Resloutions?

I avoid making resolutions.  

Like the rest of America, I have trouble keeping the darn things.  

So I figure why torment myself.  

Right? Right.

This year is a little different.  My resolution is to cross things off my bucket list. 

That I can totally do! 

There are two things that I have already taken the first steps to accomplish. One is running in a 5K.  And not be dying at the end if it. One of my friends wants to run one in March and by golly I'm going to join her.  And if for some reason I fail, the Race for the Cure is in September, so there is my second chance. 

 

 I know.  Way too goofy sexy.

I will do it. 

Run that is. 

Not walk.

I also added something to the list... "learn to knit".  This is a recent interest for me, mostly because of this magazine I found....

He he he.  I LOVE Jane Austin and apparently someone can put her name on something and have me hooked. 

Get it? 

Hooked.

Maybe that is a crocheting joke.  Don't worry I will be sure to show you my amazing creations.  This is going to be awesome! 


There's my plan for some new adventures of 2012.   Have any resolutions??

Reading list: December 2011

Here are the books I read this month:

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

The fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle wraps up the dealings of Eragon and the wicked king of Alagaësia, King Galbatorix.  It's defeat Galbatrorix or be killed trying.  A dragon-rider and the Varden army, which is composed of elves, Dwarves, Urgals, Werecats and men, are quickly approaching Urû'baen where they will fight the remaining forces of the Empire.  A great battle awaits them since Galbatorix has placed ward after ward to protect the city and it's people.  Men who don't feel pain and structures that are unnaturally strong are just two of the problems they face. Any short summary I write won't do the 78 chapters justice.  You can't start with the end...the order is Eragon, Eldest, Brisinger and Inheritance.

Thorn in My Heart & Fair is the Rose by Liz Curtis Higgs

Set in Scotland in the late 1700's, we have a story filled with love, jealousy, deceitfulness, trickery and TONS of drama.  Jamie who with the aide of his mother cheats his twin brother out of his inheritance of the family farm.  The brother as you can imagine isn't too fond of this and wants to kill Jamie.  Jamie runs away to his uncle's house to not only have a safe place to hid, but conveniently find a bride.  He immediately falls in love with the younger sister Rose, while the older sister Leana immediately falls in love with Jamie.  You guessed it, let the drama begin.  If you know the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel from the Bible, you will pretty much know what happens.  Higgs adds her own twists to the story though, so there are a few surprises.  I just finished reading the second book Fair is the Rose. The drama continues.  Just when you think all the conniving is done there is a whole new book full of trickery.  I can't really tell you what happens in the second book since it will give away what happens in the first.  Going to order the third one from the library today!

What books do you suggest???

You all deserve an update

My Match.com experience has been a little....random, disappointing, informative. 

First of all random.  I think it's random when a guy emails you a couple times, then texts, then says "hey, look up my facebook page" and proceeds to never talk to you again.  Was my facebook page THAT bad?!  I beg to differ.  Of course, I think it is also funny that he then posts on his page some comments about wanting to find a nice girl and how he's lonely.

 Hello!!  

What a random guy. 

Disappointing.  I wasn't necessarily expecting to find the love of my life (maybe that was my problem), but I was expecting to make more connections.  They give you "Daily Matches" according to your similar likes and interests.  I had to laugh when one of the three things we had in common was being an oldest child.  Yep, Match, that is really important to me.  How about he knows how to write complete sentences, and his last read was something other than the back of a pizza box.  Seriously, I just checked and two of my matches put something like that as their last read. 

Are they trying to be funny? 

When I get options like that of course I'm clicking "not interested". 

Informative.  I sent out quite a few emails to guys with no reply. I mentioned this to a friend that is also on Match and she said the same thing happened to her.  I wonder how many of those were A.) not interested, B.) not even on anymore, or C.) just not into girls who make the first move.  I confess there were some guys that emailed me that I didn't reply to either, but mostly because they were a little too old for me.  So maybe it wasn't informative after all.

So there is the main gist of my experience, my membership is canceled and will soon expire.  Maybe I'll try the friends of friends route for a while, and see if that works out any better.

Best Game EVER!!!!

