Reading Menu-Maybe Someday

I came across Colleen Hoover maybe about a year ago when I picked up Hopeless.  I liked it, but I didn't love it.  So when Maybe Someday came across for one of the BOTM, I was hesitant, but thought "hey, why not?!" 
Let me tell you this.  I loved it.  It was executed so well that I didn't have time or any thoughts about how things would've been if they were done differently.   It's a love story like so many other love stories I've read a million times, but yet, it's so different. 
Hoover has the ability of omission and that kept me entertained and wanting to read more.  I didn't know at first that Ridge was deaf.  I didn't know that there was anything wrong with Maggie.  She hints to it, but the ideas that something could be so fatally wrong with someone so special just doesn't reach until it's literally printed out for me. 
The characters portray a different kind of relationship.  They are all young adults, but yet so mature in their thoughts and feelings that it's hard to believe they haven't lived a hundred years.  Ridge loves and sees things in a way that I want to be loved and seen.  And Sydney does the same but in different ways.  She's been hurt, so she doesn't want to hurt someone else, would do anything to not do what has been done to her. 
The lyrics and song writing is point on.  There wasn't a single set of lyrics in the book that I wasn't curious about listening to.  So I immediately hopped on iTunes and listened to the snippets of each song.  They are awesome. 

But back to the book.  It's a romance.  It's YA in a way.  I loved it.  It is a book I would recommend to anyone.  Simply for it's sparkling, good feelings all over vibe I got from reading it. 

A little trip

I am leaving for Colorado in less than 48 hours. 

I haven't packed.  I don't even own a winter coat anymore.  At least not one that I can go skiing in.  But really who am I kidding, at least not one I can go tubing in.  (Hell if I go skiing, I don't know how to stop, and for those of you who are saying "pizza it", that shit don't work.  The only way to stop is to fall or crash.)  I don't have snow boots.  I have zip.  Nothing I can confidently wear and say that I wont freeze my ass off in Colorado.  One of the physicians I work with told me I could borrow some of her stuff, but please, she can shop at Babies'R'Us for heavens sake and although I have lost weight, I am still mucho grande compared to her. 

My house is a mess.  I literally, and this doesn't happen very often, have crap everywhere in my bedroom, because I "may" need it to come with me on the trip and I don't want to forget to pack it.  I need a maid to come and clean while I am gone.  Maybe I'll ask my mother...

The reason my house is such a mess is because I feel like crap.  I have so much crap in my head that I feel like it could explode.  I went to the gym last night and ran for about a minute before my teeth started to hurt.  I could feel my teeth.  So I stopped.  Went home.  Did nothing.  I know that I need to do something before I leave because the flight and the elevation of the area I am going to be in is going to kill me if I don't... but.... I don't feel like it. 

I'm also supposed to hydrate 24-48 hours prior to our leaving.  I haven't done that either.  I don't want to drink.  I want a chocolate chip cookie. 

I am a little excited to go though.  I wish at the moment that I felt better, but I am still excited.  Not about the cold, but about the views, the idea of being away, seeing family and being able to read nonstop for the whole weekend.  The cold can go. I've never been to Colorado before so I am excited to see it in full force, but still I wish it wasn't so cold.

Should be a rule..

... that TV shows should not be able to go on break.  Ever.  I mean come on.  They get paid a shit ton of money to act and entertain us and then they get the winter off to what... ?  They aren't entertaining me anymore.  I am watching the calendar. 

... that TV shows shouldn't be cancelled.  Especially if I like them.  There are all these good shows like The Newsroom, Parenthood, etc that are (or have) ended this year and yet, Survivor or The (freaking) Simpsons is still on.  I just don't get it. 

... that people of the audience get to choose who they want to play in certain roles when it comes to movies/shows based from novels.  I mean give me 3 choices and I will choose.  The one that has the most votes wins.  Some of these characters they pick for movies based on novels (Bella Swan-Kristen Stewart) are just gross.  I mean come on.

Entertainment rant over...

