Things

First thing: I hope you've been following some of the going ons with Armchair BEA. I have loved the interviews and all the fun posts. It's been pretty fabulous.

Second thing: I am currently in a car. Driving. To Washington. I am rather excited for my little mini-vacation. Sister B and I are going to our cousin's high school graduation. Plus, I really needed a weekend vacation. Right now. Memorial Day came at the PERFECT time. Seriously. This holiday will get me through the next month until the 4th of July. I'm ready for summer. SO ready.

Third thing: Friday Fill-Ins! YAY! I hope you enjoy these and I'll be back on the internets on Tuesday! Much love y'all! Peace!

1. Brownies -- the best food to take on a picnic.
2. Summer can't come soon enough for me right now.
3. I have a love/hate relationship with flip flops.
4. To love someone is to forget yourself.
5. This summer I want to take a really a long hike.
6. When I crave food, it's usually sweet or salty.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to arriving in Washington, tomorrow my plans include hangin' with the cousins and Sunday, I want to go to my first high school graduation since my own!!

Armchair BEA: INTERVIEW!!!

Welcome all y'all to my interview of Florinda from The 3 R's Blog. I was really excited to interview her and read the other interviews with Armchair BEA because I don't know many book bloggers and today's day of interviews gives me a chance to meet more people who love to read! So without further ado - here's Florinda!

1. What is the book that made you fall in love with reading?

I'm not sure I can remember the book, to be honest. I've been reading since I was four, and that was many, many years ago - I can't remember a time I didn't have a book with me once I learned how to read by myself, and I've always read one book right after the other. But I do remember some of the earliest books I loved and read and re-read: the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace, about girls growing up in small-town Minnesota in the early 20th century (the series follows them from elementary school through marriage and motherhood); the Melendy family stories by Elizabeth Enright; Eleanor Frances Lattimore's children's fiction set in both China and contemporary America; and, of course, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books.

2. I'll be honest - I'm more of a book blog stalker than writer, but I do read quite a bit. So,what do you enjoy most about combining reading with blogging?

I was never good at keeping a reading journal, but thanks to blogging, I finally have one! Knowing at the back of my mind that I'll be trying to capture my impressions of a book in a written record has helped me read more carefully and thoughtfully, and I'm glad that's happened. But what I really love is that I've found so many other avid readers in the book-blogging community - people who constantly point me toward new books to read, and who love to talk about the books we've read already!

3. I recently graduated from college and I didn't read much fiction during those 5 years of schooling. I remember feeling very daunted at jumping back into reading anything fun. So, what book are you most likely to recommend to someone who is looking to get back into the reading scene and has missed basically everything awesome?

I don't really have one "go-to" book recommendation - I try to base my suggestions on knowing something about the person and her interests. But having said that...in the situation you mention, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series is not to be missed - and since the final book in the trilogy is due out in August, this is a great time to start on it!

4. You participate/host a lot of fun memes/daily topics. Which one is your favorite and why?

I don't really participate in as many memes as I used to, but I've used some of them as jumping-off points for my own features. My favorite participation meme is the Sunday Salon, which I finally joined last year. I like it mostly because it's so free-form it really isn't a proper meme, but it does give me a good framework for a weekly reading recap and some discussion of book/blog topics. My favorite self-developed feature is the Week-End Review, which I usually post on Fridays. That's my place to share the great links I come across in my blog reading - which I love to do - and it's also place for non-book-related discussion and general stuff that I might not be able to build a full post around.

5. What's your biggest guilty pleasure?

At this point in my life, I'm really working on not feeling guilty about my pleasures! But most of the ones I have aren't book-related. There's definitely some music on my iPod that I might skip past if I'm not alone, because I don't want to be judged on it - and since I know I judge other people on their (questionable, to me) musical tastes, I tend to expect the same! TV is a big source of my guilty pleasures too - for the last couple of years, my prime one has been Smallville on The CW - but since next year will be its last season, I guess I'll be looking for another one soon!

6. Are you a good boy or a bad boy kind of girl when it comes to books? And who is your favorite good/bad boy?

I can see the allure of the bad boy, but I'm past the point in my life where I have much patience with them any more, so I go for the good guys in fiction - and in real life, too. And I can't pick a favorite - I've met too many of them in all my years of reading!

and finally...

