magick musings…

I’m a sucker for books. I love my new Nook Tablet – and yes, I still have my old Nook and no you cannot have it, 🙂 ! But since I have my nook, I generally will buy them on the e-reader and not in print now.

So, one day I decided to make more room in the house (did I tell you I am totally hooked on organizing? I could be the poster person for how to organize your house. You really need to come check my closets, LOL!). So, I took a day and diligently and lovingly went through all my print books and categorized them into those into categories:

1. to be taken to Half Price books,
2. to be given away,
3. to be kept. You know the kinds: some written by super special friends of mine and several of my all time favorites. And, of course, the many, MANY reference books I have collected throughout the years. Those I put all in appropriate and labeled boxes and have stored safely away. Out of sight, but easy to get to. (the organizing thing again).

But, I discovered last year I don’t like journaling on the computer. I NEED something with me, at all times, that I can jot things down that I just know I will need at some point. Or thoughts that I want to remember and can refer back to. Or set some goals for the day/week and check them off. Or even some errands I need to do that day and want to plan my day.

Last year, I’d picked up a really neat hardback book at Barnes and Nobles that was perfect for me to carry around. The size was perfect, my special pen fit in the spiral binder (I have a special book so need a special pen, correct?) and it truly went almost everywhere I went. I actually filled it up during the year and when I went through it the other day, I was surprised at some of the things I’d written.

Some were profound, some were funny, some I’d forgotten about but needed. It also showed me where I was at the beginning of that year, and where I ended up at the end. And I realized I’d grown in some areas that I’d needed to and am pretty durn proud of. There were also some ideas on possible stories, some plotting ideas on the one I’m working on now. A few snippets of conversations I’d heard that would make good fodder in a story some time, and some of those really cute sayings that you think you’ll never forget, but always do.

Since I’m such a visual person, I thought I’d share a picture of it:

2011 Journal

So, I decided to do it again this year.

I gathered all the similiar books, I’d collected throughout this last year and put them all in a basket (that silly organizing thing!) and contemplated which was the one I wanted to use this year. It had to be the perfect one for the year as I’d have to live with it for the next 12 months.

Hmmm...lots of possiblities.....

They are all so pretty! How to decide???

But, eventually, I had to make the decision and the winner for the magical Journal of 2012 is…

Journal 2012

So, do you journal and, if so, what do you like to use?

~Sandy

GW (from chair in family room): What are you doing, Babe?

Me (in the other room):Who, me?

GW: No, the people down the street!

Me: Huh?

GW: Of course you. What are you doing in there?

Me : Nothing.

GW: I can hear you doing something. Is that a tape measure I hear? It better not be a tape measure I hear.

Me: Um…of course not. Why would you think that?

GW: Because I know what a tape measure sounds like. What are you measuring?

Me: Nothiiiing. (Much). Why?

(I hear a long suffering sigh)

GW: Because every time you get the tape measure out, you get into trouble.

Me (as indignant as I can):I do not. I know how to measure. I’m just measuring the floor in the foyer.

GW: Why?

Me: So I know how big of an oriental rug we need to buy to replace the other one.

GW: We need another oriental rug?

Me: Yeeeessss. When we moved the one we had in the foyer to the other room, we now need another one to replace it.

Silence for a long moment

GW: I was wrong.

Me: (trying to hide my grin. I’m not right very often.) Oh, yeah? Why is that?

GW: Because whenever you get the tape measure out, it’s not you that gets into trouble. It’s ME!

~Sandy

Last night GW reminded me that it’s been several months since I last blogged. October 11 to be exact.

There was a time when I wouldn’t go to bed at night until my daily blog was completed and scheduled to be published come morning. Now, there is always so much to do, that I put it last – which sometimes means never.

When blogging first became popular, EVERYONE was blogging. To gather a following, you’d visit other blogs, comment on them and most of the time, they’d return the favor. It became like a community of friends. You’d have the ones you’d read without fail every day and some you visited on a weekly basis. You’d have your favorites, from the humorous to the serious to the educational.

It was a way to discover new authors. Or new people with the same interests as you. Or a way to learn something new. It was a window into other people’s lives.

It became a journal for me. A way to express and share what was happening in my life. I’ve said many times, I love to laugh and I laugh at myself as much or more as I laugh at others. Through the blog, I could share the silly things as well as the philosophical and the serious.

But soon, as all good things do, a fad fades into the sunset.

It became difficult to find the time to read them like before. You could spend all day reading blogs and get nothing else done. And always, newer and faster technology become available.

No, blogging is not dead. There are still hundreds of thousands blogs in the cyber universe. I still read a few of my favorites along with recipe blogs and crafting blogs.

But the world is different. Other social media was soon born onto the cyberscene.

First there was MySpace. Which didn’t last long. And, of course, I had a My Space page. It really was fun designing and easy to keep up with.

Next came Facebook. At the present time, it’s still popular and easy to use to share your life and even play games with friends and family.

Twitter became hot (and still is). It was a way to reach thousands and not have to write but a few lines at a time. Faster, concise, shorter, time saving.

Now, I don’t get twitter that much. It may be because I don’t quite understand it and it’s hard to keep up with it. If you don’t keep a constant eye on it, you could miss a tweet from someone you really wanted to read. It reminds me of the ticker tapes at the bottom of screens (sort like news flashes, stock quotes, etc). It goes way too fast and I don’t have as many of the followers, some into the thousands, that a lot of tweeters have. How they keep up is a mystery. And, again, you could spend hours glued to your computer or smartphone.

But that’s just me. And maybe there is a way to group it or categorize it or something to make it easier to read and keep up with so you don’t miss your favorites.

There is also Pinterest which is a major time sucker (or again, is it just moi). I could literally spend hours and hours on that site.

Don’t look for it! I guarantee you’ll be hooked also.

Blogging is still my favorite. Although a lonely avenue sometimes, it’s still a more personal one for me. Even though my blogging takes mini vacations, I probably will never completely stop.

Speaking of mini vacations, that brings me to the original question.

Next post I’ll let you know where I’ve been.

Besides Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, that is…

~Sandy