New Blog Name, New Me

So, you may have noticed that the blog name has changed from Southern Belle, City Style to
Southern Belle Redefined.  As I'm going on my Biggest Journey to reinvent myself both physically and mentally, I wanted to reinvent my blog.  I've written everything from tech blogs to book blogs to fashion blogs, but I have found that it is easier to put this all into one lifestyle blog.  Many of you may remember my blog Coffee & Literature.  It was (in my opinion) a pretty successful book blog.  But I realized I had other interests other than books.  So, next I created Southern Belle, City Style, which dealt with fashion, celebrities, beauty, girly stuff, etc.  But it became somewhat overwhelming to deal with two blogs, especially since Coffee & Literature was more popular and required much more time.  So I stopped blogging all together for a while. 

Although I've never been the most consistent blogger (yes, I'm really working on that...), I missed it.  So I decided to close Coffee & Literature and consolidate everything into Southern Belle, City Style.  It worked quite well, but something was still missing.  I was blogging about everything Southern Belle-ish, everything books, and everything fashion on the same blog.  That was fine, but the blog name didn't fit the blog anymore.  So a few weeks ago, I decided to change the name of the blog.  I went around and around to so many different names.  Finally I came up with Southern Belle Redefined.  "Southern Belle" because that's what I am, born and raised.  "Redefined" because I wanted to express what it means to be a true Southern Belle today in the South.  It means being cultured, knowing about everything you want to know, and being yourself.

With the new blog name comes some of the same and some new.  I am bringing back book reviews and will focus on everything--from good Southern novels to non-fiction about fitness and everything in between.  I've already got several ready to go.  I'm also going to continue the series on The Biggest Journey.  It may not be a weekly series but I'm going to work on it.  I'm also going to blog about my life, too.  Not everything, but some things people might find interesting, such as our travels and reviews of things we do on our trips and different things like that.

So, this is now a lifestyle blog.  At this point in my life, I think this is what fits me the best.  I hope you continue reading it, and please leave me some comments! 

The Biggest Journey #1 - My FitBit Flex

This will be my first post for my The Biggest Journey series!  Yay!!!  I'm glad you've decided to follow my journey with me.  Make sure you check out my reason behind this series by reading my first post about this series here.  It details the "why" of what I'm doing with this series. 

My FitBit Flex

So, to start, I wanted to do a review of my biggest help on this journey--the FitBit Flex activity tracker.  I'm currently wearing my violet armband with it as you can see in the picture.  When I decided to start this journey, I knew I needed something to keep me accountable in my activity.  I didn't want to belong to a gym (you know, one of those fat people fears that I have...) and I absolutely HATE just walking on a treadmill, even when I'm watching TV, unless I have to use it.  So, I wanted something that would keep me more active during the day, all day.  Enter the Fitbit.  

I enjoy walking and have a goal to eventually become a distance runner.  It's something I've always wanted to do, so it is one of my main goals in addition to becoming healthier in general.  There were lots of options, a regular pedometer, the Nike Fuel Band, GPS watches, etc., but the FitBit really appealed to me as it was something to wear all day every day, even in my sleep.  So after a bit of research, I decided on the FitBit Flex.  I wanted something on my wrist and I didn't need the heart rate monitor and watch capabilities that the other FitBits had.  The Flex was it.  My darling husband went out and bought one and I began using it on January 1st and have worn it every single day since.  I even turned around after leaving the house to go back to get it!

I can honestly say that this piece of $99 equipment is one of the best things I've ever bought.  I downloaded the app to my iPhone and I check it all the time.  In fact, after buying mine, my husband and father both bought one and we all compete with each other.  We are a very competitive family, so this is perfect for us.  I'm not saying it will magically make you get up and walk because it won't, but I've not missed one day and also use the app to count my food.  I've counted every single calorie for over a month, whether it was 1500 calories or 3000 calories.  I attribute the Flex and the Fitbit app to much of the success of my losing 16 lbs since January 1st. I have a goal of 10,000 steps a day and most days I meet that.  It's rough at first since I wasn't used to walking at all. I plan to up that goal to 15,000 each day once my sprained ankle heals (more on that later).

I'm not going to do a complete review of the Fitbit Flex; I may at a later date, but I encourage everyone who is trying to get or stay healthy to get one.  It will definitely help you get and stay accountable in your own journey!

Check out more on the FitBit Flex here.

The Biggest Journey

Hi, everyone!

