Holy Cow

Well, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida has finally decided to accept their responsibilities and pay for Ricky's MS treatment. That was the best news we've had in six months. However, that doesn't mean they aren't still trying to find ways to sink our battleship. They do not want to pay for his Tysabri, which is the drug the doctor wants him on. He tried another MS drug, Avonex, and it wasn't having the desired effect. Originally, the doctor tried to put him on the Tysabri right away, but the insurance company wouldn't pay for it, since he hadn't tried other drug therapies first. Well, now he HAS, and they STILL don't want to pay for it, so I see yet another struggle coming in the near future, albeit not as big of a struggle as it was to get that little "pre-existing" code erased from his file.

We spent yesterday making the rounds to four different doctors, between the two of us. It was a long day. We also had to spend Saturday picking out a new computer. For some reason, our two-year-old HP laptop just DIED Saturday, in the middle of me playing a game on it. We couldn't even get it to come back on. So, not knowing what else to do, we went to Geek Squad (which everyone I know is telling us we should NOT have done), and they told us the motherboard was dead and will cost $400-$500 to fix. Mind you, we just dropped $150 in January on a monitor when the screen on the damn thing died. So the computer we spend $900 on just two years ago has ended up costing us much more than that. I loved the computer while it was working, but keeping it working was just too much. So we invested in yet ANOTHER new laptop. Which disappoints me. The laptop I had in law school was an HP and it lasted me FIVE YEARS, which is ancient for any computer technology these days. Needless to say, we bought a protection plan this time. THEN we found out on Saturday that one of our friends/acquaintances is a computer guru and probably could have fixed the thing. We're actually going to give it to him to mess with, to see if he can get it running again, and, if he can, Ricky will inherit it as his own computer. The only positive to the situation is that I FINALLY took the time to get our wireless system up and running in the house we've lived in for a year. So now our Wii is updated and we can use the computer in any room of the house. It's WONDERFUL!

In reading news, I have made great progress in Comanche Moon, the fourth book (in publication order) in the Lonesome Dove series. It is just as wonderful as the other three, although there isn't as much edge-of-your-seat action as in the other books. I may finish it this week and get a review up. Next up is another review cookbook...

One Year

Today is our one-year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe we've been married for a year. It's gone SO QUICKLY! Between moving, transferring positions at work, finding out the house we're renting is in foreclosure, my car getting flooded, and Ricky's illness, we haven't had a dull moment in our first year of marriage. I can't believe we have survived, but here we are. And, hopefully, things will only get better from here. I'm not terribly mushy, even with Ricky, so I'll just say that I'm happy with him and leave it there.

Semi-Sunday Salon

I'm still working my way through Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. I'm actually really enjoying it, although I can see why it was one of those prescribed books in high school English classes. And maybe history classes. It's kind of making me want to become a vegetarian. And it is SO DEPRESSING. But I can't stop reading, perhaps for the same reason people stop to look at car accidents...I want to see what awful fate will befall Jurgis and Ona next.

I got a new Bookmarks magazine a couple of days ago, so I'm looking forward to getting into that. And I got a little bit of birthday cash from my husband's aunt, uncle and cousins, that I will probably spend on a new book or two.

Ricky is still not doing as well as I would hope. Our lives have changed in so many previously unfathomable ways since January. We're still waiting for the doctor to start him on a preventive medication and, while we were waiting, he had another relapse. He seems to be coming out of that now, but he's not working or driving or even walking very well. And our insurance company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida, is trying to deny coverage of his hospital stay and subsequent bills, as a "pre-existing condition," since the ER doctor whom he saw for five minutes on the date he was admitted into the hospital coded his bill wrong. And they're denying coverage for the medication Ricky's doctor wants him on. And, yes, I named the insurance company, because if they want to play around with my husband's LIFE like that, I'm going to bitch about them by name on my blog. It's been a long three months. And, with the exception of the Read-a-Thon (well, kind of even then), reading is kind of taking a backseat to everything else. Well, everything else except cleaning, which I haven't done too much of lately, either. I'm starting to teach a class or two next month at the local college, too, so I imagine my reading time will be even MORE cut back. So. I'm trying to keep updating, but there's not that much reading-related to talk about.

On a happier note, I promised Ricky a trip to the bookstore soon, to spend some of our birthday money, so maybe I'll be updating about that next weekend.

