Thursday, November 8, 2007

Wish It Was Friday

Can this week get any longer? I don't know if it's because of the time change or what, but this week has been dragging it's butt. Ugh. I know I don't like leaving work after dark, not because I'm afraid of the dark or anything. I don't like leaving after dark because I'm SOLAR POWERED! I don't get enough sunshine this way. I've done very well in the last few years to not get SAD (Seasonally Affected Depression), at least not as bad as I used to, but for some reason I can feel it coming on already.

I don't like Daylight Saving Time, but I would prefer we keep the DST setting on the clock instead of the regular setting. I like having more daylight in the evenings. I don't really care about the mornings. In the spring, I didn't mind that the President announced we would switch to DST early, but switching off of it late has thoroughly messed with me. And it's all due to the amount (or lack thereof) of sunshine in the evening.

So, now that I'm done complaining, on to other news...

I have over 1,500 words written in my book. Colorado Writer suggested I set a goal of 100 words a day. I immediately adopted the idea. Now, when I write 500 words, it feels like a great accomplishment. And since I'm only writing in my "spare time," I'm really glad I already have most of the story worked out in my head. It makes it easier to pick up where I left off. I'm getting less nervous about it as the story begins to unfold.

Speaking of books, I got an offer to review this children's book, and I can hardly wait for it to come in! In case I've never mentioned this before, I love doing reviews, though I usually don't do a full review without being asked to do so. I love books. I love to read them, to touch them, to smell them. Every single one of my bookshelves is overflowing with books, but I refuse to get another bookshelf because I really need to go through my books and donate the ones I don't plan to read again. I prefer fiction, though I've read a few non-fiction books that I liked. My problem with most non-fiction books is that I don't get carried through, therefore I lose interest. With a fiction book, I get carried along by the flow of the story, therefore I devour it as quickly as possible. I like light reads and heavy reads. I like many different genre's, though I'm not crazy about the romance novels full of emotional turmoil, heavy petting, then more emotional turmoil. I'm also not crazy about war stories. I love horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

I'm trying to instill my love for books in Tree Faerie. I don't know if it's working or not, but she loves to touch books (especially books she's not supposed to - like DTTF's school books), she loves to taste books (see previous note), and she loves to crinkle the pages of books (again, see previous note). I made a commitment to read to her every night before bed, no matter how many times we read during the day. We always finish with the same story, a book titled The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. One of the neat things about always finishing with the same story is I can tell she's starting to comprehend things differently. When we first started reading this story 7 months ago, she would "talk" and kick while I was reading it. As time passed, she started responding more to the actual story. Now she sits on my lap and "helps" me turn the page and touches the pictures. She knows when we're getting to the end of the story, and when the story is done, we have to close the book, turn it over, and rub the cover hard enough to make squeaky noises. Then she pushes the book away and we're ready for bed.

I have several books on the bookshelf that I'm keeping for her to read when she gets older, books I loved when I was younger. I just hope she has a love for reading!

8 comments:

Heather said...

I'm with you on daylight savings time. I work in my attic, which has one tiny little window. I am already sunlight deprived; now it is getting dark by 5:30! It usually doesn't really sink in until after Christmas, when it starts to get really cold and I forget how hot it was over the summer.

http://3boysundermyroof.blogspot.com

Random said...

i haaaate the fact that it gets dark at like 4:30. hate. stupid winter.

as for ms. faerie, i'm sure she will inherit you guys' love for books. it just might not be an immediate thing. you saw what a hard time i had with boo and reading at first, but now he's reading pretty much whatever he can get his hands on.

Annikke said...

I read your comments on poor Devin's croup issues and so I thought I'd come peek at your blog!
I am SO with you on the daylight savings time thing and how this week is drrraaagggginnnggg on and on!!

Unknown said...

We don't have daylight savings time in AZ. I hate getting up when it is pitch black out and then it's dark here by about 530 or so. I would love to have more daylight at night too.

I am going to check out that Colorado Writer site you mentioned. I have started 2 books. One on our adoption of our daughter from China and another one that is fiction. I have not gotten very far in either of them. LOL

Unknown said...

You are such a good mommy to read so diligently to little miss Tree Fairie. As you already know, she will benefit from it for the rest of her life.

Yay for steady, manageable goals. You go girl!

Patti said...

wanna hear something so sad? i was the one person, according to them, that called my congressman to say "hell no" to all this changing of the time.

they had a good laugh.

Cecily R said...

Congratulations on your writing progress! Yay!

When Isaac was a baby he couldn't go down for a nap or to sleep for the night without a book in his crib. We still read together at night even though he's in the fourth grade and doesn't need me to read to him.

I have books in every room of our house, so my kids, like it or not are always exposed to reading and books. I'm sure Tree will have great memories of reading with her mom!

XYZinn said...

I HATE daylight savings time now that I have kids. It totally messes everyone up. And I agree, I would much rather have an extra hour of daylight at night. By 4:00 I'm continually wondering why my husband isn't home, and then I remember it is only 4 and it makes me sad.