7. If you had the opportunity to go to BEA which author would you want to meet and why?

I probably wouldn't have had an answer to this question before I started working on my own Armchair BEA posts, since I really didn't even know who'd be there - but now that I've checked out the list, my #1 choice would be Jon Stewart, for reasons that have little to do with the fact that he and the Daily Show writers have a new book coming out! Since I get tongue-tied and stupid when I meet authors, it might be for the best if I didn't actually try to meet and talk with any of them, to be honest...but after reading her blog and three of her books, I'd like the chance to meet Beth Kephart.

Thanks so much for answering my questions Florinda! Be sure to stop by her blog to learn more about her and read her great reviews! Also - don't miss my interview over at Tales of a Capricious Reader and the other great interviews can be found at Armchair BEA Central!

Armchair BEA, Ten on Tuesday and a sad story

okay, let's start at the beginning shall we? Today kicks off the beginning of BEA in NY. My friend Angie over at Angieville is currently walking the halls and meeting awesome people. I couldn't attend BEA for realsies, so instead I'm participating in Armchair BEA. What is Armchair BEA you ask? Well, go HERE for a great little explanation. I have a few posts lined up for this event and I hope to attend the Twitter party for a little bit! Make sure to visit me tomorrow when I interview Florinda over at The 3 R's Blog. It's going to be a fun little event and I'm excited to be a participant this year.

Let's skip Ten on Tuesday for a minute - you'll find that meme below the sad story.

SAD STORY:
I burned my hand on my curling iron this morning. It hurts. It's not just a little burn, it's about the size of a nickel and it HURTS. I've run it under cold water, put aloe vera on it, put ice on it and it still hurts. sad right? I know.

Okay, so the sad story wasn't that long. don't sue me k?

Moving swiftly on...

TEN ON TUESDAY! by Chelsea at Roots and Rings

1. What is your favourite piece of furniture in your house?
hmmm. I am in love with my bed. I upgraded to a Queen size bed after graduation and I am in major love.

2. If it was raining so hard on a Saturday that you couldn’t leave your house, what would you spend the day doing?
Oh I could easily spend the whole day reading curled up in my blanket, but if that day was today I would probably spend it cleaning, cooking and getting things ready for my vacation this weekend.

3. What was your favourite candy as a child?
oh I LOVED going to the little burger joint up the street and purchasing penny candy. An assortment of sour patch kids, swedish fish (in just red and multi-colors!) and those watermelons and stuff. Oh yeah. so yummy.

4. Did you get an allowance? What was it based on? What did you do with it?
Nope. No allowance. I did have a paper route at age 10 and that's how I earned my money to pay for my pointe shoes.

5. Do you have a favourite Etsy store?
Not really, but my mom has one so I guess that's my favorite!!

6. Do you prefer time with family or time with friends?
I love time with both of them.

7. Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, or Animaniacs?
Looney Tunes. That's the good stuff.

8. Best daytime talk show: Oprah, Ellen, The Doctors, Tyra (ha!), Dr. Oz, or Dr. Phil?
Since I work all day, I really don't watch daytime anything. However, when I've been home sick or on vacation, I love Ellen
.
9. Would you rather have the power of invisibility or the ability to fly?
Oh this one is hard. There are pros and cons to both, but I'd have to go with the ability to fly. That just sounds awesome.

10. Name 1 thing you love about being an adult.
I love that I get to choose my meal plans and what I do from day to day. No one tells me what to do.

WTF???

you guys, it is SNOWING!!! SNOWING! on May 24th, we have inches of snow. I'm not so happy about this. It is not fun, just COLD.

Also, I had a pretty crap Saturday. I was hoping to get 3-5 things done on my to-do list. NONE of them got done. Instead I spent 4+ hours at a studio hoping to get pictures done for my company and not one picture got taken. It was awful.  The story is a lot longer than that, but I don't feel like going into it.

