![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
The next time we are together, we will be in Boston.
Hot dog!
photo by fruitanimal
Sunday afternoon I was hit by the Naps. A special kind of fatigue that you can feel in your stomach, that you KNOW will not go away until you... um... take a nap.
photo by jamie durrant
There's After-Work-Exhaustion, a phenomenon facilitated by taking a reclining position after work. This one usually bites me about 15 minutes before I have to get ready for the gym, conveniently enough.
My Hypothesis?
Living with people - surrounding yourself with family - can be beneficial to your health and fight off many varying strains of sleepiness.
Unless those friendly family members are trying to wake you up before 9 in the morning and in that case, they will only induce homicidal rage and crying.
Or at least from my experience.
1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
A family goes a year eating only good grown from their garden, or by their neighbors. File this one in the Will Potentially Change My Life book list. Save it for a week when you can read it straight through, and by golly, make sure you read it by next March. You'll be ready to plant something, and will be upset if it's too late
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
16-year-old girl finds herself fighting her peers to the death while the event is nationally televised in a Future America. First book in awhile that left me with that Harry-Potter feeling. You know... the feeling that makes you reach blindly for the next book before you've barely turned the last page. Unfortunately, this book is not yet published, ALTHOUGH advanced readers ARE about, and if I don't find one at ALA, I will be peeved. This is a good one for all kinds of readers. As I mentioned, my boy read it first, at the reccomendation of my mother. I was third, with 13-year-old Dorothy hot on my heels, and then, in a suprise move, my FATHER polished it off while they were on vacation!
3. Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen
Auden moves in with her dad, stepmom, and new baby sister for the summer before senior year, ripping her from her comfortable academic setting and forcing her do to things like wear pink, ride a bike, and talk to boys. Everything you'd ever want from a Sarah Dessen book, I guarantee you. Reminiscent of This Lullabye (my fave) with a summery feel, over-achieving narrator, and pack of plucky girlfriends. Loved it.
4. The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart
Ruby Oliver book #3. Roo is back to school after an Incident involving The Boy She Likes... who also happens to be The Boy Her Only Friend On The Planet Likes, and school-related drama happens over-and-over-again to poor, mentally distressed Roo. E. Lockhart does it again. This one was extra heartbreaking - she does an excellent job of capturing JUST HOW DAMN HARD it is to be a teenager, without a hint of whining or melodrama.
I would allow myself a single frosty can of Diet Coke.
After a late-night trip to the grocery, I came home and made my lunches for the next TWO days. I wrote down what kind of fuel I would need and when I would need it. I went to sleep with that "hope for a better day" feeling. These changes would eliminate some of my troubles - my constant fatigue-dragginess when I'm at work, the sugar-caffeine crash at 1:00 p.m., the ache-ache-ache-ACHE in my muscles, thanks to Jillian Michaels who has given me hyper-exercised gams that now seem to need daily attention.
I woke up feeling exhausted, barely hungry, and convinced I was pregnant*.
I skipped the eggs, lacking both appetite and time.
I couldn't figure out where my daily morning coffee beverage fit into this equation, so I passed by the gas station (and the back up gas station) and the Starbucks (and the BACK UP back up gas station) on my way to work. And my head hit my desk in a moment of pure "WHY AM I AWAKE??!" frustration. The feeling where you start to consider the logical reasoning that could lead you under your desk for a nap. (If smokers get a smoke break, Facebook addicts get multiple Facebook breaks, if I'm allowed at least one 15-minute-break... doesn't that add up to at LEAST a forty-fiver with a blanket and pillow under my desk?)
Suffering from a calorie deficit, I go to lunch at 11:30. Unwrapping my carefully assembled lunch, there is dismay. Where is my crunchy-salty something? Where is my fruit? I eat my steamed green beans, my microwave burritoquesadilla, and in a fit of sugar-craving, I eat the PB&CherryButter sandwich that was supposed to be the car snack to fuel my after work work-out.
And heck if I'm going to put that can of Diet Pepsi in the fridge! That will take HOURS to cool! This Diet Pepsi is now the only good thing in my day, except for The Peach.
