lazy

I don't have any good excuses for my pitiful lack of blog material this past month. Settling in to married life, I suppose. More likely just plain lazy. After all the craziness of this past year, finishing the MBA, planning the wedding, etc. I think I'm just burnt out. I'm too scared to even look at my Google Reader list of unread posts. sob! I want to catch up but don't know where to start. Hopefully, all my virtual internet frendz will still want to play with me. I promise to get back into my mojo/groove...sometime...soon...

I have been reading though! I picked up three Jeanine Frost books from my library and devoured them all in a weekend. nom nom nom! I officially heart Bones (although s'rsly what kind of a name for a hero is that?) Apparently there is a fourth book out already. I wonder if my library has ordered it yet? hmm.

In other book news, I just received my copy of Meredith Duran's Bound by Your Touch. It may have taken me months of sitting in line on PBS, but to those who are patient, good things come. :) I am looking forward to curling up in our new rocker-recliner (one of those newlywed purchases) and savoring this book. Preferably with a glass of hot cocoa. Or wine. heh.

So what's new in bloglandia? Catch me up to speed and save me from my google reader! :)

why do today what you can put off...

Whew. So, in typical fashion I have managed to procrastinate on a number of critical school projects until the last possible minute. Why oh why do I do this to myself? I had four projects to do, all needing to be finished this week. Finished one powerpoint the day before it was to be presented. I have no problems standing up in front of people and talking, so I WISH all my assignments were those, but noooo, I had papers to write. I've just finished a 10 page term paper as well as a 9 page essay take-home exam. I took off half a day from work just to get these put to bed. Tomorrow I have one more presentation but I finished those powerpoint slides last night. Oh well. It's done now. But I really have to figure out a better way to do this.

In the spirit of self-help, I have downloaded an audiobook from my library called "The NOW habit: stopping procrastination". Lol. Maybe I'll learn something.

Tomorrow I have friends visiting from out of town. They are here for the weekend and much frivolity will be had. Not to mention that I haven't seen my friend A in over 2 years and I haven't told her about my 70 pound weight loss. mwahaha. In fact, it was the photos from her b-day party that gave me the kick in the arse to join WW. So I'm kind of looking forward to shocking her. heh.

K, time for bed. I hope I will now have at least a teeny tiny bit more time for recreational reading. I'm getting very weary of boring school stuff. /whine

happy monday

How was your weekend?

Mine went by too quickly. I woke up bright and early at 6am on Saturday morning to go to the first session of one of my summer courses. It's being held every other Saturday for four hours at a pop. And is in a satellite campus that takes 40 minutes to drive to. oh joy. Just what you want to do with your Saturday morning. (Did I mention that I'm not done with my spring classes yet?) Anyways, that was Saturday morning. That afternoon, I had a team meeting with classmates from another course. Twas a good time...we ate jerk chicken at a local Jamaican joint. sooo tasty. Then my lack of sleep caught up with me and I actually started feeling ill - vertigo and stuff. Came home and crashed into bed at 6pm and slept all night. Saturday came and went without much fun being had. :(

Sunday, DF and I drove up to DC with another friend to see our first major league baseball game. The Washington Nationals vs. the Florida Marlins. Our friend had been given a set of tickets from someone else...they were in a great spot and quite close. DF had never seen baseball, so there was a lot of explaining about rules and such. He enjoyed himself but was annoyed at the vendors walking up and down the aisles and blocking his view as well as all the spectators coming and going (to the snack shop!) The great American pasttime...is it baseball or eating? I'm not sure. lol.


Take us out to the ballgame

And now for some truly exciting and actual READING-related news...

My BFF lisabea aka lb gregg aka super kewl author is gonna have a new book released very soon. You can read an excerpt here (careful, it's smokin') and then go buy it very shortly from here. As a sometime beta reader and general friend, I will cop to having had a sneak peak and lemme tell you, it's good stuff. More of the men in springfield and I'm going to want to move there myself, I tell you.

wednesday

I'm going to a Seder tonight! Nope, I'm not Jewish, but I do have an interest in other faiths particularly since the Exodus story is so common to my own faith (and even plays a part in DF's). Our uni is hosting the event and a local rabbi is presiding. I thought it would be interesting, so I'm off to eat matzo. And hopefully some of that yummy charoset.

In other news, I have a summer session class that (wait for it) starts this Saturday! ugh. I'm not done with spring classes yet!!! So I've gotta try to hustle through all my final projects and homework as well as buy a new book and get started on yet more homework. blech. Do masters students get senioritis? Cuz I'm feeling it. Just gotta get through these two summer courses and I graduate in August. woot! And I'm already considering what other courses I may take in the fall in another discipline. Because, hey, if you get free tuition for working there, you ought to take advantage.

