The Sunday Salon

What a week it’s been. Another loooong work week for me but it was broken up in the middle by my spending Wednesday and Thursday at the Disney parks. My husband likes to spend several days at Disney for his birthday every year – he’s a kid at heart – and this year he spent a third day there with his mom and aunt while I went back to work on Friday. Those two days were great, though – we hit just about every ride, show, and attraction you can get to in two days. AND we actually bought annual passes this year, so we plan to spend much more time there in the months to come.

Besides work and Disney I haven’t been up to much. I have been reading (yay!!) but not writing about any of the books (sadface). And as we have plans for today, I doubt you’ll see any reviews this coming week either. Maybe I’ll write one or two. We’ll see. BUT tomorrow is the light at the end of my long, dark, difficult work tunnel so in the coming weeks and months I should be working fewer hours and feeling less stressed while I work them. I’m very, VERY excited for that to be the case.

This weekend has been a good one so far. Yesterday after getting home from work there was still enough sun for me to read poolside for an hour or so before going out to dinner at one of our absolute favorite restaurants, Funky Monkey Wine Company. And I ate some of the most delicious scallops I’ve EVER tasted. Yum. Today we are going to see Jurassic Park in 3-D! I’m looking forward to it. I remember seeing the movie for the first time as a kid and being TERRIFIED. So I’m pretty sure those feelings will come back and when the t-rex pops his massive, scary 3-D head right out of the movie screen I’ll be scared to death. Yay!

That’s all I got for today. What are you up to this Sunday? How has your week been? Ooh, I forgot, yesterday was Readathon day! Did you participate and how was it?

TSS: Catching Up

Yesterday I realized I’d neglected to write any reviews to post this past week … oops! Some of you know how crazy my life has been these past few months, and it’s just really starting to catch up with me. The little free time I do have these days has been spent doing many things, none of which include being in front of a computer writing reviews. So, at this point, it is what it is and I’m just going to do the best I can.

Last weekend was an excellent one, I must admit. Saturday I was blessed to find someone to fill in for me at work and was therefore able to attend the UCF Book Festival. I got to spend the day with blogger-friends, met a new-to-me blogger who also lives right here in Central Florida (hi, Kerry Ann!) and went to various author panels. After the festival was over, we went out for dinner and drinks with several of the authors and it was way too much fun. I’m telling you, there’s something about loving someone’s book and then getting to know them in person, only to find out they are just as awesome a person as you’d always hoped … it’s magic, I tell you. It was truly a fantastic day.

This week was absolutely insane, with the Boston manhunt, the explosion in Texas, and all of the other tragedies that happened around the globe. I didn’t watch much of the news (not a huge TV news person) but I was following along online all week and just praying for the people who were dealing with this in their own backyards while I was safe at work and home here in Florida. All I can say is thank God there are more good people in the world than awful ones.

Personally my week was good. I worked a lot (as is par for the course these days), but did get to enjoy book club this week. We sort of discussed The Book Thief (I say sort of because that restaurant was LOUD), and ate delicious Mexican food. It was a fun evening. And last night, hubby and I enjoyed a lovely church service and after that, headed out to dinner with another couple at the yummy (and healthy!) Seasons 52.

This coming week is going to be a great one. My kid-at-heart husband loves spending a few days at the Disney parks for his birthday every year, and this is the week we’re doing that. We reserved a few nights at one of the resorts there, and we’ll be spending Wednesday and Thursday park-hopping to his heart’s content. Of course, every other day I’ll be slaving away at work, while he has the luxury of taking the entire week for vacation, but I can’t complain. I was able to get someone to take care of things for me so I spend a few days with him, so no negativity here! I’m just excited for those couple of days.

I might eke out a couple of reviews today. MIGHT. If not, the blog will be dead for another week and I’ll just have to be okay with that. I’m still reading, but not very much, so taking a week off here and there is actually helpful. We will just see how things go.

What about you? What do you have going on today?

TSS with War & Peace check-in

Happy Sunday, everyone! I’m really trying to enjoy my Sundays as much as possible lately because for the past few weeks, and for the foreseeable future, they’re the only day off I get each week. It’s a long story, and I don’t feel like talking about it, but let’s just say work is kicking my butt. In an okay way, but in a way that I am having difficulty getting anything done in my life besides work, sleep, eat, repeat. I cannot fathom how some people work sixty hour weeks like I’m doing right now and come home to take care of children. It boggles the mind. Anyway, it will get better eventually and life will get a little more normal soonish (at least that’s what I keep telling myself).

