Random Ruminations

4 More Weeks To Add A Mile

2012-02-05T08:22:00.000-05:00

While we're on vacation in Florida, I found a race at a nearby beach. They have both a 5k and a 10k and while my goal is to run a 10k this year, I wasn't sure I would be ready to time for this one. Last month, after I returned home from my business trip, I started working on adding distance. Two weeks ago, I ran 4 miles and last week, I wanted to add a little bit more to this. I wasn't feeling too bad during this run, so I decided to just keep going and made it 5 miles. I was really happy about this. So, yesterday, I added another 0.2 miles. Only 1 more mile to add before the 10k next month in Florida!

Staying in Key West For Free :)

2012-01-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

I've decided I should probably stop about complaining about my work travel as much. Since I get all the benefits of airlines and hotel rewards points while traveling for work, I have accumulated quite a few. Jim and I are going to the Florida Keys next month for vacation. We will be visiting Jim's boss; they have a motorhome and stay in Marathon Key several months each winter. We will be staying at a condo right near them for a week. But, we extended our trip some by staying four extra nights in Key West using my hotel points. I knew the hotel prices in Key West were outrageous, and I'm glad the hotel chains have fixed points for reward nights no matter what the actual base price of the room is.We just booked over $1300 for our hotel stay and I was able to cover it all with my points. We're really looking forward to this vacation!

Meal Planning

2012-01-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

In 2010, I tried meal planning and it seemed to work out great. On Sundays, I would plan meals for the week and go grocery shopping. I'd run it by Jim, so he knew which night(s) he was cooking and I could plan the nights I worked out where he was cooking or we were having left-overs. And it usually prevented stops at the grocery store on the way home from work to buy something for dinner that night. Well, now that I'm back home from traveling for work and the craziness of the holidays is over, I finally started back up my meal planning. Although, I was surprised when I opened up my online meal planner that it had not been updated in almost a year. :/ I guess that's what happens when you're traveling so much for work, I am so glad to be home and back into a normal routine though.

2011 New Authors Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2011-12-31T08:50:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed this challenge, reading books by authors new to me. I had chosen to read 15 new authors and they include:

Room by Emma Donoghue
The Cather in the Rye - J.D. Salinge
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossein
The Shack by William P. Young
Fatal Error by J.A. Jance
Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace
Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright
Long Time Coming - Sandra Brown
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton

2011 Off The Shelf Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2011-12-29T12:19:00.000-05:00

I had won a few books last year and thought that this challenge would be able to great way to read them. I chose the Tempted level and read 5 books for this challenge:

Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Ken
The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton

I really enjoyed this challenge and liked all the books that I read, with The Bell Jar likely being my favorite of them.

Treadmill Workout

2011-11-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

I'm currently traveling for work in Mexico, and even though the weather is absolutely gorgeous, I'm kind of regulated to running on the treadmill in the hotel gym. I am not able to rent a car and have to rely on the hotel shuttle or taxis for transportation. Since I'm not entirely familiar with the area, I figure running outside the hotel isn't in my best interest. So, the hotel treadmill it is. Which I get pretty bored of. If I'm at the gym, I can people-watch and the time doesn't seem to drag on. But, at the hotel gym, I stare at myself; not so fun. So, looking around for interval workouts on the internet (which I thought would make the time seem to go by faster), I modified one slightly and came up with this workout:

I tried it for the first time the other day and it kicked my butt. I had trouble finishing the last couple intervals and will have to keep working at it. I will definitely be keeping this one to add into my workout mix, especially with a long winter of treadmill workouts coming once I go home!

What's In A Name Readng Challenge Wrap-Up

2011-10-30T11:23:00.000-04:00

My second year participating in this challenge and I really enjoyed it again. The books I read include:

Number - 5th Horseman by James Patterson

It is a wild race against time as Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer and the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, attorney Yuki Castellano, lead an investigation into a string of mysterious patient deaths--and reveal a hospital administration determined to shield its reputation at all costs.

It had been quite some time since I read one of the Womens Murder Club books and my mother-in-law lent me this book. I guess the best way to put it was it didn't bother me to read it, it was one of those easy reads, that I like to read every so often. There was a lot of action and different plots going on, but not too much character depth. I didn't really feel like I got into the book too much.

Jewelry or Gem - Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace

From Coney Island sideshows to the brand-new Yankee Stadium, Diamond Ruby chronicles the extraordinary life and times of a girl who rises from utter poverty to the kind of renown only the Roaring Twenties can bestow.

I am so glad I read this book, I really enjoyed it. Closely based on a true story, Ruby is a young girl who is an ace pitcher, able to keep up with the best of them. At a young age, she takes on care of her two young nieces. The story takes you on a whirlwind of her young life, including appearing in a sideshow to becoming a minor-league pitcher. I really got into this book, and had a hard time putting it down!

Size - Long Time Coming by Sandra Brown

He arrived out of the blue—a flesh-and-blood phantom from the past in a sports car as sleek and sexy as Law Kincaid himself. The world-famous astronaut was as devastatingly attractive as the first time Marnie Hibbs had laid eyes on him, seventeen years before. But she well knew the perils of falling for a ladies’ man like Law.

I listened to this book on audio, which I had just started doing during my commute to and from Ohio. This audiobook kept me occupied during my drives, but I thought it was only ok. I'm not sure if it was because it was an audiobook, but I didn't really find myself relating to the characters.

Travel or Movement - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

This book had been on my TBR list for some time and I should have read it much sooner, it was so good! I really enjoyed the story and found the story of life in Afghanistan really interesting. I will definitely be looking into read other books by this author.

Evil - Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Dostoyevsky's penetrating novel of an intellectual whose moral compass goes haywire, and the detective who hunts him down for his terrible crime, is a stunning psychological portrait, a thriller and a profound meditation on guilt and retribution.

I have to admit reading this book intimidated me. I had seen that it had gotten good reviews but didn't know if I would be able to get through it. This book did take me some time to read, and I did not find it to be an easy read by any means, but I am so glad I read it. I thought that it was very good and I enjoyed the psychological aspect of it.

Life Stage - The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson's seething heroine, Lisbeth Salander, once again finds herself paired with journalist Mikael Blomkvist on the trail of a sinister criminal enterprise.

When I read the first book in this series, I really had no idea what it was about, I was pretty much reading it because it was so popular! The story line was not what I was expecting but I did find myself enjoying it, albeit somewhat disturbing. It was the same with the second book in the series. It moves along quickly and I enjoyed reading it. I was saddened to learn that the author had passed away and the three books were published posthumously.

100-Mile Fitness Challenge

2011-10-03T08:28:00.000-04:00

I came across the 100-Mile Fitness Challenge a while ago, before I had started really getting into running and I thought it would be a fun and motivating way to keep up with running. Over three months, the goal is to accumulate 100 miles. Whether it's running or walking, the miles add up 1:1, or if you are doing another fitness activity, 20 minutes = 1 miles. And only whole miles count, partial miles can't be added together. I saw a post that the challenge was being hosted again from July to September and was really interested in participating. I had hoped to run a 10k this year, but with my work and traveling so much, it was not really happening. I thought this challenge would be a good fitness goal for me instead. So, I signed up and am really glad I did so. I think there were some times where I didn't quite feel like running after work, but the challenge kept me going. And I'm very happy that with a day to spare, I finished the challenge. I had been hoping to get more mileage in and finish sooner, but still am very proud of the accomplishment!

So Busy

2011-08-07T09:23:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's August already! I've been working out of town Monday - Friday since April and I am quite ready for it to end. Unfortunately, it's crunch time for my project, so it may mean working a couple weekends this month. :( However, on a brighter note, our major house updates are just about complete. The outside of the house was just finished last weekend, and Jim and I are so pleased with everything. I've been working on taking photos and need to get them organized so I can post before and after pics. I am also really trying to keep up with my running. I signed up for the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge, which is to get in 100 miles in three months. Five weeks in, and I'm at 39 miles, which I'm pretty happy with. Before I started traveling, I had always had my longer runs on the weekends. But only being home two days a week, this has been hard, the weekends just seem to fly by, there's so much to do and catch up on. I may not be adding to my distances as much as I like, but I am at least maintaining.

First 5k of 2011

2011-07-02T10:14:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I ran the Clawson Freedom Run, which is in the city I grew up. The race is at 7:30pm on a Sunday night, which I find a little odd and have to watch my eating - make sure I eat a little beforehand, but not too much. I've been really working hard at keeping up my running the past several weeks and was really pleased when I crossed the finish line at 30:59. I know I am a slow runner, but I am very proud of the fact that I am making progress and took over 2 minutes off my 5k times from last year. :)

Even with my work schedule, I am planning to try and work on longer distances. Unfortunately, this will have to wait another couple days. The day after the race, I caught a nasty cold and almost a week later, I am still trying to be rid of it.

