Prom Season

So, my mom just forwarded me a picture of my cousin's oldest kid before at prom. He looks absolutely adorable. And I can say that because I'm pretty certain that he does not read my blog. First of all, I cannot believe that I have a cousin who has a kid that's a senior in High School! WTF?? True, my cousins on that side of the family are WAAAAAAYYYY older than me... :-) But, still..... I remember when THEY were the cool older cousins in HS. Now they're parents of HS kids. UGH. Makes me feel super duper old.

But here's what made me feel REALLY old. I emailed my mom back with the usual blah blah blah about how adorable they were..."Is that his girlfriend?"....etc.... Then I tacked on this statement: "Back in my day, the prom dresses weren't so revealing". Seriously? Did I just say that? It's true. But me saying that makes me old.

So sad.

Note: The above picture is NOT of my cousin's date. I did a google search for prom dresses and this is the type of dress I found. Really? Below...now THIS is more like it.... Better, yes? Would YOU want your daughter in the dress above?

Summer Reading List

I went to Barnes & Noble this afternoon in search of a book club selection for May. I've decided that I miss my reading friends and want some excuse to have them over again in a month to drink wine and talk.... I also went to Target where I happened to find a few more good reads. I found sooooo many great books. I bought a few. Okay - more than a few. More like 8. But I have my summer reads all selected. Here's what I'll be reading this summer:

1) Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. This is the third of her New Moon series. I've read it before (several times), but the movie comes out on June 30th, and I want to be fully prepared. If I remember, this one was my favorite. I'm still a Jacob fan.

2) The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I hadn't heard anything about this one, but it looks pretty good. It's the story of a man who, while recovering from a car crash in a hospital burn unit, meets a woman. Said woman claims they were lovers in medieval Germany. Interesting, no?

3) My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster. Okay - if you haven't read anything by Jen Lancaster, get off your ass and go buy one (or all four) of her books. My favorite of all of them was Pretty in Plaid, which was her I love Target.

4) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. This one may be my book club pick for May. It's about a girl who is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives totally alone with clothes and a book - a book of fairy tales. The dock master and his wife raise her and, on her 21st birthday, they tell her the truth about where she came from. So off she goes to trace her real identity. It sounds really good, and it has a reader's guide in the back of the book. I'm a sucker for books with reader's guides in them.

5) Little Bee by Chris Cleave. This is the other contender for May's book club selection. I've heard about this book, but for some reason never checked it out before today. I think it's new to paperback, which is what caught my eye. Anywho, the back of the book says, "This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...." Hmmmmm......I'm intrigued! The book's a bestseller and has won a bunch of awards. True, a bunch of awards does not always equal a great book. But the author's from the UK. And you know how I love all things British.....

6) Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn. Historical fiction is my favorite genre. It's about first-century Rome, the Emperor Domitian, gladiators, etc.... I probably picked it up because I've been watching that series "Spartacus" on Starz lately. Interestingly, the author wrote her first story at age seven after seeing the movie "Spartacus" with that famous guy....I can't remember his name.... She said that she always wanted to write a book about a gladiator and this novel is the end result of that first "book" she wrote as a kid. Cute story, huh? That alone was enough to make me buy the book!

7)The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall. This book has mixed reviews on GoodReads.com, but it looked good to me. I bought it last year and, although I've started it, I keep putting it down and forgetting about it! I know....you're probably thinking, "Well, it can't be THAT good then". But, really, it is! It's about a woman who moves from NYC to London in the early 90s. I'm going to finish it....soon.....

8) The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan. This is the 3rd book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I really enjoyed the first two. I've been waiting a few weeks to buy it in hopes of scoring one at Half Price Books. My mom (who I have reading them too) said that they told her that since the movie came out, there haven't been any of the Percy Jackson books handed in. Bummer. So I broke down and bought #3 today.

9) The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. This is book #1 of Riordan's new series, The Kane Chronicles, which is about Ancient Egypt.

There are definitely more books I'm interested in....but this will get me started. Now if only I had a beach and a smokin' hot island man to serve me pina coladas all day, I'd be set!

Senior Spring Break 2010

Well I'm up and at 'em early this morning to dog sit for the parentals. They left bright and early this morning for Alabama to visit my mom's BFF. Another couple will be joining them. It disrupts Lucy's schedule (that's the dog)too much to have her boarded, and my backyard isn't fenced, so it really is easier for me just to go stay there. Not really sure that it's all that easier on me, but it IS a heck of a lot closer to work for me. Besides, my parents do so much for me, it's only right that I pay them back.

But here's the funny part... Last night, just as my mom and I were wrapping up a phone conversation, my mom stopped to yell at Curtie for wanting to bring a bottle of Jack Daniels with them. Seriously? It's like they're HS kids packing for spring break. I'd just rather not know what they're up to down south.....

Wednesday Afternoon Update: The parentals are not in Northern Alabama. I just realized that the majority of my conversations with my mother end with her saying, "I need to go and yell at your father about (just about any topic can be insterted here)".

