Weekend in Review July 6, 2010

It was a nice, long 3 day weekend.  I accomplished a lot and yet hardly left the house.  I got the oil changed in the car, shopped, cleaned, vacuumed, did laundry….it’s exhausting to think about. 

Summer Reading Update:
I relaxed and finished ‘Eat Pray Love’.  I don’t want to give anything away for anyone who hasn’t read it so I won’t do a review, except to say I loved the Italy portion, LOVED the Indonesia portion at the end, and could have skipped India in the middle.  I am now interested in reading her newest book ‘Committed‘ about her decision to re-marry.

After that, I quickly read ‘Secrets of a Shoe Addict.’  It was entertaining and a quick read.  Perfect for a long weekend at home.  Though I’m not sure what shoes had to do with anything, except there is one character back from ‘Shoe Addicts Anonymous.’  It is about three women who live in the suburbs and run the PTA and run into trouble in Vegas where they have gone for some school even with their children (because nothing says Family Fun like Vegas).  All three suddenly need lots of cash and the Shoe Addict gets them into a business that will help.  Wackiness ensues.

Last night I started ‘Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven.’  I’m pretty excited about this one.  Susan Jane Gilman is one of my favorites.  And I think between this and ‘Eat Pray Love’, I will soon have the travel bug and start talking about spending a year trapsing through Europe.  How practical this is, I don’t know, but it always seemed to me to be something I should do before I have children.  The urge comes to me once every few months.  Maybe it’s time I just did it.

In movie news, I finally saw ‘Eclipse’!  It seems as though I am the last person to see it, even though it’s been out less than a week.  I went with my niece Lemondrop and her mom Starburst (not her real name).  I love that they are sticking close to the books.  The first movie didn’t have too  much to do with the book either than the characters, but since then they have stuck to the story.  I could write an entire post on the subject of Twilight and I probably will soon, but for now I will just say that whether or not you prefer Edward or Jacob (Edward, duh), there is enough of both in ‘Eclipse’ to keep both teams happy.

Now I am back to reality and work.  I have six full 5-day work weeks ahead of me before Smarty and I head to the east coast.  That seems impossible after my last three weeks of 4 days each.  Also today I start week 7 of my running program, which means running without a break.  Today, 26 minutes.

Summer Reading List – Update June 22, 2010

I went on a book buying spree this weekend.  I had a coupon for 40% off one item at Borders, so on Friday I picked up Jennifer Weiner’s ‘Best Friends Forever’ from my list.  Then I took a peek at the bargain section, which is usually dangerous territory for my budget.  On this day however, I found only one book but it was a good one.  So I am adding to my Summer Reading List:

Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison.  A couple of years ago, I read a fun book called Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth.  I loved it because as you may have guessed, I love shoes.  Sometime after, I saw ‘Secrets of a Shoe Addict’ in the bookstore.  I don’t know why I hadn’t picked it up, but I’m glad I waited because I ended up paying only $3.99.

On Saturday, I headed out to find a new printer for my computer.  Wouldn’t you know it, Barnes & Noble is right there.  So, I went in.  There I picked up Susan Jane Gilman’s ‘Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven.’  In their bargain section, I found something that I have been wanting for a long, long time.  So, adding to the list:

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris.  My love for the Sedaris family will be covered in a future post I’m sure, but for now I will just say that Amy Sedaris is cute and hilarious and I want to hang out with her and go to her parties. 

Also, while I was there, I saw that another of my favorite authors has a new book out.

29: A Novel by Adena Halpern.  I love her books.  The first one I read was Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown.  There she discussed the various articles of clothing that represent moments in her life.  After that came The Ten Best Days of My Life.  I love this book more than I can say.  It is about a 20-something girl and her dog who end up in heaven.  She is then given the assignment to come up with a list of the ten best days of her life (surprise!).  I have given this book as a gift many times.  You will laugh, you will sob, you will begin to wonder what your house in heaven is going to look like.  So, I was very excited to see that Adena has written a new book and I will be buying it as soon as possible.

In more book news, I read today that Amazon has dropped the price of the Kindle from $259 to $189.  My credit card is begging to come out and buy this.  However I will be strong and wait another couple of months to see if the price decreases even more.  Though I have to say, that will probably happen a week after I finally purchase a Kindle.  Like how the price of gas goes down the day after I fill up, every single time.