Chambray in the Park

Book Update

  Lately my laptop has been giving me heartache. :( But since it is up and running for now, here is what I've read lately.

  I read Lirael and Sabriel of the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix. I loved them both!! They were the reason I stopped in the middle of Specials. The first book was written a good 10-ish years before the follow-up, and it shows in the book.

Sabriel starts off with her birth, and ends with her coming to terms with what she must do with her life. The best part of the whole book is when she and Mogget, her cat/magical-being, find a wooden boy who is too life-like to be a real carved boy. It's very lucky that she happens to find him and bring him back from his place between Life and Death. He ends up being a major player in the plot of this book and the following books. 

Color Crush Peach and Blue

The dark and scary

   Ah adventures. They are so fun! Well, they are better when you are better prepared and have the proper footwear. This adventure was excellent. Luckily, I was there to be the slacker voice and the wimp voice. Myself and a few of my friends went on the trifecta of adventures. To run the bases, sneak into the stadium, and climb the coliseum.
 
   We started our adventure with getting into the baseball field and running the bases. We walked around the field looking for the best way onto the field. We though about climbing and which way would be the best. I stood in the back while all this was going on and thought about how much I could not go to jail. Well, we did find our way in; there was a gate unlocked and level with the field. Brilliant. We got in. My friends ran the bases, and I kept a look out. I'm a nervous nelly, so I couldn't fathom running the bases. They ran them, and we were off to our next adventures.

   After the baseball field, we went to the stadium and searched for the best way in. We had heard about some tunnels that lead into it. Of course, these tunnels started in the cemetery. It was dark, and the cemetery was locked up tight. I thought at this point that the adventure was over. No, we went to the student union and climbed down to the creek that ran into a tunnel that supposedly goes to the stadium. It was very well lit. Easy to climb in, and did not lend itself to injuries. I meandered down to the creek, after removing my shoes and thinking that this was disgusting. We walked down the creek to the tunnels. We picked the one on the right. It wasn't lit. It had 2 inches of water in the bottom of it. It was completely sanitary. Me, being absolutely mental, LOVED it. False. I'm just glad I made it out alive without a scary movie remake. It did make for a good story. I was quite certain that we would be caught, arrested, murdered, raped, any of the above. And nothing bad happened at all! Ahh relief.

  Finally, we had to climb the coliseum. I couldn't. Walking by the climbing wall at work makes me dizzy. There was no way at all I'd be climbing a giant building. So they climbed. Well, slid up on their behinds. It was quite fetching. Especially for girls. The best part was, they climbed, several people saw us, and someone called the cops. We luckily were walking away from the coliseum when the cops made it.

  I am up for adventures. I love them. But I like for them to be planned and well coordinated. Next time we will have headlamps, boots, and nerve. Next time.

Planning

   In a year, I will have graduated from college and be on the hunt for the next big life stage. No, not a fulfilling job. A trip across Europe!

   Okay, well, not a hunt since I already know I want to do this. I already know what countries I want to hit on this grand tour; sadly, I have no idea who I want to come with me. Friend? Sister? Other? These things are complicated. Mostly it's very complicated because I want to be gone for at least 2 months. At least 2! Who can take off two months to run off and explore Europe? With a possible side stop in Egypt?

  So, I'm in search right now of a person who is entertaining and "suffers" from extreme wanderlust and who can be gone from the real world for 2 months.

  I'm also trying to decide what kind of packing, planning, and other things this trip will require. I cannot just go to Europe for 2 months without some sort of plan. Decisions.

At the Derby

Books.

Woo. (If you worked with me you'd understand.)

The book challenge starts today!! I'll be kicking it off with Adverbs by Daniel Handler. While reading the Old Kingdom Trilogy and finishing off the Uglies Trilogy. (So MANY trilogies, and they are SO good).

Summer Book Challenge

  Over on one of my favorite blogs, Semi-Charmed Kind of Life, Megan is hosting a summer reading challenge. This is right up my alley. Books is in the title of this blog, so it goes to say that I love to read.
  If this inspires you to get your noggin working this summer join up here!

