Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Book Challenge #2 Update

So we're halfway into/through Erin's challenge so let me update you on how I'm doing with my reading...

Categories:

Strikeout = Read
Italics = In progress
Normal = TBR


5 points: Read a book, any book that is at least 200 pages long: 


10 points: Read a book that begins with the letter “D”:


10 points: Read a book with a four word title:


15 points: Read a book with one of the following words in the title: “mother(s)”, “father(s)”, “son(s)”, “daughter(s)”, or “child(ren)”:


20 points: Amazon ranks their “most popular authors”, and they update this list hourly. Based on when you make your book list, look at the top 100 authors, and pick a book to read from one of those authors, but here’s the catch – it needs to be an author new to you…one of the most popular authors, yet you’ve never read them before. http://www.amazon.com/author-rank:


20 points: Read a book set in any country in Asia. (In previous challenges, we’ve been to Europe, Latin America, and a country you’ve never visited. Stick around, we’ll tour the world!):


25 points: Read a book with a “Season” in the title. (I start the challenge in Summer and end in Autumn; many of you start in Winter and end in Spring…so the title of your book should have Summer, Autumn/Fall, Winter, or Spring in the title.): 


30 points: Read a book that will make you laugh from this list. (submitted by Bernadette):


30 points: Read a book that is a friend or family member’s favorite book (or the favorite book of another participant from this challenge). (submitted by Peggy):


35 points: Read a book published the year you were born (1986). (submitted by Meredith):



5 down
3 in progress 
2 to go!


*I realized after I started Balzac that the book is only 186 pages!  Ugh.  I'm totally willing to take a point deduction on this since I actually enjoyed the story.  I am going to try to also read The Bonesetter's Daughter.  We'll see how it works out.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Confessions {2/17}

-Last week I wore a yellow dress.  Around 3pm I had the realization that I was wearing dark purple underwear that could DEFINITELY be seen under my dress if you were looking hard enough.  #meganfail


-I may have confessed this already, but it's worthy of confessing again..  When people put spaces before/after "/" I get a little ragey.  It should not be this / that.  << That is incorrect.  It SHOULD be this/that.  Those extra spaces are unnecessary.  #stopwiththeunnecessaryspaces #Iput2spacesafteraperiod #itsmusclememory


-The shitty house owner's email address is name@abunchofidiots.com.  I judged him.  #wtf #professionalism


-I had to google how to spell sizzurp last week.  #notacoolkid

-Spending almost $300 on a meal made me feel like a baller.. Then I just felt poor, then fat, then classy AF.  #dolladollabillyall


-In my brain, brown and black do not match.  If I am wearing black, I cannot wear brown shoes.  Brown is for creams and khaki.  #fashionpolice

-For the last 2 weeks I've been wearing all my white/light underwear in hopes of luring my period to start.  If I start my period while I'm at Disney I will be PISSED.  #beingagirlsucks


-I received an email this week from the rep of a project I used to work on, but definitely haven't worked on since November (not upset about that in the least).  It didn't make sense to me so I replied back to the sender, "I think I was not the intended recipient of this email."  Within 5 minutes I received a reply, "Correct.  I couldn't remember [Coworker]'s name.  Sorry about that."  Coworker has been lead on the project since September and he couldn't remember her name...  #somepeopleskids


-I hate that the entertainment world can't seem to generate new content because I've always dreamed of seeing a sequel to Kindergarten Cop... #saidnooneever

-I love the fact that Teh German and I are spontaneous (in an unplanned spontaneous way).  Yesterday we decided to go to the Stingrays game around lunchtime (since it was ladies night (which means free entry for the ladies) and men's tickets were B1G1).  Since I put a pork tenderloin in the crockpot before work, I agreed that the friends that we asked to go to the hockey game with us could come over for dinner... only 3 hours before everyone was actually set to come over.  #wingingit #hockeyrules #ifyoufeedthemtheywillcome


-I worked from home on Monday and I stayed in my pajamas the entire day.  I didn't even shower.  #notsorry