The Peach. Oh, lordy. My family has returned from the Southern climes, and my one request was peaches. Peaches from the side of the road. They were delivered via shoe box, each peach carefully wrapped in paper towels, which is convenient, because this is the kind of peach that drips down your chin, the kind of peach that dissolves from Shapely Fruit to Sloppy Mess after three bites, but you're going to eat every last icy, juicy bit.
My ennui is palpable these days. Whose bright idea was it to take away my dish of ice cream? My Pomegranate Rockstar? My crunchy-salty something?
But in my endless ennui, I actually FORGOT that I am going on vacation. Starting on WEDNESDAY.
Oh my stars!
At least when I'm at home, I can usually muster up excitement for something other than a Diet Coke.
Things like...
- taking a bus to Chicago with my Mommy so we can take in the exhibitions at the American Library Association annual conference
- my boyfriend leaving for Boston on Friday
- me and my Mommy leaving for Boston on Monday
- sifting through the piles and piles of nameless CD-Rs I found in my room
And that whole curled up under the desk problem?
I CAN SLEEP! WHEN I WANT TO!
Come to think of it, that might be exciting me enough to keep my pulse high enough to signify life today.
*So I had one of those really creepy dreams where you wake up and find yourself in a strange, fugue state where your dreams are CERTAINLY real, and any consequences of said dream are CERTAINLY real and you have to literally convince yourself, through the powers of logic and reasoning, that it was just a dream.
Last night, I dreamed I went to a doctor's appointment. She examined me on the table, then gave me a drug and told me to get naked and get in the shower. I was dizzy and falling over from the meds, but I made it in, and my doctor joined me. She gave my stomach an ultrasound and said "Yes, it looks like you are 5 weeks pregnant." Dream Jessica was floored. What the eff was I supposed to do? Dream Jessica got out of the shower and found an entire family of dark-haired people in the same room as she, coming in early for their appointment, and to check out the naked, slightly pregnant girl.
I woke up and had to talk myself out of going out to buy a pregnancy test today.
P.S. I just heard a rumor that there is a cookie cake in the staff room today. Can't have THAT much sugar.... right?
I might have a weak spot for romantic comedies that are more about Real Love
and less about OhMyGod!AreTheyOrAren'tThey?!Gahh1!!
Plus, I think most of you know how I feel about Ms. Deschanel.
And any teenager of the 1990s
probably has a soft spot for Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
since we all watched 10 Things I Hate About You
over
and
over.
July 17
watch the trailer! it's charming.
- Mood:
sore
- Mood:
excited
Some Things Worth Giving Up
1. Shaving the top half of your legs
Maybe this won't work for everyone, but for me, the fuzz is barely visible and nobody gets close enough to my legs to notice anyway. Just one less piece of my body that I need to tend and maintain, like I'm a big, overgrown garden.
2. Going to dance clubs
Dammit, I'm just too old. I don't want to throw away all my money on alcohol that I'm just drinking to entertain myself. I don't want to ask the question, "Is this outfit too revealing" or even worse, "Is this outfit not revealing enough?" or listening to my friends ask the same questions over... and over... and over. I don't want to come home tired and smelling like smoke. I don't want to attempt to dance in public. I don't want to dance with strangers. I don't want to make eyes at the hottest guy in the bar just because of SHEER LACK OF ANYTHING BETTER TO DO.
3. Beauty Products
No matter how much money I spend, I never turn out beautiful. Unless it's a purely pleasure purchase - a warming face mask, a sparkly lotion - then I don't need to bother with more than the basics. A nice mid-grade shampoo and conditioner, a can of aerosol shaving cream. Soap for face, soap for body, lotion for face, lotion for body. Eye makeup remover. The end.
4. TV as Background Noise
Maybe if you live alone, this would be acceptable. Or if you're in the other room. But it takes about two weeks of active restraint to break the habit, and I really feel like I have more control over my life without a television yelling at me 24-7.
