A Weekend in Leesburg, VA

I'm becoming a regular ghost writer. As in....I don't really exist to write. *snicker*

September and October are the WORST months ever known to anyone in the sales operations position in my current company. We work long hours and never seem to catch up on all of our work. Hence the reason I was so tired and non-existent this past month. But. Hopefully I'm back for a while now.

The past two weekends have been so much fun for me. My mom came down from PA to visit me both weekends. Last weekend we just hung out at my house because I couldn't really even stand up let alone walk. (I messed my back up again.) This weekend Mom and I went to the 72nd Loudoun Hospital Ladies' Board Rummage Sale. Would you believe they had an entire barn just full of books there!?! I ended up spending $17 for a huge box of books, 9 of which were Barbara Cartlands. P.S. Barbara Cartland's romance novels are my secret obsession. I also found a handful of old sheet music. Like 1920s and 30s old. Love it!

After the Rummage Sale we went to the Leesburg Outlets to pick up a few items. Of course we had to stop at the Yankee Candle outlet store. I found two of the most fabulous gift sets for under $10 each. Thing is, they are so fabulous I think I may just have to keep them for myself.

We then made our way into downtown Leesburg. My first time actually stopping there. I've driven through the downtown quite a few times, but have never had the time to stop and walk around. We had lunch at The Green Tree. The owner was our server! Really great food and such a cool little place. Once lunch was finished we wandered through the two antique stores across the street. Found an old skeleton key for Shayla at the first store and at the second store I found the crowning achievement of my entire day. Ready for this? I found a copy of The Vanishing Shadow with the Dust Jacket still on it! (that's a Judy Bolton mystery for those of you not in the know.) But, that's not all. I also found a Vicki Barr mystery and best of all! - The Finding of Jasper Holt by Grace Livingston Hill. Mom found that last one and I'm seriously surprised she still has any hearing left at all in her left ear. I think I honestly shrieked when she read the title aloud and asked it that was the book I had been looking for. Not too long after that second antique store, we decided it was time to head home. Well, technically it was my back and hips that made the decision for us. We are definitely going to be going back up there the next time Mom comes down for a visit though cause there are SO many other shops that we didn't even get to glance at that we definitely need to check out!

So, yeah. That was my weekend.

Oh. and then this afternoon, I shifted all my books around on my bookshelves. There aren't any more empty shelves left. *innocent look* No. I do NOT have an addiction to books. Not at ALL.

A New Kind of Test

so, i just got a droid this week a i wanted to know if i could actually write a post on it. guess what...i can.

Tired

Of everything. I need a break.

Out of Practice

About an hour ago I posted my latest Facebook status which reads:

Hannah: Read The Education of Bet this morning and am working my way through Persuasion. After so much fluff (aka current YA fiction), Persuasion takes so much more brain power to read. I'm SO out of practice!

Then, I read and agreed with Tahereh's latest post.

Now, I'm wondering where I stand exactly on this. I adore YA fiction. Always have and probably always will. However, I find myself wanting to read more of the classics again. I'm only on chapter 9 of Persuasion right now. Why? Because each chapter is taking 10-15 minutes to read and comprehend. (That's 4-6 pages in each chapter) Terrible timing! I should be better than this. I USED to be better than this. I blame it on YA fiction. BUT, I don't regret my YA, so, what to do? I've got an idea and I would like to know if it sounds too crazy.

Since I've well passed my goal of 200 books read this year, I've got time to "waste" reading. Here's my idea:

I've got ALOT of classics on my new bookshelves that I've still not read even though I've had many for well over ten years. I think I should probably tackle reading them now that they're out in the open. How about for every non-classic that I read for the remainder of the year, I tackle a classic just so that I can actually say that I've read all the classics that I own? Sound like a good plan? This would allow for my YA addiction to be satisfied, while reviving the practice of reading and comprehension of all the OLD books.

Tell me...what do you think? "Good idea" or just "plain ludicrous...you'll never make it!"