From Bad to Worse

I've been largely absent for the last couple of weeks because my husband has been in the hospital. He suddenly lost the use of his legs last week and has a tentative diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. I've been with him in the hospital as much as possible, with my faithful book (Lonesome Dove...wonderful company for a trying time) and now with my laptop. I spent yesterday getting semi-caught up on blogs I missed while I was away at Christmas, and plan to do more today. This weekend is really the first time I've been able to focus on anything other than stressing out over Ricky's health. I've received a couple of new books in the mail and am slowly getting through Lonesome Dove, so I may have some book-related posts soon.

Non-Reading-Related Things

Haven't been doing much reading this week. My social life seems to have picked up. I had a VERY long week at work, which led to more socializing than usual. Tuesday night, I joined some colleagues for "one drink," which inevitably turned into a couple. Wednesday night, Ricky and I went to his parents' house for dinner, since we haven't seen them in forever. Thursday night, we went to our friends' house to watch the Dolphins game. And last night, I was too tired to MOVE, let alone read anything. Since most of my reading time is in the evenings while Ricky watches TV, that means that I'm in the same place I was on Sunday night. Sigh.

I booked my ticket home to my parents' for Christmas. Ricky is not joining me. Which everyone else seems to think is very weird, but I think is normal. He doesn't have the vacation time, since he took it all for our honeymoon earlier this year. And he's never come with me to my parents' before, when we were dating/engaged, so it would be weirder to me if he DID come with. I don't know. Maybe, since I'm a married lady, I should be staying here with my husband and having Christmas. But I've never missed a Christmas with my family. And the only time I usually get to see them is at Christmas. So we've worked out this compromise. I don't think he's HAPPY about it, but it's good for him to have to take care of himself for a while, and it's good for me to get away from my responsibilities for a while. Next year...well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Sigh

Friday night, and I'm catching up on my Google Reader.

It's been an unproductive reading week here. I'm in the middle of Angela Carter's Shaking a Leg, which is a collection of her literary criticism and other articles she wrote, mostly for New Society. It covers a variety of topics and I'm finding that I quite enjoy her acidic writing style and thought-provoking pieces. She was a feminist of the 1970's variety, if anyone knows what I mean by that. I think they call it First-Wave Feminism? I'm not up on the lingo. I love her scathing review of Linda Lovelace's autobiography. (Linda Lovelace was, I believe, the "actress" who starred in Deep Throat...I had to ask my husband about that one!)

Anyway, this isn't meant to be an in-depth review of the work (I'm only about one sixth of the way through the monstrous thing). BUT what I'm trying to say is...I haven't gotten much accomplished on it this week. I was in jury selection Monday, which tired me out too much to read anything quite as heavy and intellectual as Carter's essays. And I was in trial Wednesday (well, supposed to be...), so I spent most of Tuesday night putting the final touches on my case. When the thing pled out on Wednesday, I was then too exhausted from the stress to pick up the book. All I could manage was Glee. Last night was a night full of TV with the hubby, so that leaves me...nowhere, really. I seem to get through more of the book when I read it during commercials of my beloved football games.

I wish I were one of those people who can read multiple things at once, but I'm not. I'd get a novel going on the side and forsake the non-fiction for that. Especially if it's a good novel. It's not that the essay collection is boring or anything, it's just that I need all my faculties about me to take it all in...and that's hard to come by on a weeknight.

This weekend I'm looking forward to seeing some friends for the Georgia game tomorrow, and hanging with the hubster on Sunday. He's FINALLY done with his week and a half of working nights, so...that'll be nice. Keep your fingers crossed for him. He had two job interviews today and we're really hoping he gets one of them!

Another Super-Busy Week

Not much reading done this week. Again. I went shopping with friends Monday night and ended up buying a BlackBerry. Sigh. Dinner with Ricky's parents and brother on Tuesday. Trivia night on Wednesday night. Girls' Night last night. Hopefully, this upcoming week will be a little calmer.

It's also been a rough week for me, emotionally. A judge that I used to practice in front of passed away suddenly. The memorial service is tomorrow. While I wasn't close to the judge, he was a presence in my life at the courthouse, and it's really made me think a lot about those I love.

I hope to finish up Doctor Zhivago this weekend and then catch up on some of my magazine reading that has fallen by the wayside...