For now.

Reading Menu- The Job

I love all things Janet Evanovich.  I don't remember how old I was when I was introduced to her, but ever since, she's been one of my "go to's" when it comes to a novel.  The Job was no different.  It's part of the Fox and O'Hare series.

He's a steamy hot con man, thief, and one of the world most wanted men according to the FBI.  She's an FBI agent.  They work together to take other con men, cartels, thieves and drug lords down. The situation between the two is not an ideal one for Kate, working with the man she's been hunting for her whole career, but working with him is better than working against him.  Together they come up with ideas to take down some of the worlds lowliest creatures. 

The Job specifically deals with a drug lord who disappeared many years ago and hasn't been seen.  Word on the street is that he got a complete make-over and is in the wind.  Fox thinks he knows where this man is.  After an impostor pretending to be Fox gets caught in a heist, O'Hare learns about the whereabouts of the missing drug lord and its decided that she and Fox will embark on the new mission to take him down. 

There's bribes of a sunken treasure that the drug lord wants badly and Fox comes up with a way to make the lord believe that they have found it.  For a sum, the lord can have the knowledge as well.  With Fox and O'Hare teamed up with a few of their friends and O'Hares ex-military father, the task becomes easy and the lord is caught red handed. 

The relationship between Fox and O'Hare heats up slightly in this novel, but not so much so that it burns.  O'Hare doesn't want a relationship with a man who is on the FBI's most wanted list. 

The novel is a light, fun read with romance, mystery and humor.

New Years 2015

Well my New Years went off without a bang.  Nothing significant.  Just friends and family.

I read my horoscope for the year and I think they got that shit wrong... its sounds JUST like what I did for 2014.  All that cant happen again, can it?  Talking about in order to succeed you have to do the work, in the fall things will pay out and you'll get a raise and a jump in the career, you'll go places with the hunny (this didn't happen), working out will bring benefits (I'm still doing this), and influential men will have my back in the last quarter of 2015 (please let this happen!).
Having said that, I am excited to see what 2015 brings.  I am anxious about my work, pretty much because Medicare and Humana suck the life out of my on a daily.  I am content with my family situation.  I am a little down about the SO aspect of my life, but I can live without that too.  I mean in the past few months I've gone out with a man who wanted a second option of him and his wife and to "feel the butterflies" when it came to dating again and then I've "talked" with an ex felon who just got out of jail for dealing.  So no, I'm in no rush to find anything.  My SO is Maddie at the moment.  Maddie and my work.  I want to start serious things with my house.  We bought a boat so there's always that.

But there is a list of things that I would like to accomplish in 2015.  (as follows in no particular order)

1. Finish my home office, make my own shelves, make the desk, add all my fancy quotes to the wall.
2.  Extend my deck to accommodate the hot tub I hope to be purchasing.
3. Paying off at least 15k in my school loan. (this is twice the amount I would "have" to pay)
4. Closet.  I have too much shit and not enough space.  Or let me rephrase, my closet at the moment isn't suited to hold all my shit because I am not utilizing the space appropriately.
5.  Maybe a car... this will most likely be a 2016 goal, but hey...
6. Losing the remaining 25 pounds I would love to lose. 
7. Add some furniture to my spare room.
8.  Get a fence for the yard. 
9.  Make a home gym in the garage.  Also get a fridge for the garage for the days where the shit just wont fit in my house one.
10.  Be nice to myself.  This shouldn't be last, but I really am my own worst enemy.  I need to quit this shit.  Why do I think anyone else should be nice to me if I am not.

10 things, not too shabby, but unfortunately it ALL cost money.  Serious money.  Although I did get a raise in September and another one today, this all should be easier to accomplish, but its not.  My mortgage is expensive.