-Several people I know are huge advocates of Rodan + Fields and I just struggle paying so much money for face wash that I can't be certain is going to work.  I know there's that 30 day guarantee, but Mary Kay had the same one and I never returned it despite my face being WORSE while I was using it.  I'm just over all these blackheads on my nose/chin/cheeks and random zits on my chin/neck around period time.  #skinisstupid

-I've been using Neutrogena Pore Refining face wash and it says, "pores look visibly smaller week after week".  If that was actually the case, I wouldn't have pores anymore.  #falseadvertising






Linking up with:
Life with Lolo
Alanna & Company
Humpday Confessions with Nadine and Kathy

Monday, February 15, 2016

Weekend Review {2/15}

This is going to be a long one, Gentle Readers, and photo heavy.  For a weekend with ZERO plans, we sure know how to fill a weekend.  #YOLO, lol

FRIDAY

After struggling all week with what day of the week it was (I kept thinking Weds was Thurs, etc), it was finally Friday and I was so relieved.  We headed to work to get that out of the way so we could get on to weekending.  I started on a new project this weekend and it means that technically I work with Teh MD-AR!!  Sadly, the project will be ending soon, but principle!  Earlier in the week it had been decided that we'd do an office outing on Friday evening at The Alley downtown (bowling).  Really, what this meant was an excuse to drink on Company/the boss.  #WIN  Also, since Teh German and I had reservations downtown for dinner at 6, I hitched a ride with Coworker so I wouldn't have to worry about parking (which is the absolute worst part of going downtown Charleston, always and forever). 




I ordered a amaretto sour from the bar when I arrived and the bartender gave me a midori sour, but instead of telling him, I just took it and drank it.  When we got our lane, the bartender came up to me with an amaretto sour and said, "You didn't tell me!"  I said I didn't want to complain and it was no big deal.  What that really meant was 2 drinks for me and 1 for free.  After that I moved to gin and ginger-ales (2) and had to stop drinking because I still had to get to dinner and I was trying to save my appetite for dinner so I only had 2 tater tots and 1 of the gator bites (pictured).  We actually ended the bowling 30 minutes late, which was kinda perfect for me since that meant as soon as I walked to Charleston Grill, I'd be seated.

Another Coworker told me I should ask someone for a walk, but I needed to walk after 4 beverages on a mostly empty stomach.  I arrived to Charleston Grill with a few minutes to spare and I realized it was SUPER fancy when they addressed me as Ms. R---.  The hostess also asked me whose birthday it was since I had noted in the reservation that it was a birthday dinner.  I told her ours (Teh German's is at the end of Feb and mine, obviously, at the beginning).  She told me happy birthday and she led me to the table, which had a card sitting on it that said happy birthday from Charleston Grill.  Teh German was about 15 minutes late because he had to find parking (see what I mean about the parking disaster downtown?), but it was fine because I was just people watching and enjoying being in such a fancy place.  I tried to keep my cell phone out of my hands, cause ya know, fancy.  The server brought me water and a tea (with simple syrup) while I waited.

Teh German arrived and we got started with dinner.  I was impressed that the beer he ordered was cheaper at the fancy place than at Mellow Mushroom.  We perused the menu and I was interested in several items.  The server had said the special of the night was antelope (nope, not kidding), so I was also interested in that as well.  Then Teh German noticed there was a sampler option for $95 and there was a note the entire table should pick this option.  I asked the server if he could check and see if we could personalize the sampler to get the items that I was interested in and when he came back with a yes, our choice was easy.  I'm pretty sure we actually got more courses than the sampler actually included, which was extra awesome.

After we ordered we were given the option of bread (cornbread muffins, italian rolls, or whole wheat slices) and a kitchen special was delivered in a spoon (spicy tuna salad with some stuff on top).  After that, I remembered I was a blogger and started taking photos (no flash, because #classy).


Octopus appetizer
A little chewy, not my favorite, but still good.


Crab cake appetizer
This crab cake was probably one of the best I've ever eaten. With hints of lemon and shrimp on the side.. PERFECT.