I'm Still Alive

This week was a busy one. Wednesday was the cake tasting for the wedding...we're going with a six-inch cake and individual cupcakes for the guests: vanilla cake with strawberry mousse filling. YUM! I love the place we went for our cake. The cake will totally have palm trees on it.

Thursday was a busy day at work. I was zonked when I got home.

We got our wedding rings in yesterday. Mine is messed up...some weird dark spot on the metal, so I have to take it back. I think Ricky thinks it's a bad omen. Heh.

Last night was the grand opening for my friends' new law firm, so I spent an enjoyable evening eating their food and drinking their beer. Afterward, we went to a local restaurant to take in the reggae band. Good times.

So I've been largely absent from the blogosphere this week. (Which seems to be more of a trend for me.) I guess everyone has those periods of life when we aren't able to spend our time doing the things we WANT to do, because we're so busy doing the things we HAVE to do.

I hope next week is a little calmer. This weekend will be.

Brief Update

I haven't been blogging or blog-visiting much this week. I was in trial on Monday and Wednesday (I lost, if anyone is keeping score) and Ricky and I have been trying to finish up the DAMN INVITATIONS. The good news is, they went into the mail today, so I won't be blogging about them anymore! Now, to schedule the cake-tastings. Mmm.

I also spent both Wednesday night and Thursday night out on the town, with the fiance's brother and some friends from work. That meant I got nothing done: no bills paid, no laundry done, no wedding stuff worked on. So this morning, before work, I had a little breakdown, which freaked the poor fiance' out. It was just a culmination of stress and not getting enough sleep (I never sleep before a trial, and our mattress was getting lumpy, so we had to turn it). I was also juggling competing requests for my presence at events this weekend. I had planned quite awhile ago to go away tomorrow with some girlfriends. It wasn't really the event that drew me; it was the chance to hang out with the girls. Then people started backing out. Then I got invited to do something ELSE with people I am closer to, and I felt a lot of pressure to do THAT instead, but I had already committed to the first thing...so I started to get stressed about it and lose my mind. And I cancelled everything. Just decided that if it was making me that crazy, it wasn't worth it, and I would just stay home and relax this weekend, especially after running around last weekend and the trial this week. So tomorrow, I don't intend to go anywhere or do anything. I might not even get out of my pajamas. Catching up on blogs, reading, playing some Wii...those are my plans. Oh wait. Except that I will schedule the cake-tasting. I will do that.

Book Meme

Ricky sent this to me and I thought I'd post it, just for something a little different.

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

Well, this depends on if we're talking children's books, because I have some of those that have been around a while, or if we're talking adult books. Children's books, I'll go with either my Raggedy Ann and Andy books or A Peaceable Kingdom: The Shaker Abecedarius. I've had both since before I could even read. Adult books: I'll go with my L.M. Montgomery books; I've had them since about age 9 or 10.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Current read: Doctor Zhivago (which is taking me forever to get through, although I got a lot read yesterday, while sick)
Last read: The Eight by Katherine Neville...really good
Next read: The Best American Short Stories of 2008

3. What book did everyone like and you hated?

Okay, I didn't HATE it, but I really just didn't get into Pride and Prejudice.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

Anything else by Hemingway. HATE Hemingway.

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?”

At the rate I'm reading, all of them. But, really, nothing in particular.

6. Last page: read it first or wait til the end?

Oh my gosh, wait till the end! I'm so obsessive-compulsive that reading it first would kill me.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?

I like the acknowledgements and I'll at least peek at them. If they are too boring, I won't slog through.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?

Hmm, I'd like to be Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden.


9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

Any of the L.M. Montgomery books remind me of my aunt, who introduced them to me, and make me think of the last time I read them straight through, which was in April and May of 2002, right before I made the decision to go to law school.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.

My friend Greer and I traded: my copy of Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things for her copy of The Talented Mr. Ripley.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

Well, I loaned Sophie's World to my friend Susanna after a nasty break-up, when she needed something to keep her mind occupied.


12. Which book has been with you to the most places?

Probably The Stand, which was with me in Ohio, Georgia, Oregon, and Florida. It finally got Mooched away to another home, too.


13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?

I haven't re-read much from high school. Maybe if I DO give Hemingway another go, I'll appreciate him much more now. Most of my re-reads have been things I loved, like Jane Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird. Although it wasn't required reading, I couldn't make it through The Lord of the Rings back then, but loved it when I read it last year.

