the big move

For a long time now, I've been toying with the idea of creating a new blog solely for book reviews. When I started Christian Chick's Thoughts, I wasn't a book blogger yet (and I'm not sure they really even existed), so my posts were, in some fashion, about me. My thoughts on life, love, faith, family. Then, in October 2008, I reviewed my first book. Flash forward six years, and I've reviewed more than 350 books. I know that a good portion of you who are reading this found my blog because of the book reviews. But there's also a portion of you, smaller perhaps, who are reading this in spite of the reviews. If you're in the second camp, you're probably here because you know me in real life. I am grateful for all of you.

I also want to give you the content you're interested in. With that in mind, I've decided to create a second (well, actually, fourth) blog. But rather than creating a book review blog, I'm going to leave the reviews here at Christian Chick's Thoughts and move the personal posts to the new blog. Choosing the url was easy: beckyritta.blogspot.com was available (go figure). But the name? So. Stinking. Hard. I asked one of my sisters for help, and things quickly went downhill ...

Finally, I settled on Coffee & Conversation. I'm not sure it's the best title, but I'm so over trying to find the perfect one. I hope you'll keep coming here for my reviews. And I hope you'll follow me to Coffee & Conversation for my more personal posts.

October Goal #1: Check!

i used to love writing...

Today, I spent my entire lunch break—all 30 minutes—rereading old blog posts both on this blog and on Cinematic Survey. And here's what I remembered, in the midst of occasionally cracking myself up (because really, I totally get my own humor!)—I used to love blogging. I used to love writing. It gave me joy. Whether I was gushing about Dean Cain (it's really the crush that never dies), analyzing Dawson's Creek (a post that led to yet another blog), or simply talking about life, I was writing because I wanted to, not because I had to. I was writing for my own enjoyment, not for anyone else.

Writing takes energy, and that's been in short supply lately. So I've stuck to the bare bones—what I have to do. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy reading and reviewing, but writing a book review doesn't exactly fill my soul with joy. How can I get back to the joy of writing?

I don't have any answers right now, but I know I want to learn to love writing again. And this is a step in the right direction—I had an absolute blast writing this post, and I don't care if anyone besides me enjoys it!

Random cat picture of the day: two of my cuties!

myspace, frustration, and love

This afternoon, we were reminiscing at work. A few years ago, we had a principal (who also served as student council adviser, a role I've had for the past three years) who decided that each spirit day during Homecoming Week should have a spiritual application. Blendy was a student then, and hopefully she'll chime in with her thoughts in the comments.

Anyway, we were remembering how this guy was super serious and conservative (like when it came to assigning spirit days), but every once in a while, he'd let his guard down. That made me think of the time I "confessed" my love for him. I knew I'd blogged about it, so I decided to find the post when I got home. Easier said than done!

I soon discovered that I'd written the post while I was still blogging on Myspace. Here's what happened when I went to log in (this is how I put it on Facebook):

So I'm trying to log into Myspace for the first time in well over a year, and I can't remember my password. I try to reset it, but the reset information goes to an email address I haven't used in three years. I can't remember my password there, either, and the password recovery email goes to an account that no longer exists. Then I see this nifty "log in with facebook" button on the Myspace home page. I click it, and suddenly I have a brand new Myspace account! That wasn't the result I was looking for. I just wanted to access one of my old blog posts, but I protected them so that only my friends had access ... sometimes technology can be so frustrating!

A couple of my friends offered to log into their own Myspace accounts to help me out, and Melissa found the post I was looking for! Here it is, from October 20, 2006, for your reading pleasure:

embarrassment at the office

Current mood:embarrassed

Fact 1: I love listening to music in the office. We have probably 25 cds to choose from (most are mine)--most of them are instrumental or contemporary Christian.

Fact 2: We have a new principal at NC this year. He's 26, single, and very conservative. Things between us have been awkward at best, and most of our conversations consist of : "You have a call on line three."

This morning, we were listening to a cd of 90's-ish pop hits played by an orchestra when Robert (aka the principal) asked me to help him find something in the files. Suddenly he stopped looking through the files, looked at me, and said, "I don't know what song this is."

I, of course, did, so without thinking, I said, "It's 'Have I . . .'" And then it hit me: Oh, crap! Now I have to say the rest of it! "'. . . told you lately that I love you?'"

He smiled (or maybe smirked) and said, "No, actually, you haven't."

My face turned five shades of red, and I wanted to sink through the floor. Fortunately, my mom walked back in from lunch at that moment, and we were able to move on.

