Fabulous weekend

Sorry I've been MIA... I've been too busy having a glorious, kick-ass weekend. :-) This has honestly been the best weekend I've had all year, really. In so many ways. I've been dealing with so much personal stress lately, and it was really getting to me... so this is just what I needed to feel better! Here's why the weekend's been so awesome so far (and it's only halfway done for me, because I have a three-day weekend!!!) :-)

So let's start with yesterday morning. My sister and I went to one of our favorite semiannual used book sales at a local community center. And as usual, we both cleaned up! I got 16 books and 4 new workout tapes, for a total of $35! Trying doing THAT at Borders or Barnes and Noble! Haha. :-)

Here's what I got!

HARDBACKS:

*The Good Life, by Jay McInerney (about two upper-class Manhattan couples and how the aftermath of 9/11 affects them)

*How We Got Here: The 70s- The Decade That Brought You Modern Life, For Better or Worse, by David Frum (about the social convulsions of the 70s and how that impacts us as a society today... I love the '70s, seriously, so I was excited for this find!)

*Irish America: Coming into Clover, by Maureen Dezell (a book about the history of Irish Americans... I'm mostly Irish and would love to know more about the culture!)

*For Laci: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Justice, by Sharon Rocha (the story of Laci Peterson's life and murder, written by her mom)

*The Secret Language of Eating Disorders, by Peggy Claude-Pierre (I think the title of the book is pretty self-explanatory)

*Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg (a memoir in which the author writes about his fifteen-year-old daughter's psychotic breakdown and how the family copes with the aftermath)

*Waistland, by Deidre Barrett (a Harvard psychologist takes an in-depth look at the obesity and fitness crisis in America from an evolutional/biological standpoint... according to her, we are "basically hunter-gatherers lost in a jungle of burgers, lounge chairs, and TV remotes"... I'm very interested in reading her theories on this subject!)

PAPERBACKS:

*Bad Behaviour, by Sheila O'Flanagan (AUTOGRAPHED!!!- yes, I know how to spell "behavior" here in the USA, but this is an Irish chick lit novel... anyway, this is about the typical single-with-a-great-career-and-fabulous-apartment-and-great-friends-and-no-boyfriend-but-that's-okay gal who receives a wedding invitation to the wedding of her former best friend, who just happens to be marrying said gal's ex, whom he left for former BFF. Oh, the drama! I loves me some Irish chick lit, and I've never read this author, so I'm excited!!!)

*Free Food For Millionaires, by Min Jin Lee (a novel about the daughter of Korean immigrants who own a laundromat in Queens, is a Princeton grad with a degree in Economics, but doesn't have a job, yet is addicted to the expensive world of Manhattan, and the story is about her, her parents and their traditional values, and her friends of both Caucasian and Korean decent, and how the cultures intertwine and collide, while everyone's just trying to live... I'm not really doing the synopsis justice here, but it definitely sounds like an interesting book!)

*Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult (ya'll know how much I love my girl Jodi... this one's about is a seemingly "picture perfect" marriage, and something happens to make that fairy tale unravel. Jodi Picoult drama!!!! LOVE it!!!)

*Sickened, by Julie Gregory (a memoir of a girl whose mother had Munchausen by Proxy syndrome, the psychological disease where you make your child purposely sick in order for you to receive attention)

*What We Keep, by Elizabeth Berg (a novel about a woman who is flying home to see her mother, whom she has not spoken to in 35 years, and while on the plane, she recalls her childhood with her sister, and the series of events that divided their family)

*I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl, by Laurie Notaro (Laurie Notaro writes short essays/stories... think a female David Sedaris... anyway, this is a follow-up/sequel collection of essays to her other book, "Autobiography of a Fat Bride", which I read a while back and thoroughly enjoyed!)

*Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking, by Aiobheann Sweeney (a coming-of-age novel about a young girl who grows up in a very small town in Maine- her mother disappeared mysteriously when she was small, and she grew up with her father, who was mostly dedicated to his work- and after graduating from high school, she decides to embark on a journey to stay in Manhattan with some of her father's old friends, and learns a lot about her father, and about herself)

*Girls Night In, by various chick lit authors (exactly what it sounds like- a collection of short stories written by some of the best chick lit writers out there- Jennifer Weiner, Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot, Marian Keyes, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, etc.... I know I'll love this!)

