an effect on every other aspect of my life. So, enough is enough. My boyfriend is always urging me to go to bed around 10 every night (so I can clock 7.5 hours to get up at 5:30 on weekdays), but I very, very rarely make that. There's always some excuse about what I have to do before I can go to bed, but it's generally something that can wait until the next day (like this blog entry, for example). So, now that my spring semester is over, I've decided to undergo the bedtime experiment. The reason I'm putting it out here for the six of you who may read this everyone to see is that I want some external pressure. I want whoever reads this to ask me about my bedtime, harass me about being up too late, etc. The experiment is as follows:

1. Bedtime on Sunday-Thursday nights is 10 PM. No exceptions.
2. Out of bed by 5:30 AM on weekdays (and that will keep me from being so frazzled in the mornings)
3. Bedtime on Friday and Saturday nights is midnight at the latest
4. Get up by 8:30 on weekends. Take a short nap if needed.

My goal is to get into the habit of doing this so I can get good, quality sleep. Sleep helps with everything- mood, attitude, even weight loss- and I can use some help in all of those categories! The experiment will begin Sunday night, so wish me luck!

EDIT: I'm going to do this for 2 weeks and then post again about how it's gone...just for the inquiring minds out there!

A Review of Nearing Home by Billy Graham

Billy Graham is old. No, I'm not being callous or rude. He is old, 93 years old at the time the book was written, and he makes sure to remind everyone that growing old is not for sissies. In his old age, his thoughts have turned to what life is like for those who are getting close to the end of their lives, or "nearing home" in the sense of dying and going to Heaven. However, Graham points out that everyone, young and old, are nearing home as none of us know when our last moment will be. I am 28 years old, and many of his truths spoke to me in a way I did not expect them to. His chapter about influencing the impressionable really inspired me to make me want to be a better grandparent to my future grandchildren than my grandparents are to me. He stresses that older people have wisdom and character that younger people desperately need and they should use whatever means necessary to connect to the younger generation. He also talked about essential tools for Christians, such as God's Word and fellowship. These truths are applicable for both younger and older folks. 

This is the first book I have read by Billy Graham, but I know it will not be my last! 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A letter to Old Navy

Those of you from the Myspace era may remember that I've written Old Navy a letter before. I should've realized back then that it was only foreshadowing for my current problems...

Dear Old Navy,

When did you decide to suck? You used to be my favorite store. Like super favorite, even more than Goodwill favorite. You were affordable and trendy and had a great selection of short length pants. Then something changed. Your quality started to decrease a little bit. That was okay because you were still relatively affordable. Then your short length pants disappeared, except for on the website, which didn't help me much when I was standing in the store looking for new work pants. Then you got expensive, and that was the final straw for me, or rather, it should have been the final straw. I still shopped there, but I grew increasingly frustrated at your prices and terrible quality. This morning was my super final straw though. I bought some Rock Star Super Skinny Denim Leggings (also, your names of clothes are stupid, but that's a side note) back in December. I've only worn them 10 times, maximum. They've always been washed in cold water and dried on the lowest setting. When I put them on this morning, I discovered that they're a good 1-2 inches shorter than they were the last time I wore them. It's ironic that a store that doesn't carry short length pants produces clothing that shrinks to such an awkward length. It's not just the pants that I have a problem with either. Everything I've bought from there starts pilling after the first or second washing so it looks like I've had it about 10 years even though I just bought it (and paid too much for it). So this is it. Our relationship is over. You can try to lure me with promises of half off clearance (which really means that it's already half off when it's on the clearance rack, not half off what the tag says. Thanks for that one) or whatever siren song you have, but I'm done with you. I can't justify spending what I do for things that look terrible after one or two wearings. Good luck to you. I'm sure I'll pine for you when I see your brightly colored ads full of happy-looking people, but then I'll remember my disappointment when I got dressed this morning and saw how short my pants were. That'll ease my pain and keep my wallet fuller. Maybe someday you'll realize that your customers are fed up, but I doubt it. For every person like me, there are at least five others who still love you. Rely on them to spend the money that I won't be spending anymore. I'm going back to my beloved Goodwill. It may not be trendy, but at least it doesn't try to pretend it's anything that it's not.

Sincerely,
A former customer

Books read in 2012

January:

1. The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie (fiction)- January 2

2. Ariel Custer by Grace Livingston Hill (fiction)- January 2

Keeping track of reading

Like many other nerdy people, I keep track of what I read. Without boring people with details, let's just say it involves tracking on a couple of different websites and a special Google calendar. Nerdy to the extreme. One of the sites I use is Livejournal, but I realized recently that this is a much better place to do it because I can remember the password ha ha. So I will begin my 2012 list here and link to past lists. Enjoy!

Books read in 2008!
Books read in 2009!
Books read in 2010!
Books read in 2011! (work in progress...got behind on updating)

Also, I've started a new blogging project for this year called Thankful 366. Check it out!