Let's take a vote...

I have been doing quite a bit of online window shopping lately. I have been working insane hours lately and have been racking up quite a bit of OT so I'm trying to decide what to buy myself as a reward. Not to blow it all but just a something pretty for myself. I think I have found several options but I need your help...let's take a vote!

And the candidates are...



1) This pretty thing. It's a little retro-y, vintage beauty. I love this website and all the fun, quirky jewelry, shoes and clothes. But when I saw this watch and just fell in love and the bonus is it's not that expensive but oh so pretty.


Option 2 - I don't particularly care for Ferggie's fashion choices in general but I love her shoes. Seems a bit odd, but she's got some pretty great shoes...for example:

Option 3- Or these beauties. I've been salivating over these for quite some time. Sassy, yes?

OR

I could just go to Barnes & Noble - enough said.

What do you think?

Happies

Today's Happies are as follows...

1. Registering for my first semester as a graduate student...Huzzah!

2. Getting Hot Chocolate with friends.

3. Leaving work when it was still light out.

4. My mom made my a chicken sandwich with cranberries. So tasty. Is it just me or does everything taste better when your mom makes it? It is the mom gene that lies dormant until you give birth?

5. Making mental lists of office/school supplies....sigh

This is actually a pretty good list for a Monday!

Hallelujah...and maybe Amen too..

It took me far longer than I anticipated, hoped, planned for but I am finally going back to school. I found out on Saturday morning that I was accepted into Westminster's MAT in Secondary Education program. Do you hear that....? That, right there....that noise you hear? It's a choir of angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus. I cannot tell you how great it feels to actually be moving forward. I've been talking about it for almost 4 years (yes, it has actually been almost 4 years since I graduated, what of it??) now but it's actually happening. I was so excited I couldn't stop smiling to myself most of Saturday. I've been in a pretty good mood since (except for the fact that I've been dead tired too...eh, we can't win them all, can we?). This may sound a little melodramatic (but it's me, remember) but I feel like me again. School is what I do. It's what I'm good at so to be repeatedly denied and uncertain and un-studenty (yes, that's a word) took a toll on me. I didn't even realize how much until I heard that I got in. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Turns out I am not an utter and complete failure at life. It's nice. I have a purpose, a direction. There is a specific goal in sight. I'm working towards something quantifiable. It's rather exhilarating.

It was a good day

We're going to ignore the fact that I am breaking out like a 16 year old and declare today a good day for the following reasons:

1) BOTH my state and federal tax refunds hit my account today - I can finally pay off my medical bills. Let's all say it together...YAY!

2) At our department meeting today I was declared the "Records Rockstar". This meant that me putting in insane hours lately has not gone unnoticed and unappreciated, $10 gift card to Harmon's (I get lunch there frequently) and - the best part - a pretty rockin' sign to hang in my cube.

3) Went to Hatch's Chocolate and had Hot chocolate instead of dinner...and it was worth every single calorie.

4) Finished cataloging all DVDs in the apartment - 354...to be exact, including TV shows (at least they aren't all mine).

5) Received a phone call from my recruiter from Westminster and she let me know that all my application materials had arrived and my application was being reviewed by the committee. Turns out they actually call you when a decision has been made. Yikes! I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm used to the impersonal, somewhat less humiliating anonymity of a letter. I'm not sure how I'll react with a rejection from a live person. That's a conversation to look forward to. But the good news it I should know soon. She said the next couple of days but seeing as how we're going into a long weekend, I imagine it should be next week sometime. Now I just have to not think about it for the next week...

What does this say about me...

I am in the process of cataloging all of my books. I know, you don't have to say it, I'm a nerd. It's for my own pleasure but also to know what I have, don't have, books I haven't read in a while and maybe once this is all done I can get them all on my bookshelves in a way that sort of makes sense. Whenever I try to organize my books I end up forgetting a book and find it later and then have to reorganize the entire thing all over again. But if I have them all in a handy dandy excel spreadsheet, I can sort it however I want and put them back on the shelf however I choose. I'm not quite done, I have three more shelves and then the few stragglers that are lying around. So far i have 204 books. I honestly thought I would have more. I don't think I have any books that I've lent out to people. But I guess when you think about it 204 books isn't bad for someone my age. And I've acquired most of them since I graduated from College 3...almost 4 years ago.



....I need help.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart (Don't judge 2/30)

Mr. Darcy broke my heart - Beth Pattillo

I've been reading Les Miserables and really enjoying it but my dear friend Victor can be a bit on the heavy side. So when I went into Barnes and Noble last weekend I wanted something light and fun that I could get through quickly without the urge to mark passages and make notes in the margins. I was perusing the new fiction table and I noticed this book because of the cover. There is a woman in a pretty red dress...what can I say, I like pretty dresses!

