Designed to Live

House Rules by Jodi Picoult - Book Review

2011-06-09T19:23:00.001-04:00

House Rules by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eighteen-year-old Jacob Hunt has a passion for forensic science. Everyday at 4:30pm, he watches his favorite tv show, "Crime Busters", and takes detailed notes of each episode, and the case it covers. Jacob eats only yellow foods on Mondays, and will wear only the color blue on Fridays. He does not like for his routine to be disturbed. Jacob has Asperger's syndrome.

Jacob's mother, Emma, and 15-year-old brother, Theo, are accustomed to his unusual behavior. Emma has spent 15 years helping Jacob to connect with others.

Trouble begins when Jacob is linked to a homicide crime scene. Traits that are typical for someone with Aspergers syndrome, such as failure to make eye-contact, only further incriminate Jacob. His interest in forensic science is also suspicious. But is he guilty?

"House Rules", though fictional, was a fascinating and enlightening account of living with Aspergers. Told from the point of view of 5 characters, including Jacob himself, the reader finds out how this disorder can affect every member of a family.

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True Grit by Charles Portis - Book Review

2011-05-01T07:56:00.001-04:00

True Grit by Charles Portis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl who is determined to avenge her father's murder. She sets out to find Tom Chaney, the man who murdered her unarmed father and fled with all of his possessions. She hires Rooster Cogburn, a federal marshall known for his "true grit", to help find him and bring him to justice. So begins a journey that proves Rooster is not the only one who has grit - Mattie seems to have quite a bit of it herself.

I wasn't as fond of this book as I hoped I would be, given all the hype about the movie. But it was decent story and a nice, easy read. I expected more excitement, and there were parts where things got a bit hairy, but it was mostly predictable. It read like a typical western, which is not exactly my favorite genre, but it was a nice change from what I usually read.

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The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - Book Review

2011-04-26T18:58:00.001-04:00

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning. While it started out a bit confusing, I caught on to the format rather quickly. It tells the story of Henry, a time traveler, and Clare, the love of his life. Clare first meets Henry when she is only 6 years old, but Henry does not meet Clare until she is 20 and he is 28. I know, confusing, right? The story weaves between 1963 and 2008, with Henry occasionally jumping from the past to the future and back. It's a love story with a sci-fi twist.

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The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larson - Book Review

2011-04-21T21:41:00.001-04:00

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I thought I would never finish this book. It took me nearly 6 months to read it, and it felt like even longer than that. It was the book cover that initially caught my attention. I found it for $1 in the bargain bin at Borders (say that 3 times fast), and it looked very unique and interesting.

The plot was intriguing: A 12-year-old boy, who happens to be a child prodigy in the area of cartography, hitchhikes his way across the country to accept the prestigious Baird Award at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. The committee giving him the award is unaware that he is only 12 years old, and have based their decision solely on his work in cartography. T.S.'s parents are unaware that he is leaving. And so, Tecumseh Sparrow Spivet finds himself on an adventure of a lifetime.

Unfortunately, I was mostly disappointed with the book. The story was all over the place and the writing was unnecessarily verbose. The sidebar illustrations, while unique and imaginative, did not add much to the story and ended up being nothing more than a distraction. The author completely changed direction in the middle of the book, and began telling a story of T.S.'s great-great-grandmother. The story ended abruptly without resolution, and went back to T.S's adventure. Overall, I was not impressed.

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Thunderstruck by Eric Larson - Book Review

2011-04-01T09:44:00.001-04:00

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thunderstruck tells the story of two men: Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless telegraphy, and Hawley Harvey Crippen, the man convicted of Britain's second most famous murder. Larson weaves back and forth between the two stories, ending with Crippen's capture on a ship named the Montrose with the help of Marconi's wireless telegraphy.

I was quite excited about reading "Thunderstruck", as I was completely fascinated and enthralled with Larson's "The Devil in the White City". However, the magic that I found in "The Devil..." was missing in "Thunderstruck". While I loved the parts about Dr. Crippen, I found myself bored with Marconi's story, and even irritated when the author switched back to him. This book contains a fantastic historical account of both men, but it was not as gripping as I had hoped.

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One Day by David Nicholls - Book Review

2011-03-31T13:59:00.002-04:00

One Day by David Nicholls

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't read much chick lit anymore, so I thought this would be a nice departure from the heavier things I've been reading lately. The book was an easy, quick read and it had a unique format which I enjoyed. But I can't say the same about the content or the characters.

One of the main characters, Emma, was mostly likable in that she was smart, responsible, and caring. But what frustrated me about her was that she seemed to spend more time feeling bad about her circumstances than she did changing them. The other main character, Dexter, was nothing more than a selfish, egotistical a-hole who took his friendship with Emma for granted.

I can't say much more about my opinion of the book without giving away some of what happens, but I'll just say that I wasn't sure until the end whether I was going to like it or not. And it turned out that I was disappointed.

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The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule - Book Review

2011-03-01T18:49:00.001-05:00

The Suicide Shop by Jean Teule

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Without a doubt, this is the weirdest book I have ever read. The Tuvache family reminded me very much of the Addams Family, or even the family who parodied them, the Munsters. Their idea of "normal" is very different from most. They live in a dark world, many years in the future, when it rains sulphuric acid and suicide is not only common, but accepted. The Tuvache family runs The Suicide Shop, where they sell paraphanalia to patrons who want to end their lives. They sell anything from poisons to nooses. Lucrece and Mishima have 3 children - Vincent, Marilyn and Alan. Vincent and Marilyn are "normal", in that they never smile, are always depressed, and have a very dark outlook on life. It is their youngest son, Alan, who worries them with his smiles, laughter, singing and happiness. His mother worries: Is he contagious?

The Suicide Shop is the most unique story I've ever read. Though the content sounds disturbing, the book was surprisingly funny and enjoyable to read.

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Beach Music by Pat Conroy - Book Review

2011-02-28T14:45:00.001-05:00

Beach Music by Pat Conroy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Beach Music is the first Conroy novel I have read, and I did enjoy it. Conroy is definitely a good storyteller, but I felt this book was a little bit all over the place at times. While I definitely liked the book as a whole, I do have some criticism.

1. Leah's age was a point of confusion for me throughout the book. The timeline indicates she would be about 7 years old. Shyla apparently killed herself before Leah was 2 years old, and Leah and Jack were in Rome for 5 years. I don't know how much time passed during the trial with Shyla's parents. I feel Leah is portrayed as much older than a 7 year old. She behaves as if she is at least 11 or 12, going on 21.

2. In the epilogue, Jack makes the comment that he cried every time he read Shyla's letter. But throughout the book, he continuously talks about how the "tears never came" after Shyla's death. This was a major inconsistency.

3. Shyla references something in her father's past in her letter to Jack, though she supposedly never knew the story of her father's past. I forget the exact comment she made, but it referenced some of the things her father had to do to survive during the war.

Despite this, I was impressed with Conroy's ability to introduce a character in one way, then change your entire perspective of that character when he told their back-story. I felt particularly this way about Father Jordan. It did not seem as though the priest in Rome could be the same boy that showed up in Waterford 20 years prior. It gave a whole new dimension to his character, and that was very impressive.

Overall, an enjoyable read, even with the difficult topics it covered (i.e. suicide, abuse, the Holocaust and the Vietnam war).

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Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - Book Review

2011-01-23T17:47:00.002-05:00

Brimstone by Douglas Preston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but it lost one due to the ending. I did not want to put it down, and for that reason I consider it a fantastic read. However, the end left me both disappointed and confused.

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Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent - Book Review

2010-11-19T23:00:00.001-05:00

Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Catching Moondrops is the last book in the Calloway Summers series, and it does not disappoint! Jessilyn is about to turn 19 years old, and her love for Luke Talley has only gotten stronger over the years. A new young doctor, Tal Pritchett, has arrived in town, and when Mrs. Cleta becomes ill, he's the only doctor she's willing to see. The only problem is that Tal is a black man, and prejudice still runs rampant in Calloway. Hate flares up again, and Jessilyn finds herself lost between her craving for revenge and doing what is right.

I can't say much without ruining the ending, but I will say that Valent's final chapter in the Calloway series does not disappoint. I have thoroughly enjoyed this entire series, and would highly recommend it!

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The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Book Review

2010-11-19T21:38:00.000-05:00

The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Th Devil in the White City is, hands down, the best non-fiction book I've ever read. Every American should read this book! It tells the most fascinating tale of 2 men: Daniel Burnham, the lead architect in charge of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and H.H. Holmes, a convicted serial killer who used the fair to draw victims to his World's Fair Hotel. Larson manages to pull history of the time from every corner of the nation into this superbly written novel, from Frank Lloyd Wright to Susan B. Anthony and Buffalo Bill. He writes a haunting account of H.H. Holmes, a man who had the charm and charisma to attract women in droves, but an evil streak that puts Charles Manson to shame.

The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 was a turning point in American History, and this book describes that event and its effects in spellbinding detail.

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Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Book Review

2010-11-07T17:52:00.000-05:00

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Florentino Ariza fell in love with Fermina Daza as a young boy. When she marries another man, he dedicates his life to one day winning her back. Fifty years later, the opportunity arises, and Florentino will profess his love for her again.

I really thought I would like this book. I held out hope up until the end that I would find some redeeming quality about it. It's a "modern classic", and was picked for Oprah's book club - it HAD to be good, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. This may actually qualify as the worst book I've ever read. Perhaps that is a harsh statement, but I can usually find SOMETHING in every book that I enjoy, even if its not my favorite.

The writing style is too verbose and makes for a difficult read. Despite that, I felt that important information, such as a well-defined setting, was lacking. It took me a while to figure out the time-period and location of the story. (Turn of the century, Carribbean.)

The main characters in the story were not at all likable. Fermina is cold and distant, and not worthy of the love that Florentino holds for her. She is a bitter woman who seemingly treated her husband with hostility rather than love. Florentino is worse. Though the author wants you to see him as a romantic and a poet, he comes across as a desperate man with no morals - his way of proving his ever-lasting love for this woman is to spend half a century sleeping around with other women, one of whom was a 14 year old girl. He's nothing short of a pedophile. The only thing I enjoyed about this book was finally finishing it.

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Lottery by Patricia Wood - Book Review

2010-10-18T19:57:00.002-04:00

Lottery by Patricia Wood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up the audio book version of this book at the library to listen to while on a business trip. What a great choice!

Perry L. Crandall (the L stands for Lucky) has an IQ of 76, but he is not retarted - he's just slow. His Gram taught him some important things when she raised him: learn 5 new words from the dictionary every day (he's somewhere in the P's), don't say bad words, and most importantly, always play the lottery. Perry continues to take his Gram's advice after she passes away, and soon finds himself the winner of a $12 million lottery ticket. It doesn't take long for Perry's estranged and distrustful family to come knocking on his door. Fortunately, Perry has 2 friends he can trust: his best friend, Keith and his boss, Gary. He knows he can trust them, because his Gram told him so.

Perry L. Crandall is wiser than most people with an IQ of 120, and his story will warm your heart.

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Book review

2010-10-16T17:21:00.002-04:00

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The country of Panem, located in what was once known as North America, consists of 12 Districts ruled by the Capitol, an intimidating and controlling government. Every year, each District is required to send one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18, to The Hunger Games - a fight to the death. Only one of the 24 contestants will return home the victor. When her younger sister is randomly chosen as the female competitor for District 12, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her place.

I was surprised to find this book was written for youth, considering the subject matter. However, it was one of the most engaging books I've read in some time. It was suspenseful up until the very end and I'm anxious to read the next two books. It's difficult to review, as the ending leaves much of the story unresolved, which is entirely due to the fact that this is the first book of a trilogy.

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Mommywood by Tori Spelling - Book Review

2010-09-09T18:02:00.001-04:00

Mommywood by Tori Spelling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed sTori Telling, so I was excited when I heard Tori Spelling was publishing her second book, Mommywood. I bought the audiobook and listened to it on a day-long business trip. It certainly made the trip go by fast, and I loved hearing the "real" story behind things I'd read int he tabloids, but I found myself confused about the timeline. It seemed that the book jumped back and forth - one minute, it was Liam's first birthday, the next he was 4 months old. I think it could have been edited in a way that it flowed more smoothly, but overall, a very interesting read.

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The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaefer - Book Review

2010-08-01T19:10:00.002-04:00

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Juliet Ashton, a writer living in post-WW2 London, receives a letter from man in Guernsey named Dawsey Adams. Dawsey found Juliet's name and address in a book by Charles Lamb that previously belonged to Juliet. Dawsey would like to know if Juliet can find more books by the author in London, as he would like to read them for his book club, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Intrigued by the unusually named group, Juliet begins corresponding with Dawsey and eventually other members of the society. Through this correspondence, she learns how the group came into being, how it obtained its bizarre name, and what life was like on the island of Guernsey during the German occupation.

Mary Ann Schafer's epistolary novel combines historical fiction with romance, and keeps the you turning page after page until the very end.

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Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Book Review

2010-07-21T19:05:00.003-04:00

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Gregory Maguire is quite the story-teller. Wicked, as the full title clearly states, is the story of Elphaba, known to most as the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic story, The Wizard of Oz. Starting at her birth, and ending in the same spot as the classic tale, Maguire takes you through a journey through Oz, a place that turns out to be quite different than you would expect. Not only do we meet Elphaba, a green-skinned outcast who dislikes the Wizard’s regime, but we also learn more about Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (who may not be as perfect as she seems) and Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East, tragic victim of Dorothy’s house, sister of Elphaba, and original owner of the infamous ruby slippers. If there is anything that Maguire wants you to understand, it’s that every story has two sides, and things are not always what they seem.

My only confusion was that the story does not seem to tie in exactly with the movie. This is possibly because the movie was changed from the original story, but I will have to read it to find out.

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A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White - Book Review

2010-06-30T22:31:00.003-04:00

A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
A Soft Place to Land tells the story of two half-sisters who, at the beginning of the book, lose their parents in a plane crash, and are then separated. This seemed like a great premise for a good novel, but in a nutshell, this book was just very boring.

Throughout the first half of the book, I was still trying to figure out where the story was going, and what the plot centered around. Ultimately, it was just about the relationship between the two sisters. The sisters seemed so self-absorbed, they were hardly affected by their parents death. Neither was likeable, which made it hard to care about their relationship, and thus made the book a slow, anticlimactic read.

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Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand - Book Review

2010-06-15T08:28:00.002-04:00

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Vicki, Brenda and Melanie all come to Nantucket for the summer, each with their own problem: Vicki has been diagnosed with cancer, Brenda lost her job as a professor after having an affair with a student, and Melanie is finally pregnant after several rounds of in-vitro, only to learn that her husband is having an affair. Josh Flynn, a responsible and good-hearted young man, is on summer break from college, and working with his dad at the Nantucket airport. Bored with his job, he hopes to find some excitement this summer in Nantucket. Upon seeing three women walk off a plane, he believes they may be the answer. As it turns out, he's right. A great summer read, Barefoot makes you want to feel the sand between your toes, and the ocean breeze in your hair. This novel offers the perfect mix of love, scandal, and tragedy, while still remaining a light and uplifting read.

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Tomatoes and Babies and Car Shows, Oh My!

2010-06-03T09:05:00.002-04:00

Hello Again!

I really need to be more consistent about my posts. I'm currently on a once-a-month schedule, which is not so good. I apologize, but the truth is that since I started my new position at work, I simply don't have as much time to blog during working hours. Not that I should be doing that anyway, but hey.

