50 Books in 2009

Last year I made a New Year's goal to read 50 books throughout the year. Normally I'm not one to make lofty, specific goals for myself, probably because I never quite achieve them. This time learned a couple things about myself that definitely helped:

• I need to plan ahead how to achieve my goal. This time I calculated out how many books I had to read each month to help myself stay on track. If I got behind (which did happen) I had to recalculate and get back on track. It was kind of like having mini goals to help me achieve the big goal.
• I need a way to keep myself accountable. I used my blog to list all the books I read. This helped me stay focused and see how far away from my goal I was an any time. It also made it much more exciting to see my progress.
  

And because I want to redo the sidebar on my blog, but I still want a record of the books I read, below is the list of the 50 books I read in 2009:

1. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling)
2. The Messenger (Markus Zusak)
3. The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
4. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
5. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Louise Rennison)
6. Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
7. The Little Lady Agency and The Prince (Hester Browne)
8. Quidditch Through the Ages (Kennilworthy Whisp)
9. Midnight Sun (Stephenie Meyer)
10. The Emperor's New Clothes (Hans Christian Andersen)
11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
12. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
13. The Host (Stephenie Meyer)
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
15. Good Grief (Lolly Winston)
16. Diary of a Mad Bride (Laura Wolf)
17. Knit Two (Kate Jacobs)
18. City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)
19. Girl With a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier)
20. City of Ashes (Cassandra Clare)
21. Fashionably Late (Beth Kendrick)
22. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
23. Poison Study (Maria Snyder)
24. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
25. City of Glass (Cassandra Clare)
26. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling)
27. Peter and the Star Catchers (Dave Barry Ridley Pearson)
28. A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray)
29. Rebel Angels (Libba Bray)
30. The Sweet Far Thing (Libba Bray)
31. Opportunity Rings (Sheryl Steinberg)
32. The Wizard Behind Harry Potter (Marc Shapiro)
33. Magyk (Angie Sage)
34. The Tale of Despereaux (Kate DiCamillo)
35. Hatchet (Gary Paulsen)
36. The Shack (William P. Young)
37. The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (Jennifer Worth)
38. Blink (Malcom Gladwell)
39. Something Borrowed (Emily Giffin)
40. What to Expect When You're Expecting (Heidi Murkoff)
41. Diary of a Mad Mom-to-Be (Laura Wolf)
42. Something Blue (Emily Giffin)
43. Baby Proof (Emily Giffin)
44. Your Pregnancy: Week by Week (Glade Curtis and Judith Schuler)
45. Hot Stuff (Janet Evanovich)
46. Comfort Food (Kate Jacobs)
47. The Borrowers (Mary Norton)
48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
49. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (Michael Scott)
50. Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

P.S.

Go me for blogging so much!!

The Beginning of the Baby's Room

We've finally started getting the baby's room ready. We recently moved into a bigger apartment (thank goodness...and pics to come later) and it's taken weeks to get everything organized. So far the baby's room has just been a depot for "stuff" that we don't know what else to do with. Over the weekend, however, Toren's parents bought a crib for the baby, which sent me into full baby-prep mode. Luckily, Toren was also inspired and agreed to assemble the crib.

I decided on doing a jungle them for the room, and I think it's adorable. So far all we've done is the crib, but I do plan to paint a dresser and a couple bookcases and hang some pictures. I might even paint a wall. I'm sure I'll take a picture of the finished product, but for now, enjoy the adorable crib.

Since I haven't washed the bedding yet (I will, but I was to excited to see what it looked like and had to put it together), we decided to let Baxter try out the crib. He was thoroughly confused, though I'm confident that if we'd given him a few minutes in there he would have snuggled right down for a relaxing nap.

Seattle Baby Shower

My mom was in town last weekend, so my family in Seattle threw me a baby shower. We had so much fun. Besides getting tons of baby loot (thanks everyone!), it was so good to see family that I don't see nearly enough...and my mom. We played a few of the traditional baby shower games, the worst of which was guessing the measurement around the biggest part of my belly. I nearly died when I found out it was just over 42 inches!! And I still have time to grow!! All in all, though, it was a fun night enjoyed with some of my closest family and friends.

I spent the rest of the weekend just hanging out with my mom. It was a real treat for me (literally). She spoils me like crazy! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful mom. Thanks mom!!