August Tally 2010

August is almost over and September begins the busiest month of the year for me. (Work and all that) It's funny, though, cause one would think that I would be trying to cram as much reading as possible into August since time will be tight in September, but I didn't really read alot this month. Here's the list:

Half Moon Investigations ~ Eoin Colfer 8/2

Gwyneth and the Thief ~ Margaret Moore 8/2

Puppy Love ~ Nancy Krulik 8/3

Material Evidence ~ Bill Kirton 8/5

Boys that Bite ~ Mari Mancusi 8/6

Stake That! ~ Mari Mancusi 8/9

The Grimm Legacy ~ Polly Shulman 8/29

The Hunger Games ~ Suzanne Collins 8/30

Catching Fire ~ Suzanne Collins 8/30

Mockingjay ~ Suzanne Collins 8/31

Wow! Did you see that gap of twenty days where I didn't finish one. single. book? I blame it on the bookshelves. and the visitor. and work. and piano lessons. and TV DVR. There's just too much entertainment and not enough hours in a day! Obviously, my blog hasn't exactly been one of my priorities again, but hopefully the bouts of silence won't last too much longer. We'll see.

In the meantime, Read as much as you can and let me know what you favorite book in August was.

July Tally 2010

Yes, I realize we are almost through August and I am just now getting around to posting my tally for July. I have plenty of excuses for this, but I'm not going to give any. I don't want to say them and I'm sure you don't want to read them. Moving on.

July was a rather good month due to a few short books and a new manga series. And I mustn't forget my Barbara Cartlands.

Deathnote Vol. 1 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/1

Deathnote Vol. 2 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/1

Deathnote Vol. 3 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/2

Deathnote Vol. 4 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/3

Nightlight: A Twilight Parody ~ The Harvard Lampoon 7/4

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner ~ Stephenie Meyer 7/5

Deathnote Vol. 5 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/7

Deathnote Vol. 6 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/8

Deathnote Vol. 7 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/8

Deathnote Vol. 8 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/9

Deathnote Vol. 9 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/9

Deathnote Vol. 10 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/9

The Red Pyramid ~ Rick Riordan 7/11

Deathnote Vol. 11 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/11

Deathnote Vol. 12 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/11

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ J.K. Rowling 7/12

Never Laugh at Love ~ Barbara Cartland 7/19

The Unwanted Wedding ~ Barbara Cartland 7/20

The Incredible Honeymoon ~ Barbara Cartland 7/21

Moments of Love ~ Barbara Cartland 7/21

Wild Irish Roses ~ Una McManus 7/22

Can You Keep a Secret ~ Sophie Kinsella 7/23

Who Needs Boys ~ Stephie Davis 7/24

When It Happens ~ Susanne Colasante 7/25

Good Girls ~ Laura Ruby 7/26

Story of a Girl ~ Sara Zarr 7/26

How I Live Now ~ Meg Rosoff 7/27

Companions of the Night ~ Vivian Vande Velde 7/28

Model Spy ~ Shannon Greenland 7/29

Down to the Wire ~ Shannon Greenland 7/30

The Winning Element ~ Shannon Greenland 7/30

With a total of 32 books read, I definitely feel like July was a good month for reading. I can only hope that August goes a little bit better this last week cause right now...it's pitiful!

A Story of Anniversary and Unpacking

Imagine my surprise as I considered the title of this blog post when I followed a hunch and googled "5th anniversary". This is what I landed on. Notice the traditional gift for a 5th wedding anniversary is wood. I'm pretty sure Joseph didn't know that when he stopped by Costco with his dad early this week and discovered the most beautiful bookshelves. Nor when he decided to buy said bookshelves.

Side note: it has been a wonderful five years of marriage already. Where HAS the time gone? I cannot imagine life without Joseph anymore. And I'm sure I don't want to be able to do so either. I certainly do love that man!

A very good friend from college, Josh, visited us this week so he and Joseph spent two evenings putting these shelves together for me once they brought them home. A HUGE thank you to him for his help!

The former residences of my book collection.

Schoolbooks. Computer and Programming (aka Joseph's). Non-fiction and Kids' books.

Fiction A-C

Fiction D - Y.

Series.

Aren't the BEAUTIFUL! It has been over 10 long years since most of my books have felt the stability of shelves for display. The vast majority of those years were spent in boxes. Granted they had be re-boxed many times over as I sorted through them multiple times looking for a particular book to reread, but for the most part, they stayed in the boxes.