The more I think about it, though, the more I think that he knew exactly what the song was, and I just walked right into his trap.

Think, Becky, Think Before You Speak!!!

A few thoughts: 1) I'd totally forgotten that Myspace let you pick a mood for each post. 2) Six years ago? Really? I can't believe I've been blogging that long! 3) It's fun to remember the good times ... 'cause goodness knows, most of my memories involving this man don't make me smile like this one does!

i'm free!

This blog has been woefully quiet for the last several days, and if you follow me on Facebook, you know why: yearbook. It has completely consumed my life ... to the point where I spent TWELVE hours working on it yesterday. But today at 6 p.m., I submitted the final page ... so I'm free! It seems crazy to not have to think about yearbook anymore. After work, my evenings will be mine again! So what will I do with them?

• Clean my house. I went straight from a week of lying on the couch after surgery into two weeks of intensive yearbooking. I did manage to do the dishes a couple of times, but that's it. My house is a complete wreck—it's bad enough that even I am getting sick of it! (And if you know me well, you know I have a high tolerance for "clutter" ... I think it's in my genes!)
• Mow my lawn. It's been two weeks since Blendy was kind enough to mow for me, and I'm sure my neighbor—the elderly man who lives in Grand Island and keeps a house here as a weekend getaway—would appreciate it if my lawn was a respectable height, rather than the jungle it resembles now.
• Finish up the posts I've started. I still have to tell you about my May craft project (it's super cute!) and finish writing my April & May goals update. I also have a fabulous recipe to share!
• Read. I know: I'm always reading ... but I've gotten way behind. I did manage to read and review Glamorous Illusions on time, but for the first time ever, I missed a tour deadline! The review was due yesterday (a Sunday ... really?), and I haven't even cracked open the book yet. I have another two reviews due on Friday. So I guess I'll be doing a lot of reading for the remainder of the week.
•  Exercise. It's really amazing how out of shape you can get in just three weeks! I went for a walk and bike ride on Saturday—my first exercise of any type since surgery. When I got home, I was exhausted and totally winded. So I really need to get back out there!
• Check out Saving Hope. All I know about it is this: it stars Michael Shanks and Erica Durance. And that's all I need to know to give it a shot. (Actually, it had me at Shanks ... Lois Lane is just the icing on the cake!)

reading is fun! (part 2)

Here's my current stack of books awaiting review. And that doesn't show the four Kindle files I have. (And, yes, I do still have one book in the pile that was in the picture of books to be reviewed that I posted in May ...)

And here's my whiteboard where I list books and their due dates (or, in the case of Litfuse, the date the blog tour begins). I'm so thankful that some companies don't have deadlines! The black dots to the right indicate which books I don't have in my possession yet. Um, yeah ... I think I might be nuts!

what did i miss?

I've had an odd experience regarding the last book I read and reviewed, The Constantine Codex. I was less than impressed with the book, though I did find some good things to say about it. So I posted the review on my blog and then went to Amazon to post my review there. And what I saw absolutely astounded me! Of the 15 other reviews, 10 are 5 star--which is the highest ranking Amazon allows reviewers to give, 3 are 4 star, and 2 are 3 star. My review is the lone two-star review.

This is the first time that I can remember having an opinion so very different from other reviewers. Sure, some of the items I've reviewed have been met with mixed feelings by other reviewers. But here, the opinions are so overwhelmingly positive that I'm left with four possible conclusions:

1. Reviewers are afraid to give a negative review, so they either disguise their true opinions or don't post their review on Amazon. I sincerely hope this isn't the case, but I can see how it could be--especially if people are concerned with their Amazon reviewer ranking. Sometimes, supporters of a product, be it book, movie, or other item, will vote "no" to Amazon's "was this review helpful" question when a reviewer has something negative to say about the product. It's petty, but it happens. And honestly, the thought did cross my mind that I may get "no" votes on my review which would hurt my "helpful vote" percentage. I posted anyway, though my reasons weren't entirely altruistic--this book is part of Tyndale's Summer Reading Program, and in order to get credit for reading a book, participants must post a review in three places. Amazon was one of my three. (If you'd like to give my review some love--or hate--you can find it here.)
   
