Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Ema wrote: "I once attempted to play tennis. It didn't work out. "

Sing it, sister. I showed up for one class and never went back.

Charity, I'm with you on the regular exercise bit. I seem to get sick for a week every time I attempt to go to the gym.

Rachel wrote: "Charity, all of your #10 things made me smile. Especially your #2 and #4. I am looking for a teaching job now in middle school. I can totally relate. I love to drive. If you ever get the urge to ro..."

You must be a saint to want to teach middle school!!! Good luck with the job hunt! I love road trips too; I wish I had time to take more.

Sans wrote: "Charity, I'm with you on the regular exercise bit. I seem to get sick for a week every time I attempt to go to the gym."

I'm not the only one! YAY!

1. I attended an all women's college (Mount Holyoke College) for two years
2. My two biggest fears are spiders and sharks, though the last one makes no sense because I live nowhere near the ocean
3. I prefer stacking my books haphazardly on my floor rather than keeping them organized on a shelf
4. I really want to get blue streaks in my hair
5. I hate the color red
6. I grew up on air force bases in North Carolina, California and Guam
7. I want to live all over the U.S. and in some European countries too :)
8. I used to have two pet rats named Meeko and Cookie
9. I plan on creating my own book blog in the next couple of years
10. I want to take voice lessons just for fun

Welcome to the group, Kayla. I have a friend who will be attending Mount Holyoke in a few days. She's studying music.

Ok, here we go.
1. My favorite TV series is The Vampire Diaries
2. My favorite book of all time is Gone With the Wind
3. I am terrified of Sharks, Water and the Dark
4. I love to swim though
5. I love paranormal, time travel and Amish books
6. I have Lupus and Fibromyalgia
7. I am almost blind in one eye
8. I used to be quiet & shy, then I had an evil Mother-in-law, and now I am the opposite
9. I LOVE to play stupid computer games
10. I love my Husband....

LOL on the evil mother-in-law! I bet that would make you not so shy anymore.

Rachel wrote: "LOL on the evil mother-in-law! I bet that would make you not so shy anymore."

LOL, to a fault.....

I don't know if I could come up with 10 things, but I can sure try.

1. I am really shy. It is hard to put myself out there, even with GR. I am really working on that one. :)
2. I love Cats, Dogs, Rabbits, etc... I basically love all animals except snakes (shudder), lizards, bugs, buzzards, etc... lol
3. I am a bookworm and one day I will own a library or book store of my own.
4. I have always wanted to live in Washington State.
5. I would love to be able to travel the world. I would love to see Ireland, UK, Germany, and Jerusalem/Israel.
6. I am pretty good with fixing things that go wrong on computers at work, but with my own or Mother's I am clueless.
7. I am 37 years old and never been kissed or had a boyfriend. :(
8. I want to adopt children one day. That has always been my wish since I was little.
9. I was homeschooled from 7th grade on. Because my Mother is very sick, I had to take care of my own schooling for High School. For my finals, I took the GED. :D
10. I love cooking with herbs and seasonings. I avoid salt though.

My 10 Random Things:

1. I received an "Expert" badge for hand grenades while in the Army.

2. I have a sweet dog, border collie-lab mix, named Scooby. My son named him that because he's afraid of everything, like linoleum floors, bathrooms, hallways, running water, lightning, thunder, etc.

3. I started a brand new career, freelance editing, at the ripe old age of 41.

4. My son was the Idaho State Elementary Chess champion for two years in a row.

5. Pizza is my favorite food.

6. I used to be addicted to World of Warcraft. I still battle the urge. :-)

7. On top of being a member of the Grammar Police, I'm a math geek. (I've been told that's an odd combination.)

8. I am a mix of American Indian and Irish, so I have red hair and brown eyes. I only have "red-haired skin" on my knees and elbows, so can get a tan everywhere but those two places.

9. Growing up, I was a tomboy. At the age of 8, I decided I wanted to be a professional football player.

10. I am partially tone-deaf and can't sing at all. Fortunately, I know it, so you'll never catch me trying out for American Idol or X Factor. :-)

I love your ten things, Lynn. They made me smile or go "Oh! How cool!"

Nice name for the dog!

Freelance editor, huh? How did you start that. I've always wanted to be an editor.

Melissa, I don't like snakes either. I even get squirmy if they are on TV!

