A Mind Overflows... Mine Just Sort of Simmers

I didn’t do much today. I was so lazy. I did make Catherine slave around the house as part of her grounding. Carolynn did some cleaning because she wants some friend of hers to sleep over. I worked on my reading group stuff, got some prizes mailed out and checked in on the voting for November’s book. I started some laundry and made meatloaf for dinner.

I am pretty excited about some upcoming events around here. I am hoping I get to go to the pumpkin carving party at David’s friend’s house. It will be nice to meet some people who haven’t murdered anyone. I am looking forward to going to see Angela sing next month, if I can. The nightclub she is singing at is an old one. It’s an old jazz club. Then a little while ago, my friend Jamie invited me to come play Bunco at her house with some other people tomorrow night.

You know why I am so excited about this? I have no friends. I work a lot. I spend so much of my time chatting with murderers and bank robbers and the like. Sure, I have plenty of online friends. And I have plenty of friends that live far away. I even have a few friends that live close by. But honestly, I am a terrible friend. I don’t call. I suck. I know this. I feel bad about it. But I don’t change it. For instance…

I meet people at work, people who work there and are not incarcerated, but I don’t make any effort to get to know any of them outside of work. Sure there are several of them I like and wouldn’t mind hanging out, but I don’t.

I have a couple of friends who live in the area and I have had them over and we went to a concert in the summer, but that was it. I would love to do more stuff, but I just don’t. Like I said, I suck.

So now I have a chance to go and meet some more new people and see some old friends. It seems like such a mundane thing, but to me, it’s a huge occasion. I have no idea what Bunco is. Jamie says it’s a fast paced dice game. I suck at games like that, but I don’t care.

It reminds me of my Grandma. At my Grandma’s memorial service, my Great Aunt Margie and some other family members were talking about how when Grandma was my age, she used to have neighborhood wives over to play cards and what not. It’s what people did back in the day. Now the only way I interact with people is via the internet.

Ready or not real life…

Just Chillin’

Okay, that is not all. I had some errands to run this morning. I took David to the new Red Robin because it said in the paper that they would be doing interviews there today. The paper was wrong and it will be tomorrow. I did a little house keeping. The chart is working, but I do not think they realize the rewards. Maybe when the week ends and they find out, next week they will be more willing. I do not think they believe I can give rewards because we have been poor so long.

I went by Chris, Sherri and Taylor’s this afternoon to drop off a bag of Chex Mix. I took a bag over the other day, but it was original flavor and Chris is allergic to garlic, which is an ingredient. I made a special one for her that was brown sugar and cinnamon. It is really good. They were having a nice relaxing day too. Taylor is on Christmas break.

I have spent most of the evening reading a book. It is called Cat Deck The Halls and it is the Readers Anonymous pick for December. It is about a cat that solves crimes. I was not sure I would enjoy something that sounded so silly, but it is actually good. I really enjoy reading again. Just no more Love In The Time Of Cholera. I still want to see that movie.

Carolynn is reading Tuck Everlasting. She will need tissues.

We tried our new popcorn maker tonight. The popcorn came out good. Just like the movies. It went well with my book reading.

Stay Tuned...

Lots of stuff has happened since Tuesday…

First, my online friend Eve/Carla from Readers Anonymous and from Adams Wife’s Weblog, lost her husband on Wednesday. My sympathy goes out to her and her family.

I hope everyone enjoyed my Wordless Wednesday and my Thursday Thirteen this week. I think next week I really will do Thirteen Things I Have Seen In Nevada.

Carolynn’s teacher got back to me on Carolynn’s F’s in Math and Science. Surprise! Carolynn hasn’t been doing her homework! I was not shocked, but I was mad. Therefore, Carolynn is super grounded. Not only did she not do her homework, she lied about it. I will be getting my new Wii Fit Board all to myself.

Catherine has been being better, not great, but better.

I applied for 30 more jobs since I last updated. One of those jobs is in Victorville. I know, Victorville is no where near Austin. But I heard about the job there from my mom and decided to give it a go. The cost of living in the High Desert (where Victorville is in California) is comparable to Austin. This job would pay more than I make now and allow us to live comfortable. The point of our move was to live comfortable. If we could stay here and live better it would be a lot cheaper to move. Of course, there are so few jobs there if I didn’t get this job, there are no others to apply for so off to Austin we go. And if I want to move to Texas later, I will have more time to save. But what are the chances of my getting the one job I applied for in Victorville over the 100’s of jobs I applied for in Austin? Who knows? Stay tuned…

Blog Of The Week #4

This week’s Blog of the Week, I only discovered this week. I was looking over the member list for Readers Anonymous, because we have a lot of members that are not participating. I checked out the blogs of the members who had one listed and I found Pam.