5. Reading People Magazine Every Week
Let those back issues pile up. The guilt will fade, and you'll be more inspired to cancel your subscription, saving yourself not only hours of your life, but a hundred dollars or so.
6. Staying Up To Date With Every Music/Movie/TV Trend
It's impossible for me. I operate under this philosophy - I'll wait until moments of great boredom to explore. Otherwise, the truly great stuff out there will find ME.
7. Friends That Leave You Anguished
Like a bad boyfriend, sometimes friends need to be broken up with. Maybe this friend asks too much of you, or maybe you just don't know how to be their friend - CAN'T be their friend without damaging yourself. I've let go of friends on an emotional level because of wrongs they've done to me or done to others. It sucks. It's sad. It's painful on both ends. My parents would tell me to keep trying, that friends are rare and precious, but I can't agree. There is always a breaking point, where you realize that the cycle of Whatever It Is Between You will never end, and you have to let go. It feels amazing. Like you should have kept this emotional distance all along. Like you both would have been happier for it.
~
While talking to The Boy, I've often uttered the words "No. I don't do that," at which point he takes his position as supreme motivator of his often motivationless Girlfriend.
"That's a bad attitude," he says. "Don't say that. You *could* do it. You *could* do it if you wanted to."
He is passionate, he is self-actualized, and he prefers to spend less time Thinking and Deciding, and more time Doing. He's happier than me. He wants to let me in on this secret, that I CAN do anything.
Which means he doesn't get it. I love that boy to the bone but he doesn't get what it's like to be insecure and overdrawn and Worried All The Time and while giving something up might feel to him like he's voluntarily sacrificing a limb, to me, it's like a haircut. An exfoliation. Taking off the sweater you thought was cute, but it's too scratchy and making you sweat.
You feel that much more equipped to take on the rest of the world, once you become a Quitter.
- Mood: sore
Should I go to the gym? I'd have to leave right in forty-five minutes... or I could leave now and get it over with. I am feeling so slightly hungry that I know I'll want to eat in about an hour, so if I wait forty-five minutes, then I'll be too hungry to go to the gym and I definitely won't go. So I should go now. But I just took my contacts out because there was something wrong with one of them... but really there was something wrong with my eye. Seriously. What is wrong with me? Who has one blurry eye for an entire day??? I'm sure it will get better, but for now, glasses. I hate working out with my glasses on, but I've done it before. I could do it again. Or should I jusy say "fuck it" and just eat something now and enjoy my evening without having to worry about the gym or making this OVERLY difficult decision. But I was dancing around work ALL DAY because my legs were aching to move. I was actually looking forward to going to the gym - I haven't been in so long... the air conditioning, the elliptical machine, the lack of Jillian Michaels- and now I'm going to blow it off???? What is WRONG with me?? If I was that sore today, I'm going to be kicking myself tomorrow if I don't go! I could stay here and do another 30 Day Shred video but if I have to shred one more time I might go crazy. More crazy. I'm so sick of it. And I'm up FIVE POUNDS, which isn't exactly encouraging... so what are my other options? Gym, Nothing, Shred, go outside and run (yuck), ride a broken bike around for awhile and hope the chains stay where they are supposed to, Wii Fit? I could do Wii Fit, I spose, but I'll still probably be sore. I'd have to do a lot of vigorous stepping to get rid of my leg-pain (curse you, Father, for passing this terrible "I Didn't Exercise Yesterday" Leg Pain) and I wouldn't be burning nearly enough calories...
AS:Dfoj'9prjo'iasjdraisjdfa;ds;fja;iraw;e
Why can't I be one of those fun, happy people whose brains barely work?
- Mood:
stressed
Lance had to leave last night. I'm looking at sheer loneliness for the next three or four days. I know, I have Things To Do, like cook for myself and clean up after myself, and start to pack things... and I DVR'ed three episodes of Sixteen and Pregnant, one new episode of Make It Or Break It and most of the first season of In Treatment... but woman cannot live on TV and chores alone! I've been skipping the gym in favor of quality time with this lady
Reason #2: I miss the ocean One of my housekeeping duties this week is to diligently water my smallest sister's vegetable patch. It was nice out on Sunday, so I decided to sit by the sprinkler and read a book.