One of my friends told me about this game and now I want to share it with all of you.  It is called telephone pictionary.  Telephone, the game where you say a word and by the time it gets around it's not what you said +  Pictionary, the game where you draw words or phrases = Extremely funny times!

Need:

1. A group of people I'd say at least 6+.  
2. Each person needs a stack of papers (one paper per person in group). I would have a stack of 6 papers if there were 6 people.  Papers need to me at least 3" x 3" They don't need to be full sheets of paper.
3. Writing utensils

Directions: 

• On the top piece of paper each person writes a word or small phrase.

•  You then pass the whole stack of papers to the person on your left.  That person looks at the word, moves that paper to the back of the pile, and draws the word or phrase.  Every person in the group performs these steps at the same time.  So in this case everyone is drawing a picture of whatever word is on their stack.

•  You then pass the stack again to the left.  This person looks at the picture, moves it to the back and writes what they see.  

•  The process continues.  If you get a word, you draw a picture on the next paper.  You get a picture; you write the word.  Just because the drawing may be amazing doesn't mean the next person will know what it is.  That's when it gets really funny.  

Here is the rest of this particular stack...

Well, there you have it.  We went from "Wookie" to "a person being tasered".  TOO FUNNY!!  I was literally in tears from laughing so hard.

A great game to play with the family at Christmas!

Christmas shopping 2011

I am a total procrastinator when it comes to Christmas shopping.  

Well I'm a procrastinator with a lot of stuff actually.  

I get more creative and have better ideas when I'm under pressure of meeting a deadline.  When I was in college there were several times that I tried to be good and work on an assignment weeks in advance.  

You know what would happen? 

I would get writers block or come up with lame ideas, but if it was due in a couple of days, I could write that same paper in mere hours.  Yes, there were a few times where my procrastination got me in trouble, but for the most part that is when I thrive! 

This year is the perfect example, I tried to be good this year and start early.  I manged to get a few things here and there, just little things really.  But here we are December 22, and I still have presents I need to buy.  I'll probably need to go shopping tomorrow, too.  I managed to find a few things last night that will be perfect for these certain someones.  Yippee!

The best part about Christmas shopping is the weird random stuff one finds.  There were a few moments last night where I went "Hmm, who would buy that!"  Here are two examples:

Yes, that's right a Twilight straightener.  Seriously?! I don't get it.  Can you read the little blurp on there?

  "Easily creates Edward's textured hair in seconds"  

That's it I'm sold!

Can you see what this is? A Justin Bieber. Singing. Toothbrush. LOL!!!!  Where you get not one but TWO of his songs. On your toothbrush.

 

Seriously laughed out loud in the store when I saw these two items.  I think the singing toothbrush is my favorite.  

 

As in "most funny", not the "I want someone to buy it" favorite.

Pigs and a Cruise

This past spring I decided that when I turn 30 (in a few years) I am going to treat myself to a cruise.  I went on a cruise with my family, compliments of my grandparents, when I was 15.  And I loved every minute of it!

Who wouldn't?!  

Food....all the time.  

Sunshine...all the time.

Beautiful weather...all the time.

I was literally in paradise.  Just thinking about palm trees makes me happy.  Remember, I have a thing for beaches and palm trees. 

Turning 30 is a big deal and I'm going to celebrate. I love birthday's and it only makes sense that:

birthday + cruise= best birthday EVER!!

So being the smart and ingenious person that I am, I decided I needed to start saving now.  Mostly because I'm a spender, and if I don't start now there's no way I'll have enough money just laying around when I'm 30.

My cousin showed me her tool for saving money. SmartyPig. I was instantly hooked.  It is a legit online savings account bank.  They are backed by FDIC, been hailed by reputable people such as The Wall Street Journal; The New York Times; Fox Business; CNN Living and many more.  It is a secure website that asks for obvious username and password, but also answers to two of your security questions.  But the thing that really got me was their great interest rate.  0.70% APY.  Since I started saving in April, I have earned $.30 in interest.  

Hello!!! 