Scallop with sausage and something else, with sugar snap peas and mushy minty peas (which were very tasty)
The scallop was perfectly cooked and buttery and melt in your mouth.  I ended up giving my sausage to Teh German because it was too spicy for me.  The sugar snap peas were perfectly done and the peas were different and delightful.  I'm considering looking for a recipe for the mushy peas.

Antelope with asparagus
O.M.F.G.....  Teh German's reaction summed it up perfectly: I feel like a lion. 
The antelope was tender and had a slight gamey taste, but it wasn't over whelming to me (I don't like venison or duck because of that gamey taste).  The caramelized onions on top were the perfect sweetness to go with it.

Lamb with polenta? and asparagus
It was at this point that I started to get full, but I powered on.  The lamb was tender and delicious and the lamb flavor wasn't too overwhelming to me.  The antelope was definitely hard to come back from to just lamb, but we were still pleased.

dessert drink with a raspberry
This was just a little shot, but it was perfect and light and refreshing and I could have drank a gallon of it.
It was kinda like a juice tea, if that makes any sense.  Sweet like juice, but light like fruit tea.  Amazing.

Complementary wine since it was our birthday
I don't like wine, but I enjoyed this.  I'm sad I didn't get the name.

German chocolate cake with coconut ice cream on toffee
We giggled a little bit that it was "German" but this was the perfect ending to a delightful dinner.  Sweet, but not overly sweet.  The coconut wasn't overpowering and the toffee was great.  Teh German's favorite part was the sweet roasted nuts.

cloth hand towels in the bathroom

Lilies!

Birthday dessert platter with 2 happy birthday pieces
When I got back to the table, this had appeared and I actually said, "Oh geez, more food?  Ugh."
Nonetheless, I sampled each item on the plate, the best being the white chocolate (which I'm not usually a fan of) and the peanut butter chocolate fudge paired with the fruit flavored gummy thing (so like a PB&J).

I wish I could do this meal justice.  For each and every course there were groans and mmmmmm's of approval.  There were no words for food that delicious.  I told Teh German that he may actually have to roll me to the car I was so full.  We were a little overwhelmed when the check came and it said $235, because we hadn't realized that the sampler was $95 per person vs $95 for the table.  Oops.  Nonetheless, Teh German said it was worth it.  I told him that I was thinking no more than $150 and I kept apologizing, but he said that it was worth it and a really good experience and he would do it again.  He had misunderstood the menu, just like me, so we laughed a bit at that.  We were so full by the end we were actually uncomfortable.  When we got home, it was stretchy pants and snuggles on the couch with the dogs for a little bit until it was bedtime.


SATURDAY

Teh German didn't work this weekend, so it meant snuggles and sleeping in and I was glad since I'll be at Disney next weekend and I don't think Teh MD-AR wants to pretend to be Teh German, lol.  Twin Dad (a coworker) had suggested earlier in the week a date with his wife (Twin Mom) to get our nails done so she could get out of the house and we could hang out.  I was down, but there were some complications because babies don't care about adult schedules.  I asked German Girl (coworker of Teh German) if she wanted to go get her nails done with Twin Mom said she wasn't going to be able to go and she said yes.  Then, Twin Mom said she was able to go.  Teh German and I suggested brunch at Ms. Rose because we had both received a $5 gift certificate at the Yelp event last week.  So German Girl and Twin Mom met us there.  The ladies got the crepe special and Teh German got an omelet and he made the better choice since we were all still hungry after finishing our crepes (there were only 3 small crepes on the plate with strawberries, filled with nutella whipped cream).  I was too hungry to take photos.

After brunch, Teh German left us to go get his hair cut and run some errands he wanted to get taken care of while the ladies went to Luxia Nails Spa because it had the best reviews on Yelp.  They were able to get us in quickly, but I wasn't overly impressed.  My yelp review isn't going to be as great as everyone elses for sure.  On the other.. foot.. since we got only pedicures, they did at least paint my entire nail, so they get extra points for that.