I promised to keep you up-to-date on my Topsy Turvy tomato plants. They are doing great, and I have REAL TOMATOES growing! Check it out:

It's gotten pretty huge, right? And here is a close-up of some of the tomatoes that are growing:

They have actually gotten even bigger than that since I took the pictures. I'll have to take a couple more this weekend.

So what else is new? WELL, I'm happy and elated to announce that my first niece entered the world on May 4th, 2010. She was obviously anxious to meet us all, because she came 6 weeks early, weighing in at just 4lb 0oz and 17 inches long. Little Savannah is such a bright light in all our lives. She's the first grandbaby in the family, and she's as precious as she can be!

Work has kept me super-busy for the last few months. I consider that a good thing, as I was quite bored in my previous position. I've been doing a bit of traveling here and there, and learning all kinds of new things. It's been great.

The Big Car Show was 2 weeks ago, and it went great. My husband had his car ready just in the nick of time, and the weather was perfect all weekend. Not a drop of rain until we were ready to leave on Sunday. We got to spend time with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my nephew. My nephew, Benjamin, is now 9 months old and cute as a button. He had is own car for the car show - one of those ones he sits on, and you push him around. Everyone agreed he had the best ride of anyone at the car show. Ha! Here is a recent pic of my hubby's GTO.

The Hubby also hit a big milestone in the last couple weeks - he turned the big 3-0. We had a party for him over the weekend.

We haven't done any home projects recently, as hubby had been busy preparing for the car show. This weekend, I hope to do some landscaping - I will let you know how it goes!

Please Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco - Book Review

2010-06-01T15:17:00.002-04:00

Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story by Jodee Blanco

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I love a memoir, so I was anxious to read "Please Stop Laughing at Me". The book has two great simultaneous messages, one for the bully and one for the victim. The Bully reading this book may be enlightened as to how his/her behavior is affecting their victim. The Victim reading this book may realize there is hope, and there is a bigger life out there beyond high school.

I only gave this book three stars. I began to feel that the author was talking a little too highly of herself, which made the book less believable. It's not that I think her claims are false - they are probably all sadly very true. But had she been a bit more humble and honest about her own faults, it may have given a stronger message. She talks about being "different", but she doesn't say exactly how she is different, or why she is shunned by her fellow students. Nor does she offer advice to others on how to deal with bullying if they find themselves in that situation.

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Spring Flowers!

2010-04-11T18:50:00.000-04:00

Hello Folks!

I hope everyone is having the same beautiful weather we've had this weekend. It's been WONDERFUL. Hubby spent the majority of the weekend working on his car. Actually, he spent all day Saturday underneath his car, yelling and cursing because he couldn't get a couple dowels out of the block of the engine. (If you understand what that means, more power to you.) He ended up going to Lowe's at 8:30 last night to buy a welder, and proudly came out of the garage about 10:00pm with both dowels (to which he'd welded threaded rods) in his hands. He has been in a MUCH better mood today. I haven't heard any noise coming from the garage all day, except for the noise of the air compressor.

So during all of this, I decided to start planting flowers. I'm pretty confident that Old Man Winter has departed for the year, so I took a trip to the nursery this afternoon to get started on my favorite Spring activity: planting flowers. Now, just to clarify, my idea of "planting flowers" is that I go buy them, and watch my husband plant them. That is FUN. However, my husband has spent the good part of the last 2 months under his car (a '69 GTO, by the way), putting in a new transmission, among other projects. The Big Car Show is in May in Ocean City, MD, and for the 2nd year in a row, he has taken on Big Project at the last minute. (Last year, he installed a new rear suspension or brakes, or both, or something.)

So needless to say, I bought lots of plants and had to come home and plant them myself. Not quite as much fun, but still rewarding. Assuming they do not die. So here are some photos of the things that are blooming in my yard right now. Some were bought today, others were planted last year.

This is the "Cheddar Pink" Dianthus that I bought and planted today. Sort of a grassy plant with pinkish/purplish blooms.

This here is one of my winter pansies that I planted last fall. It'll probably be getting too warm for it soon.

One of two Bleeding Hearts - this one is unique in color, sort of a lime green foliage.

Closeup of the Bleeding Heart blooms. So pretty!

This one is called Diamond Frost. Planted this weekend.

Bleeding Heart #2, planted last year.

Bugs Eye View of the blooms.

And finally, this is my Topsy Turvey tomato plant! I'll keep you updated on how this thing works - I've never grown a vegetable in my life, so if this works, I'll be amazed!

"Julie and Julia "by Julie Powell - Book Review

2010-04-09T08:37:00.003-04:00

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Funniest book I've read in a long time! I love a memoir, and this was no exception. Julie Powell will have you laughing out loud at every turn of the page.

At 29 years old, Julie is feeling the stress of a dead-end secretarial job, and the tick-tock of her biological clock - a clock that doesn't seem to have a snooze button. She needs a distraction. So she decides to make every recipe from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" within the next year. As she puts it, "365 days, 536 recipes". She finds her inner chef, and also finds herself.

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Have you missed me?

2010-03-21T19:00:00.000-04:00

Hey, Blog World! Didja miss me?

I am so very sorry that I haven't been updating. Life just got busy, and I have no other excuse than that. As a quick update:

My brother, and his wife Mandy are expecting their first baby! My little niece is due to arrive in June! Everyone is so excited, as she will be the first baby in our family. I cannot wait to meet her!

Also keeping me busy is my new job - as of January 1st, I was promoted to Assistant Project Manager, and my responsibilities have been keeping me VERY busy. I have no time to blog anymore! LOL. I usually did my blogging first thing in the morning, before things got too crazy at work, but now, things are crazy before I even get to my desk. Its good, though - I prefer to be busy over bored, and I was definitely bored with my old position.

On the home front, I've done a couple minor projects. We installed a built-in desk in our library and placed a stationery laptop there. Its quite useful, as we use it to pay our bills, and its especially convenient for guests who want to use the internet. I also FINALLY painted our master bathroom, something I've been wanting to do for 3 years. We were holding out to do a full remodel, but I simply could not stand to look at the hideous navy blue wall any longer. I will try to do a post for each project soon with pics.

Lastly, I decided to put The Things Girls Love on an indefinite hiatus, and begin posting all of my book reviews here. You may notice I've already posted one!

Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for sticking around while I disappeared on you, and also to those of you who checked in on me. Happy Spring!

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold - Book Review

2010-03-21T18:49:00.000-04:00

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book grips you at the beginning, and you have to know: how could a woman murder her own mother? But the back story was weak, and the ending was terrible. I loved The Lovely Bones, and expected more out of this. But all I found it to be was disturbing.

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Soooo Sorry....

2010-01-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

I am a horrible, horrible blogger. I have been MIA for weeks, and there's no excuse other than the fact that the holidays have kept me busy. Last week was the perfect opportunity for me to catch up on my blogging, because I was at home on vacation all week long. But I just never got around to it. So I'm sorry everyone! Thank you for not abandoning me while I abandoned you.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and an amazing New Years! I have to say, mine were both wonderful. We spent a few days in Lynchburg with my family before Christmas and stayed until Christmas morning. Then we made our way to New Jersey, with a pit stop in Richmond to unload, reload, feed the cat, and exchange our "big" gifts to each other. He got me a North Face jacket (LOVE!) and I got him an Erector Spykee robot. We spent a couple nights in New Jersey, and were back home late on Sunday night. Although were exhausted from all the traveling, we managed to stay up long enough to exchange the rest of our gifts with each other.

Scott had to go back to work on Tuesday, but I was fortunate to have the entire week off. I did some shopping, cleaning, cooking, and organizing. I still haven't taken down Christmas decorations, but that was by choice - I don't want to! We plan to do it this coming weekend. One more week of the Christmas tree. :-)

I've also spent plenty of time playing the Wii, which hasn't gotten much use since last winter. We've played so much Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Super Mario Bros this week. It's been fun!

We are trying to decide what our next project will be. Could be hardwood floors in the Library and Dining Room, or it may be a built-in fridge in kitchen (which would open a huge can of worms!). Once we decide, I will let you all know and keep you up-to-date.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-12-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

Well I have really been slacking off on my blogging recently. Things have gotten quite busy and hectic for the holidays, and I don't have as much free time to come here.

First, I'd like to remind you to visit my other blog, The Things Girls Love for book reviews, recipes, shopping tips, and more. I've just posted a book review of The Shack today.

So I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I thoroughly enjoyed mine. It was full of family, shopping, scrapbooking, and playing with a baby. Scott and I left Richmond about 5:30AM on Thursday morning, in an attempt to beat traffic going to NJ. We managed to do just that, only hitting slight traffic about 30 min before we got there. I spent most of the day watching my nephew, Benjamin, reading, and helping my sister-in-law get ready for dinner. There were 15 people for dinner, and the food was great. My cherry pie seemed to go over well, but Jeanine's apple pie was my favorite.

Jeanine was a trooper, and went out shopping with me at 5AM on Black Friday. I think she did more shopping than me! We found some great deals and had a good time. Meanwhile, Scott was doing his very first babysitting job - he stayed at the house to sleep, and was there when Benjamin woke up to feed him and watch him until we got back. Scott and I went back out shopping at the mall for a couple hours, until I got too tired. I took a nap on the way back to Jeanine's.

That evening, Jeanine's mom came over and we all scrapbooked. We weren't able to convince Bonnie to join us - I think she was just too distracted by her grandson. I can't say that I blame her. Jeanine and I spent much of Saturday scrapbooking as well, and we went to Michael's that afternoon to load up on more supplies.

Scott and I left about 8:30 on Sunday morning, hoping to beat traffic once again. We weren't quite so lucky - traffic was pretty bad on 95 between DC and Richmond, but we still managed to make the trip in 5 hours.

Sunday afternoon, I went shopping with my brother, then Scott and I started on our Christmas decorations. I can't wait to post pictures for you all! They will be coming sometime this weekend :-).

New Ottoman!

2009-11-16T12:56:00.001-05:00

Last night, I was out doing some Christmas shopping. I had stopped by Bed, Bath & Beyond to pick up coffee for the Keurig, and I moseyed over to the furniture section to check out their ottomans. Low and behold, they had the PERFECT ottoman for the new library!

It matches our chairs perfectly, plus it has storage! Can't beat that. I was thrilled. It was $59.99, and I had a 20% off coupon, so I got it for about $48. Very exciting!!! It looks great. I'll take a picture tonight.

I can't decide what I want to do next: crown molding, recessed lighting, or hardwood floors? Tell me what you think.

Built-In Shelving - Converting the Living Room to a Library!

2009-11-13T08:58:00.003-05:00

I've been teasing you all for weeks, and the time is finally here to reveal our latest project!!

About 4 weeks ago, Scott and I started our latest home renovation project: Built Ins! We have a "Formal Living Room" in the front of our house that, until now, has been completely useless. We don't have "formal" furniture (nor would I want such a ridiculous thing...no offense to those of you who do) and we spend most of our time in the Family Room anyway.

Here are a couple pictures taken when the previous family was still in our house. The first one is kinda dark, and the second one is kinda small, but between the two you can get an idea.

So that is the "Way Before" picture. The first thing Scott and I did in this room was to paint it the same color as our Dining Room.

As you can see, our choice of furniture was lacking. So 4 weeks ago, Scott and I finally decided to do something about this room. We went to Lowe's and bought these:

They are the basic, unfinished wall cabinets for the kitchen. They were on sale 15% off that day, so we got them for under $100 a piece.

Scott cut the carpet to the width of the cabinets, then built a platform to raise them up just a bit. Installing these was the easy part.

Next, we needed a counter top. We used 3/8" plywood and glued it down. Scott gathered every heavy thing he could find in the house to weight it down and make it glue flat. LOL.

This completed the cabinet portion of our built-ins. Next up: Bookshelves! Scott pre-built the bookshelves using the same type of plywood as we used for the counter. Then he nailed them to the wall.

He added trim to make the bookshelves looks bulkier.

With both bookshelves installed, we removed the cabinet doors and started sanding everything down in preparation for prime and paint. We also filled the nail holes with wood-putty.

Next, we primed and painted everything!

We saved the cabinet doors for last. Scott JUST finished them 2 nights ago, and we put them on last night. And finally, I was able to decorate!! So here we are, the big reveal.

Before: Useless Room

After: Beautiful Library!

We bought the leather chairs at World Market for $199 a piece. Not too bad!

I found these very cool magazine holders at West Elm, on sale for $12.99 a piece.

I also found this very awesome vase at West Elm for $29.99 and the filling was $6.99.

I sorted my books by color:

And here are just a couple more random pics:

There is still so much more we want to do in this room: crown molding, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, a new ottoman, etc. But if I made you all wait until we were completely done, you might never see it!

Linking this post to A Soft Place to Land's DIY Day.

Hemi Engines and Rain Coats

2009-11-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my rain coat. It's been pouring down rain for 2 days now, and it looks like it will continue through tomorrow night. That is a bummer, because I have lunch plans with my friend Keri at the Nordstrom Cafe tomorrow afternoon (She-Crab Soup, anyone? YUM.), and I was hoping to squeeze in some shopping afterward. But our mall is an outdoor mall, and rainy weather is just not conducive to outdoor-mall-shopping.

I am also thankful for my Hemi engine. When I bought my car, my only criteria was that I wanted heated seats. Apparently, in order to get heated seats, you must get the top model vehicle. So my car came with all kinds of bells and whistles, with a Hemi Engine being one of them. I can never go back! (P.S. I totally bought my car on ebay).

This morning, I was driving along the exit ramp to get on I-295 (in the pouring down rain, mind you), minding my own business, when suddenly a little Mazda Miata starts coming into my lane. I lay down on the horn, he sees me, and KEEPS COMING OVER. I'll be the first one to tell you that I have road rage. Not only did he come into my lane, practically running me off the road (I slammed on the brakes to avoid either hitting his car, or running into the guard rail) but once he was in front of me, he slowed down just to annoy me even further. There is no doubt he did this intentionally because I was still blowing my horn. (Don't cut me off - I will embarrass you by blowing the horn for a solid 20 seconds.) So we're on the ramp merging onto 295, and he's going maybe 40mph just to irritate me. So at my first opportunity, I get in another lane, hit the gas, and leave him in a trail of dust. Or mud, actually, since it was raining. I love my Hemi.

In other news, it's almost Friday! I'm seriously considering putting up my Christmas decorations this weekend. I know its too early, but we are busy the last 2 weekends of this month, and I want to have them up before December. Besides, I LOVE Christmas decorations, so the longer I get to enjoy them, the better :-).

Unless my husband decides another layer of paint is necessary, I believe we will finish our latest project tonight! So be on the lookout for the big reveal. It's gonna be a good one.

Dining Room Remodel - Drab to Fab!

2009-11-09T23:04:00.006-05:00

When Scott and I bought our house, we knew that almost every room would need some work. One of the (many) rooms that was in need of a remodel was the Dining Room. (Actually, every single room in the house needed one. But I digress.) Case in point:

This picture was taken before the previous family moved out. I would never in a million bazillion years buy a dining room table and chairs that looked like that. Nor would I pair it with that...cabinet? I'm not even sure what that thing is. It looks like it has the wreath from the previous Christmas on top of it. (P.S., this picture was taken in March.) I love to use photos we took during our walk-through as "before" pictures, because they are so horrible. This family had no sense of style whatsoever. Just wait till you see the Family Room before/after. HA! (Think yellow walls, red fireplace.....yep.)

My biggest beef with this room was the chandelier - I despised it. I was also not a fan of the hunter-green below the chair rail. (Better picture below).

Please disregard the mess in the "formal living room". (I can't WAIT to show you what we've done in there...we aren't finished yet, but it's close!)

Anyway, our first order of business was to paint. Unfortunately, when we did this remodel, I was not a blogger. So I only thought to take before and after pictures, and I don't have any "in process" pictures.