Happy 50th Anniversary!

2011-06-04T08:19:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to my in-laws who just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week! My husband and his siblings planned an anniversary party two weeks ago at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth to celebrate and it turned out great. Nearly 80 friends and family showed up, including some family from out of state and the priest that married them (I though that was so fun!). Such a great milestone to reach and many thanks to them for raising such an incredible son and family!

10k Training On Hold

2011-05-27T09:48:00.000-04:00

I wish I could keep up with it, but with my work schedule, I can't. :( During the week, I'm out of town and working 10-12 hours a day at the plant. On the weekends, I'm trying to catch up on everything and they seem to just fly by. I'm still able to get a couple workouts in each week, but just can't seem to set aside enough time to get the longer runs in. This week, I found a really nice park near my hotel and went running. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate since I'll be much more apt to go running outside than that dreaded hotel gym! I'm looking forward to later this summer when the travel should be much less and I can start up the 10k training again!

Jamaica

2011-04-30T18:45:00.000-04:00

Jim and I had a wonderful vacation! It was a very relaxing week on the beach. While I may not have gone running as much I would have liked, we took several walks on the beach and I met my goal of a nap each day (naps on the beach can't be beat!). We really enjoyed the resort and the food was very good. There are four specialty restaurants and we were able to make it to all of them with the Japanese restaurant as our favorite. And while we weren't on Seven Mile Beach, the bay we were at was all sandy and about a mile and a half long. The first morning I tried running on the beach, but it's a rather short beach, so I just settled for laps around the resort. And we took one excursion while we there - a catamaran took us snorkeling and then on to Rick's Cafe, where Jim jumped from the cliffs. Overall, a very relaxing and well-needed trip!

My New Toy

2011-03-20T16:54:00.000-04:00

When I first started running last year, I was hesitant to purchase many new things for my hobby, in case I didn't stick with it. As it became more evident that I would keep up with it, I realized it would be really helpful to have a running watch to assist with tracking my workouts. Without it, I had to map my routes online and then use the playlists on my ipod to track my time. I researched the watches online and then when I finally had decided on one, it was nearly fall and it wouldn't do me too much good indoors on the treadmill. So with spring almost here, I purchased it last week and today, I went for my first run outdoors in several months. So glad to be back outdoors and I love my new watch!

Work Out Motivation

2011-03-04T17:45:00.000-05:00

Me on this beach in a bikini 25 days from now is my motivation for getting my butt into the gym during the next three and a half weeks! We just booked seven nights at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay in Negril, Jamaica and I am so looking forward to this vacation! This has been such a cold winter and with my work and traveling for work, I can't wait to spend a week with my husband relaxing on the beach!

Holy Jet Lag!

2011-02-21T04:55:00.000-05:00

I experienced my worst jet lag ever today. After 24 very long and boring hours of either being on an airplane or in an airport both Saturday and yesterday, I was able to get ~5 hours of sleep last night. And after two time changes a week apart, it's really hitting me today. I was so tired this afternoon, and drank quite a bit of coffee and Coke to compensate for it. The next struggle will be trying to stay awake this evening so I don't repeat this tomorrow. And I get to look forward to doing this all over again this weekend when I get back home! But, I'll be at home with Jim and celebrating our anniversary. :)

Longest Distance ... So Far!

2011-01-30T16:35:00.000-05:00

I have been quite proud of myself with keeping up with my running program, I just completed Week 5 and ran 4 miles this morning. I took the run pretty slow on the treadmill (well, slower than usual), but was so happy that I completed it, I have never run that far before. I am having some trouble getting to the gym for cardio on my off-running days with work and everything else going on. And it's taken me two weeks to complete Week 5, I didn't feel quite like I could add half a mile to my run last Sunday, so I just added a quarter mile last week and then another quarter mile today. But, I am quite pleased with my progress and I hope next month's business trip doesn't get me too off course, I know I won't have too much time for running. My goal is to run the Blue Water Hospice 10k at the beginning of June. Last year, that race was my first 5k that I had run.

Around The World Business Trip

2011-01-29T15:05:00.002-05:00

My next overseas business trip is booked and the two trips that I was expecting to take this winter will be combined into one. For two of my projects, we will be testing equipment at our suppliers' facilities and it turned out that this testing is scheduled at the same time for both projects. So I will be traveling to Spain for a week and then on to Korea for a week and literally flying around the world. I'll be traveling during the three weekends and while I do ok with the first time change when I arrive, I have the worst time adjusting when I get back home and it usually takes me a couple to several days. I'm not sure how well I'll handle three time changes in three weeks, but I do know that with how busy I'll be, I sure hope it isn't too bad. Luckily, I have no qualms using OTC sleeping pills to get me through international trips and time changes, I'd be a zombie otherwise!

2011 Reading Challenges

2011-01-01T16:52:00.023-05:00

I'll be using this post to organize my books and progress for the reading challenges I joined this year. I'm looking forward to participating in all of them!

Time Travel Reading Challenge (1/4)

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon - Read
The High Tech Knight by Leo Frankowski

Off The Shelf Reading Challenge (5/5) - Completed!

Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby - Read
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent - Read
The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon - Read
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Read
Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton - Read

What's In A Name 4 Challenge (6/6) - Completed!

Number - 5th Horseman by James Patterson - Read
Jewelry or Gem - Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace - Read
Size - Long Time Coming - Sandra Brown - Read
Travel or Movement - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Read
Evil - Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Read
Life Stage - The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson - Read

Take A Chance Challenge 3 (0/10)

Staff Member's Choice -
Loved One's Choice -
Blogger's Choice -
Critic's Choice -
Blurb Book -
Book Seer Pick -
What Should I Read Next Pick -
Which Book Pick -
LibraryThing Pick -
Pick A Method (Random Book Selection, Public Spying, Random Bestseller) - Love Story by Erich Segal

New Authors Reading Challenge (15/15) - Completed!

Room by Emma Donoghue - Read
The Cather in the Rye - J.D. Salinger - Read
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Read
The Shack by William P. Young - Read
Fatal Error by J.A. Jance - Read
Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace - Read
Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby - Read
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent - Read
The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright - Read
Long Time Coming - Sandra Brown - Read
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Read
Bossypants by Tina Fey - Read
The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon - Read
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Read
Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton - Read

2011 Take A Chance Challenge

2011-01-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

One last reading challenge I'm signing up for 2011 - Take A Chance Challenge 3. I came across this reading challenge and thought it would be fun choosing the ten different books. For this challenge, there are ten different categories and each describes books that qualify. The ten categories are:

Staff Member's Choice
Loved One's Choice
Blogger's Choice
Critic's choice
Blurb Book
Book Seer Pick
What Should I Read Next Pick
Which Book Pick
LibraryThing Pick
Pick A Method (Random Book Selection, Public Spying, Random Bestseller)

For more info on the challenge and the categories, go to Take A Chance Challenge 3.

2011 New Authors Reading Challenge

2011-01-01T14:39:00.000-05:00

I enjoy reading books by authors that are new to me, so I thought the New Authors Reading Challenge would be fun. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 until December 31, 2011 and the objective is to read authors that are new to you. I decided to go for 15 this year. It should be a fun challenge! For more info, go to New Authors Reading Challenge.

2011 Off The Shelf Reading Challenge

2011-01-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

Since I won a few books last year that I haven't gotten a chance to read yet, I thought the Off The Shelf Reading Challenge would be a great way to read them. This reading challenge runs from January 1, 2011 until December 31, 2011. The idea is to read books that you already own at the start of the challenge. I have chosen the Tempted level and plan on reading 5 books for this challenge. For more info on the challenge, go to Off The Shelf Reading Challenge.

2011 Time Travel Reading Challenge

2011-01-01T10:15:00.000-05:00

Another reading challenge that I'm participating in for the second year is the Time Travel Reading Challenge, hosted by Alyce. From last year's challenge, I really enjoyed Outlander and read the first two books in the series. This year, I am aiming for four books for this challenge which are listed below. For more info on the challenge or to sign up, visit Time Travel Reading Challenge.

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
The High Tech Knight by Leo Frankowski
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2011 What's In A Name Reading Challenge

2011-01-01T09:58:00.002-05:00

I really enjoyed this reading challenge last year, so I've decided to enter What's In A Name Reading Challenge for 2011, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Like last year, it should be interesting choosing the books to read!
The contest starts January 1, 2011 and ends December 31, 2011. During that time, six books meeting the following criteria must be read:

A book with a number in the title.
A book with jewelry or a gem in the title.
A book with a size in the title.
A book with travel or movement in the title.
A book with evil in the title.
A book with a life stage in the title.

For more info regarding the reading challenge or to sign up, visit the What's In A Name 4 blog.

2010 Time Travel Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2010-12-31T08:55:00.000-05:00

Last reading challenge of the year and not much time to spare! I just completed the Time Travel Reading Challenge and really enjoyed it.