And it's not like I even have tons of money in my account.  Couldn't believe it.  $.30!  Another perk to SmartyPig you can set up specific goals with time frames and amounts.  So my goal appropriately named "cruise" is $1,000.  I told the magical piggy when I wanted to reach my goal, and it told me how much I would need to set aside each month.  It pulls directly from my checking account, so I don't have to remember to transfer funds.  Seriously people, if you aren't hooked by now, I don't understand why not.

If you want to sign up with SmartyPig I can send you a referral (selfish reason...I get a little bonus...but you can do the same thing with your friends). Send me your email to menmoneyandme@gmail.com and I'll send you an invite. 

Have you ever heard of SmartyPig before??

P.S. They didn't ask me to write this.  I just simply love the site and want to share with you.  Because I'm nice like that. 

Red Robin...Yum!!!!

I LOVE RED ROBIN!!!  

(Sorry for the yelling; I am just really excited.)

I went to Red Robin last night for a friend's birthday, and I was so impressed with the service we received.  Refills just kept coming, food was awesome (as always) and two staff members, not including our waiter, checked on us to make sure everything was good.  I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but know that the meal included a surprise ice cream, a surprise discount and fries as an appetizer. 

I know, I know that really isn't that out of the ordinary, but believe me, you would have been impressed if you had been there.  Since you weren't able to join me in this exciting evening, I want to spread my joy just a little with you.  

How does a $25 gift card to Red Robin sound?  I would think that sounded....yummy.  So if that sounds yummy, enter the drawing!!  Red Robin didn't bribe or supply this prize, this is simply because I am a huge fan and want you to share in the amazingness.  Also sign up for their Red Robin Rewards card online.  You get a free burger during your birthday month, and when I first signed up I got a free appetizer. 

***WINNER- Kyl N.***  Congrats!

Latest weird dream had me in Tennessee...

I was in Tennessee visiting a cousin and her family.  My cousin took me around the town to meet her friends and see the sights.  One such location was a car repair shop.  Apparently a couple of her friends worked there and we talked for a while before we left in this ginormous pickup truck.  We then went to this little river or pond.  

In real life I am leery of swimming in ponds, because you never know what is in the water.  This dream just proves that point. 

As we were walking up I saw this huge snake that was like 20 feet long and had to be cousins with an anaconda come out of the water.  My cousin said something about swimming to the other side.  I freaked out and mentioned the snake that we just saw. "No big deal" she said, so we swam across. just when I thought we were safe and avoided the scary snake, it came out of the water and bit my cousin's ankle.  It then turned and bit me.  

That's when I woke up.

I really don't understand where these random dreams keep coming from.
1) Skateboarding
2) Ashton Kutcher
3) Giant snake

WEIRD!!!

Epic Fail

I have decided I need to get serious about being healthy.  I have all these aspirations....

1)Killer abs

2) Well defined arms and legs

3)Eat healthy snacks and healthy meals

Ok I guess just three aspirations.

Three days ago I told Lazy Mom that her and I were going to start working out for 30 min everyday.  Lazy Mom keeps saying how she wants to be less jiggly and I don't want to be lonely in my venture.   Since we both have crazy schedules we are going to be accountability partners.  (Like how I just announced this to the world Lazy Mom?)

Day one: Fail.  Looked for Dancing with the Stars DVD, it's lost. Crap!  

Day two: Breakfast meeting, asked sister about lost DVD, work at job #1, work at job #2 get home at 9pm and check emails and um...facebook and Pinterest.  The last one was research people!  DVD still MIA.

Day three:  That is today and I am determined to get my half hour in.  I got some ideas off of Pinterest and with or without workout DVD I want to be able to tell y'all that I did it. 

Any tips on getting motivated.  I could really use some help here people.  Especially since it is cookie eating season AKA Christmas time.

For the record Lazy Mom's day one didn't go so well either...."I already FAILED YOU. Yesterday was a very full day! wrote my blog post, worked on Natural House, ran to lunch (does that count as exercise?), returned jeans to Once Upon a Child in Perrysburg... took FOREVER to sort through their jeans to find better ones, rushed to pick kids up from school, stopped by the bank, closed up an Uppercase Living party, got ready for the Christmas minister's dinner, went to the Christmas minister's dinner. By the time I got home it was after 10pm. SORRY!!!

Like how I just put that out there too, Lazy Mom?