So, I've been absent from here and from my YouTube channel for a while now.  It wasn't really on
purpose, but I've just had so much going on.  Anyway, I'm here again and if you've noticed, this post has a bit of an interesting title.  Here's why...

I used to be much thinner than I am now.  I was never size 2 thin, but I was a healthy, curvy, athletic teenager and college student.  I played tennis in both high school and college, and I was also in the marching band in high school (if you've ever done, this YES it is a sport!).  So I got a lot of exercise.  In college, it was the same with the exception of a semester or two where I gained weight but lost it.  Then came my last year.  I gained a little bit of weight and before I knew it, I had put on quite a few pounds.  So much that I was afraid I would not fit into my wedding dress.  This was 2002.  I graduated in April and got married in May.  I refused to try on my wedding dress until the night before the wedding.  I don't know what I thought I'd do if it didn't fit, but the Lord was with me (yes, I believe that sometimes He helps in ways such as this) and it fit.  Quite beautifully in fact as I was still curvy and the dress showed that.

But then everything went downhill.  I'm not really sure why.  I have my suspicions.  I used food as a comfort for everything...call it an addiction if you want...that's what it really was.  And on top of that, I basically stopped exercising.  My first job out of college was a desk job as a paralegal and then I became a teacher.  Walking in the classroom and up and down the halls was my only exercise, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep my weight down. I craved foods like pizza and cheese fries, which is something I rarely ate before then.  Now that was my drug of choice.

This past year I left teaching to finish my second graduate degree, so I've been working from home.  I wore pajamas or yoga pants all day so I wasn't even aware that I began gaining more weight...about 50 lbs more if I really get down to it.  I wasn't getting ANY exercise except for the times I'd go out to walk my Yorkie and when we'd go out shopping around town.  All of a sudden, I realized how tight my jeans had become.  Scared to death, I stepped on the scale for the first time in several months.  The number (which I may reveal at some point, but I'm not ready yet) absolutely shocked me into reality.  For years I'd gone on and off diets, tried Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, and more, but I was never able to stick to anything.  But I know I had to do something.  I couldn't walk upstairs or for very long before I was out of breath.  I would literally sweat when outside walking in shopping centers, even if it was 30 degrees.  Booths in restaurants became tight.  Most of my weight gain has always been in my midsection.  I had to do something

This is where The Biggest Journey begins for me.  January 1st of this year I knew I had to make a change.  Yes, staring on the New Year is cliche, I know, but it was actually after the holidays when I stepped on that scale so it actually just fell in the right days.  I decided this was it; this is what I HAVE to do.  So, my husband, who is the most supportive man EVER, bought me a Fitbit activity tracker.  I started walking that day.  I bought workout clothes, since fashion makes everything more fun, I've been eating MUCH better, and I bought the Fitbit Aria scale to keep me accountable.  In fact, since I've begun I've lost 16 lbs.  So where is this going?

I've decided to use this blog, in part, to let you follow me on The Biggest Journey to get back my life and lose weight and get healthy--NOT skinny--HEALTHY.  Why "The Biggest Journey"?  Well, I really don't know.  It just seemed like the right title.  So will you join me?  I'll be posting at least weekly, sometimes more.  I'll have a heading at the top with the tag, The Biggest Journey.  I hope you enjoy these posts and hope we can inspire each other!

I'm Finally Back!

Hello to all my fabulous readers! I'm finally back.  Lots of changes have happened in my life in the past several months.  I've posted a few times but not much.  But I am back again to stay.

You may have noticed that I moved my blog back to Blogger from WordPress.org/GoDaddy hosting.  For you techies and bloggers out there, here's why.  I got tired of paying for hosting monthly.  Yes, it was only $9, but I'd rather have a few Starbucks drinks than pay for hosting.  I chose to move back to Blogger because it's (to me) more customizable.  Sure, WordPress.org blogs are plenty customizable, but Blogger is a tad easier and I can throw in more HTML and CSS without having to work around things and pay for blog designs.  With the right online tools, I can design my own very easily.  So, in a nutshell, I liked the way Blogger looked and I can customize it to my liking much easier than I could with WordPress.

New Video! Mulberry Postman's Lock Agenda

There is an upcoming post on my Mulberry Postman's Lock Agenda (tomorrow, hopefully!).  But until then, I wanted to make sure you could check out my video on my YouTube channel that I just filmed detailing the agenda.  Enjoy!

New Blog Look. New Me.

