settling in and turning pages.

Hey there chickadees!

We’ve made it through Monday, which is certainly worth something.

It was a long one yesterday, in which I headed from work straight to yoga.

Stretching and twisting in a hot room for an hour with some pals is generally a cure for what ails you.

Also last night: instead of melting into a TV-watching haze when I got home (which is my general evening activity as of late), I curled up on my couch and opened back  up my latest book pick, courtesy of the expert opinion of FG.

After a year of reading leadership books, I’ve needed her counsel to slide back into the land of the living when it comes to things I’d like to read.

And this one hit it straight on the head.

Catherine the Great is about, well, Catherine the Great. A Germanic princess, she’s taken from her family when she’s fourteen, trucked to Russia to marry an heir who seems obsessed with playing with toys and paying little attention to her, and then becomes one of the world’s most powerful women.

So far, I’ve made it to the early stages of her marriage to Peter, and the book’s got me hooked. It reads like a novel, but it’s for real, which is really my favorite kind of thing.to.read.

If you’re interested in monarchy, Russian history, or just an interesting story, I’d pick this one up- I’ll be hitting up the library for the rest of this author’s books as soon as I’m finished with this one.

It’s worth a night of skipped DVR and Netflix, chicks.

 

 

exact change for your sins.

Hey there chickens!

I am happy to say that we’ve made it to the middle of the week.

You can’t ask for much more than that, right?

I didn’t think so.

I’ve been (thus far) enjoying the mild weather, grinding through the work week, and re-discovering my reading list.

After nine months of my book-heavy leadership class, I decided I was ready to get back to the stacks, and signed into my Chicago Library account to see what kind of damage I’d done in the fines department.

Restricted, was what I expected to see on my profile.

Restricted is a terrible fate, chicks, because it means  ”can’t put books on hold until you walk yourself down here and give us exact change for your sins.”

The CPL means business.

However, much to my delight, I saw a status of Good when I checked it out.

I asked JW if he had paid my fines (which he sometimes does, since I’m equal parts forgetful and reliant on my library card), but he said no, he hadn’t done it.

So thanks, CPL, for the amnesty.

I appreciate it.

As soon as I realized that I again had free reign over the catalog, I put a few things on hold:

 

Gone Girl is one of those books everyone’s talking about, and I’ve also seen it on my blogging circle as a popular read. Sold.

 

A Reliable Wife was recommended to me by Ky’s mom, who aside from just being one of my favorite people, is a librarian.

She’s always got something for me, thank God.

 

My friend B has been recommending Rules of Civility to me for a long time, but for some reason, the title led me to believe it was some kind of book about the particulars of societal living.

Then I found out it was about a woman living in New York City in the 30s and her uprising on the scene, and decided it sounded enough like Gossip Girl for me to be interested.

I’m only sort of kidding.

In any case, while I wait for my books to march onto the shelf, I picked up Alice Hoffman’s Fortune’s Daughter for a re-read.

I love Alice Hoffman. If you haven’t read her, start with Practical Magic and come find me when you’re finished with everything she’s written.

Actually, scratch that. Make sure to take a break every two to three books, or you’ll be brooding all winter. Alice’s books can get a little dark.

So, chickadees. Here’s my question. Once I blow through these three: what’s next? Tell me what you’re reading- I’ll get it on my list.

 

caucuses and two for the books.

So I made it one day of getting up early before I decided I’d rather stay under my covers.

Which means I’m gonna have to brave the crowded gym tonight.

Pray for me. And pray that I don’t have to resort to the recumbent bike, which is my worst workout nightmare.

No, I’m really not sure why.

In any case, I made it through the first day of work without losing my cool, and it’s already Wednesday.

Two positives, I would say.

Other things I’m focused on for the week include the Iowa caucus (yes, I know, we don’t all like politics, but I’m a sucker for political races and anything that inflates my blood pressure) and a couple of library books dedicated to my favorite subject, history.

Up right now is 1776, which I actually can’t believe I haven’t read before. I’m settling in with the Continental Army for a long, New England winter, and I’m anxious to see how it all turns out.

I think I might know it turns out.

But I’d like to know how it all went down.

Post my American Revolution dabbling, I’ve got Grant on my shelf, and it’s about a million pages long and also intimidating me from my living room.

He’s fairly intimidating, you know? Also, he’s known for having one of the most corrupt administrations in our nation’s history, so you know that means I need to know all about it.

Who doesn’t love a 19th century scandal?

And with that, chickens, I’m off to get to this next day of the new year. Have a lovely morning!

killers be on the loose.

Last night, I headed to the gym post work and stomped out 5.5 miles, which was surprising, as after the first five minutes I had decided that I hated running forever and was only running ten minutes.

I’m not the only one who has that thought from time to time, am I?

I didn’t think so.

After I got home, I threw together a weird dinner of mozzarella/spinach tortilla and caught up on Gossip Girl and then hung out with Ky for a bit, having an impromptu red wine and popcorn session.

This is actually a stellar combination, we’ve decided.

