a weekend with Me

For whatever reason, I was all into hanging out with “me” this weekend. Sometimes time with yourself is just needed. The weather was absolutely gorgeous – if you ignored the 40 mph winds on Saturday – and I was in Exploration mode.

My adventures started off a little rough. Ah, Saturday. Long story short – I drove in bumper-to-bumper traffic down to the Metro station around 1:00 and wondered “Holy F what is going on in DC today?!!”, because the parking lot looked the same as the highway. Cherry blossoms? Oooh yah. Apparently those are the crowd pleasers these days. Anyway. I parked, and walked all the way to the gate only to realize I had left my wallet sitting on my dresser. AWESOME.

I hopped back in the car, picked it up, and decided to drive up North to Baltimore instead. After a lot of trial and error with parking I ended up back in Fells Point, mainly because it would save me $15 for the day. All I wanted to do on Saturday was sit in a chair and Read. Seriously, thats it. My hopes were set on the HUGE Barnes & Noble in the Inner Harbor, but I did not have my hopes set on paying $20 to do that (i.e. parking cost).

Anyway. It all worked out, because I saw this sign and took full advantage.

It was a classy little place. There was room at the bar, it was 3 in the afternoon, and I thought “Perfect.”. So I plopped down for two hours, read my book, and sipped some OJ Bubbly.

Then I walked over to the Inner Harbor and did a liiiittle shopping. A flowy Spring dress from the LOFT capped off the afternoon. It’s lovely. And I have my Mom to Thank for that one. She’s awesome*

*********

Lesson learned, I woke up and headed out early on Sunday to soak up the 70 degree Sunshine in DC. With my wallet, double check. I got off at Chinatown – an area I’ve only been in once before, which was Friday – and just wandered. All day. I read on a bench along the Mall for about an hour, walked up to Dupont, read outside for about two hours, lunched and listened to live music at a deli (love), and wandered some more. It was a lot of time with just Me, and it was awesome.

I took 95 pictures. Which is, um, a Lot. Clearly this is no space for that many pictures. So, here are a few highlights.

Well. This could go on for a while. In short, I have a total crush on DC right now. And I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend with Me, my book, and my wandering feet.

Missed that memo

Apparently people in the office here wear jeans on Fridays.  Nobody told us, the “interns”.  I sit here in black pants, alone.

Ah, life.

I’m heading to “happy hour”  after work with a a few gals.  By 5:30 I’ll have a pitcher of Sangria on the table in front of me. And filling up the glass in my hand. Yumm. 

This morning it was raining, humid, and disgusting. Well, to me the first two words are psynonyms with ‘disgusting’, so that goes without saying.  I wore heels, because if I have flats on the bottom of my pants get soaked.

By lunch, the sun is out to play and it’s suddenly 70 degreees. Which is really how every day should be, obviously. It’s perfection. After a free Pizza lunch (also perfect) I decided to take a walk. Days here without a break are not happening – I take that hour break and use it to breathe in that ‘fresh’ city air. Also to saturate my eyes with window shopping.

I wandered down to Dupont Circle and stopped in a book store. After a little browsing, I found something I wanted to read and took my shoes off. Because remember how I’m wearing heels and I walked to Dupont?! Oops.  I stood there in a  corner of the bookstore (no chairs?! whaaaat?), with my shoes next to my feet, and read for a while. It was a book by the same author who wrote “In Her Shoes”, I read  a chapter and enjoyed it, but now I can’t remember the title. Hmm.

Reluctantly I put my shoes back on and strutted over to the Circle (statue fountain thing in the middle, lots of trees and grass and benches…..it’s cute). For about 5 mintues I plopped down on a bench and took random pictures. Then I walked back and took more random pictures. Then my battery died, and I can’t look at any of said pictures.

Overall – if Ihad inquired about “Casual friday”, I’d be comfortable and sans feet pain with my jeans and flats. If I had received the “crappy morning will turn into a Gorgeous Spring afternoon” memo, I wouldn’t be carrying around my umbrella at the bar or sweating by the time I get there.

Ah well. It’s FRIDAY. I did get that memo.

Recently

I’ve been reading “Are you there Vodka? It’s me, Chelsea“, by Chelsea Handler. It’s Lol – hysterical.
The best part? It was a Mom-recommendation. Love.

I mailed my sister’s birthday package 9 days late. It arrived 10 days after that. This (along with everything else I mail) only continues to reinforce the notion that I cannot mail things on any sort of timeline. Nothing. At all.
But it did get there!

This song has become my obsession – Piano Man (Live version!), by Billy Joel.
Yes, its been around for decades. I, on the other hand, have not.

Thick and creamy yogurt (berry or strawberry) with chocolate syrup has become my favorite night-time addiction treat.

I started three countdowns:
Best-buddy from home in DC – 7 days!
LB in Maryland – 14 days!
Trip to the ‘Burgh’ – 22 days!

My Mom gave me this face lotion, and I’m completely obsessed. I consider it “grown up” lotion; a moisturizer that is actually really good for your skin. Amazing.