I came across this challenge, hosted by Alyce and thought it would be really interesting. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is one of my favorite books and I wanted to read more time travel books. I read three books for the challenge:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Cross Time Engineer by Leo Frankowski
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I really enjoyed all three books, but Outlander was my favorite. I have already read the second book in the series and will continue to read the remaining books in the series.

2010 451 Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2010-12-31T08:31:00.000-05:00

I cut it close on the last book I was reading for the year, but I have completed the 451 Reading Challenge. :) I really enjoyed this challenge, and waited until the end of the year so that I could read A Christmas Carol at Christmastime. I will definitely be looking to see if this challenge will be continued on next year, and even if not, I will continue to read books from the list.

Based on the weekly feature, 451 Fridays, on Elizabeth's blog, which is in turn based on the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, where a group of people are trying to keep the ideas found in books alive. Instead of saving the books, they each 'become' a book - memorizing it and passing it down generations. For the challenge, a list of 451 amazing books has been put together to choose from. I' had chosen the Flame level and read 6 books from the list:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Persuasion by Jane Austen
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

8k Training

2010-12-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

After sporadically working out through the fall, I decided to do another structured running program since the C25K program worked out so well for me. This past Monday, I started Hal Higdon's 8k Novice program. I was really hoping to have Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle be my graduation from the program, but it's scheduled the day after one of my really good friend's wedding this spring, so that's not really going to happen! So, still going ahead with the training, I'm hoping to find a local 8k this spring to run.

I just completed my first week and so far, it's going well. Each day of running was only two miles, and while I was capable of running further, I think it's a good starting point, since I haven't been too consistent lately with running. The other test will be when I start Week 3 of the training and am no longer on vacation. I find that getting in six days of working out a week is not too hard when I don't have to fit in in with a full day of work and two hours of commuting! So far, I am really enjoying the training and like that it incorporates other cardio and strength training, and hoping I can keep up with it!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T12:00:00.004-05:00

Back Home

2010-12-18T11:05:00.001-05:00

I'm back from my last business trip of the year and hopefully, I'll be home for the next 5 weeks or so. This last trip was back to Korea and I have to admit, it did make me pretty apprehensive hearing about North Korea shooting at South Korea a week before my departure! It was definitely a topic of conversation with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. My trip went on as scheduled, however, I didn't find it so sensationalized there as it was here at home. Granted, this very well could be because I don't know Korean and can't listen or read their news, but in speaking to the people there, and in the newscasts I saw in English, it seemed that they have concerns about it, but they've been dealing with this for many years now.

Overall, my trip was good. We stayed at a new hotel, which was really nice and had a gym, so I was glad to get in several workouts there during my stay. As a bonus, the one day I had off, it was sunny and in the low 60s, so I took a long walk and enjoyed the nice weather. Then, I proceeded to come home to a snowstorm with frigid temperatures back home in Michigan. I definitely didn't mind it so much; I was glad to be home and thankful I traveled back before the storm instead of being delayed in it. So, now on to getting everything ready for Christmas and finishing my shopping this week!

Jane Austen Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2010-12-04T07:05:00.002-05:00

Down to the last month of 2010 and I just completed my next reading challenge, the Jane Austen Reading Challenge. I am so glad that I joined this challenge! I have gone over thirty years without reading a Jane Austen book, and now I will definitely be planning on reading the rest of her books.

The books I read included:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange
Austenland by Shannon Hale

I would have a real hard time choosing my favorite between the Jane Austen novels; I really enjoyed reading both of them. I just love how it's 200 years later, and the stories are timeless and still enjoyed by so many readers. I also enjoyed both of the Jane Austen-related books. The first was Mr. Darcy's Diary, which is Mr. Darcy's view on the romance and then follows up into the marriage of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The other was Austenland, which is set modern-day. Jane is rather obsessed with finding her own Mr. Darcy and goes on a Jane Austen-era vacation in England.

Awesome Author Challenge Wrap-Up

2010-11-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

I just finished the Awesome Author Challenge and really enjoyed it. I read some books by authors that I may have never picked up and will continue to read some these author's other works too.

This challenge is to read books from authors that have been recommended, but still haven't read. I had decided to do the Moderate level and read six books for the challenge. As for the authors, I took a mini poll on Facebook with my friends in order to get some recommendations on authors and came up with the following six:

Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Champagne for One by Rex Stout
Good Grief by Lolly Winston

My least favorite was probably Lady Oracle. I had picked that title so it could be considered for two reading challenges and probably should have went with another title. As for a favorite, I would have trouble picking one. I really enjoyed the other books and they are quite different genres as well. Overall, a fun challenge though!

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2010-11-09T19:42:00.000-05:00

I just completed my second reading challenge of the year - Support Your Local Library. I signed up for The Mini level - 25 books. Since there's eight or so weeks left in the year, I expect to add to my total some, but won't quite make it to the next level.

Good Grief by Lolly Winston
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax
Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano
Prayers For Sale by Sandra Dallas
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Champagne for One by Rex Stout
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Something Blue by Emily Giffin
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers
The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Persuasion by Jane Austen

Used Books

2010-11-02T08:28:00.000-04:00

I get almost all of my books from the library. On occasion if I'm making a birthday or Christmas list, I'll ask for a book series or a book that I know is really good. But, I'm not one to re-read books, so I would much rather make my way up to the library and check out the books. For the reading challenges I'm participating in this year, I was unable to find two of the books in our library system. I really didn't want to pay full-price for them, so I thought I'd try the used book route. Of course, I have to find the best deal for them, so I did some searching on the internet and found where I could get both books for under $10 with shipping. After they arrived, a slew of books I was waiting for at the library came in, so I had to get through all of them first. Recently, I started reading one of the used books I had bought and as I was getting near the end, I kept thinking to myself, we're not really close to a conclusion yet. Then all of sudden, I was on the last page and it was clearly not the end of the book. I checked amazon, and yup, my book was roughly 70 pages short. I guess that's what I get for purchasing a used book and trying to bargain hunt! I suppose I learned my lesson that I need to check if all the pages are there. I did e-mail the company, thriftbooks.com, and was not sure what to expect. I suspected they may tell me, it's used, no guarantees. But I got an e-mail back apologizing and that they are shipping the same book to me and have verified that the pages I'm missing are in the replacement book. So, even though I'm still waiting for the book so I can finish it, I was very pleased with their customer service and quick response. And I'll be a little more diligent in my used book searches in the future!

Girls Weekend!

2010-10-24T11:09:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I went down to Miami Beach with two of my best friends and we had a great time. Last year, we went to the western part of Michigan and stayed in a cabin for the weekend. At that time, we decided a beach was required for our next trip. :) So, planning began a few months ago. My friend, Nikki, found a great deal on a hotel, Palms Hotel & Spa, and we were all able to get pretty good prices for flights. We arrived on Friday and stayed until Tuesday. The weather was near perfect (one afternoon of clouds, but no rain). We spent every afternoon out on the beach and got some shopping in as well as an excursion to Gator Park. Saturday night, we made it out to the bar scene in South Beach and on Sunday night, we had really good Cuban food at Versailles. And one of the most memorable parts of the trip was being asked to be a bridesmaid for my friend, Kelly, who is getting married next year! Because of the wedding, there likely will not be a Girls Weekend next year, but I'm definitely looking forward to our next one!

Spain

2010-10-10T07:50:00.000-04:00

Last month, I had a business trip to the northern part of Spain. I really enjoyed the trip and would like to return for a vacation! It was a rather short trip, just under a week and we were pretty busy with trying to get through everything during our meetings. The city I was in, Mondragón, is a rather small city in the Basque region. It's very pretty there, nestled in the mountains. The weather during the first part of the trip was perfect, upper 70s/lower 80s during the day and sunny. It did get cooler and rainy at the end of the week, and I was told this type of weather is more of the norm of the region. But, with the mountains and the fog, it's still very pretty.

During my last afternoon in Spain, the engineers from the company I was meeting with took me to a nearby modern cathedral, Arantzazu. It's up in the mountains and in a very beautiful area.

I only had one small complaint during my trip and it was their meal times and habits are much different than at home. They have a bigger and later lunch and then a smaller and later dinner than I am used to. It would not be too much of a problem other than the later time of dinner and we were in a small town with very few choices of an earlier dinner (actually, only one that I found). I tend to keep roughly the same sleeping hours as at home when I'm on business trips and don't stay up too late. Otherwise, it was a fun trip and I am looking forward to next next trip to Spain!

Football!

2010-09-12T11:11:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite parts about fall coming? The return of NFL football! And with a new season, the possibility of my favorite team actually doing well. Unfortunately, we are usually disappointed quite early in the season, but maybe that'll change this year! (One can always dream, right?)