We decided to paint the room "Boardwalk" (which is a Martha Stewart Valspar paint color at Lowe's...#MS129). We bought all of our dining room furniture from Target - both the table & chairs, as well as the china cabinet.

We found the light fixture from Lighting Universe. The curtains are from Lowe's and the accessories on the dining table are all from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Kirkland's was going out of business at the time we did this remodel, and I was able to get a great price on the mirror.

So there you have it! Drab to fab!

Linking this post to Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday.

Reasons I Love Friday

2009-11-06T09:14:00.002-05:00

Today is Friday! There are so many great things about Friday.
1) It's the start of the weekend.
2) I get to wear jeans to work (which means I can show off my fancy new Steve Madden Amme Sweater boots!)
3) I get off work at 11:30. *neener-neener*
4) The Maids come once a month on a Friday, and they are coming today. SWEET.
5) If The Maids aren't coming, that usually means I get to shop all afternoon!
6) Everyone is in a good mood on Fridays. :-)

Scott and I are so close to finishing our latest project! We've put built-in shelving in our "Formal Living Room", and converted it into a "Library/Study" (because, seriously, who needs a formal living room?). I've also considered calling it "The Parlor" just to be fancy. "Come on in and have a seat in The Parlor. Can I get you a drink?" Although, the words that come to mind when I think of a Parlor are "dark", "smokey", and "British". And none of those describe our new room, so I shall stick with "Library", because I always wanted one.

I debated whether I should blog about our progress as we went, or wait until we were finished to do a big "before & after" reveal, and I decided on the latter.I can't wait to share it! But it will probably be next weekend before I do, because we are going out of town this weekend.

Tonight, we are heading up to NJ to visit Scott's family. We are stopping tonight at Scott's brother's house, then going up to see his mom on Saturday. Her birthday is next week, so we are going to celebrate this weekend. We also hope to visit his grandmother and some other friends and family while we are there.

Happy Friday to everyone! Have a great weekend :)

Guest Bathroom Renovation

2009-11-04T22:31:00.003-05:00

Last year, Scott and I decided that our guest bathroom really needed some help. This is our first house, so each project we undertake is always a first for us. So this was our first stab at renovating a bathroom. I don't have the greatest "before" pictures, but they will have to do. Keep in mind these pictures were taking the day we put an offer on the house - so all the stuff belongs to the previous owners.

The bathroom was in need of some serious help. We gutted it.

OK, we left the shower. But we gutted everything else.

We decided to put in heated floors with Travertine tiles.

P.S. Heated floors are a pain in the butt.

Scott insisted on putting the tiles in at a 45 degree angle, which seriously complicated things. But it was worth it - it looks awesome, and it makes the room look larger.

We installed recessed lighting to brighten up the room, since it has no windows, and painted the walls a steel blue color.

We put in a new vanity, new light fixture, and new toilet. The faucet we picked out for the vanity is amazingly awesome. We couldn't find a mirror that we liked, so we bought a frame instead and made a mirror out of it. For artwork, we took pictures of the blooms on our Bradford Pear, had them printed in black & white, and framed them as well.

(P.S. It's really hard to get good pictures of a room so tiny)

We were really pleased with the results! It took quite a bit of time, but it was well worth it (for our guests, at least). We haven't braved the Master Bathroom yet, but its on the Project List!

Linking this to Thrifty Decor Chic's Before & After party!

My First Blog Award!!!

2009-11-04T08:13:00.003-05:00

Yesterday morning, I was so pleased to wake up to find that I had been nominated for my very first Blog Award, courtesy of Lindsay at Mommy Wonderland! And what's even better - I received not one, but TWO blog awards!!! Thank you so much, Lindsay!

Here are the rules for the first award:

Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I'm relatively new to this blogosphere, and I don't quite have enough to list 15 blogs, so I am going to list 10. I'm passing this award on to the following people:

Jackie at Chic Scraps
Nicole at Chatty Nicoley
Danielle at Transforming Home
Maggi at Just Add Glitter and Stir
Amanda at My Life's Journey
Shannon at Thrift Store Chic
Heather at Step Inside..
Abigail at Rear Window
Kimi at So Many Kids, So Little Time
Debbie at Suburb Sanity

And the rules for Award number 2 are:
This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

OK, and my nominees for this one are:

Congratulations to all of you!!!

Halloween Costumes - Past & Present

2009-10-30T09:13:00.001-04:00

Kelly's Korner has asked us to show our Halloween costumes from the past and present. How fun !

Here is a photo of me when I was about 2 years old.

And this is me 5 years ago dressed as a Pirate for work:

And here is me today, dressed as a black cat!

What are you dressing up as?

Pumpkin Carving!

2009-10-29T19:29:00.001-04:00

Last night, Scott and I decided to carve our pumpkins. I had been out at Michael's one night last week, and they had their craft pumpkins on sale, so I picked up 2 of them. I thought they would be easier to carve, and if they turned out well, we could use them again next year. Plus - less mess, right?

I pulled out the Pumpkin Carving Kit that we bought 5 years ago when we first moved to Richmond, and carved our first pumpkins together. He made a ghost that year and I made a witch brewing a pot. I have pictures, but they are currently being held hostage on the Media Center, and I can't access them. Sorry.

Anyhoo. I decided I wanted to make a Hokie pumpkin (GO HOKIES). So I went online and printed out a logo that I could use as a template.

Scott decided to pick a template from our pumpkin carving kit. He decided on a freaky looking bird.

My pumpkin came out, shall I say, AWESOME. Ok, except for the crooked T. But really, that doesn't show up all that well in photos...

OK, maybe the crooked T comes out pretty obvious in photos.

Scott's took longer, because a) it was more detailed and intricate than mine, and b) he's a perfectionist.

Both pumpkins turned out beautimous!

And P.S. - Don't be under the impression that craft pumpkins don't make a mess. THEY DO. You will definitely have something similar to saw-dust all over creation after you are done (unless you are Scott, who managed to keep all the pumpkin-dust INSIDE the pumpkin), but its easy to clean up with a vacuum.

Welcome to Designed to Live!

2009-10-29T11:22:00.000-04:00

You may be wondering why you are suddenly following a new blog that you don't remember starting to follow. Fear not! What was previously "Blakelyn's Life" has now become "Designed to Live".

I felt my blog needed a revamp. My life is no longer just about me - it's about my husband as well! The new title of my blog is a spin on the tv show "Designed to Sell". My husband and I love to work on new projects in our home, and over the past 2 years, we have designed it to live. Why wait until we are ready to move, and put all our hardwork and money into something that someone else will enjoy? That's just silly!

So this blog will now partly focus on mine and my husbands home renovation projects. I will post some of our previous projects, current projects, and all the ones we plan to do in the future. I will also continue to update everyone on mine and Scott's day-to-day lives.

Just think of this as a Blog Renovation - the meat and bones are still there, I'm just improving the design :-)

I've been tagged!

2009-10-27T08:53:00.001-04:00

Lindsey over at Mommy Wonderland tagged me for this little questionnaire, and it looks like fun!

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

Let's see. Ten years ago, it was the fall of 1999, so I was entering my senior year of high school. I think by October, I had just applied for Early Admission to Virginia Tech's engineering department, and not long after received word that I'd been accepted! I was taking all AP classes to get college credit, and enjoying my last year of living in good ole Lynchburg.

2. What are 5 things on my TO DO list today?

I love lists! Although I haven't made one for today just yet. Let's see...

1. Work - this has its own To Do list that is not fun or interesting

2. Hopefully finish reading my book.

3. Watch Glee tonight!

4. Email a couple friends

5. Do everything possible to avoid catching whatever cold/flu/bug is going around the office.

Snacks you enjoy...

My fave is ice cream, hands down. Anything Chocolate!

Where are 5 places you have lived?

I haven't lived in 5 different cities, but I've lived in plenty of different places.

1. Lynchburg, VA with my parents

2. Blacksburg, VA - Virginia Tech campus (Go Hokies!)

3. Blacksburg, VA - Townhouse

4. Richmond, VA - Apartments

5. Glen Allen, VA - Current House :)

What are 5 things I would do if I was a billionaire?

1. Pay off our house, student loans, and cars.

2.Pay off all those things for my family

3 Quit my job.

4. Start a family.

5. TRAVEL!

And I would also do something nice, like give to charity, but its honestly not one of the first 5 things I would do. I'm just being honest! LOL.

OK, so now its my turn to tag some of you! Here are my 5 picks for who should do this one next:

1. Mandy at My Life's Journey

2. Jackie at Chic Scraps

3. Nicole at Chatty Nicoley

4. Angela at GeekBlog

5. Jo at Diggin Around

Photography, Birthday Party, and a Musical Reunion

2009-10-25T19:13:00.003-04:00

Wow, has it been a busy weekend! But such a fun one. We got to see lots of friends and family this weekend, and did quite a bit of fun stuff.

On Saturday morning, Rory met us at our house, and we all headed down to Lynchburg. We had made plans to stop along the way at every old barn we could find to take a picture - this was a project we had planned for my mother-in-law's Christmas gift (shhh, don't tell.) Every time she comes to Virginia, she always says how she'd love to have a picture of all the old barns between Richmond and Lynchburg. So we made plans to take pictures of every old barn we could find, and make them into a photo book as one of her Christmas gifts. We had one little issue on Saturday morning, though: it was POURING down rain. Somehow, God was looking out for us, because whenever it was time to take pictures of the barns, the rain held up for us. Hopefully they all turned out ok - the leaves were gorgeous on the mountains.

We arrived in Lynchburg about 1:30pm and went to my parent's house to hang out before heading to Leah's birthday party. She was 8 years old on Friday, and her party was a FunQuest, the local skating rink. I hadn't been there in YEARS. It had changed a lot. We got to see all the family at the party, and Leah got plenty of nice gifts. She was more interested in skating than opening presents, I think. Here's a picture of me with all my siblings (and my hubby) outside FunQuest:

We went out to dinner with Shane, Mandy and Rory at Panera that evening, then went to the Lighthouse Cafe. It's a "Coffee House" at my parent's church where they have live music once a month. This particular night was special, because a 20-some year reunion was happening.

When I was a kid, my dad (Scotty) was in a band known as Firecreek. They played at local venues, mostly country music, and sometimes gospel. They were pretty successful, and as a matter of fact, country music singer Ricky Van Shelton was a part of their band before he became famous. But that was before I was born.

Anyhoo, one of the band members (the singer, David) also goes to my dad's church, and they often play together at the 9:30am service. They had made plans to play at the coffee house last night, and at the last minute, the bass guitar player backed out. So David emailed my dad and told him he had a new bass player that was filling in - it turned out to be another one of the old band members, Skeeter. So while it wasn't the entire band back together, it was a mini reunion. Here is the three of them (from left: Scotty, David, Skeeter):

I wish I had a picture of the three of them from 20-some years ago when they still had the band together. Listening to them play together again was pretty awesome. I brought back so many memories. I love hearing my dad play the piano - he's so good! I was able to get a couple videos last night, though they came out really dark (that's disappointing), and they don't do them justice. But here they are!

Edit: We were able to lighten both videos!

Burning Love:

How Great Thou Art:

Get to know Scott and I!

2009-10-23T08:26:00.003-04:00

I found this fun little survey on Step Inside, and thought I'd give it a go! These are really fun questions!

First off, he's a picture of my hubby and I when we got married in Hawaii.

And off we go!

1. What are your middle names?
David and Blakelyn

2. How long have you been together?
A little over 6 years.

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Mmmm....a month at the most.

4. Who asked who out?
He asked me out to dinner. I tried to pretend it wasn't a date by wearing jeans and a t-shirt that read "As a matter of fact, the world does revolve around me." I always tell him I was upfront with him from the get-go.

5. How old are each of you?
I'm 28 and he's 29.

6. Did you go to the same school?
We met in college, so if that counts as the "same school", then yes. But we're from different states.

7. Are you from the same home town?
No, he's from New Jersey, I'm a Virginia girl.

8. Who is the smartest?
We are both engineers, so I can't say one of us is smarter than the other. He's a genius on the computer, but I'm better in English/Writing. We are both awesome at math.

9. Who majored in what?
I'm a Mechanical Engineer, he's a Computer Engineer.

10. Who is the most sensitive?
We are both pretty sensitive - we hate arguing. I think he might be more sensitive than me, though.

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Hawaii - we got married there.

12. Who has the worst temper?
I think he does - which most people who know us would probably NOT believe. He doesn't get a temper with ME, it's usually either with his computer (90% of the time) or the project he's working on. I have a temper, too, though. I'm SO impatient. Maybe we are equal.

13. How many children do you want?
Scott wants 2, I would like 3, but its going to depend heavily on how well I handle being pregnant. Which terrifies the bejeezus out of me.

14. Who does the cooking?
I do all the cooking, unless I"m sick.

15. Who is more social?
We are both homebodies, and we're both pretty quiet and reserved. But I think I'm better at being social than he is - thought neither of us are good at it. Hey, we are engineers, afterall!

16. Who is the neat freak?
Definitely Scott - I'm such a messy person. I'm working on it.

17. Who is the most stubborn?
Also definitely Scott! I truly do not think I'm at all stubborn, though my friend Amber has told me otherwise. LOL.

18. Who wakes up earlier?
ME! I'm such a morning person, and he is such a night person. I'm always the first one awake. Again, unless I'm sick.

19. Where was your first date?
The Boston Beanery in Blacksburg. (Say that 3 times fast.)

20. Who has the bigger family?
Immediate family - Me. I have 2 brothers, and he has only 1.
Extended family - Him. He has 5 aunts and uncles JUST on his dad's side.

21. Do you get flowers often?
No :-( (Honey, if you are reading this...hint hint.)

22. How do you spend the holidays?
It's always a lot of traveling at Christmas. We usually spend Christmas day traveling from VA to NJ, or visa versa. We alternate which family we spend Christmas Eve with each year.

23. Who is more jealous?
Me. He never gets jealous.

24. How long did it take to get serious?
Not long at all - almost immediate.

25. Who eats more?
I eat more sweets, he eats more "real" food.

26. What do you do for a living?
I'm in Project Management, he's in Software Development.

27. Who does the laundry?
I do all the laundry. It's the only chore I don't mind doing.

28. Who's better with the computer?
This question made me laugh. Haha.

29. Who drives when you are together?
I prefer that he drives, so it's usually him. Sometimes I'll drive if he is tired or not feeling well.

30. What is your song?
We never had a song, but the one we picked for our first dance at our wedding was "Me & You" by Kenny Chesney.

This is my new siggy that Mandy made for me :)

Built-Ins!

2009-10-19T08:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday! I'm faking my enthusiasm, but I figure if I try hard enough to pretend I'm in a good mood about it, maybe it will come true. The power of positive thinking! Sometimes I wonder if my positive attitude is as annoying to others as their negative attitude is to me. I hope so.

Any-hoo. We have begun a new home-renovation project! Yesterday, Scott and I went to Lowe's and bought supplies to start putting built-ins in our "formal" living room. We are converting it to an office/library. So exciting! Not only will it give that room a purpose, but it will also add a significant amount of storage to a home that is very much lacking in the storage area. Great investment in the long run, I believe. Scott was able to build the base, and put the cabinets in place last night. The next task will be to tackle the bookshelves, which Scott says is the hard part. I'll be posting details & "before & after" pictures of the renovation on The Things Girls Love once we finish. I'm incredibly excited to have a place to display all of my books. :-)

In other news, our friends Chris and Keri are moving here soon! Chris will be heading up next weekend, and Keri (and Rebecca) will follow the weekend of Halloween. We are going to help them move. It's so exciting to have friends moving to our area.