The basement (where the shelves are) has a very homey feel to it now that I am loathe to leave. It was quite a hard decision to come upstairs to my room to get online instead of staying downstairs to continuously admire my new bookshelves.

The only downside to having all of my books visible - I can now see my many unfinished series that I am now itching to complete. This could very well mean the end of my pocketbook. Joseph will have to lock it away to keep me from spending all my hard-earned money on nothing but books.

Super Junior(슈퍼주니어)_너 같은 사람 또 없어_뮤직비디오(MusicVideo)

Yet Another New Favorite

At the beginning of May I was wondering around You Tube looking for music videos of Naruto music. Which I found. But, then, on the side I noticed a video for a song called Ring Ding Dong by SHINee. First, I was like, "SHINee. Really.?. What a name!!" But I decided to click on it anyway. And the world of Korean music opened up. I learned about DBSK. Big Bang. 2NE1. 2PM. 2AM. and many, many others. It didn't take long for me to create a new playlist on You Tube that was just Korean music. I completely understand that I CAN'T understand the music, but you know, that doesn't bother me. I understand the Feeling behind the music. And that enough for me.

My favorite Korean group is Super Junior. They are comprised of 13 young men. Yes. 13! Their music ranges from happy, bouncy to slow, and heartfelt. There's a few that have some pretty strong driving beats that can be kinda dangerous to drive to, but they're fun! Don't worry. I'll share my favorite video with you in just a minute. And you can then proceed to tell me that I'm crazy for listening to these guys. and I'll agree with you, then continue listening anyway. :-)

How NOT to Become a Vegetarian or "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner"

"The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" by Stephenie Meyer - a rambling post of thoughts.

Let me start off by stating that I am not the biggest fan of Twilight. Not even close. In fact, I’ll be one of the first people to tell you that the Twilight books are quite poorly written. I’ll also admit that the story is quite addicting. I read the first three books in two days and the fourth in one. Then, I read them again and realized I was no longer impressed by the story of Bella and Edward and Jacob.

These facts did not keep me from reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I wanted to find out just exactly what the story was behind the vampire newborn that Bella actually met for a few minutes. The book wasn’t long, but it was intriguing. I found myself wishing Bree would have been given the chance to live, but knowing that she was going to die at the end of the book made me look at her life more closely.

Consider the fact that this novella was written to give the actors in Eclipse an idea of how to portray the newborn vampires. The story is more of a behind-the-scenes look. And it fits that description well. You get an inside look at the happenings in Seattle during the recruitment of Victoria’s army. How Riley was able to keep such a large group of newborns alive. The superstitions that were passed on to said newborns. How the Bree and a few other specified newborns reacted to their new lives and surroundings.

I can’t say that I necessarily enjoyed The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, but reading it did give me a new appreciation for the confusion that Victoria was able to create and a new found dislike for the Volturi’s underhanded methods of dealing with “problems”. The one part that I have to admit caught me off guard was the way Ms. Meyer ended the book. It was actually kinda classy. You’ll see.

If you love Twilight, this is a great additional story to read for more details of the happenings surrounding the newborn army of Eclipse. If you don’t love Twilight, but you still enjoy the story as a guilty pleasure, reading this books is a pleasant pastime if you can stomach reading about a girl that you know will die in the end. If you hate Twilight, don’t even bother with it. You won’t be missing anything.

It's Monday, What are You Reading?

Welcome to It's Monday, What are you Reading?, a meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. This is our opportunity as bloggers to share what we've read in the past week and what we plan on reading this week. If you'd like to join in just stop by Sheila's blog and link up.

Read Last Week:

Goddess of Spring ~ P.C. Cast 6/28

Lawman's Redemption ~ Marilyn Pappano 6/29

Deathnote Vol. 1 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/1

Deathnote Vol. 2 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/1

Deathnote Vol. 3 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/2

Deathnote Vol. 4 ~ Tsugumi Ohba 7/3

Nightlight ~ The Harvard Lampoon 7/4

Currently Reading:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner ~ Stephenie Meyer

The Red Pyramid ~ Rick Riordan

Planning to Read This Week:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ J.K. Rowling

I Want Candy ~ Kim Wong Keltner

Gwyneth and the Thief ~ Margaret Moore

So, it has seriously been three months since I have participated in It's Monday, but I'm really trying to be better about getting back in the groove. I slowed down my reading in the past three months as well as my blogging, but I blame it all on vacations and learning about new music and looking for a new job. However, that is all for a different post so, yeah, let's see how well I can keep up with my post from now on. Thanks for stopping by and....