*Falcon Crest, by Patrick Mann (this is a novel based off the 1980s' cheesy primetime soap that ran on CBS from 1981-1990. I've never seen it, but I love those cheesy nighttime soap operas from the '80s, as we well know, so I figured, what the hell, why not? It'll be like a Danielle Steel novel with lots of wealthy people and over-the-top drama)

I also bought four new workout videos! I usually can find one or two at book sales, believe it or not, and it never hurts to add new workouts into the regime! :-D I got:

*Abs Yoga

*Back Care Yoga (I have lower back problems)

*Power Yoga for Flexibility

*Pilates: Target Specifics

All in all, I'd call the book sale a great success! My sister was happy with everything that she got too. We were two very happy bookworms. :-)

After the sale, we dropped off all our goodies in my car and walked around... it was such a beautiful day outside, it had to have been around 75 degrees. We stopped by a really cute cafe called Seven Stones for a while, and we swore that we saw Wanda Sykes- I mean, this woman not only looked just like her, but she sounded just like her too. We knew how ridiculous that would seriously be, but I'm telling you, the resemblance was really uncanny! :-D Still, unlikely. Then we walked to Trader Joe's and stocked up on some goodies- chipotle salsa, salmon burgers, chicken, Clif Kids Z-bars, etc., and I found a new item!

Papaya chunks! Exciting! You know, I don't think I've ever had papaya before. I bought two bags and have already given them a try, and it's yummy, but I have to say, I like mango better... ah well... live and learn! I'll finish off the bags and then go back to my trusty mango and pineapple. :-D

We were pretty exhausted from getting up early and running around for most of the day, so we went back to my apartment and just took it easy the rest of the day/evening. We made grilled chicken wraps for dinner, and watched Zack and Miri Make a Porno... it was really funny! Very raunchy. Don't see this with your grandmother. And the storyline was cute... like a very obscene version of When Harry Met Sally, haha. But funny! Then again, any movie with Seth Rogen in it is guaranteed to have quite a few inappropriate laughs, LOL... I love him! :-)

We ended up not doing the Book Festival today. It didn't start until 11 a.m., my sister had a lot of homework and wanted to be back early, the trains would only be running once an hour on Sundays, and it would take an hour just to go one-way... we just realized that the timetable wasn't really going to work. Oh well... maybe next time!

I took my sister home after breakfast, and then decided to run all of my errands today so that I didn't have to do anything on my vacation day tomorrow except sit on my butt. :-) I'm so glad I decided to do that and get everything over with... there's nothing worse than taking a vacation day where you're so busy doing a ton of stuff, that it doesn't even feel like a day off! I went all out- vacuumed my room, did laundry, changed my sheets, changed the cat litter, ran and unloaded the dishwasher... and now it's all done and I don't have to do squat tomorrow! :-) The most productive thing I'll do is go to the gym. That's it! :-)

I haven't gotten very far in Sense and Sensibility yet. I'm discovering that it's really the kind of book that you have to sit down and give your undivided attention to, and I just haven't been able to do that lately, being busy all weekend, being too stressed out and tired from work to really concentrate, etc. But I really want to get more into it! So hopefully I can read a little more tomorrow.

I know I keep promising you reviews of Love the One You're With and Naturally Thin. I feel like a liar, LOL. I don't mean to be!!! I'll just sum up Love the One You're With like this- while I do enjoy Emily Giffin, I have to say that this was my least favorite of her books that I've read (and I'm pretty sure I've read them all). I just didn't care for the main character, Ellen, and when you don't care for the main character of a book, it's hard to feel for him/her throughout the story, you know? That being said, it was still an entertaining enough read, and if you like traditional chick lit, you'd like this- but I just didn't care for the main character, and I thought the ending was a little far-fetched.

Naturally Thin, on the other hand, I have a lot more to say about. Just give me a little more time to get all my thoughts together- I promise to try and make it worthwhile! But for now, it's late, the day has gotten away from me (multitasking will do that to you!), and right now, my bed and my new Knots Landing DVD are calling me name... soon, kids... bear with me!

Hope you all had super-fabulous weekends!!!!