My very first meme...

I feel so officially bloggish! To be honest, when I got tagged for this meme, I was a little intimidated. After all, my sister the librarian tagged me. I have to be honest, I don’t read nearly as much as I should or used to simply because of time constraints in my life now. Someday (soon) I hope the time constraints will be lifted and I’ll have time to really read. For the time being, I read fluff – pure brain candy – because I have to think enough in my real life!

So…

1. The three most influential books in my life are:

• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  This was an influential book simply because it was the first challenged book I ever read and I read it because I was told not to. It was the book that above all has made me think about what causes people to challenge books.
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn
  This was first read as a class assignment when I was a freshman in high school many, many years ago. I reread it a few years ago and it was interesting to read it with the eyes and experiences of an adult. It was influential because it made me realize how much society has changed and it made me sad because high school freshmen today wouldn’t see a big deal with what Hester Prynne did.
• The Left Behind Series by Tim Lahay and Jerry B. Jenkins
  This series, while not necessarily great literature, did make me think about what and how I believe about the end times.

2. Three books I’ve read more than once.

• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• The 3 longer novels in the Anita Blake series
• What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson

3. Three great books I personally hated.

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Hate may be too strong of a word here, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. I know it is a great work of literature and has a wonderful story and moral, but I just didn’t like it! (Sorry, Carrie.)
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  I know, I know, but it was pure torture to me!
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  I see a Steinbeck pattern forming here.

4. Three pure pleasures.

• The Anita the Vampire Slayer series by Laurell K. Hamilton. (Falls into the pure fluff category. This is my current book obsession and also part of the reason I hate series of books and waiting for the next one to come out.)
• Chick Lit
• Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels

5. Three great books I should have read but haven’t yet.

• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Earnest Hemmingway
  Or really anything by Hemmingway. I have started FWTBT, but I’ve never finished it. I should.
• The Harry Potter series. And I plan to when she finishes it. There is nothing more infuriating and frustrating to me than to have to wait six months to a year between books in a series.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I could actually list many, many more. It is embarrassing how many classic works of literature I’ve not read.

6. The last three books I ordered. (Since I don’t generally order books, I go to the bookstore instead, I’ll list those. Hey, where else can you eat a Rice Krispy treat the size of your head and drink a cup of way overpriced coffee?)

• The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper (Initially published as Passion’s Reign.)
• Micah by Laurell K. Hamilton
• 12 Choose Your Own Adventure books for my roommate’s classroom. (I did order these -- Or rather won them off of eBay.)

The question is who to tag now. I don’t know if there are actually any “regular” readers of my blog to tag. So, I’ll tag Princess Mindy and hope for the best.

Happy Summer Everyone!

Well, summer is officially here, I guess. I had the day off yesterday and worked my tail off doing laundry and planting flowers in the bed by the walk. It was a great day, overall.

Next weekend is the “official” engagement party and P’s bridal shower. The ladies throwing the shower graciously invited me to be a hostess. Basically, I’m a hostess in name only. Since I live five hours away, I don’t get to help with the preparations. Bummer. The lady I’ve spoken to on the phone said that I would get to take down everything that P gets at the shower. Well, since I’m the MOH, I’d have probably done that anyway! Oh well, I really do appreciate the fact that they are including me in the shower.

On to other life news... I got ANOTHER new trainer. Old guy trainer got a job offer in another state and he moved. I met with him exactly twice and he cancelled once. Oh well. New trainer is nice, but I’m not sure how I’m going to like him. It is hard to tell after one session, I guess. Then again, maybe the third time is the charm. I don’t have a clever nickname for him yet, either. That will have to come with time, I guess.

I am meeting a new Mr. Maybe guy from eHarmony tonight. I was just anxious before, but now I’m downright nervous. I missed his call last night. (No, it wasn’t the make him sweat and not answer the phone game, either. I was legitimately not available.) I called him back and he missed my call, so I e-mailed him this morning to confirm where we are meeting, etc. He responded to the e-mail almost immediately. I don’t quite know what to think about that. I am a girl after all and I can totally overthink this entire thing. For that matter, I probably will! I seem to easily forget, since it has been so long since I’ve dated, that men are generally simple creatures who tend to not put hidden meanings into everything like girls tend to do. At least, that is what someone who dates regularly told me. I will just have to go with that assumption/information for now since I have little personal knowledge.

Maxie is going to be fine...

In case anyone is wondering, Maxie is doing fine. He went back to the vet on Tuesday and had a second glucose curve. Doc said that his blood sugar was going much lower and that he's where he thought he'd be in about six months not a week. So, instead of upping his dose right now, we're leaving it the same -- 1cc of insulin every morning. He is down to 17 pounds and is getting so thin! I kind of miss my big-fat-kitty. He feels so light when I pick him up.

In other news, I am getting yet another trainer. I had to leave girl trainer because our schedules didn't match. I was bummed about that because I really liked her! I got as a replacement Old Guy Trainer. He has been a trainer for 34 years. I told him when we met that he's been a trainer as long as I've been alive! NOTE: When someone has the ability to cause you great pain and you are paying them to do so, don't insult them before your session starts. So, now I'm getting another new trainer. I haven't met him yet, I only know his name. I hope he's good!