I had a bad experience...

Thursday I worked at the tree lighting ceremony/party for the city of Holland.  It was a great time.  We had it all...cookies, a tree outside all lit up, me inside where it was nice and warm, cookies, Santa, Christmas music, fire in the fireplace, and cookies (they were REALLY good cookies!!!).  Our church was in charge of the kid's craft area and the Angel Tree.  Our volunteers were amazing and we all had fun. 

At the end of the night all of our volunteers gathered around Santa and Mrs. Clause for a picture.  Someone suggested I sit on Santa's lap.  NO WAY!!!  Never again....I think I am scarred for life. Here's why....Ready for my Santa story? Good.

One Christmas season I went with my family, a cousin and a friend to a theme park where we ate tons of sugar and were completely silly.  We were walking around and saw that Santa was there.  We went in and waited in line to sit on Santa's lap and get our picture taken.  Now mind you I was either 18 or 19 when this happened. Finally it is our turn.  My friend sits on one knee while I sit on the other, my cousin stands behind me and snap, snap...pictures are taken.  I try to stand back up to move on, but Santa's arm is still wrapped around me, so I sit back down. Santa says, "What do you want for Christmas?"  Being the silly girls we were, I believe rich boyfriends and jewelry were mentioned.  Ha ha ha cute.  I try to stand back up again...no such luck.  I sit back down.  AWKWARD. He carries on the conversation with us a little while longer and again I try to stand up.  I'm telling you it was crazy.  So now I'm thinking Santa is beginning to creep me out.  After a couple more seconds he finally lets us go. We left and started laughing about how incredibly weird that was.

The really funny part is my sister was video taping all of this.  You can see me and my friend trying to get up several times and he just pulled us back down.  Creepy Santa.

So there is my story.  Never again will I sit on Santa's lap.  I'm pretty sure that someday when I have kids, their dad will have to take them to see Santa, because no way will I take them.

November's reading list

I feel like a failure this month. September and October offered much more reading time I guess.

I only finished two books. Started two others, just didn't finish.

Don't tell on me.

Can you Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella
Emma has a few secrets...ok a lot of secrets.  She is on a flight coming home from a business trip when the plane experiences some horrible turbulence.  She just knows they are all going to die so she begins to tell the man sitting next to her every little secret she has. Secrets about work, her love life, her parents....everything....and then they land.  Mortified by what she just told this man, she leaves the airport thankful she won't see him again.  That is until he walks into her office building....and she finds out he created the company.  Awkward!  I enjoyed Sophie's British humor.  A light, quick read that will having you laughing by the second chapter.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Attending funerals aren't fun, attending a funeral of a person you never met even worse.  So when Lara goes to her great aunt Sadie's funeral, she isn't prepared when her aunt's ghost appears and ask for Lara's help to find a necklace.  She just can't rest until she has it. It sounds hokey, but it is quite cute and funny how the two characters interact.  Sadie has some strong opinions about life and is sure to tell her great niece whats what, especially when it comes to men and fashion.  She soon has Lara out on a date in full 20's fashion complete with dancing the Charleston!

This is the same author who brought us Confessions of a Shopaholic.

First my shovel and now my umbrella

Today you get to hear a sad, sad story from my youth.  I remember like it was yesterday, picture it, I was  8 years old and just had an amazing day at a friend's birthday party.  So much fun, and I even was going home with  prize.  A beautiful bucket and shovel to play with in the sand.  It was perfect.  I loved my shovel and bucket.  My dad came with my younger sister (who's a mom now, just in case you missed that) to pick me up.

If there was dramatic music to let you know something bad was about to happen, it would be playing right now.

There we were driving home, the windows down, the sun shining.  My sister wanted to see my shovel.  And by see I mean play with and adore.  Of course I didn't want to part with my shovel, but being a good sister I gave it to her.  She has always been the curious type, that day was no different.  She got the brilliant idea to stick the shovel out the window and let the wind push it.  NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!  You guessed it.  The shovel flew out of her hands and out onto the street.  I start crying and frantically telling my dad to turn around because my shovel was out there.  He didn't understand what in the world I was trying to tell him through my tears.  So that day I ended up with a bucket with no shovel.  I was traumatized. 