14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?

Nothing too weird. Bookmarks, notes, etc.

15. Used or brand new?

Used, if I can get it. It's cheaper and more eco-friendly. But, if not, I'll buy it new. That way, I support the authors and publishers and insure they stay around!

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?

I've not read much Stephen King, but I couldn't put The Stand down.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?

Can't think of one. I like to read the book first, and the movie almost never stands up to the book.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?

Most of them.

19. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Any of my bloggy friends!

Not going to tag anyone, but if anyone is interested, please feel free to steal this meme! I got it from Ricky, who got it from
Book Group Buzz and/or Booklist Online.

FRIDAY FILL-INS!!!

1. Oh, I am so COLD!

2. I hate changes, big and little.

3. During lunch, I ate a bunch of stuff that was bad for me (but oh so good!).

4. Thirty degree weather in Florida; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be under the sea, in an octopus's garden with you.

6. Our new Wii is my favorite gadget.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on the old Google reader, tomorrow my plans include going out for drinks with a co-worker or two and Sunday, I want to play Wii and work on wedding stuff with Ricky!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Enough with the economy already. It's depressing!

2. Sometimes my job causes me to be conflicted.

3. I've been craving McDonald's.

4. Ricky makes me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to Hawaii, Greece, or Italy next week.

6. Wedding planning has been on my mind lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet, tomorrow my plans include hanging out around the house and Sunday, I want to write our wedding invitations!

Holiday Random-ness

Christmas shopping is, for the most part, done. I would like to get Ricky a thing or two more for his stocking, but the particular last item I want is SOLD OUT at the particular place I went looking for it. (He reads this blog, or at least I think he does, so I have to be kind of vague.)

I have the makings of my holiday peanut butter fudge sitting on the stove, to be made later today or maybe tomorrow, if I have time.

The office Christmas party was last night. I pooped out on the bail bondsman's party that is THE big holiday fete. I was just too tired after working all day and then partaking of the Christmas cheer with my co-workers. I'm invited to yet another party tonight. Not sure if I'm going. Mostly, I just want to curl up in my apartment and read or surf the internet. I don't really feel like schmoozing. Or drinking. Which means something is wrong with me, because I ALWAYS feel like drinking.

The fiance' and I had an unaccustomed amount of togetherness this past week. He was on a short break from job number three (!!!) while they switched him to another store, so we got to spend our evenings together, which we haven't done for quite a while. And I didn't even kill him. We actually went on a dinner date on Wednesday. And it was nice.

Tomorrow, I plan to accompany two of our good friends up north, to "Central Florida," to see another couple that we used to work with and their new baby girl.

In between all the merry-making, fudge-making and baby-meeting, I'm not having much reading time. Since my opportunities to read have been pretty broken-up lately, I've been indulging in magazines. Currently, I'm browsing the November/December Bookmarks. I asked for a subscription for Christmas...I HOPE SANTA BRINGS ME ONE! (Uh, hint hint.) And today, for some unknown reason, I decided I had to have the Rachael Ray magazine that I saw in the checkout, despite the millions and millions of BOOKS staring at me from the spare room, waiting to be read. But come on, how am I to resist 329 meals that rock, or the holiday cookie blowout? I mean, really. I've never read Rachael's magazine, but I love her cookbooks and cooking shows. Although she should annoy me to high heaven, I ADORE the lovely Ms. Ray. I just hope this isn't a must-have subscription. I think one to two magazines a month are my limit.

What Hour Is It Again?

DAWGS WIN!!! Well, they won about two hours ago, really. Since then, I've been polishing off my Glamour magazine (it's not all high literature in Ms. Lexi's household), and I've made a fair start on H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. I'm going to take another short break soon, to deliver dinner to the Fiance' at work. That shouldn't take long. When I get home, I would like to check my email and Google Reader, and then back to the reading! I'm a little afraid that I won't be able to stay up very long tonight, since I'm ALREADY tired and it's only just shy of 6 PM. But I'll do my best.

Mailbox Monday Once Again!