I never thought that I would be where I was in 2015.  Shit, I thought 2004 was too rough and that I wouldn't make it out alive then.  Every year I surprise myself.  Every year I know that I make my father even more proud of me, and to be honest, if that was all I did in life, that would suffice for me.  I've a killer career, my own home that I worked my ass off for (now if I could learn how to use a power saw I would be set), my car is paid off, I am set.  Now all I need to do if it was up to my father is find a man and have some babies.  That shit I can live without.  But if it happens, it happens.  I'm in no rush.

What are your 2015 goals?   

Reading Menu-- Landline

Over the holidays I read Landline by Rainbow Rowell.  It was on the Goodreads top list for the year I think, that's how I found it. 
Its about a woman who is all about her work.  Her work always comes first despite the fact that she has a husband and children who need her.  When the choice comes between spending the holidays with her family away and working for some amazing opportunity that has come up with a deadline, she chooses work. 
After her family leaves, she is unable to get ahold of them and this drives her crazy.  She forgets to shower, she lives in her mothers clothes, she moves back in with her mother and sister for a few days.  She doesn't work even though that is the reason she stayed back to begin with. 
She makes calls on her mothers land line phone and that phone brings her back in time to the man she knew before they were married.  She spends hours on the phone talking to her past.  She embraces the calls and spends days thinking of nothing else.  Only after a few conversations and long thought processes does she realize that she needs to be with her family and she goes. 

For me, this book is interesting on two levels.  One, the idea of a phone that can call the past and such.  There are plenty of people I would love to be able to speak with again and know what I do now.  The fact that Georgie gets to have these conversations and is at the stage she is in now is a reminder to her of what she could be having if she just remembered to look, to be. 
Two, Rowell has three characters in the book that interact on the same level.  One is Georgie, and the other two are the men in Georgie's life.  These men are both interesting because one is the more obvious choice for Georgie.  But Rowell puts her main character with Neal, her husband, and he doesn't fit.  But, yet, they do fit.  Seth, her coworker is the more obvious choice for a man to be with Georgie, and even in the end, Rowell gives him opportunity to be with her, but she chooses her husband.  Its not the ending one would expect, but it was a good ending. 

Was it a happy ending?  I guess it depends on the reader.  I think that Georgie flying out there to see and spend time with her kids and such means that she is ready to make it work, but... the fact that she didn't go to begin with means that she may always chose her work.

This was a light and entertaining read, one that I would recommend. 

Weekend before Christmas

First it was my birthday, then there was supposed to be an awesome night out with my brudder and Jess, then there was the office holiday dinner, and then there was Sunday and such...

Not all of this happened. But it was a good weekend before Christmas anyway.  So let me start with this.

 

This is from the birthday dinner.  This is where my brother continuously had to shout out that I was 30 years old.  (I am not 30 yet)  This is where everyone at my table decided to sing happy birthday to me even though its not something that was done at this restaurant.  This is where my father left my number on the bill for the waiter who flirted shamelessly the whole time.  It was a nice evening out with my family.

Then Friday came along and I was supposed to go to a tacky light tour through Richmond limo and drinking style, but everything fell through and we decided not to go this year.  I wasn't disappointed however, this meant that I FINALLY could get my wrapping done.  Add some wrapping paper, gifts, wine, music and one hell of a mess and I was done. 

 

 ^^ this turned into that >> real quick.  Worst part though is that I am STILL NOT DONE!

Then there was Saturday.  I ran around like chicken with my head chopped off trying to get things ready for our office holiday dinner.  Everyone and their families were there (minus one physician, but I was okay with that).  I think overall it went well.  I know that I had a good time and really that is all that matters.  I ended up getting some food for free (catering at Olive Garden) because it took so long for me to get the food.  Free food tastes soooo much better, right?  I didn't get any pics of the evening and I so regret that.  It was the first one we decided to do as an office and I completely forgot.  Next year though...

And then yesterday was Sunday, my "stay at home and relax day".  That didn't happen because it is the weekend before the holidays and I need to be present at my rents house to help them.  Let me tell you though, I cannot wait for it to be Wed at 1:00pm.  I have the rest of the day off, then Thursday off and maybe even Friday if I decide to take it. 

Cannot wait.