I unintentionally went with mermaid colors!
The Princess Runs are all Little Mermaid themed and it's going to be in the 70s in Orlando, so I'll be wearing flippy floppies and this will be perfect!

After nails were done, Twin Mom had to go home, so German Girl and I decided to do some shopping.  I had some Kohl's coupons, so that was our first stop.  I ended up going full on prisoner.  #notsorry.

New work shirts, a dress, and a pair of slacks (with pockets, of course).
I had to send a photo of my prisoner attire to Teh Sister and Teh MD-AR who are well aware of my stripe addiction.

After Kohl's, we stopped by Goodwill to drop some stuff off, then we went to Target because German Girl hadn't been there before.  After Target, I asked her if there was anywhere else she'd like to go, or if she'd like to go home, and she said she'd like to go home, which was fine by me.  After dropping her off at her apartment, I headed home.

Teh German finally got his headlights fixed how he wanted them to be so that was the first thing he had to show me when I got home.  It had taken him an hour and a half and the problem was the bulbs, not anything he had done (the wiring, soldering, etc).  I was glad they were working because they have bothered him for a while now.

We settled in for a lazy evening of puzzles after dinner.  I downloaded After You on audiobook because I wanted to listen to something while puzzling.  Teh German is enjoying it so far, even though he doesn't know anything about Me Before You.


SUNDAY

Sunday was another lazy morning.  The only thing we had on the agenda was watching Deadpool with Twin Dad, visiting House, and a trip to the grocery store.  Eventually, we got up and I made breakfast.  Definitely making the bacon "extra" crunchy for Teh German (aka I pretty much burnt that shit).  He surprised me with a very sweet card, even though we had agreed we weren't doing anything for valentines day.  That's fine.  I got him a bday present and he doesn't know.  BOOM bitch. 

We met Twin Dad at the movie theater and Twin Mom dropped him off.  They had just picked up the twins from the hospital so we got to see them!  They were so little and cute!  Deadpool was hilarious.  See it, but definitely not with a parent.  That would have been super awkward.  We brought Twin Dad home and hung out for a bit chatting with Mom and Dad and Kid 1 while the Kid 2 and Twins slept.  Eventually, we headed to House to check progress.

#nofilter lol
When we came out of the theater, it was overcast, breezy, and downright cold.

2 levels of sticks!!!

Again, there were simultaneous gasps when we drove around the corner and saw we had 2 levels.  We checked to make sure that the doorway that was missing last week was there (it was) and we just walked around trying to figure out what each room was upstairs.  We finally left the lot and headed to Publix to pick up groceries.  We were both hungry, so it was nearly impossible for me to make decisions about things I wanted to fix for the week and several impulse buys (for the freezer). 

When Teh German said he was super hungry I asked if he wanted to go out for dinner and told him that when we'd driven by Willie Jewell's earlier I had been tempted, but was trying to save monies.  He said he was really hungry and I explained that if we went straight home and I cooked it would be around 7 when we ate.  He said we should just go out and oked Willie Jewell's.

When we got there, they announced there was at least a 20 minute wait on all orders.  I asked Teh German if he wanted to stay and he said yes.  Fortunately, it didn't actually take 20 minutes, maybe 10, so we were happy.  Also, I'm still the Dutchess of Willie Jewell's on Yelp, #win.  For everyone that doesn't know what that means (aka everyone but me and Teh German), it means I have the most check-ins at that place.  #notsorry

After we finished eating, we headed home to feed the beasts and put away the groceries and be lazy for the evening.  About 30 minutes after we'd gotten home, the power went out in the neighborhood.  Fortunately, I have candles in every room, so I just used the "flashlight" on my phone to find the lighter and lit all the candles.  So we had an impromptu "romantic" evening with candles and puzzles and listening to After You and snuggling with the dogs.  The power came back on after we'd gotten in bed.

He just stood there staring at me through the crack in the door for a solid minute before Meri came bounding in and "opened" the door for him.  Creeper.



For a lazy weekend, it was super busy and productive and fun!  Next week/end is the Princess runs, so the schedule around here might get a little wonky while I'm away.  Teh MD-AR arrives on Weds and it's still not soon enough but it's only 2.5 days!