  This is my tentative list of what I'll be reading starting May 1. It's 14 books, and hopefully my library card still works at home and that I know where it is. The finding my card is going to be the hard part.

• Read a book chosen for the 2012 World Book Night. — The Glass House, Jeanette Wells
• Read a book you were supposed to read in school, but either bailed on or Cliff-Noted. — Dracula, Bram Stoker. I read the first chapter and started re-reading Harry Potter instead. 
• Read a memoir or narrative nonfiction book. — Van Gogh: The Life, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith or most likely The Blogess's book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson. 
• Read a book in one day. — This will be on the fly, and will just happen. 
• Read a book that you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to yet. — The Rabbi, Noah Gordon. My mama raves about this book, and I have a copy.
• Read a pair of books that have antonyms in the titles. — Sad Cypress, Agatha Christie. Happy Days, Samuel Beckett. 
• Read a book that is set in a place you've never been but want to visit. — Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie. The train goes across Europe. Something I'm hoping to do next year! Hello graduation money. 
• Find a book written the year you were born that was later made into a movie. Read the book and watch the movie; compare. Or find a movie released the year you were born that was based on a book. Do the same thing. —  Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat (graphic novel),  Faye Perozich, Anne Rice, John Bolton. Released 1989. 
• Go into a bookstore or library. Pick any bookshelf. Read the third book from the left on the fourth shelf from the top. — TBD
• Read a book about which you’ve heard bad things. — Adverbs, Daniel Handler. 
• Read a trilogy. Total page count for all three books together must be at least 500 pages. — Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James. Not for the sexy time tips ( I don't need those), but b/c I've heard it's awful. So this will be challenging. But probably not too challenging.

About the Gods

  Really, it's about gods. Not of the Greek or Roman variety either. More of the Norse and African and Egyptian gods and a bevy of others.

  Naturally, I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. The best line in this whole book was about how Jesus was in Afghanistan and couldn't even hitch a line. If I could remember it, I would quote its entirety, but my copy is in my room. My room is too faraway to walk to for just a line from a book.

  American Gods should be required reading. It is amazing. I could go on about how wondrous it is, but that could get boring.

What what, the Church

   As a Catholic in the Bible Belt (that Bible would be the King James Bible Belt), there's a lot of people who think I'm damned as a Catholic and my personal favorite, "Do you believe in Jesus?"

  This is about to be a rant so if you'd like to read on about why I love being Catholic click through. If not, I'll be back with some good old Science Fiction books in no time.

Lately

It's been a busy few weeks around these parts. These parts being Georgia. As I never really am in one place for too long. Though most of my time is spent in Athens at work and occasionally even in class. I've been keeping busy with:

Running. Still training up for that 10k in July!

Reading. I'm working on making it through as many new to me books as I can. So far I'm at 7. Which feels like I'm slacking. Don't worry though, with summer right around the corner (2 weeks!!), I'll be back in the crazy reading saddle again. I've got quite the list the work through.

Learning. Studying is really taking up too much of my time. I've got 4 more tests left this year, and I am ready to be done with them so that I can focus on things that are important. Like reading Neil Gaiman books or any books with plot lines that are pretty impossible.

Window shopping. I like to look around online and check out all the things that I need. Like purses, shoes, new glasses, shades, and dresses. Window shopping, saving me money because I need funds for my upcoming trip to NOLA and the Red Stick (Baton Rouge for you non-French speakers).

Also, I found this awesome thing at my house this morning:

They make Peeps you can't eat! Amazing. 

Picnic at the Gardens

Instaweek

Instagram was introduced on the Droid recently (!!), and so I figured I'd start a new Saturday post all about my previous week in pictures.  Here are my favorites:

Sunday. The Easter eggs waiting to be found.

Frodo! This car was in front of me in the parking lot out from lunch.

We played MASH at coffee on Thursday.

Road trip essentials.

After too many thrills on the roller coaster, a mini-feast was in order. 

