This Year - A Quick Look at 2009!

Well, I'm about a week from going on holidays; and I thought to write this post as an end-of-year thing for all of my followers out there; and my family. I have had an absolute ball doing my thing here on Blogger; even if Google hasn't been all that crazy about two of them. Anyway, I've been up to so much and learnt to much too that I don't know where to begin - and the beginning is a tough place.

Early in the year, my old computer that had been my faithful companion in this little office died and I was traveling to and from my parent's house every day for about four months until my Dad bought another - faster - computer for himself. Then, we had the chore of moving my stuff off my old computer and onto my new one. Thank Goodness I backed up on usb flash drives! I wouldn't be a good writer if I didn't! He was amazed how organised I was on a computer compared to my house.

During the year, we lost a few good people in the movie industry. This included writer/director John Hughes who died at the young at of 60 from a massive heart attack. Then, not so long ago, we lost the biggest heart throb of them all: Patrick Swayze. This man made pottery classes sexy, ballroom dancing popular and being a rogue FBI agent incredible! I watched his final works while it aired on free-to-air television here after he passing and found it very hard to know that he was no longer with us.

Meanwhile, over this year, I started up a blog that became one of the best things I had ever taken on. I began doing book reviews on books that I had read over my lifetime from my childhood to now. And like anyone who was learning, I took baby steps and fell over a lot; however, now I feel as though I've been doing this forever! And I'm finding it more fun and enjoyable the more I do it. The blog is called 'My Reading List' and it covers an array of books and titles with official websites of all the authors I talk about for you to venture into; so I've done the hard work for you. And that's not all, I have other blogs that I have worked on about art, my collection of coin purses (yes, I collect them impulsively. I can't help it when I walk into a charity store, I must look for them) and this blog right here.

I'm also a Bookcrosser - a very active one.And this year, I organised what we call a Love Bomb for my Mum. This is where one Bookcrosser secretly gets others to send them pressies and parcels for another Bookcrosser to surprise them on their birthday or anniversary. And this went off brilliantly. My Mum kind of knew what was happening, but didn't expect to see so many presents; or have me take photos and make a photo album about it. She also got me to be the photographer at her and Dad's Wedding Anniversary party too; and I made an album out of that too. They were absolutely thrilled about it. Before the party, we had the most horrendous dust storm hit Brisbane City! It had traveled from South Australia to the Eastern Seaboard; coating the ACT, Sydney and Brisbane. It was horrible and it got in everywhere! And Dad had caught a dreadful cough from it that he couldn't shake.

Then, when my birthday came around, I found Mum (who is also a Bookcrosser) had gone and organised a Love Bomb for me. What took me 6 months to put together only took her 3 weeks; and I received around 21 parcels for my birthday! It was an absolute blast! Soon after my birthday, I met up with two interstate Bookcrossers here in Brisbane. It was so much fun; as they had never been to Brisbane before. So I took them to the Pancake Manor and then to 'Archives' bookstore on Charlotte Street. Both of them had never been to a bookstore so big in all their lives; and put it on their 'must do again' list for when they returned to Brisbane.

November was busy as Movember came around again and my brother took part. He grew a stash to raise money for Prostate Cancer Foundation and Depression in Men. Unfortunately, I couldn't donate this year, so I'll be giving to the cause next year. But he said at the end of the month he was the one who raised the most money in his group. I also had a very sick little bird on my hands on Melbourne Cup day. We took her to the vet and it turned out that she had a Bacterial Crop Infection which is brought on by stress. So, I had to leave her overnight at Greencross Vets; which I hated, but it was for her own good. Then, off I went to my volunteer work where I won with the horse Shocking! Not too bad if you ask me! Other things that kept me busily writing away here on my blog include meeting Wally 'The King' Lewis at Epilepsy Queensland's 40th Anniversary. He stayed to give autographs and pose for photographs with people; including me. I also went on the Logan Art Gallery's Christmas Outing to Redland Bay with Mum. It was hot day and we all had a lovely time at the Redland Bay markets where I picked up 5 coin purses for under $25.00, went to an art opening (which was overcrowded and well-catered for) and then we were off to lunch at the Grand View Hotel. What a day! Also, last month, I won 2 cds from Brisbane's most popular radio station: Triple M. There was Bon Jovi's 'Full Circle' and Powder Finger's 'Golden Rule' that I didn't expect to win! I had joined their Music Jury last year online and answered their quizzes all year and won these two; just when I was thinking of buying the Bon Jovi one for myself for Christmas as a treat! Thank you Triple M! You guys are wicked!

This month, on Bookcrossing, we began our HGG (Holiday Gift-Giving Season) in a major way. This actually started in October; but it builds up big around now. This is where you give pressies to people across the globe but you don't expect anything but a heart-felt thank you in return. It's all about being kind and generous. Well, I found a great way of thanking people. In October, I created a thank you blog for all my birthday presents so that all my Bookcrossing friends could see what I had received and from whom. So it wouldn't stagnate, I morphed this blog into the 'Gift Giving For All Occasions' blog where I thank people for sending me presents for Christmas, birthdays, prizes I've won, Easter, Halloween Swaps... anything really where I'm totally surprised by their kindness; so they know I'm truly grateful for their generosity. Also, they know it arrived in one piece too! I also go into the 'Thank You' thread on Bookcrossing and let them all know about the blog on a regular basis to remind them that their goodies are all there for them to look at if they want.

So, there you have it... my year of 2009. I hosted a lot of things on Bookcrossing, posted off many bookrings/rays and had a lot of laughs too. I also brought my late-Grandmother's piano into my house (it was left to me when she passed away around a decade ago) and now I'm learning to play it. Now, I'm looking forward to next year!
There's going to be so much more fun and games and enjoyable things to talk about too! So, stay tuned; as you never what's going to be here on The Book Craze!