Korea

2010-08-29T10:44:00.000-04:00

Well, the slew of business trips have started! Last week, I was in Changwon, South Korea for design review meetings. I have been there once before; in early 2007, I was there for a month. I can say August in Korea is very, very different than January! All week, it was so hot and humid, and they do not quite have the same air conditioning standards I am used to at home! Overall, it was a good trip. During my last visit, there was much to get accomplished and I worked every day. For this trip, everything went well, and we were able to go sightseeing one day. First, we went to Bulguksa, a Buddhist temple, about an hour and a half away from where we were staying. I found it very interesting. Each of the temples had services going on and I found the area where little temples had been built out of rocks very interesting.

Afterward, we went into Pusan, Korea's second largest city. We visited the 2005 site of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), which can be toured, and then we walked around the island the convention center is. I took several pictures, and it was very pretty with the ocean and the surrounding mountains. But, since it was so warm and humid, it is quite hazy. I would not mind returning on a clearer day, it was a very enjoyable day of sightseeing.

Cycling

2010-08-01T18:03:00.000-04:00

I went for my first bike ride in years, and oh my, it certainly felt like it! Since reaching my goal of running a 5k, I've wanted to start incorporating other activities into my workouts. And the county I live in has the Bay to Bridge Trail which I've wanted to check out for both running and bicycling. So, this afternoon, I mapped out a route and was hoping to go 8 miles. Soon into the ride, I was distinctly feeling each muscle not normally used while running! I ended up turning around on the trail at the end of the Algonac State Park and heading back home, going a little over over 5 miles. I came home and told Jim I no longer feel like I'm anywhere near being in shape! So, I will definitely be adding in a bike ride into my workouts once or twice a week from now on!

Treadmill Running

2010-07-18T08:14:00.000-04:00

I've been running since April and yesterday was my first day of running inside on the treadmill. I had put off my running for two days this week and after not sleeping so well Friday night, I didn't have the motivation until early afternoon. It was already in the upper 80s and sunny, so I decided to head to the gym instead. After that experience, I really hope I can keep up my running once the weather gets cold and winter sets in (regardless of what craziness work will bring)! Running on the treadmill did seem easier since I can set the pace and stick with it, but I did find it quite a bit more boring than being outside and enjoying the scenery. Luckily, I have a couple more months of warm weather before I need to worry about the treadmill. Looking forward to getting back outside tomorrow!

Favorite part of my running route

Camping

2010-07-11T08:06:00.000-04:00

I think we used our boat more this past week than all of last summer! Four years ago, Jim and I bought a boat and even though it has a cabin, we mainly use it for day trips to go a bay about a half hour away from where we live and have stayed on it once overnight. This past week, I was on vacation and Jim's two sons stayed with us. Jim suggested that we take the boat across the lake and stay for a couple nights at a metropark with a marina. He was unable to take the whole week off, but the marina is closer to his work so we left a car there so he could work half days. We had a great time! There was a lot for the boys to do with the beach, pool, putt-putt, etc. and even though the weather was hot, luckily, our boat came with a portable AC unit, which made sleeping quite comfortable. While the topic of a larger boat did come up, we will definitely be planning a similar trip for the near future.

Family Vacation

2010-06-26T10:15:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we went on vacation to Mackinaw City with my family. Other than our wedding, it has been years since we've done this. In total, there were 15 of us; Jim and I, my mom and step-dad, my two sisters and brother-in-law and future brother-in-law, step-brother, four nieces, and two step-sons. The trip turned out quite as I expected - a lot of fun with a little craziness thrown in! Unfortunately, there was a bit of a mix-up with the hotel on who was checking in on which night, so there was an issue with the first night and the hotel completely booked up, but luckily, everything ended up working out. On Friday, we went to the indoor water park across the street and later on, headed out to the beach. Saturday was our day to go to Mackinac Island. We got the package that included the carriage ride and Fort Mackinac. Overall, we had a great time. I've been to Mackinac several times, but had never been to Fort Mackinac and thought it was really interesting. On Sunday, my family headed home, but Jim, the boys, and I stayed for an extra day. We went across the Mackinaw Bridge into St.Ignace to the Deer Ranch. I wasn't sure really what to expect but we had a good time feeding the deer and seeing them up close. Overall, a real fun vacation!

First 5k!

2010-06-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

I am a C25K graduate and just ran my first 5k this morning! I am so glad that I stuck with the program and entered today's race, the Blue Water Hospice River Run. It started at 8am and is a half hour away, so it was a pretty early morning. And many thanks to my husband, he's sick with a cold, but got this morning to take me to the race and cheer me on. I did not set any sort of time to complete it in, as I was not sure what to expect. My goal was to run the whole thing, no walking, and not finish in last! ;) I had run three miles earlier this week in about 34 minutes so I was hoping somewhere around that for my first race. It was a little crazy at the beginning of the race, I am not a fast runner and really should have started closer to the back instead of the middle of the group. But, I got into my pace and was able to run the whole course and was happy to see 32 minutes as I was getting close to the finish line. I sped up as much as I could and finished at about 32:58, although we'll see what the official results are when they come in. I am planning on another 5k at the end of June and will be working on improving my pace the next four weeks. :)

First 5K Is A Week Away!

2010-05-29T07:01:00.000-04:00

I am in my eighth week of the C25K program and I am so proud that I've been keeping up with it. This week, I sent in the registration form for a 5K near me next Saturday morning. I will be short one day in my training, so I am planning to do only two days of Week 8 and then have next Saturday's run be my graduation day from the program. Currently, I'm up to running 2.75 miles so getting to 3.1 should not be a problem during the next week. My pace is a little slow, but I figure I can work on that after this first race. I also have my second race planned for the end of June. :)

Belated Anniversary Gift

2010-05-13T18:25:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I made dinner and as we were finishing eating, Jim surprised me with a belated anniversary gift - tickets to see Huey Lewis and the News. :) I am so excited to go see them! I know, I am such a dork! I used to listen to them when I was young and still love their music. They come to Detroit for a summer concert every year it seems, but we live over an hour away from the venue and just haven't made it to see them. Well, rather, I probably haven't bugged Jim enough to take me. But, it must have sunk in! This year, the concert falls on a Thursday night in July, so we are planning to take a vacation day Friday and hopefully enjoy the day out on our boat if the weather cooperates.

Three Weeks In

2010-04-24T16:43:00.000-04:00

And I am really enjoying the Couch to 5K program. I just finished Week 3 this morning and am looking forward to beginning Week 4 on Monday. Each of my workouts this week, I was able to add on to the standard program, and do an additional interval. From here on out though, the length of the runs really starts increasing! And many thanks to Carli at Running Into Shape for the podcasts that she has created for the program.

I found a 5K race close by that coincides with when I will be completing the program. I'm really hoping to keep up with it so that I can enter the race. :)

Couch To 5K

2010-04-06T19:20:00.000-04:00

Week 1 Day 1 is complete!

I had heard about this running program a while back and a couple weeks ago decided to try it out. We've had a busy past couple of weeks and I was finally able to start the program this week. Sponsored by Cool Running, Couch To 5K (C25K) is a nine-week running program that gets progressively harder each week with the end goal being able to run a 5K. I've never been much of a runner solely for exercising purposes. I've played lots of sports and played soccer for 20 years or so, but never really enjoyed running just to run. I'm hoping that with this being a structured program, that will change. In addition, they have podcasts to listen to while running and I really enjoyed DJ BeatSmith's Podrunner Intervals - it's dance music including cues with when to switch from running and walking. So, here's to the next nine weeks and sticking to the program!

What's In A Name Challenge Wrap-Up

2010-04-05T20:39:00.003-04:00

My first reading challenge of 2010 is complete! I really enjoyed this challenge and had fun choosing the books too. My reviews of the six books I read:

Food - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Set during the Great Depression, it traces the migration of an Oklahoma Dust Bowl family to California and their subsequent hardships as migrant farm workers.

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but after I did, I was really glad to have read it. Even though it is a fictional story, it was very interesting to get a glimpse of what life was like during that era of the Great Depression. I was slightly disappointed with the ending. I suppose I was expecting a bit more closure with the story, but overall, a really good book.

Body of Water - Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury

Eight years ago, during a stormy weekend on the shores of Hawaii, Connor Evans broke his vows. He's kept his secret, until the woman from Connor's past dies, leaving behind a young son . . . Michele never thought her family was perfect, but they were happy. Now her family is on the brink of destruction. Will a lonely child help bridge the distance between them—before it's too late?

This was the last book I read for the challenge and it was probably my favorite of the six books. The plot really makes you think about each character's situation and what you might do in their shoes. The is the first Christian novel I've read and I will definitely look for other books by the author.

Title - Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood

Joan Foster is the bored wife of a myopic ban-the-bomber. She takes off overnight as Canada's new superpoet, pens lurid gothics on the sly, attracts a blackmailing reporter, skids cheerfully in and out of menacing plots, hair-raising traps, and passionate trysts, and lands dead and well in Terremoto, Italy.

