Rainy day

It is a miserable day here today, my friends! It's been dreary and blah and pouring most of the day. It's definitely the kind of day to stay inside curled up with a blanket, the remote, and a good book... which is exactly what I plan to do! ;)

I got all my obligatory Saturday morning errands/tasks over and done with- yay! I went to Trader Joes today to pick up some goodies. I got my basic staples- sodium-free whole wheat bread, frozen mango chunks, chili pepper sauce, boneless skinless frozen chicken breasts- and picked up some new products that I'm excited to try out- their Sweet Potato Bisque, Low-Sodium Organic Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup, no-salt-added wild canned salmon, and their frozen mushroom risotto. Hurray for new finds! When I got home I doubled-checked my receipt (I always do) and noticed that they charged me for the Sweet Potato Bisque twice! Grr! I called the store and they said to bring the receipt next time I come in and they'll reimburse me, no problem. I only live about 10 minutes from TJs, so I'll probably take care of it tomorrow while it's still on my mind and I don't forget (no way am I going back out in this mess!) Then I stopped by a local grocery store that I don't normally shop at, but I heard on the radio that they were advertising blueberries and strawberries both at 2/$5, so I had to stop and get some... gotta jump on that while I still can before they go completely out of season and are too expensive to buy!

After that I stopped by the library to return a DVD (No Reservations, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart- it was pretty cute! Cheesy and predictable, but sometimes, you just need to watch fluffy movies like that, you know?) and pick up two DVDs that I had on hold that I'll probably end up watching today... now, don't laugh... but I picked up part of Season 1 of Everwood (okay, fine, laugh a little). I LOVED this show.I got hooked on in it in college and was so bummed when it was canceled (although it was getting kinda stale by the last season, or maybe I was just getting too old for it). But I thought it was cute, and for some reason, the other day I had an overwhelming urge to watch it. Maybe because all these bloggers are going back to college and it's making me a little wistful of my own college days, including the melodramatic teen drama I used to watch in my dorm. (This was pre-Hills and Gossip Girl, so cut me some slack!) Anyway, while I was there I saw a box of free books, so naturally I had to go investigate, and naturally I found one: The Big Rock Candy Mountain, by Wallace Stegner. I read the back cover and thought about how it kind of sounded like The Grapes of Wrath (another to-read on the No Book Left Behind Project!). Here's a brief description: Bo Mason and his wife and two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair; drifting from town to town, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks his fortune. Stegner has created a masterful, harrowing saga of a family trying to survive during the lean years of the early 20th century.

I don't know... it was free, ok?

And then I came home and sucked it up and cleaned the bathroom, a task I have been putting off successfully for a long time. It is without a doubt my least favorite chore to do. I prefer the chores that do all the work for you with the flick of a button or switch- i.e., the dishwasher, the washer and dryer. I LOVE running the dishwasher and doing laundry, because I don't have to be that actively involved, and my reward is shiny clean dishes and nice soft warm clothes. But it desperately needed to be done, so I sucked it up and did it. In my opinion, it still doesn't look all that great, but I don't care- it's going to look exactly like it did before in just a few days anyway! (You know, I used to date a guy who LOVED to clean. Loved it. Like Danny Tanner from Full House. And the only time I ever miss him is when I am scrubbing the bathroom floor. Sigh.)

While I was waiting for the bathroom to air out, I called my sister and we had a nice long chat. She started school this week, and is really liking it so far. She even likes math. And we are not a family that usually says stuff like that. I despise math. I would never try to befriend math ever. Math makes me want to cry, and often did when I was in school. But I'm glad that she's enjoying school so far. This is her junior year, so soon she will need to start thinking about PSATs and SATs and... college!!!! Hard to believe!

Now I'm showered and cleaned and in my comfy clothes, and getting ready to go some L&L- Lunch and Lounging!

Book update: I'm about halfway through Bitch. It's pretty good so far, but I have a few grievances about it. Since the weather is miserable and I'll probably stay in and veg out today, I'd like to try and finish it if I can, but I realize that's a very ambitious goal, especially if I'm going to watch Everwood. We'll see though. I used to be really good at reading and watching TV at the same time, but not so much these days!

I'll check back in later with a book update post... I just hadn't posted in a while and wanted to say hi! Hope you all are having a great (and dry) weekend!