My family has had to hear the retelling of this story so many times.

So many times that they have bought me

 many a shovel and bucket to replace the ones from that fateful day. 

The other day is was rainy and windy and gross. My sister was leaving the house with a basket of laundry and me being a nice sister said,
"Hey, I got a new free umbrella. I will protect you and your clean laundry from the wind and rain."
"No" she replies "I'll be fine."
"I insist. It is huge and will cover us both."

Out into the elements we go.  Open the umbrella take two steps outside and whoosh!  Inside out it goes. "Noooooo!" I bust out laughing.  We get back inside and I put on my best sad face and show my parents my poor sad umbrella.

"Oh no" my dad says, "this isn't going to be like the shovel is it?" 

Well....

Pass the marshmallows, I mean sweet potatoes.

Thanksgiving = family, food, Macy's parade, food, Lion's football (woot woot), and have I mentioned food?

I love family traditions. So much fun!

One tradition we have is having sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top.  Not really sure that it counts as a tradition if it is a food, but my Thanksgiving isn't complete without it.  Seriously I love them! 

Ok so it may be more like marshmallows with sweet potatoes.

Ten things I'm thankful for:

1. My niece
2. My friend being home from Japan
3. Getting to spend time with family 
4. My jobs
5. My friends
6. Sunshine (we won't see much of that with gray winter coming)
7. My health
8. A working car....did you hear that car I said you were working.
9. The people in the Armed Forces...Thanks for your sacrifice!
10. Having basic necessities-house, clothes, heat, food

 

What family traditions do you have?

Enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family and friends!

I'm an Aunt!!!

My sister had her baby!!!!  

Isn't she just the cutest little baby ever! 

I love being an aunt! (I have a feeling this post will be full of exclamation points) 

Cassandra Anne 7 lbs 2 oz of absolute cuteness!!!

And like a good aunt I'm torturing all my friends with all the pictures I have on my phone.

I can't help it....I just love her!!!

We have already had some nice bonding moments......

Uhumm...how did that one get in here.  :)

Ashton Kutcher works at Walmart....

...at least he did in my dream.  Yes! I had another really bizarre dream the other night. This is the third one in like two weeks.  Here's what I remember...

I was with a group of women and we were in the store talking and walking around. (I don't remember seeing signs that told me it was Walmart, but sometimes in dreams you just know.)  Somehow we ended up in the "bathroom", well more like a dressing room for a theater.  

I warned you, it was bizarre. 

We are all talking away, when in walks Ashton Kutcher to clean???   The group is just talking away and as some of them leave I stay behind to talk a little to Ashton.  I eventually ask him out, I can't for the life of me remember if he said yes. 

 That's when I wake up.  

Why this dream is random....

• I'm not really an Ashton fan. He's on the cute guys list, but not even in the top 20.  An ok actor, but his character in real life leaves a little to be desired.
• How did he even make it into the dream?  Now some of you will be saying, "Duh! It has been all over the internet about him and Demi."  But I hadn't been reading anything about it until the next day when it showed up on my browser home page.  I don't even care.  It's none of my business what goes on in their personal lives.
• Bathroom/theater dressing room???  What the heck is that all about?

Maybe I'm eating something before bed that I shouldn't.  I'll let you know if there are more.

**Please don't get me in trouble because I talked about Ashton....working at Walmart.....and not being in my top 20.**

I (we) WON!!!!

I have the worst luck when it comes to winning.  Especially when it is really luck that you need, with no talent involved. Oh and BINGO is the worst of the worst.

So the worstest....est.

How can one be bad at Bingo? I have no idea!  My grandparents had bought one of those little Bingo games where you can spin the balls round and round in the little cage.  Some of my family members played it one Christmas Eve for an hour at least.  Everyone won 3 or 4 times. EXCEPT ME!  Seriously! It didn't matter if I had one board or four.  I couldn't win.

In fact another Bingo experience was at a chicken festival in southern Ohio.  They had....a Bingo tent! You played for a quarter and you used little corn kernels for markers, it was so cute and small town like.  I went in, hoping Bingo and I could be friends.  Nope not a chance.  Lost, lost, lost, lost, intervention, lost, gave up, well one more, lost, really gave up and went to find some chicken to eat. My sister laughs at my experiences with Bingo and who can blame her.

