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The First Year with my nook

Yah if you don't know what a nook is that might sound not right...nook (mine is the first generation on the right).  January 31st 2010 I got my nook.  I was so excited I'd been wanting one since the previous November and finally got it for myself.  The reasoning behind me getting an electronic reader was that I am a weird book reader.  I usually have a book in my purse, a book in my car, a book in my desk, a book in the living room and a book by my bedside, Bruce can totally attest to this.  I am usually reading 6 or more books at once- I like to have a fiction option, non-fiction, bio, short stories or sci-fi to chose from at all times.  That's a lot of books to carry around so an e-reader just seemed like the logical choice.  I went with the Barnes and Noble one because B&N is my FAVE bookstore, and I really only buy books online when they're textbooks so the Kindle didn't really interest me.  But to each their own...

I raced home from La Cantera, opened my nook, turned it on and waited for the magic to happen!  Pride and Prejudice, Little Women and Dracula were already loaded onto the nook under the "Barnes and Noble Classics Series" heading.  Then there were a lot of free books you could chose from.

The books I read this year on my nook from Barnes and Noble were (in order):
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
Accidental Billionaires (book The Social Network was based off of)
A Little Bit Wicked (Kristen Chenoweth bio)
It Sucked and Then I Cried (dooce  book)
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Eclipse (yes I own the hard backs, what's your point? needed to reread it before the movie)
Breaking Dawn (no good excuse really, I think I was bored in an airport)
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro- READ THIS)
Shit My Dad Says
The Toaster Broke So We're Getting Married (might have been a free book or maybe I just liked the title)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Hunger Games (READ these too! So good- thanks Taylor)
Catching Fire (I loved them so much I read then in August and again in October)
Mockingjay (They're that good!)
My Horizontal Life
I Love, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti

Wow looking back on the year it looks like I was really into bubble-gum books.  In my defense I didn't really want to read heavy stuff while on the cruise in Greece...The Chelsea Handler books were hilarious so I had to read all of them.  I did take some flack for downloading books I already owned, but my nook fits so much better in my purse than a 450 page hardback book and if I get tired of one book I can so easily switch to another!

Another great thing about the nook is you can download countless classics from Project Gutenberg its this huge archive of books in different digital formats.  I downloaded the entire James Joyce library for free!!! I haven't explored the Gutenberg press as much as I could but there are tons of great books in there for free that I hope to get next year.  My nook also has the internet and games and the ability to be an mp3 player but I really just use it for books and the occasional Sudoku game.

Now my nook didn't take the place of paperback books for me at all I still read real books.  In the Spring I was making my way through all of Alain de Botton's books, on Valentine's I always reread his "On Love".  Almost ever summer I reread an Orson Scott Card series, this year I reread both Ender series with the new edition Ender in Exile.  So my nook wont replace all the books on my shelves its just a nice portable library I can take wherever I go and one that can constantly grow.

The Broad-Way

My earliest memories of exposure to Broadway is dancing around the living room to the Cats soundtrack.  I would sing along and dance around the couch and coffee table in my pajamas- I don't really dance anymore but if Broadway is on I'm most likely singing to it.  The On Broadway station on Sirius XM is either the greatest thing or the worst thing ever invented.  I love it because I get to listen to Broadway whenever I'm in my car!  I hate it because it makes me miss it, I miss singing and dancing...

I guess it never really leaves you- I've always loved Broadway music because of the passion behind the music- it's all about the subtext regular music doesn't have it...or at least not to me.  Cats was probably the first show I saw in a theatre, followed by Chorusline, Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar.  JCS is still one of my favorite musicals ever but the other three I'll see if I can  but I don't really actively search them out.  I'd drive to Houston if there was a production of JCS that I really wanted to see.  Growing up my grandma used to buy season tickets to the Majestic and I always got to pick what shows I wanted to see.  I saw dozens of shows with her and thats what really sparked my love for the theatre.  I remember going to church with Mimi so we could go right afterwards to the Sunday matinee shows, I'd get all dressed up and sit at the edge of my seat for every note.

The first musical I was ever in was The Sound of Music and it will forever be on that list of faves because it's just so beautiful.  Is there a prettier countryside waltz than Edelweiss?  I remember on opening night my dad brought me the collectors edition VHS, apparently its one of his favorite musicals too.  In high school I was usually just ensemble which is totally fine with me because to me it was so less stressful and so much fun.  The musicals we did at NESA though were more of the popular shows or shows with lots of dancing, things people wanted to see to feel good, not really the serious shows that I now am obsessed with.  In school my friend Katie used to burn me CDs of shows she really loved and eventually I came to love them too.  She introduced me to Jason Robert Brown which lead me to the plethora of musicals that are just truly heartbreaking.