What did YOU read this past week?

June Tally 2010

So, I really didn't post again last month even though I really had wanted to and planned on doing so. In other words, I am currently a lousy blogger. Ya'll forgive me though, right? I mean, at least I Wanted to! Anyway, this post is for my reading in June which wasn't too bad. Not fantastic, but I was busy. and on vacation. Here it is.

Ripped at the Seams ~ Nancy Krulik 6/1

A Very Naughty Angel ~ Barbara Cartland 6/4

So Worthy My Love ~ Kathleen E. Woodiwiss 6/14

The Folk Keeper ~ Franny Billingsley 6/15

Every Storm ~ Lori Wick 6/16

The Body Finder ~ Kimberly Derting 6/16

Dear John ~ Nicholas Sparks 6/17

Bloodlust ~ Alex Duval 6/19

Initiation ~ Alex Duval 6/19

Ritual ~ Alex Duval 6/19

Legacy ~ Alex Duval 6/22

Pandora Gets Jealous ~ Carolyn Hennesy 6/23

Deenie ~ Judy Blume 6/24

The Princess & The Pauper ~ Kate Brian 6/24

Goddess of Spring ~ P.C. Cast 6/28

Lawman's Redemption ~ Marilyn Pappano 6/29

That's a total of 16 for June. Not bad with all things considered.

Oh yeah! About those Savings...

The LOOT

So, I told you about how I went to Borders last week and spent $27.23 and actually saved $94.62, right? Well, the picture above includes all but two items that I purchased on that wonderful shopping trip. The other two items were books. I wish I could have showed you a huge stack of books with that kind of savings, but bearing in my mind my recently admitted addiction, this is an amazing find for me. Here's how I did it:

Two books (technically two books, but they were both actually two books in one, so it's really four books) - Originally $8.99 ea - On Clearance for $1.98 ea

Eight packs of Naruto Trading Cards - Originally $4.99 ea - On Clearance for $.98

One Naruto Bookmark - Originally $4.99 - 50% Off

One pack of Naruto pencils - Originally $3.99 - 50% Off

One tin of Naruto Trading Cards - Originally $14.99 - 40% Off Coupon

Two Naruto Trapper Keepers - Originally $19.99 ea - On Clearance for (drumroll please) $.98 ea. (I kid you not. My exact words to the cashier when he rang up the first binder - "Are you SERIOUS!?! Do you mind if I go grab the other one?" It was an amazing moment.)

And THAT, my friends, is how you save almost $95.00 at Borders in one shopping trip. You just have to be obsessed with Anime and Manga.

Pictures as Promised

I am sorry I took so long to get the wedding pictures posted, but there was a bit of a hullabaloo over me posting these pictures elsewhere so I figured it was probably a good idea to wait a bit before posting them on here. Hope you enjoy them. In the pictures, Shayla and Titus are obviously the bride and groom. Ma is the redhead. The older couple is Shay's grandparents. And of course there was me. *grin*

Happy One Week Anniversary!

W-Day 3:48PM - Recap

Obviously the wedding is over now. Has been for four hours, actually. But let me just tell you - the stories I've got!!!

When I last left you, I was headed across the hall to help Shayla out with her makeup and hair. The makeup part went quickly and easily. We sorted out the colors Shay wanted to use and the perfect way to apply said colors. We went with light brown, blue, and purple. Very pretty. Once the makeup was taken care of, we moved on to the hair. Because Shayla has very, very thick, curly hair it needed to be blow dried. Since we had taken care of her makeup in her mom's room, Shayla just plugged her hair dryer in by her mom's dresser. And promptly popped the circuit breaker. Oh yes. The air conditioner shut off, the clock went black, and Ma and I just shook our heads and laughed. After the breaker was switched back on, Shayla dried her hair in the bathroom. Can I just tell you how much I wish that I had my camera with me when she finished?? She came back into the bedroom with hair straight out of the eighties! Hilarious!