A couple weeks ago I went shopping with my sister and brother-in-law to look for some boots.  We are looking around Shoe Carnival when the dude calls over the announcements that the person who finds the staff member Melanie and brings her name tag to the front gets to spin the prize wheel. 

The PRIZE WHEEL!!! Oh snap! 

I had always wanted to spin that thing. But why try to find her, I have the worst luck.  That's when I hear my sister say "That was easy." Huh? A staff member had just walked around the corner and my wonderful, brilliant sister asked her her name and it was Melanie!  We won! We won! I ran and skipped to the front so excited to win a prize.  The dude wasn't quite sure how to react to my enthusiasm. I spun the wheel and got $5 off!  Yeah!!! 

Ok, ok my sister won. But she wasn't buying shoes, so I'll claim that win for me. 

Moral of the story: A long as you take a lucky person with you, you can win prizes even though you don't have enough luck to win at Bingo. 

BEWARE!!!!!

Of all the dating/relationship advice that is out there why have I never heard the following pieces of advice......

1) Don't date your best friend's brother.

2) Don't date your best friend's (same friend in #1) serious boyfriend's best friend.  

Did you get all that?

Why you ask.....because you will see these guys a lot after you break up, causing great moments of awkwardness. Granted it does get better, but still a little weird.  For instance when your best friend marries said boyfriend and asks you to be in the wedding + two guys you dated also in wedding = AWKWARD! Thankfully, I didn't walk down the aisle with either of them, but what a fun limo ride when a random conversation about being friends with girlfriends after you break up takes place.  Seriously?!

When these friends are leaving the country for two years and have a going away party, you go and see....former boyfriend A with wife and baby on the way and former boyfriend B with wife and newborn and even though you try to avoid them you end up having to say hi....by yourself....because you are single = AWKWARD!!!!

And does it seem awkward for them??? of course not!  I think the awkwardness is more that I want them to see how happy I am with my life too.  I just don't have a spouse and kid to prove my happiness.  I have a table full of friends, a new niece(!!!!!!!), a new job, and um....new boots.  They did see the boots. Oh this need to prove myself to others....silly sanguine.

The moral of the story: if you ever get asked out by a good friend's brother followed by a good friend of the guy she is with, think long and hard about what that will entail.  

It could be worth it, then again maybe not.

I'm gonna be a professional skateboarder...

at least in my dreams. 

The other night I had a very weird and random dream.  I was at a skateboard shop (do those even exist) picking out the perfect board to buy.  I'm pretty sure it looked something like this....

I told you. Random.  From what I can remember of the dream I went to this store and talked to the clerk about wanting to skateboard, because it was on my bucket list.  Which it's not.  

I then tried the board out. 

And not only did I miraculously know how to skateboard, but I also did some slick tricks.  I then debated if I should actually spend money on this, since the board was very expensive and I probably wouldn't use it very often.  I don't think I bought it, the dream is kinda fuzzy from there.

When I woke up, I actually laughed out loud.  How this came to mind I have no idea. I think I tried to skateboard when I was like ten and I couldn't even figure out how to stand on the thing.  In fact it kinda freaked me out.  I think it takes an extreme amount of talent just to get on those devices. How people don't break their necks riding them shocks me. 

But in my dream I was amazing. 

A.ma.zing! 

This almost inspires me to try again. Almost. And then I come back to reality.

If anyone out there interprets dreams, I'd be curious to hear what you think it means. 

Ha ha ha ha ha.  :)

Suits me just fine

I am a fan of Pinterest. To say the least.

I find so many funny, 

    stylish, 

   crafty 

 

and beautiful things on there.

Recently I added (inspired by this blog) an Eye Candy board. Where like a silly teenage girl I have collected pictures of some handsome men. Hey why not? The funny thing is I noticed that all of these guys are wearing suits.  I seriously have a thing for a guy dressed up.  So. Hot. 
I'll share a few....

Yeah. I know. Um..... you have some drool...there you got it.

