Kashi, you've done it again

Happiness came in the form of a bar today:

I know I had said in yesterday's post that the Raspberry Chocolate flavor was kind of tempting me. But I was totally craving the Pumpkin Pie flavor today. And so that one was the first to be tried!

My verdict? Another home run for the Kashi crew. I LOVED this bar! I microwaved for a few seconds, and the pumpkin filling got all warm and gooey, and tasted just like pumpkin pie! And there were whole walnuts in there too, both on top on the filling and inside the actual bar (I tried snapping pics, but none of them really came out very well, no matter how I hard I tried, and eventually I just gave up and succumbed to the tasty magic). They're kind of small, but filling... ah, the power of fiber and walnuts! This was amazing and I loved every single bite! If you can find these at Target, I highly recommend them!

Hope you all had a good day. Mine was eh. Nothing happened, but certain coworkers just got on my nerves today. Nothing major though. Just different personalities having to play nice in the sandbox that is corporate America, you know? ;-)

That's really all I have for today- I'm off to take a quick shower and settle in for the night to watch The Biggest Loser and The Office! Have a good evening!

Weekend recap and thoughts on rivalry

Good evening! How were your weekends and your Mondays? Hopefully nice! I had a wonderful weekend, which carried over into a pretty decent workday today!

The weather this weekend was not nearly as bad as they had predicted... we hardly saw any snow at all, and the roads were fine all weekend! So I was able to accomplish everything that I wanted and needed to do this weekend, so that was nice. I hit all of the stores I wanted to, including Pier 1 Imports, but I held off on buying anything, since my grandmother just moved into a retirement/assisted living community this past weekend, and she had asked me if I wanted or needed anything because she had so much stuff to move and was looking to get rid of stuff, and I said I'd love to take some kitchen stuff off her hands! But other than that, I was quite the consumer this weekend! But almost everything I bought was on sale or just cheap, so I'm at peace with it. I'm a big believer in getting the most bang for my buck, you know? ;-) So I didn't spend all that much, really. And I got a lot of great eats at Target, Wegmans, and Trader Joe's... so I am now toting a fully stocked fridge with lots of yum-filled goodness. ;-)

I was especially excited to find these bad boys:

I saw these on Coffee Talk's blog, and needed to get my hands on them! She had mentioned she had found them at Target, and so I figured I'd try my luck there too. Lo and behold, there they were! And on sale, $3 for 8! So I had to pick up a box of each new flavor. I can't decide which one to try first... the Raspberry Chocolate one is kind of catching my eye... I <3 every single Kashi product there is, so I can't imagine these won't be anything short of amazing. Thank you, Coffee Talk!!!! Here's a big cyberhug! :-)

Speaking of Kashi love, I bought two new Kashi cereals over the weekend- well, new to me, anyway- Mighty Bites and Honey Sunshine. I had a coupon for $1 off any Kashi product, and knew that I wanted to use it for cereal, but I couldn't decide which one I wanted between the two. So I figured, I'd buy both, and rationalized it in my head as rather than get $1 off one purchase, I'd be getting fifty cents off each box. :-) I haven't tried either one yet, probably over the weekend. It's too cold to eat anything but oatmeal at work. How about you Kashi cereal lovers? Which do you like? Mighty Bites? Honey Sunshine? A different one? I'm a big fan of the Kashi Go Lean. I've also had Vive and that was pretty good, but I like the GoLean better. And I have yet to meet a Kashi bar I didn't like. :-)

And my favorite treats of the weekend:

TWO NEW BOOKS!!! Yay! After Target, I stopped by Barnes and Noble on the way home to do a little browsing, and they were having a huge sale. Anything with a red sticker on it was 50% off... even if it was already bargain-priced! So I found these two books in the bargain book section, priced at about $5 each, plus an extra 50% off, PLUS I had my roommate's membership discount card! And the best part: I paid with a gift card I had, so for me, THESE BOOKS WERE FREE!!!! You literally can't beat that!

Here are the new books in all their glory. The first one is called Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom, by Celia Rivenbark. It's a series of short, humorous essays from a good ol' Southern mama. I'm a fan of short essays and all things funny, so I thought this would be good for a laugh or two! The other book is called Miss New York Has Everything, by Lori Jakiela. It's a memoir about a woman who grows up in suburban Pittsburgh in the late 60s/early 70s, but dreams of moving to New York City and making it big there, and so she does actually move there after college, and takes a job as a stewardess because it sounds so exciting and glamorous, and it turns out to be anything but! How funny does that sound? ;-)

So yeah, it was a good weekend. And I slept like a baby last night, so I was actually well-rested for a Monday at work. That doesn't happen much, believe me!