2. It's a case of "Christian movie syndrome" ... you know, where Christian films are truly terrible as works of art due to bad acting, bad editing, and--in some cases--bad story lines, yet Christians buy and watch them because they are "safe" and have good messages. I'm not afraid to give a Christian movie a slot in my Netflix queue ... yet I apparently don't have the same tolerance for Christian books. I (as you're well aware if you've been a reader of this blog for more than a week) read mountains of Christian fiction. Most of it is well written, entertaining, and thought provoking. So when I come across one that doesn't quite live up to my expectations, I'm disappointed, and I'm not willing to "give it a pass" just because it's Christian.
3. It's still early, and the more critical reviews will come later. The blog tour for this book is going on today, so more people will probably be posting reviews throughout the day (though a review on Amazon isn't a must). As more people read the book, more will review it, and there are bound to be others who see the book the way I did.
   
4. I missed something. It's entirely possible that these other reviewers truly loved the book, and I just didn't get it.

If you read The Constantine Codex, what did you think? Am I on track, or did I miss something important? Do you hold Christian books to a higher standard than Christian films? Why or why not?

a new blog and a giveaway

You may have noticed (but more likely, you haven't) that I've recently begun following a new blog: Forsaken Kingdom. It's written by my college roomie Jodi's husband, Peter. Peter has written a couple Christian fantasy novels, one of which is available on Amazon. While I haven't read it yet, I did read the little free snippet Amazon provides, and it sounds intriguing.

Peter's blog is a mix of writing advice and thoughts on life--so even if you're not a writer or you're not into fantasy, you still will likely find something you enjoy. And if that isn't enough incentive for you to click on through, maybe this will be: he currently has a contest going on where you can win a copy of his book and a $15 Amazon gift card. (I don't know why I'm telling you this! Right now, I have a 1 in 7 chance of winning!) All you have to do is leave a comment telling him your favorite book ... and if I can publicly admit that Lori Wick's Sophie's Heart is still my favorite book, I'm sure you can find the courage to reveal yours, too!

a quick update

Life has been so busy lately! I keep thinking of things to write about, but then I don't get around to it. So, here's another of my famous "bullet" updates:

• Mom and I are seeing Straight No Chaser in Omaha tomorrow night! I bought the tickets for her birthday--in May--and it's crazy to think the day is almost here. I'm sure I'll have more to say after the fact. Too bad our tickets aren't as amazing as they were last December!
• I've started a blog for my advanced reading class. As of now, it's private, meaning only the class members and I can read or post to it. We may go public later. For now, though, here's a look at the class (at the top of the page). I absolutely love teaching them!
• My dreadfully neglected other blog lives again! (Well, there's one new post ... it's a start!)
• Blendy and I just signed up for the Singing Christmas Tree. Practices start in just over a week. I love Christmas!
• Speaking of Christmas, how's this for a gimmick? One of our radio stations, Star 97.3, has been playing Christmas music non-stop since Sunday afternoon. Apparently the station is switching formats--listeners are about to receive the "gift" of a new radio station ... hence the Christmas music in the meantime. I listened off and on for about a day--now I wish they'd just get on with it and play whatever it is they're going to play. At least I haven't heard the Christmas song that makes me want to drive over a cliff ... (Another station switched formats almost exactly a year ago. They had their own annoying gimmick to go with the switch.)
• I've signed up for my first 5K! Val's going to run it, and Blendy and I will walk it together. Wish us luck!
• I just found a new "favorite" movie. It's called Perfect Romance, and you can watch it on Hulu for a few more days. Starring LOST's Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), it's a cute little romance ... and it's incredibly clean, especially considering it's a Lifetime movie. If you're a sucker for romance, you'll like it!

lazy blogger

I've been an incredibly lazy blogger recently. The reasons for this are many, but basically I feel I don't have enough of interest to say to create an entire blog post. So, I offer you yet another bulleted list of randomness.