Well, it's the beginning of another long week. Hope this one goes by quickly.

Finally, a Weekend to Breathe

2009-10-16T08:07:00.001-04:00

It's Friday!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend planned. For the first time in....6 weeks!.....I don't have a thing planned for the weekend, and I'm very excited about it. It's been a busy couple months, and I could use the break! I miss my Saturday morning yard sales, and Sunday mornings at Panera with my hubby. Those are my weekend traditions when I'm actually at home. Although yard sales may be over for this year, especially since rain is in the forecast and its FREAKING COLD. So I'll substitute with my "winter" Saturday morning tradition, which is fixing a big yummy breakfast.

I'm excited! Mandy and I have decided to participate in Fall Into Reading 2009, which you can read about on our blog. We've each made a list of books that we would like to read between now and December 22nd. We'll see how well we do. I am not a fast reader, so I only have 5 books on my list - Mandy has 6.

This past week was lots of fun. Tuesday was my birthday, so my brother took me out to lunch at Topeka's, and he gave me Wii Fit Plus for my birthday. I can't wait to play it - this week has been so busy, I haven't had a chance, but I have a feeling its going to get some use this weekend. Scott took me out to dinner that evening at Firebirds, then we did some shopping at the mall. On Wednesday, we went out to dinner with our friends Laura & Bryan, to celebrate their pregnancy. They were going to find out yesterday if the baby is a boy or a girl, but I haven't heard yet! Last night was full of awesome TV (The Office, Community, Survivor...and I still have to watch The Mentalist and Fringe...I couldn't stay up any later). I believe shopping is on my agenda for this afternoon, along with a nail appointment. I have birthday money to spend :-).

I've been contemplating starting up with my jewelry-making again for the fall, but I can't decide. It's been so long since I've made jewelry, but I've had some interest in the past few weeks, with people asking me about it. It's probably the time of year - everyone is starting to think about Christmas gifts. I considered doing another jewelry party, but I'm not sure it would be worth it. I don't know enough people here in Richmond, and it would be a lot of trouble to do it in Lynchburg. I'll have to think more about it.

Well, the Fall is officially here, in all its crappy glory. (Can you tell I'm not a fan? Go here to read my list of pros and cons of the season). It's been raining for 2 days now, and it doesn't look like it wants to stop. It's also been COLD. Bleh - I want my warm, sunny weather back!

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeee!

2009-10-13T08:28:00.000-04:00

It's October 13th, my favorite day of the year - because it's my birthday! I have lunch plans with Rory today, but I don't know what the plans are for this evening. I told Scott to surprise me. In the past, I've usually made my own birthday plans, but this year, I didn't plan anything. So when Scott asked me what I wanted to do, I just said "Surprise me!" We'll see what he has up his sleeve.

Speaking of my birthday, my family took me out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate. We all went to Shakers, and I had ribs and bacon-wrapped shrimp (which I just remembered, there were leftovers and I totally forgot about them....I hope my dad finished them off). After dinner, we went back to my parents' house for cake and presents. They got me an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery - Cookies & Cream, my favorite! As for gifts, I got some awesome stuff.

Shane & Mandy bought me this Built Camera Case:

They also bought me the Holiday Limited Edition coffee by Green Mountain:

And lastly, they got me a gift card to NY&Co.

My mom and dad bought me a 1 qt non-stick Emeril saucepan. This may not sound exciting, but I asked for it and I love it - so useful! All my 1 qt pans were stainless steel, and stuff kept burning in them.

And finally, the grand prize, my new Coach Bag!

Is that not the CUTEST bag ever? Well, I think it is. I love the pink ribbon. It's black leather, so it will be perfect all winter long.

And just because posting pictures is fun, here is a picture of the dress I am wearing today. I actually bought it about a month ago, but I absolutely LOVE this dress. And I don't even like dresses!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Scrapbook Crop this weekend

2009-10-08T15:58:00.000-04:00

I feel like this week has been going on forever. Not that its been a bad week or anything, it just seems like the weekend may never get here.

It's actually been a nice week so far. On Tuesday night, Eric, Shannon and Connor stopped in for dinner on their way home from South Carolina. They'd been down there for a wedding. I fixed Chicken Tortilla Soup and cornbread, and we played Guitar Hero. It was a fun night. Connor is at such a cute age - he's talking, and with his limited vocabulary, most of his words are baby talk, which I think is adorable. Simba is terrified of both children and babies, so we were interested to see how he would respond to Connor. Mostly, he just ran away from him. Haha.

This weekend, I am heading down to Lynchburg for the scrapbook crop with Mandy. I'm looking forward to it - I have lots of scrapbooking to get done! We are going out to dinner Friday night to celebrate my birthday. I'm turning 28 on the 13th. I can't believe I'm that old already! Seeing it written down makes it look even worse.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Weekend with Amber

2009-10-06T11:13:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I announced the new blog that Mandy and I have started called The Things Girls Love. From now on, all of my book reviews will be posted on that blog, and this one will be reserved for updates on my life. If you enjoy my book reviews, please start following us! I've just posted a review of Octavia Butler's Kindred.

So back to my life. I had such a fun weekend. And unintentionally, I had a LONG weekend. It was great. On Thursday, we attended the U2 Concert in Charlottesville. I left work about 3PM, and we hit the road right around 4:00. We had all decided to meet at Eric's to have dinner and drop off one of the cars. Everyone arrived at exactly the same time - 5:15 or so. We all had pizza, and amused ourselves by watching Connor. The kid is adorable, and actually quite funny. He gets that from both of his parents.

The concert was a lot of fun - its not every day you get to see Bono perform, so we really enjoyed it. I wasn't a fan of the opening act, Muse. Their music made my ears bleed. LOL. But we had so much fun, the weather was great (slightly chilly, being outside, but that's better than too hot). We got back to Richmond that night around 1AM, and Shane and Mandy had come back to stay the night. I decided when my alarm went off the next morning that I had no interest in going to work. Besides - I was driving to Durham that day, and needed my sleep.

I packed my bags and left town about 11:30AM on Friday. I had no idea Durham was so close by - it only took me 2 1/2 hours to get there, although I killed a half hour by stopping to eat. I checked into the room around 2:30 and Amber arrived right before 3:00. We decided to head to the Nasher Art Museum to check out the Picasso Art Exhibit (VERY cool), and another called "Beyond Beauty" which featured old photographs. We had dinner at the Magnolia Grill, then hit up another museum to see the "Water for Elephants" art exhibit by Brad Williams. When we got back to the hotel that night, I realized that I had a UTI. So at 1AM, Amber and I were out in Durham trying to find the 24 hr Walgreens that my doctor had called in a prescription to. It was quite the adventure, let me tell you. And my GPS was not cooperating.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then went to the Farmer's Market and Craft Fair in downtown Durham to look around. We got back to the hotel and caught the shuttle to the football game. YAY! Duke's stadium is so small compared to Lane and Scott stadiums. It was like a highschool stadium, but the good news was that this meant we had GREAT seats. We were in Row N. NEVER would you get seats that good at a home game. The unfortunate part was that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and 3-4 hours in the sun is not good for me, with my history of skin cancer. Amber was smart enough to bring sunblock, so that helped, but I still got burned on my face and hands. I ended up sitting out most of the 4th quarter just to be in the shade. But it doesn't matter. WE WON :-) Go Hokies!

After the game, we needed to relax, so we went back to the hotel for some downtime. We picked an italian place to have dinner (Pop's), but neither of us was too impressed with it. Then, after dinner, we went to the Durham Library for a book reading and book signing by Sue Monk Kidd, and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor. It was so exciting! They first read passages from their new book, Traveling with Pomegranates, then answered questions. After that, they signed books - I had brought The Secret Life of Bees and the Mermaid Chair for them to sign, and I ended up buying Traveling with Pomegranates as well. It's next on my list of books to read :-).

On Sunday morning, Amber and I had breakfast at IHOP, then we both hit the road. We had a blast, and it was nice to just have a girls weekend. We both needed it.

Sunday night, Scott and I put up our Halloween decorations outside. That was fun! I love Halloween, and seeing all the kids in their costumes. I still need to get some spiderwebs for the bushes, and put up decorations inside. Maybe one night this week.

Launching: The Things Girls Love!

2009-10-05T16:38:00.000-04:00

I mentioned last week that Mandy and I were working on a new project together. And now its time to share it with you! Go check out our new blog, The Things Girls Love. It's just what it sounds like - we blog about all the things girls (we) love, such as reading, traveling, shopping, fashion, scrapbooking, etc. We talk about our "favorite things", and hope to hear about yours as well. Pop in and see what we've shared so far. We're just getting started, but we think its going to be a lot of fun, and we hope you'll join us and share the blog with your friends. If you would be so kind as to link to us on your blog, that would be very much appreciated.

U2 Concert

2009-10-01T13:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't written much this week. Shame on me! There are so many exciting things going on, too, so I have to catch up. Our weekend in NJ was fun. We've decided to go back up the first weekend in November to visit, since we didn't go see any of Scott's family this past weekend. That is also the weekend before Bonnie's birthday, so we can celebrate with her.

Tonight, we are going to the U2 concert! I am leaving work around 3PM. We hope to leave about 4PM and get to Charlottesville around 5. Shane and Mandy are meeting us at Eric's house - he's going to have pizza waiting there for us. We will probably get back pretty late. Shane and Mandy are heading back to Richmond with us to stay the night, and they are going down to the beach this weekend.

Tomorrow, I'm leaving straight from work to head to Durham to meet Amber :-). I can't wait, its' going to be such a fun weekend. Hokie Football, book signing, and girl time. Can't wait :)

Another Project!

2009-09-29T15:24:00.000-04:00

Mandy and I are working on an exciting new project! Clue: It has something to do with girls and their "Favorite Things". Should be up and running soon :)

Sunday Morning

2009-09-27T08:23:00.000-04:00

It's Sunday morning about 8 AM. I've been up for about half an hour. Everyone else is still sleeping. There is no question that I am a morning person. On weekends, the morning is my favorite part of the day - that time when its just starting to get light outside and the rest of the world seems to still be sleeping. This morning, it is a little dreary - it has been raining all night, and the sky is still overcast. The weather is cooler up here (I'm in New Jersey) - I'm not sure if it is also this cool at home or not.

We've enjoyed the weekend. It's been quite relaxing, and although we didn't get to do everything we'd planned (we had planned to visit some of Scott's family further north), we've been able to spend a lot of time with our nephew. He's the sweetest little thing - only fusses when his tummy hurts, or if he's hungry. Even I do that. Haha. He had his first bath last night, and he didn't even cry. We may come up again next month to visit the rest of Scott's family. We just have to plan a weekend.

Well, I'm off to get a bowl of cereal. :-)

Food Poisoning :-(

2009-09-25T09:15:00.000-04:00

So the last couple days, I've been battling some food poisoning. I woke up this morning feeling much better, though a little weak from my "clear liquids & gatorade" diet. I had toast and oatmeal for breakfast. Hopefully they will be easy on my tummy. I was thankful that I didn't throw up at all (which is how I know it must have been food poisoning, and not a virus). It was just digestive, so I know it must have been something I ate. Never again will I order a steak & cheese sub from Yossi's Cafe. I was also VERY careful not to get dehydrated this time - last time this happened (which happened to be the night we got home from our honeymoon), I ended up dehydrated in the hospital. So this time, I drank lots and lots and lots of water.

Anyway, on to more pleasant things. I'm very thankful that I'm feeling better, because we are heading to NJ tonight to meet Benjamin. I just can't wait to see him! It's going to be a busy weekend, as we have a lot of people to visit. I'm going to leave it all up to Scott where we go. We need to definitely see his grandmother.

In other exciting news, next weekend is going to be a BLAST. On Thursday night (Oct 1), we are meeting Shane & Mandy in Charlottesville to go see U2! It should be so much fun. On Friday, after work I'm heading down to Durham, NC to meet Amber. She and I have been trying to plan a weekend to "meet in the middle" for a while now, and we finally settled on Oct 2nd. And we randomly chose to meet in Durham, since its right at halfway between both of us. And what are the chances that Virginia Tech would be playing against Duke that weekend AT DUKE? So we got tickets for the game! We are so excited about that. Also, Sue Monk Kidd is doing a book signing at the Durham Library on Saturday night - she wrote The Secret Life of Bees (one of my favorite books) and The Mermaid Chair, and has a new memoir coming out that she wrote with her daughter. So we are going to the book signing :). It's going to be such a fun weekend!

That's about all the news I have for now. Happy Friday everyone :)

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani - Book Review

2009-09-23T08:07:00.002-04:00

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I have to say I was quite disappointed in the storyline of this book. Not only was it depressing, but at the end, it left you wondering about Jack Mac's side of the story. What happened between Jack and Karen Bell? Perhaps that information isn't important to Ave Maria, but its important to the reader. The only thing I enjoyed about the book was the setting - Trigiani makes the reader long for Italy.

View all my reviews >>

Field Days of the Past

2009-09-21T09:55:00.001-04:00

What a fun weekend! Before I tell you about my weekend, I have to point out my new "Blidget" in the sidebar for my other blog, SightSi. I made it using Widgetbox, and I think its pretty awesome. If you have a blog, and would like to support SightSI by featuring my blidget there, let me know.

Now, back to my fun weekend. On Friday night, Scott and I decided to go out to the mall to do a little shopping. The Maids had come Friday afternoon, and the house was spic-and-span. So we didn't want to dirty up the kitchen by cooking, so we grabbed something to eat while we were out.

On Saturday morning, I went to a few yard sales before Shane & Mandy arrived. They got in about 10:30 or so with Rory, and we all headed over to Field Days of the Past, which is a 3-day festival in Manakin-Sabot. It's the coolest festival I've ever been to, and this was our 2nd year going. The place is enormous - its held on this old farm that's been there for who knows how long. I think the farm itself might have once been a village, but I'm not sure. I should do some research on the history. There is a general store and a mechanics garage that were once in business. During the festival, you can buy glass bottles of coke and penny candy at the general store. They have an old saw mill, a cotton gin, an old tobacco house, a smoke house, steam-powered cranes, and tons of other equipment that is probably over 100 years old. All of the equipment still works, and throughout the day they do shows where you can see it running. They also have tractor pulls, lawnmower racing, equestrian shows, petting zoos, pig races, an antique car show, vendor booths and even carnival rides. I've never been to a festival that had so much to see and do. We had a blast. I'll have to get some pictures from my brother to post.

After the festival, Shane & Rory left for Norfolk to go to a Tommy Emmanuel concert. I think they really enjoyed it. Mandy, Scott and I went back to our house, and our friends Chris & Keri happened to be in town looking for houses and they came by to visit with their little girl Rebecca. They are all moving to Richmond sometime this fall, as Chris got a job with the Federal government. We are really excited about it! Rebecca is such a cutie - she is 3 months old now. She was a little fussy because she was so sleepy and she was fighting it, but I was able to rock her to sleep.We watched some of the VT football game (Go Hokies! They rocked it out at the end) while they were there.

After they left, Mandy and I went to Short Pump to do some shopping. I picked up a new wallet from Fossil, which I absolutely LOVE. I've never had a Fossil wallet, but I might be hooked on them now. It's this really soft leather, and so cute! It is great for the fall.

After shopping, we came back home and ordered pizza and watched tv. On Sunday morning, I fixed Pecan Pumpkin Spice waffles for breakfast. They were SO GOOD. I got the mix at Williams-Sonoma. Mandy and I did some scrapbooking in the morning, and Shane came up about 11:30 or so (he had stayed with Rory - they didn't get in until almost 2AM from the concert). We all went to Trader Joe's, and Shane & Mandy left from there. Rory came up and met Scott and I at Mexico Restaurant for lunch, and I had a chimichanga for the first time. Delicious! Then we went back to our house and sat out on the deck the rest of the afternoon just hanging out. It was a fun weekend.