Okay, so I'm about halfway through my book Tripping the Prom Queen, and here are my thoughts on it so far. I really had no idea that women were so jealous of each other, in every arena of life. This book is completely inundated with real-life examples of women competing and judging each other over every.little.thing.in.life, from jobs, to boyfriends/husbands, to children, clothes, money, weddings, even funerals in one example! It's a real eye-opener for me. Sure, I know women are catty and backstabby and all that, but I never realized to such an extent. It makes me feel truly sorry for women who base their worth, themselves on how other women look, the purses they carry, their marital status, all that. It just seems like such a waste of time and energy.

I don't know if I'm in denial, or what, but I read these examples from these women, and I just can't ever imagine feeling that way or getting so upset by other women's lives and happiness, especially friends and loved ones. Maybe I'm just not a competitive person? I've never cared much about competition at all... at least, I think so. When I was in high school, I was on our school's tennis team, and my coach literally almost kicked me off the team because of my "lack of competitive spirit". I never cared if I won a game or not, I just liked to play! So I beat her to the punch and didn't return to the team for my senior year, because I just didn't need that pressure. And it's never bothered me when a friend got engaged or married, because that's not what I want for my life. I've had friends have babies, buy houses, travel, go back to school, change careers, get promotions, and I've never slighted them or myself over it! I have such a diverse group of friends, that we don't really "compete" for the same things and a lot of us want a lot of different things out of life, so when good things happen to them, I don't feel threatened or less of a person- I feel happy for them, glad that something good has happened to them. Am I naive? Are women really like this? I don't get jealous or feel the need to compete with people at work either- I have the job I want at my company. I feel no need to compete with anyone for anything because I'm exactly where I want to be. I don't feel like I'm in competition with my coworkers or my teammates, because we all have the same job and get the same work. I wouldn't mind making more money, sure, but as long as I make enough to support myself, that's enough, especially in a time of serious economic recession and depression... I'm lucky and grateful that I have a job to go to, so the last thing I should be doing or need to be doing is griping about the size of my paycheck. That just seems so ungrateful. Plus I figure that I'm young, and I don't have a husband or kids to feed or a mortgage to pay, and I know that as I continue to work and build a successful career, I will make more money one day, and I have what I need for now. You know? So what do I have to feel jealous about? I love when good things happen to people I care about. Why would I feel anything but? I feel like the women in this book are just so shallow. One woman gripes about how upset she felt because she was married and pregnant while her friends were bar-hopping, and she didn't even like to spend time with them, because she hated being the "boring, fat one". What is that? Rather than have that ridiculous attitude, why not be happy about the fact that you and your husband are about to bring a baby into the world and start a family? One woman tried to get pregnant at the same time her friend did, which is sad enough to do once, but she did it for EACH of her three pregnancies. That's mind-boggling to me. There's so many stories like this throughout the book... like I said, it's definitely an eye-opener. I just think it's really sad to go around in life looking at what everyone else "has" and comparing yourself to them. What kind of a life is that? Why not take all that time and energy and turn it into a more positive energy- like thinking about your life and all the things that bring you happiness, and if there's something you don't like about your life, rather than be bitter that someone else has it and you don't, why don't you try and make those changes for your own life? That's more of a win-win situation, don't you think?

I don't know... it all just seems so sad. If we can't be happy for and support our loved ones when good things happen to them, what does that mean? :-( I don't want to know. I hope that these women profiled in the book are rare exceptions, and that most of us actually want good things for the people we care about. I just need to think we're better people than that. I think that jealousy is a natural emotion, and competition can be healthy in the right environment, and so that's why I'm hoping that these women don't speak for the majority.

Or maybe I should just consider myself lucky that I don't have this mentality. I think if I spent all of my time comparing and judging myself against the world, I wouldn't be a very happy person. It seems really exhausting and self-defeating to never feel like "enough" against other people, and I think that takes away from the everyday happiness that you can find in your everyday life.

That's my two cents. It's time to get off my soapbox and surf your fabulous blogs. I really need to update my blogroll at some point... there are so many awesome blogs out there that I just love to read... I wish I could comment on them all, so you all know I'm reading, but there's too many of you lovely peeps that I rarely get through everyone's blogs every day- I wish I could! Oh, and Diet Tribe is on in a few minutes too, LOL. Is anyone else watching that? What are your thoughts? I like it! And look... a nice example of "healthy competition" amongst friends while still supporting each other... see? It's possible!!!!!!!