Truly Inspiring

A friend recently loaned me a book called "Artful Blogging", which has a bunch of blogs by these super-crafty-super-inspirational women. I've been checking them out a lot lately. One in particular struck a chord with me. There's a woman in Utah named Stephanie Nielson, whose blog is called The NieNie Dialogues. She's a wife and a mom who also just happens to be recovering from a near fatal plane crash. Her post yesterday was a recap of the weekend. She called it "perfect", yet her family did everyday, "normal" things (like a bike ride, etc...). Anyways, it really puts things into perspective about what's important. I know we all understand that, but sometimes we lose sight of it.

I highly encourage you to check out her blog. You can click on the little typewriter on the right of my blog page to get to her blog.

Now, I don't think my blog is inspiring in the slightest. I started this blog to keep my friends and family who live far far away current on what's new in my life. But, I do feel compelled to recap my weekend.....

* I didn't work for three whole days straight!
* I slept until 11am on Friday and then took a nap at 3pm. And, best yet, I didn't feel guilty at all about it!
* Got one of the cutest messages on my celly from my BFF's oldest child, Emma. Apparently she announced to her mother, "I'm going to call Auntie" and she did! I know she's seven and that's probably not so amazing that she figured out how to call me from her mom's cell phone, but her message was adorable. And she is one of the smartest children I know.
* Went to the parentals for Easter dinner. Yes, I know that Easter was weeks ago. But my sister was in Florida and I worked on Easter. But, seriously, how cool is it that my mom made an entire Easter dinner for us because we missed Easter?? My mom rocks.
* Totally rocked out to "Just Dance" on the wii. I had to groove by myself, though, because my family sucks and wouldn't participate. Personally, I think it's that they were too afraid of my mad skillz on the dance floor.
* The Penguins won! And with that win moved on to the next round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* My sister brought me a kick-butt Easter basket. Except for the mug from the Miami Ohio School of Business (which she got free) and the empty plastic eggs (wtf???), the basket was awesome.

Probably one of the best weekends I've had in a looooonnnng time. And, yes, a lot of it has to do with the fact that I didn't work for three days! Yeah, definitely not as inspiring as some blogs that I've read.... But, hey - it's always good to think of the good things you have going on in your life, right? Have a good week!

Monday Musings

I had a grand day today. I started the morning with phone calls from not one but both of my BFFs (Katie & Lori). Then I met my mama and we went to The North Market. I've been dying to go there since I've been back in Columbus. Some of the shops were closed, but we still managed to have an awesome lunch followed by Jeni's ice cream. I had fig & goat cheese and Cheryl had peanut butter Thai chili. Sounds gross, but my ice cream was FABULOUS! Then we did a little more shopping before I came home to do some boring stuff around the house. It all got me thinking about how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends and a nearly perfect family.

Here's another revelation. I love the Giant Eagle by my house. Most of my friends know that I hate Giant Eagle. I worked for them and I really hate them. (Please note - some of the best people I know work for that company....but I hate the company.) When I moved back to Columbus, I swore that I would NEVER set foot in a Giant Eagle again. As luck would have it, there is a Giant Eagle literally 2 minutes from my house. I really don't even have to leave my development to reach it. My dad told me, "The time to stop being stubborn is when it starts hurting you". So, I grudgingly shopped there. And here's the kicker - it's seriously the best Giant Eagle ever. Ever. The people are so so nice. And today, the guy at the deli spotted me perusing the rotisserie chickens and said, "I have a fresh one here for you if you'd like it". And who doesn't love a cute young man with fresh chicken? And, in case you didn't already know this, Giant Eagle truly has the best rotisserie chickens around. I know this to be true because when I worked for them, I had my team taste testing rotisserie chickens from Wal Mart, etc.... My point is this: Maybe it's not so good to hold a grudge.

So Trashy

I spent my morning off yesterday cleaning out the area behind my store. Apparently the local homeless have been using the woods beside my building as a summer home. It was not what I wanted to do on a day off, but it needed done. And here's the cool part: My parents came over to help. There were some tense moments, like the argument between me and my dad about correct placement of trash in the dumpster. But I was soooo thankful for their help. I would have been out there all day instead of 3 hours if it weren't for them. Just one more reason why I have the best parents in the world! Here's a partial list of what we cleaned up:

1) One mattress (full size)
2) One sofa
3) 39 bottles of beer (40 oz, mostly Busch Light)
4) 9 bags of leaves that someone dumped.
5) 8 tires
6) 13 other bags of random trash. Mostly empty drink bottles.
7) 1 headboard (queen size)
8) 1 large (3' at least) wooden spoon....I guess proabably used for wall decoration somewhere.
9) 2 drinking glasses - probably lifted from Bob Evans.
10) 1 large garbage can filled with roof shingles.
11) 2 buckets
12) 1 cooler

I tried to think of what we could make out of the beer bottles (vases, anyone?), but Cheryl nixed that idea. There are still quite a few beer bottles that we didn't get, so I still have the chance to come up with some additional thoughts before Christmas!

Think Globally, Shop Locally

There's this coffee shop close to my house called New Grounds. Their coffee is pretty good. Probably every bit as good as Starbucks....and just as expensive. But here's why I love them:

1) They're local. And I think it's really important to support local businesses. Every time I go through their drive through I say a little prayer that they will survive.
2) If you order a muffin from them they warm it up for you. Do they ask if you want a warm muffin? Nope! They just do it automatically. And I love them for this.

So, shop locally my friends. It's a good thing.