After Ky left, I stayed up far past my bedtime, because on Day 1 of reading I’m nearly 200 pages into my new book, Room. 

This book is basically about a woman who’s kidnapped at age nineteen on her way to class by an old, sick man, who locks her in a garden shed for seven years. In the interim, she has a baby (with him, since aside from keeping her captive, he’s sexually assaulting her), and hatches a plan to get out of Room, as it’s called.

The story’s told from the perspective of five-year-old Jack, which makes it much more interesting, in my opinion. The Room is all he knows, and he’s not keen on her plan to leave it.

It’s a crazy, crazy story that’s making me feel the same way that I did when I read Lovely Bones, which is that killers be on the loose, people.

But if you’re looking for a riveting, easy-to-read plot line, you should get this on your list.

And with that, I’m off to the land of 9:00 AM webinars and Excel spreadsheets. Catch you chickens on the other side of hump day!

 

 

 

 

fried clams and monday morning

So Ky and I are from Connecticut, which we bring up from time to time.

We can’t help it.

We love New England.

So when we heard that there was a new fish market opening mere blocks from my home, we knew we had to check it out.

Especially when we heard it was owned by brothers, from Boston.

How can you stay away from a gravitational pull like that?

Turns out, it was the highlight of the weekend. Everything was delicious, reasonably priced, and even though we went for fried clams, seasoned fries, and clam chowder, you can also go to pick up fish for cooking.

Ky and I know where we’ll be spending our winter, that’s for sure.

Delicious. Anyway, it’s called New England Seafood Company, and you should probably make your way over to their Lakeview location just as soon as you can.

I ended the weekend eating delicious rigatoni and drinking wine with my family, and so I’m a little slow to get back to my cubicle this morning.

Luckily, I have a new library book (nothing like a recounting of a presidential assassination), and I’m headed to the Celt tonight to check out the Bears vs. Lions.

Please don’t let me down, Bears.

Have a good Monday chickens!

 

almost at the end.

So today it’s cooled off.

A little bit, anyway.

This morning though, to be on the safe side (both because of my current eyewear sitch and the still-dangerously hot temps), I took my run inside on a treadmill, where no cars could hit me.

It was a good decision.

Last night though, I decided to finally trek to the library to pick up my seventeen million books on hold, and the extra two blocks there and back nearly killed me.

The sweat situation would have been embarrassing, except that everyone had one.

The library, however, is a pillar of society not only for its information sharing, but also because it knows that the only thing better than books is books and the A/C blasting.

It was a refuge in a difficult time.

Anyway, I’m so glad it’s Friday, and that I’m only staring down eight hours in my cube (which I will not even complain about, as it is air conditioned there), and then I’m free for the weekend.

Except that tomorrow JW and I are headed to pre-cana, which is essentially a church class they make you take to get married.

I have many thoughts about this, but I’ll wait until post tomorrow to share them.

This should be interesting.

Also up tonight: more Weeds because I am straight up obsessed, and making waffles on our new waffle maker.

Please tell me this will go better than making pancakes, which usually ends with me in tears and with a breakfast menu in my hands.

Catch you later chickadees!

Five Good Things: Please stop grumbling edition

Ok, in honor of the fact that I am willing myself to recover from this cold in the next 24 hours, I will pull out Five Good Things, in the hopes that there will be more to come. So here goes nothing chickens:

1. I’m headed home this weekend, to do the following things: pick out a florist, choose a flavor of wedding cake, get into my pool to do something about this oh-so-pasty complexion I’ve got going on, and do my laundry, because apparently I’ve reverted back to the age of 18 (although, I’ll have you know even when I was 18 I did my own laundry at the dorms. So really, this is just a new, pathetic thing I’m up to).

2. I’ve got a good, solid stream of public library picks at my disposal. I just finished Things I’ve Been Silent About, which is a memoir about an Iranian woman and talks about not only Iranian politics in the last 80 years or so but also about family and friends and life in general.

I loved it.

And whoa, you guys. There’s so much I don’t know. Maybe you do. But if you’re looking for a good story and to learn something about a country that can be at best confusing in context, pick this one up. You won’t regret it.

Up next: Let the Great World Spin, which came recommended to me, and also spins a story around a man who (true story, chickens) walked on a tightrope across the World Trade Centers in the 1970s. I’ll keep you posted.

3. All this rain has been something of a bummer, but on the plus side, I’m having some success on the plant side. My arugula is starting to look like a jungle, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some of it when I get back next week.

4. JW and I caught The Hangover 2 last night, and while we both agreed that since it was essentially the same exact movie as the first one, it wasn’t quite as entertaining, it still made us laugh. We also hit up Maggiano’s for a serious pasta dinner, and have leftovers that will probably last us until next year.

Score.

5. Today is Thursday. And while technically, I’m sort of feeling like it should be Friday, I’ll take that we are almost.to.the.weekend. Hang on friends, we’re getting pretty close here.

And with that, I’m off to my cubicle for awhile, and then tonight, it’s out to Piece again with my parents.

