wildflowersoul

I can't say enough good things about this weekend. Yay! I spent most of my day off on Friday lazing around on the couch reading a a really good book. Then Drew and I went to Gulu-Gulu for a couple of beers, got a pizza, and lounged at home. Saturday was ms_ntropy's annual 4th of July pool party, and as a special bonus, we got to see the fabulous doplar all day! Sun! Fun! Yesterday Drew & I walked to Beverly, found some secret beaches that will definitely warrant repeat visits, and walked back to Salem to get lunch at a place on Pickering Wharf. It was a hale and hearty walk. By that I mean: my feet still kind of hurt from all that walking. But it was worth it to soak up some sunshine.

I recently made the mistake of reading some particularly unfortunate books by Meg Cabot. Leaving aside my feminist problems with a character whose defining personality trait is her obsession with the averageness of the size of her pants, these things just were not well written.

Since I've been filling my brain with absolute garbage this year, I think it may be time for me to embark on a reading program. That list is bad ass. I am entertaining the idea of attempting to start a meetup.com book club group as motivation to actually attempt this list. Though being in charge of something like that would make me feel like I should have more of a clue about literature and stuff.

This weekend was so fantastic. Joss Whedon's talk on Friday was surprisingly illuminating and interesting. Saturday we threw a party that I hope was as much for everyone else as it was for me... despite the ill-advised drunken beer run in impractical shoes. Ow. Spilling a 30 pack of PBR on the street is embarrassing.

So the Kindle is making it really too easy to purchase crap books. I just tore through a fluffy chick lit mystery book (Janet Evanovich's One for the Money) and already bought the sequel because it was there and it took like a minute to download it. And now I think I've been sucked into a series that is going to turn my brain into mush. I need to figure out how to get Project Gutenberg books onto the Kindle so I can balance the candy books with actual literature.

We have a lot of books. I have learned this by studiously boxing mine up and adding to the enormous stack of Drew's books. I wanted to weed my collection more than this, but I just can't part with books easily. That said, I do have a list of books that I'm going to drop off at goodwill or something soon, but I thought I'd post 'em to see if anyone wanted any free books. I'll warn you that for the most part, there's a very good reason why I'm not keeping these books, many of them are terrible.

( list o' books )

When I'm really stressed I dream about the bunnies getting loose and being hard to find/catch. Last night involved such a dream, not only did Robocop escape, but Grendel was hitting Beef Wellington on the head with a briefcase. The briefcase was actually Drew's thingy that he keeps his Magic cards in, which is actually pretty proportionally correct for a Grendel-sized briefcase. I find that oddly hilarious.

So yes, I am a wee bit stressed about the house buying stuff (working around lawyers all the time has made me totally paranoid). But also excited!

I just read what might possibly be the worse book ever: The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires. I can't explain why I bought it other than 1)it was on display in the bookstore in Salem, and 2) it promised a nephilim that gets turned into a vampire with sexy results. The thing makes Twilight look like a piece of art.

Alright, I am at 5,460 words for NaNoWriMo. Which is exactly where I'd aimed to be by the end of today, so I am pleased and proud. Yesterday it was easy, today it was a struggle. I spent most of today holed up in our back room at my little makeshift desk eeking out little bits, checking my word count, wondering how it took so long to just come up with a couple hundred words, repeating that process, wishing I didn't suck so hard. But I have decided that this is something that I really want to do, and when I really want something I usually find a way to make it happen. Being honest with myself about what I really want... that is sometimes a different story. Anyway. Sorry, I promise I won't be posting about the writing project that much this month, I'm sure it's not super interesting for everyone.

I'm reading a chick lit book right now, which I thought I'd never do because I do judge books by their covers, but I am surprised to report that I am completely loving it. It's written by a friend of a friend, or a cousin of a friend, I can't recall which, but it's set in Boston and it's about a librarian, and it involves romantic shenanigans. I am now going to reward my tired brain with last week's episode of Gossip Girl, finally, and then will try to not stay up too late to finish said chick lit book. Oh, and this weekend was awesome and tons of fun. I hope I won't have to become a total hermit for the rest of the month to get writing done.

John Hodgman last night was totally awesome. As a bonus nerd treat, we also got to hear Jonathan Coulton sing some songs. After the reading we stood in line for a very long time to get our books signed, but it was worth it. Had a brief conversation with Mr. Hodgman and got my book personalized. Now I have to actually take care of it, which means I can't lug it around in my bag where it will be prone to tears, water damage, and general destruction.

And the answer to my question of "what is the next awesome thing" is answered handily in the new book: mole men. I can get behind that.

I just signed up for NaNoWriMo. I will be productive in November!

Also, anyone in the Boston area in need of a last minute trip to the Garment District on Saturday? My costume... is not coming along so well. I may be ditching my original idea and moving on to something else.

Well I spent most of my weekend consuming media in various ways. And driving to and from New Hampshire- I love driving, especially when no one else is in the car so I can turn my iPod up and caterwaul away to my "emo rock" playlist. Oh, Blink 182 and My Chemical Romance! *ahem*

Anyway, so I spent a good portion of the weekend reading the Twilight series, which I swear must be laced with crack because ohmygod it is so entertaining. I am on the last book in the series, and am kind of sad knowing there won't be more.

Also, finally saw Mamma Mia, which is a total cheese fest, but involved Colin Firth singing and dancing. We spent a good chunk of yesterday watching this British comedy show Black Books- so, so hilarious. I think I hurt myself laughing at some points. And Step Up 2 The Streets is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds like it would be.

Finally, I call shenanigans on the weather. What is up with the rain this summer? It is dreary and needs to cut it out. I'm also desperately in need of more time off, and am really looking forward to the fall when we at least get a few more long weekends. These long weeks are getting to me.

So yesterday I decided to start the 100 push ups routine, since everyone else is doing it, and I would like to eventually be able to do 100 push ups. Ha. It does not seem possible, but it can't hurt to try. In the initial test I was actually able to hammer out 20 at once, which was surprising because in kung fu class I am usually dying at the end of 10, but in class we do them faster and I think my form is rather poor when doing them fast.

Also, we finally joined Netflix, and I forsee an overconsumption of media in my future. Which is dangerous, because I have not been reading much lately, for want of finding anything that fits the very particular book craving I've been having. I just want a good Victoria era story with a mystery and a dash of subtle romance. But written recently, not written back in the actual Victorian era. And without too much dialect. I am having a really hard finding books that meet my criteria, and have not been feeling the love for anything else. Blerg!