The classics fall into another category, they usually end happily but have their moments where they are tear jerkers- Funny Girl is probably my favorite movie musical and the song Funny Girls always makes me cry then My Man makes me bawl.  If I could find The Sound of Music on DVD I would buy it, but it is evading my grasp.  Meet Me In St. Louis is wonderful, makes me cry but ends on a happy note. I love Cabaret, my mom bought it for me on VHS when I was sick in high school and I could watch it over and over.

Just about two years ago I took Hail to see Wicked for her Optometry School Graduation gift.  I just sat there in the audience with her and Jenn just crying the whole time.  Pretty much from start to finish I cried, the words just get to me.  My fave song...

There are just some songs from shows that just get me every time, I can just hear the start of it and I'll start getting misty.  I love the happy cheery musicals that are just for fun like Mama Mia and Hairspray- too much fun and I love them and am in the mood for them sometimes.  But give me a musical that pulls at my heartstrings and I'll listen to it a hundred time over and over just to feel that pain.  Does that make me a musical masochist?  Next to Normal, The Last Five Years, Songs for a New World just break my heart- 

For Good- Wicked
No One is Alone- Into the Woods
I'm Still Hurting- Last Five Years
Song of Forgetting- Next to Normal
Breathe- In the Heights
Funny Girl- Funny Girl
Kiss Today Goodbye- Chorusline
21 Guns- American Idiot
I'll Cover You (reprise)- Rent
The Winner Takes it All- Mama Mia
Something Good- Sound of Music

I find myself so often wondering if everyone else hears what I hear.  Why am I always the only one driving down the highway listening to Wicked and crying their eyes out?  Why doesn't everyone else leaving the theatre have mascara streaks down their cheeks?  Maybe they're just smarter than me and wear waterproof mascara.  I wonder who I'd be if I wasn't raised surrounded by music.

I have a problem with TV shows...

I don't really think it's a problem, my sister and Bruce might think it's a problem, but I think it's just another reason why spending money on cable is not necessary.  I own a lot of DVDs, I like movies, but I also own a ton of TV shows on DVDs because I can watch certain TV shows over an over.  When TV series end I get really sad because I am definitely one of those people that gets too emotionally involved with their TV shows.

My first major TV on DVD purchase was Ally McBeal, the show ended when I was in high school and I remember watched it over and over on syndication.  Then my junior year of college I found it online, it was close to $200 but I didn't care I needed those DVDs! When I got it I was ecstatic and watched them back to back over a period of a week.  I was kinda disappointed because they were burnt copies, and a couple of them had a few glitches.  It didn't bother me too much though because I was just happy that I had them.  Now the real DVDs are out and I really want to replace my crappy burned copies but I'll be patient for those and get them eventually I'm sure.

I have a couple of complete series- I have all the Sex and the City seasons, all the Gilmore Girls but I got those as they came out.  Every summer when they'd get released on DVD I'd buy them.  Sometimes when I think of all the money I spent on those seasons it does make my head spend a little bit but I get over it when I think of all the fabulous memories the shows bring up.  I remember watching the series finale of Sex and the City with my first college roommate.  I remember watching the 6th season of Gilmore Girls with my friends Liz and Rachel from choir at TLU.  So to me its another investment in my memories.

I have a lot of seasons that I've bought up to date- Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, True Blood, Glee...I am buying these as they come out.  Shows like Lost and Battle Star Galactica I'm working my way back from.  I have some of the seasons but not all of them- so I'm working on it.  The Black Donnellys was just a one season series so of course I have that and then I have a couple of TV movies that are too awesome not to own like The 10th Kingdom and the 1985 versions of Alice in Wonderland.

Last night however I was able to get an entire series for an unbelievably low price at CD Exchange- in fact it was a collectors edition of a series too.  Charmed. Yes THAT Charmed.  The one about the 3 sisters that are witches- with Alyssa Milano and Hollie Marie Combs and eventually Rose McGowan.  I loved that show.  I used to make Haley watch it with me when it was in syndication while my mom cooked dinner and rolled her eyes at us.  But it was so good! I got the entire series last night for like $86 there were 49 discs! So I got $10 off.  It came in this super awesome book case that has cool drawings of the demons they killed.  I was in nerd girl heaven.  Then I Bruce started looking at me like I was crazy and I had to buy him the first season of Batman the animated series as a hush bribe so he'd stop looking at me like I was the crazy girl who just bought the complete 8 season set of Charmed.