I read the back and the first few pages and was intrigued. Now, here comes the disclaimer - even though I really hate to have to put one, I know I need to. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on modern representations of Jane Austen and actually devoted an entire chapter to Chick Lit - a term that just rubs me the wrong way. It irritates me that it's an actual literary term but so it is. What was I saying...ah yes...thesis. I was looking at how Austen has been used and maybe abused by authors today in a myriad of different ways. It's interesting to see that what is being said usually says more about the person saying it than Austen herself. It's something that still interests me a great deal so when I see a book that has anything to do with Austen I take a look. I've read it all. Continuations of Austen's novels, retellings and works "inspired" by Austen's novels. Some are quite entertaining and others are glorified fan-fiction with sex, duels and heaving bosoms. But I digress...

Pattillo actually surprised me with this story. What could have been more of the same - glorified fan fiction and heaving bosoms intrigued me. It takes place in one week while the main character, Claire, is attending a summer seminar at Oxford on Jane Austen. Claire has recently lost her job, she has a boyfriend that is less than enthusiastic, her parents died when she was 18 and she has been taking care of her younger sister ever since. While there she just happens to meet an old woman who just happens to be a direct descendant of Austen through one of Austen's brothers. And this woman just happens to have the lost manuscript of First Impressions - what would later become Pride & Prejudice.The plot is ridiculous but it's just what keeps the characters moving. Claire, of course, meets a good looking, mysterious man while there but it's not what you think it would be.

Pattillo does something that I haven't encountered with other Austen spin offs. She uses the larger than life character of Mr. Darcy as a vehicle for self discovery for her heroine. The story isn't really about Claire's love life or who she will or won't end up with. It's about her finally coming to terms with her parent's death and letting go of her little sister. It's not the best novel I've ever read but I was pleasantly surprised with it. The sections that took place in the classroom were fun for me because it reminded me of my own Austen Seminar Senior year. This definitely isn't a book for everyone but it was a good antidote to Hugo and his heavy handed metaphors and suffering.

My Happy Place

As you all are well aware, I am a HUGE book lover. I love all things related to and pertaining to books. When having a bad day I can pick up a book or walk into a book store and immediately feel better. I've said this many times but growing up I always dreamed of having the library from Beauty and the Beast and I am well on my way. My mom joked that when I get my own place and/or get married, I'll need a two bedroom apartment just so I can fit all my books...tee-hee. It makes me giddy just thinking about it.

I have a friend from the ward, Heidi. She has a hilarious blog - check it out here - seriously. It's great. Anyway, she goes to this used book sale in Phoenix every year and it's next weekend. Can I just say how insanely jealous I am? If I had known about this sooner I definitely would have gone.

Well...there's always next year!

Chivalry is dead - sorry ladies

I don't know if you all have heard this yet but it's true - chivalry is dead. Deceased. Terminated. No longer alive. It has kicked the proverbial bucket. I'm not saying this to rag on the menfolk or be rude or anything but I felt it my duty to let my fellow woman know and I have proof.

It was approximately two weeks ago on a windy, cloudy forlorn Friday evening. I was still at work and I got a phone call from my sister, Annie. Her car had died in the Harmon's parking lot not far from my office and she asked me to come and jump her car. Her husband was at home with the kids and couldn't come to her aid. I jump in my car and hurry over to Harman's. (side note- apparently Harmon's is the place cars go in my family to die. Mine did the same thing several months ago and would not start.) When I get there I pull up next to her car, pop my hood and get out. For the life of us we could not get her car hood open. She is texting her husband and he says to just pull the lever. We pull the lever and nothing happens. No magic popping noise telling us the lever released the hood. We both tried together, separately, there was jiggling and much effort but to no avail. And here's the rub. While we were standing there in the crowded, busy parking lot we were passed by many people - male a female - and not one person stopped to help us. We were obviously struggling but not one person offered their assistance. Two men parked and left in the spot right in front of my sisters - both of them even looked at us peering up into the hood of her car but did either of them stop to see if we needed help? Nope. They just got in their car and went on their merry way. Now, I know I may not be much to look at sometimes but have you seen my sister? Yeah...She's pretty. So no one stopped to help us. I ended up driving her back to her apartment so her husband could take a look at the car. He's a good guy and handy with mechanical things. He fixed my car for me!

Now, I know we're in the age of the "liberated woman" and I'm supposed to be able to do all these things for myself and I shouldn't want guys to be chivalrous. Can't have it both ways...blah blah blah. I've heard it and in fact said most of it before. However, when we were in obvious need of assistance and no one and I mean no one would help us out...something is not right.