Daily Archives: September 23, 2008

Dear Diary,

Posted on by

Just wanted to post something real and non-memey for a minute. I have a lot of things I’d like to get done and probably blogging isn’t helping that, but sometimes it’s good to get your thoughts on paper or internet, whatever. So I’ll fill you all in on what’s on my to do list and what’s slated for the next few days.

I am inches away from finishing Breaking Dawn and when that’s done I can start Jane Eyre for the 5 Minutes For Books’ Classic Book Club – I may not finish it on time but I will hopefully have at least started it. I picked it up at the library this afternoon. MM was VERY good today at the library. I let him carry a book of his own inside and he flipped through it in his stroller while I hunted down a copy of Jane Eyre.

I also have a STACK of magazines to get through. Everytime I finish one it seems 3 more show up in the mail. Luckily most of the subscriptions were gifts from friends and family or I’d definitely have to cut back. I do like reading all of them, but when you have a stack of 10 waiting and more always coming… you get the idea.

Um, clean? I need to vaccuum still. That sounds so unimportant with all the reading I’d rather do. Not to mention the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice waiting to be finished watching – I’m about 45 minutes into it so far and will probably go watch more of it when I finish typing this. Then when MM gets up from his nap I might try out my new workout DVD with him – it’s a 10 minutes solution dance mix thing and I think he might get a kick out of it. Or get in the way. We’ll see. Either way, bring popcorn, it’s bound to be interesting.

What else? Halloween is coming. I know we have plenty of time but we’re making MM’s costume this year (more on that later) so we need to start gathering pieces soon as some things are not necessarily normal and easy to find. It involves a LOT of yellow. :)

And then any minute after that will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I’ve been planning a list of gifts to buy but I need to start making some real decisions soon and figuring out a budget. Also hostess gifts might be a good thing to start thinking about – and what events will we be attending this year? My inquiring mind wants to know.

Speaking of things I want to know, supposedly my friends and I are starting our book club back up but I still have no idea WHERE, WHEN or WHAT BOOK. That’s a little nerve wracking, but I’m really looking forward to getting it back going, so I am excited if nervous. I know I’ll be at least seeing some of the ladies from the bookclub this weekend because IT’S GAME NIGHT.

Once a month we have our friends over for pizza and games and general awesomeness and that once a month time slot is this Saturday. I’m planning to use some of the apples we picked this weekend and make a pie. That’s right, I’m going to bake. Shocking I know. I love to bake, but I hate baking in my kitchen so I really have to work myself up to it, etc. cause I very easily back down and buy a cake / pie whatever instead if things get too complicated or I’m le tired. You understand, right?

Speaking of apple picking, expect pictures tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday. I also want to show some pictures soon of my son’s new pajamas. For some reason that baffles me, he wears an 18 month for pants, a 2T for shirts and a 3T for footie pajamas. My son, he’s strange. Baffles the imagination, right? I know, I don’t get it. To be fair, he’s almost getting big for the 18 month pants but it isn’t very helpful since 2T is still humongous on him and falling off, etc. Where is the 21 month option, I ask you?

Okay I guess this was enough dear diary-ing for one post. Aren’t you glad I normally stick to the memes? :P

What's On Your Nightstand?

Posted on by

It’s time for another What’s On Your Nightstand @ 5 Minutes for Books. I know it seems like I JUST did this meme, but no, that was the Fall Into Reading challenge @ Callapidder Days, but if the list looks similar, it’s not your imagination. :)

This month my “nightstand” is kind of a mental nightstand, as most of the books I’m planning to read are not actually in my possession at the moment. I’m currently reading Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, and I am oh so close to finishing. Gone are the thoughts of savoring every last minute -they have been replaced by a desire to at least START the next book in the Classics Book Club @ 5 Minutes for Books, Jane Eyre. I REALLY want to read this one, I’ve been wanting to for awhile and so I will at least begin it by October 7.

So anyway, here are the books currently slated to be read…

Some other books ON my nightstand (bookshelf) that I really want to read but might not get to anytime soon…

What’s on YOUR nightstand?

Top 5 Tuesday: Why I Love New England

Posted on by

This week’s Top 5 Tuesday theme (meme hosted by Dana @ Supernanny Where Are You?) was chosen by ME – Tell us all about your top 5 favorite (or least favorite) things about where you currently live – either geographically or your actual place of residence. Seeing as I picked it, I must have some pretty stellar answers, right? RIGHT??

Um… Yeah. I probably should have thought about that sooner huh? For starters, do I want to talk about where I live, like giving geographic information? Do I feel like taking pictures of my apartment and do I tell you what I like or what I don’t like? I think I’m leaning towards like because I don’t feel like talking about the negative today. And I was thinking I could just say “New England” and leave it at that? And I gotta say, I love New England. When my husband and I talk about moving we generally agree that leaving New England would be a non-desirable thing. No further than Pennsylvania at least, please. So let’s talk about why, besides our family – we love New England so much. In Top 5 Style of course.

  1. The Geek in my feels the need to tell you how much HISTORY is in New England. I mean, I know every state has their history and important moments, but in New England it’s kind of like you’re tripping over the history with every step. Like, oh over there, there’s Plymouth Rock, you know, where the Mayflower landed (okay, well not right there… and no, not that specific rock. But it was a rock JUST like this rock but bigger and it was in this general region…) That’s another thing I love about New England…
  2. Even when things go wrong, rocks simply erode or get misplaced, they Make It Work. They love their heritage, and even opposing views and flat out lies will not stop us from telling our story, any story. This might seem like a negative but for some reason, I love it. I think part of love is taking the negative with the positive and loving it all in spite of itself, you know. And if you don’t like what the guys at Plymouth Plantation are telling you about the first Thanksgiving, you can always  go over to Martha’s Vineyard and visit the Wampanoag tribe – they’ll have a much different story for you for sure. I love the culture is what I’m saying. I love that in such a small region there is so much DIFFERENT in every corner, and so much touristy stuff to revel in. Who needs to travel half way around the nation to vacation when there is so much to do and see right in New England?
  3. I love the way that city and country mingle here – I love being able to drive ten minutes this way and hit a big city like Boston, Worcester, Providence, etc. but if you drive ten minutes that way it’s reservoirs and forests and mountains. Contrast.
  4. I love that seasons are REAL here. When I lived in Kentucky the seasons were so mild, and the weather so constantly changing that Spring was Summer was Fall was Winter sometimes. And California? Does it MATTER what month it is? But in New England our winters are FIERCE and your summers are HOT and our autumns are CHANGING and our springs are RENEWING. It’s beautiful, it’s real, it’s envigorating to behold.
  5. And okay, we’ve got our own family history here. We are FROM here to the core. My family may have been on the Mayflower and we’ve certainly been here as long as America has been here, we are New England settlers. My husband is actually IN the Wampanoag tribe, so you know he’s been here even longer. His father’s family is from the New York area, not far either. So everywhere we go, we’re family. Every town we visit, we know people. To move from here would be like immigrating ourselves. Not only do we lose our friends, we lose our family, our heritage, our culture. It’s what we know, and what our families have known for as long as we can remember. I know your home is where your heart is, and that people move away from home all the time, and if we have to, we surely will. I’ve moved my whole life and as much as I call New England home – I’ve lived outside of New England longer than I’ve lived within it. But this has always been home base for me, even when I lived far away. Been there, done that, you could say. My heart? It’s here.

What are your top 5 favorite or least favorite things about where you live?