One of my recent favorite quotes:

Do not hover always on the surface of things, nor take up suddenly, with mere appearances; but penetrate into the depth of matters, as far as your time and circumstances allow, especially in those things which relate to your profession.

- Isaac Watts (1674 – 1748), English hymn writer, theologian and logician

At the start of 2009, I made a resolution to read more books. I didn’t quantify it, because I didn’t read that many books in 2008. I’m happy to say that I’ve definitely met this goal. I kept a record of the books, and I was able to do 26 in all! Yay me!

Here’s the list of books, mostly fiction, that I read in 2009:

1. The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Unabridged Classics) / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author), Scott McKowen (Illustrator)

2. ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income / Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

3. Anne of Green Gables / Lucy Maud Montgomery

4. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

5. The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks

6. The Letter Writer / Ann Rinaldi

7. Remember Me? / Sophie Kinsella

8. A Wrinkle in Time / Madeleine L’Engle

9. The Wedding / Nicholas Sparks

10. The Testament / John Grisham

11. Wings / Aprilynne Pike

12. The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Liming Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life / by Leo Babauta

13. New Moon / Stephenie Meyer

14. True Believer / Nicholas Sparks

15. Nights in Rodanthe / Nicholas Sparks

16. Eclipse / Stephenie Meyer

17. Breaking Dawn / Stephenie Meyer

18. On Writing / Stephen King

19. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy / Jeanne Birdsall

20. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) / Rick Riordan

21.  Holes / Louis Sachar

22. Bud, Not Buddy / Christopher Paul Curtis

23. The Magician’s Elephant / Kate DiCamillo

24. Prada and Prejudice / Mandy Hubbard

25.  A Wind in the Door / Madeleine L’Engle

26. Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen

***

So for 2010, my reading goal is simply to top 26!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends! I sure did. It’s been a busy week (month!) of presents, food, and family activities.

The last few days have been hectic, because I had postponed Christmas shopping until the last weekend before Christmas. And then, I got sick! Ugh. I eventually got things done, thanks to my wonderful hubby, who watched the kids so I can go out and finish up whatever needed to be done. And so, we are on the last few minutes of Christmas 2009. The presents have been opened, and oohed and aahed at. I have gorged myself on the scrumptious food, lots of it! Just look at this:

Isn’t that gorgeous? These are the Cornish hens I made for Christmas eve dinner, which is when we have the big feast in our family. I love how these roasts have turned out. They are now officially replacing turkey in our family celebrations.

Taking photos of the food gave me an excuse to use the new flash for my Nikon camera. Can I say that I just love it? I can’t believe I waited so long to get a dedicated flash. It’s already gotten so much use in the couple of days since it arrived. Christmas portraits? You bet! I think Sears’ photo studio has lost a customer because of this flash.

Right about now, I just want to put my feet up, relax and think about the blessings of the season. Christmas 2009 is over, but the joy, peace and love that comes from Jesus Christ will last forever. And that’s definitely something to celebrate.

I came across this quote today, from one of my Facebook friends:

If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.

- Jim Rohn (1930-2009, Author and Speaker)

Lately, I’ve been thinking about being more intentional and what that means. First, to be intentional, one has to identify a mission, a goal, the intention. What is it that I want to accomplish in my life? What is my life plan?

While an entire life would be impossible to plan to the smallest details, I’ve always believed one must always have a general direction in life. Otherwise, drifting is the result, with no clear goals and nothing to show at the end of it.

Being intentional means being proactive, setting out a plan, and evaluating decisions and steps in accordance with that plan. I don’t want to “fall into someone else’s plan”. There is no joy or fulfillment in that.

I have a thing about paper. Sure, I spend a lot of time everyday on my laptop. I have probably done more damage to my eyes staring at the screen than doing anything else, including reading in dim light late into the night. But nothing inspires me, excites me, like new paper does.

You’ve heard it before, the love for the smell and feel of crisp fresh-from-the-mill paper. It’s true for many, and it’s definitely so for me. I cannot pass by a stationery display in any store without sparing a glance. Often, I stop to run my fingers over the latest planners, journals and notepads. More so, if they’re prettily designed. Sometimes, I surreptitiously sniff them, eyes closed to really take in the invigorating scent.

Out of all the paper products I’ve encountered, there are 2 brands that I adore: Moleskine and Franklin Covey. I use Moleskine, a large lined journal and a pocket one, respectively, for personal journaling and for writing on the go. My planner is a Franklin Covey 365 compact binder I got from Target, and which is currently stocked with Major Plan refills.

For writing, I often use a black Pilot G2. I have these all over the house and always have a couple in my purse. Recently, I also dug out a Parker 45 fountain pen, which was a wedding gift from friends. It has my and my husband’s names engraved on it. But the hubby has never shown an interest in using it, so it’s mine now.

Though the G2 is a perfectly good pen, it doesn’t inspire me to write as much as a fountain pen does. I use Quink black ink on my fountain pen, which has a fine nib. The ink works very well on the Franklin Covey paper, even better than the G2. The G2 results in more see-through on the other side of the paper. On the Moleskine, the G2 seems to work better, but I suspect it’s because of the finer line it makes. The Quink ink doesn’t bleed through or feathers on the Moley, but I can still see more of it on the other side.

All this talk of bleeding through and feathering may sound like too much fuss about nothing. But for me, and apparently for many Moleskine fans, it’s significant. I like my paper creamy and clean on both sides. I get distracted if I see too much of the writing on the other side. But I can’t bring myself to use just one side, not just for economy’s sake. I simply like the look of a filled notebook, with writing on all pages.

There is hope, though, for the Moleskine/Quink combo. I, through a stroke of luck on eBay, recently acquired an extra-fine nib for the Parker 45. I paid more for it that I normally would for a pen – let alone the point of a pen! – but the XF nib for the Parker 45 is rather hard to come by, and the one I bought is brand-new. And it’s coming all the way from France! Just for the romance of being able to say that I got my fountain pen (nib) from France, it’s worth it.

images: sxc.hu