It was nice.
It reminded me of being by the ocean. Except, like... the poor man's version of sitting by the ocean.
Reason #3: I miss my family
Twittorial Evidence they are having fun without me:
CarolineTackett: 
Too hot, I love it.
CarolineTackett: Regina Spektor and This Lullaby. Not bad.
CarolineTackett: I'm up. Off to the beach later. Maybe. I hope.
CarolineTackett: My elbow is cold! And I'm watching In & Out with my family.
CarolineTackett: Enhancing my tan! My hands are all sparkly.
CarolineTackett: @miss_shortskirt @betsytackett @everybody! MooMoo's back!
CarolineTackett: My mom just sang me a song about tweeting :)
CarolineTackett: @D_O_R_O_T_H_Y is sitting on me. What a horrible child!
CarolineTackett: Singing a song about taking pills and being sad for @D_O_R_O_T_H_Y
I know what you're thinking: "Wow, Jessica, you must be really codependent because these tweets sound exactly like ones that would occur whether Caroline was on vacation without you or sitting next to you on the couch."
Well, that's how we Tackett's do vacation! It's Fun Family Time with 6 times the Goofy. Being trapped in a car for many hours of the day leads to lots of singing - singing along with a musical soundtrack, forcing Caroline and Dorothy to sing a two-part harmony folk song medley they sang, separately, in fourth grade, or making up our own. There are jokes to be had - last year, we made up some vacation-only slang, a few phrases to repeat and giggle about. The only one I can remember?
Growing a Lemon Tree - The act of peeing.
example: "Man, Jessica's had so many refills on her Diet Coke, bet she's gonna have to grow a lemon tree before we leave."
or, more commonly,
"Hold on. I have to grow a lemon tree."
Yeah, buddy. There is fun stuff going on and I'm missing out. Harumph.
Reason #4: I miss MooMoo
Three summers ago, I met a friend named MooMoo. He's a flat, green frog that lives on the drainpipe on the side of my grandpa's house. He was there for a few days - I stopped to say hi whenever I was going in or out - but then he disappeared. I was worried. I didn't see him again.
Next year, I looked for him again. He wasn't there. He was lost and gone forever.
Until one day, he was back!
And if you were paying attention to my sister's tweets, MooMoo has returned once again! An old friend by now, we are always happy to see him.
This is the first summer that I will miss saying hi to him.
Reason #5: I won't get to play Scrabble with my Grandpa.
As you may recall, I had a bit of a Facebook Lexulous problem recently. Although my opponents have dwindled to just Lance (and we aren't quite as... uh... competitive as we once were), I was still eagerly anticipating the chance to play a little Real Live Scrabble with someone who plays enough Scrabble that they would understand all my Scrabble Jokes and also who I probably wouldn't be able to beat.
My grandpa would be the only person I know to fit that description.
Reason #6: I won't get to use my Grandpa's credit card
Yeah, I'm a horrible person. I'm also a horribly broke person who looks forward to her vacation because her Incredibly Generous Grandparents insist she go out and buy a few nice things, as a gift.
Call me a greedy bastard, whatever.
Reason #7: I won't get to try my best at getting the very-tiniest-bit tan
After enough terrible sunburns to win me a Most Likely To Contract Skin Cancer award, I've given up on any hardcore tanning efforts. It's painful, dangerous, and not all that effective.
But that doesn't mean I don't like a little sun. Even compared to the rest of the world I'm white as a sheet.... *I* can tell when I'm lightly toasted brown, dammit!
And plus, then I can use all of my fun tanning products! When you are as ghostly white as I, you don't dare touch a self-tanning product unless you already have a little toasty brown undercoat, otherwise you will become The Incredible Orange Streaked Woman, so yes, I usually go to the beach first before my tanning endeavors begin.
Bath and Body Works has the best stuff. I've accumulated a small collection:
You start with Glow and Steady. It's an SPF 15 with a self-tanner. Helps your tan along so you get results faster and don't accidentally fry yourself.