Hi, everyone! Did you think I'd abandoned you? I promise I haven't! I had a very stressful and trying 2013 and didn't have much time to dedicate to blogging or videos much to my dismay. I'm currently working from home so I hope that changes now! I hope to have some YouTube filofax/planner/gillio videos up soon as well as maybe an office tour since several people have asked for that. I've got to clean it up first, though! :) I was also very surprised to be asked to review Carole Radziwill's (of Real Housewives of New York fame) book The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating so I hope to have that done soon, too. But I just wanted to make sure you knew I hadn't abandoned blogging, so look for some new things coming soon!

Planner Fail & Filofaxes

So, believe it or not, I think I'm in PLANNER FAIL!!! GASP!!!  I know that several of my Filofax friends on Philofaxy and other places have experienced the same thing.  I started really thinking about the fact that I'm in planner fail yesterday after I filmed my Filofax Organization Tote video.  I have spent so much time buying stickers, tape, inserts, dividers, and other stuff, that I have actually neglected my Filofax and really have no idea what I'm really using it for.  I watch Filofax videos quite a bit, and I am always on Instagram and Flickr looking at everyone else's set up.  But I really don't give much thought to my own set up and how it should be so that it really works for me.  I looked at my calendar and found out that I don't really have a clue what I really want to use it for.  I write down random things that when I look back make no sense.  I desperately want to use my Filofaxes, which should be evident by the amount of them I own and keep buying...

So, I thought about a post on Imysworld that I read a while back about the Filofax Circle of Life.  I thought, well, that's a good place to start.  According to the ever-wise Imy, there are five stages to this circle of life:  (1) Baby Filofaxer, (2) Young Filofaxer, (3) Middle Age Filofaxer, (4) Mid-life Filofax Crisis, and (5) Mature Filofaxer.  So, I looked again at these stages to see where I stood in the Filofax Circle of Life.  I have decided that I am somewhere in a mix of Middle Age Filofaxer to Mid-life Filofax Crisis.  Why did I pick these?  Let me explain...

I genuinely LOVE Filofaxes, I really do.  Even with all the ring issues and other Filofax problems, I really do love the Filofax lines and the binders and accessories.  And I love to be organized, but it seems that recently I'm so disorganized I don't know what to do.  I've owned two (very expensive) Franklin Covey binders and several other cheaper binders in my time, and none really compare to the love I have for Filofaxes, but alas, I still can't seem to find my groove with them.  I enjoy blogging about them and making videos and such and I love having one with me all the time.  But I can't seem to find my true reason for using one.  I'm no longer in the administrative position I had at my job (really long story that I won't get in to) so I don't have appointments.  I never think to write down the fun things or not so fun things that happen in life randomly in my binder.  I keep buying journaling cards, sticky notes, washi tape, stickers, and the like to decorate and use in my binder, but I can't seem to find the perfect way to use them.  I also keep buying Filofaxes, and if you are a Filofaxer, you know this is not a cheap hobby.  I have over 20.  Yep, over 20 Filofaxes.  Do I use them all?  Nope.  But I have managed to sell a few, but that only funded other Filofax purchases.  So what's a girl to do?

I've decided that I'm going to sit for a few days and "research" exactly what I need a Filofax for.  Appointments? Family stuff? Journaling? What?  As I always do, I'll be present on YouTube, blogs, Philofaxy, Facebook, Flickr, etc. looking at everyone else's setups, uses, and Filofaxes, but I'm going to sort of sit and see...How do these folks use theirs and what do I really need mine for?  I'm hoping to also put a few ideas down on paper and brainstorm to see what I really need a Filofax for and what I like and don't like to use them for and what I like and don't like to keep inside mine.  I'm hoping I get a jolt of inspiration that leads me to a whole new way of Filofaxing, and if that happens, I'll definitely share here and on YouTube!  Thanks for listening and if any of you are in planner fail, I can totally sympathize!  Happy Filofaxing!

Liebster Blog Award Nomination

A big THANK YOU to Lori of Purple is My Happy for nominating me for a Liebster Blog Award.  So exciting!

So what is a Liebster Award?

Pretty much, the origins are a mystery (or at least that's what I could--or couldn't--find about it).  Bloggers nominate other bloggers who have 200 or less followers, and I guess I qualify...actually I really don't know how many followers I actually have!!  :)  This award is really a great way to read other blogs and find out which ones you like and enjoy reading.