Pam is a participating member of Readers Anonymous. In fact, she was one of the winners of our posting contest this week and I am sending her a new book tomorrow. She is an avid reader, has many great thoughts on books that she shares with our group and seems like a great person. She is the kind of person it would be cool to know in real life. But alas, she lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and here I am in sunny California.

Then I discovered she had a blog.

Pam’s blog is called 30 Something. After I saw it, I recognized it as one I have seen on Trisha’s blog, but I did not put the two together. Pam has been blogging since April 2005. She is married and has three cats. (Or as she says, the cats have her.) What really caught my eye were her recent posts about how she ended up meeting and marrying her husband. They were just so sweet. She writes about books she reads and the rest of her life too. She is just a regular gal, living a regular life. That is why I like it.

All of the folks in Reader’s Anonymous so far, are people I enjoy. When I win millions in the lottery I do not play, I will fly them all somewhere good, where we can meet up in person, discuss books, and have a fabulous time.

Blog Of The Week #3

This week’s Blog Of The Week is called Life Of An Obsessive Reader. Well, that is what it is called now. It has been called many things over the years. This is the blog of my dearest friend Trish. Trish got me started with my first blog way back when. Way back when it only had a few design choices and no pictures or anything. Way back when we were young and hopeful. Way back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. If it were not for the internet, we might not have been friends for so long since we both move around so much. Right now, we live on opposite coasts.

Trish has been doing her blog since 2004 or maybe longer. Maybe 2004 sounds about right. She writes about varying topics; being a Marine Wife, her kids, her dogs, being a college student, and books. A lot about books. She has some serious book issues.

Trish and I started an online book discussion group in December. So far, it has been going pretty well. We do not have a huge active member list, but those we do have I enjoy. It is fun and we get to try books we might not have read ourselves.

Trish and I have been friends since 2000 and I see no plans for us to stop anytime soon. So check out her blog. It has always been listed on my sidebar, currently as “A Womans Blog Is Her Obsession”.

Blog Of The Week

I came up with is idea sometime last week and I had to plan it out and think it over before I announced it. Anyway, here it goes. Every Sunday, I will feature a blog I have found, why I enjoy it and why you should read it too. (I was going to make it every Friday, but I always get so busy on Fridays. Besides, I do two memes in a row Wednesday and Thursday and I thought that it might be too much.) I even made a nifty little digital award to go with it. I believe that blogs are a great way of communication. It is personal and fun. It gives you a place to be just you and to share with the rest of the world. It is also a great way to meet other interesting bloggers and make some new e-friends.

In choosing my very first Blog Of The Week, I really had to think it over. I read about ten blogs pretty regularly. I could easily have started with my mom’s blog because she is new and she is my mom. I could have chosen Trisha’s blog because she is the one who helped me start my first one several years ago. I could have chosen Carolynn’s blog or Catherine’s blog because they are my kids. However, in the end, I chose Carla’s Blog.

Carla, (also known as Eve in my book group), has not been blogging for a long time. She started her blog in September of last year. She is in her late 50’s and married. Her husband is quite a bit older than she is, in his late 70’s and resides in a long-term care facility. They have one daughter and four grandkids. The whole clan resides in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Carla lives with her daughter and grandkids.

Why do I like this blog? It is because Carla inspires me. Despite the fact that she has some health problems or her husband is no longer able to live at home, she still finds the good in the world. She uses many great pictures and bright colors. Despite the age difference between her and me, we have a lot in common. Besides the fact that we are in the same book group, she enjoys taking pictures and cooking. And of course blogging.

So this week, our blog of the week is Carla’s blog, called Adamswife’s Weblog. Check it out. She usually has something new daily. She participates in several meme’s including Wordless Wednesday and Thursday 13, which I also do. She does Haiku Friday, which is very creative. Last November, she also completed NaBloPoMo.

Good luck Carla with that blog. I hope you enjoy doing it as much as I like reading it. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Come back next week to see who our new Blog of the Week will be.

Code Adam

I lost Carolynn today. She was right behind me as we walked in the Albertson’s. I said we forgot to grab a cart and I heard her say she was going to get one. So Catherine and I stopped right there and I saw her go right out the door to grab a cart. She didn’t come back. So, I went out to see what was taking her so long. I thought she was trying to un-stick a cart. She wasn’t out there. I went back in. I didn’t see her. I looked out there again. No Carolynn. I looked up every aisle as I walked to the other side of the store and the other doors. No Carolynn. I looked outside that door. No Carolynn. I walked out to the car. No Carolynn. I tried calling her, but her cell phone was in the car. I was freaking out. I went back in the Albertsons, through the first door, and she was no where to be seen. So I started looking up the aisles again as I sort of ran to the other side. I didn’t see her. I flagged down an Albertson’s employee and told her Carolynn was lost. She calls over the speaker “Code Adam” and security men are now at the doors watching. Everyone is asking me what she looks like and I was trying to tell them but I was freaking out. One of the check out boys I knew. He was Jessica’s brother. I told him I lost Carolynn. He said he just saw her and ran and found her. She was down the farthest aisle where they keep vitamins. I almost strangled her.

