SURPRISE! (pt. 1)

on thursday of last week i went to work like usual. jeremy was in training across the street so after work we headed to the red cross to give blood. steph's business, the custom massage, was sponsoring the night so everyone who donated blood got a five minute chair massage and entered in a drawing for a free half hour session at her office. we didnt win the drawing but did help save up to 6 lives - so i guess thats just as good as a free massage.

i helped steph pack up her chair and stuff and she took me home so jeremy could go out birthday "shopping" for me (aka picking my mom up at the airport). when they walked through the door i was very surprised! and also glad that i wasnt naked. ;)

she stayed the weekend to help celebrate my birthday. on friday we went to lunch at susans before i had to work. jeremy had the day off so he and my mom stayed home and baked my birthday cake! on saturday went shopping for my oscars dress. saturday night was dinner and a show at the theatre. we ate at ignite beforehand (where else?) and it was delish as always. swing fever (an orginal palace production) was fun and my mom loved it. the dancers were full of energy and the musicians were hot (and also full of delish food from ignite - it is the neighborhood hot spot). our theatre looks so pretty when it is lit up at night!

valentine's day

for valentine's day jeremy and i both had to work. we got off early-ish on sunday afternoons so we planned a nice dinner out and then a mini-vacation to concord to see the state capitol etc.

we got all dressed up and headed to dinner at XO on elm - a new hipster restaurant not too far from my theatre. dinner was great and after stuffing ourselves we headed up to concord.

monday morning we woke up and had a great breakfast provided by the hotel. since it was president's day the hotel was crawling with ski families fueling up to hit the slopes. i was only mildly jealous of the fun they were going to have that day, but we had exploring to do!

concord (all of new hampshire really) is crawling with historical important buildings. we wandered around downtown for a while and then decided to head home. the cats were excited to have us back (really just hungry) and we settled in to watch the olympics. that has pretty much been our activity for the past two weeks - ff-ing through all the boring stuff and hitting the highlights of the games. summer games are much more interesting in my opinion. :)

january in review

one of my goals for january was to start on my wedding scrapbook. i waited until january 31, but i worked on it! i got several pages completed and, more importantly, now all of our wedding stuff is in one place and easier to find when i want to finish it. i WILL have it done by the end of may.

i never really came up with a mini goal for february, and since the month is almost half over with i guess i won't. i am still diligently working on one of my goals for the year - 500 miles in 2010. i am behind on average number of miles per day i need to make this goal, but i know that in the spring and summer i will put in a lot more time when i can run outside and race again. so for now, walking to work and hopping on the dreadmill a couple of times a week is going to have to suffice.

i am getting excited for my upcoming trip to la. i can't wait to see everyone again, and the oscars are always fun. we are still looking for a dress but i havent hit the bcbg outlet yet. i got last year's dress from bcbg and i love the way their clothes look on me. so here's hoping tilton gives us a winner!

rumpy came through his neutering just fine and, instead of it calming him down, he is more wild and crazy than ever. some days jeremy is ready to just throw him out, but so far i have been able to convince him to let rump roast stay.

we went to our first college hockey game with mark and lanelle this week and it was fun! the team we were cheering for, southern new hampshire university, lost to st anselm, but it was a good time. mark played pro hockey so it was good to have him there to explain more about the game.

we spent the super bowl with people from the palace. colette was nice enough to open her home and a good time was had by all. we were almost all cheering for the saints so it was great when they won too! AND our church in la had made a commercial that won a contest sponsored by doritos and was aired during teh first half. amazing!

Book Review: Children of the Waters

Children of the Waters

Carleen Brice

From the back:

Still reeling from divorce and feeling estranged from her teenage son, Trich Taylor is in the midst of salvaging the remnants of her life when she uncovers a shocking scret: Her sister is alive. For years Trish believed that her mother and infant sister had died in a car accident. But the truth is that her mother fatally overdosed and that Trich's grandparents put the baby girl up for adoption becuase her father was black.

After years of drawing on the strength of her black ancesters, Billie Cousins is shocked to discover that she was adopted. Just as surprising, after finally overcoming a series of health struggles, she is pregnant - a dream come true for Billie but a nightmare for her sweetie, Nick, and for her mother, both determined to protect Billie from anything that may disrupt her well-being.

Though Trish longs to connect with her long-lost sister, Billie's feelings of betrayal are too deep to cross. But when both women are forced to confront their personal and familial demons, they begin to realize that each may have what the other needs. Like "children of the waters" - the Buddhist concept that celebrates those who are always in a state of becoming - they must release the past in order to embrace the future.

my review:

i really enjoyed this book. the characters were real and acted in ways that you would expect real people to act. the relationships were messy and complicated. the story was thought-provoking. i really enjoyed it from start to finish, even though i didn't want to read it at first. it really made me think about issues, and dealt with topics that most people consider to be off-limits in polite society, like prejudice, abortion and the like. really good and uplifting.

Book Review: Mischief Maker's Manual

Mischief Maker's Manual

by Sir John Hargrave

From the Back:

There's ordinary mischief, and there's magnificent mischief. Any fool can create ordinary mischief, but only by reading the Mischeif Maker's aManual can you create magnificent mischief. Never cruel, but always funny and creative, the mischief in this book will change the art of pranking forver!

My Review:

I loved this book! The pranks in it were funny, but not mean, and the tips were great. There are specific rules for mischief, like "Don't be a bully" and "No lasting damage" that make teh spirit of the pranks fun instead of mena. If you have a mischivieous 8-12 year old at home, he or she will love this book. It is geared a little more toward boys, but girls wouldl ike it too. I want to go find a kid to give this book to so they can pull some of the stuff in this book.

Very funny, entertaining, and appropriate for all ages. Check it out here on Amazon.