An hour later, Shayla and I were shimmying her into her dress and pinning her in. Fixing a curl here, and a twist there. When all was said and done, we made our way downstairs to see the grandparents with 20 minutes before we were supposed to meet the Justice of Peace in the town park. Pictures HAD to be taken so with everyone else posing, I was doing my best to get them out the door and into their cars. My efforts did pay out eventually, though maybe not as early as I would have liked. (How do you say it, Mom?) We were "off like a herd of turtles"!

Ma, Shay and I were in the front car with the grands in the second followed very closely by Titus. All by his lonesome in the rear. I was in the front with the girls for moral support. Seriously. I was handing out tissues as soon as we sat down in those seats! When we finally made it to the park, we were passing flowers around, grabbing bags and cameras, telling each other where everyone else was headed. In other words, it was mild chaos. Down the hill we walked. Across the park. Coming from the other direction was the JP. It didn't take long for us to get started once I directed everyone to the best spot. (we had our pick and no one else seemed lucid enough to make the decision. *tongue in cheek*)

With the ceremony on camera (it only took a little over ten minutes), the pictures started. Thankfully, one of Ma's coworkers had stopped by with her really fantastic camera so she was taking pictures while I filmed the ceremony, then she continued taking pictures while I directed the majority of the groupings. Oh, and the best part? Amy (the coworker) was able to take pictures that included me. yay. *little happy dance*

After the pictures, Titus, Shayla, and I headed over to the town hall to get the application for a copy of the marriage certificate filled out. Once that was done, we headed home to change, then out to lunch at a really wonderful little seafood shack with Ma and the grandparents. Soooo much fun!

When lunch was over, we split up with Shayla's grandparents heading home to Massachusetts and the rest of us headed to town hall to pick up the, now ready, marriage certificate. From town hall we came back home where Shay opened the wedding gifts from her mom and we all visited with Shay's friend, Devon. Then, I came up here to write this. Oh yeah...while Devon was here, we all downloaded the pictures of the wedding from Titus' and my cameras. You'll see some of them in the next post.

So, yeah. Busy day. Beautiful day. Congratulations, Titus and Shayla. May you have a lifetime of happiness together!

W-Day - 8:15AM

After my last post, I wandered downstairs to find Ma up and making coffee. Chatted with her for a few minutes before heading out the door for breakfast. I've been craving some Dunkin Donuts since we got up here this past Saturday. yummmy! On my way to DD, Shayla texted me her order. (shhh! don't tell Titus. he's against Shayla having DD right now. Something about it makes her hyper. I don't know WHAT he's talking about.) I'm not sure if the weird looks that I got while in the parking lot of DD were because I am all dressed and ready for the wedding, or because Titus' car has VA license plates. Probably both. Anyway, managed to get breakfast without any problems then headed back home. I was hoping to get the PT Cruiser through a car wash, but the wash wasn't open yet so I stopped at Market Basket instead. Grabbed Lysol cleaning wipes, Glass wipes, and paper towels.

When I got back to the house, Ma and Shayla were already putting Shay's bouquet together. Once I finished up my doughnuts, I helped out. Let me just tell you...this bouquet is GORGEOUS!! Ma did a phenomenal job. While Ma and I labored over the flowers, Shay took pictures so I'll have some nice ones to share at some point. Probably late tonight or late tomorrow. Don't worry...I won't forget.

After breakfast and flowers, Shayla and I went outside to do a little bit of cleaning on Titus' car. It looks SOOO much better now! Not quite night and day, but pretty close.

Shay's in the getting ready stage of the morning and I'm gonna be needed for hair and makeup soon. Maybe we'll be able to get Ma to take pictures of this part.

It's W-Day (Wedding Day) - Post 1 - 6AM

Good morning, lovebirds! I woke up about 45 minutes ago to the continuing sunrise. It's looking like we're going to have a sunny day. Yes, there are clouds in the sky, but the world will not end because of clouds today. I think Ma, Titus, and Shayla all stayed up late last night, but having learned my lesson from my own wedding, I went to bed around 11pm. Of course, by the time Joseph called me to say good night, it was 11:45pm.

Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a hearty wake up before I start on my makeup. Hopefully it won't take long and I'll be able to sneak out of the house to grab breakfast before anyone else gets up and misses me. Then, I'll be taking the "getting ready" pictures during the parts I won't be directly helping with.

Wish me luck!

Where in the World is Hannah aka Loser Lucy??

Where have I been? Gone. Away from home. Away from my husband. Away from my puppy. BUT...with my younger brother. With his fiancee. With his future (tomorrow) mother-in-law. In New Hampshire.

Shayla (remember her from last summer and over Christmas time?) lives in New Hampshire. She grew up here. She's getting married up here. Hence the reason Titus and I are here. I mean...it does kinda take a bride AND a groom to have a wedding. The wedding is tomorrow. (Which you would have known had you been paying attention earlier when I mentioned Titus' mother-in-law.) Anyway, right now is the first time I've been online long enough to even get on Blogger to write about it, this week.

Today, we (from now on, "we" will refer to Titus, Shayla, and I) went into N--- to Borders (a story for another time), visited TJ Maxx to find a sweater to go over Shayla's wedding dress (it has a halter top), and stopped at Wal-Mart to purchase the flowers for her bouquet and Pepsi for the after-wedding party. Did you know that there is no sales tax in New Hampshire? I didn't before this week and let me tell you...it's AWESOME!!!

Shayla wants red, blue or purple, and white in her wedding bouquet so I bought red roses, white chrysanthemums, blue (silk) hyacinths, and red/purple/blue ribbons. We'll see what works out best. oh! and there are supposedly these really cool red and white wildflowers on the side of the road near the house so I have to go out tomorrow morning and pick some to see if I can work them into the bouquet. Yes, mom, Rachel, and Alicia...you read that correctly...I am creating Shayla's bouquet. Of course, she'll have the last word about the exact arrangement, but I'm pretty sure I can manage to put something together for her. Flowers and hair DO seem to be the extent of my creative streak. Granted, I CAN do makeup too which is good because all three of those areas are falling to me. (PLEASE pray for me!!!)

The wedding is going to be super small. Just Titus, Shayla, Ma (Shay's mom), and Shay's mom's parents, and I will be there beside the Justice of Peace. Shayla and Titus figured the smaller the better which worked out well for them with the JP cause it cut his fee in half when they told him it would be no more than seven people. Gotta love that!

Anyway, I've got a list of things to NOT forget to do/take tomorrow so hopefully my part will go smoothly. My part being: get everyone out of the house alive and well. don't forget the tissues. pack the Tide to Go pen (they're getting married in a park and Shay is accident prone). flowers. hair. makeup. oh yeah! and Pictures. That's my job - to film the ceremony then to take as many pictures as I can get Titus and Shayla and her family to stand still for. (MORE prayer needed on THAT one!!) THEN, there's the belated graduation pictures to take with Shay and her grandparents once we get home from the wedding. Somewhere in there we'll throw in a little after-wedding party, more packing of Shayla's stuff, and tons more pictures along with short tempers, and, I'm sure, a few tiffs with me as the buffer. It's gonna be fun.

All that to say - here's my prayer requests for ya'll for tomorrow:

1. NO rain!! (it has rained EVERY day we've been up here this week.)
2. I don't forget anything that I need to do/take care of.
3. NO fights, tiffs, or lost tempers. (Shay's family is Irish and French...yeah, this one is VERY necessary.)
4. Flowers, hair, and makeup.
5. A good time had by all.

Promises. Promises

At the end of last month I told Darlyn that I had enough stories to last me through all of this month's blog posts. That would be a post a day. As I'm sure you've noticed...that certainly did not happen. I can't even tell you why not. However, I am writing a post now and will write another as soon as I'm finished with this one.

This particular post is here to serve as a warning of a post to come. Today I visited Borders with Titus and Shayla in order to use up a 40% off coupon that I received in my email this week. I must say that this particular trip was definitely the highlight of my time here in New Hampshire so far and I've only got one day to top it so I'm pretty sure it's going to show as the best day EVER!

Here's a hint:

I SPENT - $27.23

I SAVED - $94.62

My promise? I solemnly promise that I am up to no good. Oh wait! wrong promise!