This book takes place with the main character, Joan, retelling her past in order to explain how she is in the situation she is at the beginning of the book. I did enjoy reading about her past and her years growing up, but her marriage and details of that seemed rather glazed over to me. Again, this was another book where I found the ending lackluster. It didn't seem like there was much closure and it ended rather abruptly.

Plant - Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax

Vivien Armstrong Gray spent years working her way up the ladder to become one of the top investigative reporters in the business, and it only takes a split second to have it fall apart:. In quick succession she is not only humiliated but also jobless and pregnant at 41. With few choices left, she returns home to Georgia to wait out her pregnancy and write scathing articles ridiculing suburbia under a pseudonym for a magazine in New York. While following her sister and her niece and nephew around, observing life, Vivien finds plenty of fodder for her articles. But as time passes, Vivien realizes she’s become deeply entrenched in people’s lives, so the articles become harder to write.

I thought this book was a rather fun read. While I thought the story was quite predictable and some of the story lines were not too plausible, the characters were likable and entertaining. Overall, I did enjoy the book.

Place Name - The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

In an upstate New York backwater, Truly, massive from birth, has a bleak existence with her depressed father and her china-doll–like sister, Serena Jane. Truly grows at an astonishing rate—her girth the result of a pituitary gland problem—and after her father dies when Truly is 12, Truly is sloughed off to the Dyersons, a hapless farming family. Haunting the margins of Truly's story is that of Tabitha Dyerson, a rumored witch whose secrets afford a breathtaking role reversal for Truly.

I really enjoyed this book too. I felt for the main character, Truly, as she was teased a lot because of her size and what she had to go through. This was another book where you could really think about what you would do given the same situation.

Music Term - The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee

Will Truesdale, a rootless, handsome Briton, arrives in the colony in 1941, and is swept up by Trudy Liang, the blithe and glamorous daughter of a Shanghai millionaire and a Portuguese beauty. They quickly become inseparable, their days spent in a whirl of parties and champagne, but when the Japanese invade, Will is interned and Trudy resorts to increasingly Faustian methods to survive. After the war, Claire Pendleton, the naive wife of a British civil servant, arrives. She begins giving piano lessons to the daughter of a rich Chinese couple, and falls in love with their wounded and inscrutable driver: Will.

I found the part of the story with Will and Trudy quite interesting, including their story of when Japan invades Hong Kong and how the different nationalities were treated. I did have some trouble getting interested in the story of Claire and Will's affair. It seemed like it just added an almost unneccessary layer with the switching back and forth between the two stories. Not a lot seemed devoted to Claire's story and I didn't really associate with her. But, I still enjoyed the book as quite a bit of it was devoted to the war era.

Mallory Ann

2010-03-20T12:13:00.001-04:00

My third niece, Mallory Ann, entered the world as a St. Patty's Day baby! My sister went into labor Wednesday morning and a few hours later had Mallory. Unfortunately, I've been sick this week and couldn't stay long at the hospital because I didn't want to get anyone sick. But, looking forward spending more time with her! My oldest niece is so excited about being a big sister. Congrats to Ricky, Melissa, and Meredith!

Happy One Year!

2010-03-06T08:01:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Jim and I celebrated our one-year anniversary by taking a long weekend and going to Traverse City and staying at a bed and breakfast. We had such a good time! The reason we picked the area is for the wineries and our property is close by. We are unable to get to it in the winter because the road (this term is used loosely) is not plowed and can only be accessed by snowmobile. In terms of snow, this has been one of their worst winters in that area, so we thought we may be able to get back to our property while we were up there.

We took a half day off work Thursday and reached the bed and breakfast, Country Hermitage, just before dinner. The innkeepers, Patrick and Lynn, were so nice and very accommodating. (And Lynn cooks amazing breakfasts as well!) Jim had called ahead and had flowers for me in our room too. :)

On Friday, we attempted to get to our cabin, but with no avail. Even though the snow wasn't extremely deep, it had melted and re-frozen and the truck would just sink in it. So we had friends who were snowmobiling in the area at their cabins and we met up with them for a little while

Saturday was our anniversary and I had contacted a bakery in Traverse City to make us a small cake for our first anniversary because we didn't have the top layer of our wedding cake from the Dominican. I went and picked that up in the morning and during the afternoon, we went to a couple of the local vineyards and wineries on Old Mission Peninsula. Neither of us had been wine tasting before, and we had a lot of fun. This is the view from the first winery we went:

After the wine tasting, we relaxed for a bit and then went out to dinner at aerie, a restaurant on the 16th floor of the Grand Traverse Resort. Dinner was really good but I couldn't let Jim order any dessert because of the cake I had for us back at the bed and breakfast. :) So, after dinner and a drink at the lounge, we headed back to the bed and breakfast to eat our cake and exchange gifts. Overall, we had a great time and it was such a relaxing weekend.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! It seems like this year is already flying by, which if it means that it seems like spring will get here quicker, I'm all for it! This is the first year in the five years since Jim and I met that we haven't gone someplace warm for a winter vacation. We thought about it, but have since decided to skip it this year, save the money, and spend some of it on getting things re-done in the house. The first project is our living room. We just bought the paint yesterday (two shades of tan) and will be getting a new doorwall soon that leads to the backyard. I also found some frames and shelving that match our furniture well and can replace all the hodge-podge of decoration we have in that room. It was the only drawback of combining our belongings when I moved in with Jim, it all didn't match too well, so we're finally getting around to fixing that.

Also on today's agenda (besides spending the day with my Valentine!) is booking the bed and breakfast for our anniversary in two weeks. We're both looking forward to our relaxing long weekend getaway. And I still can't believe it's already been a year!

Fun But Busy Weekend

2010-01-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend has flown by so far. Yesterday, we had my step-sons' pinewood derby race and my niece's third birthday party. I spent Friday evening making three dozen cupcakes and one giant cupcake. I received a Wilton giant cupcake pan for Christmas and it was my first attempt. I had heard of people having trouble with it and read online for tips and used a modified recipe. I was quite pleased with how it turned out. I ran out of time to decorate it before the party so my sister and I finished it at the party. I'll be making another in two weeks and will be trying out some different things for decorating it. The birthday party was a lot of fun. My brother-in-law is a volunteer firefighter and the party was at the fire hall. The kids had a blast checking out the firetrucks.

The pinewood derby race was a lot of fun, I'd never been to one before with having all sisters. My step-sons' cars may not have been quite the fastest (luckily they weren't the slowest either!), but I think the boys and Jim did a great job designing and making their cars.

New Tenants

2010-01-18T08:22:00.000-05:00

Well, everything is transitioned from our previous tenants to our new tenants for the condo we rent out. And I'm so glad that it is! We had three and a half days with the condo empty and of course had scheduling issues with the painters. Luckily, everything worked out, with just minimal anxiety on my part! I'm extremely grateful that we have tenants and are able to get some sort of reimbursement while paying two mortgages, but I would prefer not to have to do the landlord thing at all. The current tenants signed a two-year lease and I am so hoping that selling it is an option in two years!

2010 Reading Challenges

2010-01-01T11:50:00.055-05:00

I'll be using this post to organize my books and progress for the reading challenges I joined this year. I was a little more ambitious than I thought I was going to be for my first year of challenges and joined six. :)

451 Challenge (5/5) - Completed!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Read
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck- Read
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Read
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - Read
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Read

Awesome Author Challenge (6/6) - Completed!

Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood- Read
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - Read
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster - Read
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Read
Champagne for One by Rex Stout - Read
Good Grief by Lolly Winston - Read

Jane Austen Challenge (4/4) - Completed!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Read
Persuasion by Jane Austen - Read
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange - Read
Austenland by Shannon Hale - Read

Time Travel Reading Challenge (3/3) - Completed!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Read
The Cross Time Engineer by Leo Frankowski - Read
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Read

What's In A Name Challenge (6/6) - Completed!

Food - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - Read
Body of Water - Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury - Read
Title - Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood - Read
Plant - Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax - Read
Place Name - The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker - Read
Music Term - The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee - Read

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge (30/25) - Completed!