Although, SwingKid and I went to the rec center Friday night for our date - which was so much fun and then we doubled friends of ours and went to OZZ and played pool for 2 hours. That was also a BLAST! :o)

Other than that, I'm just happy it's Monday. Odd, I know - but I am leaving Friday for Washington so I only have a 4-day work week. Happy day. I can't wait to have a little min-vacay.

one year ago
two years ago
four years ago
five years ago

life is hard sometimes...

you know what? this week has been pretty rough on me. It has been an emotional roller coaster. All week I've been thinking about and listening to a song from Jekyll and Hyde for an audition for Annie Get Your Gun. I've been all sorts of excited about it AND THEN I realized that if I make this musical I won't be able to go to VA with Sister B when she's coming back from her study abroad. The musical runs through that entire time. So I'd have to go to VA a different time. Which shouldn't be a big deal, but unbeknowst to me, my mom wants to do a family photo.

So now...now, I'm just not sure. Plus, I had a mental breakdown last night over the whole shenanigan. Well that and something SwingKid said. Nothing bad per se, but combine that with the not so good week I've had, the crappy experience trying to find contacts that work (still working on this!) and the whole do I or don't I with the musical...his one little phrase threw me for a loop. So I cried. Because that's what I do when I've let too many things build up inside of me. I cry and can't express anything because it's not ONE thing that's making me cry. It's five hundred bazillion. Poor SwingKid, I think he's just starting to understand that.


Anyways.  Sorry to rant and go off on this long tangent that is vague and rather alarming - but I promise I'm doing okay. I just need a weekend of relaxation. Which I just might get once I figure out what to do about the audition tonight. :P

Let's move on shall we? It's Friday so that means we get to have some Friday Fill-Ins fun!!

1. SwingKid tickling me never fails to make me smile.
2. I'm looking forward to my little weekend getaway next weekend. WAHOO!
3. My coworker's Pandora is what I'm listening to right now.
4. Potato salad must have nothing in it! I hate potato salad. I'm not a fan AT ALL.
5. My breakfast of cinnamon was the best thing I ate today. (I've only eaten breakfast and while I plan on eating my other meals today,  I don't think I really have anything on the menu that is going to be AMAZING.)
6. Today was a long time coming. a long, long time coming.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to well...it depends on if I actually audition for this musical or not, tomorrow my plans include company pictures and a double date at OZZ! and Sunday, I want to try a new recipe!

one year ago

ugh...is it only Tuesday???

oh man. I am wishing I had a nice long vacation to look forward to...but alas, I have no such thing. Although it does look like I'll be traveling to the great state of Washington in the tri-city area Memorial Day weekend for my cousin's High School graduation, but that will be two days in a car and two days with extended family. :o) Not really the vacation I WANT right now. What do I want? I want to spend all day in bed with my awesome book, a bag of m&m's and a diet coke with lime. Sounds divine right now.

sigh.

Last night was the season finale of Castle on ABC. I love that show. I'm excited for the upcoming third season. It should be a good one.

Also, today I am grateful for memes. Ten on Tuesday is going to make this post WAY more interesting. At least, I think it is...maybe I'm wrong. oh well.

1. If your name was a verb, what would “to Chelsea” mean? (Insert your own name though…)
well...to Alishka would mean to do a dance in the hallway celebrating life.

2. What myth have you always wanted to prove or bust?
I really want to bust the myth that bad things happen in threes...but I haven't figured out how to work that yet.

3. If you had the ability to get a message out to the entire world, what would you say?
there are so many things I would want to say that it would probably go one of two ways. one, I would takl so fast that no one would understand a word I was saying; or two, I would just stare at the message system and go um.....

4. I know you’ve answered a similar question before, but it’s been awhile. Please name your current top 10 blogs.
i read SO many blogs. I'm currently in love with the Tasty Kitchen blog, a few book review blogs, and then some others that I like to stalk. I'm a huge stalker.

5. Do you have a junk drawer?
oh yes. I shouldn't though. I need to go through it and get rid of stuff. Since I'm trying to de-junk my life and all that jazz.

6. Bottled water or tap? 
usually tap. from my fridge. so filtered?

7. As a kid, did you have a favorite Biblical story?
hmmm...I love Biblical stories, but I can't think of a specific one right now.