This coming weekend, we are heading up to NJ to finally meet Benjamin. It should be fun! I think we are also going to try to see Scott's grandmother while we are there, as she hasn't been doing too well recently.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Remaining Photos from Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg

2009-09-16T09:07:00.000-04:00

This is the actual "Old Mill"

Comedy Barn

HillBilly Golf

I thought this was hilarious!

Alamo Steakhouse

Our "Love Nest"

Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge - Day 4

2009-09-15T11:16:00.000-04:00

Our last full day in Gatlinburg was mostly a free day. We had done just about everything listed on our itinerary, so we decided to sleep in a bit and take our time before going out for breakfast. We picked up some donuts from Krispy Kreme to hold us over until lunch, and did some more cruising around to look at the cars. We had lunch at the Old Mill - after having their breakfast, I was curious what they would offer for lunch/dinner. They gave us corn chowder with fritters as a starter. I ordered the Pot Roast, which came with green beans and mashed potatoes, and Scott had a grilled chicken sandwich.

In the afternoon, we went to a few shops, including the Christmas Village and back to the scrapbook clearance store. We had planned to go to the Smokey Mountain Winery, but decided we really weren't in the mood for wine. Instead, we went to play Hillbilly Golf in Gatlinburg. It was fun! You ride on this cart straight up the side of the mountain, and it drops you off at the beginning of the putt-putt course. Then you make your way about halfway back down the mountain as you play. We had a really good time. When we finished, we drove around a bit more before going back to the cabin to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was at the Alamo Steakhouse. I had reserved us a "Love Nest", which was a private dining area at the restaurant. It sort of looked like the booths at The Melting Pot, except a little more private. We had bacon-wrapped shrimp for an appetizer, salads, and then we both ordered Filets for our main course. We skipped dessert - we'd eaten so much that week that we just didn't need it. It was a great end to our vacation.

The next morning, after packing up and checking out, we stopped at Smokey Mountain Knifeworks on the way out of town. I'd heard Rory talk about that store a lot, so I just wanted to see what it was like on the inside. We left town about 1PM and made it to Lynchburg right around 6:00pm. We went straight to Shane & Mandy's house, and we all decided to go out for dinner at West Side Deli. I hadn't been there in forever.

After dinner, we rode up to Bald Mountain (at least that's what I call it) to see the Snowplex. It is really cool! I'll be pretty excited if they open snowtubing for adults - right now its just a little hill that's really for kids. I'm not big on the skiing or snowboarding, and you need to be pretty experienced to ride those hills anyway. But it was fun watching them all come down - especially standing there in shorts and a tshirt. Haha. Sort of surreal.

Overall, it was an awesome trip. I will post a few more pictures when I get home tonight - I don't have them here with me right now.

Cottonwood Whispers by Jennifer Erin Valent - Book Review

2009-09-14T19:34:00.001-04:00

Cottonwood Whispers by Jennifer Erin Valent

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the sequel to Fireflies in December, Valent continues the story of Jessilyn Lassiter, who is now 17 years old and quickly growing into a young woman (much to her father's dismay). Problems arise when tragedy strikes a little girl in town, and a dear friend of Jessilyn's is blamed. Meanwhile, Gemma has taken on a new job and isn't around as much to spend time with Jessilyn. Written with the same southern charm as Fireflies in December, Cottonwood Whispers will make your heart ache one minute, and swell the next. It will leave you anxious for the release of Catching Moondrops.

View all my reviews >>

Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge - Day 3

2009-09-14T09:44:00.002-04:00

So as you can see, I slacked off a bit on my blogging at the end of our vacation. Truth is, I started sleeping in, and didn't have time to blog each morning.

On our third day, we visited the Apple Barn, and had breakfast at the Applewood Restaurant. It was just as good as the Old Mill! They brought out Apple Muffins, Apple Fritters w/ applebutter, and some kind of apple mango juice. Then we ordered our food, which was pretty much the same as the old mill - eggs, bacon, bicuits, gravy, grits, home fries, etc. It was delicious, but WAY too much food! After breakfast, we went over to the Apple Barn to do some shopping in their store. They have such neat stuff, and its a great place for anyone who loves apples.

After leaving the Apple Barn, we headed through Gatlinburg to the Smokey Mountain Stables to go horseback riding. We pretty much got a private ride - it was just the guide, Scott and I. My horse's name was Buckerspots and Scott's was Tiny Tim (he was anything but tiny). About 5 minutes into the ride, we ran into a copperhead snake! The guide was in front of me, and he walked right over it, nearly stepping on it. I said to him "There's a snake right there" - I was walking by it as he turned around, and he said 'That's a copperhead", with eyes as big as coasters. GREAT. I made it past it and turned around to see Scott walking by it. I asked him, "Did you see it?" and he said "See what?". He totally missed it. Apparently, none of the horses saw it either, because they would have been spooked - horses do not like snakes. We're lucky the snake didn't strike - especially Scott. That snake had to be riled up by the time he rode by it, because we all almost stepped on it. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, but still quite beautiful. I'd hoped we would see some bears - the guide told us he sees them about every day, but we didn't run into any more wildlife that day.

We rode over to the Great Smokey Mountains visitor center after our horseback ride, but it was starting to rain up on the mountain. We decided not to drive up the mountain in the rain. Instead, we went back to Gatlinburg and had lunch at Bubba Gump's. Then we drove to Pigeon Forge and cruised around looking at the cars. The car show, Shades of the Past, was scheduled for Friday and Saturday. So by Thursday, Pigeon Forge was crawling with old cars. Scott loved it! We cruised around all afternoon, then went back to the cabin for a little while to relax before going back out to the Comedy Barn show that night.

The show was hilarious, and we had a great time. I had been to it the last time I was in Gatlinburg, back in the late 90's when I was still in highschool. My friend Heidi went with us on that vacation, and I had a keychain with our picture in it that we got at the Comedy Barn show. I still have that picture - after the keychain broke, I carried it my wallet for years. This time, I got the same keychain again with Scott and I. It's a terrible picture of me, but I couldn't resist getting it. And besides, it was a fantastic picture of Scott.

Well, that about does it for Day 3 of our trip. Here are a few pictures from our horseback riding adventure:

Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge - Day 2

2009-09-10T07:33:00.003-04:00

In all my excitement about my vacation, I forgot to write about 2 pretty important events that occurred this past weekend.

First, on Friday night at about 11:15 PM, my very first nephew, Benjamin Allen Tindall, was born weighing in at 6 lb 13oz! He's as precious as he can be, and if I get the OK from his Mom, I'll post a picture of him here. We are going to NJ the weekend of September 25th to meet him - I cannot wait! I can't believe I'm an aunt.

Then, on Sunday evening, my cousin Amy got married! Her wedding was absolutely beautiful - it was held at Valhalla winery on top of a mountain in Roanoke, VA. The view was spectacular, she looked absolutely gorgeous in a spanish-themed dress and veil. Everyone had an amazing time. I'd love to post pictures, but they are on my other laptop in Richmond. So I'll have to do that when I get back home.

Now, as for Day 2 in Gatlinburg - we had a blast! Truth is, we did not go to Gatlinburg yesterday - we spent the day in Pigeon Forge. First, we headed down to the Old Mill District and had breakfast at the Old Mill Restaurant. It was AMAZING! They have the best homemade biscuits I've ever had, they just melt in your mouth. You get a ton of food - homemade banana bread muffins, biscuits, grits, gravy, eggs, bacon, pancakes, and a glass of juice. We were stuffed! I want to go back, but we have another place planned for breakfast today. After breakfast, we walked around to the stores in the district - the General Store and the Pottery were really cool.

Our next stop for the day was Dollywood. I have been to Gatlinburg a couple times in my life, but this was my first time going to Dollywood. We had a great time - Scott and I aren't roller-coaster riders, so we picked a couple shows and some "moderate" rides. We are such chickens. LOL. We had a great time, and we were exhausted by the end of the day. We left about 4:30, and headed back to the cabin for some downtime before our dinner show. We had tickets for the Black Bear Jamboree that night, which is a dinner show. The food was great, and we really enjoyed the show.

Today, we are heading to the Applewood Restaurant and the Apple Barn. Then we are taking a ride into Smokey Mountain National Park, and possibly doing some horseback riding. Tonight we have another show, The Comedy Barn. Should prove to be a day full of fun once again :).

Here are a few pics from yesterday:

Klondike Katie at Dollywood:
Scott & I at Dollywood:
The Old Mill Restaurant:

Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge - Day 1

2009-09-09T07:19:00.005-04:00

We made it down here! We got here a little after noon yesterday, and were able to check in to our cabin early. The cabin is AMAZING! I was concerned it would not be as awesome as the pictures were, but it certainly is! It has a beautiful view of the Great Smokey Mountains, a spiral staircase, a jacuzzi out on the deck, and a loft with a pool table. It also has a full kitchen, so we went to the grocery store last night and grabbed a few things to have this week.

So after checking into our hotel, we decided to head to downtown Gatlinburg for the afternoon. We walked around to all the shops, and had lunch at a place called Mountain Grill. Scott got a chicken sandwich, and I had pizza. It was really, really good. Then we decided to ride the Sky Lift - which, frankly, took a lot of nerve on both our parts. It is so scary looking! But once you are on it, it is actually not scary at all. It was so fun, and had AMAZING views! They take your picture when you get to the top, and it turned out so good I had to buy it - I wish I had a digital version so that I could post it here.

And would you believe it - there happens to be a HUGE car show going on this week! As we were driving into town, it looked like the car show at Ocean City, MD! The official "Rod Ride" doesn't start until this weekend, but there are tons of classic cars here already. Scott has his eye on a '69 GTO Judge that is for sale. LOL. I told him he had nowhere to put it. As many cars as are here already, I can't imagine what it will be like this weekend when the show officially starts. Scott will be in heaven - we hadn't expected this.

We are having a great time. We decided to come back early last night and enjoy and relax in the cabin. Scott took a nap while I read, then we spent the evening in the jacuzzi on the deck, which is really nice. However, I've found that I can't stay in it for very long, or I get really hot and light-headed. I had to get out and pour cold water over my head. LOL.

Today we are headed to the Old Mill district for breakfast, then over to Dollywood. We are going to a dinner show tonight (The Black Bear Jamboree).

Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Downtown Gatlinburg:

View from the top of the Sky Lift:
My attempt at Self-Portrait whilst on the Sky Lift:
Sky Lift:
Our cabin from the outside:
Inside of cabin:

A Wedding and a Vacation!

2009-09-04T07:39:00.002-04:00

I've been looking forward to this day since....well, ever since I planned our vacation to Gatlinburg, whenever that was. It's my last day of work for 10 days! WOOHOO!

Half day today, then off to get my nails done and a pedicure this afternoon. Might get my car washed, as well, since it is Filthy with a capital F. Amy's rehearsal is tomorrow in Roanoke, and then she gets married on Sunday! I have got to figure out what I'm going to do with my hair - that is one of my goals for the evening. I might go with something VERY simple, as long as she is OK with it. Maybe a couple ringlets, and just wear it down.

Monday is Labor Day, and we plan to come back to Richmond just for the day to check on Simba and pack our bags. We head back to Lynchburg that evening, and then Tuesday morning we are off to Gatlinburg!! I'm SO excited! I hope the weather cooperates - the last I checked, they were calling for rain next week. Hope that doesn't happen.

Check out my new upgrades on SightSI if you get a chance, and rate some of the itineraries for me. This is still not the new website, but I've upgraded the blog with the logo and header that Mandy designed...she did an awesome job! And I've also gotten the ratings feature to work properly.

In other news, my niece/nephew is due to arrive any day! As a matter of fact, today is the full moon, so I need to check on Jeanine and see how she's feeling.

Happy Labor Day to everyone - I may have time to write while we are on vacation next week. I'll try my best.

The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry - Book Review

2009-09-01T19:25:00.002-04:00

The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was, no doubt, a really weird book. The first chapter really turned me off, but after I got past that, it started to get quite interesting. A strange story, indeed, and not at all for the easily offended.

View all my reviews >>

So many exciting things!

2009-08-31T08:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday!

It's not very often that I'm excited to come to work on Monday. But this week could potentially be exciting. You see, all year long, I have been working towards a promotion, setting myself up to become an Assistant Project Manager. The issue thus far has been that there wasn't a need for one. But on Friday, my dear cube-neighbor accepted a job in Sales & Marketing, and will be starting his new job tomorrow, leaving his post vacant. His current position is none other than Assistant Project Manager - meaning there is going to be an opening VERY SHORTLY. There are no guarantees, of course, but the truth is that I'm much closer today to that promotion than I was last week. Now I'm just waiting for the right time to go to my superiors to discuss the job.

In other exciting news, Scott has made EXCELLENT progress on the new website! The new website, if you haven't heard, is SightSI.com, a travel website for suggested itineraries. I've started a blog, which is where you will be redirected if you visit SightSI.com now. But soon...VERY soon, I hope, we will be launching the official site. There are still some items to tweak before we go into production (right now we are in the development stages.) It's funny to say that, because Scott is always talking about "Developement" and "Going into Production" when he discusses his job....now I have a better understanding of what that means.

This weekend, Amy gets married! We are heading to Lynchburg sometime on Saturday. The rehearsal is Saturday night, and the wedding is Sunday night. On Monday, we are making a quick day trip back to Richmond to pack our clothes for GATLINBURG! Woo!!! I can't wait to go on vacation. It's going to be SO FUN. We leave from Lynchburg early Tuesday morning to head down there. So, it's going to be quite a busy week coming up. I need to check the weather.

Well, that's all the news I have for now. Hope everyone has a great week.

sTori Telling by Tori Spelling - Book Review

2009-08-23T16:31:00.001-04:00

sTORI TELLING by Tori Spelling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Regardless of your opinion of Tori Spelling, you will love her by the time you finish this book. She's open, honest, and funny - and most of the time, not at all what you would expect.

View all my reviews >>

Launching: SightSI Blog!

2009-08-20T07:57:00.003-04:00

Well, I told you a while back that there were some exciting things coming. So the time is here! I've launched a new blog (which will, one day, be a full blown website) known as Sight-SI. Sight-SI is a play on the word "sight-see", where the "SI" stands for Suggested Itineraries. The idea is to post suggested itineraries for cities and towns all over the world. No city is too big or too small!

In the long run, my full blown site (SightSI.com) will be a place where people can come to search for, rate, and submit their own Suggested Itineraries. Going to Chicago? Just do a search on SightSI.com, and find the best-rated suggested itineraries! You get the idea.

Scott and I will be working on getting the site put together, but in the meantime, I wanted to get my own itineraries out there for anyone to use. If you'd like to see your own itinerary posted on the blog, feel free to send it to me. You will get full credit for your submission, of course.

So there you have it. The blog is still somewhat "under construction", so don't be surprised if it looks different each time you visit. I'm working on the color palette and format on a daily basis. Hopefully we will also have a logo soon, as my sister-in-law has volunteered to help me out with that :-).

Bare Minerals Buys

2009-08-18T08:32:00.004-04:00

When we were at the Bare Escentuals store this weekend, I bought some Well Cared-For brush conditioning shampoo to clean all my makeup brushes. I cleaned them yesterday morning after I got ready, and this morning they had dried. They were so soft and poofy! It made a HUGE difference, so I'm really glad I invested. I'd definitely recommend this product if you are a Bare Minerals user.

