The desire for change at this time of year is infectious, and I am not immune. After much thought, and for a variety of reasons, I've decided that it's time to retire Adventures with Lindsay.

Are you shocked? Perhaps you should be. I kind of am. When I started this blog nearly four years ago, I didn't envision its end. Nor did I imagine just how many regular readers would eat up my words and then beg for more. It's been an incredible thrill to write for an audience, and a great opportunity to hone my skills and love of writing.

But things have changed -- I have changed, as has my situation. I have two little boys who love and need me. I have a home that needs maintaining. I have other writing projects that I'm itching to tackle, things I want to make, books to read, new recipes to try, adventures in the city to embark on. I can't spend as much time as I have been lately sitting at the computer.

But before you panic, know this: I'm not going to disappear altogether. Blogging is something that I've grown to love. I love the audience I've gathered. I love the outlet and the opportunity to practice the craft of writing that it provides. I love how it is a way for my family, who we live so far away from, to be a part of our lives on a daily basis. And, despite the cliches associated with saying so, what I've written and will continue to write is recorded as a history of my small family, and that is too precious to abandon completely.

And so I'm moving to a new blog. Lindsay & Company will be simpler and less cluttered. It will be kept mainly as a way for me to capture the moments my family and I experience, as well as a few of the thoughts and ideas floating around in my head, and as such, I hope that it will be more focused. I toyed seriously with the idea of turning the comments off, but I think that, at least for now, I will leave them on. Blogging is, after all, a conversation, and I've enjoyed hearing your responses to what I have to say. I'm not sure yet how frequently I will publish posts, but I will very likely continue to write on a regular basis. And while I will continue to blog to practice the craft of writing, I will not be spending as much time as I currently do molding my posts with never-ending revisions.

What will become of Adventures with Lindsay? I plan to leave it up for a short time while I prepare to publish and bind it in book form. Soon, though, I will switch the setting to private and it will only be accessible to me.

I would be honored if you continued to read. If you wish to do so, please take a few moments to update your sidebar links and reader subscriptions, or bookmark Lindsay & Company.

This is, for me, a bittersweet farewell. It's been a great adventure, and it's hard to see it go. But if I've learned anything, it's that there are always new adventures in store just around the corner. Maybe I will see you there.

36. Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber, M.D.
Not everyone loves the "Ferber Method," but since it's a method of handling childhood sleep issues that I follow naturally anyway, I really liked this book.I read it because we'd been having some problems with Garrett's bedtime routine that we needed to fix in preparation for transitioning Caleb into his bedroom, and Dr. Ferber's outline of the human sleep cycles, as well as his suggestions for solving sleep problems, really helped us to take control of them. I highly, highly recommend this book, whether or not your child currently has difficulty during the night.

37. The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got that Way by Bill Bryson
If the study of linguistics, especially historical linguistics, interests you, you'd probably like this book. First of all, it's Bill Bryson, so it's hilarious. Also, it's incredibly fascinating. I could have done without the chapter on swear words. (In fact, I did. After reading a couple pages, I realized that finishing it would neither add or detract from any other part of the book, so I skipped it altogether.) Definitely an excellent read.

38. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
I read this one on my mom's recommendation. Again, it's Bill Bryson, so again I was rolling on the floor in laughter. This book is his memoir of growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, in the 1950s. His childhood is about as ordinary as they come, but he aligned it up with major cultural and political events of the decade, and that is what I think made it so interesting. Though I could have done without the profanity he sprinkled throughout, I've learned over the years that I'm the sort of reader who often brushes things like that aside when the rest of the book is worth reading.

39. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
It seems like everyone has been reading -- and recommending -- this book, so as my last book of the year, I finally jumped on the bandwagon. And, oh, I am so glad that I did. For the few of you out there who haven't read this one yet, it's a story set in Nazi Germany, and it's narrated by Death personified, which made for a very interesting twist. Zusak's writing is musical, and his characters (even Death) have this way of touching readers in a profound way (which unfortunately makes the ending all the more tear-jerking). If you haven't read it yet, resolve in 2010 to do so. You won't regret it.