8. What is your favorite black and white movie?
Casablanca


9. Aside from your engagement/wedding rings, what is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own? Does it have a story behind it?
Well, I don't have an engagmenet/wedding ring at this time. The only ring I wear is my CTR ring. I wear lots earrings and necklaces...but don't have a favorite. It all depends on the outfit.

10. What sports/activities do you hope your kids will be involved in? (Answer for both a boy and a girl)
Well, I hope they do whatever they want to do in that area. I will support them no matter what. While that may sound like a cop-out answer, I don't want to hold expectations for my children for certain sports/activities. I feel like that is not a good way to do things. (i realize i didn't explain that all that well, but my brain hurts. forgive me)

have a good tuesday y'all.
one year ago
two years ago
four years ago

whew....

... i am so glad that it is FINALLY friday. It has been a LONG time coming. I'm rather tired right now. I'm hoping I can make it through work and then teaching and then my date with SwingKid. I have the best thing planned! Hopefully the weather cooperates. :o)

I can't think right now. I will try to be more clever later. For now - Here is some Friday Fill-in stuff.

1. I just had an eye appointment. Hurrah for new contacts!.
2. Happiness is sunshine.
3. The third sentence on the 7th page of the book I'm reading: "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist coming out to play." - Bewitched and Betrayed by Lisa Shearin.
4. Rhubarb crisp tickles my fancy.
5. I was walking and then I ran into the door frame - and the doc says I have perfect peripheral vision...
6. SwingKid makes me laugh!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a secret date that I've planned for SwingKid and I, tomorrow my plans include shopping with Sister B and a bridal shower and Sunday, I want to relax!

Ten on Tuesday...

Just like last week, I'm stealing this from those I stalk. *loves*
1. What was your high school superlative (if you didn’t have one- what would it have been)?
I did not have one. I was not that cool. I'm not even sure what it would have been if I HAD had one. HS was so long ago that I don't really care anymore.

2. What sports did you play in high school?
Zero. I danced on a ballet company outside of high school.

3.  What was the best part about your wedding (if you’re not married yet, what are you looking forward to)?
Well. Not married yet, and I'm looking forward to the party. I love parties. Especially when they're all about me and I get lots of presents.

4. It’s your last meal– what Appetizer, Soup, Salad, Entree and Dessert would you choose?
Appetizer: I LOVE lettuce wraps. Man, I should get me some for lunch today....
Soup: Zupa's Tomato Basil
Salad: Waldorf Chicken Salad from CPK
Entrée: mmm...I want a steak cooked medium with a yummy baked potato and A-1 sauce.
Dessert: Anything with dark chocolate and raspberries - or strawberries. Yummy

5.  What song is your guilty pleasure?

currently anything by Miley Cyrus. I'm not a fan of her, but some of her songs are just so dang catchy and I love them. 
 
6.  What is your favourite professional sports team, and why do you like them?
I don't do professional sports. Only college. only football. And it's my BYU Cougars all the way.

7.  What is your favourite reality show and why do you like it?
So You Think You Can Dance. It starts up again here shortly and I am SO EXCITED!!!

8. How would you classify your home decorating style (modern, classic, French country)?
uh...I have no idea. It's homey??

9. Pizza- deep dish or thin crust? White sauce or red sauce? What toppings?
Regular crust - I like not thick on the bottom, but thick at the ends - like breadsticks! Red sauce (light) and then I LOVE a supreme pizza. I also love a canadian bacon pineapple.

10.  Favourite weekend getaway within a two hour driving radius?
hmmm...I've never "gotten away" within a two-hr driving radius. Probably Park City. I guess.

ALSO! It's Chilly's b-day today. I love her. Go wish her happy birthday. she loves new internet friends. :o)

ALSO 2.0! I took a ballet class last night. It was not one that I teach in any way, shape or form. It was also the first ballet class I took since I tore my ACL. (since before I found OUT I had torn my ACL). It was very scary and yet wonderful all at the same time. My fears are all in my head, my knee performs wonderfully (although not 100% yet) but my brain is still scared of hurting it again. All my current nightmares are of me re-injuring my knee. All in all, it was a great night and I was very happy to  be taking class. Not all of my muscles are happy with me today though. :o) I'm just a wee bit sore.


one year ago
two years ago
three years ago

A little recap and some funny things

SO!! I was trying so hard to be vague about my weekend plans because I know my parents read my blog and part of my weekend plans included a HUGE service project for my mom's Mother's Day gift. It turned out PERFECT. Go to this blog: http://radishtinkle.blogspot.com/ to see what my sister and I did for her. It was a ton of fun and worked out splendidly as our gift. :o)

This weekend also consisted of me making a few new recipes, some good, some not so good AND getting to enjoy family dinner with SwingKid's family. They are so awesome and we had a lot of fun hanging out on Sunday evening.

