Brief Update

Less than three weeks till the wedding. I am freaking out a little, mostly over the few last things that need to be done. But I'm taking Friday off of work to get some things accomplished, since most places I need to deal with aren't open on the weekend.

I finished Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood last night and began The Fire, which is the sequel to The Game, which I read over Christmas. I'll post a review of the Ya-Yas soon.

Also...look what I made! Paula Deen's Caramel Apple Cake with Caramel Topping:

The caramel topping is homemade...mmm! Can't wait to cut myself a piece!

Oh, also! I have the best friends in the entire world. Saturday, my shower and bachelorette party, was WONDERFUL. My friends were more than generous in their gift-giving. Love them!

Mailbox Monday and an AWARD!

Well, it's Mailbox Monday and I actually have something to report. Thursday, I received a copy of Laurie R. King's The Moor. This is another book in her Mary Russell series, detailing the marriage between Ms. Russell and Sherlock Holmes. I Mooched this book a couple of weeks ago. I have one or two others in the series, although I haven't read them yet. They look good enough, though, that I want to get all of them and check out the whole series.

Unfortunately, that's all I brought home this week!



I was lucky enough to have been given the Blog Friends Award by Staci at Life in the Thumb! This is my first blog award and I am SO EXCITED! Here's what it's all about:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I'm supposed to tag eight people. There are so many people that I read and love, but I'll try to tag those with whom other readers may not be as familiar...

SuziQOregon at Whimpulsive

Heather at Book Addiction

Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza

Sharon at Ex Libris

Framed at Framed and Booked

Megan at Leafing through Life

Mary at Mary's Library

and

Morsie (Karen) at Morsie Reads

There are so many more people I could have tagged, but I'll get them all the next time around. Check these folks out; their blogs are informative and, of course, full of great books!

SQUEE!

I feel so special! The insanely intelligent and sweet Wendy of CaribousMom fame has featured me in her (BACK AGAIN!) Weekly Geeks post! Like I posted over at her blog, I feel like I've actually made it in the blog world. What a thrill, to have someone I respect a great deal point others in my direction.

Hopefully, some folks are stopping by whom I might not have known before. If so, WELCOME. And y'all come back now, y'hear?

And Wendy? Thank you so much for honoring me by giving me a shout-out on your blog!

A Genuine Loss for Us All

I'm sure y'all have already heard, but Dewey passed away last week. Unfortunately, being fairly new to the book blogosphere, I didn't have the opportunity to know her well. But, through her 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, her Weekly Geeks, and her other book-inspired challenges and posts, I was lucky to get a brief glimpse of a woman who loved to read and share her love of reading with others. So, let's all dedicate our current read to Dewey and try to keep her memory alive through our reading, our reviews, and our full participation in blogging and life. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family. I'm sure she's in a better place, with all the time in the world to read, read, read.

The Books Just Keep on Comin'

Soooo many books received this week!

First: Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. After trying to get a copy of this book in giveaway after giveaway, I finally won a copy on Megan's blog. Yes, I could have just picked up a copy at the local bookstore, but I'm Type A...I want to WIN, dammit! So thanks to Joshua Henkin and Megan for giving me that thrill!

Next, another BookMooch acquisition: Doctor Zhivago. I have never read this classic, but I've heard SO MANY people talk about how great and sad it is. And the movie version figures heavily in one of my beloved John Cusack's movies, Must Love Dogs. So I figured it is a must-read for me at some point. And also? I CAN'T STOP MOOCHING. There is always something else I want/need.

Including...Marian Keyes' Angels, another Mooch. Something a little lighter, to break up the string of classics I seem to be picking up.

Finally, on the book front, I received a copy of Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I believe I won this during the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, but my eyes were so crossed by all the reading I did and my mind so fogged with the lack of sleep, that I just can't be sure. So if you gave this book away during the Read-a-Thon, and I won it, THANKS!

And last but by no means least, my lovely, lovely, wonderful journal from our own BookGirl, Iliana. I was so excited to have won the journal, which I simply don't have the free cash to out and out PURCHASE from her, and now it is here and it is GORGEOUS. I was thrilled to be able to see the craftsmanship that I've followed on her blog, up close and personal. You guys should all travel over to her Etsy shop and buy up all her stock!

What a week of book blessings. Thanks to everyone who has hosted a giveaway and/or donated prizes for the Read-a-Thon. I'm so lucky to have brought in this haul!

One More Thing

I WON I WON I WON!!!

I'm so psyched. I won one of Iliana's lovely handmade journals by participating in Tracy's caption the photo challenge. I've been eyeing those suckers since she opened her Etsy shop, but I haven't had the spare cash to set aside for one. This is AWESOME!

Before I go to bed, I just want to say thanks so much to DEWEY, and all the other wonderful folks who have put this Read-a-Thon together. Not to mention all the cheerleaders and other participants, as well. You guys have made this such a great experience. I'll definitely be here for the next one!

EDITED to correct Tracy's name...sorry, girl, but it was late last night, so I got you confused with Trish.

Don't Forget!!!

This weekend is Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon! Read all those books gracing your To-Be-Read shelves! Blog! Follow other bloggers! Cheer us all on! And win FABULOUS prizes!

I'll be there, will you?

Donate for a Good Cause

Sassymonkey has issued a challenge. She is asking everyone to donate a dollar (and what's a dollar, really?) to help fund a classroom library for a class of children who don't have satisfactory access to reading material. And if the joy of knowing you are helping a whole class of kids learn to appreciate reading is not enough, Sassymonkey will enter you into a chance to win a prize pack for donating and posting about the challenge. So run right over and drop a dollar to help these kids! Support literacy and help them learn to love books!!!

Thank God for Awesome Co-Workers

I have had a rough month or so on the job. I've been working my bum off, preparing for (and trying) a big case, and dealing with a lot of...difficult...clients along the way. I hope I haven't complained too much, but the Lunch Club (myself, Susanna, John and Dave) all do a lot of venting when we get out of the confines of the office. They always make me feel better about the rough situations, the tough customers, the absolute thanklessness (MOST of the time) of my job. Well, since it's been so hard lately, and since it's been several months since the spa saw my face, I was talking about making an appointment for a massage on Saturday, to get rid of all the built-up tension of the last month or so. Turns out, I didn't have to. My super-unbelievable co-workers made that appointment for me, so that, yesterday, all I had to do was show up with a tip for the masseuse. It was heavenly and SO SO needed, both physically AND mentally. I feel like a new woman.

So. Monday, it's back to the grindstone. But I can handle it now.