I promise that when I get home from New Hampshire (probably late Saturday night or sometime Sunday afternoon), I will write a blog post to tell you all what I bought at Borders today that allowed me to spend under $30 and still save almost $95. *pinky promise*

Are you jealous yet?

Oh, Friday! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. Last work day of the week

2. Casual day at work. (my coworker and I are conspiring to wear our new company shirts to work together tomorrow. We may be the only ones, but at least we'll match and we'll make all of our other coworkers jealous over our great coordination. :-)

3. An entire day to enjoy my new CDs! I just picked up my CDs at the post office this afternoon and I LOVE them!

4. I'll have two hours in the morning before work to read my "new" Barbara Cartland book. My sister, Alicia helped me find it online while I was down visiting her. I ordered it on Monday and it was delivered today.

5. After work, I get to come home. Maybe run a load or two of laundry. Then I get to head up to PA for the weekend.

6. I'll see my Mama-san and my leetle seester and my Daddy and my leetle (taller) brother and my dog, Jack.

What is the best part of tomorrow/this Friday for you this week?

All sorts of Grand Plans with no Follow Through

I had definite plans to write a blog post each day of this month. I was not going to fail in doing this. And then, yesterday happened. *smirk* It always does.

Work went fine. Well, as fine as work can go after a week's vacation and a long weekend on top of it. Of course I didn't want to work. Who would? Still, most everyone seemed happy that I was back at work and my work hadn't piled up impossibly high - just ALMOST impossibly high.

After work I went home and found myself relieved to not have to teach any piano lessons since my normal Tuesday students were still traveling home from their long weekend away.

Then, just about the time I was going to start my blog post, Ashley got home and all my plans went out the window. See, Ashley was in a rather bad accident yesterday on her way home from work. She just recently bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee and hadn't been having any problems, but for some reason, yesterday her breaks decided to lock up at the worst possible moment. She ran into the back of the car in front of her and all but totalled her Jeep. Since the airbags in her vehicle deployed while both of her hands were on the steering wheel, her right arm was very sore and starting to swell. Immediate reaction from Joseph, Titus, and I - get Ashley to the ER or at least the Urgent Care center near us to get x-rays on her arm. So, Ashley and I headed out for Urgent Care. Of course, when we got there we discovered that the place had closed 30 minutes before our arrival. We went to dinner instead. Now, let me mention here that it was not Ashley's idea to get her arm x-rayed. She has broken her right wrist two or three time before and kept saying that it didn't feel as bad as it had when she had broken it before. "Better safe than sorry," I kept telling her.

We never did make it to the ER after finding Urgent Care closed. Instead we went to Target after dinner to pick up Alice in Wonderland. I did, however, make her all but promise me that she would visit Urgent Care in the morning if her arm was still hurting. Sheesh! I'll tell you...getting that girl to see a doctor is like pulling teeth without painkillers!

So, if you think about it today, please pray that everything works out quickly for Ashley. She needs a rental vehicle or a daily ride to work, she needs to get things sorted out with her insurance, she needs a day to relax after such a bad accident, and she needs to find a new vehicle - again.

Hi. My name is Addiction

If you have read my blog for any length of time you may have noticed that when I do something, I throw my entire being into doing it. I don't really do anything in halves. This can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. Hence the reason I call them addictions. Most of my addictions last a few months at best, but there is one that began 4 1/2 years ago and hasn't slowed down yet.

This addiction is called Naruto. Yes, the anime/manga. I read it. I watch it. I have favorite characters. I collect the cards for the collectible card game. And I trade the cards. I also have just recently (read - this year) begun to collect other Naruto items. In an effort to share my addiction with ya'll, I took a few pictures of a few of my collectibles.

First, there is my calendar. Joseph actually found this one for me. And I love it.

Kakashi is May

Sai (pronounced "sigh") is June

A few bookmarks and collectible trading cards that I use as bookmarks

My new stash. Two pencil cases, pencils, a pencil sharpener (metal!), a posterzine (magazine of nothing but posters, volumes 1 and 2 of the Naruto Shippuuden soundtrack, and last, but not least, my favorite item of the bunch - Gaara (the figurine).

