Last week went much better than I dared hope it would be. I managed to catch some parts of the Presidential Inauguration and the evening program, and just the realization that the administration is really, truly, definitively changing has just sunk in, I think. I haven't spent more than about 5 minutes each day on the news (didn't feel the need to) and I hope to keep it that way for as long as possible. Life Yep, another busy work week. I know I hoped for a lighter work week, but who am I kidding. Work has been a different kind of busy each week this whole month and it will be nothing different this coming week. I just hope to figure out how to get my lunch hour freed up and use it to recharge. Not much happened in life this week - kids are loving being back at school, and I am loving my uninterrupted time, something that was only a luxury for much of last year. Reading Even if life was busy this week, I did read quite a bit. I'm slowly reading So You Want To Talk About Ra

Am I glad this week is over? It had been too hectic and I didn't get much sleep either. End of Masters course, please come soon!! I'm glad though that I do have this weekend free. I didn't get much reading yet, but I've been cleaning up my reader and browsing through all the fun bookish sites.
Two days ago, I went to get my state taxes done, and can you believe that the tax official carelessly filled out my form, wrote some wrong numbers and had me pay them 27 bucks? Ok, that's not much, but I should have got 120 bucks instead of having to pay the state! That infuriated me! I noticed the costly error only after reaching home, so I'm thinking of filing an amended return. Sloppy, really!
Last weekend, I went through my challenge lists and decided to drop out of some of them. I'm sure I will get a good many done by the end of the year, but there are a few that I have lost interest in or don't think will catch up with soon. So these are what I ditched:
- Audio Book Challenge: I joined this challenge because I was not a great fan of audio books and wanted to "get used" to them. No such luck! I still prefer the book!
- What's in a name? 3 Challenge: Some of the books I chose for this were challenged books for me. No wonder I am not making any headway here!
World Party Reading Challenge: I've realized that my reading choices are not geographic enough, so this would be a fun way to discover more books from various countries and try to read as many as possible! I missed exploring France in April, but will be globe-trotting starting this month. This challenge focuses on reading more international literature, but using US holidays and observances as the inspiration. It ends on March 2011.
The Orange Prize Project: This was the easiest prize project that I could join, mainly because I read more books by female authors than male authors? Isn't that so with many of us? Besides this is a perpetual challenge! You can almost see the thoughts running through my mind now, right, what with no deadlines? This challenge focuses on reading all the winners and shortlisted books honored by the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers. The list has quite a good bunch of books that should be in my TBR.
So how has everyone's challenges been going? Some of you have posted your incredible progress recently and that got me all green. Right now I remember two such bloggers - Kathy and Helen. I wish I was that diligent.
Did you sign-up for the Glorious giveaway?

Comments
:-) Glad you decided on the Party.I like the going global concept.
I hope you have lots of reasons to celebrate at the end of the semester. My son said he's super busy right now.
Kathy, taxes are definitely irritating. And on top of that, when they make a mistake, it's even more irritating!
Wendy, I'm so glad to be joining the challenge too! :)
Helen, I know ... I'm so good at making my life easier.. LOL!
I still prefer books to audio books, I don't think I'll ever "get used" to them.
Definitely file an amended return! $147 error might not seem like a big amount of money to some people but it certainly isn't chicken feed!
Diane, I'm sorry too! I really really want to like audio books! Then I could listen to them all the time. :(
Lisa, I filed the amended return. Phew! I just hope the money comes to my account. I might have to stop accepting review books for some time too just to move my challenges along. Bummer!