Once you're at a comfortable tanning place, then you can move on to Strike Gold. It's an self-tanner with a bronzer, so you can put it on when you're not tanning and look all sparkly and sun-kissed. The one I have is just a bronzer and an SPF 30, so it's better, but this one's fun too. P.S. The palms of your hands will turn to gold, so beware!
After arriving home from your vacation, you can move on to the heavy stuff. Shade To Order has a clicky thing so you can choose how much self-tanner you want. It's still a "Gradual Tan" product, so it mixes with lotion - less likely you'll become the IOSW - but still hardcore.
I have all of these products, among others (like a bottle of Orange Glitter Spray to "Enhance your tan" but inevitably sprays all over your clothing and makes a mess) AND I CAN'T USE ANY OF THEM!
Reason #8: If I was on vacation, I wouldn't have to go to work.
I'm supposed to maturing - growingup, growing an appreciation for Working, Developing My Work Ethic, all sorts of other nonsense my dad babbles at me from time to time.
I do have a good work ethic. When I'm AT work.
Lately, I've just wanted to NOT be at work. That's all.
Work, I love you, but you're bringing me down.
Reason #9: I would be eating seafood instead of Lean Cuisines
Even the New York Times agrees.
My poison?
Reason #10: It's boring at my house
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Now excuse me, I just chugged a Rockstar, and I really have to go grow a lemon tree.
- Mood:
okay
I am making English muffins, and I just sat outside and read Traveling Mercies while the sprinkler watered my sister's vegetable plants.
This is Lance.
He is applying for a job. This is his Working Hard To Do Some Bullshit face.
Today, we drove out to Flavor Fruit Farms so I could buy a 7 dollar jar of cherry butter. To put on my English muffins.
I'm taking him to go see The Hangover in a minute, then making some chicken salad for dinner.
Life is good.
I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow.
- Mood:
ditzy
I saw the Sorcerer's Stone with my family, before I'd read the books.
The second movie was me and my sister. She made me sit and wait until after the final credits even though I didn't want to.
The third movie we saw at midnight. I may have fallen asleep.
The fourth I almost didn't get to see - I was still at school when it was released, I had to go back early. But one fateful night in my lonely apartment, Heather Roommate came up to my room and asked, "Um... do you want to go see Harry Potter?" and we were the only people in the theater.
Number five was two summers ago, and we bribed my dad with popcorn so he'd take us.
And now six.
Yeah. I'm excited.
July 15. Trailer here.
Most of those moments occur directly before or after sleep.
Everything's in flux right now. When I'm awake, there are decisions to make, things to think about, choices to second guess. Third guess. Two hundred and twenty-fifth guess. So when I'm not working and not decision making, I'm in some stage of zoning out. This makes me a very uninteresting person, I'm afraid. I'm pretty sure nobody wants to talk to me anymore.
This will probably go on for some time.
In July, I'm going to Chicago for a day, driving to Boston and back, taking a week off work to start packing/getting rid of stuff, and working 30 hours a week in the meantime.
In August I'll be finishing up in Michigan and moving. So many details are up in the air that I can't even worry myself over them individually. Just thinking about the word AUGUST is enough to ruin my lunch.
In September, I'll be going back to school. Figuring out how to survive in a new city. Getting a job. Freaking out. Et cetera.
So don't expect much from me in September.
October, I think I'll be okay.
In October, I'm going to celebrate surviving July, August, and September.
- Mood:
busy
In my humble, straight-female, opinion.
IMS-FO for short.
Kat Dennings
Zooey Deschanel
Anne Hathaway.
So I have a type. Whatever. I've also been watching a ton of Grey's Anatomy, for whatever estrogen-laden reason, and I've kinda got the hots for Izzie.
I think it was that one scene from Season One when everyone's gossiping about her being a swimsuit model and she just rips off her shirt and yells at everyone. Although that might change since SPOILER ALERT!!! I'm at the point she's starting chemo and is going to be all cancery until she flatlines. THAT'S hot...