I have been keeping up with my War & Peace reading, though! I actually reread the first section because I felt like I missed a lot the first time around, which ended up being insanely helpful. I finished the second section this morning and I’m not sure what to think. Mostly I felt bored while reading it – the details of war have never been very interesting to me, in any book I’ve read. There was one particularly poignant moment, though, that made me stop and reread the passage. When Rostov comes to a full understanding of the reality of war, the reality that he could be killed, that someone would actually want to kill him, that struck me as such a major moment in the book. This chapter was all about the war itself and the messiness and violence and horribleness of it all, and this part was one where one character had a moment of clarity and it terrified the hell out of him. It was definitely my favorite part of the entire section. It made this huge, scary, overwhelming classic Russian novel so much more accessible and easy for my mind to grasp – and gave me the push I needed to get to the end of the section, with the hope that the book will become easier and more enjoyable as it goes on. So I’m looking forward to continuing with the book, even though there’s really been just that one moment I really liked the thing, I am hopeful that there’s much more to come. And I’m proud of myself for finding something to relate to and enjoy in the book – I honestly was afraid that just wouldn’t happen at all!

And I’ve been reading a little more than just War & Peace, but not a whole lot more. I also finished Ask the Passengers by A.S. King this morning and I LOVED it. I’m probably going to start something else this afternoon, although what I have no idea.

What are you up to this weekend – bookish or otherwise?

The Sunday Salon

Good morning and happy Sunday to you all! I had a delightful morning taking Charlotte to the dog park so she could run and play with her “friends” to her heart’s content, I’ve got laundry almost finished for the weekend, and now I”m relaxing with a cup of coffee and looking forward to visiting some of your blogs. Today has a loose agenda – we need to hit Target for a few things and we are going to try a new restaurant in our neighborhood for lunch. Other than that I’d love to get some more reading done and definitely spend some time outdoors as it’s gorgeous here in sunny Florida this January.

One thing I have to share this weekend is that I just finished my fifth book of the year last night, and I’m shocked and delighted that FOUR out of those five books have been five-star reads for me! This is looking to be an amazing year in reading, especially if I continue to choose books based on what I really REALLY want to read, and based on what I think I’ll love. If you’re curious to take a gander at what exactly those five-star reads were, I am on Goodreads and do keep it up to date. I don’t post reviews there, but I do use it to keep track of what I’m reading and to rate books since I don’t use a rating system here on the blog.

Also, I’m super proud of myself because I have reviews scheduled through the rest of the month. I don’t think I have EVER been this far ahead with scheduled posts and I’m loving it. It’s a feeling I’ll try to remember and keep up with for as much of the year as I possibly can.

Good thing I’m scheduled ahead because I might not have a ton of time to blog the rest of this month. Next week I have a full work week, tickets to the Orlando Magic game (courtesy of the amazing company I work for) on Friday night, work Saturday, and the following Wednesday I head to Chicago for an extended weekend. My niece Kendall is turning a year old and you can bet I will not miss her first birthday party! By the time I return the following Monday, January will be over – time flies. My goodness.

Oh, and I forgot to mention – I’m headed to the Bahamas for a long weekend at the end of March and trying (like, with real effort, not just “trying”) to lose 10-15 pounds before the trip, so I’ve been working out 4-5 times a week for about a month now. I’m not a person who can diet but what I can do is be more careful about what I’m eating in general and be more caring towards giving my body the exercise it needs and deserves. So that’s what I’m doing, and while I’m happy and feel better already, it certainly takes up a good portion of my free time!

So. I better get back to my coffee-drinking, blog-reading Sunday morning ways. What are you up to this lovely weekend?

The Sunday Salon

Good morning! How was your holiday? My Christmas was good but very quiet. We didn’t really do gifts this year, but we had a great dinner Christmas day that my mother-in-law cooked, had a super relaxing Christmas Eve night with just the hubby and myself, and as we both worked the rest of the week, nothing much else to note. Yesterday was my birthday! And I had a great day. After working long hours the week of Christmas I gave myself the day off yesterday and tomorrow for a nice four-day weekend! I was inundated with birthday texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages all day yesterday – people sure do know how to make a girl feel loved! And last night my wonderful hubby took me out to dinner at Mitchell’s Fish Market after stopping at The Wine Room (one of my very favorite places) for a glass of wine. Today we plan to finally see Les Miz (SO excited, yay!) and then head to Universal for a few hours with my sister-in-law. New Years Eve will bring dinner out with friends, and New Years Day will bring reading, blogging, grilling out, and probably fun things like laundry and cleaning.

I’m enjoying reading everyone’s 2012 wrap-up posts. In case you missed it, last week I spotlighted my favorite books read this year in nonfiction, audio, YA, and adult fiction. I read some great books and even though I read fewer books this year than I have in the past, I’m still happy with my reading year overall.