   This week I spent Easter at home with all my family. Monday I had lunch with my friends and saw this awesome car; if you know this person, I want to be his/her bff. Tuesday was no very memorable; just like Wednesday. Thursday, at coffee we played the ultimate in 1990s fortune telling, MASH. It seems I'll be marrying Matt Smith from Doctor Who next year when I'm 23. Friday was UGA night at Six Flags in Atlanta. I brought my favorite things for the car ride: a Neil Gaiman novel and Diet Coke. And lastly, we stopped at McDonald's for food to feel better after getting stuck on a roller coaster. That's right, I got an Oreo McFlurry, 2 cheeseburgers, fries, and a Diet Coke. 

Wait What.

    Books have been taking up a great amount of my time. Followed closely by my 2 projects that were due this week. School is starting to take its toll, and I do not like it at all. Thank goodness there is only 2 more weeks of this madness left! Until June when I start first session, good times. Here's what I've read most recently and loved.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

  A while back I started a list of books I definitely wanted to read this year, and Neil Gaiman's work was at the top of that list. I figured, he writes science fiction/fantasy a genre I can really get behind. Especially since there's no new Harry Potter to look forward to, unless JK's new book is book 8 (dear goodness, please let that be true!!), I figure that going back to older books is a fine plan. 

   Neverwhere was the first Neil Gaiman book I ever read. It was set in London, which won me over immediately. I have a thing for England and anywhere in England. 

Fancy Easter at Home

This Easter I will be at home with all my family. We go to church, come home and finish making lunch. We eat too much, hunt Easter eggs, and eat loads of candy. It's a good time. Have a happy Easter!

Fun side note, this is my real Easter dress! Sadly, not my real Easter shoes.

Spring Wish List

   As the spring time weather has already hit here in Georgia, I figured it was time for me to think of all the possible things I can spend the funds that UGA pays me on. These things are completely necessary.

1. New glasses. I've had the pair I'm wearing now for nearly a year. I love them, but I think it's time for smaller frames. I've had my eye on the Colton pair from Warby Parker. The best thing about Warby Parker is that they give a pair of glasses to someone in need when any pair is purchased. Which is great! And it makes me think that buying another pair of glasses is totally worth it!

 2. Books. I read a lot. With these habits, I tend to re-read what I already own. Which means not moving along with my goal for this year. Luckily, there's only 2 books left in the series I'm reading, and they're only $10 each. A steal! 

   3. Sunglasses. I have a lot of colorful pairs, but I'm saving up for a pair of Ray Bans to wear at Disney in a normal non-orange or pink color.

Yes, these look colorful and they are, but they're also more natural than orange.

   4. Hair color. This is going down this week, so no need to wait! The rest of this list though is on hold. 

Life News!

   Last Saturday, I applied for the Disney College Program on a whim. (If you love Disney, and have always wanted to wear those super flattering pants, you can apply here.)


   I had my first interview, it was online, and was told that I had a follow-up.

   My follow-up was on Wednesday. I talked and talked and talked. I was friendly and happy and like a Disney dream. When my interview was over, I was told that I could know as soon as the next day about whether or not I got in.

   Well, on Friday afternoon, I got my email. It was this:

Just Read

   My goal for this year is to read as many new books as I can. That means books that I have never read before. So far, I think I'm doing ok. I would be doing better, but I keep going back to books I've already ready; somehow, re-reading old books keeps me from getting to new books fast. Weird.

   This is what I've read most recently. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. If I could only use one word to describe this book, it would be beautiful. It is written like a dream. The story is great, the writing even better. If I could read this book over and over again, I would, and I probably will since I own a copy. Libraries and I just don't get along. It's actually cheaper for me to buy books than to borrow them.

Honest, I have a real post planned.

Pottermore is due to open in early April. I LOVE Harry Potter. Luckily for us lesser mortals who didn't get into Pottermore for the beta run, the bookshop of Pottermore is available to all. I think I know what I'm about to spend some of my savings on. This

YES! Soon they will be mine! And then, while I'm at Disney(!!!!!) next fall, I won't have to tote all of them with me for my annual reading. :)

Strolling in the rain

This week is a rain worthy look. Normally when it rain, I curl up and nap. But this time I figured I'd pull together something I'd actually wear and wear in public. My "home pants" don't get to see the light of day. I think the Betsey Johnson necklace really makes it more fancy and less homey.