To Do

I usually make my weekend "To Do" list on Thursdays and try to do as many of the errands as possible on Thursday night and finish them by Saturday morning, so that I have the rest of the weekend free. This weekend I have many more errands than usual and they have specific times throughout the weekend. This weekend is going to be like work, aside from the fun I have celebrating my husband's birthday. But I get to look forward to a 12-hour drive with my boss on Monday and Tuesday. Yipeeeeeee!

Bike

Ever notice that you don't miss something until it's gone? Given my hate/hate relationship with the gym, I bought a bike last year. I could use the bike to go to the gym-Yeah! I could use the bike to run errands-double yeah! I could ride the bike to work-YEAH!

Right. Never happened.

I did ride the bike occassionally. But I did not ride it once this summer. My husband took it in for a tune up. Then I missed my bike because I could use it to run errands, go to work, etc. I HAD TO HAVE IT BACK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Let's hope I ride it a little more now that's she home.

George

I love me some country music, but I have grown particularly fond of George Strait. I'm impressed by the length of his career and how he has changed his style to remain relevant. Plus he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

Bill O'Reilly

Hate him. Similiar to other talking heads, O'Reilly is not informed, offensive, and a blow hard. I not only disagree with his political stance, but I also work a company he hates. That's my opinion for today.

Back on Track

My favorite accessory is a purse, and therefore, I have an incredible number of them. Today I attended my first purse party. The brand is Thirty-One bags, and the purses are cute, reasonably priced and good quality. I can't wait for my order to come in!

Post Dated for Saturday

So I was able to get up, finally, after 11 hours of sleep. But I was able to avoid napping today.

It was a pretty uneventful day, errands, the gym, mass, cards with friends. Cards was a little funny because I knocked my husband out of the tournament and 2 of my friends also knocked their husbands out as well. In true girl fashion, we then split the money.

I did become totally overwhelmed by the reading that I need to accomplish before our trip. I'll need to channel my inner speed-reader. My life will be consumed by reading and sleeping...

Post-Dated for Friday

So this sleeping thing is working a little too well. I am falling asleep at 10pm, but I am unable to wake up before 9:30. Yikes!

Sweet Sleep

I'm hoping for some tonight. I've been having a lot of trouble falling asleep over the last few months. I spend at least 2 nights per week tossing and turning until 1 or 2 am and then end up on the couch, falling asleep at 3:30 to get up at 7 and be tired all day.

The doctor has put me on a strict schedule though; I must go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends. Not fun.

Wish me luck!

Book 71: "Long Past Stopping"

I finished my 71st book of the year: Long Past Stopping by Oran Canfield

The book is fast-paced and a quick read, but it is by no means a light and breezy book. The wit used does not disguise its serious subject matter, drug addiction. True to addict behavior, Oran is completely self-centered and self-absorbed. His autobiographical account of life through 26 and sobriety is well-written and thought-provoking. The chapters alternate between his childhood and his early 20s when he bounced in and out of rehab. His childhood had 2 constants: juggling and inconsistency. His parents, both successful therapists, basically abandoned him. While there are humorous parts, the childhood chapters are sad, as Oran is dumped off and discarded from school to school and location to location. The chapters discussing his drug usage and rehabs are compelling and haunting. They do not glorify an addict’s life, as some other books about alcoholism and drug addiction do. Those chapters are raw and real and recount a very few highs and the numerous and overwhelming lows of his experiences. Canfield is not a likable character (for lack of a better description), but I needed to find out what happened and how he survived his struggle.

I liked the book, but it is not for everyone. Readers should be ready to settle in for some incredibly heartbreaking moments. It’s definitely a story of survival, but there are times I questioned if and how he would make it and whether or not I thought he should make it.

Highly Productive Day (Expensive but Worth It)

I apent a lot of money today. Too much to be exact. But I'm so excited. I booked a trip to Dubai and Jordan. It's going to be awesome. We used a great travel agent who hooked us up with awesome tours. I can't wait.

We didn't go on a honeymoon (that's how I'm justifying the expense in my head). So 4 years later, I think it's going to work, so why not splurge and take a trip halfway around the world. If we survive the 14-hour flight, we will withstand anything.

Stayed tuned for details.

Never-ending Books

I've had a great year, especially for reading. I've read some really awesome books (full list). I also just found a truly inspiring bookstore.

But right now, I'm reading 2 books that are trying my patience.

Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth: To be honest, I'm enjoying the book. It's a well-written and interesting story, but it's 1,000 pages. It's set in England during the 1100s and is a novel about a town and its people, including a monk, a cathedral builder, the builder's stepson, and a variety of other interesting people. It has mystery and intrigue and drama and comedy. But did I mention that it is 1,000 pages? Too much for a summer read, not matter how enjoyable.

Dangerous Liaisons(English Version): Again the book is well-written, but the tale involves rich people living in France right before the French revolution. These people have nothing better to do than seduce each other, plot major revenge schemes, and write flowery letters to each other. It's annoying after 300 pages.

I need a light and very funny read after these two.

Kindle Wins

I sat next to a guy reading on his Sony E-reader on the plane last night. The Kindle is way, way better, not only because I own the Kindle but mostly because the e-reader does not have wireless download. Kind of defeats the purpose, no?

The e-reader does have a nice screen. It's also lightweight, but those qualities aren't the keys to the whole system. Wireless downloads are where it's at.

Weekend Home

I had a great trip back to Buffalo this weekend. I helped my mom pick out and buy a car. Please note that both my mom and my husband use me as the "bad cop" in all car negotiations. This is no a position that I volunteered for nor do I enjoy it. But mission accomplished. Yep, that's the color. We bought the last automatic on the lot and got a great deal (it was cheaper than a used car).

I wish I had taken a picture of the Mazda. It was my first car, circa 1999. Hunter Green beauty that it was. Sniff, sniff.

Do Over

I need one. Now that I have my NEW laptop (yeah!!!!), I seriously will be posting everyday, so the 365 starts today through August 11, 2010. I mean it this time. Seriously. Stay tuned.

Embrace the Awkward

This website cracks me up. Doesn't everyone have those pictures. On my trip to Buffalo this weekend, I will be searching my mom's house for our contribution. Should be good.

Woefully Behind

Blog-I owe you 2 posts. Love, Bridget

One Week

One week, and I couldn't even get that right. I will post twice today, but I can't promise any sort of quality.

I've been trying to give up caffeine which was going pretty well until Thursday. I didn't slept for shit on Thursday night. I did ok at work (thankfully returning to caffeine for a short period of time, I swear). After dinner, I crashed--literally sleeping on the couch at 8. So you can see why there was no possibility for a post.

Actually I'm off to take a nap now. See you later!

Techno-geek

I remember when I bought my first cell phone. It was a super-cool silver LG flip phone, and it required 2 days to charge before I could use it for the first time. I told a friend that it was really for emergency use only. He laughed and said, "Just wait until a shoe sale becomes an emergency."

Today I forgot my personal Blackberry at home. So I couldn't check Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Gmail, etc all day. THE HORROR!!!

I look around my house now and am horrified by our electronics: 4 tvs (2 people), 2 desktop computers (soon to include 1 laptop), 2 laptops (for work), a kindle, a skycaddie, 2 digital cameras, a camcorder, 2 blackberries, a home phone, a kindle, and on and on... What has happened to me?

Food Coma

I had 2 incredible meals today (and I didn't have to pay for either one).

Seared Scallop Salad at The Palm for lunch

Monkish at Vinny's for dinner

Now I will starve myself for the weekend...

Day 3

So I don't really feel like posting, but I can't lose it on Day 3 (I mean can't I commit to ANYTHING?). Though posting everyday is a lot of pressure. I just don't have that exciting a life. Because it's early in the process, I will give you an idea of a typical day, which today basically was.

Woke up to my wonderful husband, took my crazy dogs out, and went to work. As I pulled into my office, I actually thought, "Life is pretty good," and then I almost barfed all over myself. Numerous things went wrong at the office, so my good feeling was promptly squashed, though I continue to feel grateful that I have a job. Fortunately I also had a great lunch, which always makes my day better; it was a good salad from Artuzzi's.

We belong to an awesome gym that is around the corner from our house. When I feel like working out, I'm thankful that it's close, but when I don't (which is most of the time), I curse it because the proximity makes me feel guilty. Tonight I went to a step-aerobic class that #1 made me feel like I was back in the '80s and should be wearing a leotard and #2 totally kicked my butt.

Now I'm ready to climb into bed with a good book. I have a busy day tomorrow.

Don't

Don't send emails with "High Importance." The email is not that important, stop kidding yourself. And if you think it's that important, pick up the phone.

Red Exclamation Point=Douchebag

New

Today is a new day. I'm going to start blogging daily with topics all over the place. I'm not sure if anyone else will see it, but I want to try to post at least once a day for the next year. Given my previous blogging history, this is a big commitment. Let's see how it goes!