C is for Carriage Ride in Central Park

As I work my way through my bucket list for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, today is the letter 'C'. I want to take a carriage ride in Central Park in New York some day. I have taken a carriage ride in Charleston, SC, touring historic downtown, and that was a lovely experience. But I have never been to New York City, and it only seems fitting to take a carriage ride (romantic with my sweetie, of course) through Central Park.

B is for Book

I've been writing short stories and story ideas for years, but I've never had the guts to put anything together to submit for publication. Other than a few professional articles, I know that I need to pull some of my short stories and submit them to magazines, journals, papers, somewhere for publication. Ultimately, I would love to see the short stories put together in a book. I've also been writing stories, chapters about my Southern girl upbringing that I would like to see put together in a book.

So B is for Book. Maybe you would read it!

A is for Alaska

For the Blogging A-Z Challenge, I decided to pick a theme: my bucket list. I found my list that I wrote over 12 years ago and realize that I have accomplished many of the items on the list. So I'll certainly be revising the list as I go. Here's one of the items still on my bucket list:

ALASKA

Lots of people put travel on their lists of things they want to do before they die. I want to go to Alaska. I think it would be incredible to travel to the 49th state, especially to fly into Anchorage or Juneau and explore the state and then head to port to take an Alaskan cruise. At least two of my good friends have gone on Alaskan trips with their husbands. They came back with gorgeous photographs of the landscape and enthusiastic stories of their travels. So an Alaskan trip and cruise make my bucket list.

Anybody ready to book a trip with me?!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge, April 2012

So my friend Jen McConnel over at Crafting Magic has sucked me into another challenge. Not only am I committed to reading 100 books in 2012, I have now committed to blogging every day in April in support of the Blogging A to Z Challenge.

Don't you want to join us?!

I've decided that the theme of my April blogging will be my bucket list. I suppose you'll learn a little bit more about me as I learn more about myself! Happy reading and happy blogging!

100 Book Challenge: Stuart Little by E.B. White

Book 18: Stuart Little by E.B. White

It took me a little over a week to read Stuart Little again. That's because I was reading it with my five year old daughter.

I had fond memories of reading this book as a child myself, picturing Stuart in his little car roaming the countryside and seeing Stuart sailing the boat on the water at the park. *sigh*

As an adult, I found this book to have strange, wordy writing with a not as interesting plot. Maybe it's age or maybe it really is not the great classic that I thought it was. Either way, I tried to make it entertaining for my daughter as we read a chapter each night, and I forced myself to get through it.

Strange how some books keep you coming back to them and others not so much.

100 Book Challenge: Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

Book 17: Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

I think this is now my favorite Lisa Yee book.

Maybelline, Maybe for short, lives with her beauty and man obsessed mother. After a misunderstanding with her mother and tired of being put on the back burner, Maybe decides to run away to California to look for her birth father. Accompanied by her two best friends, Hollywood/Daniel and Thammasat Tantipinichwong Schneider/Ted, Maybe sets out on a summer journey with a plan....sort of.

Funny, inspiring, sad, and hopeful.

100 Books in 2012: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

Book 16: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

A little Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but told through various "case file" entries, this middle school novel is a cute, fun, fast read. Tommy is trying to figure out whether the origami Yoda that his friend Dwight has created can really dispense useful and real advice. Dwight pulls out the origami Yoda finger puppet and in his best Yoda voice provides answers to his fellow middle schoolers' questions, with mostly positive results. Tommy has everyone who asked for origami Yoda's advice to record their experience, and he and Harvey, who doesn't believe in Yoda, comment on the entries. In the end, will Tommy end up believing or not?