I guess today is tax day, but I'm still not done. I don't know if I have ever turned in my taxes on time in my life. And I always get a refund, so it's silly to procrastinate in getting money back. But there you have it. This year I am going to file online with one of those free services. And instead of the 1040EZ, I'm gonna itemize! I feel like such a grownup. heh.

Lastly, I found this photo and it made me think of the recent Amazon censorship kerfuffle. Kinda funny...think of the children!!!

my many lives

Whew. Talk about taking a long break from blogging, eh? I feel guilty but it seems like each time I sit down with the intention to say something, I get pulled away by homework or something else. Work is busy. MBA classes are requiring lots of out-of-class work (wah!). Wedding plans...yeah, I ought to get started with those. Not to mention a friend of DF's visiting from France for four days (which was great fun but meant playing hostess and doing a lot of entertaining and cooking and stuff). So um yeah, the blog...

I'm gonna try to get back in the groove. Even if I don't have anything pithy to say. heh.


So, this being a blog supposedly having to do with romance novels...I read one recently! Scandal by Carolyn Jewel. Yes, I know, I'm late to the party but as they say, better late than never. Due to my busy schedule, I actually took the time to read this over the course of a week rather than in one fell swoop (my usual M.O. for book-readin') and it fit the pace of the story, I think. I enjoyed the attention to detail, the characters and the reformed-rake story being turned a bit on its head. It was heartbreaking in places and scorching hot in others. A very satisfying read. Thank you to Rosie for providing me with a copy. This is an author I'm going to keep a look out for.

In music news, my favorite band in the whole wide world released a new album. Yes, that band, the incomparable U2. Being the massive fan that I am, I can't be objective. It's the kind of album that is a grower, lots of interesting ideas and musical bits and bobs that are completely familiar if you've been listening to their 20+ year canon but that might seem random and odd if your only exposure is megahits like "With or Without You" or "Beautiful Day". In other words, I heart it! lol. My favorite song on the album is called Magnificent and you can listen to it here.

Lastly in the spirit of romance and stuff, I give you this photo of DF and I at the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. last weekend. Crowds of people, lots of wind, but we managed to keep warm. ;-)

Oh hai, Jebus iz bornd

1 'Roun dis tiyem, Caesar Augustus wuz like, "I can has cenzus?"2 ('Coz while Quirinius was Teh Boz of Syria, is invisible census!)3 And all teh doodz went home for teh saying, "I is heer!"4 So Joseph went from Naz'reth to Judeeah to Bethlehemm whar David wuz borned, 'coz David wuz hiz graete-graete gran-daddie,5 An Mary went wif him, 'coz she was gonna be married wif him an she was preggerz.6 When wuz time for teh baybee,7 it wuz a boy, so he wuz wrapd in blanket like burrito an placd him in fud dish, cuz innkeeper wuz liek, no room here kthxbye!

8 Then there wuz sheep-doods in teh field, an they wuz watchin teh sheep in teh dark. Iz vry vry boring. srsly.9 An suddenly, visible angel! An glory! O noez!!10 But teh angel sed, "DONT AFRAID OF ENYTHING! it r ok, you can has gud news for all teh doodz!11 Todai in da city ov David, you can has sayvur! is Christ da Lord! w00t!12 Iz sign fer u, find da baybee wrapd like brrito in a big fud dish."13 An suddenly, moar angelz! They sez, 14 "w00t to teh Ceiling Cat! An peace fer doodz he luffs! Kthxbai."

15 An when da angelz go invisible again, sheep-doodz sed, "sweet, nao we find teh brrito-baybee sayvur!"16 So dey left da sheeps (sheeps r vry borng) and found Joe an Mary and da baybee in da fud dish.17 An when dey saw it wuz baybee an not brrito, they told evrywun he wuz kewl,18 An all teh doodz who herd were lyke, "neat-o brrito!"19 An Mary wuz lyke, "o rly?"20 Teh sheep-doodz sed, "Yay fer Ceiling Cat! Was not invisible brrito!"21 On dai noomber ate, it wuz tiem 2 circumcize him (iz laik getting fixd) an they called him Jebus, 'coz teh angel sed tht wuz hiz name.

Luke 2:1-21, LOLcat Bible translation

(I know, I know...going straight to hell, but I just can't stop laughing. I luv the damn LOLcats!!!!)

Merry Xmas Everyone!!!!