Just Ducky

I love these ducks. I first saw them on March when they were little ducklings following their momma around. Everyday I walked to work I looked forward to checking up on them. They are now almost fully grown and I worry they might move on. I know circle of life. But I hope at least on stays to continue the cycle as they bring a smile to my face everyday! :)

Seriously!

So this past weekend I had my sister in law's baby shower. I helped plan and coordinate the whole event and it went really well. Except one mine thing... my sister in law brought a box of maternity clothes for me. This caused a major uproar of Oh my goodness, I didn't realize you were pregnant! My mom was there upset that I hadn't told her first. My other in-laws were sad I didn't clue them in and basically it was a disaster. Even more of a disaster is the fact that I am not pregnant and nowhere near being pregnant and needing maternity clothes. She just felt that she was done and wouldn't need them again and assumed I would be the next one to have a kid so she would pass them along now. Why she thought at her shower in front of everyone was a good idea is beyond me. So I spent all day saying, no sorry I am not actually pregnant... UGH!

Lost Days

So Time is moving way too quickly! I just had my friend/coworker email me about some items that we needed to discuss and she mentioned she didn't want to bother me about our meeting today. I stared at these words very confused, what was she talking about our meeting is tomorrow... we don't have a meeting today... and then it dawned on me. Today was Wednesday not Tuesday like I thought it was! I freaked! First off I felt horrible that I completely missed a meeting! Though I do put a little blame on my outlook for not reminding me like it should have... and then blame on myself again for blaming technology because I rely on it way too much! Then I freaked out because it meant today was Wednesday and I am so not ready for it to be Wednesday. I have too many things that need to be done by next week and only have about half of them completed and I felt OK with when I thought it was Tuesday but now that it is Wednesday that's a different story! And then I freaked out so much I couldn't concentrate on the work at all and decided to blog about it... so here we are. I think I may have calmed down enough... now to make a new priority list and get back to work! Hopefully I will not have to stay too late but I was already here until 7 last night so we will see...

Two for the Dough

There is something addictive about these books. They are pure fluff and at some points utterly ridiculous but I find that I have to keep reading. I intended to just read the first one as a break from the heave reading I had been doing but when I finished one I immediately started on two... then I finished two tonight and had to start 3 Nd am already 45% done. It helps that the are already on my kindle so it takes no effort to get the next one but still something addictive. It's like the authors find a way with words that act as a drug on us and we have to just keep reading. Very interesting.... Oh well back to reading :)

Home Photos

My new centerpieces :) Also you can see my new teal chairs in the background. Which for some reason came out very blue but they are actually a nice teal color

View of new table, side table, and new way of organizing the living room!

Our new end table!

New fixtures for the door! I also got new knobs for all the cabinets! :)

Home

So we have been on a home improvement kick as of late because we felt that we hadn't really moved in yet. We had been renting our whole lives and realized we were still in "renters" mentality that we couldn't make changes and why bother because we are moving soon anyways (we tended to move every year). We felt it was finally time to actually move in and make our house a home :)

It has been pretty entertaining and while a lot of hard work it is very satisfying work! We almost finished our fence this weekend and we would have finished but we bought all the paint from Home Depot and have to wait until Thursday until they get the next shipment! We put in our new ceiling fan (one that doesn't try and decapitate my husband!), and new knobs which make the space look to much better now that we have gotten all the gold out! I also went a bit crazy at Home Goods and got these great centerpieces for our new table!  And to top it off  we bought these fantastic teal chairs for the counter bar area! It finally feels like us and I feel at home now!

We just have one final piece in the main room and that is removing the hideous wallpaper! Once that happens we will have completed one whole room! Next project will be to finish outside and then move on to our bedroom! :)

One for the Money

I finished reading One for the Money last night by Janet Evanovich. I have heard about these books a lot over the past few years but never really had a desire to read them. My coworker has been urging me too for awhile and so after reading A Dance with Dragons which was quite a hefty book I figured it was time for some fluff, plus it is already on my kindle so it took no extra effort on my part! 

It was absolutely fluff, but it was entertaining fluff which is exactly what fluff is meant for! So overall I enjoyed it. The main character, Stephanie Plum, is a bit kooky and crazy and I found that I actually identified with her a bit. She was laid off and had no money and rather than ask her parents for help of move back home to save money which she mentions would be smarter, she decides she can make it and keep her independence by selling almost everything she owns and getting into the dangerous business of Bounty Hunting! I could see myself doing the same thing. I know I have too much pride and am stubborn and therefore would do what she did and live with practically nothing then lose my house and independence! Now whether I would go as far as being a bounty hunter I am not sure, but knowing me I would take whatever job I could and if that was available I just might consider it! 

The Colorado Kid vs Haven

So I finished reading “The Colorado Kid” by Stephen King last night. I was a bit disappointed but to no fault of the book. My problem was that I read the book because I started watching Haven last year on SyFy and really enjoy the show. I saw it was based on the Stephen King book and thought great! The way the show is set up they talk about the past and “the Colorado Kid” and it is a big event that happened. So I assumed (which yes I know what that makes me…) that Haven was like a sequel of the book and continuing where the story left off. I was curious about the back story so I decided to read it.