There are a few "rules" to being able to "accept" the award, so here goes:

1. Post 11 random things about yourself
2. Answer the 11 questions from the tagger
3. Create 11 new questions for the 11 blogs you nominate.
4. Inform them by commenting on their blog.
5. No tag backs!!

 

So here are 11 random things:

1.  I have always wanted to study paleontology and become a paleontologist.  If I ever win the lottery, I'm totally doing this!
2.  I majored in History in college, but had enough hours to teach English, so that's what I do.
3.  I graduated college in 3 years instead of 4.
4.  I am obsessed with Filofaxes!
5.  I have been to Walt Disney World 17 times (I think) since 2004. EPCOT is my favorite park and the Grand Floridian is my favorite resort.
6.  I played tennis in high school and college.
7.  I have played the clarinet and saxophone for over 20 years.
8.  I can sing well (especially gospel), but I rarely get a chance.
9.  I collect Bibles and other religious texts.
10.  I LOVE Harry Potter!
11.  My home office has hot pink walls.

 

Here are the answers to the questions from Lori:

1. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Totally night!!!

2. What do you do for a living?

I am a teacher.

3. What is your favorite book of all time?

Oh this is a tough one!  Probably, The Great Gatsby.

4. What is your favorite dessert?

I'm not a big sweets person, but it is hard for me to turn down vanilla cake/cupcakes with plain buttercream icing!

5. What's your favorite kind of pen?

It is a tie between the Frixions and Coletos.

6. Do you drink coffee?

YES!!!

7. What is your favorite breakfast?

Pancakes (from Cracker Barrel), Fried Eggs w/ Toast, Bacon, and some sort of potato.

8. How many siblings do you have?

None, I'm an only child.

9. What kind of cell phone do you have?

iPhone 5

10. Share a favorite memory.

Winning the WBBJ educator of the week, which is always given as a surprise.  One of the administrators made the WHOLE school come in my classroom under the ruse that they were in trouble, but it was a set up for the award.  The door was shut and there was total silence in the room and suddenly the TV cameras came in and announced I'd won and I totally was shocked and cried!  One of my students had nominated me and I got to see the letter she wrote and was on TV and everything.  So much fun!

11. Who is your best friend?

Probably Erin.

 

Here are my questions for the nominees:

1.  What is your favorite quote from a movie or book?

2.  On a scale from 1-10, how organized are you?  (Even sometimes we filofaxers may not be as organized as you think!)

3.  What is your favorite type of coffee (or drink if you don't like coffee)?

4.  What is your most and least favorite book you've read?

5.  What is your favorite song?

6.  How long have you been blogging?

7.  Where would your dream vacation be?

8.  What is your favorite type of animal?

9.  What kind of computer (and/or tablet) do you own?

10.  Do you have any hidden talents?  What are they?

11.  What is your favorite Filofax (or other planner) that you have?

 

Now, finally, for my nominations (in NO particular order!).  This will be really, really hard as I think some of these may already be nominated, but hey, it's all in fun!

1.  Imy's World

2.  The Life of the Perpetual Student

3.  My Purpley Life

4.  Filomaniac

5.  Organized Heaven

6.  PaperPensInk

7.  FiloCuteness

8.  Well Planned Life

9.  The Wonderful Life of Alice

10.  My Filo World

11.  Anita Lim

Thanks again to Lori for my nomination!  I hope that everyone has fun with this!!

My Filofax Week #15

Hi, guys! I'm back finally!  It's been crazy with school, work, and home lately so I've not been able to update as often as I'd like.  I've missed lots of "My Filofax Week" posts, too!  Sorry about that!  But I'm trying to get back started again, so here's  my past week (Week 15) in my Filofax.

I've started trying to decorate more and I've also started using a new week on two pages layout.  I bought one of the Punctuate Barnes & Noble planners that everyone in the filofax community raves about, and I do think I like it.  I got the one with the purple inserts since I've been using purple planners lately.  I'm currently in my new Personal Purple Malden.  I didn't know how I'd like it at first, but she's starting to grow on me.   Look for a YouTube video on my new set up soon!  Anyway, here is my week at a glance for Week 15.  Enjoy!

