7 posts tagged “reading”
While we were in Tampa last month, we had a bad experience at PF Changs. It seemed they had reduced portion size while keeping prices the same. Like I've said before, I'm fine with paying more at this point. I expect it. However I'm not happy when I order what I think is enough food to feed my family, only to come up short. So Steve e-mailed them, pretty much saying the same thing in a nice manner. Today, a gift card for $40 came in the mail from PF Changs. Woohoo!
In other news, after last week's horrendous accidental chicken jerky, I've decided to make my version of Alice Springs Chicken for "TV Thursday" dinner. I've yet to mess this one up. I'm also making olive oil, parmesan and roasted garlic potatoes and some mukimame. I can't wait.
I've started to read Wicked. It wasn't exactly what I expected. Definetely not for the kiddies, but good. I also picked up the new David Sedaris book. I'm reading a bit here and there when I need a good laugh, savoring it like a fine wine. Oh, and I bought Wuthering Heights out of curiousity thanks to Twilight. I finished The Host. Very, very good. I highly recommend it. Meanwhile, War and Peace is peacefully sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust. The "peace" parts were good, but I was having a hard time getting into the "war".
Last night, Steve and I went into Georgetown. I ended up with new shoes and got to eat at La Madeleine. We've also had Thai food and cheesesteaks this week. And I wonder why I've gained 3 pounds since coming back from Tampa.
I am bummed however that Children of Men came in the mail from Netflix instead of Redneck Zombies. Seriously. I was really looking forward to watching it this weekend. It was filmed in Delmar, MD on a video camera. All the reviews said it was wonderfully bad. Oh well.
Better hop off here. I've got about 2 hours before Rob, Kirsten (formerly known at "the new girl"), and Gary arrive.
Sleep in.(11:40am counts as sleeping in,right?)Drink a pot of coffee by myself.(This is completely normal, right?)Clean up kitchen and realize maybe the kids aren't to blame for the house being messy all the time.(In my defense, I haven't really been home that much since Thursday.)Wash some clothes. (As much as I would like to ignore the laundry during my "vacation", I'm pretty sure I heard Steve say something about using his last pair of clean underwear this morning. Although, it was before 7am, and I was still half asleep. Either way, the hamper was full, so I figured it was better not to take chances.)Plan healthy dinner after 4 days of riduculously fattening food that has resulted in several pairs of pants being too tight.(There are plenty of places I need to gain weight but my backside isn't one of them.)Spend several hours on the phone with friends I haven't talked to in awhile.- Lay in hammock and start reading "Wicked" (thanks to Kelly lending it to me!)
- Make healthy dinner. (Sure I'm planning on making a healthy dinner, but carry out is just so easy)
- Curl up on the couch with Steve and watch an episode or two of Scrubs.
- Go to bed. (Have I mentioned how much I love my bed? It's awesome. Featherbed, down comforter, it's like sleeping on a cloud. Hmm, maybe I need to add a nap to my "to do" list...)
I finally finished Mayflower and Devil in the White City. I started them last year, shortly after Steve purchased them, but abandoned them. I love history, so these books were right up my alley.
Mayflower really opened my eyes to what the Pilgrims really went through. It seems in my Catholic school upbringing, they left out the part where the Pilgrims drank beer on the way over and many other things.
As for Devil in the White City, it left me wondering why I had never heard about this time in our country's history. The hardest part of both books, was all the names that were thrown at me. I was determined to keep them straight, even if I had to read and reread til I could keep them straight.
So, techinically, I've finished 2 books this year, as I didn't count them in my books finished last year. Time to head back to the thrift store and see what I can find to read next.
I had to take a break. This book weighs very heavy on me. I know it's fiction, but still it weighs heavy on my heart. I've found myself crying many times in the last 24 hours. I have to step away from it every so often. I need time to think and breathe. I think I'll grab one of Sophie's Judy Blume books for some light reading after this.
During my break time, I decided to catch Alex and Victoria up on their parts of speech. Nothing like a lesson in simple subject and simple predicates with a little diagramming thrown in. I'm amazed at how fast it is all coming back to me now. I really do love this stuff. I find that I am a good teacher, but I get frustrated when they don't get it right away. I've always just gotten it, and I don't understand when they don't get it right away and start to just give up on me. Luckily, the lightbulbs came on quickly and we finished 2 lessons. I think they'll be good for school by time I'm done with them.
I went back to the thrift store today and bought more books. I think I'll be making a habit of stopping by every week or so. Today's haul included a favorite childhood book of mine, Nobody's Cat. I remember taking it out of our school library many times. At $.25, I couldn't pass up buying it and sharing one of my childhood memories with the kids. Although, I only remember that the poor cat was a stray. I don't remember a happy ending. He could've been hit by a car or something. Guess I'll find out when I read it to the younger kids tonight. I don't think the 12 year olds will want to sit and listen to this one.
I can't seem to stay away from The Poisonwood Bible and won't rest til I finish (hopefully in an hour or so). I'll be back later. Oh, and Nicole, I picked you up a copy at the thrift store so you can take it off your library queue. i'll give it to you on Friday, okay?
I had some time to kill this morning while Victoria and Alex were at their sports practices. I try to stay in the area while they are practicing since it's an hour roundtrip from the school to our house. There was a thrift shop up the street. I decided to go in and peruse the aisles. As soon as I walked in I noticed a wall of books. I began looking hoping something would pop out at me. The only order on the chaotic shelves was paperback, hardback, and children's. I began picking up books, no prices inside. Hmmm.
Then The Poisonwood Bible jumped out at me. Esther and her husband, Damien, recommended this book to Steve and I when we visited with them in July. I have picked it up several times at Borders and other bookstores, but couldn't bring myself to pay $14.00 for a book. I'm cheap, what can I say? I held onto the book, as I wasn't sure that I would be willing to pay whatever they were asking.
As I made my way down the wall, I spied a tattered sign, edges curled and yellowing..
Books
Hardback $1.00
Paperback $.50
Childrens $.25
I decided I need to look a little closer at the shelves. That was a deal that couldn't be passed up. I told Sophia, Ashley and Josiah they could pick out 2 books a piece, one frivilous, one a harder read. I found a hardback copy of Stephen King's It and a text book on Grammar and Composition. I decided to stop there, since the both novels I had chosen were pretty thick and should keep me busy for quite some time.
I ended up paying $3.41 for my entire haul, not bad at all. I'll definitely be making it a regular habit to stop in and look at the books once school starts for the kids.
First Harry Potter done and out of the way. Now to track down #2 and get started, after I start making dinner of course.