So that is what happens when you make assumptions… you can be very wrong! And usually I do a bit more research to find out about these things but in this case the book was already on my Kindle so I started to read it. It has nothing to do with Haven at all! Even the name of the town is not called Haven. It does not discuss troubles in the town and the only similarity is that there are two elder gentlemen who run the local island newspaper. But other than that “The Colorado Kid” is about an unsolved mystery that is still unsolved. No one knows what happened and you follow along with the characters as they try and figure out  the mystery. Now had I just picked this book up with no knowledge of Haven I probably would have been intrigued by it but going into thinking I was getting a back story on Haven and then not getting it did leave me a bit disappointed. Oh well! 

Impulse

So this past weekend was a very productive weekend! We painted out fence outside, took down a tree, bought a bed (yay!), and bought a table! We were on a roll and getting all these items that we have desperately needed and have researched way too much. We tend to over research items before we buy. Except for this... we were in Lowe's getting new knobs for our kitchen (which made a huge difference!) and wandered by the fans. We thought how we really need a new fan especially because we are getting a new table and knew knobs and the one one will not match. So we found one we loved and just bought. It was very impulsive and so not us to just buy something without thinking about it for a really long time. For example, we searched for a new bed for a year before finally buying one this past weekend! So I am not kidding when I say we overly research. So we take our new fan home all excited to get it up and once we put it up realize our great mistake. We have a low ceiling. You can't tell in this picture but the blades of the fan are very low. They come to about my Husband's neck so if it was on and he walked by it would attempt to decapitate him... this is a problem. We were so upset because we loved the fan but I do appreciate my husband's head on him so we called Lowe's to see about returning. Luckily they have an excellent return policy and we took it down and packaged it back up and returned it for a full refund. We now have an empty whole in our ceiling and the power off to that section. So hopefully this decision does not take a year like the bed but lesson learned: Do NOT buy on impulse! At least when it comes to major fixtures!

A Dance with Dragons

So I finished A Dance with Dragons yesterday by George R.R. Martin and while it wasn't my favorite of the series I did think it was better than the last. Though I felt with this book that he was building and building the story line up and then it lead to nowhere. In the last books there was always something major such as Eddard Stark, or the Red Wedding... but this one it was like a build up with no release. I don't want to say too much and give spoilers away but if a particular person is dead I will be pissed! It ended without us finding out definitively or not and he does kill of major characters but then also does trick you to think someone is dead when they are not so I am hoping that this once character is not dead! I also truly hope that the next book does not take 6 years to complete!!  

Gadget

I love this gadget - which side note every time I hear the word gadget I want to start singing Part of your world from the little mermaid! My husband thinks I'm crazy but this gadget is wonderful! It makes the percent scoop for cookies and for ice cream! Two of my favorites! What could be better than that!

Pottermore

Woo! I got in to Pottermore! Now when I say I got in that means I got an email saying I got in and would get another email in a few weeks to actually view the sight because we can't have everyone on at once ya know. Either way I am excited to see what it is and any way to continue the fun that is Harry Potter :)

Also, my friend just sent this to me and I had to share...

Another reason why...

I love my Kindle! I never thought I would convert as much as I have to loving the kindle but I am constantly finding new reasons why it is amazing! I will always buy some books so when the 5^th book came out in The Song of Fire and Ice Series (Game of Thrones) we bought the book. The book is massive and so heavy! I only have 400 pages left in it (out of 1100!) so I decided I would bring it with me to work to read at lunch. Well that would be great except I walk to work… by the time I got to work my back was killing me from all the extra weight! Plus it is harder to read and eat because I can’t hold it in one hand like my kindle! So while I am happy I have the book to showcase in my bookshelf… it made me appreciate my kindle all the more! 

Good Morning!

I think something is in the air today and it is something good! On my walk this morning I passed a man who bellowed out to me, “GOOD MORNING! HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY DAY!” It made me smile and I wished him the same. Then while walking to a meeting I passed three more people who all smiled and greeted me merrily with good mornings as well. All of these just made my day that much brighter and bring a smile to my face J I am not sure if it is the good weather or what but whatever it is I hope it sticks around! 

Powerpoint

So I am a huge nerd and I actually created a PowerPoint presentation for my husband to show him why we should go to Costa Rico for vacation! :) I showed beautiful pictures and 5 different options all for a great price! I was very proud of myself! Then of course he worked super late and was too tired to look at it... so tonight I will show it off. Looking everything up got me really excited for this trip so hopefully our budget will allow it and I can convince him that going on vacation is a good idea versus staying at home and fixing the house! We have plenty of time to fix the house but we might not always be able to pick up and go on vacation :)

Walking

I love summer. It makes walking to work so enjoyable :)

The sun is shining, the streets are less crowded, and things just feel good! I saw the cutest little bunny today eating an orange that had fallen. And then later in a creek there was a group of ducks swimming and playing! So adorable! I would have taken a picture but my phone was all I had on me and it didn't come out well. Oh well! It was even a beautiful clear day and I could see the mountains! It was a great sight! These are the days when I truly appreciate where I live and remind myself why I walk (besides the obvious of being healthy!).

Goal #14

Goal #14 for 30 for 30 - Read 150 books

I read fast. I am often doubted on how fast I read and when I was talking to a friend about goals they said I should have a goal on reading. I wasn't planning on doing this but then they said they doubted I could actually read this amount and that it would be impossible. Well I am never one to back away from a challenge so I agreed to make it a goal! I will also start tracking the books I read to show that I have been reading. I will also blog about each one to prove I read it as friends are terrible and think I lie to them about actually reading - which is just silly because what would be the point! But it sounds like a fun challenge and I look forward to it :)

And of course to start off I am reading a Dance with Dragons, which is a 1,000 page book (which I feel should really count for more than one)!.