Excuse me. I'll be right back.

I haven't done my blogging challenge. 

I Know.

I haven't told you about my very soon move to Michigan. 

I know. 

I'm sure there's something else I've neglected in the past couple days that I'm now forgetting to mention. 

I. KNOW. 

But...I don't really care :) My bestfriend-cousin-soulmate-can'thelpbuttalkallnightwithoverflowingglassesofwinepeeingourpantsandlaughingtilloursideshurts is here!!!! 

Visiting me for the next two weeks before the wedding to help me keep my cool and keep me distracted, happy, and of course giving us the ability to catch up on everything we've not had a chance to over analyze, discuss, and slightly gossip about since we last saw each other in March. Mainly we talk about books, movies, harry potter (maybe twilight) and all the other things swimming around in our worry wart heads living on our very opposite poles we call life. 

So...if I neglect you. If I check out for a couple of days - I apologize in advance. I'm not going to take another break. I want to continue blogging throughout the next couple of weeks as much as I can. I know I'll miss you guys too much. But be patient :) and love me still when I come back to you after the craziness of these next weeks has settled. 

But I will leave you with a beautiful quote Katie shared with me...

.my best friend is a person who will give me a 

book I have not read. 

- Abraham Lincoln

Life as we Know it..

..will end!

I know it. 

You know it. 

Okay. You might not know it. 

I love Harry Potter. Come to think of it I've never discussed my emotional (and okay okay maybe a little ridiculous) emotional ties to this story, these characters. But I just established I must share it with you. 

Not now. Sorry. Work is calling. But I just caught this image..and my stomach turned over a little (I already admitted ridiculous - leave me alone). This banner is going to ruin my whole day.

 It can't end!

Day 14 / 30 Days and then some

Hi you guys

Just a few things from me tonight. I just crawled into bed and all I feel like doing is downing my huge glass of milk, watching some House and letting sleep steel me away. (However, how bout we not dream about me trying to go to Starbucks and being denied coffee again? Thx) Lately things have been ueber crazy and I feel like I'm going to be living and breathing all-thing-wedding for the next four weeks. Which is fine. But weird things are happening. :P I get a little loopy when things are so on a set path that demands a lot of my energy; I drink a disgusting amount of coffee. I am either picking my cuticles, biting my lip, and chewing on my cheek (even more gross I know) at all times. And I change things. I've changed my phone's background three times this week. Rearranged all the icons. And have done the same with my computer desktop. And now I'm about to do the same to my blog. I really don't like this one though. Or maybe I do, but maybe it's my loonity that needs to make sure I can control some changes while a million other changes are happening around me that I cannot control, but just be forced to sit back and let the change overcome me.

Hope you like the new look. One day I'm going to pay for someone to create me a totally personalized blog! :) Yes I am. Which maybe that's what I'll do soon. I've had this thought. Not that I want to offend anyone, but I've thought that I might want to change my blog a bit after I'm married. But I don't particularly want a family or newlywed blog. N loves my blogs and I do want a new theme, but I want to keep my individual ness.. !? Any suggestions? Think I might already have some cute new titles..and overall..I'm still going to talk your ear off about nothingness, just like I do now. So you've got lots to look forward to my friend :) You just wet your pants a little. I know.    I know. ;) 

So..let's get to Day 13 of this challenge shindig which is by far my least favorite day! A non fictional book. What is that? Who reads those? Or better yet, I don't read those!! Or do I? The other day I was at Barnes and Noble, and this would be as good as any time to publicly confess to N that I stole his $25 gift card which he's literally had since we STARTED DATING(!!!!!) and helped myself to some books at the store :) I love you schatz. I'm sorry. I'll replace it. Promise. But anyway, I got my new copy of Mockingjay with it and had like $6 left over. I hate when I don't use gift cards all the way! So I had to use it up. A book that I have, very very secretly wanted to read caught my eye on a random table and once I picked it up I was appalled yet so excited at the sale price of $5.50. 

Oh god..you so know it. I totally bought Julie Andrews' biography. The woman is only the epidome of Walt Disney and everything rainbows and sunshine AND she's MARY POPPINS! DUh. And she serenades you for whopping three hours in the Austrian Mountains in a beautiful dirndl. Point - she's amazing and yes, you can totally borrow it when I'm done. :) Sucker. You secretly want to read it to. It's ok. Come to the bright side. Admitting it is so much easier :) 

Night kids

I miss N. 