Good Grief by Lolly Winston - Read
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - Read
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - Read
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood - Read
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee - Read
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker - Read
Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax - Read
Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury - Read
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - Read
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Read
Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange - Read
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin - Read
The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano - Read
Prayers For Sale by Sandra Dallas - Read
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Read
Champagne for One by Rex Stout - Read
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - Read
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks - Read
Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon - Read
The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Read
Something Blue by Emily Giffin - Read
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers - Read
The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens - Read
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Read
Persuasion by Jane Austen - Read
Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers- Read
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Read
Austenland by Shannon Hale - Read
The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson- Read
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Read

2010 451 Reading Challenge

2010-01-01T10:38:00.000-05:00

I am really looking forward to this challenge, hosted by Elizabeth. Based on the weekly feature, 451 Fridays, on Elizabeth's blog, which is in turn based on the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, where a group of people are trying to keep the ideas found in books alive. Instead of saving the books, they each 'become' a book - memorizing it and passing it down generations. For the challenge, a list of 451 amazing books has been put together to choose from. It's just going to be a challenge choosing the books for the challenge! I've decided to do the Flame level and read 5 - 6 books from the list. For more info or to sign up, visit 451 Challenge.

2010 Jane Austen Reading Challenge

2010-01-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

I am signing up for the Jane Austen Reading Challenge. I am really looking forward to this one as well, hosted by Haley. I've been trying to incorporate more classics into my reading and with this challenge, I'll be able to read some Jane Austen, as well as re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs since they are also part of the challenge. I have decided to do the Newbie level, which is read two books by Jane Austen and two re-writes, prequels, sequels, or spoofs. For more info or to sign up, visit Jane Austen Challenge.

2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

2010-01-01T09:34:00.001-05:00

I'm not one to purchase many books because it can get quite expensive, so I do frequent the library quite often. And since I moved in with Jim, the library is within walking distance, which is really nice too. This reading challenge is hosted by J. Kaye and runs all year. There are four different levels and I'm choosing The Mini - check out and read 25 books. For more info or to sign up, visit Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T09:15:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2010!

2010 Time Travel Reading Challenge

2009-12-31T19:51:00.006-05:00

I came across this challenge, also hosted by Alyce and thought it would be really interesting. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is one of my favorite books and I would like to read more of the time travel books out there. I am aiming for three books for this challenge which are listed below. For more info on the challenge or to sign up, visit Time Travel Reading Challenge.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Cross Time Engineer by Leo Frankowski
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

2010 Awesome Author Challenge

2009-12-30T08:39:00.005-05:00

This challenge is to read books from authors that have been recommended, but still haven't read. The challenge is hosted by Alyce and runs from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2010. I've decided to do the Moderate level and read six books for the challenge. As for the authors, I took a mini poll on Facebook with my friends in order to get some recommendations on authors and came up with the following six:

Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Champagne for One by Rex Stout
Good Grief by Lolly Winston

For more info on the challenge or to sign up, visit Awesome Author Challenge 2010.

Holiday Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

2009-12-29T17:06:00.000-05:00

It seems quite fitting that I finished the challenge on the same day that we put away all of our Christmas decorations. :) The last two books I read were A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg and The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere. A Redbird Christmas is the story of Oswald, who learns that he only has a short time to live and must move south right before Christmas because of his health. As for The Christmas Shoes, I am really glad that I read this one last. While I thoroughly enjoyed the first four books I read, I enjoyed The Christmas Shoes most of all. It's a story of how two people's chance encounter can really make a difference in one's life.
I am really glad that I decided to do this reading challenge and enjoyed reading the books. I'm looking for a few reading challenges for 2010 and am looking forward to completing those as well. :)

2010 What's In A Name Reading Challenge

2009-12-27T10:33:00.005-05:00

I've decided to enter What's In A Name Reading Challenge for 2010, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. I'm looking forward to this challenge, it should be interesting choosing the books to read!
The contest starts January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010. During that time, six books meeting the following criteria must be read:

A book with a food in the title.
A book with a body of water in the title.
A book with a title (queen, president) in the title.
A book with a plant in the title.
A book with a place (city, country) in the title.
A book with a music term in the title.

For more info regarding the reading challenge or to sign up, visit the What's In A Name? 3 blog.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T08:47:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone! Actually this entire year has flown by as well. We had a very nice Christmas this year. Last week was pretty busy, even though I had the week off work. I left a little bit too much Christmas shopping to be done and ended up getting sick with a cold which made finishing up my Christmas shopping not that enjoyable. But everything was finished and Jim and I were able to have a really nice Christmas Eve dinner just the two of us (I cooked my first ham, which turned out really good). We also had a really nice Christmas, despite all the rain. :( Both of our families celebrate Christmas Day, so it does mean quite a bit of driving. We go to my sister's Christmas morning to open presents and have breakfast, then pick up Jim's sons and head over to his parents for Christmas dinner. Afterwards, we drive back home to open gifts with his sons. Unfortunately, we spend over three hours of Christmas Day in the car, but we obviously enjoy seeing all of our family. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Ornament Exchange

2009-12-20T11:02:00.001-05:00

I participated in an ornament exchange with other brides that also had a destination wedding. I drew the name of someone that currently lives in the U.S. Virgin Islands and bought a personalized ornament that holds a photo for her. I told my husband I thought we really should hand-deliver her ornament though! ;) Nicole drew my name and got me this ornament with our names and wedding info on the ribbon. I love it!

Holiday Reading Challenge Update

2009-12-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

I've finished reading three of the five books so far and am really enjoying this challenge! I have to admit none of these books are normally ones I would pick out for myself without the challenge, but I have really enjoyed the books so far. The first book, Matchless: A Christmas Story by Gregory Maguire, was not quite what I expected. Like his other books, the basis is from an old fairytale, in this case, Hans Christian Andersen's classic story "The Little Match Girl". I didn't realize it until I opened the book to read it but it is a very short, illustrated story. I did enjoy reading it though. The second book, The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans, is a short story of a family who becomes caretakers for an older, ailing woman just before the holidays. The main character, Rick, learns an important life lesson through it. And the third book I just finished reading was Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. It's the story of a couple that have decided to 'skip Christmas' for one year and go on vacation. Although a little predictable, it was a nice holiday read.

So, on to the two books remaining on my list. Depending on how quickly I get through them, I may add one or two more books to my list. :)

My Poor Garden

2009-12-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

The gas company is in the process of replacing the gas lines on our block. In December, in Michigan, while it's close to freezing. :( The new line to our house was installed yesterday so we had the pleasure of coming home to quite a cold house since they had to shut off the gas. Well, the gas meter and hook-up to the house is in front of the house at the back of my garden. I took a closer look today when I got home and there are bulbs laying on top of the dirt, perennial flowers were dug up and replanted. And to add to it, there's more piping to the house than before resulting in it being a bit of eyesore. :( I'll either have to cover it with something or plant a something bigger in front of it. That will have to wait until next spring though. But, I'll be in the garden this weekend hoping to get it back in order. I just wish the weather wasn't going to be so cold though!

Holiday Reading Challenge

2009-11-17T19:08:00.003-05:00

I've been wanting to do a reading challenge and had planned on waiting until the first of the year, but came across this one (click on the picture for the link to the challenge) and thought it would be perfect - fun and festive! I went to the library yesterday and checked out the following five books for the challenge:

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

Matchless: A Christmas Story by Gregory Maguire

The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere

Girls Weekend!

2009-11-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

Three of my girlfriends and I had a girls weekend this past weekend and had the best time. About five years ago, my friend, Nikki, moved to Chicago and we obviously couldn't all get together as often as we had in the past. There's been several trips to get together either here or in Chicago, but this past weekend, we decided to all go somewhere together. Since the plan was to drive, we met in Saugatuck, MI, which is roughly halfway. It's a popular summer destination with being on the water, so we were able to get a great deal on a cottage for the weekend. I drove out with Kelly and Colleen after work and we all met there late Friday evening. It was so much fun catching up on everything. Saturday, we went to a spa where we all got various treatments done. And on Saturday and Sunday, we went out for lunch and got some shopping in at the shops in Saugatuck and Holland. I'm so glad we planned it and we are all looking forward to our next girls weekend, tentatively planned for Atlantic City. :)

Starting To Workout Again

2009-11-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

and hoping to keep it up! I haven't regularly worked out since before the wedding but with winter coming and not doing nearly as much because of the weather, both Jim and I renewed our memberships at the gym. I don't really have a weight loss goal, maybe a couple of pounds. I'm not at my wedding weight, just because I dropped a couple of pounds right before the wedding from pure stress, but other than that, I have maintained my weight for quite some time now. I'm hoping to keep it up just because it makes me feel better and I do feel quite a bit out of shape since I stopped playing soccer a couple of years ago. So, here's to us keeping up our routine of going to the gym!

Book Giveaways

2009-10-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

Several weeks ago, I started checking out different blogs for book reviews. With all the wedding planning over, I have a lot more time for reading, especially with the weather getting colder too. So, I've just been looking for books that have received good reviews and keep a list for when I visit the library. In the process, I came across online book giveaways and entered a few of them. Lo and behold, I received an e-mail last week that I had won one of the contests, and I just received my copy of Crossing Washington Square by Joanne Rendell, which I'm looking forward to reading. :) So, I've added to my sidebar various book giveaways that I have entered.