I don’t plan to set any concrete reading goals for myself for next year, other than the fact that I’d like to be a bit more discriminatory about what I do read. I want to read books I will love, not just books that are okay or even that I like. Also, I have a bunch of books from SIBA that I would like to get to as well as the huge TBR bookshelf I’ve had forever and keep adding to. So I guess a loose goal would be to read from my own collection, but I say that every year and it rarely happens. So we’ll see.

I’m off to enjoy the rest of my day. What are your plans for New Years? And any goals for 2013?

Happy New Year everyone! Let’s make it a great one.

The Sunday Salon

It just occurred to me that I haven’t done a Sunday Salon post in a LONG time! I guess I have been busy these past many Sundays! Where have I been? Let’s see … well, there was Thanksgiving. We went out this year so my mother-in-law didn’t have to cook, and we had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch at a restaurant near her house. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, hubby and I left on a cruise to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau, which was fabulous, super relaxing, just an excellent vacation in a million ways. It was the perfect thing he and I both needed to relax and recharge.

Since we’ve been back, it’s been working and a little fun too. I’ve really tried to get back into the gym pretty seriously these past few weeks, as hubby and I are looking at potentially going on a short trip to the Bahamas (for work!!) in March – if we go on this trip, I will be wearing my swim suit in front of my boss, hubby’s boss, many of our colleagues, etc., and I want to not feel yucky as I do that. So, I’ve got 3 months to get myself into some semblance of decent shape and I’m working hard already.

This particular week was a busy one. I worked a lot of hours, had a full day of training on Wednesday about some upcoming changes at work next year, had my work Christmas party on Wednesday, and book club on Thursday. I got a gorgeous Coach case for my Nook from my employees, which I love, and which made me super excited for my other work Christmas party this coming Tuesday – my colleagues and I got together and got an amazing gift for our boss and I can’t wait to see his face when we give it to him! We all agree that we are lucky to work for him and it will be great to show our appreciation with this awesome gift. Yay!

So, I did read a lot of books over my vacation which is exciting because now I have enough things to review to schedule myself through most of January. This week, I’ll have a review up Monday, and then the rest of the week will be devoted to my “best of” lists. I’ll feature my favorites from this year in nonfiction, audio, YA fiction, and adult fiction. Stay tuned for those!

And after that, I plan to go dark the week of Christmas. There are just too many things going on in everyone’s lives to read blogs, I think. So you’ll see me back after New Years!

If I don’t speak to you before then, have a fabulous holiday and a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

The Sunday Salon (on Monday afternoon)

Good afternoon everyone! You all know that I have had a rough couple of weeks since my father-in-law’s passing, but things are looking up in our neck of the woods and I have a feeling good times will be on their way soon – for my husband’s entire family. His mother is doing MUCH better, she has had a ton of support and has been overwhelmed (in a good way) by all the phone calls, emails, and loving “whatever you need, I’ll be there” messages she has received. It has been great for her and although she is going to have some major adjusting to do in her new way of life, and still plenty of grieving, I think she is headed in the right direction. It’s looking good.

I have had a busy and fun weekend! Saturday evening hubby and I met up with another couple for dinner at Giordano’s, a restaurant that offers Chicago-style deep dish pizza (not my favorite deep dish restaurant, but unfortunately the BEST Chicago-style pizza places can only be found in Chicago, so I settle for what I can get). After dinner, we met up with another couple to see Weezer live at the Hard Rock. It was my second time seeing Weezer perform, and just as I expected, they put on a great show. My sweet hubby is SUCH a great guy because he didn’t know ANY of their songs, but went just because he knew I would have such a good time. I’m so lucky to have him!

Sunday morning we packed up and headed to Marco Island, Florida for a wedding. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, on the beach at sunset, and the reception was really nice as well. We had a great time celebrating two wonderful people joining in marriage. Then we drove back this morning, and here we are. Tonight I have dinner plans with a friend I haven’t seen in a while, and then it’s back to work tomorrow morning.

I do have to say a huge THANK YOU to all the veterans out there. My own youngest brother is completing his four years in the Marine Corps this month and will be joining the ranks of veterans everywhere. Thank you so much to my awesome brother Alex and to anyone out there who has served, is currently serving, or will serve in our Armed Forces. Your sacrifices are much appreciated.

As for reading not a whole lot of that has been happening. I did finish Man in the Blue Moon by Michael Morris on the car ride back today, and I enjoyed it. I have a few other books I’ve finished over the past couple of weeks on tap to get reviewed soon. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to sit down later this week and get my thoughts together so I’ll have some blog content soon!

What has your weekend been like? Got any plans for the rest of this week?

TSS: Live from SIBA!!