Won't you take me to... funkytown

I apologize that I haven't blogged this week, mainly because nothing's really been going on, and I've spent the past few days in a bit of a funk. I don't know if it's the miserable weather, or what. It's been cold, gray, rainy, blah, and wretched pretty much all week. It's hard to be in a good mood when you haven't seen the sun in almost a week. January is so gray and depressing.

I was in a massively blah mood for most of today, and for no real reason whatsoever. Does that ever happen to anyone else- you're just in a bad mood for absolutely no reason? I just felt in total bitch-on-wheels mode for most of today. I'm pretty sure it's the weather, both outside and inside. I spent most of the day freezing at my cubicle, which I do most days anyway regardless of what season it is. They blast the AC in the summer and skimp on the heat in the winter. At least in the summer I can go outside and thaw out, but that's clearly not an option for a while. So I sit at my desk, shivering, wearing layers (sometimes, I'm not exaggerating, I wear up to three sweaters at work), and I keep a heating pad at my desk, and at least once a day I need to turn it on and put it on my legs. How ridiculous is that???

Well, at least the weekend is only a day away, right? And it's payday! Which is good because I definitely need groceries- I need to hit the whole trifecta this weekend- Target, Trader Joe's, and my beloved Wegmans. Also, I feel the need to indulge in some retail therapy, but because I only believe in hitting clearance racks and sales (that's my version of "indulging", haha), and so I'm thinking of hitting up Pier 1 Imports too. Their regular-priced stuff is outrageous, but their clearance/sale items are amazing. And I need bowls and plates that I can actually use in the microwave (I tend to buy the cutesy plates that are not microwave-safe. I'm bright, I know).

None of my meals have been all that exciting either. Because I needed to use up my sour cream, a lot of sweet potatoes were consumed this week. Not to say my meals weren't tasty, they just didn't vary much. Mostly baked potato concoctions. And since I'm low on food, tonight was just a grilled chicken breast and steamed veggies and a salad. I didn't feel a camera was necessary for that.

So I finished Irish Girls About Town tonight after a quick Pilates workout... and I really enjoyed it! I love Irish chick lit. Irish writers seem to have this subtle wit and humor about them. Not to say we don't have plenty of that in our American chick lit, but the Irish have this almost sly and sneaky way of getting in quips and anecdotes, you know what I mean, jellybeans? ;-)   Ah, us Irish, we're so witty and clever, even after knocking back a few pints!   ;-)   If you've never given Irish chick lit a try, I'd strongly recommend it. Some great Irish chick lit authors to try: Cathy Kelly, Maeve Binchy, Catherine Barry, Colette Cadelle, and Sarah Webb.

So what's my new book du jour, you ask? Well, I proudly present to you my latest read:

  Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth About Women and Rivalry, by Susan Shapiro Brash. The author takes a look at the often-unspoken rivalry that goes on between women (whether through careers, friendships, sisters, etc), why rivalry occurs, how it's different from rivalry between men (we are much cattier about it, haha), healthy competition vs/ unhealthy competition, etc. So basically, a book about why we're such bitches to each other sometimes! I saw this in the bargain section of Barnes and Noble over the summer, and thought it sounded really interesting. There's lots of great pop culture references in it too, like Gilmore Girls, Mean Girls, Heathers, That 70s Show, etc. And there's lots and lots of personal stories in there... those are my favorite!

I'll probably read a few pages tonight, maybe. I'm pretty tired and want to catch up on everyone's blogs, and I have a feeling I'll be crashing and burning early tonight (fine by me- I could always use the extra sleep!), but we'll see.

Hope everyone had a great Thursday! Happy almost-Friday!!!   :-)

Back to normal

You know, today was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be at work... it was a lot less painful than I had anticipated. Well, I guess that's better than the other way around, huh? :)

I power-read through the rest of The Class on my lunch break... I only had a few chapters left and I just couldn't put it down.... I had to finish it!!! It was soooo good!!!! Even though I didn't like many of the characters personally, I was so wrapped up in their personal lives, that I felt I'd been through the past 25 years with them, and so I had to find out what happened to each of them in the end! I was emotionally invested, even if I didn't like them. :-)

I didn't like two of the characters in particular because of the way they treated not only their wives, but women in general. Two of the five characters cheated on their wives, and in general, some of the characters viewed women as the weaker, lesser sex, and as objects, not people. There's one scene in the book where one character's son is taken to the hospital and is treated by a female pediatrician, and he is appalled by this, and demands to speak to the chief of pediatrics (which happens to be the same doctor- touche!). And in general, women are just treated poorly for the most part in this book. I know it goes with the times and all- that's really how women were viewed in the 50s and 60s... but I can't help but take offense!!!! Luckily, the women who are scorned and treated poorly in this book get theirs in the end in some way or another, whether it's through their careers, their personal lives, etc.

