I want to write a book

Do you have any life-long dreams you've been hoarding in the back of your mind, waiting for the perfect time to bring them out and obsess about them?  One of my long-long life-long dreams has been to write a book.  Or just write anything that can get published.  So, naturally, now that I'm 2.5 months away from giving birth to my first child, working full time as a music teacher (with no plans to stop teaching), and considering starting a PhD in the near future... now would be the perfect time for me to obsess about this book idea...

But, really, I can't get it out of my head.  It's an itch that won't go away that I reeeeally need to scratch.  Write - a - book! Write - a - book! runs through my head 24/7.  Never mind that I have absolutely no idea what I would actually write about... that minor detail is insignificant...  No matter that I haven't written anything that's ever been published...  

"It seems easy enough... have an idea, write it, publish it.  People are self-publishing all the time these days, right???  Ok, ok let's give in to my fantasy for a second and really think about this book idea.  Where to start?  Well, I need a topic.  Wait, first I need a genre.  Non-fiction?  Fiction?  Self-Help?  Biography?  Diary-style?  Novel?  What do people want to read about?  Does that even matter?  Who am I writing this for anyway?  Who's my 'audience?'  Do I need an audience?  Can't I just write this for my own personal fulfillment?  Then what's the point?  Why go to all the trouble if no one is going to read it except for me and my mom?  Writing a book is a lot of work...  Ok, maybe I shouldn't write a book..."

So I table it for a few days.  "I give up.  No one will read it anyway, so what's the point?  It was a bad idea.  I need to just stick with what I'm good at - teaching music, and not get involved with other projects I know nothing about."

A few days go by and suddenly, there's that itch again.  Write - a - book! Write - a - book!  

"I'm good at music... maybe I should write a book about music.  I wonder if there is a niche for historical musical fiction?  Is that weird?  Who would read that?  Maybe I should write a textbook.  Ugh how boring..."  And on and on and on it goes.

I have a feeling this is not going to go away until I actually do write a book...  Or maybe I'll just think about it, obsess about it, and be generally confused about it forever, without ever actually writing anything.  Yep, that seems about right...

Besty-Tacy (and Tib)

My life has been shaped and defined by a book series and fictional characters.  Is that weird?  I have memories of things that I haven't done, but I experienced them so vividly through these books that it feels like I lived them.

But really I think I'm not alone.  How many grown men and women are obsessed with Harry Potter?  Harry Potter is to them what Betsy is to me.  

Betsy is a character in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.  The series starts with Betsy as a 5 year old and followers her life as she grows into a young woman and then eventually marries.  Betsy had two best friends named Tacy and Tib.  Betsy was the imaginative one, the creative one, the one always telling stories and coming up with adventures.  Tacy and Tib were the good spirited, obliging friends who were always up for whatever Betsy could come up with.  Betsy's childhood was light-hearted and carefree.  She and her friends would have daily picnics, put on neighborhood plays in their sheds, experiment in the kitchen, and most importantly, climb "the Big Hill."  As she grew older she and her friends would go ice skating, have bonfires, make fudge, and gather 'round the piano singing and dancing.  And don't forget about Sunday Night Lunch, which consisted of her father making sandwiches out of whatever happened to be left over in the kitchen from the week.

Maybe I always loved the Betsy books because I always wished my life could be like hers.  She had a group of friends who seemed so lovely, she lived in Minnesota where there are actually seasons, and she had so many fun things to do.  Meanwhile I grew up in a boring desert where there was nothing to do and no one to do it with.  

I also loved reading about the fashion and culture of a by-gone era.  Betsy lived at the turn of the century, when electricity was new and exciting, automobiles were only for the really wealthy, and makeup was just becoming suitable for regular folk.  It was a simpler time, full of new discoveries and inventions.

Betsy's life wasn't perfect.  She had boy drama, academic troubles, and illnesses just like the rest of us.  But that's what made her so relatable.  She lived 100 years before me, yet I could relate to her completely.  

What are your favorite books?  Do you think you'll give Betsy-Tacy (and Tib) a try?

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The first four books in the series*:

The first two years of High School*:

The second two years of High School*:

After High School and Betsy gets married*:

*affiliate links

Free Fun || Public Library

Free Fun || Public Libraries

Anyone who loves books must surely love libraries, right?  The library in my hometown wasn't the greatest.  It always smelled musty and dusty, and it wasn't very big.  But, as a kid, I loved checking out the Boxcar Children Series, The Hardy Boys, and the "Eddie" books (my favorites).  Free books!  What's not to love?

I didn't know what to expect from the Dothan public library.  Dothan isn't a "small" town, but it isn't a big city, either.  I don't know what happened to the original library building, but apparently it has recently been rebuilt.

It's pretty large and new looking.  I love the wide open space and large windows.  They had a very good selection of books and I ended up checking out 5 books!  They had a separate room for children's books and a play area.  And there were many computers, desks, and comfy reading-chairs.  I look forward to going back!

I tried to take some sneaky pictures without anyone noticing.

I added a pirate book, "for Peter," but we all know I'm going to love it. lol

I've already read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and highly recommend it.  I haven't heard of City of Glory or City of Promise before, and I'm not sure if they're a series and which comes first, or if it really matters.  The Last Runaway looks pretty good - Civil War meets Quaker woman... Would you like me to post reviews of these books when I'm done?