Good morning everyone and welcome to The Sunday Salon! I’m coming to you live this morning from Naples, Florida at the SIBA Tradeshow. This is an amazing event for the Southern Independent Booksellers that we as bloggers are privileged to attend. I’m rooming with the fabulous Sandy and also here with Heather and Jill. I’ve never been to an event like this before, and I’m telling you, it has been tons of fun. I plan to do a full write-up of each day in the coming weeks, so I’ll save most details for those posts. But I will say that we have met some fabulous authors and I have some books that I’m really, REALLY excited to read and tell you about. So it’s incredibly exciting.

As for the rest of this week, it’s been a quick one. As you all know, I had Monday off for Labor Day and definitely enjoyed my time off. Tuesday and Wednesday entailed full days of work followed by making dinner and collapsing into bed. Thursday morning, Sandy and I packed up and drove down here! The four-hour drive went so quickly because we chatted the whole way, of course, and before we knew it we arrived in Naples! We also stopped at this cute little restaurant in Punta Gorda for lunch, which was not only in an adorable little downtown area but the food was delicious too!

As far as reading goes, I finished three books last weekend but since then I haven’t done a ton of reading. I’m still working through Shadow of Night – have made exactly no progress since last weekend, actually – and I just started Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry on my Nook. I also started The Whipping Club by Deborah Henry for a TLC tour. I’m hoping that when I get back home on Monday I’ll get a little time to read some of these books as I’m enjoying all of them!

Well, I’m off to a few more bookish events before calling it a weekend. What are you up to this Sunday?

TSS: Long Weekend!

Good morning and happy Sunday! I’m coming to you incredibly happy today because I have tomorrow off for Labor Day! Yay for long weekends. I don’t have a ton of stuff planned for my extra time off, but today we are heading to a water park for a few hours and then plan to buy some steaks to grill out tonight. Tomorrow will consist of some shopping, review writing, reading, and probably some pool time.

I had a good week personally, my work book club met on Monday evening and I had a great time at my small group meeting Thursday night (small group = Bible study). We have an awesome small group, we’ve been meeting with the same six couples for almost two years now and we’ve really formed great relationships with everyone. We found out this week that another couple in the group is expecting a baby! It’s incredibly exciting, although they are the last couple in the group besides my husband and I to have children … so we will be the only childless couple there! Which is great, because we get to play with all the kiddos when we all get together, and then go home to our quiet house. Perfection! And no, we do not plan to have children anytime in the near future.

Last weekend was rough. I traveled to Stuart, Florida to visit my elderly grandparents because my two aunts (dad’s sisters) were in town visiting them as well. It’s a bad situation over there – grandma has dementia, grandpa is not physically well and can’t take care of her really, but refuses to admit that he needs help – and it was difficult for me to see how bad things really are. My grandpa is just a stubborn, angry person and refuses to see reality, so it’s disappointing to know that there’s absolutely nothing we can do to help the situation. It’s just hard. And my aunts are at a total loss on what to do. It was nice to see family, but overall was not one of the best weekends I’ve had.

Work has been good this week, I am losing a couple of employees due to good circumstances for both of them, which is definitely sad. But it gives me the opportunity to hire some new folks, and new faces are always good to shake things up a bit. Plus it caused me to remember and appreciate what I do love about each one of my employees – they are all fabulous people and I have a great time working with them all. I am truly blessed in that department.

Reading hasn’t been too great as of late. I finished Age of Miracles last Sunday night for my work book club, and I actually liked it overall (but hated the ending). I started Drift by Rachel Maddow in audio on my drive last weekend and have almost finished it up over the course of this week. Works in progress include In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner, Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, and  Saving Ruth by Zoe Fishman. I’m enjoying all of them and hope to finish at least one this weekend.

I’m SUPER excited to be heading to Naples on Thursday for SIBA. I’ve never been to anything like this before, but I’ve been told I will just love everything about it. I truly cannot wait.

What is going on in your world this Sunday?

TSS: Back in Action :)

Just a short post today to let you all know that I am back from my short break and ready to blog again. I enjoyed the time off but honestly I did miss talking about books and sharing my observations and thoughts with all of you. What I did not miss was the feeling of pressure to constantly post new content and read enough books to keep the blog going all the time.

So I’m hoping that I’ll not only be able to keep up the energy and excitement around blogging that I feel right now, but also that I won’t allow myself to get too upset if I’m not reading enough. I’ll also allow myself the possibility of writing about other things besides books – cooking, movies, TV, maybe even fitness? I don’t know exactly if you will see any of these topics here anytime soon, but I do know that I’m going to let myself be open to more options of things to write about and discuss with all of you.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Right now I’m feeling inspired so I’m going to attempt a few reviews. I’m a little rusty, so we’ll see how this goes …

What are you up to this Sunday?