All in all, dislike of certain characters aside, I just loved this book. I just loved the author's style of writing, and I look forward to reading more books by Erich Segal in the future. Not Love Story, though... that's not really my thing. Plus the plot and the ending are pretty common knowledge, LOL.

I came home with yoga on the agenda, but I just had to pick my new book first. I was just too excited to think of anything else, especially a calming and relaxing workout like yoga. Whenever I pick a new book, I get like a kid who has woken up really early on Christmas Day, but has to wait until the parents are awake to open up presents (come on, we all did it at least once in childhood, whether we want to admit it or not). I just get seriously, seriously excited thinking about what random book I'll pick next! (This might be a sign that I need to get out more.)

So I ended up picking Irish Girls About Town, which is pictured above. I just remembered why I hate posting in Blogger and always post in Windows Live Writer. Because for some reason, Blogger won't let me put the picture wherever I want in my post. It just goes straight to the top. Annoying. Either that or I just don't know how to do it, which is entirely possible, because I am not electronics/technical savvy at all. Don't believe me? I bought a DVD player last week because mine crapped out, and I haven't even attempted to open up and take it out of the box and hook it up. I'm waiting for my roommate to come home so she can do it for me. Because I just know I can't handle the task. I couldn't even figure out how to switch from the Wii to our TV cable. She had to set it up before she went home for the holidays. That's how slow-witted I am when it comes to those things.

Anyway, so this book is basically a compilation of short stories from various Irish chick lit writers, like Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly (LOVE her), Maeve Binchy, etc. I love Irish chick lit, so I

I'm excited to start this book! I got it for $1 at my favorite book sale last year, and it's in excellent condition! Yay. There's also an American version called- surprisingly- American Girls About Town, which I also own, but haven't read yet.

I probably won't get too far into it tonight (I always want to start a new book ASAP!) because there's a lot of good TV watching to be had tonight (is anyone else going to watch the premiere of Diet Tribe on Lifetime tonight? I am), plus my roommate is coming home after being home in CA for two weeks, so I anticipate a long night of catching up and dishing!

I hope everyone's Mondays/first days back weren't too bad! Remember that now we're just one day closer to the weekend! :-)

Vacation winding down

The problem with taking almost two weeks off from work is that you become completely spoiled and don't want to go back. :-D But given the massive economic recession we had that resulted in so many company layoffs for so many people (one of which is a good friend of mine), I feel like a horrible person for even complaining. You know? I'm sure there's a lot of people who would want to be getting up and going to work tomorrow, because they meant they had a job. I'm trying to keep that perspective, and be grateful that I have a job to go to tomorrow. I know it's not going to be an easy first day back, though, because I have a lot of work to do. I had a lot of work on my desk when I left on New Year's Eve, and I'm sure I was assigned to other projects while I was out. Oh well. Hey, at least it's a pay week! :-) All the more reason to look forward to Friday!

I also can't complain too much because I had a very nice and relaxing vacation. It was nice to end the year in a destressing and decompressing state of mind, you know? It felt nice just to be able to breathe, and just relax, and reflect on the past year and the upcoming year ahead. I had a nice balance of time to myself and time to spend with friends and family. I did a lot of reading and writing in my journal, which are two of my favorite things to do.

Speaking of reading, I'm about 3/4 of the way through The Class... I can't put it down- I stayed up until almost 3 AM reading last night!!!! I love the saga-style writing of this author. It totally brings me back to my young adult Danielle Steel phase, because a lot of her books are in this format- chronicling years and years of peoples' lives. I love that, because you really get involved with the characters and their lives that way, and you feel like you almost know them and go through their ups and downs with them, in a sense... you know? Unlike short stories or books that just have one central focus or plot, and then that's it. You almost "can't" get to really know the characters. Although I will say that the more I get to know some of the main characters (there are five), the less I like them... there are two that I completely dislike, and yet I can't stop reading about them!