David was at the movies seeing Rambo during all this. He said it was very bloody. Gross.

Catherine went back to the eyeglasses place today to get her glasses adjusted. They kept slipping down her nose.

We went to the Barnes and Noble today. I got my book club choice for February. It’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. As soon as I finish Love In The Time Of Cholera, I will read it. As soon as I get some free time, I can finish Love In The Time Of Cholera.

I added 20 more minutes to my fitness meter. Slowly but surely I am going toward my goal.

Carolynn made a Shelfari page today. Check it out.

Five Songs I Can't Play On Guitar Hero For The Wii.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar
Barracuda by Heart
Slowride by Foghat
Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones
School’s Out by Alice Cooper

This Weekend... THE LIST

1. I am reading Love In The Time Of Cholera. So far, it is very good. It is keeping me hooked, as I want to learn what happens to these people. The downside is it is very descriptive and sometimes I just do not care about what they were wearing that much. In addition, there are no chapters. I like to read and stop at chapters.

2. I spent a good portion of yesterday working on reading websites. There are three that people seem to use: LibraryThing, Good Reads, and Shelfari. The chicks in my book group use these and my friend Trisha uses them too. I was pretty sure I was already signed up with Good Reads and LibraryThing so I started there.

I went to LibraryThing first. I messed with it for a bit and I did not like it. It was not user friendly. At this point, I figured all of the other sites would be just as boring as that one and I didn’t need to get involved in them.

Then I got an e-mail from Good Reads. I get those now and again telling me that my account was still there. So, I figured, why not? I went to Good Reads. Well, this site was way better then LibraryThing. I cleared what ever I had done when I started it (April 2007) and started over. I spent the morning adding books and getting it all set up with my stuff. You can check it out by clicking here. I also have a button for it on my sidebar.

After I spent all that time on Good Reads, I had just about decided that there was no need to try Shelfari. Then I went to my book group site to post about my new Good Reads stuff, and I read that Trish really preferred Shelfari. Then I remembered she had written something about them on her blog a while back, so I checked for that. In addition, another chick in the book group was also a fan of the site. After that, I figured I could at least check it out. Therefore, I did, and it is great. The people are friendly; the site is very user friendly and very enjoyable. You can check it out here. There's a list on my sidebar too. This one turned out to be my favorite of the three.

3. I did my errands. I got my grocery shopping done. I balanced up the ol’ checkbook. I paid the electric bill. I went with David to upgrade his phone. He got a new Razor. (It was the free upgrade one.) I did a little cleaning.

4. Carolynn was sleeping over at Jessica’s house last night, so David, Catherine and I went to the new Denny’s down the street for a bite to eat. Then David wanted to go to the Barnes and Noble to get a new book. I need a new book like I need a hole in the head, but I can’t go in and not come out with a new book. I figured I could just get one from my book list. However, I did not even do that. I brought home A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton.

5. The oven is not working again, so Shake and Bake pork chops will be, well, I do not know. If you have a good pork chop recipe, let me know. I will try foodtv.com.

That’s it. That was the whole weekend. The kids go back to school tomorrow. Carolynn should be starting her book list soon. She was waiting for school to start for some reason.

Busy and Fat

Okay, not that fat… but not that thin either. I need to be healthier now so I do not have health problems later. Therefore, I made it my goal to get 30 minutes of exercise everyday. So far, I got 10 minutes. That is better than nothing. I made a counter and put it at the bottom of the page. I got the counter from the blog of a girl in my book club. It was a cute idea and maybe if everyone else can see it, it will be a motivation.

I have been busy at work, so I am glad to have a break from my usual internet workings. I am not blogging here everyday and I am not all on top of my e-mail. I really should catch up because I think there is a cable bill in my e-mail that wants my attention.

I had started to read The Kite Runner, but today Jo Anna brought me Love In The Time Of Cholera and I kind of want to read that one first. After Happiness Sold Separately, I need some great romance.

Disappointment

I finished my book club book. I did not enjoy it. I started The Kite Runner after that. So far, it is good, but the Arab and Muslim words and stuff are a little hard to follow as I am not familiar with them. But I am still enjoying reading it. Next, I will read Love In The Time Of Cholera. Jo Anna from work is lending me her copy. I lent her my copy of Water For Elephants. I will read that after I finish my next two.

I was thinking, I am going to get through my reading list pretty quickly. This is probably not a bad thing since school will start again soon and then the summer promises adventure and busy times. I have no idea what the rest of the year will bring after that.

I am sort of glad I finished my blogging challenges. I like that I don't have to write everyday if I don't want to. I needed a break anyway.