• I saw a commercial the other day illustrating how much food we throw out each year. I think the average was $500-worth. While I'm sure I don't throw that much out, I could certainly identify with the commercial. I can identify with it even more after cleaning out my refrigerator. Spoiled milk? Check. Old lunchmeat? Check. Moldy cheese? Check. Hard-as-a-rock bread? Check.
• In case you hadn't noticed, Lost is back! Tonight is the third installment of the final season. So many questions, so little time for answers!
• My dearly beloved desktop computer, which one of my brother's college friends built for me, exploded the other day. Maybe "exploded" isn't quite right ... I heard two loud pops, smoke shot out of the back, and it died. I'm so glad I decided to buy my laptop last summer! My brother thinks the data on the hard drive should be salvageable ... I sure hope so!
• I love the Olympics! The "inspirational" stories they run between/during competition always make me cry. And the actual competition is so fun to watch! Back in junior high/high school/college I was absolutely obsessed with figure skating. Funny, I'm not even sure I watched it at all during the Torino Olympics. I recognize the names of the American male skaters and one pair of ice dancers, but I don't know much about them. I think I've just found a new favorite skater, though: Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. He skated his short program to Jimi Hendrix, and he was so fun to watch!
• How is it that I went 28 years without realizing how wonderful cayenne pepper is? It's my new favorite spice. Just a little goes a long way, and it flavors without adding fat, which is excellent for my diet. Yum!
• Val and I are contemplating a trip to see Lifehouse and Daughtry in May. Really, Daughtry is the headliner, but Lifehouse is more important to me :-) We could see them in Wichita or Kansas City ... either would require a 4-5 hour car trip, but I've already proven I don't mind traveling to see my favorite artists!
• My next Blogging for Books review is due sometime next week. I have two books to read this time, and I'm about halfway through the first. The problem? It's a sequel, and I didn't read the first book. I was incredibly lost for at least the first 60 pages. I finally decided I didn't need to understand what was happening; I just needed to make it through. And now I think I've sort of figured out what's what ... and I really need to start speed reading!

what to do on a completely free day

These things I've done:

• sleep in
• watch Thursday's FlashForward. 
• rewatch the middle 20 minutes of FlashForward because I was distracted.
• watch Thursday's The Office.
• retake the Strong Life Test that goes along with my book review book. Get yet another result for my lead and supporting roles.
• finish my review of Find Your Strongest Life. Per Thomas Nelson guidelines, it will go up on my blog on Monday.
• write an expanded review to also post on this blog. Thomas Nelson requests that all reviews are approximately 200 words, but I had so much more to say about this book that I decided to write a regular review and an expanded review.
• work out while watching the first season of Fringe.
• make a better-than-Egg McMuffin out of a soft-boiled egg and an English muffin.

These things are yet to be done (and I can virtually guarantee not all of these will happen!):

• do the dishes
• go to the parents' for supper
• read Green
  
• take out the trash
• shower
• watch Ryan Reynolds on SNL
• search for speeches for the new speech season
  
• go to bed before midnight
  

cinematic survey

I recently came to the realization that I have too many movies. If I watched one of my movies every night, it would take me more than five months to get through them all! So I decided to try an experiment: I'm going to watch each of my movies in alphabetical order, jot down my reactions, and then decide whether to keep or sell the movie. I began a couple weeks ago and have made it through the numbers and partway through the A's. I've started a blog to track my progress: cinematicsurvey.blogspot.com. Feel free to check it out, but be sure to keep checking this blog, too!

welcome!

My little sister just started blogging. Check out her blog and leave her a welcome comment!

it's been a while

I haven't posted in two weeks. First, nothing "blog worthy" was happening, then I went to Kansas for Easter, then I was really busy with work, then I got sick. Now I'm healthy and less busy, so hopefully I'll get some things posted soon . . . especially the snake pictures. I read another book review blogger book, too, but I still need to write the review, so look for that in the next few days. And I've started tutoring--I definitely need to talk about that. Just wanted you to know that I'm still alive, and I haven't forgotten about my blog!

happy anniversary to me

Today is my three year blogging anniversary. I'd repost my first post here (I blogged on MySpace for two years before joining blogger), but frankly, it was depressing! My first post on blogger was in March of last year, so I thought about reposting that one . . . and it was lame, unless you love Dancing with the Stars. I wasn't yet comfortable posting as "me," so it was completely anonymous. It wasn't until May that I began doing all my blogging here (thanks to Jen's gentle prodding).

So instead of reposting anything, I'll give you the last sentence of the first post of each month of the last year . . . and I'll link to the original post, just in case you're curious. (Why the last sentence, you ask? Because the first sentence is too boring.)

• Steve because he's having so much fun . . . and because I loved the Three Men and a Baby movies.
• No blogger post in April. Sorry!
• You don't want the details of this recent bout with the stomach flu, but one good thing did come of it . . . I lost 13 pounds!
• Because why would we have a day with no rain?
• God is good!
• I wonder if I'd have the same reaction if I was married and someone called me Miss . . . I kind of doubt it!
• Sounds like a pretty good trade off to me!
• We'll see how I do.
• And no matter what happens, I'm so grateful to have a voice!
• After I watch it, I'll let you know what I think . . . and you can be sure I'll watch it--what a clever marketing ploy!
• When you think of me, I ask that you would pray those things for me, as well.
• But I don't know their rules . . .