I love Pinterest. And guys in suits.  ;)

October's Reading List

This has been a busy month, new job, sister's baby shower, tutoring, and let's not forget....reading.  Here are the books I read this month (and one from September that I forgot to list),

September's forgotten book...

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
First, a confession...I saw the movie first.  Gasp! I know I try not to ever do that, but this was one of those instances.  They are both very similar, but I did enjoy the book better.  It's the story of Liz and her one year journey to discover who she is.  She goes through a terrible divorce, finds another guy, falls in love, breaks up, gets back together, breaks up, etc.  She comes to a point when she says enough is enough and has decided to go to Italy, India and Indonesia to look within herselfand find her self-worth.  I admire Elizabeth Gilbert for taking the leap into the unknown about herself (which can be very scary).  It has inspired me to learn Italian (made it to the bucket list).

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
I have a love/hate relationship with Nick.  I have enjoyed reading his books, sometimes they are just so sad at the end.  Tear, tear.  This one added a point to the love column.  I started it not realizing it is a sequel to The Notebook. Swoon.  You need to read The Notebook (swoon) if you have only watched the movie, since they do differ. Hey! I watched the movie first with this one too!!  Maybe I do this more often than I think.  Anyway, The Wedding is the story of one of Noah and Allie's daughters and her husband.  Written from the perspective of the husband, Wilson. He begins the book by telling the readers that he forgot his 29th anniversary.  Completely! We go through the next year of his journey trying to save his marriage.  It is a very sweet book that most ladies will love.  One more for the road...swoon.

Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
I bought both of these Nicholas Sparks books at a garage sale (one of my many weaknesses when it comes to book buying).  After I started this one I realized I had already read it, but remembered liking it so I reread it.  This one adds to the love/hate relationship with a point for both sides.  I do like Nick's writing style and he tells a good story, but there are times when I want to change the endings of his books.  This is one of those stories.  This book tells the story of Adrienne Willis and her love affair that began at an Inn.  Adrienne's daughter recently lost her husband to cancer and is having a rough time dealing with the loss.  Adrienne decides it is time to share the story of the love of her life with her daughter.  Another swoon is in order. Swoon.  If you enjoy reading the romantic love stories, this is a good read. 

51/50 The Magical Adventures of a Single Life  by Kristen McGuiness
I was given this book for my birthday last month.  Thanks, friend!  A interesting book about Kristen's adventures in the dating world. I started this book with the notion that it would be a light read with some funny stories.  At times I was right, but not as often as I thought I would be.  Kristen tells it all: her former life as a dug and alcohol addict, her current life of sobriety, her seemingly good relationships, her detrimental ones and the on-the-mend relationship with her dad. An interesting adventure indeed. 

 The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins
Another confession, this is the second time I have read this book.  I absolutely LOVE this book.  I am also pretty excited that they are currently making the Hunger Games movie! This book is the first of a trilogy that tells the story of one Katniss Everdeen and her experience in the Hunger Games. Set sometime in the future in "what was once known as North America".  Katniss lives in District 12 and it is the day of the reaping.  The reaping is the annual nationwide event when every District holds a lottery and selects one male and female tribute that is 12-18 years old.  They each travel to the Capitol to fight to the death with the other tributes.  I don't want to give anything away, but Katniss ends up going to compete in these "games".  BEWARE: This is a page turner for sure.  I stayed up to 4 o'clock in the morning when I read it the first time.  There is a lot of violence in the book, so I recommend for high school and older.  You don't have to be in high school to enjoy this book though.  P.S. I have Hunger Games fever so you will be seeing more posts about these books and the movie in the future.

Let me know what you think about these books!

Jenny Dictionary: Book Love

In anticipation for October's Reading list post that will be posted on Monday, I would like to share with you something called book love.  A good friend of mine told me about book love, but in actuality she was just putting into words what I have felt many-a-time when reading. She has given me permission to put Book Love in the Jenny Dictionary.

Book Love: n. The relationship one forms whilst reading a book. This can be in form of a one night stand or a long-lasting relationship. ~ Julie

If you know me at all, you know that I. LOVE. to. read.