It's Mailbox Monday again, and I actually have some acquisitions to report! From the folks at LibraryThing and Andrews McMeel Publishing, I received a new cookbook, Pamela Sheldon Johns' 50 Great Appetizers. I LOVE COOKBOOKS! And I love to try new recipes. I wish I cooked more often, but our office is having a Halloween party at the end of the month, so I'll be trying out one of these appetizers on my unsuspecting guinea pigs. Heh.

I also received Leaving Cold Sassy, the sequel to Olive Ann Burns' Cold Sassy Tree. I Mooched this from the same lovely lady at BookMooch who sent me the first book. I'm looking forward to reading these classics that I've yet to get to.

Finally, I received November's Glamour magazine. I still love Glamour, despite the fact that I cannot afford any of the clothes and no longer really need the makeup tips (since I hardly ever go out anymore) and find it all just a little...repetitive. I've subscribed for YEARS, at least since college, and it's a habit I don't think I can break at this point. I do enjoy their articles on world events and the political coverage, and there are definitely still other "fluff" articles that I enjoy. It's kind of like brain candy for me. And I'm ready to dive in once again this month.

So, a fruitful harvest, overall this week. It could be a while before I receive many more books, as I'm topped out on BookMooch and the Fiance' and I are "saving money." But we shall see, we shall see. I have a feeling, like any good bibliophile, that I will find a way to bring more books into the house, regardless.

We're BAAAACK!

After delays in Atlanta, the Fiance' and I arrived back in our area LATE last night. I called off of work today, since I was only going to get a few hours of sleep, so now I'm using the rest of the day to get organized and ready to go back to work full-steam tomorrow. I have a review to post, of a book I finished over my vacation, in between all the wedding prep and visiting friends and family. I'll be back to post that soon. The wedding was really nice, and it was good to see everyone. There were people there that I haven't seen in years! I enjoyed my time at home, but, as always, I wish that it lasted longer.

Tripping

Tomorrow, the fiance' and I leave beautiful sunny South Florida (HA! Hurricane Central, is more like it!) for the not-so-tropical North. My sister is getting married this Saturday and I'm in the wedding...so I'll be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, hoping I didn't forget anything, hurrying Ricky along, trying to make it to the airport on time. I'm glad Hanna has taken a turn away from us, so our plane can make it out. Now if only Ike will hold off till we're safely back Monday night!

Vacation

I've been spending a lot of time at the beach with my sisters, and I have the lobster-shoulders to prove it. We're taking a break from swimming today in favor of indoor activities, which, hopefully, will not burn us. I've taken them to eat at one of my favorite places, and we've eaten at home a bit, too, since we're all poor. We've been watching the Olympics obsessively, when they're on, although I've been falling asleep much too early. In between all that, we've been having all the fun a flock of us generally have when we're in the same place. Ricky seems to fit right in...it's been a great week so far.

Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow. I think we're going to have brunch at our favorite diner today, and probably do dinner with a couple of my co-workers. Ricky's brother is supposed to come into town today, also, so maybe we'll have dinner with him tomorrow night. All this eating out is kind of hard on the wallet (and the waistline -- Weight Watchers is out the window this week), but it sure is fun.

More book news when I get a chance to get back to reading. It's been mostly magazines and the beach this week.

Good Things

Lots of good things happening today. The Fiance' found a new part-time job, which helps alleviate some of the money worries we were having.

Also, I received some new BookMooch acquisitions in the mail. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Beach Music by Pat Conroy all made their way to my home today. I love getting books in the mail.

In addition, a pair of shoes that I ordered a MILLION years ago from Newport News also arrived today. And I ordered several new suits from an online store, since all of my old suits are falling off my body.

Things to be happy about, indeed!

Oh, one more thing to be happy about? Velocipedes.

Finally Saturday Again

It's been a long week. I've been bummed, work has been rough, we have no money, and I don't get paid till Thursday. The best thing I can say about this week is that it's over.

The good news is that I have a couple of Mooched books on the way. AND......I am getting a copy of The Empress of Weehawken from LibraryThing as part of the Early Reviewers program. That was a surprise, since I've never reviewed anything for them before.

My newly rekindled obsession with reading is even wearing off on the Fiance'. He's bought a few new books and is taking reading material to work with him. I'm excited that he's falling in love with reading now too. We don't really share the same taste in books (I tend to gravitate towards classics, general fiction, and mysteries, whereas he prefers humor and memoirs), but it's nice that we are both into having some quiet reading time...