I also bought some PrimeTime Eyelid primer to put under eyeshadow. It's supposed to make your eyeshadow stay on longer. After today, I will know if it is worth it. (Mandy - you may want to try mine out - if you like it, I'll give you your eye shadows back!)

Three weeks from today, we leave for Gatlinburg!! WOO-HOO! I am SO ready for a vacation. I hope we get good weather - I haven't checked to see what the climate is like that time of year. Hopefully not rainy the whole time. The fact that Hurricane Season has officially begun makes me nervous that we'll get rain the whole time. There is bad weather in the Atlantic right now, and the twins are on a cruise to the Bahamas. I hope they are safe and out of Hurricane Bill's path.

Well, back to work for me!

New Laptop!

2009-08-17T09:59:00.002-04:00

I did it. I finally bought a Dell Inspiron Mini 10V in Promise Pink!! I've been saving up, and finally on Friday, Scott and I agreed that I could buy one. I think he's a teeeeeensy bit jealous that I will have a nicer netbook than he has. LOL. And he hates the fact that its pink, but that's what I wanted. Woo!

Also this weekend, we all went to the Outlets in Williamsburg, and Anne and I bought each other Coach bags for our birthdays. Haha! We justified our purchases by buying them for each other, instead of for ourselves. Aren't we sneaky? I had a coupon for an additional 20% off an entire purchase. I got a black leather Coach bag that was originally over $300. It was marked down to $249, then an additional 50% off of that, bringing it to $125. THEN I had my 20% coupon, so it was only $100! Anne's bag was originally $428, and when all was said and done, she got it for $85. NICE. I can't wait till my birthday, now. :-)

They opened a Bare Essentuals outlet store in Williamsburg, too. OMG its amazing. They have so many kits that are discontinued that are SUCH a great bargain! Between Coach and Bare Essentuals, Anne and I had a field day.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - Book Review

2009-08-14T15:59:00.001-04:00

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book in highschool (or, at least, I was supposed to), but I can honestly say that I don't remember the story. I absolutely loved the book, and its truly a masterpiece. A page-turner all the way through, you just can't wait to hear what Charlie is going to say next...and if it will be grammatically correct.

View all my reviews >>

Getting Closer

2009-08-14T08:24:00.002-04:00

I've narrowed down this much: The Mystery Noise has something to do with my air conditioner. If I'm driving along, and I turn off the A/C, the noise happens. If I turn the A/C back on, it might happen again, and if I turn it off again, it happens. I've also heard it twice happen when I open the door to get IN my car - the same instant the door opens, the noise occurs. Really, really weird.

Last night I posted a bunch of old pictures on Facebook. I scanned them and uploaded them. How fun! Most were from high school and early college days, before I had a digital camera. It's always fun reminiscing and looking back at how ridiculous we dressed/looked.

The Maids are coming today to clean the house. Then, Anne and Scotty will be at Rory's tonight, and we are going to yard sales and shopping tomorrow! Should be a fun weekend. I have a coupon for 20% off at the Coach Factory store...must go to the Prime Outlets at some point this weekend :-).

Well, I'm off. Yay for Fridays!

Just a bit of rambling.

2009-08-13T08:09:00.002-04:00

August has been a slow month at work. I've talked to my supervisor about assigning me as the PM (Project Manager) on a new project coming in, but honestly, I don't think he's very supportive of my advancement. He keeps telling me I'll get "the next one", and he keeps assigning them to himself or someone else. He also wouldn't let me take PM training when I asked earlier this year. So I went to my boss (who, obviously, is also my supervisor's boss) and told him I was ready to take on PM responsibilities, and that my supervisor didn't seem to want to give me any contracts. My boss said he will make it happen this month or next. Yay!

The Mystery Noise continues. Heard it on my way to work this morning shortly after leaving the house. I thought it might have had something to do with the heat, but it wasn't even that hot this morning. So scratch that.

Jeanine is due in about 4 weeks. Exciting! I can't wait to find out if we have a niece or nephew.

I've been doing plenty of reading, as you can probably see from all my recent book reviews. Right now I'm reading Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - what a great book. I remember having to read it in school, and I knew it had something to do with a mouse, science, and a boy named Charlie. Except Charlie is a man. Maybe I only ever read the first few pages, and that's why I thought Charlie was a boy - due to his intelligence level. I don't think I actually read the book in its entirety back then, because I don't remember most of it.

My parents are coming to visit this weekend. Yay! They are staying with Rory this time. We are going to yard sales on Saturday, then doing some shopping and such. I'd like to go to Williamsburg to the outlets, but I'm wondering when William & Mary students move in. If its this weekend, we definitely do not want to go - traffic will be horrible.

Well, back to work.

The Mystery Noise

2009-08-12T18:22:00.003-04:00

There's a strange noise coming from my car. It sounds like something exploding, and it happens about 1 minute after I start driving. It sounds like it may be coming from my glove compartment.

This all started last Saturday when I was leaving the house to go to yard sales. As I was rounding the corner out of my neighborhood, I heard a "pop!". I thought I'd hit something in the road, but in my rear-view mirror, there was nothing there. Since then, I have heard the noise every single time I drive my car, and it always takes about the same amount of time before the noise is heard.

Its THE most bizarre thing ever. Scott doesn't have a clue either, and he's been sitting in the passenger seat when it happens. I'm tempted to get a video of it and post it here to see if anyone else knows what it could be. It sounds like a small explosion, like air pressure being released very suddenly.

I have to solve this mystery.

Things I learn on the Food Network

2009-08-10T15:16:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, I started watching the Food Network. I figured maybe if I started watching it, I would learn something, or at the very least be inspired to cook. I was right on both accounts. These are the things I learned over the weekend while watching "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef":

1) How to make hard-boiled eggs.
This may sound ridiculous, but cooking hard-boiled eggs is actually not that easy. How do you know when they are done? I learned this weekend that all you have to do is place the eggs in a pot, add water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 13 minutes exactly, and VOILA!, you have perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs.

2) How to make roasted red peppers.
I absolutely LOVE roasted red peppers. On this particular episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef", she was not making hard-boiled eggs or roasted red peppers. Her recipes were much more complicated. But that's the great thing about the Food Network - there are so many tips in every show that you can pick up, even if you don't get the overall picture. Anyway, you take a couple red peppers and put them on the grill, and essentially burn the heck out of them. You literally blacken them on all sides. Then stick them in a plastic bag to steam. I'm not sure how long you have to steam them - she didn't say that in the show - but 10 minutes is probably sufficient. Once they are steamed, you peel off the burnt peeling, and VOILA! Roasted Red Peppers!

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah - Book Review

2009-08-10T09:45:00.000-04:00

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A heart-wrenching account of a young boy's experience as a child soldier during the Civil War in Sierra Leone. Most would not believe that something so horrible could happen as recently as the mid-90s, and unfortunately it is still happening today. Ishmael is a survivor in every sense of the word.

View all my reviews >>

Exciting Things to Come!

2009-08-05T13:26:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, while on my way to visit my family in Lynchburg, I came up with a new idea. It will take a lot of work, but in the end I think it could be very successful. The only thing I will give away is that it's a website I will be working on (with a lot of help from Scott, and possibly my family) over the next couple months. We are still in the planning stages, but hopefully we will be able to launch it sooner rather than later. Stay tuned!

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson - Book Review

2009-08-04T14:18:00.001-04:00

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I never could get into this book, so ultimately, I did not finish it. While I think Greg Mortenson is an amazing man, the story isn't written in a manner that peaks my interest enough to continue reading. In a nutshell, the book is rather boring.

View all my reviews >>

Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith - Book Review

2009-07-26T21:36:00.001-04:00

Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While I loved the first two books in this series, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in the third. There didn't seem to be an overall story to tie the book together. I liked it enough to continue reading the series, so I hope book 4 picks back up again.

View all my reviews >>

We're going to Gatlinburg!

2009-07-21T07:51:00.004-04:00

I'm so excited! Yesterday, I booked this cabin in Gatlinburg, TN for September 8th-12th. I cannot wait! Scott and I have been debating where we should go for vacation this September, and we finally decided on Gatlinburg. Then, this weekend, Mandy and Shane told us about these cabins they stayed in a couple years ago, and how amazing and affordable they were.

I've been wanting to book a trip to Gatlinburg with Scott for years, and its finally happening! I haven't been since I was in highschool when we went for a family trip. There are tons of things to do there, and Mandy said they have the biggest scrapbooking store she's ever seen. I can't wait to start on the itinerary :-).

The Alienist by Caleb Carr - Book Review

2009-07-20T09:28:00.001-04:00

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Set in 1896, The Alienist tells the story of a police reporter who becomes involved in a murder investigation. This isn't just any murder investigation - the city has been attacked by a serial killer. One who targets young boy prostitutes.

While I enjoyed unraveling the mystery along with the narrator, I also felt the ending was somewhat anti-climatic. In the last few chapters, I was awaiting the twist - the twist which I just knew I'd figured out. But it never came.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It took me until at least page 100 to really get into the story, but once I did, I had to finish. I give it 3 stars.

View all my reviews >>

Weekend Recap

2009-07-20T08:33:00.002-04:00

Well, the weekend was just as busy as the last couple weeks have been. Friday, I left work around 11:30 and met Scott for lunch at Panera. Then I went home to straighten up before The Maids arrived. They were a bit late arriving, so they weren't finished until 5:00. Scott got home a little early, and I attempted to fix a new dinner, but it was a bust. I hate cooking! Shane and Mandy got there a little later. That night, we had a bad storm come through, and a huge chunk of our tree out from came down. We'd been waiting for it to happen.

On Saturday, Shane, Mandy and I went out to yard sales, but that was unfortunately also a bust. We didn't buy a single thing. We came back to the house, had breakfast, and Mandy and I started scrapbooking. Shane and Scott took care of the tree out front while we scrapbooked. Rory came up around noon, and we all went out to lunch at Kona Grill. It was GOOD. Scott and I headed back to the house while Shane, Mandy and Rory went out.

I fixed up Connor's birthday present, and Scott and I left about 3:00 to to go to his birthday party. He's walking already! He was just as cute as he could be. He's at the age that he does not want to be held, he wants to be walking and running around. He has to hold his hands up in the air to keep his balance (he just started walking about 2 weeks ago, I think), and if he moves his head to much, he puts him off balance and he starts wobbling. LOL. It's so funny.

On Sunday, we all went to church, and then had breakfast at Panera. We went to the mall for a bit, then to Trader Joe's, and then Shane and Mandy headed back to Lynchburg. I spent the afternoon doing laundry and dishes, and finishing up my book (which I'll be posting a review of shortly). It was a nice weekend.

So busy!

2009-07-15T11:41:00.003-04:00

I have had the busiest couple weeks, which is why I haven't blogged in so long. It's been crazy at work, and all I want to do when I get home is relax. Outside of work has been busy as well, but in a good way. I'm planning 2 showers at the moment, one of which is next weekend (the 24th) and the other is a week after that (Aug 2nd).

The shower next weekend is a Baby Shower for Jeanine, so I need to finalize all the games and prizes. That's what I'm in charge of doing, which works out well since it is in New Jersey. There isn't much I can do as far as food or decorations.

Then, on August 2nd, Mandy and I are throwing a bridal shower for Amy. I have a little more time on that, but even so, all my weekends are booked between now and then. Mandy is coming this weekend to scrapbook, and we may have time to do some shopping for the shower as well.

Connor's 1st birthday party is also this weekend. Scott and I will be heading to Charlottesville on Saturday afternoon to go to that while Mandy and Shane have an evening in Richmond to themselves. I think it will work out nicely. I can't believe Connor is already 1! Seems like he was just born.

I'm reading 4 different books right now, which is also keeping me busy. I have 2 book clubs now. In one, we are reading The Alienist, which is really good so far. The other, we are to read Three Cups of Tea, which I haven't started yet. Actually, I still haven't bought the book yet. Before those were decided, I'd already started Morality for Beautiful Girls, which is the 3rd book in the No. 1 Ladie's Detective Agency series. And I'm also reading The Five Love Languages, which I recommend for ANYONE who is in a relationship.

We finished Season 3 of Weeds last night. Hopefully we will get Season 4 for the weekend. We've also been watching some old seasons of Deadliest Catch. Scott absolutely loves that show, and I enjoy it as well. It's amazing those people are willing to step foot on those boats, and float out into that treacherous ocean!

Well, that's all I have time for today. Sorry for not updating in so long!

2009-07-03T08:04:00.001-04:00

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is nothing better to me than a good, southern novel. This one fits the bill.

Set in Big Stone Gap, VA, it tells the story of Ave Maria, the self-proclaimed "Town Spinster", who runs the pharmacy in town and is grieving the recent loss of her mother. Her world takes a sharp turn when she learns that the man she knew as her father, who didn't quite live up to his responsibilities, was never her real father after all. Once Ave finds her real dad, and subsequently "finds herself", all the pieces of her life seem to fall into place.

View all my reviews.

This Week's Recap

2009-07-02T07:47:00.003-04:00

Yay! Today is the last day of work before a long weekend. I'm quite excited. Scott and I are heading to Lynchburg this weekend to see my family. I think this might be the first time he's been to Lynchburg since Christmas, and my first time since May. Tomorrow, Mandy and I are going to do some scrapbooking and plan Amy's bridal shower, then Saturday my parents are having a cookout for the 4th. My dad plans to take Rory and Scott to the D-Day Memorial on Saturday morning. I've never been to it myself, so I may tag along.

Things have been extremely busy at work this week. I've been working closely with one of the PM's on a big project, and starting next week he will be out on medical leave until the end of July. In his absence, I will be in charge of the project, so next week is going to be even crazier.

Last weekend, Scott and I went to The Homestead for our anniversary. It was no nice! Even the drive up there was beautiful, and we took our time making quite a few stops along the way to see the scenery. The resort itself is gorgeous. I've never stayed anywhere like that before. Our room was gorgeous, and it even had its own porch. They served tea every afternoon from 3-4pm, so we were able to enjoy that the first day. Then we had dinner at Sam Snead's Tavern that evening - it was DELICIOUS. They had an amazing breakfast buffet the next morning with homemade donuts and every breakfast food you could imagine. They had the best fruit. I'd love to go back sometime and do that again. Some pictures are posted below.

Here's Lookin' at You, Kid

2009-06-24T09:09:00.004-04:00

So Scott has been gone all week, and to fill my time, I've been watching old movies. Last night, I watched Casablanca for the first time in my life. You know, I always thought it was a Western that perhaps took place somewhere near the Mexico border. Or that it was about a white house. I never imagined it took place in a city named Casablanca in Morocco, of all places. Nonetheless, it was a great movie with so many classic lines. The whole movie, I was thinking, "So THAT's where that line comes from!" I enjoyed watching it.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."

After finishing up Casablanca, I decided to watch Steel Magnolias, which I'd also never seen. My mom told me I had to see that movie. It was so sad! I really enjoyed it, though, and the characters were fantastic. You can't go wrong with Dolly Pardon, Shirley MacClaine, Julia Roberts, and Sally Field! Great movie with a sad ending, a true Chick Flick. Sally Field's performance after Shelby's funeral was fantastic, when she has her "emotional outburst". A real tear-jerker.

I should get The Namesake in the mail tonight from Netflix, so I'll be watching that after I do some cleaning this evening.

Scott's flight leaves tonight and he will be back in the morning. I'm so glad. It hasn't been too bad being alone, but I really do not prefer it at all. I used to have no problem being by myself, but I guess I've become spoiled by having Scott around all the time. Simba misses him too, I can tell. He's resorted to being nice to ME. This may be because I am the only one available to feed him. Haha.