That show started when I was in middle school and didn't end till I was in college! It couldn't have been that bad...well maybe parts of it were but still I'm super excited about my purchase.  Looking back at it all spelled out it does look like I might have a small problem, but hey if it keeps me from having to pay for cable I'm all for it.  Why do I need cable when I own a million DVDs and have the internet?

Favorite Memories in my Red Ford Focus

I know I'm probably getting way too emotional about my little red car but I have had some great years in it.  I got my little red Ford Focus the Christmas of my Sophomore year at TLU after I was in a horrible accident in my little silver Ford Focus on Highway 90 outside of Seguin.  The car was totaled but it was the idiot in the F150s fault so I got to get a new car.  Everyone was convinced that the Focus was what saved my life since the paramedics didn't know how I got out of my car seeing how all the doors were pinned shut.  So another Focus it was!

5 1/2 years later the little red Focus has been in one major accident on 1604 on my way to my friend Carrie's wedding.  It was raining and some old lady pulled into my lane and smashed the front passenger side in.  A nice southern fireman came and asked if I needed any help or if I was injured, I stupidely told the truth and said no...and watched him drive away.  I blocked traffic for miles, my dad came and stood with the cops and laughed at me as I paced back and forth on 1604 in my beautiful blue dress and 4 1/2 inch heels on the phone with my insurance company trying to arrange for my rental car.  I had the whole situation totally under control, behind the tears.  About 20 minutes after the accident my sister and her boyfriend at the time (hubby now) passed us pulled over to check out the damage- they too were on the way to a wedding they joined the laughing cop and my father on the side of the road.

The car has been good- no major problems and it can be packed to the gills.  I could get my entire dorm room in that car in one load.  I've moved twice in it- same apartments though.  I drove though a tornado on the way to camp one summer- that car was a trooper! I bought my first set of tires for the car two Christmases ago.  I have changed countless flat tires in high heels while either on  my way to Cowboys or coming home from Cowboys for the car- I have since stopped going to Cowboys.  Then of course there was that time on Christmas Eve when someone backed into my car in the HEB parking lot then drove away.  Luckily at the time I was dating a nice boy who fixed cars and got that all taken care of for me.   Unfortunately the car is not as resilient when it comes to running into partitions on the side of 410, but seriously it came out of nowhere!  So there are a few scratches on the passenger side and one on the front bumper where my brother-in-laws car and mine became close friends one evening when a sleepy teenager fell asleep along a curve in the road.

Besides the few cosmetic improvements I've had done to the car I've also done some maintenance things, I've had the breaks replaced, an axel replaced and the alternator replaced just last week.  It's been a great car and I'm sad to let it go.  I'm planning on getting another Focus this weekend.  They're safe little cars and get great gas mileage.

Bye little red, I'll miss you!

"You're at the age where we should start looking into anti-aging procedures"

It's been a rough few months for my body.  First my facialist told me what sort of precautions I should be taking to prevent my age from showing on my face- I heard the work botox and wanted to cry, regained composure and told her I'd be happy to continue my chemical peels and see how the next ten years go before trying anything radical.  Then just this week my OBGYN told me that I was no longer at the age where I could avoid weight gain.  He politely told me that I would have to work out more each year than I had the year before just to maintain my current weight.  He then told me that my drugs were not causing me to gain weight I was just lazy and happy.  Everyone seems to be blaming then crazy thing called happiness for the extra pounds.  Then as if in cahoots with my facialist and OBGYN the gym I signed up for 3 months ago and have only attended maybe 4-5 times called to tell me its time to come in and get weighed and measured. Just shoot me now.

So I took a step back and really looked at myself in the mirror and saw that my body really has gained some new curves.  I decided to step on my Wii Fit for the first time oh in a few months too- since before we moved and it tells me I've gained 7.5 lbs- since April.  My BMI is 26.4 and it should be between 18 and 24.  Now this doesn't sound like too much but I'm at least 8 lbs overweight and I'm supposed to be between 98 lbs (in someone's dreams) and 132 (which is more than I'd liked).