Linking up with these ladies:
Meg @ Life of Meg
Biana @ BLovedBoston

Friday, February 12, 2016

Five on Friday #81

EINS

We went to another Yelp event this week and it was pretty awesome.  It's great to be elite!

Yelp has been in Charleston for 3 years now, so it was a "burstday" celebration.  Free food, free adult beverages, free dessert?  Yes please.








ZWEI

Random things:

Pretty sure I'm never going to ever win a Goodreads giveaway, despite the fact that I register for the giveaway every.single.time Goodreads sends me an email that a book on my shelves is being given away.  UGGHhhhh.. Why isn't everything I like free?

I've been running with music this week.  My pace is way more consistent and faster than with audiobooks... which is a total bummer because I enjoyed my audiobook run sessions.

I've spent so much money in February... but there are still things I want to do!  Like spend dollas at Disney World next week, and go to the Charleston Food and Wine Festival at the beginning of May, and see Alton Brown when he comes to Charleston in April...  THINGS THAT COST DOLLAS.  Spending dollas on fun things will mean less time for fun things when I'm having to take Meri and Phil out on the leash for business after we move to House...

After a very lengthy discussion about dog food with a member of Meri's rescue group, I've finally picked a new food for the dogs.  I also need to go pick up some raw goat's milk, but that's an adventure for the weekend.  They better have firm poops after all this!

I'm considering signing up for Audible with a different email address/card so I can get the intro price again.  Yes, I'm cheap.  HOUSE MONEY.  My puzzle time is not the same without the option to listen to an audiobook.

Things IDGAF about this week: Cam Newton's reactions to anything, anyone else's reactions to anything about Super Bowl 50, the fact that my desk is a pigsty because of an inordinate amount of origami which I make from my page-a-day calendar.


DREI

PRINCESS RUNS ARE ALMOST HERE!!!!!!  No, I didn't stick to my training plan (bad Megan).  Yes, I've been planning this for an entire year.  Yes, I'm obnoxiously excited.  No, my costumes aren't completely assembled yet.  Yes, we have already planned out exactly where we will be eating the entire time we are there.  Yes, I requested the 101 Dalmatians area of the hotel (Teh Sister can be jealous now).  Yes, Teh MD-AR and I are going to have a blast.  No, we are not worried about run times.  Yes, I want to take photos with all the best characters.  Yes, I will take a jump photo in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom.  No, I will not feel bad for acting like a child at Christmas.  Yes, I will be exhausted when we get home.  Yes, getting up at 2/3am is going to fuck up my sleep schedule.  Yes, I will be doing some Disney shopping. 






VIER

Someone on FB posted this article about beige food and it really hit home with me... that night we had beige dinner (not by my doing), ugh.

I don't care who you are, that shit's funny right there:

Screenshot-ed the Hitler one and sent it to Teh German.. oh yes, yes I did. #notsorry

Tweets about sex bring me lols.  Especially #17 about unclasping a bra.

I often will just close the tab on articles I have to click next to see each photo (I hate clickbait), but this article definitely had me intrigued from photo 1.

FÃœNF

10 things that made me happy this week:
  1. Birthday flowers that didn't give me a headache and lasted for a week.
  2. A successful super bowl "party" (aka a gathering of people to watch TV).
  3. Yelp events where dinner and alcohol are free.
  4. Finishing a book.
  5. 44% fluent!
  6. Walking the dogs
  7. Running (due to some horrendous self-guilt over being unprepared for my Disney runs)
  8. Local distilleries with delicious gin (looking at you Striped Pig)
  9. No hangovers after all that gin...
  10. Teh German laughing at my jokes.




Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.
Linking up with these ladies since it's FFFFRRRRRRIIIIIIDDDDAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!


Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Confessions {2/10}

-I was a little sad about mixing it up last week with not actual confessions.. but that post had been drafted for several months and it was DEFINITELY getting posted on my birthday.  I probably could have posted 2x but that post deserved it's own attention.  #shameless #adulting

-I am glutton for the workouts that make me feel like I'm going to vomit.  If I don't feel exhausted after, it's not a good workout.  Like Kathy says: Did you die?  <



-#noshame:


Guess this character!
No, I will not be wearing my mustache pajamas to run in.

-Still unbearably excited about HOUSE!!  I just want to look at the photos all dayyyyyy long.


-Teh German said something about driving to Italy in June and I almost jumped out of my freakin' chair to make him promise we would drive to Italy.  I didn't... but ALMOST.  He almost got attacked by a crazy American lady who just needs adventures in Europe in her life.  #EuropeAdventures

-For 2 weeks in a row my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist was on point.  This week I was disappointed.  #Spotify #yufailmenow

-I noticed a weird charge on my Verizon bill yesterday and opened a chat to ask what the charge was for, I wasn't disputing it, just wanted to know what it was.  The rep I spoke with told me that she knew a way to work around the system since it was a valid charge and credited my acct for $1 more than the charge actually was.  #thatswhatIcallgoodcustomerservice #VerizonCustomer4eva (unless I become an expat)


-Monday night we decided to ride the motorcycles to House to check and see if the builder actually had something fixed or not.  On the way, it started to rain.  By the time we left, it was getting dark.  Let's just say we didn't make the best life choice.  Then as we were riding home, in the rain, in the dark.. a Kia Soul tried to steal my soul because he wanted to lane split with me.  I screamed in Teh German's ear (our helmets are linked via bluetooth) and he turned around and looked for me on the ground.  It was that kind of outburst.  Teh German said he considered kicking their mirror off, but I really could do anything except try to stay upright and not merge into the lane beside me since there was a car there.  I don't think I even honked my horn at him because I froze up and had no idea what to do except don't get hit or run over.  This was my first serious close call on the bike.  Granted, we shouldn't have been riding in those conditions, but we were already out and we had to get home.  I'm really just proud that I didn't pull over on the side of the road (in the rain, don't care) and have Teh German go home and bring a car back to get me.  I considered it while I was fighting off a panic attack.  #pleasedontletmedie

-Monday night I took my first lorazepam and slept like a freakin' baby.  Mostly I didn't want to be kept away because the adrenaline rush from the near miss. #goodsleeps #thankyoupharmaceuticals

-I have a mabillionty things to do at work.. and here I am.  #slacker

-I'm glad/disappointed that glasses really help me see better.  Teh German said I should just wear them all the time... I refuse on principle.  I can't be a true 4-eyes.  I'm not there yet.  No matter how much better they make my life.  #eyestrainisreal #4eyes 

-Teh Mom, Teh Dad, Teh Sister, and I are all left handed.  Now we all wear glasses.  Booooooo.  #partofthefamily

-ONE WEEK TILL TEH MD-AR ARRIVES!!!!!!!!! #notsoonenough


-We'll be Princesses next week!!  I'm probably not properly trained up for 22.4 miles that weekend, but I'm going to do it and get some awesome medals and try not to whine too much.  Prepare yourselves for wayyyyy too many photos.  #nofucksgiven #GlassSlipperChallenge #DISNEY #Mouseward




Linking up with:
Life with Lolo
Alanna & Company
Humpday Confessions with Nadine and Kathy

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

What I read in January

My life's priority these past few weeks have been puzzles and chill books.  Seriously, listening to an audiobook while doing a puzzle is my favorite way to kill my kindle.  It's less work for my brain and I get to do puzzles.  Also, I think Teh German doesn't mind the audiobooks since it's like he's "reading" too.

I actually cancelled my Audible subscription because I didn't want to pay for it and I'm regretting it.  I only listened to 1ish audiobook per month, but that's $15 a month for a book.  I may break down and resubscribe just because I really enjoy my puzzle and audiobook time.  We'll see how much guilt I feel about taking money from the House funds.