Since I've had a lot of downtime, I've played around in the kitchen a bit, and I found a few new food combinations that I'm totally in love with. Not new products or anything, just combinations of food I already love. In particular:

1. I see a lot of "waffle sandwiches" on food blogs. And believe it or not, I'd never tried it out! I have always eaten waffles in the "traditional" style- with the maple syrup (I use sugar-free), cinnamon, and fruit, usually a banana. But yesterday I was out of milk and bananas, so I couldn't have cereal, but I did have some Kashi Heart-to-Heart waffles in the freezer, so I figured it was the perfect time to try out a waffle sandwich. Um, hello, yummy! Since I didn't have any fresh fruit (I was heading to the grocery store after breakfast), I had to make my waffle sandwich with natural peanut butter and sugar-free triple berry jam, and it was delicious! I can't wait to try it with a banana!

2. I don't know if I saw this in blogland, or I just made it up in my head, or what, but I've recently learned that eggs and hummus go GREAT together. I bought a new hummus last week that I'm just flat-out in love with: Tribe Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. I tried to buy more yesterday when I was grocery shopping and they were out. :-( Anyway, for lunch yesterday I made myself a sandwich, using egg whites, arugula, and hummus on whole wheat bread, and it just rocked my world. Full of protein and very filling, but above all else, it just tasted amazing. The arugula gave it a nice kick. I definitely foresee more of these sandwiches in 2009.

I also wanted to show off what my sister gave me for Christmas:

Isn't it great? I actually saw this in a Hallmark store when my sister and I were buying a present for our grandmother a few weeks ago, and I saw this and joked that it was perfect, and so true for me! My sister actually went back and bought it for me for Christmas. When I opened it, I cracked up! My sister's the best. ;-)

All right, I'm off to get some stuff done around mi casa. Have a great Sunday everyone (at least what's left of it)!!!! :-)

A tasty start to 2009

I love when I have a full day of awesome meals. It's the little things in life that make me happy. :-)

For lunch today, all I wanted was soup, so I opened up a can of my favorite- Health Valley Organic No-Salt Added Lentil Soup- and threw some spinach in it for some extra veggie love. I also threw in a few dashes of ground turmeric and curry powder, so it was almost like Indian food (which I love, and now that I think about it, haven't had in a really long time... I'll have to rectify that!):

And I went with an always-loved favorite for dinner: a baked potato concoction!

A microwaved sweet potato, topped with melted reduced-fat cheddar cheese, steamed broccoli, and a Boca burger broken into pieces. With fat-free sour cream and chipotle salsa on the side for my dipping amusement. This was, as always, a delicious meal! This is hands down one of my favorite meals- it's so easy to make, delicious, filling, and above all, healthy! And it always hits the spot. :-)

I'm off to do some reading and channel-surfing now... goodnight!!! :-)

Happy 2009!!!

Happy first day of 2009, everyone! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve!!! I can't believe 2008 has come and gone already. It was definitely a year of ups and downs, that's for sure. I had to deal with a lot of family drama, family health problems, personal health concerns (that turned out to be nothing, thank God), work stress, relationship and friendship stress, etc. But some of these "lows" brought positive changes, and I've learned a lot about myself this year.

Last night I was writing in my journal, and while I definitely had some struggles in 2008, I wanted to think about all of the good things that happened to me too. Even the negatives brought out some positives. Here's a recap of some of the stuff that happened to me in 2008:

*I started eating a lot healthier and paying attention to what I was eating. I used to claim to be this "healthy eater", because I ate Lean Cuisines and drank diet soda, ate low-fat this and fat-free that, and processed/artificial foods that were masquerading as "healthy" but really weren't, foods that had HFCS in them, etc., and while I did work out a few times a week, I did the same exact workout every single time- a half-hour on the elliptical. But I've totally changed all that. I started making my own healthy meals- no more Lean Cuisines- using more natural, healthy, real, and unprocessed foods, like lean meats and whole grains and vegetables, I stopped eating artificial/processed/HFCS foods and found more natural substitutions (there was even HFCS in my "100% whole wheat bread"!), and I'm so happy that I did. I've fallen in love with many healthy dishes/recipes and foods and snacks, and I feel better and healthier! I also switched up my workouts with cardio on different machines at different intervals, with strength training, yoga, Pilates, etc. I switch it up every day. I feel like a totally different person, and I love it! :-)

*I went to AMAZING book sales, bought lots of great books for ridiculously cheap, and have read so many amazing books this year. And I started this blog, of course!