10 random things about me:

1. i'm a daydreamer. i daydream a lot, and when i say a lot, i really mean A LOT.
2. during my daydreams, i always dream that one day i will wake up and find myself doing magic. that was after watching harry potter (i know, you can laugh. but i'm dead serious.)
3. i easily get attracted to a guy.
4. i always find myself wanting to sleep during my earth science classes.
5. going back to daydreams, after watching masterchef, i've always dreamt of becoming a chef. (but still doing magic. LOL)
6. i don't like babies or little children or BABIES. i don't know why but they annoy me.
7. i can read books in just one day. (well if i really like the book and its not that long.)
8. i'm a photojournalist. i've won 5 times during press conferences in both division and regionals.
9. i am trying to write a script for a movie. (i know i'm young but i always wanted to do that.)
10. i wanted to learn how to speak korean, spanish, french, japanese, etc, etc, etc.

Welcome to the group, Mhaurieene. I'm a daydreamer myself, so we're alike in that aspect. I don't daydream about magic though, just other unattainable things :p Do you have a website with your photography? I'd love to see some of your work.

.unfortunately i don't have one.. but i'm working on that though.

What's your specialty (is that the right word?)? I like travel photography more than anything else. I look at most of my photos here.

.yeah, i also like travel photography especially that i love travelling. But i just love capturing nature. i don't know i just produce better pictures on nature and landscapes.

10 Random Things

1. I will always be a purist when it come to books. ebooks are cheaper and more portable, but I will always prefer the tactile sensations of a real book.
2. My favorite movie is Rearwindow with Jimmy Stewart
3. I am a major hockey fan. Go Caps!
4. I am enough of a nerd to immediately make jokes about the player with the number 42 for the Caps
5. My car has a proper name and a nickname.
6. My favorite muppet is Gonzo.
7. I value my books highly. When some got damaged recently, I lost it a bit.
8. Because of my turnover rate, all new boy(friends)s get nicknames so my friends know who I'm talking about.
9. I listen to almost all kinds of music. My driving playlist has Top 40, female fronted metal, country, and broadway.
10. I'm such an avid reader that I'll actually crave a certain genre of book like people crave food. "I'm really in the mood for a (fantasy/zombie uprising/food narrative/social commentary) book." Also like a food craving, I can't shake it until it's been satiated.

Hmmmm.... let's see

1: I have a bad tendancy to pick up other peoples accents - especially Scottish, American or Canadian. I lapse into a Scottish accent without even noticing sometimes - even if I've not heard the accent. I did read somewhere that it means you're in tune with people if you pick up their accent.

2: I love snow, even though it often means I get snowed in. The more the better - I just wish we got more here!

3: I'm very cynical about "love" which is mostly because of 1 person.

4: I have a very competitive streak. Especially with what I call my "band stuff". Ok is not good enough. I can be my own biggest critic. And when it comes to learning new stuff, I want to be the first to have it off, and have it right.

5: Speaking of band stuff... I'm in a pipe band. I have taken part in competitions since 1995. It's easily my biggest obsession. Any guy who comes into my life will just have to accept that. It's the thing that keeps me sane (or as close to sane as I can claim to be).

6: I describe my bedroom as organised chaos. BUT when I was working as a legal executive my files were perfectly tidy, as was my desk. Everything had a place, everything was in it's place and it was anything but chaotic.

7: I hog the duvet... a lot. I love wrapping myself up in as much of it as possible.

8: I'm not a morning person - I'm a night owl! I just don't function right first thing in the morning. In my last job I was in the office at 7.30 each morning - the only reason I wasn't lil miss grumpy was because I'd spent 1 hour on the road and had time to wake up a bit more.

9: I prefer texting to phonecalls. In fact a ringing phone can irritate me quite quickly. I blame that on having to deal with people in work who kept ringing when they didn't need to.

10: My inner child still exists. I love classic disney films, and kids tv shows from the very late 80s / early 90s. Retrojunk and youtube are good to feed that habit!

Vicki,
I love your first one!!! Because I live on the Mason-Dixon line, and because so many of my extended relatives have a mild southern accent, I slip into that realllllllyyyyy quick. I worked with a girl who had a thick southern accent and everytime I would talk to her, I could hear my accent slipping.

So glad to hear I am not the only one.

ok 10 things, here it goes!

1. I often think people don't like me as I find myself annoying at times.. I am also quite paranoid so it could just be that!

2. My favourite band is Nightwish

3. I am 21 years old and I want a baby so badly, I feel much older! I think it has to do with my family all being teen mums.