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith - Book Review

2009-06-22T20:33:00.001-04:00

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Just as enjoyable as the first! Mma Romatswe finds herself with new mysteries to solve and a brand new family. This is one of the most leisurely book series I've ever read, and I look forward to reading book 3!

View all my reviews.

Great weekend!

2009-06-22T08:19:00.004-04:00

We had another great weekend! On Friday after work I went straight home to start straightening up and putting things away before The Maids arrived around 3:00. Scott and I finished up Season 4 of The Office, so now we have to wait for Season 5 to come out on DVD. We decided to watch Gran Torino (awesome, awesome movie) while we waited for my parents to arrive. They were held up due to a bad storm in the Powatan area which knocked a huge tree across Rt. 60. So they didn't get in until about 9:30 or 10:00.

On Saturday, my parents had a festival in Tappohanock, so they left very early in the morning. For the first time all season, I slept-in instead of going to yard sales. I've gotten so many books over the past couple months that I don't have anywhere to put anymore! So I slept in, and then we went to Panera for breakfast. The best thing at Panera for breakfast? Sausage, egg & cheese on an Asiago Cheese bagel. OMG YUM. It's really the best thing, ever. After breakfast, Scott and I headed back home. The weather was so hot on Saturday that there was no point in trying to do anything outside, so I decided to work on our paperwork while Scott worked on his laptop. I spent hours on the phone with Verizon trying to work out why we'd been overcharged for our service for so many months. I'm still not confident that it has been resolved, but I guess we'll find out when we get our next bill.

Late in the afternoon, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. When I got back, my parents were back and Rory had come up, and I fixed spaghetti w/ meatballs for everyone for dinner. We started watching From Here to Eternity, which...frankly I don't see what all the fuss is about over that movie.

On Sunday morning, all 5 of us went to a new church called Shady Grove United Methodist. It's a church I've been wanting to try out for quite some time, and we finally got around to it. It was great! The service itself reminded me so much of my church growing up, even though we were Presbyterian. The church was also bright and airy with a very friendly environment. It seems to be a very active church, with lots of activities for children and adults. I think its going to be the perfect church for Scott and I, so we are pretty excited! It's also only about 5 minutes from our house, which is very convenient.

After church, we went to a restaurant that Scotty chose called Liberty Valence. We thought we would NEVER get seated, and then NEVER get our food. But when we did finally get the food, it was amazing! Apparently, the restaurant's computer system had gone down, which slowed down everything for them. It was a really good brunch that we had. Anne, Scotty and I went to Trader Joe's after brunch - they had never been there before. They got tons of groceries, and I picked up quite a few things myself. After we got back to the house, we had cake and presents for Scotty. They had to get back home after that, so they left about 2:00 or so.

I spent some time reading outside (it was such a beautiful day) then went to Target while Scott cut the grass. Last night we had a nice dinner and watched some tv and he packed for his trip. He's leaving today for Seattle and will be gone until Thursday morning. He's taking the red-eye back on Wednesday night. I hope he doesn't plan to go to work on Thursday. I'm going to be lonely without him here - I'll probably do a lot of reading and watching tv.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri - Review

2009-06-18T09:56:00.001-04:00

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Namesake is about a boy named Gogol who is born in America to Indian parents. His parents were in an arranged marriage in India, and moved to America shortly after the wedding. They are strangers in a foreign land, and America never really feels like home to them. Gogol grows up an American and his parents do not understand his American culture. Likewise, he does not understand their culture, either. This is a typical story for many Americans whose parents came here from another country, and the book gives an insight into what life is like for families that face the challenge of combining starkly different customs.

View all my reviews.

TV, Books, and Church

2009-06-16T07:45:00.003-04:00

I've been watching all the seasons of The Office, and I'm now on Season 4. I had seen the pilot episode when the show first aired, and I thought it was the dumbest thing I'd ever seen. But it's so popular, I felt I had to give it another shot, so I started watching Season 1 on Netflix. By the 3rd episode, I was hooked. The show is hilarious! I guess Season 5 just ended in the Spring, so hopefully by the time I finish Season 4, it will be available on DVD.

I'm reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is SUCH a great book. Its about the life of a boy whose parents are from India. Their marriage was arranged, and they moved to the US immediately after getting married. The boy, Gogol, is born in the US and grows up an American. His parents do not understand his American lifestyle, and he does not understand theirs. It gives a great insight into the challenges this type of family will face. Once I finish the book, I'll have to rent the movie.

The weekend was good. We watched a movie at home on Friday night, then I went to Williamsburg with Rory on Saturday afternoon while Scott worked in the garage. That night, we all went to see Land of the Lost (which was, quite possibly, the weirdest movie I have ever seen) and then ate dinner at BW3's. They opened a new frozen yogurt place by the movie theater called Sweet Frog, so I tried that out. It's a pretty cool setup - you pick the size you want, then go around and fill up your cup with any flavor yogurt you want (self-serve). Then they have a bar area that has all kinds of toppings. At the register, they weight your yogurt and you pay by the ounce. It's not even very expensive, either.

On Sunday, Scott and I tried out a new church with Laura & Bryan. It was the first church we had been to in Richmond, and it was long overdue. The church wasn't a good fit for us - it was a bit too casual and contemporary - but we plan to try another one this coming Sunday on Father's Day. I'm looking forward to it, and hoping we have better luck this time.

What's your hidden talent?

2009-06-12T08:10:00.001-04:00

Everyone has a hidden talent, don't they? I'm fortunate that I actually have 2. I can solve a rubix cube, which you could argue is not really a talent, but a strength in logic and memory. But I can do it pretty quickly - not in 90 seconds with my eyes closed, but perhaps in 5 minutes with my eyes open. I have one sitting on my desk for people to play with. The problem is, if its solved, people are afraid to mess it up. And if its not solved, it drives me crazy. Right now, it's not solved - I messed it up yesterday to see if people would be more willing to play with it - but I can't stand looking at it and not fixing it. I must be OCD when it comes to rubix cubes.

My other talent is juggling. I'm not an expert, but I can go for 5-10 seconds. With practice, I could probably go indefinitely. I taught myself to juggle when I was a kid and my parents were professional clowns. I had gotten into magic and felt that any good magician should know how to juggle. A couple weeks ago, Rory, Scott and I were playing Bocce ball in the back yard, and I decided to try juggling with the bocce balls. I suppose its like riding a bike, because it all came back to me, though only for a few seconds at a time.

Some Book Reviews

2009-06-11T09:52:00.004-04:00

I found that I can post my book reviews from Goodreads into my blog, which is pretty cool. Here are my most recent ones.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have always been a fan of memoirs, and this was no exception. Gilbert's story takes you through a roller-coaster of emotions, where you find yourself laughing with her one moment, and wanting to reach into the book and hug her the next. She gives a raw account of her battle with depression, her struggle to find God, and the euphoric happiness she finds by the end of her journey.

I gave the book only four stars because it becomes quite difficult to read in the middle, when she describes her time at an Ashram in India. Difficult, as in, quite boring. However, I recognize it was an integral part of her journey to find God.

In all, a great book that will leave you ready to plan your spiritual journey around the world.

View all my reviews.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I always enjoy books that expose me to different cultures, and this was no exception. It's an easy read with light content, and I look forward to reading more of the series.

View all my reviews.
The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
An amazing story of resilience. Will make your grateful for whatever childhood you may have endured, and will leave you wanting to know more about the Walls family.

View all my reviews.

Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very cute book, will make you cry! And also will make you think twice about ever getting a dog - especially a lab!

View all my reviews.

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I had a hard time with this book, as it was very stuffy and a bit TOO philosophical for my taste. I found myself skipping whole sections of philosophical fluff. I did not get attached to Isabel and found her character to be a bit boring.

View all my reviews.

Hammock Is Up!

2009-06-07T18:38:00.006-04:00

The hammock arrived on Thursday afternoon, and unfortunately the weather was not cooperative Thursday and Friday. It was rain, rain, rain. So we had to wait until Saturday to put it up. After a quick trip to Lowe's, Scott had it up in a jiffy. It looks great! Feels great, too. More on the hammock later. It wasn't the ONLY excitement this weekend.

My parents came up on Friday night and met us for dinner at Melito's. They are known for their "World Famous Hotdog", and I think the one I had was actually called a "Garbage Dog". Appetizing, yes? It has chili, mustard, onion, coleslaw, relish, & bacon. It was pretty good.

Saturday, my parents were doing the Strawberry Festival in Ashland. They left early to go set up, and I headed off to a couple yard sales. I came home early because a) I wasn't feeling well, and b) we had to take Simba to the vet at 8:30 am. After his appointment, we came back to the house, and decided to pull out the hammock and see how big it was and what supplies we would need to hang it up. As we were coming back inside, the hammock got caught on the backdoor, giving Simba the opportunity to make his escape. We spent the next 45 minutes chasing him around the backyard. By the time we got him back inside, Rory had come by to visit. We all decided to head up to Ashland to the Strawberry Festival and see how it was.

It was a very big festival, and I wish I'd had more time to look at all the vendors, but that's not something Rory nor Scott have much interest in doing. We grabbed lunch (I had the best corndog I've ever had) and then found Anne & Scotty's booth. We hung out for a while there, and I bought a really cute apron at the booth next to theirs. The lady who made it has a website called www.apronsforafrica.com and all the proceeds go to Africa via the Childrens HopeChest. Check them out, and get a cute apron while helping a child in need!

We also picked up a tray of the most ginormous strawberries I've ever seen (delicious, too!) before heading back to the house to finish installation of the hammock. We had to take a quick trip to Lowe's to pick up some supplies, and then Scott had it up in just a few minutes.

I quickly found out that mosquitos can really ruin your outdoor fun. As soon as I laid in the hammock, there must have been 10 mosquitos flying around me. That couldn't be had, so we took a trip out to Target to buy a couple citronella torches and some Off spray. We also stopped at Home Depot, grabbed subs at Jimmy Johns, hit up Michael's, and then came back.

The torches and Off spray seemed to do the trick! So I spent the evening relaxing in the hammock and reading until it got too chilly outside. Then I came in to take a bath, and when I got out, my parents had come back. We all sat down to watch a movie, which I fell asleep watching, as usual.

This morning, we had breakfast at The Silver Diner before my parents went back to Lynchburg. Today, I've just been doing laundry, working in the yard, and of course, reading in the hammock. I've found that its also a great place to bird-watch. It's so quiet that the birds don't even realize you are there after a while, and they will land quite close-by, completely unaware of your presence. I'm hoping to get some good bird pictures this way. It's about time for dinner now, and I have laundry to finish up. Back to work again tomorrow. The weekends just are not long enough.

Books and a Hammock

2009-06-02T13:49:00.004-04:00

I have so many books to read. I wish I could take a week off, and just read books. Although, the truth is that if I actually had a week off, I probably would not spend it reading books, at least not entirely. I would feel like I wasted my week if all I did was read books.

Every weekend, I come home from yard sales with more books. My shelf is overflowing, I have so many! And these aren't just any books - these are practically-brand-new, only-read-one-time, New-York-Times-Bestseller-list books. Any book-lover would have a field day picking something out from my shelves. I feel like I will never be able to read them all. But I'm going to try.

Yesterday, I ordered a hammock from Pottery Barn. (I ordered it in Green Tonal Stripe). I had been debating a garden swing, a glider, and this past weekend while sitting on my deck, I decided that what I really want is a hammock. Its a much more comfortable option, and it can also be put away and stored when necessary. I can't wait for it to arrive. I've been waiting with bated breath all day for a shipping confirmation. I hope its here by the weekend, so I can spend the weekend reading in my new hammock. I wonder if its big enough for 2 people? Because if not, Scott and I may be fighting over who gets to use it. We have the perfect spot for it, in between the playset and the shed. Its nice and shady there, and the previous owners already had a hammock there so there are hooks for us to use. It's going to be fantastic.

Awesome Weekend

2009-06-01T10:14:00.004-04:00

What a great weekend! It was so good that I don't even mind being at work today. I feel so refreshed.

Friday afternoon, I had lunch at Nordstrom and then shopped around a bit since they were having a sale. I got a new pair of sunglasses and a thin green short-sleeved shrug that I'm wearing today. I also picked up a couple tops and a pair of shorts at H&M. Scott got home early from work (early being before 6), and we decided to go check out the garden swing at Lowe's. I've been debating on getting a swing with A-frame, but the problem is it has to be approved by the homeowners association, and that is a lot of trouble. So then I was thinking maybe we could just get a nice wooden glider. But then this weekend, I decided that better than both of those would be a nice hammock from Pottery Barn. I haven't ordered it yet, but I'm thinking I might.

Anyway, back to the weekend - after going to Lowe's, we decided to grab some dinner at BW3's, which just opened in Short Pump. We got a great parking spot right by the movie theatre, and decided since we actually found a parking spot, we'd catch a movie after we ate. We got tickets for Night at the Museum (Battle of the Smithsonian). We had some time to kill, so we walked down to Barnes & Noble to look around for a bit, then went back and got seats. This was the first time we'd been to a movie in EONS. The last movie we saw in the theatre was Harry Potter - the 5th one. So whats that, a year and a half ago? Anyway, we enjoyed the night out.

On Saturday, I woke up early and hit the yard sales. It was a fun morning. I got quite a few books I'd been wanting to read, and a couple other things as well. No huge bargains to speak of, but still a fun time. I also stopped by the Farmers Market and picked up cinnamon bread and strawberries. When I got home, I fixed french toast with the cinnamon bread and cut up the strawberries to put on top. It was yummy. We cleaned up the kitchen, then I washed my car and watered the flowers while Scott worked on the sprinkler system. I took a nap in the afternoon, then woke up and fixed hot dogs and baked beans for lunch. That night, we went to Atlee Square where all the classic cars gather on Saturday nights. We hung out for a couple hours there, then headed back home to watch some episodes of The Office.

On Sunday morning, we got breakfast at Panera, then stopped by Walmart to get oil for my car. We got back to the house and I cleaned and vacuumed out the inside of my car while Scott cut the grass. We decided to grill burgers for lunch and sat out on the deck. It was at this point we decided we needed a hammock. Haha. He changed my oil while I did laundry, and then we went out for ice cream in the evening. Overall, a pretty awesome weekend, in my opinion. Looking forward to Anne & Scotty visiting next weekend!

Happy Birthday, Nannie!

2009-05-29T07:49:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Nannie! You've been in my thoughts all morning, and I even dreamed about you last night. I dreamed I was looking at pictures from a cookout 2 years ago (a cookout that didn't actually exist, mind you...the first one was last year), and you were sitting under a tree in your yellow dress, waving at the camera. I wish we'd done a cookout that year, because you could have been there, and you might have even worn that dress. I miss you!

Scott's trip for next week got delayed, and now he's not leaving until the 7th. We are supposed to go to church with Laura and Bryan that day, so I hope his flight isn't too early.

All my flowers seem to be doing well since we did our landscaping last week. My lilies are about to bloom. I need to prune all the roses and take off the dead flowers - they had a big burst of blooms just in time for the cookout on Monday, and now they are dying off. I wonder when Hydrangeas bloom? Mine has buds this year - last year it did not bloom - and I'm anxious to see how it turns out. Nannie gave me the hydrangea for my bridal shower 2 years ago. She had one in front of her porch that was always beautiful.

Well, it's Friday! Thank goodness. Only a half day today, but a busy one for sure. Hopefully some shopping this afternoon :-)

Netflix + Media Center = Awesome

2009-05-28T09:06:00.003-04:00

So I've decided I don't feel like writing about Texas anymore, because its been too long since the trip. I'll just go back to talking about life in general.