Not much else in the world of this maid of honor. I've often joked that if I had a stalker, he'd be a sad, bored little man. Heck, he could go on vacation and not miss anything! Oh well. There is something to be said for the comfort of routine.

In other news... (and some wedding stuff, too)

Life has been crazy in the past week. Last Thursday morning, I woke up to Maxie (my formerly 28 lb cat who is now down to a svelte 18) scratching in my bed because he didn’t make it to the litter box. GOOD MORNING! For the past month or two he’s been walking like a little old man, and since he is a 10-year-old cat, I just thought he was getting old. Old I can handle. Incontinent I can’t. We went to the vet that day. I really thought the vet was going to tell me that I was going to have to put him down. He’s my big fat cat. I was heartbroken about it.

Come to find out, he has diabetes. Monday, he went to the vet for his glucose curve test and his blood sugar was down to just over 400 that morning. (Normal is between 80 and 150.) After his insulin, it was down to 218 by the end of the day. So now every morning, I give my cat an insulin shot with his breakfast. He is perkier and after only two days walking a little better.

From this experience, I have a whole other respect for parents. Honestly, Monday when I had to leave him at the vet’s office, I felt like I was leaving a piece of myself there. I know intellectually that he is a pet not a child. I know there is no real comparison in the two, and I treat him as a very spoiled pet and not as a child. But as I drove away, I had a small inkling of what parents of sick children must feel as they drive away from the hospital leaving their child behind in the care of doctors.

Last night I went to dinner with a bunch of folks who are working reporters and some students after an association meeting. We were talking about many different subjects and gyms and trainers came up. I was talking about mine and how I’m working toward the wedding. Male Reporter, MR, asked what color my dress was going to be. I had been joking about being a hobbit brides maid since I’ll be the shortest person there. When I told him purple, he pointed out to me that I wouldn’t be a hobbit, I’d be the Barney brides maid. Great. Just great. As if my concerns about looking fat weren’t already solidified enough, I now have to worry about looking like Barney! I guess I could just walk down the aisle humming “I love you, You love me, we’re a happy family…” Nah.

It also looks as if the bride’s stepmonster won’t be making an appearance at the wedding. As I mentioned in the last post, P’s aunts and grandparents had a very informal backyard dinner party for P & M when they were here. P’s father and stepmonster weren’t invited. (I can say monter because I’ve known her for over 20 years and she is just about the definition of the evil step mother in that she is two-faced and moody and has done everything in her power to put a wedge between P and her Father for the entire time.) It was a family gathering (P’s Mom, and her parents and sisters) and the Father and Stepmonster aren’t a part of that family. Heck, for the better part of the past few years, Father and Stepmonster haven’t been speaking to P because of various and a sundry perceived slights and insults. Now, because they “aren’t wanted anyway”, Stepmonster is most likely not going to come to the wedding.

Ahh, drama. It is amazing how it follows some people around and how another creates it when life suddenly isn’t all about her any longer.

I like Mike!

This was written Monday and I've just been lax about getting it posted...

Well, lots and lots to tell.

My sister C came to town this weekend and we spent all day Friday shopping. We got cut outfits for a Kentucky Derby party we were going to on Saturday. I got my MOH dress. Well, I ordered it. It will be in in six weeks and then I’ll have to have it altered. I got my shoes. They are strappy silver heels with rhinestones on the straps. They are really cute.

Then Friday night, the most exciting thing happened. C and I met P and M down at the Stockyards in Ft. Worth. P wanted him to experience something “quintessentially Texan” and corny so where else would we go? Billy Bobs! It was fun – a little dead, but fun. I finally got to meet M in other words! I love him. No, seriously, I wanted to not like him for lots of selfish reasons, but I couldn’t. He is a great guy. Totally an engineer and reminds me of my man-child of a brother-in-law (C’s husband, P). But all-in-all a wonderful guy and I get it now. He won me over when the first thing he did was completely not act awkward and gave me a big hug when we met. There was no formal handshake and awkwardness, just a hug like he knows I’m important to P and therefore I’m important to him.

Saturday, we went to the Derby party at one of her friend’s house. It was great. We all sat around and ate and visited and wore our big hats and drank mint juleps. Then, we cheered our horses on for the entire two minutes of the race (2:01 to be exact) then ate and visited some more.

After the Derby party we went to P’s Granny & Papa’s house for dinner with the family. Totally informal type dinner in the backyard. We had fajitas and margaritas and wine and lots of great conversation. Again, can I just say that I really liked Mike. He is just a great guy. I know, I know. I’m gushing, but he was totally not what I expected and everything that I expected. P, in the past, has tended to date the looker guys. I’m not saying that M is ugly at all. He’s just not the typical guy that P meets and dates. I guess that is why this is the one she’s marrying!!

Be Careful Out There...

Can you believe this story!? There was a Maid of Honor shot as she went for the bridal bouquet! See, it is all the more reason to just sit back and relax during the bouquet toss!