Do you ever go to your city's public library?

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5 Happy Things

|| 5 HAPPY THINGS ||

1 ||  I've started The Stretch Project with Cassey from Blogilates.  I'm also going to try to get through the entire beginner's calendar this summer.  I don't expect to do it every day, but I'll do as much as I can.

2 ||  I read this book (free download) a few months ago and loved it.  I think I'm going to buy the sequel and read it this summer.  Do you have any other book recommendations for me?

3 ||  I want to make this and this.  Anyone want to come over and craft with me???

4 ||  I've been loving my art journal challenge so far.  Here is a sneak peek at one of this week's pages.  Check back tomorrow for the full week's rundown.

5 ||  Our doggie makes me smile.  I'm so glad I have "someone" to keep me company during this summer.  I get really bored when I'm home alone!  He loooooooves riding in the car!

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P.S. I may have found the perfect planner, (to use for work, overview lesson planning, organizing field trips, etc.) but I don't know how I feel about spending $55 plus shipping.  Any advice?

The Advantage of a Bath

Do you prefer baths or showers?

I've heard there are many advantages to taking baths.

They can help relieve certain skin conditions, infuse good things into your body (depending on what you choose to soak in), and are generally relaxing.

I love taking baths.

I just now realized one particular reason why I love baths so much.

I've made it about half way through one of my favorite books in the past 2 days, merely by reading during my nightly baths.

I don't take electronics into the bathroom (ever since 2009 when I accidentally dropped my cell phone into the toilet...), so baths are a time when I'm forced to read "real" books.  If I'm just sitting on my couch I might be surfing the web, watching YouTube, grading papers, or listening to music.  But in the bath, I read.

This week I've been re-reading a few books from the Mitford series, by Jan Karon.  They are some of my favorite books.  Why does a 20-something-year-old love books about a 60 year old Episcopal priest?  I don't know, there's just something about the books that are so endearing.

Anyway, thanks for letting me share my recent revelation.  Now I'm off to read some more!

XOXO,

Julie

Barnes and Noble Haul

Hey Folks... Peter and I recently went to Barnes and Noble and bought a few things.  I thought it would be fun to share with you which books caught our fancy and why.

Sorry for the horrible picture quality.  We had to sell our nice camera when we left Brazil, and we haven't had the money to get a new one yet.  I've just been using my iPhone camera, which isn't horrible but isn't great, either.

Dutch Blitz - a fast paced card game.  Pretty fun.

These three were in the "End-of-Summer Clearance" section.

Forget about it by Caprice Crane - A girl gets in an accident and pretends to have amnesia so she can get a "do-over" on life.  So far it's pretty chick-lit.  Haha!

In the Company of Others by Jan Karon -  I absolutely LOVE the Mitford series by Jan Karon, and this book follows the protagonist of the Mitford series as he and his wife go to the country of his ancestors - Ireland.

On Hummingbird Wings by Lauraine Snelling - A woman has to move from New York back to California to take care of her dying mother, "even though her primary ailment seems to be hypochondria."  Another Chick-Lit pick.

Should I post reviews when I'm done?

We bought these three because they are part of the series of books that Barnes and Noble has where the covers are decorated by current popular illustrators... Peter already has a lot from the series.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - It's a classic.  You should read it.

The Constitution of the United States of America and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers - The majority of this book is the "selected writings" portion.  Some very interesting info in here, especially for the history geeks (which I am).

A Treasury of Classic Poetry - Peter and I both love poetry.  I grew up reading all my mom's books of poems, but I realized I didn't have any of my own!  This is a good start to my collection.

So that is an overview of our most recent trip to Barnes and Noble.  I'll let you know if I like them!

XOXO,

Julie

Do You Know About: Free Online Books?

Check out these sites, search for a topic that interests you, and get to reading! 

Here are some things I'm excited about reading online, for free!  Of course all my selections are music related, but these sites have books on every topic, including novels.

From Internet Archive I'm enjoying the Music Lovers Encyclopedia (1903)

From Project Gutenburg I'm excited about starting On Conducting: A Treatise on Style in the Execution of Classical Music by Richard Wagner

From Open Library I found this interesting thing: Dwight's Journal of Music (1855)

I have to be honest, I don't really enjoy reading from my computer.  Some of these sites have the option of saving as a PDF and opening on a tablet or kindle.  I am going to try to save a bunch to my iPad. 

What are you going to read about next?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel

I just finished reading the cutest book.  It has been awhile since I've read a book that I couldn't put down.  Mainly because graduate school doesn't leave much free time for pleasure reading.  I really don't have the time, now, either, but I couldn't resist!  My grandma gave me this book last year and I just now got around to reading it.  I don't know what took me so long!  It is adorable!  

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Book box - tutorial

I've seen this project on various sites so I thought I'd try my hand at it...

In a nutshell: 

1.  Take a pretty book   2.  Glue pages together   3.  Cut a hole on the inside   4.  Use it to hold jewelry or flowers, hide valuables, etc.

Find a pretty book (Poems of Emily Dickinson).