Maybe I'll do boys later...
+ The Boy finally gets all his annoying teacher crap together and starts applying for jobs.
+ I get a blog comment from a future classmate that reminds me that I'm not the only person in the world making a crazy decision to move across the country just so I can pay someone A LOT of money to go to school. People do scary things every day, not just me. Things usually turn out okay.
+ Dates are firmed up for mid-July trip. Next step - hotel reservations.
+ I came home from work on Friday and BOOM! MY SISTER IS HOME FROM CAMP!! AAAHH!!
+ My dad inquired about his health insurance, and I am covered until I turn 25 (March of 2010) and then for REMAINDER OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. I have free health insurance until January of 2011.
+ I got an email from my school in regards to a Fellowship I applied for, and they seem very interested. Which means that in the Fall, I could be receiving another $1000 scholarship as well as 20 hours a week in hourly wages... working with Honors Undergrads. Leading social events. The phrase Book Club was bandied about. And she's totally okay with having an interview DURING my little Boston trip.
Um. Score?
+ I bought the coolest toenail polish.
Everything doesn't have to be doom and gloom, I spose.
Gotta go. I got things to do. Sarah Dessen books to read.
- Mood: okay
I mean, it's not the BEST book I've read. It's not one I ran out to by the day it was published, like this one. It's not one that I can safely say will change my life, like this one. It's not one I will read, re-read, and clutch to my chest when I turn the last page, every time, like this one.
It's not the BEST book. It's the best KIND of book.
It's the kind of book that I enjoy reading - the plot is interesting, the characters are likeable and I give a crap about them, the story is generally... good!
It's the kind of book that is similar to what I like to write - typically realistic fiction taking place in average high schools, smart-girl narrators, kind of romancey but not overly so, older-ya audience.
But I read a lot of books like that. So what makes this one different?
It's the kind of book that's not SO good that I stand in awe, drooling over it's amazingness. - like this one, this one, or this one.
Drool-worthy books are great. They are awesome. I read a lot of them, and I recommend them to people all the time, and I read and re-read and read again. Occasionally, I hunker down and try to STUDY one of these awesome wonders but it's hard work to pay attention to the writing style and the author's choices because... well... they're just so GOOD.
If I Stay isn't a masterpiece.
So I'm not 100% engaged in the story. This is a good thing, because my mind is free to analyze the writing. My mind says, "Oh, that sentence was a little cliche. If I was writing this book, I'd probably not do that." My mind says, "Wow, that was a good moment. I like how she wrote that little bit there," or, "Wow, that scene was ridiculously cheesy."
Basically,
If I Stay is the kind of book that I KNOW I could out-write. I could write a better book.
And the icing on the cake?
It's the kind of book that is a book I could have written, a book I could write,
and it's also a book that gets reviews in national magazines,
and movie deals before the book is even published,
AND COMPARED TO TWILIGHT.
Yes indeed, I like this kind of book. Every writer should go out and read one,
for education,
for inspiration.
- Mood:
nerdy
It's a little frightening to drop 8 bucks blindly. Plus 9.50 for popcorn and a drink.
But this one? I assure you,
it is great.
And it is probably BEST to see it without watching the trailer.
Go!
Go now!
Go see it in 3D!
Go go go!
- Mood: okay
I am finally feeling okay today. Monday was okay. Tuesday I could barely walk (thank YOU Jillian Michaels). Wednesday I could barely walk and I kept injuring myself due to lack of mobility. Thursday night I came home from work feeling like hell. Friday I woke up with a weird-migrainey feeling - Excedrin kicked the headache for most of the day but I was nauseous until I went to bed.
Woke up feeling fine.
Miracle.
I started the 30 Day Shred on Monday, but really failed at keeping it up. I think I'm well enough to go to the real gym today, as well as make my 20 minute date, and that makes me happy.
Discouraged about moving. Quarreling with my boyfriend about it. It's not that I want to bitch and moan about it. I'm excited. I really am. But the excitement is buried DEEP under all of the obnoxious, painful details that need to be squared away, and there's only so many of them I can handle at this time.