*I watched the Phillies win the World Series... it still feels a little surreal to me!

*I helped elect our first black president into office. YAY OBAMA!!!

*I got out of a bad relationship this year. It wasn't abusive or anything like this, but it was a miserable, toxic, pretty much dead-end relationship that I was very, very unhappy in, but didn't know how to end. When it finally ended, I felt immense relief and happiness and freedom. I never once did shed a tear over the breakup, which I think only drives home the point that it was the right thing for me. And I was able to learn what I want in a relationship, and what I don't want. I'm so happy being single at this stage of my life right now, because I've never really been single for a long period of time... since high school, I've always had a boyfriend, always been dating. Now I feel like it's time to focus on me, who I really am, and what I really want out of life. I am totally loving every minute of it! :-)

*Like my relationship, I learned this year that I had some friendships that were not really "friends", which is actually a blessing in disguise, because I really do not want people like that in my life. Not to say it didn't hurt. But knowing that I am better off in the long run without hurtful people like that in my life, it makes it easier. I feel better and happier not having the toxicity and drama that came along with not-so-great friendships. You know? When it comes to people in my life, I've always cared more about quality, not quantity. Having good people in your life is all that matters. Life is too short to waste energy on people who bring you stress, you know?

Here are some goals that I have for 2009 (I don't like to say "New Year's Resolutions"- let's face it, no one keeps them):

*To be as happy and healthy as possible*

*To spend quality time with the people I care about*

*Not to let other people's issues/problems influence me*

*Learn to cook more complicated dishes*

*To be productive and positive at work*

*To read as many of my books as possible!*

*Get more sleep during the work week*

*Drink less coffee during the work day (I think that will help with the goal above)*

*Try to be more organized- less clutter!*

*Spend lots of time with my grandmother*

So it's ridiculously freezing here today. The first day of 2009 is C-O-L-D. I am thinking that there is a bowl of soup in my future. Ordinarily I like to be more creative on my days off and make real meals, but screw it, I'm cold, and I'm craving my favorite Lentil soup. Luckily I have a can of it in the pantry. I'm starting off 2009 with all of my favorite foods... I had my Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls with skim milk and cinnamon and a banana for breakfast, and for dinner I'm doing a baked potato concoction (I'll post a pic later). What better way to ring in the new year than with all of your favorite foods? :-) I'm in cleaning mode today- I dusted my bookshelves, I'm washing my flannel sheets, and soon I'll vacuum the apartment. It was all long overdue, believe me! After lunch I'll probably do a Pilates DVD. I don't feel like going to the gym today, and that'll be a nice simple afternoon workout.

I can't believe my almost two-week vacation is almost over. Boo-hiss. It's been great though! I actually had to work yesterday, and it was busy. I had so much work! That's never happened before. Every other year it's been dead- usually I read a book or clean my desk! Not this year. And it was especially interesting since no one was in the office! I was like, where the hell's all this work coming from? Annoying. I'm not looking forward to Monday... it's going to be hard to readjust to the daily grind! (So much for that "be more positive at work" goal, huh? LOL)

I've been doing a lot of reading too. I finished Sixteen on Sunday night while my sister was over (yes, we actually DID sit and read books for a while after we watched Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, which was pretty funny). I wanted to finish it up while she was at my place, because I wanted to lend it to her. It was pretty cute, and a fast read. I skipped over some of the stories because they didn't hold my interest, but still a fun little teenybopper read. And I let my sister pick my new book for me... another recent book acquisition from last fall!

The Class, by Erich Segal (he also wrote Love Story, which I've never read or seen, but I know how it ends). It's a fiction novel about five guys who attend Harvard in the 1950s, and the book chronicles their lives throughout college, and what happens to each of them afterwards for the next 25 years. They're not best friends or anything, but their lives do intersect at some point. I'm already almost 200 pages into it (it's about 530 long), because I can't put it down! Erich Segal's a fantastic writer! He keeps the story moving, the characters interesting (except I can't stand one of the main characters- George- I'm finding that I'm skimming his story because I just dislike him so much!), but it's so good! I highly recommend this author! He's written a bunch of other books too. He might not appreciate this comparison, but his epic/saga-style of writing kind of reminds me of Danielle Steel, haha. :-)

Okay, I'm starving... time to make my soup and watch The Biggest Loser marathon on BRAVO, and then do some Pilates and read my fabulous book! I'll post a dinner pic later.

Hope you're all having a great first day of 2009!!! :-)