I enjoy exercising I've never disliked it, I'm just too tired for it.  I love healthy, fresh good for you food, I just don't always feels like cooking.  But as Dr. Troy pointed out what I used to do is no longer working and so it's time to at least begin to change.  I always start with food because obviously that is my biggest problem.  I love to eat and I love to eat rich and creamy pastas, with custards for dessert.  Mmmm that flan I had for lunch was delicious!  So I need another food makeover which luckily Bruce is fine with since I'm the one doing the cooking...

So ten hour days at work are really not my thing and there are usually at least 2 hours of those ten hours where I'm just useless, so I search online for interesting articles or videos.  That's when I ran into a Good Eats episode called "Live and let Diet".  Apparently Alton Brown (please tell me you know who he is) gained  alot of weight during the last twoish years- 90 lbs to be exact and as a food host on the Food Network he didn't have the most time to exercise so he drastically changed his diet (eating habits).  His food plan sounds like something I could very easily do except for one part you'll see-

Things to eat daily:
Fruits
Whole Grains
Leafy Greens
Nuts
Carrots
Green Tea

This seems pretty easy cause I can combine a lot of those into smoothies like my green smoothie- fruits and leafy greens right there, and carrots with almond butter for a snack and then some brown rice and green tea.  DONE!

Things to eat 3 times a week:
Oily Fish
Yogurt
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes
Avocado


I really like all these things, I just don't eat sweet potatoes and broccoli too much cause it's more effort but hey I'll put that effort into it and see what happens.  Avocados YUM! and yogurt and fish are good too.  DONE!


Things to have ONE time a week:
Red meat
pasta
desserts
alcohol


OMG what the hell? Who do you think I am? I can't possibly have only one alcoholic drink a week! That makes me sound like an alcoholic when really I'm just a normal member of my family- we don't do that.  And Pasta really? What about Wheat Pasta? I promise to just eat wheat pasta and how about we move that one up to category two- just three times a week!  Desserts fine, I can do just once a week and then I don't eat a lot of red meat to begin with so that will almost be a challenge to make me do it once a week.


The hardest will definitely be the once a week category- I have family dinner every week with booze and my hobby is karaoke which alcohol is a requirement for.  This is gonna be tough.  But I'm determined I'm just gonna keep looking at this picture to remind myself why I need to do this...

How is June almost over?

Hour 9 of a 10 hour workday

Gah! It's been a while. This summer is just speeding by and in a week from now I'll be packing for the cruise.  This whole year is just zipping by- except for the 10 hour work days, those are dragging, so you'd think I'd have more time to write, but really not.

What I've been doing-
1- Karaoke-ing (we seriously went 3 times one week it was a little excessive)
2- Unpacking (it takes a while!)
3- Sunbathing (not nearly as much as I would like)
4- 10 hour work days (the worst possible idea ever! not mine. by 5 o'clock though I'm useless)
5- Exercising (maybe only 3 times a week but that's better than 0 like I was before)

What I haven't been doing-
1- TNMCing (which is sad but I've just been busy)
2- Playing guitar enough (I miss it)
3- Spending time at home (I feel like we're always gone!)
4- Saving money (being always gone is expensive)
5- Studying for my GRE (I really need to do that)

Of course I've been spending a ton of time with Bruce is great, but we live together now (officially) so its not really that big of a surprise.  We had the one year anniversary of the night we met back on June 3rd and had a very nice date night.  We had our first little gathering at our new place back earlier in the month I made Summertime Beer and some of Bruce's friends and some of my friends came over to swim.  It was a lot of fun, till I started my first fight with Bruce.  But Bruce things one fight in 10 months is pretty good...

I've been spending a lot of time with mama and Haley.  Its summer so we're having our swim nights at mama's again.  Even though we haven't swam once yet cause of weather, but we have been going every Wednesday since the beginning of June and she always cooks and makes drinks.  It's a blast.

Next week Haley, Greg, mama and I leave for the cruise to Greece- we start in Italy, move on to Croatia and then several Greek Isles then end up back in Venice.  Should be fun.  It's my first vacation in 3 years.  I plan to come back browner than ever before with orange hair (the sun, it's inevitable).  When I get back there will only be one more week of summer for me cause after that Orientation will start and it just speeds back up from them.  But next Tuesday is my last day till Mid-July and I'm turning my work email OFF!  I think I'm most looking forward to that- no work for TWO WEEKS!

sigh