I also read a book this weekend. Well, I read a book on Sunday. It was the second in the Raine Benares books. If you like fantasy and fun times, you should DEFINITELY check them out. I'm a little bit into the third one and I'm loving every minute of it.

Finally, I saw this via a blog I  stalk and I highly encourage you to watch it. It's fabulously funny and if you have the Monday Blues, you should watch it. Right now.




HA HA HA. I hope that made you laugh as much as it made me laugh. :o)
one year ago

I am so HAPPY

unlike yesterday afternoon/evening where I was an ornery little witch. good thing I have boyfriend who loves me and puts up with my ornery behavior.

Today I am happy. It is Friday. We are so happy it is Friday. I have fun plans this weekend - for the most part.

that's it. I'm just happy.

1. Salsa and chips are so yummy. I love salsa and chips.
2. Really? Hot dogs? and you've even got mustard!! You're the best!
 3. By the time I get home on most days, the day is basically over and yet I have so much still to do.
4. Fresh produce and having the ability to cook yummy things is what I look forward to most when grocery shopping.
5. And I was dreaming about weird things last night.
6.sweet kisses ...is there anything else better?!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some fun baking and DANCING! tomorrow my plans include fun times with Sister B and possibly Iron Man 2? and Sunday, I want to celebrate my mom!

one year ago 
two years ago

Ten on Tuesday

A little something new today. I follow the lovely Kara over at Chatter (yes, I'm a blog stalker. deal with it k?) and she pulls a fun meme from Chelsea at Roots and Rings every Tuesday.

Since I am super sore from my abs and glutes class last night and I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything right now. SO! I'm also going to do this fun little Ten on Tuesday.

1. Do you prefer markers, crayons, or coloured pencils?
I LOVE crayons. If I get more than one then I like a combo of markers and crayons or crayons and coloured pencils. So that I can outline pictures and color in with a different texture. I love texture.

2. As a child, how did your parents celebrate your birthday? (Parties, cake, you pick the dinner, etc.)
Every even year we had a friends party and odd years were family only parties. We always got to pick our favorite meal for dinner and our favorite kind of cake. (there was ALWAYS cake) Sometimes we got breakfast in bed and we were never required to do our chores that day - someone else would do it.

3. How do you feel about leggings?
I'm not a fan. I think it's a stupid fashion and there is no point to them. I am just not a fan at all.

4. How do you prefer to follow directions? With a map? Words?
I prefer google maps. Or someone who has been there before to tell me how to get there.

5. What do you eat for snack?
Lately it's some kind of vegetable, a fruit and cheez-its. Not all at once mind you, but one of those at some point during the day, every day.

6. Have you ever ordered anything from an infomercial or bought any As Seen on TV products?
no, but there have been times when I've really wanted to.

7. What’s your favourite thing about summer?
the SUN!!!!

8. Do you have a tattoo? What and where is it?
I don't have a single tattoo.

9. Are you good at journaling?
I used to be AMAZING at writing in my journal all the time, but lately I haven't been feeling it so I've sort of stopped. I update my journal about once a week these days.

10.  What’s your favourite way to eat a hamburger?
It has to have a bazillion pickles, mustard and ketchup. Then I like to pick it up and chow down. Dang it. Now I want a hamburger.....

two years ago

smartness

let's talk about how smart microwaves are for a minute.

microwaves these days have all sorts of cool features. you can tell it what kind of food you are wanting to cook and it will cook it to perfection for you. you can put in the weight of meat and it will instantly defrost it for you...or you can put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, push the popcorn button and it will sense when it is time to stop cooking.

AMAZING!!!

i have just experienced this phenomenon. i am so amazed.

two years ago