There you have it. My addiction is collecting Naruto stuff and honestly, this is one addiction I am NOT ashamed of. I actually really, really enjoy it! Of course, it DOES help that Joseph likes Naruto just as much as I do and therefore he is constantly helping me amass these wonderful items. *grin*

Here's my question for you: Do you have anything that you would consider an addiction?

I Just Realized

That I have already surpassed my reading goal for this year. Talk about someone being a Blonde! I'm already 33 books passed my goal and I'm just now realizing it. Yes, I AM special.

May Tally

May was another pretty good month for reading even though it wasn't such a great month for blogging again. I think I've got blogging covered for June, though. I've got alot going on, but still have lots of ideas for posts. Now I just need to bring them into being. However, this post is about the books that I've read this month, not about my lack of posts. Here's the list.

Ill Wind ~ Rachel Caine 5/5

Heat Stroke ~ Rachel Caine 5/6

Chill Factor ~ Rachel Caine 5/7

Windfall ~ Rachel Caine 5/8

Firestorm ~ Rachel Caine 5/10

Thin Air ~ Rachel Caine 5/11

Gale Force ~ Rachel Caine 5/13

Cape Storm ~ Rachel Caine 5/14

The Scots Never Forget ~ Barbara Cartland 5/16

The Personal Correspondence of Hannah Brown and Sarah Smith: The Underground Railroad ~

Nancy LeSourd 5/16

The Borrowers ~ Mary Norton 5/18

The Last Rogue ~ Deborah Simmons 5/19

My Invisible Boyfriend ~ Susie Day 5/19

Daughters of the Sea: Hannah ~ Kathryn Lasky 5/19

Love and War ~ Barbara Cartland 5/22

Scary Beautiful ~ Niki Burnham 5/23

Kiss of Death ~ Rachel Caine 5/23

Do-Over ~ Niki Burnham 5/29

How NOT to Spend Your Senior Year ~ Cameron Dokey 5/29

The Inheritance ~ Louisa May Alcott 5/30

Love Undercover ~ Jo Edwards 5/31

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree ~ Lauren Tarshis 5/31

That makes 22 books read in May which brings my yearly total to 183. Wow. That's alot of books even if I AM counting manga.

Watching Michael pitch against the Greenville Drive

This past week Joseph and I drove down to Greenville, South Carolina to watch Joseph's younger brother, Michael (Mike) pitch. Mike is part of the Charleston Riverdogs baseball team. The bonus to going south to Greenville...my older sister and her family live down there so we got to spend time with them as well. Our vacation officially started on Sunday, the 23rd, but the first game was played Monday evening. It also happened to be the game that Mike pitched in.

Fluor Field - home of the Greenville Drive

Mike on the pitcher's mound

Another shot

Keeping the guy on first base from stealing second.

Concentration

Paris Mountain

On Wednesday we went to Paris Mountain to feed the ducks and geese.

The mallard family

Rosie: "I want to hold your hand, Uncle Joseph."

Uncle Joseph: "Nope."

Rosie's "I wanna hold your hand" dance

Boy! That Uncle Joseph isn't very nice!

But he is a good follower.

One of the VERY hissy mama geese

Uncle Joseph playing the Pied Piper and bringing the hissing geese to the stairs so we can feed them without worrying about them trying to bite the kids.

Rose feeding her hissing geese

Following the leader aka Ethan

Rose getting a piggyback ride after tripping and scraping up her entire right leg.

Rose wouldn't smile cause her leg hurt too much so Ethan helped out while Anna laughed.

To the falls!

The falls over the dam

Mom with her eldest

Mom with her sweet baby

Fun at the Greenville Zoo

Since Joseph and I spent this past week in South Carolina visiting my older sister's family as well as watching Mike's team play, we just had to stop by the Greenville zoo. Here are a few shots from our time spent there.

The giraffes were out and about when we got there.

Joseph was frisbeeing the "feed the animal" crackers into the giraffes' enclosure. The female was all over those crackers! lol

The male

Uncle Joseph discussing the tortoises with Anna and Rose

Rose running backwards into the Orangutan exhibit.

Rosie

Anna, Rose, Aunt Hannah, and Ethan

Uncle Joseph with Bella

Bella learning about slides

After the first initial scare, Bella was hooked!

Climbing the stairs up to Uncle Joseph to be sent down the slide to Mom again.

Bella girl