4. I'm beginning to dislike Christmas as I can never seem to make everybody happy, there's always something wrong.

5. I am really bad at cleaning, I have lived alone for 7 months now and suck at keeping the house spotless.

6. I have to know every fine detail when I plan trips and it has to go precisely to plan (which it rarely does for me) or I stress out so badly.. It drives my fiance crazy!

7. I start books and get bored or I feel the need to read another book halfway through so I have around 5 books that I am reading at one time, I always finish them later.

8. I'm a real sucker for romance, it hurts inside that it's not like that in real life!

9. I have very little common sense but I am pretty smart with useless subjects.

10. My fiance and I have our own language as he doesn't speak English, it's Dutch (we live in Holland) that we made up ourselves although I am learning the language properly now!

1. My favorite sport to play is tennis.

2. I am a total perfectionist.

3. Going off the last one, I also have ridiculously high stress levels.

4. My bengal kitten Mo keeps me up on many occassions.

5. I drink too much coffee. It makes me bounce off the walls energetic.

6. I read 55 books and completed my first NaNoWriMo last year.

7. My main characters best friend in my NaNo, Logan, is what I was almost named. My brother Julian was almost named Spencer.

8. I hope to become some sort of brain doctor when I get older.

9. I would die of excitement if I got into Brown's Program For A Liberal Medical Education.

10. I am a really random person.

1. I am a mother of a 3 year old
2. I am an activist for a number of things including Political and Breastfeeding
3. I can not listen to the song Be like that by 3 doors down as it was played at my uncle's funeral.. It's been 10 years this year and I still can't
4. I hope to one day have one of the picture's I have taken on the cover of National Geographic.
5. I am currently in school upgrading my math and english.
6. John Lennon and Bob Marley are extremely inspirational people for me, who I wish had lived long enough that I could have met them
7. I cried for 5 days straight when Jack Layton passed away
8. I have a serious hatred towards the Canadian Conservative government and it's leader Stephen Harper
9. My boyfriend is kind of a conspiracy theorist but I learn a lot from him, he's super intelligent.
10. I believe in affirmative thinking

1. I desperately want to move out of central Pennsylvania because I've been here for 23 years
2. I love cats...much much more than dogs!
3. 90% of the books I own I have not read. I take too many library books out to get to my own.
4. I own about 1200 books.
5. I love cloudy, rainy days.
6. I'm terrified of living alone (I still live with my mom but will not be living with her after May).
7. I'm a neat freak.
8. I hate talking on the phone--I'll do anything to avoid it.
9. I try picking up tons of different hobbies, but only a few ever stick.
10. That being said, I am learning to knit as of yesterday. I want to make my own beanie hats someday!

Welcome to the group, Tearsa!

#3: I so agree. Most of my library books usually go back unread.
#4: Physical copies or eBooks? Either way I'm jealous! :p

Sashana wrote: "Welcome to the group, Tearsa!

#3: I so agree. Most of my library books usually go back unread.
#4: Physical copies or eBooks? Either way I'm jealous! :p"

Thank you! Haha embarassingly enough, physical copies. Most of my family and friends tell me I have a problem. However, I treat all my books with tlc. :)

1. I am a pre-K teacher and I love my job
2. I absolutely love dinosaurs and know almost everything about them. In college I took a class called Dinosaurs and my dream job is to be a paleontologist.
3. I love tattoos. I have two and I want like 10 more.
4. One of my dreams is to have a library in my house like the one in beauty and the beast
5. My favorite supernatural creature is vampires.
6. My boyfriend and I have been together for almost 8 years
7.This is sad but really weird. My boyfriends mother found out she had cancer in april or may of 2010. My father found out he had cancer in september of 2010. My father passed away in november of 2010 and my boyfriends mother passed away six weeks after my dad in December of 2010. My boyfriend was closer to my dad than my mom and I was closer to his mom than his dad.
8. I am afraid of the dark
9. I love watching Jersey Shore becuase its like watching gorillas in a zoo.
10. I am a shopaholic and i give no thought to how much money im spending or how much money i will be left with

Welcome to the group, Joanne!

#3: You sound like my close friend. She has a large tattoo on her rib cage and a small one on her clavicle. She's barley 5 feet tall but she wants a million more. Pretty soon she'll run out of space.

#7: That's very sad. My condolences to you and your BF.

#9: The JS used to be my guilty pleasure but I stopped in the middle of the season where they went to Italy. It got too repetitive for me. Everyone was getting sick of the Ronnie and Sam drama so they made Mike and Snookie have drama. I do love their accents though.