Life According to Steph


Rating scale:

1/5 - Hated it, didn't finish.
2/5 - Tolerated it on principle to finish, didn't like it.
3/5 - Eh, didn't love it, didn't hate it.  Had some good parts/kept me interested/finished it on principle.
4/5 - I liked it.
5/5 - I LURVED it and I'd read it again.

Skimmers, stick with the bold text (TL;DR* parts).
PS. Possible spoilers included in reviews.


The Sea of Tranquility - Katja Millay  4/5 (ebook)
I often found myself wishing I was home to finish this book.  I wanted more about the Josh and Nastya (which I still can't pronounce, despite one of the characters actually saying the pronunciation at the beginning).  I wanted to know what happened to her and then I got annoyed with wanting to know what happened to her.  By the time we found out I wanted to be all IDGAF, but I did GAF.  Ugh. 

I know that this is just fiction, but sometimes I like my fiction to be believable unless it's fantasy or sci-fi.. and I can tell you my parents wouldn't have handled this situation the same way.  Nope, nope, nope.  But in another way, it was believable since something so horrible had happened to her.  The ending was sweet and exactly what I needed after such horrible things happening the entire book.

The part that I didn't find weird?  The relationship between Drew and Nastya.  That seems completely believable for teenagers.

TL;DR: If you can get past the weird names and the fact that teenagers are doing whatever the fuck they want, this is a good book about the healing process after something(s) devastating happen.



The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan   4/5 (ebook)
I started reading this when we were driving up to NC for Teh Sister's wedding after finishing The Sea of Tranquility.  I figured this was easy enough for me to read outloud and for Teh German to understand despite my speedy reading.  The story is simple enough, a kid always seems to get into trouble and turns out, he's "special" because he's the bastard child of a Greek god.  I kept thinking of Phil from Hercules while reading it because the best friend is a Satyr (goat man).  I ended up finishing it without Teh German, but he'd seen the movie, so it was fine.  I haven't seen the movie, so I needed to know how it ended.

This was an easy book to read, but I wasn't so enamored by it that I'm rushing to read the rest of the books in the series.  My TBR list is already long enough.

TL;DR: Easy YA read that puts all that useless knowledge of Greek mythology to use.


Summerlong - Dean Bakopoulos  3.5/5 (audiobook)
This book was strongly recommended by Jana (a host of this linkup) but I wasn't overly thrilled by it.  It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't anything to write home about, IMO.  The story line was pretty depressing and the characters all are linked but it takes a while to find out how.  ABC's name annoyed me for the entire book.  I also struggle with books that make pop culture references (Facebook, Twitter, actors, etc) because I question how those things will be relevant years from now. 

I'm also still not sure if I liked the fact that the narrator addressed the Reader.  It was funny, but weird.  It's like when actor's break the fourth wall.  Sometimes, it's just weird, unless it's House of Cards, then it's not.  Maybe this book is supposed to represent middle age and life in middle America, but it just felt like the characters needed to talk to the people they weren't talking to.

Also, I waited on something "spiritual" to happen with ABC to explain that whole determination to meet Philly in the afterlife.  Overall, it seemed like a book where adults were getting stoned and avoiding their responsibilities.

TL;DR: A good story to pass the time, especially if you're stoned.


If you wanted to read any of these 3 books, I'd start at the top and work down.

In Progress:


On Deck:


*TL;DR = too long, don't read

Monday, February 8, 2016

Weekend Review {2/8}

FRIDAY

Despite being super busy at work, when the plumber called me, I headed home with a quickness since he said he could be there in 20 minutes.  While the plumber fixed the leaky kitchen faucet, I continued working.  He fixed whatever was wrong with the sink causing it to leak and left.  I worked until 2 and then got ready to head to the DMV for my motorcycle test.

I arrived at 2:30 and was waiting for my number to be called at 2:36.  Finally around 3:30 I was called.  We got out to the test area and we were testing Mike's signals and horn and brake lights and she informed me that my front signals weren't working.  They lit up, but didn't flash and without working signals, they wouldn't administer the test.  I almost cried right there.