And the ones I can take care of? I'm hesitant.
I could sign up for classes now. But wouldn't that mean I'd be billed at some point? Wouldnt that mean I'd have to set up my student loans? So I email the right people and they don't really answer my questions. Which sucks, but I get an idea of what I'm up against. I complete my Loan Entrance Counselling. I'm put face to face with the scary idea that I'm going to be 50,000 dollars in debt, PLUS INTEREST.
That number covers tuition. Not books. Not rent. Not food, heat, parking, bus passes, water, cable. Just tuition.
I'm shaking in my gd boots.
I'm going to Boston in July with the boyfriend and my mother, to scout out apartments.
I need a hotel reservation. I need to make appointments to talk to the proper advisers to get my classes set up. I need to make sure the boyfriend can actually COME with us. I need to figure out how to look at least... I don't know... three apartments that I can afford (aka dirt cheap) in a small space of time.
This is probably why I felt like crap for the past few days. My stomach is starting to ache even now just thinking about it. My parents bring it up and I leave the room. I bring it up with the boyfriend, and I'm either Worrying Too Much or Lecturing. There's nothing I can do except stew, it looks like.
Or watch TV. Knocked back season 4 of Grey's Anatomy this week and now have the latest How I Met Your Mother (YES!)
And I'm at work the majority of the time. Today is the 5th day running, tomorrow off, back for Monday and Tuesday. I know I work part time, but with a commute it adds up fast. I'm in the car. I'm at work. I'm asleep. I'm freaking out. Little time remains.
It's not on my List of Summer Movies, but my family might take me to see Up. Tonight or tomorrow.
I will be here for 60 days. Then I will be gone.
- Mood: stressed
So I gave you my Young Adult reccomendations for good summer reads. I was careful to choose books I've already read - I hate to reccomend something blindly - but I'd like to share with you my personal reading list for this summer.
The books I'm already knee-deep into...
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is SO GOOD and getting me in the mood to garden, to shop at my farmer's market, and eat lots of fresh produce.
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is my gym book this summer. So far, it is sweet and reminiscent of Everything Is Illuminated, which is a high compliment.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the YA Book Everyone's Talking About (including my mom, my boyfriend, and Stephen King). I'm not really into action-thrillers, but I do love me a good dystopia, and I'm surprisingly engaged.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley is a collection of pop-culturey personal essays from a girl who could be me. I'm having mixed feelings about this one. Maybe because it's been a fairly popular, well-recieved book and... well... based on writing skills and essay topics, I seriously could have written this book.
The eagerly anticipated sequels...
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen is pretty much a guaranteed win. Dessen's books always have a floaty, summery feel. This one looks especially promising.
The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart is one I've been looking forward to for... um... 2+ years? I love Ruby Oliver, I really do. I've missed her.
Intensely Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is already out and I'm TRYING to get my hands on it... even though he's left for college (do 3 year high school programs even EXIST?), I hope Patrick and Alice get back together. The cover looks like love will be in the air! I am such a sucker for teen romance, I swear. It's almost disgusting.
The re-reads...
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. My faithful summer standby. I really do like this book more with every read.
Sold by Patricia McCormick. I read this a few summers ago, and for some reason I think I'm ready to read it again. It's a hard book to read, but SO good and SO important.
The brand new-reads...
Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott looks like a fluffy romantic-fest, which I am certainly in the mood for.
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott is one I haven't read yet, but I have loved every bit of Lamott I've ever read, so I have high hopes.
The Spellbook of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty has been sitting on my shelf for FAR too long. It's looking a little dense, but I think it will pick up.
The attempts to better myself culturally...
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is surely one of those books Everyone Should Read. I hope.
Selected Poems by William Carlos Williams. Does anyone have enough poetry in their lives? Maybe I'll read a few each day to spread it out.
What are you reading this summer?
(Inquiring minds want to know!)
The world always needs more
- YA books turned movies
- Geeky guy woos Miss Popularity stories
- High School Comedies
The late 90's was my favorite time for films.