I have been trying to figure out why ‘The Police’ keep playing on my Pandora play-list. ??! I’m not complaining.  But I’m also not in agreement that they “sound like” Maroon 5. Or the Counting Crows.

Stress has taken over about 90% of my reactions to small situations. The freak-outs can come to an end anyyyy day now. That would be great.

I have behaved exceptionally well in the budget-area. I blame this on time spent commuting (therefore taken away from boredom) and homework-ing. I also blame it on the cold weather; I don’t want any more winter clothes.

Weather.com has basically become my home-page. The 10-day forecast is my morning read. I wonder if the temperature will read – “60 and Sunny. Just for you, Heather.” – if I stare at it long enough.
No luck so far.

I’ve been working in a Children’s hospital (just for two weeks). I absolutely LOVE it.

Coffee has made it’s way into my morning routine. Right along with the morning News.
I knew this day would come…..

I haven’t had anything too exciting to blog about. So, you got this instead.

*happy fridayyyy*

Sweaters, soup, and full-frontal snogging

This whole ‘break’ thing is amazing. Nothing on the agenda, for 5 whole dayysss. Love.

Even after almost 5 years of life over here where it snows all winter, I have never purchased or owned snow boots. I’m stubborn, and have somehow survived 4 winters without them, so why stop now. Right? Ehhh.

I show up in Michigan and the snow is all over, unlike MD. Here I am, proud that I was able to restrict myself to packing only 3 pairs of shoes (ankle boots, black flats and running shoes), and realizing the ones I should have packed…I don’t even have. Gah. Soooo, guess what that means….

Shoe shopping!

The only other thing on our plan for the day was to buy groceries to make a New-Mexican dinner. It was my way of saying “Thanks for feeding me holiday food and letting me stay at your house all week!!”, without having to carry flowers or a bottle of wine on the plane with me. Instead, I’ll take over the cooking for one night and bring in the green chile. Who can complain about that? That’s what I’m sayin.

Knowing me too well, he took me to DSW.  With my budget-style shopping, and not-buying-shoes-for-fun attitude, this required all sorts of self-control. I went straight back to the ‘clearance’ section….um, because thats where Snow Boots will be….right? No. I tried on a beautiful pair of beautiful maroon, round-toed pumps. Why did I do this to myself? I’m still wondering. Because I’m still thinking they belong to my feet.

I did not buy snow boots. But we did wander over to some other stores where I got a great deal on some sweaters for work. Words do no justice to how bored I am with my ‘work’ clothes. Anything new to throw in the mix makes me happy for days. And since I didn’t buy warm shoes, I bought warm soup for lunch instead. Compromise people. It totally hit the spot.

And on a completely random note, have you heard of “Angus, thongs, and full-frontal snogging“?

No? I’m not surprised. But if you’re looking for an extremely easy read (really, we’re talkin like 6th grade level), go get it! I’m a little bit obsessed with the series. I own 4 out of the 6 . They’re simply the inner-ramblings of a 14-yr old British girl, and omg, they’re Hilarious. You just have to take my word for it.

Uh, anyway. Apparently Nickelodeon teamed up with a group of British tween actors, and they have brought this book to life. Jack found it online, streamed it, and surprised me with it as a joke…sort of. I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty excited about this. But…..turns out that tween actresses just can’t do justice to this author’s witty character. The movie was unbelievably corny, and the funny-factor was nowhere close to the books. Hm, sad day. But, we tried.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Oh, I’m on a Roll….

Two books in two weeks. You could say I’ve been a bit of a bookworm lately. Just a bit.

Before I had even finished my last book, my Mom had made her usual trip to the Library and picked up a new one for me. Usually after one of her “picks” I’ll choose something for myself, because every once in a while I love the “Shopaholic” or “Something Borrowed” kind of story (by the way, read both of those too. They’re funny/entertaining/chick-books.).

Her next selection for me was the latest Jodi Piccoult book….and if you’ve ever read a book by Jodi, you’ll read the next one in a heartbeat. As soon as I finished the last book, I picked this one right up. It was about 11 p.m., I wanted to read a few chapters before I went to sleep to see what it was about.

The thing is, with Jodi’s books, you usually can’t just read “a few” chapters. Well… I can’t. Almost immediately you are hooked, whether you like it or not. And you have to know what happens. And you can’t stand to not know. So, despite the fact that I had to be awake at 5:45 a.m. for work, I kept turning the pages until about one in the morning. Uhh, oops.

I read in the morning before work, on my breaks at work, and as soon as I got home from work. I read in the car on the way to the mall, and I read out on the deck enjoying the sunset after dinner. This one was hard to read before I fell asleep, as there are some….well…”things” that stuck with me well after the book was closed and the lights were off. Not that this stopped me, but just a little warning.

All of the books I’ve read by Jodi P. have involved a somewhat controversial issue, a trial in court, and a little love twist.  You would think they become somewhat repetitive in this sense–I thought that for a little while too.  I thought I’d get sick of reading about lawyers battling it out, and wondering whether or not I really should feel sorry for the “criminal’ as well as the victim, and marveling at how each character can really take a hold on you.  I thought there were only so many webs you could weave from a common core.

