Monday, February 29, 2016

don't bother

I very seldom stop reading a book. Last week I received notice that a book I had placed on hold was available for download. I was eager to get my hands on this one as I was intrigued by the author's story. She's still in college, wrote the book for an online site, got a big deal from Harper Collins, and is now a YA publishing darling.

Too good to be true? Yep. I stopped for good when he slapped her to wake her from fainting. I had stopped about 15 pages earlier and decided to read more just in case I was making a hasty judgement. I wasn't.

Why on earth would Harper Collins pay a 6 figure advance to this author? The book was published in 2012. I'm a bit late in reading it. I should have read the book's quote pages and seen where she was inspired by Twilight and known better.

Well, all in all, lesson learned. I only wasted a bit of time and have now added the first book to my "did not finish" list for 2016.

Book: The Dark Heroine: Dinner with a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

quick update

The hubby and boy arrived in Gatlinburg. Hubby had a lovely dinner with our girl and heard all about what she has been up to and was even able to see one of her friends from the GLS program. We met that young lady while we visited in London and she will be joining them for dinner on Saturday night.

The rain finally went away and the moonlight actually woke me up this morning. Not quite a full moon, but bright and shiny in a clear sky. Yippee!

Coffee is tasting very good this morning and I'll have muddy paws to wipe in a moment.

Enjoy your day. Thursday is here!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

rainy night

I'll be interested to see just how much rain we received in this system that passed through. Yikes. The yard is super squishy. Wiping dog paws is not one of my fave things to do early in the morning, but it is required.

The boys leave today for points east. Hubby will have dinner with the middle kid tonight. Lucky fella.

I see a lot of reading in my future. I started my next book last night. This one was another freebie via BookBub and is set in ancient Egypt.

Enjoy the day!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

oops

I woke a bit late yesterday and didn't manage to get a blog entry written. Oops. Well, we had a lovely weekend. Stayed home Friday, went out Saturday, and cooked and watched a movie on Sunday. Up this week at work, or at least yesterday and today, the executive committee is in the office. We had lunch with them yesterday, but  I'm not sure if anything is planned for today.

I did read a book over the weekend. It was a free download from BookBub. I'm also certain I had read it before as I went through a phase of reading romances set in Scotland. This was "The Countess" by Claire Delacroix. Entertaining enough, a bit formulaic, but it passed the time and it was free.

Off we go into Tuesday! The boys leave Wednesday for the Smokey Mountain Invitational tournament in Gatlinburg. I'll be home hanging out with Duke.

Cheers!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

a bit of sunshine

It looks like we will have a big helping of Spring over the next few days. Fine by me. I will take those bright blue skies any day. I ventured out of the office yesterday to swing by the Hallmark store to pick up a few cards. Then I treated myself to some frozen yogurt. Delish.

Tried a new recipe last night. It was a knock-off of Olive Garden's zuppa toscana. Quite tasty! I love Pinterest for making new recipes so easy to try.

In other news, I fnished the book! "House of Shattered Wings" by Aliette de Bodard wound up being a decent book. Here is a link to her website and some info about the novel. I think the world building here just wasn't my cup of tea, but the writing was solid and while I never felt that connection with any of the characters (they all seemed to be a bit unlikeable), I would be tempted to give another of her books a try.

And that's it for this week! I'm getting a new computer at work, so I imagine that the majority of my day will be spent waiting on IT and then reworking my desktop, shortcuts, etc. For no matter their promises to have it "ready to go," it never is. I'm just hoping they don't lose all my fonts. UGH.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

and so it goes

I'm going to go ahead and finish the book I mentioned yesterday. I'm well over halfway through at this point and I might as well finish it.

The boy received notice from Governor's School that he has been wait listed for the summer academy on international policy. They had 300 applicants this year and took 64. So, being on the wait list is better than being rejected. He has to send in notice that he is still interested and as others send in their decisions, he will be notified if he gets a spot. Plan B is to go to the Univ of Alabama's Early College program for a summer session.

In other news, not much else to report!

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

four day week

It is such a nice treat to have federal holidays off. It allows us to have a three day weekend. Or, if you want to add a day of PTO, a four day weekend. I'm already planning March. We have Good Friday off and I get my birthday as a holiday. Hmmm. Looks like a good time to have a four day weekend! Or, two three day weekends. I need to think about this one.

No idea what is on the work agenda for this week. We are starting to work on National Meeting things as the March issue of the magazine will head off to the printer on Friday. I may start compiling the text for the programs.

I began another book. This one was also on that list I can't find. While the others have been very good, this one is giving me pause. It is a translation from a French author. Concept is interesting, but I've yet to "bond" with any of the characters. Some of the phrasing is clunky and some of the sentences go on forever. Ugh. I'm tempted to let it go. I hate to do that. Think I'll give it another 50 or so pages and see what I think then.

And last but not least, today is a special day! Happy 53rd Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Off we go!

Monday, February 15, 2016

the last three

I powered through a few library books I had loaded on to my Nook. All three were thoroughly enjoyable, but for different reasons. First up, "Uprooted"" by Naomi Novik. I have not read anything from this author before, but this was a well written and very entertaining novel. The fact it had a Russian/Polish flare to it was an added bonus. I loved the plot, the characters were well developed, and the story kept me engaged.

Next up, "The Bookseller" by Cynthia Swanson. Again, a new to me author, and a story that I could see flourishing in book clubs. While I figured out the plot twist fairly early on, I didn't figure out the one part of the twist that made the novel heart wrenching. This one caused a few tears and a large lump in my throat. It has a supernatural feel to it, but it is more women's fiction than fantasy.