I share a few reasons why in the September Reading List post.  There are many times that I become so engrossed in a book (especially a series) that I feel that I know the characters. So much in fact, that when I'm done reading the book I "miss" them.  I feel like something is missing now that I don't get to catch up with them and see what's going on in their life.  This seems hard to explain, unless you've too felt this way.

Some books give the satisfaction of a long caring relationship. One example off the top of my head would be Pride and Prejudice by the brilliant Jane Austin.   P&P took me a bit to finish it, and during that time there were some great bonding moments. Ahhhh. Mr. Darcy.

Ok back to Book Love.  Other books provide a one night stand. A book such as this tears through your life quickly and leaves you wanting more.  Watch out for these, sometimes they come in the disguise of a series. You think they will provide for you the caring relationship you want, but noooo.  The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and The Mockingjay all by Suzanne Collins were the one night stands disguised in long-lasting relationship dust jackets.  I zipped right through those babies and couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one. And then I was done. 

Now don't get me wrong whether it is a one night stand or a long-lasting relationship, I love them both.

What are some of your one night stands???

Unbalanced

I have come to the realization that there is an underwhelming amount of single men in my circles.  There have been two major instances that happened this past week that helped me realize this depressing fact:

1) New Job
2) A friend's wedding

Situation #1.  I had training this past week for my new job.  We were a small group of 10, where the guy to girl ratio was 1:9.  The single guy to single girl ratio was 0:2.  Depressing.  I went to my first staff meeting this past week as well with just the peeps in my department.  Guy/girl ratio, 3:28.  You guessed it...the guys were all married. 

Situation #2. I love weddings and I hate weddings. I love seeing my friends happy and getting the chance to celebrate with them. Absolutely LOVE!  And being a sanguine I love the party, too.  The only time I have a hate moment is during the dreaded bouquet toss.  This particular wedding they had all the single ladies and then gents play musical chairs, instead of the traditional toss.  I actually had some fun, mostly because I got a little competitive. :)  Anyway.... Again the guy:girl ratio was way skewed.  About 15 or so ladies to the 7 or so guys.  And even though the guys were "single" most of them are dating the "single" ladies. 

This my friends is the sad truth of my world.

I recently finished reading a book that will be on the October Reading List post that will be coming your way next week. The book was about the journey of a single lady in California who went on 51 dates in 50 weeks.  She admits that it was quite the challenge finding guys to go out with at times.  She relied on friends of friends at first, and when those resources were exhausted she turned to finding guys through online dating sites. 

At least I know it's not just me.  I find this a little on the ridiculous side.

According to an article on National Atlas.gov, in Ohio there were about 300,000 more females than males in the year 2000.  I don't think that number is too outrageous, but I'm beginning to think that the extra 300,000 all live by me. Also, 45 out of 52 areas (includes 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico) had a larger female population in the year 2000.  Now this study is a little dated, but it still validates the point that we are unbalanced. 

Boooooo!

Courtney

She's a teenager.  She is temperamental, but has been for awhile.  She is cute.  She is annoying.  And I get to deal with her everyday, since I live with her.

Here's a picture....

Oh yeah....Courtney is a dog.  Don't get me wrong, I love this dog, she can be very sweet.  Sometimes she is crazy.  Dogs can be like that at times I think.  Courtney (also called muffin and dog) loves when the family comes over.  When she hears one of our cars she jumps up, gives out a couple barks of announcement, starts wagging her tail and waits by the door until they come in.  Or one of us will tell her "Jackie's here!" "Jerry's here!" and off to the door she'll run.  It's rather cute.

There are also times when she hears something (don't ask me what because I have no idea) and she will bark and bark. and bark. and bark. No matter how many times I tell her "No one's there" she wont stop until I do this....

And she proceeds to look outside to see what's up.

Then she will usually quiet down and everything is ok again.

The other day it dawned on me, what if she thinks that "no one" is a person coming to visit her.  I mean we say it in the same way when we announce a visitor.  Maybe she keeps barking because she is expecting "no one" to walk through the door.  Then I laughed for about 10 minutes because the thought that that could be the case is one of the funniest things ever.

Ok I still laugh.  And now I tease her....Courtney, no one is here!!!

Ha ha ha ha!!!!