Maybe I’ll be a Piece Pizza regular.

I take no issue with that.

 

 

I want to go to there.

And just like that, we’re through another weekend.

Crazy.

I’ll take it though, since it was so full of activity that I didn’t even get to sleep past 7:30.

Last night I finished the evening off by playing some soccer (and winnnninng!) and then enjoying some homemade pizza with JW while watching the Heat cruise to victory again.

C’mooon, Mavs, you’re killing me.

Up this week: more running, more swimming, Tina Fey’s Bossypants (thank you, thank you, thank you CPL!), and trying to cook some things, instead of eating re-heated, slightly old leftover picnic foods and trying to pass them off as actual meals (frozen chicken-less nuggets and un-dressed coleslaw for lunch? No thank you).

I’m getting all kinds of ambitious here, chickadees.

Also, looking forward to a week that ends in a trip to Ravinia (if you live in the Chicago-ish area and have not been, shame on you and get to it adesso, thanks very much) and perhaps another generous helping of sweet tea vodka.

That’s the drink of summer, I proclaim it.

Get on board.

And now, it’s off to a morning full of meetings and apparently, another round of hot summer weather and another storm or two.

I will take all of this, complaint free.

Have a good Monday, chicks!

 

the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be

This rain better be encouraging all my new herbs to grow.

Otherwise, I don’t really have much use for it.

From my current vantage point, things look windy, cold, and well, wet.

Not the kind of weather I’m looking forward to running 3.5 miles in.

If I could eliminate one of those elements, I’d accept my fate. After finishing my last race, complete with driving rain and 45 degree temperatures, I was looking forward to something a little more…comfortable.

As I typed that, the wind picked up.

Wish me luck tonight, chickadees. Hopefully I don’t get blown into Lake Michigan.

In other news, I’ve been tearing through library books, as I’ve gotten overzealous again with the CPL’s hold policy, and my books have been renewed within an inch of their lives.

Most recently finished up?

The Sherlockian, by Graham Moore.

This was a book club that I was actually supposed to read two months ago, but alas, the library did not see fit to get it in my hands until a couple of weeks ago. The book is split between the turn of the 20th century and present times, with the latter story rooted in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of the Holmes’ stories, in case you didn’t know) and his involvement in a strange murder case involving suffragettes and tattoos.

The former story is centered around a missing diary from Doyle’s collection. Famed Sherlockian Alex Cale finds the diary, and right before he is to unveil his findings from 20 years of detective work, he is murdered in his hotel room. Harold, the youngest of the Irregulars (an exclusive society of Sherlockians) takes chase, searching for the diary, the murderer, and answers in general.

I’m usually not one for a mystery–aside from the Dragon Tattoo series, I don’t usually pick up something specific touted as “mystery,” but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the genre when I find it in front of me.

I’ll admit that even though we own collections of the Sherlock Holmes’ stories, I’ve never actually picked one up, which I’m now reconsidering.

This book was quick to read, interesting from a historical perspective (which I believe we all know I’m drawn toward), and had likable characters and a good, if not always 100% solid, plot line. If you’re looking for something fast but still of substance, I’d suggest grabbing this one (although I do not suggest going through the CPL, unless you’re not planning on reading it until August).

However, if you are a lover of Holmes and Doyle, be warned. This is historical fiction, so you just have go with it, which I admit is fairly easy when you’re not familiar with his work and life. If you were though, I can see that the book might be slightly more difficult to roll with. But pick it up anyway.

Next up, I have some Richard Russo to take me through Memorial Day weekend, and I just couldn’t be happier about that.

Stay dry, chicks, and I’ll catch up a little closer to the weekend!

Sunshine-y day.

A few thoughts from the homestead on this day, and the weekend, and the sunshine:

1. I have never been so happy to see the sun. Even on my way to swim this morning, I could tell I wouldn’t need my umbrella, which coincidentally, I finally got back to my house.

Not complaining about its idleness.

I can’t wait to break out my sunglasses.

2. Last night, I headed to the gym to run, although I could feel it in my bones that I was actually highly uninterested in going. I was getting dressed, and realized that I forgot to bring a shirt. Not willing to give up at this late stage in the game, I improvised, wearing the white shirt that I had worn to work, and got upstairs before noticing it was see through without its previously worn-with camisole.

I decided I didn’t care.

Two Y-patron men opened doors for me.

Probably a coincidence.

3. Yesterday all of my books from the CPL came in at once, which means that I had to pick up seven of them after work. I have decided that when picking up your seven book haul at the library, it is best to smile and just fill up your backpack, purse, and arms with a bunch of things that are never making it back in three weeks. It is also important to shrug off the weird look the librarian is giving you, because actually, isn’t loving books in bulk part of her job description?

4. I’m blogging early this morning because despite all you cool kids hating on the Royal wedding, I have never been a cool kid and I simply must get a better look at that wedding dress.

It’s a historical event. I’m writing it off as part of my interest in history, not my interest in weddings and other people’s business, thank you very much.

Enjoy the sunshine chickadees, and the weekend!