Ah, the cold- literally and figuratively

It's official... I have a cold. :-( Nothing too intense- just your typical sore throat/feeling kind of cold and achy feeling. I don't have a thermometer, so I'm not sure if I have a fever or not. I just have that overall blech icky feeling going on. Eh, I'll survive. It gave me a great excuse to curl up on the couch with sugar cookie herbal tea, finish Songs Without Words, watch the season 1 DVDs of 30 Rock that I got from Netflix, and watch Ellen. It was a rerun that I hadn't seen, and she had on soon-to-be First Lady Michelle Obama, and I learned three things about her today:

1. She is TALL!!!

2. She can bust a move.

3. She's pretty funny!

It was cool to watch an interview of Michelle Obama just being so fun and cool and down-to-earth, talking about her daughters, the Tooth Fairy, etc. Also, the Jonas Brothers were on the show, and all these teenyboppers and women just started shrieking and jumping up and down like crazy. Can someone please explain the fascination with them if you are over the age of 17? There were women screaming and yelling in the audience that were my age or clearly older! They're cute kids and all, and they played some catchy songs, but still. I sound like an old lady, LOL.

It was so BRUTALLY COLD outside today. It SUCKED! It was so windy and chilly. Since I didn't start feeling crappy until this afternoon, I actually did hit the gym this morning, but I took it easy to be safe- I just rode the stationary bike on a light level while watching Rachael Ray. Then I stopped and ran a few quick errands on the way home- I picked up more cold medicine and some oranges (I need me some Vitamin C!), and then I found an exciting new realization at Trader Joe's! So they have my favorite cereal there- Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls- but I've never bought it there, because it costs a little more there than at Wegmans and other supermarkets I frequent. Not astronomically more, mind you, just twenty or thirty cents, but I'm cheap, LOL, and if I can get a product for cheaper somewhere else, then I will. But I needed more cereal, and the supermarket was OUT of it! Boo-hiss! Since my TJs is only a few minutes away from my apartment, I figured that I could suck up the twenty-cent markup if I meant I could have my cereal, haha. So I went to TJs, bought it, took it home, and put it in the cupboard next to the almost-empty box... and saw it was quite bigger! So I compared the sizes, and the one I've been buying is 15 oz., and the one I got at TJs is 24 oz. So all this time, I've actually been paying MORE for it, because I could be buying more of it for LESS! This is exactly why I am not an accountant. I can't believe I misjudged TJs so badly. I am ashamed. Haha. Needless to say, from now on I'll be getting my cereal there!

So I finished Songs Without Words today. It was a good book, but I am not so sure that I liked the ending, for any of the characters. But overall, I thought that the book was extremely well-written and engaging. I was hooked until the ending, and then I read the last few pages, closed it, and thought to myself, "Huh." Sometimes I get really pissed when I feel like a book was really great until the ending, and then the ending is awful. But I wouldn't call the ending awful... the story just didn't wrap up the way I expected it to. Still a good book.

Here's my new randomly picked book!

ANOTHER book I just bought a few book sales ago! I swear, I shake up the box before I pick, several times, in fact! Luck of the draw, I guess! Anyway, it's called The Second Stage, by Betty Friedan. Here's a quick overview from goodreads:

"The Second Stage is eerily prescient and timely, a reminder that much of what is called new thinking in feminism has been eloquently observed and argued before. Warning the women's movement against dissolving into factionalism, male-bashing, and preoccupation with sexual and identity politics rather than bottom-line political and economic inequalities, Friedan argues that once past the initial phases of describing and working against political and economic injustices, the women's movement should focus on working with men to remake private and public arrangements that work against full lives with children for women and men both. Friedan's agenda to preserve families is far more radical than it appears, for she argues that a truly equitable preservation of marriage and family may require a reorganization of many aspects of conventional middle-class life, from the greater use of flex time and job-sharing, to company-sponsored daycare, to new home designs to permit communal housekeeping and cooking arrangements.

Called "utopian" fifteen years ago, when it seemed unbelievable that women had enough power in the workplace to make effective demands, or that men would join them, some of these visions are slowly but steadily coming to pass even now. The problem Friedan identifies is as real now as it was years ago: "how to live the equality we fought for," and continue to fight for, with "the family as new feminist frontier." She writes not only for women's liberation but for human liberation."

Ah, who doesn't love a good book on women's rights and injustices. The perfect holiday present for everyone on your list, LOL. All kidding aside, I'm looking forward to reading it. Clearly there will be quite a bit of outdated information, seeing as the book is the same age as I am, but it will be interesting to read about women of the 1980s thought about their rights and equalities during that time.

All right, it's time for some dinner and TV and another rendezvous with my cough and cold medicine. And lots and lots of blog reads to catch up on! ;-)