And this one?
Strikes me as the new Can't Hardly Wait.
Out July 10 . Trailer here.
Yes, yes. I am a 24-year-old woman living in my parents' basement.
The only thing sadder than a 24-year-old woman living in her parents' basement is... a 25-year-old woman living in her parents' basement?
Well, naysayers, let me tell you this...
I love it.
Let me tell you what I did today...
Since I don't pay rent, I have the luxury of working a job I enjoy in my chosen field, even though the position is only part time.
So today was my day off.
I slept in a little. Got up at about 10:30. I was having some super weird dreams that needed attending to. But I got a good night's rest and felt pretty good. Breakfast: cereal with blueberries, and eggs while I finished watching the episode of Grey's Anatomy that put me to sleep last night.
Caroline and visiting Rachael Z joined in halfway through.
A shower was in order, then the blowdrying of hair. Said goodbye to Betsy, who is left for her summer camp job, and decided to put off my daily duties and play The Sims 3 for juuuust a little while.
Hey. It's my day off!
2:00. Time to go pick up Dorothy from summer band. She's taking double lessons - jazz piano and oboe. I sat in the parking lot and read this really great book until my sister showed up with a friend needing a ride. Should've seen that one coming. Dropped Kara off and then we were home.
Then, I had a 20-minute-date with Jillian Michaels. Day One of Jessica's-Bikini-Treatment-Plan. More on that later. But I will say this... um... I don't have any hand weights, and this is DAY ONE and I was having difficulties hefting myself up and down stairs IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING. This is going to be one rough 30 days.
Feeling more winded than I probably should have, I parked myself in front of my computer and worked out a grocery list. By 3:30, I mustered up the energy to run The Errands.
Car music? Grey's Anatomy (I really want to finish this season and move on to some other TV shows) on my laptop. First Stop? Allergy Shot - complete with built in 20 minutes to keep reading that dang book. Next Stop? Meijer. Proud of myself when I roll into the self-check out lane with a basket comprised 90% produce and 10% canned tomato products.
I rush home. I'm to drop of my groceries and run Dorothy over to her first oboe lesson. I even split my grocery bill between debit and credit so I could get cash back to pay for her damn 12 dollar reed. I'm mentally preparing for what needs to be done when I walk in the door... do I have time to boil potatos? Would that be dangerous to leave on the stove? But Mom's car is in the driveway. She's home from leaving Betsy in the middle of the woods. I can cook.
And cook I do.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (had some black-as-the-dead-of-night bananas on my hands... I added walnuts)
Potato salad (obsessed would be to put it lightly)
Regular salad
Semi-fresh salsa (delegated to Caroline)
Skillet chicken breasts flavored a la barbecue
Sliced strawberries with a little sugar
This onion dip from a store-brand soup mix that make vegetables SO GOOD
I put dinner on the table by quarter to seven. Caroline and my Dad joined me to eat shortly thereafter. My mom couldn't make it because she had to get to Church Group and Dorothy said she'd eat after she went for a run, but everyone will be fed.
It's now quarter after seven. My bread just came out of the oven. I still have things on my agenda, but they seem like nice things. The gym, thinking of all those Important Things That Must Be Done Soon and which ones I can do tomorrow, talking to my boyfriend, and lots and lots of dishes... which can easily be accompanied by Grey's Anatomy.
My parents will come home eventually. I will likely sit and chat with them while they watch TV and I have a post-work-out snack. I will likely park it in front of this computer and watch Dorothy and/or Caroline play computer games for awhile. We will be silly. Maybe someone will invent a new dance. Then I might make a date with Open Office and a glass of red wine.
Like I said. I like living here.
It's probably just the strange combination of my parents (who like spending time with me and appreciate the ways I contribute to the household), me (who likes spending time with her family, doesn't mind contributing most of the time, and has a proclivity for leisure activities you would not care if your parents knew about), and this very rare time in both of our lives where this living situation is possible.
This is a good home.
And I am sad to be leaving it.
- Mood:
chipper