My Filofax Week #3

Here is what my Week 3 of 2013 looks like currently.  I don't expect much change as it is Saturday and the week is over.  But at least this way you get to see my whole week filled out!  Enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_224" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Filofax Week 3[/caption]

My Filofax Week #1 & #2

I'm getting a late start on Paperlovestory's Filofax week blog posts, so I'm combining Week #1 & Week #2.  We are into week #3 already, but I'll be posting it probably Saturday as that's when I've got time next.  You can CLICK HERE for her first week (which is awesome, by the way!).  You can also still join in with this Filofaxish fun by CLICKING HERE.  Lots of us are joining in so you should, too!  If you want to check out some others who have joined, see the list here.

So why did I decided to join you ask?  I thought this would be a fun and interesting way to keep my blog updated weekly and let everyone see a bit into my personal life (but not too much, notice the smudged out parts.)  So, here are my first two weeks (as I said, I was behind), with a special glimpse at my monthly calendar, too!

[caption id="attachment_207" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Filofax-January 2013[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_208" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Filofax, Week #1[/caption]





[caption id="attachment_210" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Filofax, Week #2[/caption]





So, you probably noticed that I have LOTS of decorative tapes, stamps, etc. filling my filofax.  Why?  If I have a slower week (or I forget to write in my filofax *gasp*), I fill up the empty days with my stamps and washi tapes.  It gives me something pretty to look at and makes me happy, and there are days that's a very good thing, especially if I've had a particularly long or rough week at work.

So, I hope you've enjoyed my first (and second) My Filofax Week Posts!

What's in my Personal Regency?

It's here!!  My first "official" filofax post on Coffee & Literature.  So exciting!!!  I know you are just as excited as I am, right???  Thought so!  :)  For my first "official" post I wanted to do a sort of introductory filofax/what's in my filofax post.  I just got a new Personal Regency in Brown, and I LOVE it.  But it does have a small ring issue on the third top ring, so sadly, I think it may be going back next week (Filofax, please work on quality control of rings!!!).  But I do have a Compact Regency I can use until I get a replacement. Anyway...here's how I'm using my filofax at the moment.

Here's my beauty! I really love this filofax.  The leather is so soft and has an ostrich type pattern on it.  It lies COMPLETELY flat out of the box, which is one of my ideal filofax qualities.

Here's what you see  when you first open her up:  I keep my student ID (grad school), a cute panda gift card, some sticky tabs, a modeS4U business card, some random gift cards, and some of my business cards are tucked in the long pocket.  On the clear flyleaf I've decorated it with some stickers--pandas (my favorite!!), sock monkeys, Bambi, Pooh Bear, etc.  The pink glitter behind it is just a piece of card I cut into a divider.

Moving on...I've got some cute colorful star stickers and the personal filofax organizer stickers.  I use the stars for blog posts and the organizer stickers for, well, what they're intended for.  You can also see my sheet where I keep up with my washi tape to see what I've bought.


For my diary, I use month to view and week to view in 2 pages per week, cotton cream.  I love the paper quality on the cotton cream.  I use stickers and stamps and washi tape to decorate the inside of my diary.  I love my Hello Kitty stamps!


I also keep a few A4 size sheets in my filofax for necessary purposes and I just fold and punch holes in these so they fit.  Easy as pie!



And finally (I do have other stuff in there but it's rather boring) I have a clear envelope in the back where I keep vouchers, receipts, tickets, stickers, everything.  Here is what is currently in the back pocket: neon arrows, Spongebob stickers, metallic star stickers, colored dots, a voucher for an Etsy seller, my ticket from Condoleezza Rice's speech at my university, and my Aerosmith/Cheap Trick ticket from last week (so much fun!!).



I hope you've enjoyed my little filofax tour!  Let me know in the comments what you thought and also any other posts you'd like to see.  I also have a YouTube channel that only has one or two non-filofax related videos on it now, so let me know if there are any videos you'd like to see, too!  Happy planning!
-Kristy

An Update...Blog Changes

So, I've had this wonderful blog for a while now--since June 6, 2010 to be exact. I've blogged about books, techie stuff, bags, journals, and other things. I've had lots of readers and met lots of great authors through my blogging experience. In that time I also started another blog--Southern Belle, City Style--about fashion, makeup and such. I've enjoyed that one quite a lot, too. I've met great people and done great interviews!

But after thinking about it for a while, I've decided to make some changes to this blog. I've grown and changed as a person, and I have new interests (ever changing, probably). I wanted to leave Southern Belle, City Style alone as it deals with specifics, but I gave some thought to changing Coffee & Literature up a bit. So, let's explain...

