This time of year, my book-loving friends ask for a list of favorite books from the year. I have never responded before for a few reasons.

Reason 1: Reading to me is intensely personal. When I share what I'm reading, I'm sharing a deeply personal piece of myself. One reason I love my Kindle (and apps) is that I can read a book without anyone knowing exactly what I'm reading because they can't see the cover. I feel the same way about my iPod -- if I want to listen to the Partridge Family or read the latest in kiddie lit, I am not afraid that I will have to justify my entertainment or interests to anyone. Is this a leftover 7th grade phobia of exposing my true self?? Probably.

Reason 2: I also read a great deal of children's literature. This is an occupational hazard - -since I teach literacy in elementary school, I feel the need to keep up with what my students are reading. If I can talk about what they are reading, I find that I can forge much deeper bonds with my students. When I read what a student recommends, the link becomes even stronger -- it is the relationships with my students that gets me up every morning and excited for my job. But because I read so much kiddie lit, I hesitate to list my favorite books to adults. 7th grade fear of ridicule still? Probably.

Reason 3: I belong to a book club filled with extremely brilliant women. I have learned so much from them, and because of them, I am a much better reader (and teacher of reading) than I ever would have been without their influence. I have read books and genres that I would never have picked up without them. But my favorite genre and my favorite books are far below what I perceive as their standards and preferences. Again, 7th grade fears of mocking.....

So here goes. I'm going to list my favorite books of the year:

My personal and just for fun list:

Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth
The Fifth Witness and The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly
Take Down 20 and Top Secret 21 by Janet Evanovich
The Heat series by Richard Castle
The Silkworm by Robert Gailbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)
The Silver Star by Jeanette Walls

Non-fiction:

Untangling the Mind by Ted George -- why we act the way we do
The Spirit of Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong

My kiddie lit list:

The Secret School by Avi
Frindle and Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Ninth Ward by Jewel Parker Rhodes
The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

It is so hard to resist the impulse buys at the grocery.

Sunday I ran in quickly to pick up some eggs, coffee, orange juice, and beef broth. And I saw my favorite seasonal wines -- Christmas at Biltmore. I have an open bottle of wine, so I resisted.

Total spent -- $31.89.

My project is not just about cleaning out my own cabinets. I want to be more mindful about buying more than we need. If I buy too much, and I end up throwing it away, not only have I wasted money, but I've sent things to the landfill that is quickly filling up.

My goal is to not only clean out my cabinets, but to clean up my buying habits. I want to contribute less to the landfill by buying only what we need and will use.

You Know You Shouldn't.....

I made my first intentional grocery store stop yesterday on the way home from work. I had a list of items I needed. I made one impulse buy that I didn't need.

I just wanted the Peppermint Stick ice cream.

When I was going to camp in Brevard, NC, the highlight of the camp season was the Peppermint Stick ice cream from the Biltmore Dairy. We got it one night only. And the same counselor never got a piece of peppermint stick in her dish. Tradition.

When I saw the Peppermint Stick ice cream, I just grabbed it.

But the sign said "2 for $6." So I glanced at the Pumpkin Pie ice cream sitting right next to it. Then I put it back, telling myself that we didn't need 2 containers of ice cream -- because just last week my husband and son went crazy for the "buy 2/ get 3" sale on ice cream. We have enough ice cream.

Turns out, I got the tub of ice cream for only $3.00.

I knew that. I knew that stores put signs up with multiple purchase numbers just to sell more items. But they give you the sale price anyway.

Even though I knew it, it still works. I almost bought a second tub of ice cream even though I didn't want it.

Total spent this week: $27.00.

No Grocery Shopping -- continued

I've decided that it is easy to just buy more than to use what I have.

Tonight is a potluck dinner at church. I wanted to just run to a store, pick up something quick, and go. Instead, I pulled two cans of beans from the back of the cabinet, an onion, red pepper, and a few sausages I picked up last weekend at Sam's.  A few more seasonings, and potluck is ready with no extra money being spent.

4 days down without going to the market.

No Grocery Shopping Challenge

Every year between Thanksgiving and New Year's I get anxious about all of the extra food that has accumulated in my cabinets. So this year, I am challenging myself to only buy the absolute necessities during December. I'm thinking coffee and milk are necessities, but my goal is to limit as much as possible all other purchases until the cabinets are cleaned out.

How low can I keep my grocery bill this month while eating the supplies stored up?

Easter 2011

Happy Easter!

I'm so joyful for Easter egg hunts. Because the kids are getting older, and the cousins couldn't join us this year, we had a twist on the traditional egg hunt. Only a few eggs were hidden and they were all inside this year. Can you find the hidden eggs in these pictures? Ok, so some are easier than others. The egg inside the plant was the last one found by Michael.

Can you see what was hidden in these eggs? Pretty cool of Grandma, huh?

Easter egg hunts remind me of the job of seeking joy and positivity in this world. Sometimes it is easy to find joy. And sometimes joy hides its face from us. I want to find more joy, so I am making it my mission to seek out joy in each day and make a record of it, no matter how little it may seem.

I'm also joyful for Michael taking a stand by becoming a vegetarian. He is articulate about his feelings, has obviously done a great deal of research into the issues, and has a giant's heart for the suffering of animals. I was very proud of him this weekend.

I'm sad that Spring Break 2011 is over, but I am excited for the coming days. I can't wait for summer to really get here!

Reading, reading, reading

Everything I do these days revolves around reading -- well, almost.

At school, we are under direct mandate to improve reading scores. And so, we read. I love it. There is nothing I like better than reading.

At home, I continue to chip away at my goal to read every New York Times #1 bestseller. Unfortunately, I just can't read fast enough it seems. I'm reading a book a week, but with a new #1 best seller just about every week, at this rate, I'll never catch up. Right now, I'm trying to finish a few books in a series because I can't read the middle of a series just because one book made it to number 1. I have to read the entire series. Today I bought the first 3 books in the Left Behind series (ok, I've read most of book 1, but that is it) because most of the series did make it to number 1 status. Of course, I have to read my book club book, too, and that did not make it to number 1 status, so I'll be side tracked yet again.

I don't know if I can accomplish this goal. So far, in 2 months, I've only knocked two books off the list, and it grew by 6. Perhaps my TV habits will have to change so that I can read more.