Life | Book Chatter

Happy Sunday! I am tired and happy, which is a good feeling after a wonderful weekend. The weekend started with me taking Friday off, which happened to be my birthday. I did absolutely nothing! I slept and read and that’s about it.

Saturday, we headed out to breakfast and then drove up to Ojai. It was a gorgeous, but hot day and Ojai was showing signs of drought (in a big way). We browsed the little shops and the outdoor bookstore and then just couldn’t take the heat anymore, so we piled back into the car and headed to Santa Barbara.

We shopped, had pizza, treated ourselves to McConnell’s ice cream and then we called the In-laws who happened to be staying in Santa Barbara for the weekend and they invited us to dinner! We didn’t get home until very late but it was a wonderful day.

Santa Barbara

I also bought myself a little gift, which I never do. I usually carry a backpack to work and since I work on a college campus it works but it’s bulky. I saw that Timbuk2 recently redesigned their messenger bag so… I picked one up. My biggest “if” right now is if I should return it for a small. I got a medium which fits my laptop but most days, I am not taking my laptop with me. Decisions.

What am I reading?

I am reading The Sparrow for a read along (#SparrowRAL). It’s gotten very good, but also a little strange. I am also reading The Little Friend (still). I am really loving it but I put it aside so I could catch-up with the read along.

I announced it last week but a group of us will be reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury in October (#EnterTheRingmaster). If you’d like to join us, click on the badge below for details.

What am I cooking?

Uh, no food in the house (again). Sad huh? But, I am craving Chicken Tortilla soup so maybe I will hit the store to buy the ingredients I need. We are expecting rain today and tomorrow but it’s already hot and does not look like rain AT ALL. Oh my gosh. My yard really needs some water.

What am I watching?

Not much. I did watch Pacific Rim this week and it was really good. We have a free movie preview right now but nothing is on that I really want to see. We watched Funny Farm and of course, football is on right now so the TV is not mine to mess with.

What are you up to this weekend? I am trying to get The Girl up so we can go to church and then the rest of the day is a big question mark.

Hello friends! OMG! Last week was THE most difficult week. Lots of stuff to deal with. Lots of deadlines. I was running all over heck with my head partially cut-off. I tend to hold it all in, so looking at me, most probably thought I was okay but inside I was losing my $hit. No kidding.

The highlight of the week was receiving my Murakami prize pack for the Fan Ambassador thing. I received it, fawned over the package and then fell into bed in an almost comatose state because I was so tired. The next day, I was going to tear it open but I thought it might be fun to record it even though I cannot stand myself on video. See how much I love you all?

Here is the “unboxing” in all its glory. This is a straight out of the camera recording and unfortunately, The Teen was out of focus with his camera skills in some places but that is what I get when I ask him to do it right after he wakes up.

As mentioned in the video, the giveaway details I am still pondering so look for it soon.

What am I reading?

With Murakami behind me (wiping a tear) I am diving into The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. I typically read more than one book at a time but I haven’t figured out which two to add to the one I noted above.

I keep mentioning an October read-along. It’s coming. It will be fun. It promises to fit the season perfectly. We will announce it soon.

What am I cooking?

I bought the most delicious Italian sausage to make some pasta. Sausage, sautéed with onions, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and a tiny bit of cream.

What am I watching?

We watched The Lego Movie which was actually very good. The Hub was not a fan at first, but he changed his mind about a quarter of the way through. It’s very different and very clever but still “kiddish” unless you are a huge fan of Legos. I know a lot of adults are.

I hope to hit church this morning and then the rest of the day is open. What do you have planned for today?

Chatting with friends about books and life…