#10: Tell me about it! I try to budget but my money never lasts. I need to nip this habit in the bud. Surprisingly, it's the small things that make me broke. A little lunch here, a little lunch there, buying one book per month turns into buying 2 and so forth.

1. Believe it or not: I am a people person. I do very well in Customer Service type jobs. I get along very well with others BUT I am a loner lol. I don't like a lot of drama so I tend to have very few friends : D

2. I love animals!!! I would have a bunch of dogs if I could. My favorite saying is: I LOVE my dogs better than I LIKE most people : )

3. I am deathly terrified of snakes. I have been told many times "That snake won't hurt you" OHHHH But yes it will!!! It will make me hurt myself lol

4. I am a yarnie : ) I have just as much yarn, thread, crochet hooks, patterns, pattern books, embellishments and other crochet necessities as I have books. My DREAM business would be a crochet/yarn/book store.

5. I graduated Cum Laude with my A.S. in 2006 and Magna Cum Laude with my B.S in 2009. I don't use either degree as I live in a very very small town and took the first job I could find which was in our one and only grocery store besides Wal-Mart.

6. My nickname for many years has been Scooby Doo!! He is my all time favorite cartoon character.

7. Although I am a yarnie and have tons of yarn I hate knitting. I have tried to learn but after crocheting with one hook for 30+ years I just can't get the hang of knitting with 2 needles lol.

8. I am usually reading more than one book at a time. Same bad habit I have with my crochet projects : ( I get bored with a book lay it down and pick up another one. I do go back and finish all the ones I started unless it is has just bored me so bad I can't. I just have so many that I want to read but I just can't get them read fast enough lol

9. I am a gamer!! I love to play games on my Kindle Fire, the Wii, my Nintendo DS and on the internet/computer. I love time management games.

10. I joined this group because I love reading challenges. I have a lot of them going on this year with a couple of other groups but just can't get enough of them. I know...I'm crazy but I love it!!!

I work in retail/customer service too. Some days I love it, some days not so much. I still like being around people though.

Snakes are not my thing either. I liked them when I was a kid, to an extent, but all of a sudden that changed and now I can't see one on TV without squealing and getting goosebumps!

Rachel wrote: "I work in retail/customer service too. Some days I love it, some days not so much. I still like being around people though.

Snakes are not my thing either. I liked them when I was a kid, to an ex..."

I can't look at pictures, see them on tv, see them live as I will often have nightmares about them LOL

I live in a small town and most everyone here was born and raised here, except me. I am an outsider that moved in a couple years ago so they don't gossip and start drama with me lol and I like it that way :) I don't mind being around people I just don't want them to get to CLOSE lol

1. I'm the oldest of seven kids
2. I wanted to be a country singer when I grew up
3. I don't believe anything in life is a mistake but learning experiences and if you don't learn from it, it will be repeated
4. I'm obsessed with Greek girl names
5. I always have lip balm of some form with me at all times
6. I have a scary collection of office supplies
7. My first and last name both start with O D E
8. I have always wanted to get a tattoo but I still haven't gotten one because I can't make up my mind on what I want
9. My boyfriend built me a gorgeous pine bookcase two Christmases ago and it sits empty because I sold all of my books when I got my Kindle
10. Even though I have both a Kindle and a Nook Color...I still buy physical books because I like the way an actual book feels

Dessa wrote: "I have a scary collection of office supplies..."

Me too! LOL!

Ok 10 things....

1. I am a licensed hairstylist.
2. I walk five miles a day.
3. I have been married twenty-three years.
4. I have two boys.
5. I have four cats and they are all named after disney character.
6. I love to bake, my specialties are (according to my family and friends) peanut butter cheesecake and mango ice-cream.
7. I love spending time reading and floating in our pool.
8. I have five sisters and two brothers.
9. I have seventeen nieces and nephews and nineteen great nieces and nephews.
10. I love travelling, favorite spot Jamaica.

Welcome to the group, Sara & Naynay!

@Sara: Yikes! Sound more like a TBR mountain than a list. I try to keep mine under 300 books. I get twitchy and overwhelmed if it goes over that.

@Naynay: Your family sounds huge! How do you keep track of all of those names?

Sashana wrote: "Welcome to the group, Sara & Naynay!

@Sara: Yikes! Sound more like a TBR mountain than a list. I try to keep mine under 300 books. I get twitchy and overwhelmed if it goes over that.

@Naynay: You..."

Nametags...lol

I was thinking more along the lines of numbers, but name tags would work too ;)

Great list, Anya! Love British humor, too. But then, I also love donuts. I wish I could sing. **sigh**

Anya wrote: "6. I still can't refer to myself as a 'woman' without gagging. I think I'll be referring to myself as a 'girl' even in my 80s. . ."