I'm one of those crazy folks obsessed with filofaxes, stationery, and the like. I love reading about them and watching YouTube videos about them. So, after much thought, I decided I wanted to blog and maybe video about them, too. But I was in a bit of a situation...I didn't know if I wanted to create a whole new blog dealing with filofaxes, planning, and such or if I wanted to change Coffee & Literature. I'd already done blogs on here about things other than books so I thought, well, I've already got this blog going and pay for the domain name and hosting and such, why not use it?

So, that's what I've decided to do. To those who liked my book reviews, I'll still be doing those periodically, but with my promotion (I'm now an Academic Dean) and going back to grad school (again, for an Ed.S. this time), I don't get to read too much, but I'll still try to do some every once in a while so keep watching.

So, to sum it all up, I've decided to make Coffee & Literature more of a personal blog where I do all sorts of posts about mainly filofaxes, stationery, & books with a little personal stuff thrown in. To really make it "personal" I've taken off all monetizing things and such, and I've deleted the facebook page for the blog. So now, I think I'm ready to blog again. I'll forewarn you, though, that I'm still keeping the whole "new blog" idea in the back of my mind, but I'll let everyone know before I do.

Happy reading & planning!

Wow...it's been a while!

Wow. I didn't realize how long it had been since I made a post. Things have been a bit crazy at home and work. A big "I'm sorry" to my followers! I'll make this a short post so I can hopefully get to some reviews before bed. It's summer and this is the time I'm usually posting up a storm, but I've gotten promoted at work and I'm working on another degree so my time is, sadly, limited. I've been reading quite a bit, though, so I hope to get lots of reviews up when I have time. I'm hoping to get organized so I still have time for blogging since I love it so! Anyway, look for lots of reviews coming soon!

-Kristy

So Long, Armchair BEA 2011!

Well, being on vacation beginning on Thursday evening didn't mesh well with trying to blog during Armchair BEA 2011.  I was so wrapped up in trying to pack and then finally getting to Orlando that I neglected my "blogging duties," which resulted in poor participation on my part.  To the fabulous organizers of this year's Armchair BEA, thanks for making this such a great week for so many, and I'm sorry I didn't get to fully participate as I wanted to!

I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyones posts about blogging, books, & everything in between, and I hope a few of you enjoyed mine!  I hope that next year's Armchair BEA will find me as a complete and total participant even if I have to sit in the car all the way to our next vacation destination with the laptop, iPad, or iPhone attached to me so that I can keep up!

With all of that said, I'll give you a couple of links so that you can find my Armchair BEA posts:

Armchair BEA

Coffee, Books, & Armchairs (Armchair BEA, Day 1)

Best of 2011 (so far...) Armchair BEA, Day 2

Those are my Armchair BEA 2011 posts.  I hope to do MANY more next year, so until then...Happy Reading & Happy Blogging!

-Kristy

Armchair BEA

After this week, I'll be off for the summer and I'll finally get to some of the reading & blogging I've put off these last few months. So, how am I going to kick off my back-to-blogging summer?  With Armchair BEA! What is this I speak of you ask?  It is a virtual book blogging convention that follows Book Expo America & the Book Blogger Convention.  Obviously, since I won't be off work until the end of the week I can't attend the real convention in NYC, so this is perfect.

There is an official agenda for the virtual convention bloggers beginning on May 23 to May 27.  There will be daily themes, interviews with bloggers, giveaways, and more.  So if you're a book blogger, check it out!  Make sure to keep checking back on Coffee & Literature for updates and my contributions to the daily posts!

-Kristy

Monday Musings: Busy, Busy, Busy

I'm sure some of you have been wondering where I've been.  The last entry I wrote was at the end of March, and I've been all but invisible since then.  To be honest, I've basically been really busy.  Sometimes teaching full time doesn't lend itself to be kind to the blogging world.  In case you didn't know, teaching isn't a job that lasts from only 8 to 3.  For the past three weeks I've been in conference calls concerning technology and trying to plan the school prom.  So, my time has, of course, been focused on my job.  Believe me, I've definitely missed the blogging world and reading things other than what I've got my students reading!  But it is almost summer and I hope to be catching up on my blogging.

I've got a couple of things in the works to get reviewed--Across Eternity by Aris Whittier and The Summoner by Layton Green are both on my current review list.  I'm also reading Naturally Thin by RHoNY (Real Housewives of New York) alum Bethenny Frankel.  The latter book is mainly for me, but I'll end up reviewing it, too, I'm sure.