Lila Marie

2009-10-10T07:22:00.006-04:00

My niece, Lila Marie, entered the world this past Wednesday! All through my sister's pregnancy, I was petitioning for an October 8 delivery, so we could share our birthday. It didn't quite work out, but she was a perfect, little, early birthday gift. :) My sister's water broke late Tuesday morning and they admitted her to the hospital. They had to give her medication to start the contractions, although it was a long stretch from there. Unfortunately, they did have to do an emergency c-section because Lila's heart rate dropped. But, at 3:55am on October 7th, Lila was born at 7lbs 10 oz. Such a cute little baby. :) Congrats Lisa and Danny!

October Is Here!

2009-10-03T09:17:00.003-04:00

Fall is my favorite season, October is my favorite month, and a busy month it is going to be! My sister's due date is in 10 days, and I'm hoping she comes a little early so my niece and I can share the same birthday! :) I know it's a long shot, but I keep hoping anyway. And we'll be spending quite a few weekends up north. Jim started bow hunting last year and now Nathan is beginning to hunt this year as well. Jim had two deer last year and I was just informed that we are down to our last pound of ground venison, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do well this year too! It's been ages since I last bought ground beef and it is so convenient to have all the ground venison in the freezer (and a lot less fattening). And sometime this month, I'm hoping we can visit the cider mill for some cider, doughnuts, and pumpkin-picking. :)

More Lay-Offs At Work :(

2009-09-16T20:38:00.003-04:00

Well, my work has announced 1000 more lay-offs that will be occurring this week and next. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm not affected, but I still feel so bad for the people that are. I have projects assigned to me that will keep me busy through 2011, but you just never know! Even though I have eight years seniority, that's really nothing with people having spent their entire career at the company and there hasn't been much hiring the past several years. But, like the last round of lay-offs, you hope for the best but really plan for that anything can happen.

Lisa's Baby Shower

2009-09-04T08:58:00.007-04:00

We had my sister's baby shower last weekend and everything turned out so well. :) My sister had shown me a picture of diaper cakes while we were planning and I thought they were so cute. I went ahead and made one for her and was so pleased with how it turned out. Since I bought so many little gifts for it, it ended up being four tiers (~125 diapers).

I still can't believe my baby sister is going to be a mommy though! Lila Marie is due in just under six weeks, although I'm hoping she comes a couple days early, on October 8, so she can share a birthday with her aunt! :)

Back To Some Normalcy

2009-08-02T08:16:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I was working at a plant 90 miles away from my house and staying with my in-laws. After three and a half weeks, we've finally finished up there, at least for the time being. While we didn't stay with my in-laws the entire time, we probably split it about 50/50, we were staying with them less and less towards the end which meant a long daily commute for me. But, everything went really smoothly with the start-up although we have to wait for the rest of the line to finish before we can finish our testing, but hopefully, it will go smoothly as well. It is nice to be back to our normal schedule (and me not coming home smelling like a plant rat), although I was rewarded with getting sick. :( A cold that has been bothering me for the past couple of days and hopefully not many more!

Staying At My In-Laws

2009-07-08T18:48:00.009-04:00

For the next couple weeks, I'm working at a plant which is considered local, but because of where I live, it's a 90-mile drive for me. It wouldn't be so bad, but when working at a plant, an early start is expected. However, the plant happens to be ~15 minutes from my in-laws so we're staying with them this week. I was able to manage to talk Jim into staying with me too, even though with traffic, it's a little further drive to his work. While we're here, he's been helping build a deck at his sister's house as well. Which is where we've been spending our evenings. Even though it's a little weird staying with my in-laws while working and everything, his parents have been so nice and accommodating with us staying with them. I'm hoping the trips won't go on much more than another couple weeks, and hope to split some of my time between the office and the plant, if possible. Therefore, reducing the amount I'd be imposing on my in-laws!

Attack of the Caterpillars

2009-06-30T20:10:00.007-04:00

We went up north for a couple of days to our property in northern Michigan. Unfortunately, there was a huge outbreak of tent caterpillars and it got to our property as well. Friends of ours had been up a couple weeks ago while the caterpillars were still there so we knew it was a possibility (their property is about 5 miles away). But, it was a little more than I expected - it looks like early spring before the leaves bud. At this time of year, you shouldn't even be able to see through any of the woods.

Reading about them though, it sounds like in the next couple weeks, new leaves should grow, so that will be good. It might make for a not as pretty fall though. :(

Finally

2009-06-18T21:04:00.004-04:00

Our wedding is paid in full! And it's such a relief! We had been saving specifically for the wedding and the plan all along was once it was over, it would all be paid for. If it didn't fit into the original budget, it wasn't going to get added last minute. Well, with the economy taking a hit and my work have a huge number of lay-offs right after our wedding, we decided to hold off on paying the travel portion of our trip in full (the only wedding expense we had after the wedding) and keep that money in our savings just in case. Luckily, I wasn't effected by the lay-offs and with an announcement of still more lay-offs coming yet, we decided to pay chunks of it off and now, almost four months later, it's all done. Such a relief. So, now on to saving specifically for our one-year anniversary trip! :)

Happy Birthday To My Husband!

2009-05-30T08:03:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to Jim! We don't have too much planned today, but I hope the weather stays nice! And the Red Wings win for him tonight! :) I might make dinner, but we've also been talking about taking the boat and going somewhere on the river for dinner. Although, they're calling for storms this afternoon so that may make our mind up for us unless we put the whole camper top up. Either way, here's to wishing him a very happy birthday!

So Cute

2009-05-06T20:49:00.002-04:00

We were on our way home from up north this past weekend and we had gotten on the subject of when the boys would be visiting us again. They are obviously with their mom on Mother’s Day, but we let them know it would be the following weekend they would be coming over again. Then my youngest step-son asked when he gets to spend Mother’s Day with me, since I’m one of his moms now. :) I thought it was so cute. I am his ‘mom’ on a limited basis and know that there’s not likely to be a Mother’s Day that he’ll spend with us, but it really made my day though!

Loving This Warm Weather

2009-04-26T07:55:00.003-04:00

Even with the storms we had yesterday afternoon and last night, this warm weather has been so nice. Friday night, we took the fishing boat out for a short boat ride. There may have been a 15 or 20 degree difference from our seawall to out in the open river, but it was still nice to be out on the water. Yesterday morning, I was able to get out in the garden and finish so that all of the gardens are ready to plant annuals. It will be a couple weeks before that can happen, but at least they're ready! It looks like the really warm weather will end tomorrow, but I'll take the 60s that they're forecasting for after that too. :)

Change In Weekend Plans

2009-04-11T08:47:00.004-04:00

Well, looks like a last minute change in our Easter weekend plans. We had been planning on heading up north to our property this weekend for some time now. All the while, keeping our eye on online web cams, trying to determine if the snow had melted enough so we could actually drive all the way to the property. It appeared that enough had melted in nearby areas, but that was not the case where our property is located. Our friends went up Thursday night and they couldn't drive to their property, had to hike it the last quarter mile or so. So, we still were going to attempt it, hoping that even though our property is a couple miles away, it would be better. Well, got the truck all loaded up, went grocery shopping, met Jim after work, and we then decided not to go. Our friend had tried driving to our property and was worried he would get stuck in the snow.
So, we nixed the up north plan and decided to spend a relaxing weekend at home. It does work out better, since both of our families are getting together for Easter tomorrow, we'll be able to spend more time with both of them. Happy Easter!

Things Seeming To Settle Down!

2009-03-26T12:33:00.008-04:00

Well, it seems like things are settling down a bit! Since before the wedding, I feel like I haven't been able to catch my breath. My mom was married this past weekend, just three weeks after my wedding. So, as soon as we got back from the Dominican, I was helping my mom get the details finalized, going to dress fittings, etc. And on top of all that, my work had lay-offs this week in my division. There had been talk of the layoffs for some time now, and unfortunately, the number seemed to get larger and larger. Then, last week, we were all told to be in the office on Tuesday and so everyone knew that was the day. So, like they say - plan for the worst and hope for the best! Fortunately, I made it through the cuts and there should be no more affecting my area for some time, but I still feel really bad for the people that were let go. :(

Pro Pictures Preview!

2009-03-13T11:38:00.004-04:00

I'm so excited to see the pro pics! Our photographer has posted several on his blog:

Joseph Kohn's Blog

And he recently sent us an online preview of all the photos. The high-resolution images should be arriving in the mailbox soon. :) I am so pleased with how they turned out. Jim and I were already talking about which ones we'd like to print. And we had several shooting sessions so there's so many to choose from!

We're Back and Married!

2009-03-05T15:55:00.008-05:00

I think the past week has been the quickest of my life but definitely the most memorable! I had the best time and I am so glad we decided to do a destination wedding. I could not have asked for a better wedding; it was everything I dreamed of. From the resort to the restaurant where we had the reception, everything was perfect. Friends have started sending their pics and I am so excited to see the pro pics! We also did a trash the dress session and I can't wait to see those too. :)

Getting Close!