Ha! I feel exactly the same way! (I'm also 22) :)

1) Until I was 28 I was petrified of the darkness and now I am only scared
2)I am a hopeless romantic
3) I love lying in the bed and reading and nibbling
4) eat chockolate becuase that's what makes the world go round
5)I love daydreaming
6) Loveeeee going to cafes and contemplating about life over whilst reading
7) I appear social and chatty but I am am accentric hermit in reality
8) If my husband is working whilst I am on leave, I don't go out at all unless it is to pick up books from library
9) I am a proud imsomniac
10) I love my husband to bits and love his company...

Lily wrote: "1) Until I was 28 I was petrified of the darkness and now I am only scared
2)I am a hopeless romantic
3) I love lying in the bed and reading and nibbling
4) eat chockolate becuase that's what makes..."

Ditto to #'s 2, 3, and 5. :-D Love your list, Lily!

What the heck, here's 10 random things about me.

1) The older I get (I'm 34), the less extroverted I become.
2) Books are my absolute best friends.
3) I thought I hated cats. Now I have 4.
4) I live in a house that was built in 1925 and love it, eccentricities and all.
5) I don't drive. I have a license, I'm just terrified to get behind the wheel.
6) I'm a therapist who is on medication for anxiety.
7) I've seen every episode of Saved By The Bell.
8) I went on a cruise for my honeymoon and now I can't get enough of them!
9) I got married on Pi Day and have a tattoo commemorating it.
10) If I don't have a large pile of books to be read, I'm unhappy.

Stacie wrote: "What the heck, here's 10 random things about me.

1) The older I get (I'm 34), the less extroverted I become.
2) Books are my absolute best friends.
3) I thought I hated cats. Now I have 4.
4) ..."

Great list, Stacie! I miss having cats. My boyfriend's allergic. :-(

I don't drive much, either. I have a license, but I have health issues that keep me home most of the time, except for doctor's appointments and occasional outings. I went through a period a while back where I was scared just to be in a car, as my health had been so bad that I'd barely been out in months. Going from bedridden to sitting in the passenger seat speeding down an interstate at 70 miles per hour can be pretty scary. I got over it eventually as my health improved, but it's still an issue from time to time for me, so I sympathize greatly with your fear of driving.

Thanks Mary! Glad to know I'm not the only one with this fear relationship with driving. I told my husband I'm willing to give it a try but not in his car (as I totaled the last one in a parking lot. long story). I need a used car that already has been dented a little and is small. Like 16 year olds used to get back in the day.

Stacie wrote: "Thanks Mary! Glad to know I'm not the only one with this fear relationship with driving. I told my husband I'm willing to give it a try but not in his car (as I totaled the last one in a parking ..."

Yeah, I totaled my last car three years ago (a grey Toyota Camry hatchback named Gandalf...I'm a very big nerd) and I haven't gotten around to buying another one, but I haven't really needed to, either. My family tells me I should start driving on days when I feel okay, but I'm still worried something will happen, I don't know.

Mary wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Thanks Mary! Glad to know I'm not the only one with this fear relationship with driving. I told my husband I'm willing to give it a try but not in his car (as I totaled the last on..."

I know it takes courage to get back being the steering wheel...I had similar experience... don't let your fear be your master....you are more than one scary experience... you can do it. Xx
It took a while for me to gain my confidence to drive but i did it with short drives to start with...

Lily wrote: "Mary wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Thanks Mary! Glad to know I'm not the only one with this fear relationship with driving. I told my husband I'm willing to give it a try but not in his car (as I totale..."

Yeah I just need to get a car I feel comfortable driving. My husband drives a big old (to me anyway) boat so we are starting to look at smaller cars. I've also thought about taking driving lessons again just to have some more experience.

Stacie wrote: "Lily wrote: "Mary wrote: "Stacie wrote: "Thanks Mary! Glad to know I'm not the only one with this fear relationship with driving. I told my husband I'm willing to give it a try but not in his car..."
Choosing a car you are comfortable with is a great start...I was like you...picked a car I felt safe and comfortable with. Driving lessens sounds good too as the instructer would build your confidence whilst driving around..good luck Stacie
8)

Loving everyone's list.

Lily, I'm with you on #7!!!

Stacie, I felt the same about cats. Of course, I loved my cat that I had for 17 years. ☺

Natasha, I have a "love/hate" relationship with the cold, too!