The first 30+ pages are graphic, stomach-wrenching and have you thinking you already know where this will go. I thought this one might be too hard to read. I didn’t know if I was up for it, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to just not finish it.

Needless to say, my opinion was quick to change. She did her research (as always), she told the story through many points of view (as always), and I was hooked (…..as always).

Change of Heart

by Jodi Piccoult

It’s the story of…

Shay Bourne-an inmate on death row for a double murder.
June Nealon-the victim of the double murder and mother of a young girl.
Father Michael-the priest, spiritual advisor, etc.
Maggie Bloom-an attorney, and a self-conscious 20-something.
Lucius DeFresne-an innate also convicted of murder and an AIDS sufferer.

…and how they all affect one another’s lives, stories, and possible deaths.

And it comes highly recommended by yours truly.

The story of Casey H

As soon as I’m done with school and the traveling/summer/relaxing begins….so does the reading!

I’ve confessed this before; I LOVE LOVE loooove to read. Usually it’s just books that my Mom recommends-she does about ten times more reading than I do-and I trust her judgment for the most part. If she says I’ll like it, 9 times out of 10 I love it.

We both have to have something to read on a plane, to keep us busy and attempt to make the time go by faster. So when my parents were traveling up to PA for my graduation, I was pretty excited to get this text from the Madre…

“I have a new ‘plane’ book for you”

….yay! Just in time for a trip down to FL, and a savior from the book I was currently reading. I attempted a Jane Austen novel, and um I’m not gonna lie….I couldn’t do it. I love the movies, and I love the stories themselves, buuut….something about the fact that sentences last for paragraphs (maybe pages!) and the dialogue is often hidden within the sentence (making it very hard for me to who was/wasn’t talking and when this was going on….ehhhh) and about 25 pages in I was already getting confused by all the characters….I just couldn’t do it. I was bored. I’d only be able to read about 10 pages at a time before I had to take a break. Basically I had started it in March, and made it about half way through two months later. Not a good sign.

Anyway! New book from Mom-for the summer-good stuff. I didn’t start it until last week when I got home, and I finished it tonight. That’s how you know it’s a good one. I was completely intrigued by each character and their separate stories and thoughts and lives. I was itching to know what was going to happen page after page and who was going to end up with who and how each story tied into the next.

So here I am, making my official recommendation. Read this book! It’s well written and it’s an “easy read”. Within the first 50 pages you are involved.

Free Food for Millionaires

by Min Jin Lee

The story of Casey Han…her life as a Korean-American living in NYC and surviving as a 20-something. She struggles with money, relationships, family and deciding what to do with her life. Who can’t relate to that?! It’s eye-opening to read and learn about her culture, the values and lives of her family, and how she copes with it all.

Go get it. Right…now. And then let me know what you think!

A Bit of a Bookworm

Nothing beats curling up on your bed, with a warm blanket, soft pillows, and a good book.  I love the feeling of just having to read page after page, being totally involved in an affair with the story the words are giving you. The feeling of not wanting the last page to come, because you aren’t ready for it to be over.

I have a confession: I am a bookworm. Time and schedule permitting, I am always reading something.  My mom is quick to recommend books that she likes, and send them on over. I am quick to buy books from authors that I have enjoyed in the past, or books topping the “NYT Best Sellers” list.  Fortunately for me, between my mom’s taste and my knack for the entertaining ones, I’ve read a lot of great books.

They keep me busy in the summer, make plane rides go a Lot faster, and keep me sane during the semester. I always read before I go to bed, and love to sit outside on a nice day with a book and hours to waste.

Right now, after being stubborn for over a year, I am finally reading “The Kite Runner”. For those of you who’ve read it, I don’t need to say anymore. I’m involved. I read on the bus to, and from, campus today. I read on my afternoon break before review sessions, meetings and work. I plan on reading as soon as I get back and before I go to bed. Yes, it’s that good.  If you haven’t already, go get it. It’s eye-opening, difficult, grotesque at parts, endearing, well-written, and it keeps you coming back in awe and curiosity.

Sometimes I am more inclined to read the playful romantic stories,  “chick lit”, or comedies.  Sometimes I go for “The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson”, which I absolutely adore and have read many of them multiple times. (Stories of a tween British girl and her many crushes, adventures, crazy cat and loco-little sis. They’re hilarious!!! Don’t judge me).

A few that I’ve read and would recommend to Anybody:

“The Lovely Bones” Alice Sebold

“Nineteen Minutes” Jodi Piccoult

“The Plain Truth” Jodi Piccoult

“The Glass Castle” Jeannette Walls

“The Giver” Lois Lowry

“The Kite Runner” Khaled Hosseini

“Harry Potter” J.K. Rowling
(Yes.  ALL OF THEM. )

 

Any recommendations?? I’m open to anything, let me know!