2009-02-15T09:01:00.004-05:00

I've been stressing slightly with trying to get everything done on my to-do list. With work, my commute to/from work, and other stuff we have going on, there's not a whole lot of time left. So, Jim had me print my to-do list so he could 'crack the whip' a bit more. ;) But he has been really good about it and as long it doesn't involve any craftwork, he's trying to complete as many as he can. My goal is to have everything complete by this Friday, so that next weekend can just be for primping and packing! Yesterday, I finished the cake topper and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out:

Three Weeks To Go and Sick With A Cold

2009-02-06T08:57:00.005-05:00

We're down to three weeks, and unfortunately, I'm getting over a cold right now. I guess the bright side is that I'm sick now, not two or three weeks from now. I feel much better today though, which is good because I do have some wedding checks still to complete and my bachelorette party is tomorrow night! We'll be going to dinner and then to a dance club, which plays a bunch of 80s music. As for the wedding checks, I'm getting close! I'm about halfway done with the cake topper, getting all the rhinestones on it. I have a bunch of paper items to print, but otherwise, it's a lot of getting everything organized/assembled and packed which we'll be working on next weekend. It's getting to be so close!

Bridal Shower

2009-01-24T08:16:00.006-05:00

My bridal shower was last weekend and it turned out perfect. My mom and sisters held it at the restaurant my mom is a manager at (and where I worked many years ago!). It was on the smaller side, just family and close friends, which I loved. Everyone was very generous to us and I had a really good time spending the afternoon with everyone. In addition, one of my best friends came in from Chicago, so my friends and I spent Saturday having lunch and coffee and to catch up on a lot. Now, I just need to get through the thank-you notes!

Cigar Bar

2009-01-14T08:42:00.003-05:00

Well, Jim finally gets something at the wedding that's entirely his. :) A while back he had mentioned that he'd like a cigar bar at the reception. The best cigars he's ever had was while we were on vacation in the Dominican. So, I contacted the restaurant where we're having the reception and asked about having a cigar bar. Apparently, it's very common, but we'll be having someone doing a demonstration and hand rolling cigars for each of the guests. It would have been nice to surprise Jim with this, but I have problems keeping surprises from him anyway!

I Can't Believe

2009-01-08T09:40:00.005-05:00

the wedding is in 50 days! Typing that actually causes me a little anxiety! I didn't get quite as much done over Christmas break as I was hoping. But for whatever reason, my work is requiring everyone to use one week of vacation during the first two weeks of the year. As much as I don't like the idea, I'll look at it as a blessing in disguise and try to get as much done for the wedding as possible with the days I have off this week and next. So, off to the gym and then some shopping later on today!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-26T18:29:00.005-05:00

Hopefully, everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I did, even though it was a little hectic. Jim had to work on Christmas Eve morning and I had to finish my Christmas shopping (every year I wait until the last minute!). Then, we made all the dishes to pass for Christmas - Sausage Breakfast Casserole, Banana Bread, Broccoli Rice Casserole, and Chocolate Cherry Trifle (this turned out really well - you can find the recipe here). Both Jim's and my families celebrate on Christmas Day, so we fit both in. Christmas morning is spent with my family at my sister and brother-in-law's house. Afterwards, we pick up Jim's sons and head to his parents' house to celebrate with his family. Then, it's back to our house so Jim, the boys, and I can open our gifts to each other. It does make for a long day, but I guess it beats having everyone over at our house. As usual, Jim spoiled me and bought me a necklace I had noticed but I'm not sure I ever even mentioned it to him. I love it!

Invites Have Been Mailed!

2008-12-10T19:55:00.005-05:00

The invites were mailed today and I'm so glad to have that completed! Unfortunately, they wouldn't hand cancel them. I took them to my hometown's post office because they hand canceled my save the dates. But, with it being Christmas, they were unable to do so for my invites. I hope they arrive to the guests in good condition because I love how they turned out. A recently married knottie local to me has started an invitation business (So In Love Invitations) and I think she did a great job.

Supporting Domestic Auto Companies

2008-12-01T19:11:00.005-05:00

I realize I am extremely biased on this topic, as I work for one of the domestic automakers. But, knowing how much the demise of all or even one of the companies would affect me, my family, and friends, I thought I'd pass along the following web site:

100 Days!

2008-11-19T15:15:00.005-05:00

I cannot believe that in 100 days, I will be in the Dominican marrying my best friend! It's been over a year of planning this way-off-in-the-future event, and it seems to be coming quicker now. :) Luckily, my wedding nightmares haven't been as nightmarish lately. In them, it's always the day before or the day of the wedding but all that's been planned and is ready is what I currently (at the time of the dream) have completed. So, as I'm getting checks done for the wedding, the nightmares don't seem as bad. My next big to-do is to get the invites out, hopefully in the next week or two. I have the envelopes and am taking a calligraphy class this Friday (nothing like waiting until the last minute!). The actual invites are going through final proofs now and I can't wait to see them when they are completed!

Snow Already!

2008-11-10T19:52:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, Jim and I went up north and we had our first snowfall. And it was quite cold! We went up so that Jim could go bow hunting one last time before rifle season starts next weekend. And he did get his first deer with his bow! So our low supply of venison is soon to be replenished. While he hunted though, I spent my time staying warm inside, napping and reading. Just the kind of weekend I enjoy up north. ;)

Bought The Wedding Bands

2008-11-05T19:16:00.004-05:00

This check makes the wedding seem very real and really close! :D We went to the jewelers that Jim had my engagement ring made (ACE Jewelers) and picked out our wedding bands. Mine is an eternity band that looks just like the band on my e-ring, but is much slimmer. Jim's is a tungsten carbide ring that is mostly brushed, but has some polished details on it. We were able to take mine with us as it's a little large, but lines up perfectly with my engagement ring, so I can get them soldered together after the wedding. Jim's had to be ordered, but should be in a couple weeks from now.

More Weddings On The Horizon

2008-11-04T07:02:00.003-05:00

It sounds like the wedding planning in the family won't end with mine. Two weeks ago, my mom's boyfriend asked for my sister's and my blessing to marry my mom. :) She's also asked me to be her maid of honor. But, the planning for hers will pretty much be simultaneous with mine since it's three weeks after Jim's and mine. That will be a little crazy! Although, it will be a real small ceremony. Then, this past weekend, my sister's boyfriend proposed to her. :) When she told me, they were going to joke and say theirs will be the month after my mom's, and since my sisters and I decided when we were young that we would be each others maid of honor, I will be hers as well. Luckily, they decided not to get me all worked up and worried. But, their wedding will be sometime in 2010. I'm so happy for all of them!

Pumpkin Patches and Cider Mills

2008-10-24T11:43:00.004-04:00

I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend, although it sounds like it isn't going to be the greatest weather-wise. Tomorrow, we will be taking Nathan and Ryan to pick out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch and carve them tomorrow night. Then, one of my best friends is in town from Chicago and we're heading to the cider mill Sunday afternoon for some cider and doughnuts. :) Yummy!

New Toy

2008-10-09T20:28:00.006-04:00

Last night, Jim gave me my birthday gift and I'm so excited about it. :) I've wanted a digital SLR for some time and now I have one! Originally, I had wanted the new starter Canon xSi, but after reading some reviews, I also really liked the Canon 40D. And with the release of the 50D, the price of the 40D came down some and this is what Jim got me. I'm so excited about it. :D I really have no knowledge of photography but am looking forward to playing with the camera and maybe taking a class or two. I took some pictures of my engagement ring last night and can't believe the quality and ease of focusing. I'm looking forward to taking it up north this weekend and being able to take pictures of the color change.

No Longer A Twenty-Something

2008-10-08T09:45:00.002-04:00

Well, I've finally reached the big 3-0! I woke up this morning to my husband-to-be wishing me a happy birthday and calling me an old lady. ;) Luckily, with him being several years older than me, that goes both ways! Nothing crazy planned for my birthday though, especially with my family already throwing me a surprise party. Tonight, Jim and I will be going out to dinner and this weekend, we're heading up north along with Nathan and Ryan to celebrate. I'm looking forward to another relaxing weekend, especially with the color change being really close to peak.

Four Years Ago Tonight

2008-10-06T20:33:00.004-04:00

Jim and I went on our first date. :D I can't believe it's been four years already! Time flies by when you're having fun. We had so much fun that night too. It was after work and we met near my condo at a billiards bar. It was around dinner time when we got there and our first date was nearly seven hours long. I don't think either of us realized how quickly the time went by, but before we knew it, it was well after midnight, both of us had to work the next day and Jim still had almost an hour drive home. And here we are four years later, less than five months from our wedding. :)