Finally, I read a book from Sarah Maas. "The Court of Thorns and Roses" is another twist on the Tam Lin fable. I really enjoyed this novel, I liked the heroine and her resourcefulness. At times I felt the novel/plot lagged and the tension was a bit lax, but it really got moving in the last third of the book. I will read the sequel when it comes out as I'm eager to see the direction this series takes. Lots of romance here, I could see teen girls really going for this series.

Of the three, "Uprooted" was by far my favorite. Gold star for that one!

So, that is it! Lots of reading plus a great visit with the oldest, a fun birthday celebration with the boy, and a relaxed Valentine's Day weekend with hubby.

Good Stuff. Oh, and we have today off! That means it is time to stock the pantry and clean the house. It is really raining here today, gully-washer rain, so it is a good day to take care of the homefires, so to speak.

Enjoy.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

reading

I am making a real run at finishing "Uprooted" by Friday. Such a good book! In other news, while I remembered to bring home the items I had placed in the warehouse freezer on Tuesday, I now have yet another small grocery list to procure. Things I forgot to buy: jam and lettuce. What a combo.

The boy and I are going to have burgers and fries tonight, so lettuce is a must. The jam, well, hard to have PB&J without it. His Ash Wednesday sandwich was a bit dry!

Can't believe Lent is here again. This last year has gone by so quickly. The middle daughter was chatting with me about London and I'm really having a tough time thinking that is almost one year since hubby and I went over to see her and to visit.

But, today is Thursday! One day closer to the weekend!! Enjoy.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

healing well

Well, I made a visit to the dentist yesterday. My gum/jaw/former tooth spot is healing well. I get my teeth cleaned next month and then sometime in June I will get the post implanted. After that heals, sometime in September, the tooth will be placed on the post and I'll be good to go.

I've never considered myself a very patient person. I guess this adventure is teaching me, at age 50, the virtues of patience.

In other news, yet another book is available for download from my library. That makes 4. Blerg. Why did I get greedy and place holds on all of them at once? I'm reading Naomi Novik's "Uprooted" at the moment and really enjoying it. Wish I was able to stay home and just ready the day away.

Instead I will be sitting in our atrium for at least an hour of the day going over, with the entire staff, the 2016 goals, objectives, and tasks. Watching paint dry is more fun.

But, it is Wednesday and that means the middle of the week has arrived. A three day weekend approaches as does a visit with the oldest daughter.

Good Stuff. Happy Wednesday.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

on the nook

Well, I went ahead and downloaded three titles from the library onto my nook. Hubby heads out of town today. I don't think I can get all three read before he returns, but I should be able to make a good dent in at least of them.

Bookbub is just dangerous. I really need to start deleting those emails as soon as they arrive. But, instead I've been saving them and then looking in the library's ebook collection to see if they have them. Gets me into trouble. And that doesn't even consider the impact the word "free" has on me. I have three free titles on the nook at the moment.

The book I just finished, "Thorn Jack," was a debut novel by Katherine Harbour. A retelling of Tam Lin, it features a brave heroine who has lost her mother and sister and has an absentminded professor for a father. Of course she finds two new friends/sidekicks when they move to her mother's hometown and she learns of the strange, compelling, and irresistible Fata family, including the heart-breaking-ly beautiful Jack. The novel got better as it moved along, but I was left feeling it could have used a good trimming. Of course, since I'm a sucker for Tam Lin, I borrowed a book by Sarah Maas that is yet another retelling of that tale.

Enough of all that. Time for some coffee. Enjoy Tuesday.


Monday, February 8, 2016

too many books

Blerg! All the book holds I had placed are now resulting in everything being available at once. I received two notices that titles are available and it looks like the third one will be ready soon. Too many books and not enough time!

I'm still knee deep in a YA novel woven around a retelling of Tam Lin.

This was not a good weekend for reading. Not that I'm really complaining. Hubby and I had a blast at the charity gala event we attended at the Peabody. Ducks galore! LOL. That hotel is so neat and the duck motif is seen just about everywhere. We had some great food, fun conversations, and a good time dancing. It was quite a treat for us and an early Valentine's celebration.

The boy's birthday is the next big celebration as he turns 17 on Saturday. The oldest is coming home to retrieve a book she had shipped here, so she will be on hand to celebrate with us. He has requested cheecake this year; no pies to bake. I'm going to order it from the shop down on the square.

Easy!

Off we go. Going to be a busy week.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

those horses

I'm a sucker for a good commercial/advertisement. And, I'm equally enamored of good packaging. When it comes to TV commercials, especially Super Bowl commercials, I have my favorites. Last night hubby and I watched a bit of the recap of the top 50 Super Bowl commercials.

Those horses. Ugh. Gets me every time. The Budweiser Clydesdale ads pluck at my heartstrings like no other commercial can. Who can resist those gorgeous horses? Throw in an adorable puppy, a cute horse trainer, and what else could a girl want?

Maybe a new Audi?

Wah! The new Audi commercial is really well done. Maybe it is that sexy car. Maybe it is David Bowie's "Starman" as the soundtrack. Maybe it is the idea of taking a spin with your old man in one helluva automobile. Whatever, that one got me too.

Weepy goodness.


Tuesday, February 2, 2016

tuesday

The tooth, or the spot where the tooth was, is feeling better day by day. Yesterday was a very quiet day at the office, just didn't feel like talking much as it is still tender. I feel better this morning. More myself. Which is a very good thing.

I have my first meeting for the tourism board today after work. It starts at 4:00. This should be quite interesting and a huge departure from my work on the library board. I'm excited to see what this new volunteer spot will bring.

While I was under the weather, I finished a couple of books, watched a couple of movies, and basically sat around. Worth noting are Neil Gaiman's "Trigger Warning" and the movie "Philomena" starring Judi Dench. Good stuff all around.

Off we go. Happy Tuesday.