As far as my life, things have slowed down a bit a school, so, again, I hope to be back to blogging soon.  I will tell you all that I've applied to the University of Memphis' Master of Arts in Journalism program.  It will be an online program, and I'm very excited about it.  If I'm accepted, I'll be taking classes in the fall.  The only disadvantage is that I'll probably have to end up holding off on the blogging a bit.  I also plan to do NaNoWriMo again so that will take away from blogging, too.  But I'll still be around.  

I hope to be getting a few reviews out soon, so stay tuned!

Monday Musings: I'm Still Here

Before I say anything else, I want to apologize to my readers, followers, & authors.  I have not posted in over a month, and I truly am sorry.  I have had a rough December, January, & February, and blogging has not necessarily been my first priority, but I do wish I'd take more time to devote to Coffee & Literature lately.  Why?  Because it is like my therapy, so to speak.  I love writing.  I love reading.  What I'm struggling with is teaching three different books while trying to read another three at the same time...if you can do simple addition, that would be six books at the same time.  My brain feels as if it is going to explode, honestly.  So, I've been trying to do my job (teaching English to teenagers-which obviously has to be a top priority), deal with things that deal with my job (I'm in charge of prom committee & yearbook-exciting, but time consuming during the spring), deal with some issues that deal with everything from work to home to me, and a thousand other things that have zero to do with my writing.  So, given all of that, I have sadly neglected Coffee & Literature, Women that WOW!, reviewing books, and editing my own book.  

However, it is my plan that I am going to organize my time better this week and next week to get some things done for me, while making sure to not neglect my "official" duties of work and teaching.  After giving it lots of thought, I know that working on my blogs and working on my own literary works is true therapy for me and helps me to "escape" from the stress of everyday life.  Yes, I know what you are thinking.  I either sounds completely mental or I'm just strange.  Ok, that's fine.  It doesn't bother me if you think that.  You are entitled to your own opinion, and I to mine.

Keeping all of this in mind, I'll run down what I will be doing on Coffee & Literature in the next month or so...

I have roughly 3-5 books that I have lined up to review for some authors, so those, right now are my priority for this blog.  I've also got a few lined up that have been some I've wanted to read for my own that will be reviewed periodically.  I also plan to do a couple of movie reviews over The Social Network & Black Swan, both of which I've seen but have yet to review them.  I also plan to change up the blogging schedule as well as the look of the blog, but that may come last.

So, I hope you all are still with me and haven't forgotten me like it seems I have done to you, faithful readers.  I promise I will be back with you fully soon!

Happy reading!

-Kristy

The Jane Austen Project, Part 2

Before the end of 2010, I had planed to read Austen's six novels-Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and finally, Persuasion-and her unfinished seventh novel, Sandition, that has been published posthumously after it was completed by another writer.  I had also planned to read the inspiration for this challenge, Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club.  Well, 2010 turned out to be not the best of years by the end, so this and my other challenges went by the wayside.  I managed to read The Jane Austen Book Club and Pride & Prejudice, but that was it.  I started Emma but never really got into it.  So, what is my purpose in telling you this?  Well, I've decided that I'm going to try it again.  Yes, that's right.  I'm going to try to read Austen's six novels once more.  I am also including in this challenge reading at least one other Austen related book that has been written by another author.  Right now, I'm leaning toward one I already own, but haven't read, called Writing Jane Austen: A Novel by Elizabeth Aston.  We shall see how this goes, but since I'm actually starting it in January, I think I'll be able to do it this time.

I'm also inviting anyone who would like to participate in this challenge to please do so, too.  For more information on the challenge, please visit The Jane Austen Project, Part 2 page.

Wednesday Poetry Café (December 8)

Welcome to another Poetry Cafe on Coffee & Literature.  I'm actually writing this from Starbucks, so I guess it is fitting that today is Poetry Cafe day!  Ok, back on topic...This week's poem comes from Poetry.com.  It is entitled "The Passage" and is written by Michael Christiansen.  This poem is short, but quite deep, in my opinion.  It speaks to the soul, and one can interpret it in many ways.  So I say "Bravo!" to Michael for a very insightful and deep work.  So, for your enjoyment, here is "The Passage."

"The Passage" by Michael Christiansen

Actions taken

thoughts, deep pondering

vision's cost?

minds are wondering.

life plays out

options ending...

of choices seen,

wounds need mending 

the drama closes

lights are dimming...

another soul

seeks eternal cleansing.