I signed up for Netflix again yesterday. You know what's awesome? Netflix on the Media Center. The "Watch Instantly" feature on Netflix works great with the Media Center, so its like having all kinds of tv series and movies "On Demand". Last night, I watched the entire first season of The Office. I had seen the pilot episode when it first aired, and didn't like it. But so many people watch The Office that I felt I needed to give it another shot. Now I'm hooked, and I can watch all the seasons this summer.

Scott is traveling to Washington State next week for a business trip to Microsoft. He'll be leaving on Tuesday and coming back Thursday or Friday (I can't remember which day). I hope its Thursday. I hate when he's gone. At least I'll have an infinate amount of television to watch in his absence, which is good because usually I can't sleep well when he's gone.

It's going to be a beautiful weekend, I think. Possible rain tomorrow, but gorgeous on Saturday and Sunday. I wonder what we should do? We need to take advantage of it. Soon it will be too hot to enjoy the sunshine.

I'm trying to decide where to go for vacation this fall. I want to go somewhere between September and December. I'd like to use our Airtran flights to go to Orlando and stay at Disney, but Scott has not agreed yet. Charleston is also a possibility, but that isn't a direct flight. I prefer to fly direct these days.

Well, back to work.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T07:47:00.006-04:00

I'll take a short break from my Texas updates to write about Memorial Day weekend.

Friday night, my mother-in-law arrived on the train about 8 pm. We grabbed subs for dinner before heading back home for the evening. We spent most of the day Saturday working out in the yard. Scott was mulching, and I was cleaning up lawn furniture, putting new sand in the sandbox, etc. It was humid, but we still enjoyed being outside all day. Sunday morning, I woke up early to get a head-start on cooking. My parents came around 10, and by noon, all the guests were arriving for the cookout.

We had plenty of food and games. I even got one of those fancy Edible Arrangements, because I've always wanted an excuse to buy one. Haha. The kids had a great time on the playset - I had no idea kids could be entertained for so many hours with a sand box and a sliding board. We had a great turnout of people - all my family from Lynchburg, as well as mine and Scott's friends and coworkers came out.

After most people left, we celebrated Scott's birthday with some ice cream cake. Shannon, Eric and Connor were able to stay to celebrate with Bonnie, Rory, Anne, Scotty, Scott and I.

On Monday, we dropped off Bonnie at the train station, and had a nice relaxing birthday for Scott. We went to Steve & Phu's so Scott could help with their sprinkler system, and they fixed us lunch. Then I went shopping in the afternoon while Scott went for a ride in his car. Rory came over about 6:00 or so, and we all went to dinner at Firebirds. We sat outside because it was such a nice evening. It was a great end to the weekend.

Texas 2009 - Day 7 - San Antonio Zoo (and Santa Rosa Hospital)

2009-05-20T07:52:00.006-04:00

On Day 7, my mom broke her foot.

She was dialing some numbers on her cell phone and didn't see the 3 steps she was walking towards. She twisted her left ankle and badly sprained it, while getting a hairline fracture on the right. She was lucky that was all the damage she had. The Christus Santa Rosa hospital was about a half mile down the road from our hotel (how convenient!) and they had her in and out of the emergency room in just a couple hours. She had to keep her weight off both feet, so we borrowed a wheelchair from the hotel and went on about our day. Nothing was going to stop her.

The San Antonio Zoo was our big event for the day. On the way there, we stopped for lunch at a place called The Liberty Bar. I found it on the Food Network site under Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Once we saw the place, we decided it fit under "Dives". It was literally falling down. I'm honestly surprised they allow people to enter this building. Once inside, I understood why it was recommended - it looked completely different (aside from the fact that it was still lopsided). It was a very quaint restaurant with a unique menu. I ordered the lamb plate, which came with goat cheese, olives, pita bread & hummus.

One great thing about traveling in April is that all the kids are still in school. This meant that most places were not very crowded, and that included the San Antonio Zoo. We practically had the place to ourselves! The last zoo I went to was the San Diego Zoo, which is the best zoo in the country, by far. So the San Antonio Zoo had a lot to live up to. While it wasn't nearly as beautiful, it didn't disappoint. They had a huge selection of animals to see, including a butterfly conservatory, hippos, elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, bears, tigers etc. We spent much of the afternoon there.

For dinner that night, we went to The Cheesecake Factory at a nearby mall. Rory turned into a ghost.

Texas 2009 - Day 6 - The Alamo

2009-05-19T08:19:00.011-04:00

On our second day in San Antonio, I had a full day of tourist attractions on the agenda. Our hotel was pretty close to a place called "Market Square", or El Mercado, so after breakfast we walked there. It's the largest Mexican market, and has all kind of shops and restaurants. We stopped at a place called Mi Tierra, which is a Mexican bakery. We were all sorry that we'd already eaten breakfast when we got there, because the food looked amazing! We shopped around for a couple hours and bought a few souveniers before making our way to the Spanish Governor's Palace.

The Spanish Governor's Palace was built in the first half of the 18th century, and is, according to Wikipedia, "the sole remaining example of aristocratic early Spanish home". It was pretty cool to see. It had 10 rooms and a beautiful garden in the back, where we took some pictures on a bench.
The next stop we made was at the San Fernando Cathedral, which is the oldest cathedral in the US. It's also the mother church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the seat of its archbishop (got that from Wikipedia, too).

The Riverwalk is right near the cathedral, so we made our way down to catch the river taxi to take us to get some lunch. We ended up at Schilo's, which is a German Deli that was recommended by Frommer's. We had split pea soup and reubans with root beer to drink.

After lunch, we walked to the Alamo. Did I mention we picked the hottest day of 2009 to visit the Alamo? It was 97 degrees that day, IN APRIL, and not enough shade. We spent a few hours at the Alamo, which I couldn't fully enjoy due to the heat. But I learned some things I didn't know. For example, I never knew Davey Crockett had anything to do with the Alamo. But that's where he died.

At the River Center Mall, there was an IMAX theatre where they showed a 45 min video about the Alamo. We were relieved to get out of the heat and into the theater to watch it. We did a little shopping before catching the River Taxi again to make our way to "Night in Old San Antonio", or NIOSA, which is part of the"Fiesta" festival that was going on that week in San Antonio. "Fiesta" is San Antonio's biggest festival of the year, and it happened to be going on while we were there. NIOSA was a party ever night in La Villita. There was music, dancing, shopping, and lots and lots of drinking. They had these eggs filled with confetti that they called "cascarones" - everyone was buying them, and you crack them over peoples heads and cover them with confetti. My parents enjoyed doing this to all of us! The place was jam-packed with people, which depleted my patience in a short amount of time. Scott and I decided after an hour or two that we wanted to leave, and my family decided they'd rather stay, so we split up. (My mom and dad ran into some dude from 20/20 after we left).

It was just starting to get dark, so Scott and I decided to catch the river taxi and relax for the rest of the evening while it cruised us around the River Walk. It's so beautiful at night time. We must have been on it for 2 hours or more. Just before 9, my dad called and said they were getting ready to catch the river taxi as well and head back to the hotel. Next thing we knew, our taxi was pulling over and there was all my family getting onto our boat. What are the chances? It was a great end to an awesome day.

Cruisin' Ocean City

2009-05-18T11:52:00.003-04:00

I'm taking a break from writing about Texas to blog about our trip this past weekend up to Ocean City, MD. It was the Cruisin' Ocean City car show, and Scott's favorite weekend out the year. He'd been working in the garage until all hours of the night for the past couple weeks to get the car ready.

It was a great weekend for the car show. Thursday night we went out to eat at Phillips (which I've decided is completely over-rated) and made it an early night. Scott had only gotten about 3 1/2 hrs of sleep the night before, and he really needed some rest. The next day, we woke up early, had breakfast with Rob & Jeanine, and made our way to the Convention Center to pick up all the registration documents. Friday was a nice day - they had called for possible showers, but we didn't get any. We spent the day driving all around Ocean City to the different venues where the cars gather. I got a lot of reading done while we were cruising around (finally finished the Twilight series!)

Saturday we had breakfast, and went directly to the Inlet. We were there for most of the day, and it was threatening rain for a while, but in the end it held out. It was nice that it was overcast, because it kept the sun off me and it wasn't too hot (although, Scott got pretty badly burnt from not wearing any sunscreen....my SPF 85 worked like a charm). I hung out in the hotel for a couple hours that evening and then we all went to dinner, then cruised around. Sunday, we got an early start coming back because it was raining. I finished another book (The Glass Castle) before we made it home, as the traffic was terrible. It took us 7 hrs to get back, I thought we'd never get home.

Now I'm getting ready for next weekend, for the big cookout! So far, it looks like we're going to have a GREAT turnout. I'm excited, and still hoping the weather cooperates.

Texas 2009 - Day 5 - Austin to San Antonio

2009-05-13T07:30:00.006-04:00

Leaving Austin the morning of our 5th day, we headed towards the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, TX. We took a driving tour (complete with Audio CD) through the ranch and made a couple stops along the way. There was a "Living Farm", which was really neat with all kinds of animals just roaming around. Then at the end of the tour was the "Texas White House", LBJ's home there. We spent several hours here, as the ranch is huge and everyone really enjoyed the history.

After leaving the ranch, we stopped for lunch at a Dairy Queen (ice cream for lunch, awesome!) before making a short stop in Luckenbach, TX. They aren't kidding when they say "Let's get back to the basics of life". There is one main building in this so-called town, which is the Post Office, General Store, and bar all in one. (I think there is also a dance hall, but it wasn't in use while we were there). Behind the Post-Office-General-Store-Bar are tables where a few local bikers were sitting drinking beer, listening to a couple guys playing music. They started playing "Luckenbach, TX" when the tourists arrived (i.e. my family). It was really very cool to see, and definitely the smallest town I've ever visited! But from now on, I can claim I've been to Luckenbach, TX - just not with Waylon, and Willie and the boys.

We made it to San Antonio just in time to check into our hotel and meet back up for dinner. For our first night there, I had reserved us a table at the Tower of the Americas Chart House restaurant. It's one of those restaurants at the top of the tower that rotates, and gives you a great view of the city. The dinner was a lot of fun and I think everyone really enjoyed the experience. The only issue I had was they over-cooked my steak, and took 20-25 minutes to cook another one...medium rare doesn't take very long! I wouldn't have sent it back if not for the amount of money I was paying for that steak. Other than that, it was a great experience.

After dinner, we stopped in a gift shop where I bought myself a cowboy hat. Then, we walked around downtown San Antonio and the Riverwalk for a bit before heading back to the hotel for the night. Another great day!

Texas 2009 - Day 4 - Waco & Austin

2009-05-12T07:52:00.011-04:00

On our 4th day, we packed up and left Dallas and hit the road again. Our first stop that day was Waco, TX, where the Waco Massacre occurred. Believe it or not, the Branch Davidian Compound still exists and is still in the same place (out in the middle of nowhere). We stopped by to take some pictures and then get out of there as fast as possible. Haha.

Also in Waco was the Dr. Pepper museum. Did you know that a Dr. Pepper used to be called a "Waco"? So next time you order one, just ask for a Waco and see what happens. The museum was really interesting, and they had a cafe where you could order sodas and ice cream. They made the sodas from scratch, probably like they did in drug stores back in the day. First they put ice in the cup, then some syrup, then add water, and then carbonation. It was pretty cool to see.

After the museum, we had lunch. Four of us went to Cheddars (LOVE THAT PLACE) and the rest went to Golden Corral. The latter four did not know what they were missing. We got back on the road and made our way to Round Rock, which is just north of Austin. We have cousins that live in Round Rock, so we went to visit them. We hung out at their house for a while, then made our way to the Congress Street Bridge to watch the bats. We got there a bit early, so we took a walk along the river/lake (it's apparently the Colorado River, but they call it Town Lake?). We walked up to where the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue is, took a picture for my friend Steve, and then walked back.

So let me tell you a little about the bats. The Congress Street Bridge in Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, which consists of about 1.5 Million Mexican Free-tail bats. Something about the way the bridge was built was attractive to the bats, so they made it their home. Every night between March & November, the bats fly out for food. It's a pretty cool thing to see.

Austin, by the way, is a gorgeous city. We didn't get to see much of it, as our time there was quite limited, but what we saw was beautiful.

We went to dinner that night at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Chuy's. There were 11 of us total, and we had a great time. It was nice to spend time with Cindy, Jamie & Jordan since we don't get to see them very often.

Texas 2009 - Day 3 - Dallas/Fort Worth

2009-05-11T14:11:00.008-04:00

So after days and days of empty promises, I've finally gotten my stuff together (meaning I've gotten my pictures together) and I can now blog about the rest of the trip to Texas. So here you have it, Day 3.

Our first stop that morning was to the King Tut Exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. We had ordered the tickets ahead of time for a 9:30AM slot, and while ordering the tickets, I noticed that there was also a King Tut exhibit in Atlanta at the same time. This confounded me, because how can King Tut be in two places at the same time?

When we got up to the gate to go in, my brother asked the girl who was working, "How can King Tut be in Dallas and in Atlanta at the same time?" Without missing a beat, she replied, "King Tut is still in his tomb in Egypt, and he's never been anywhere else." Well, didn't WE feel stupid. Haha! I think we were all under the impression that we would see his sarcophagus or coffin or whatever you call it. The famous "King Tut" face. But alas, we just saw lots of other things that were also found in his tomb. It was still pretty amazing.

After the museum, we made our way to Fort Worth to see the Stockyards. I had no idea what the "Stockyards" were before we got there. In my imagination, this was some big farm with lots of cattle. I was wrong. The Fort Worth Stockyards is probably one of the most unique places we visited the entire trip. If I had to describe it, I'd say its like a ghost town that hasn't been abandoned yet. Its just like the towns you see on old westerns and such. They had a General Store, and a Trading Post, an ice cream shop, bars & restaurants, and yes....cattle. At 11:30 AM and 4:00 PM every day, they do a "Cattle Drive" through the streets with Longhorn Cattle. It was really neat to see. We ate at a place called Riscky's Steakhouse, which has been there since the 1920's. On their menu, they serve their "Famous Kapusta Soup", which is saurkraut soup, an original recipe from the 1920's. It's the only thing from that time that is still on the menu. The soup, steak and baked potato were the best lunch I believe I've ever had! It was amazing.

They also had plenty of shopping areas in the Stockyards, where we did some souvenier shopping, much to Scott's dismay. He hates shopping on vacation, and my family loves it, which is a bit of a quandary. Once we were fully exhausted, we stopped in to Billy Bob's Texas, which is the "World's Largest Honkey-Tonk" to relax and get something to drink. The place was dead, as it was a Sunday night, so we practically had it to ourselves. After leaving there, we grabbed some dinner at Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse (great barbeque, terrible side
dishes). And then we called it a night.

Paperback Swap

2009-05-07T08:17:00.002-04:00

Add another website to my growing list of favorite sites! I just signed up for www.paperbackswap.com, which is a really great website for avid readers. Here's how it works:

To start out, you post 10 paperback books to your account that you are willing to ship (for about $2.20 via media mail) to any member who wants to have them. Once you have posted your 10 books, you will receive credits on your account that you can use to "order" books from other members. They will ship them to you at no cost to you. So the more books you post, the more credits you get. The service is free and its a great way to get the books you want. The only fee is the shipping fee for the books you ship out. If you sign up, put me down as a referral (my username is blakelyn) and add me as a friend. It's perfect if you are in a book club, and have to buy books that you wouldn't normally buy.

So I've finally sorted through my Texas photos and picked the best ones. Will begin posting in the next day or so about the trip.