Lora's United States of Whatever

 On New Year's Eve 2021, I set the following goals for 2022: Read 50 books. Read the books in my TBR stack. (I think I have about ten books in my nightstand that need to be read!) Write one hour each week for pleasure (52 hours for the year). This could be a blog post, story ideas, journaling, etc.  Here's what I accomplished in 2022: I read 81 books. I read some of the books in my TBR stack... and I added some books to it, too! I wrote more through journaling and brainstorming book ideas. I wrote my book autobiography back in the summer, too!  As I was reflecting on the books I read over the course of this year , I noticed some patterns. Many of the books I read were about summer and even had the word summer in the title. Summer is my favorite season, so, of course, I love escaping to summer when I read. I also noticed that most of the audiobooks I listened to were nonfiction books. Nonfiction is more challenging for me to read, so this makes sense! I often found myself...

  A few weeks ago, I began reading The Joy of Reading by Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne. In the first chapter, readers are encouraged to jot down a timeline of books that have impacted their reading lives. As I jotted down my list on a sticky note, I was taken on a trip down memory lane.  My earliest memory of true reading joy was during 4th grade. Living in a small rural town, we would travel about 30 miles to the nearest Walmart for grocery shopping. My sister and I would walk straight to the book section, looking for the latest book in our series and knowing that our mom wouldn't say no to a new book! I was avidly reading The Babysitters Club books, and Nikki was into the Sweet Valley Kids  series. On the way home in the comfort of the backseat, we would curl up and devour those books, Nikki often finishing hers before we arrived home. I read EVERY book in the BSC series, including the mysteries and super series books. My friends and I would even play Babysitters Cl...

Here are the goals I set for 2021: Read 50 books. Continue to read more nonfiction. Read like a writer. Gather a list of lines I love from the books I love and use these lines to inspire my writing. Here's what I accomplished: I read 66 books . About one-third of those books were nonfiction books.  When I read using the Kindle app, I highlighted lines that I loved. However, I didn't use the lines to inspire my writing. I mostly highlighted lines that were relatable.  My Picks for Best Books of 2021 I devoured every fiction book I read by Taylor Jenkins Reid this year; however, Malibu Rising was my favorite! I loved the struggle and perseverance of the main character, Nina. Her journey to finding her true self left me reading "just one more chapter!" “I don’t think what you’re born into says anything about where you’re headed.” - Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Rising     Really, though, every book I read by Taylor Jenkins Reid was a page-turner. If you're looking f...

"Reading gives us someplace to go when you have to stay where you are." - Mason Cooley I've always loved losing myself in a book, but this year, I truly lived by the above quote. From heading to Chicago and D.C. with Michelle Obama in her autobiography,  Becoming, to heading back in time to the 1940s in New York City with Vivian in City of Girls , I went places this year. The comfy corner of my couch and favorite yellow throw were my travel companions. My time was not only spent traveling, but it was also spent challenging my thinking. Many of the nonfiction books I read this year challenged my perceptions about racism. I learned so much about how my experiences have shaped my thinking and how that thinking needs to evolve.  Here were the goals I set for reading in 2020: Read 36 books Read more nonfiction Try at least one audiobook.  With the help of a global pandemic, I crushed those goals.  I read 58 books this year.  Out of 58 books, 17 were nonfiction. I li...

June's Adoption Day - April 4, 2015 Five years ago, we adopted June. When we saw her in her crate outside of PetSmart, she stole our hearts. Once we heard that she had been adopted and then given back, we knew we had to adopt this Jack Russell mix. She resembled my best-dog-ever Lucy in so many ways, but I quickly realized that she actually had just two of Lucy's traits - she is small and mostly black. The second we brought her home, she bolted from our garage! Greg took off on foot and I jumped in the car with Izzy to chase her down. Twenty minutes later, we captured her. Greg and I looked at each other and had an idea of why she was returned by another family. As we got to know her better, we realized just how smart June is! She was potty trained, knew how to use the doggy door, and, man, can she play fetch! The Jack Russell in her really shined through! Then, she began digging... digging holes all around our fence line. One evening, we heard a knock on our door. It was...

Over this past year, I've read 31 books, not including the many picture books that comprised the majority of my Amazon purchases! #teacherprobs Five of the 31 books were nonfiction; two were historical fiction. The majority of my reads were fiction. When it comes to books, I definitely have a “type”. Give me a great thriller, and you’ll find me on the couch for the next 24 hours! Here’s the books I read in 2019: The Innocent Man (NF) True Places The Tattooist of Auschwitz (HF) Magic Hour Stories From Webb (professional) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Picture Perfect Magic Hour Valencia and Valentine   Nine Perfect Strangers We Got This.   (professional) Killers of Flower Moon (NF) Educated (NF) A Boy Called BAT (children's) Those Girls False Step Pieces of Her Run Away Where the Crawdads Sing The Polygamist’s Daughter (NF) The Wife Between Us Girl, Stop Apologizing   (motivational) I am Watching You The Woman in the Window The Silent Pa...

Teaching Izzy to ride a bike may be one of the most challenging things Greg and I have done thus far as parents! Back when Izzy turned five, we got her a bike with training wheels. She was great with those training wheels and even proceeded to ride her bike into the big pond down the street! (That's a now-hilarious story for another day!) Once we took the training wheels off, we were faced with so many frustrations; Izzy struggled with balance, and we struggled with patience. People of Wal-Mart A few years later, I read about a bike camp in Katy for children with disabilities, immediately signed up, and was placed on a waiting list. For three years, we remained on that waiting list. This year, I started reading through their website. I found the protocol used for teaching children this skill, and I thought, 'hey... let's give it a try!' As I read through the instructions, it made so much sense. (Directions here if you want them!) We made a beeline for Wal-Mart an...