On Thursday, I had ridden in the rain to the shop to get the horn issue fixed, then ridden in the rain to the DMV only to be told they don't do motorcycle tests in the rain.  So yeah, strike 2.  I immediately went to the shop again and explained the problem.  Within 30 minutes, I had working signal lights and I was well over my goal for my German lessons for the day.

I stopped by In-N-Out Wings to order a party tray for Sunday, then headed home to meet Teh German so we could head out to Coworker's house to kidsit.  Coworker's kids are pretty fun, so it wasn't a problem to watch them on short notice.  It was chicken nuggets and tater tots for dinner, so I cooked those while Teh German kept the kids entertained.  Dinner time was an adventure where Teh German tricked Kid 1 into eating all his tater tots by telling him that Batman dared him to eat all his tater tots (Kid 1 was wearing a Batman shirt).  Whatever works.  After dinner was more play time, then it was bedtime.  Kid 1 did not want to go to sleep for a variety of reasons and it took Kid 2 two times of being held to get him to sleep.  Kid 1 was still awake when Coworker and his wife came home and I was glad that I didn't have to be the bad guy, lol.

colored tongues from ice cream

Teh German and I are going to make great parents, lol.  We're full of tricks to get not-our-kids to do thigns and we make a pretty good team.  Finally, it was time to go home and crash.


SATURDAY

Teh German worked on Saturday morning, which meant that I should have gotten up and been productive when he left.  Instead, Meri joined me on the bed and we napped.  I did eventually get up, with much moaning and groaning and protesting.  I have been shitty at running to prep for my princess runs (sorry Teh MD-AR!) and I knew I had no excuse to not run.  Soooo, I sat down at the computer and made some online purchases for my princess run costumes.  Then I took the dogs on a walk. 


Ok, and then I did actually go on a short 2.5 mile run. 

When Teh German got home, I hadn't showered or eaten lunch.  Oops.  Since we were going on a ride, I just stayed stinky (ok not really, I didn't really get sweaty since it was pretty chilly for my run) and shoved some leftovers down my throat and we headed to visit House on the bikes and run some errands. 

Teh German and I actually gasped at the same time when we came around the corner of the new neighborhood..

taken from our back patio

WE HAVE A FIRST FLOOR!!!!!!!  HOUSE IS REAL!

We were so unbearably pumped.  Teh German might have had to ask me to stop screaming in his ears (since we our helmets are bluetooth connected).  We did find one issue which we stopped and spoke with the Dan Ryan person about it (the woman who I refuse to work with, so Teh German had to do all the talking).  Then we headed to Walmart to pick up my 30th-bday-present-to-myself: glasses (Brille in German) and then to CVS to pick up a prescription.  Since it was drizzling, we headed home to be lazy for the rest of the evening.  #puzzleandchill

Meri took Phil's couch, so Phil took my seat, which meant I got Phil and Teh German snuggles at the same time!


SUNDAY

Sunday was a lazy morning so we slept in.  Eventually we got up because we had to clean the house and run to the store to prep for the super bowl party we were hosting.  Teh German cooked eggs and bacon for breakfast while I showered (finally).  After breakfast, we set about cleaning up the house.  Once the tidying was complete, we headed to Target, then Bilo, then In-N-Out Wings to pick up our order.

When we got home, I prepped brownies and we baked a pizza.  Friends started arriving and Coworker delivered smoked pork and omg it was delightful in my mouth.  We had so much food!  The food was way better than the game, unless you were Coworker who was cheering for the Broncos.

proof I actually was watching the game.

Phil and Meri finally got space on the couch after Friends left and Phil was in heaven.

She brought cupcakes with football rings on them, so we were sporting our football bling, despite a loss.

After the final score was displayed, I turned off the TV, Coworker and remaining Friend left, and we cleaned up the kitchen, then crashed in bed.



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Despite the Panthers loss and the hassle with the DMV, this weekend was still amazing.  We got to hang out with friends, eat good food, and WE HAVE A FIRST FLOOR!!!!!!!  /squeal




Linking up with these ladies:
Meg @ Life of Meg
Biana @ BLovedBoston