Best news all day

That would be John Mayer's new CD release date was released today. It's a good day in America.

And yes, I added it to my iCal. In all caps. With loads of exclamation points. Those things are necessary.

2012 To Do

Some people made their resolutions in December, and now it's almost March and they have given up on those resolutions. I have not made resolutions, because I like to keep my expectations low. That way, it looks like I never give up. It's how I roll. So, in celebration of others giving up, I made a list of things that have to happen this year, or in the near future.

1. Bonaroo. Radiohead will be there. And though I don't like camping or being dirty, I would risk it to go to Bonaroo. And besides, there's loads of beer to be had.

2. See Snow Patrol in person. Does this mean going to a concert? Well, I don't plan on seeing them on the streets of Athens. But if they do come to Athens, I will happily volunteer to show them around, and take them for fro yo.

3. Graduate! This is a tall order, but should happen. This December. The day The Hobbit comes out. 

  Is 3 too few? Nah, is it bad that 2 of them are musical endeavors? Never. The only way this list could be improved would be if there was a Harry Potter thing on this list. 

12th Day of Christmas--My book wishlist

  On the 12th day of Christmas, which is tomorrow, you're supposed to get a ton of stuff from your true love.

   On the 12th day around these parts I'll be lunching with an old friend. Packing some stuff. And thinking of books that I absolutely need. And if these books aren't out yet, I've got them marked on my iCal so I can run to my local bookstore and buy it. Nerd alert!!

  To mark the occassion of the Magi making it to Bethlehem to meet baby Jesus, I made a list of books that I will most likely be purchasing once work kicks back up.


  In no particular order:


   1. The Hunger Games trilogy. I've read them all, but I would love to own them all. I like to re-read. A lot. In fact, I'm thinking of starting off 2012 with a reading of Harry Potter.

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     2. Hush Hush Saga. I've read these also. I'm pretty sure that I have read every single book on this list. Or all the ones that came before it.

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    3. A Discovery of Witches, and it's sequel. I read it this past fall. It was the best book I read last fall, and I read a lot of books last fall. 

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    4. Abandon. This was great. I love things based on Greek myths. They make me smile. Its sequel is coming out in May, so I have plenty of time to save up. 

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    5. Across the Universe. This book was weird. But I think it's worth owning. And its sequel should be just as good. 

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My runs here lately

   Running has become a daily (well, weekday daily) thing. I never anticipated such a thing to happen to me. A couch loving, perpetual napper, book reading kind of girl. It did though, and I have to say, I'm happy every time I get my butt out the door to run. This week, I finally ran a distance (it's not a mile, but I'm a beginner, a slow beginner) that would be long enough to prevent me from getting eaten by zombies or trampled by Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup.
   This past week, I finally ran more than 1/2 a mile! I know, it's not a long way or even a race-able length. For me though, this is a big development. I've never been able to run more than 40 feet without wanting to stop. It was amazing! I have said about a zillion times that I never thought I'd love running, but I love it every single time I'm out there!
    Running all that way made me feel so much better about all the time I spend away from the house to run. It made me realise that all this time I'm spending isn't being wasted, especially since I'm able to go farther and farther. I just want to jump up and down thinking about it! I'm absolutely mental.
   Now I just have to think about my next pair of running shoes...

Oh Homer, you make me feel better about my running. 

Television. It would be books, but I've been sucked in.

If you're into things like aliens, time travel, David Tennant, robots, space travel, and Time Lords, than Doctor Who is the show for you. I'd seen all the pins on Pintrest about Doctor Who and figured it'd be great. It is. There's history, the Doctor visited Shakespeare in an episode, evil-doers, and general nerdiness. I love it! Now, all I have to do is make it through the episode Blink. It's about weeping angel statues. It's creeping me out to think about it, and I haven't been able to finish it. I did read about it though, so I know what's going to happen. I could go on and on about how amazing this show is. In fact, I do go on and on about it to Sara. Poor girl. Time to man-up and finish that crazy episode so I can move on!
    I do have some fall-esque photos to post, but with class registering, book reading, and Doctor Who watching my time is spent.

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My 12 by 2012

I saw this over on The Small Things, and I thought it was brilliant. It's a list of goals to complete before 2012 comes around.

1. Be able to run at least a mile without stopping. I'm nearly there!

2. Don't get a drastic haircut. A hard one, because I love my hairdresser. A lot.

3. Have all my Christmas shopping done before December.

4. Have my list of books read up to 200.

5. Make my crazy just a little bit less crazy.

6. Wear crazy high shoes because I can.

7. Have a week of jean free outfits, and actually wear them.

8. Get better at crocheting.

9. Finish mine and Sara's scarves.

10. Re-read all the Harry Potter books.

11. Keep running every day.

12. Stay happy.

It's not a life changing list, but I think it's doable and will come with good results. What are you hoping to achieve before next year?

Running!

   Thanks to the influence of my sister-in-law Sara, I've taken up running. It's a slow start, but fun nonetheless. I'm thinking that by posting my schedule to the public, I'll have more encouragement to get out the door. So here it is!

Sorry for the quality sucking. Time to be better at this. 

   So far I'm still in the stage of adding more and more running, so I only run 3 days a week and walk 3 miles in the early morning (that would be 6am) with Sara. Hopefully in about 3 weeks I should be up to 30 minutes out, and running for the majority of the time!

Real Life Willy Wonka

   I celebrated Columbus Day weekend with a trip to Apple Day, and I finished it off with a trip to Cadbury World. Robby said that it was Cad World and that the tour would be narrated by Hugh Grant. I told him that he hasn't been caught soliciting a lady of the night in ages. Our talks in the car are excellent. 

   Cadbury World is like real life Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory without Oompa Loompas. If there were Oompa Loompas I wouldn't have stayed, because that would have creeped me out. People just shouldn't be orange, I'm talking to you Jersey Shore cast. Sadly, you can't take pictures inside of Cadbury World, but I did manage to get some pictures. These are pictures of things that they won't mind getting out.

Technically this didn't have a sign that said no pictures, the factory room next to this did so I didn't take pictures of that. Plus, I though this was awesome. 

Inside the pretend candy shop.

My bounty. As you go in, they give you 2 full size chocolate bars (I ate one, so there's only 3), and then they give you another one halfway through. I did cough up the money for the Starbar though. 

   If you're ever in England and can get to Birmingham to go to Cadbury World, do it. And be sure you have a drink, because they give you 2 cups of melted chocolate. While it is delicious, it's very rich and milk is the only thing to cut down on the richness. Sadly, I only had Diet Coke, but it still worked. Now to finish my last chocolate bar. 

Apple Day at Sulgrave Manor

Here's my pictures of my lovely fall day out at Sulgrave Manor ("The home of George Washington's ancestors.")

A hedgehog. Rex's dream pet.

Pressing the apples.

My first cup of hot apple cider of the season!

Checking out the ferret race.

Ferret race!

A British flag and an American flag. Awesome. 

Me and Isaac, my nephew, with the huge bust of George Washington. It was donated by George Washington University in DC.

I had a fabulous day! Sadly I won't be here for the Apple day next year, but I'm sure someone in Georgia has an apple day thing.

The Switchover

I've decided to give blogger a try after spending loads of time on tumblr, which I'll continue. But I wanted to move my new blog here and keep tumblr going for pictures and such.