Book Review: Her Fearful Symmetry

I anxiously and lip bitingly finished the latest novel by Audrey Niffeneger, Her Fearful Symmetry. As much as I want write how I feel about this book before jumping into a new book and losing my thoughts about this one, I for the first time after reading a book am completely speechless. I guess more thoughtless would be the correct term. But I am dumbfounded. Sitting on the fence of loving or hating this book. And then I'm still trying to figure out if I even understand what just happened. 


Similar to The Time Traveler's Wife, Her Fearful Symmetry is immensely complex, dives right into a story that quickly unfolds into 6 different layers and you spend the rest of the book jumping from one layer to the next trying to find Waldo in the big busy picture. Kind of like in the Wife you are so busy looking at all of the little people and their accessories in Waldo's big picture, that you can't see the ending and clarity until you go "There he is!" and you find Waldo and suddenly you're saying "Oh I was looking there all along". Just not hard enough. 


So is she absolutely brilliant? (duh.) or do I hate her for getting me to the end of the book fretting over "Do I love it? Even LIKE? But what about..and what about ... but wait. WHAT?" or love her for telling me such a story that does exactly that; knocking me completely off my rocker from left field. You will definitely never get a whirlwind, melodramatic series novel to read from this woman. I knew she was special when I finished and completely fell in love with Traveler's Wife, but girl, you just became a member of my Favorite Author's list. 


This latest novel of hers plays in a stunning historic cemetery called Highgate Cemetery, in London. Which come to find out, is a real attraction in London, complete with buildings and streets that Niffenegger references in her book. I recommend surfing a little through Google before reading this book, because after seeing images of the cemetery and the surroundings, I would have imagined much deeper and vividly (not to mention, hauntingly) while reading this book. (the link will take you to the Highgate Cemetery website, and the Google link to some of the images I researched) . 


Her Fearful Symmetry is about a dieing woman, Elspeth that is not ready to leave this world, or her awkwardly irresistible and handsome boyfriend Robert. After her death, her twin nieces come to live in her flat where they must live for a year, with the promise they will not let their parents, Elspeth's twin sister and husband, visit or even enter, the flat. I will let you find out for yourself if this story is about Elspeth's greed and love for life and the sacrifices made for it, or about the mirror twins that are opposites even in life and death. It is an absolute must read. I hope you struggle through it like I did to end up loving it in the end (I suppose I've concluded that I'm letting myself fall to the "love" side of the fence) . 


I pulled up a couple book reviews and am sharing with you my favorite one. (Be careful - a couple minor spoiler alerts). If I wasn't such a pansy, not engaged, and had a well off aunt that left me her Gothic flat in London with neighbors like Robert and Martin, I would totally live here. 

Monday - What are you Reading?

I'm starting off this Monday with a new series that will hopefully get me motivated to read more than 2 books before the end of the summer. Because my current reading pace is pathetic and I would really like to get back in the groove :) So..let the reading begin!

It's Monday, What are you Reading?  is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


Books I completed last week: 
Um. About that. See the above paragraph where I mention my pathetic reading pace. Answering this question might be a little problematic. 


Books I'm reading this week:
Her Fearful Symmetry By Audrey Niffenegger which I cannot put down now that I'm at this specific part so I'm confident I will be able to put this on my "completed" list next week :)


Eat. Pray. Love. By Elizabeth Gilbert..I knew I should have read this almost two years ago when a friend of mine was raving about it, but never did, and I refuse to see the movie until I read the book. But then another friend gave me the advice to see the movie, THEN read the book, because maybe I won't have the movie because books are always better. And since I didn't take the last friends' advice..maybe I should take this one !? :) 


Books YOU are reading this week: 
:) what do you have your noses stuck in this week? 

Procrastinating. It's What I do

Hi kids.

Well you've definitely done it. Not that I don't love your progress and committment to reading this summer, but I cannot take another post about you much you guys have read this summer!! It's depressing me and making myself want to assign myself into the corner, for being the biggest reading slacker! I don't slack when I read.

Maybe it's my job. No. That's a bad excuse too. Maybe it's the wedding??? Ya. Let's go with that. Everyone loves to blame the wedding for things so I'll hop on that bandwagon for a few stops. Stupid wedding.

:)

So back to the part where I was shaking my finger at you. Thanks. No really. Thank you. I finally got my lazy, procrastinating butt on a plane and spent all 3 hours of my first flight finishing The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and wept the last few chapters. After the second to last chapter I just stopped trying to hied the fact that I was loosing my shit all together. I might have even let go so far that I let out a little sniffle.

Hands down, one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. With such simple words that painted Nazi Germany in such a way that you actually feel how it was like to live in the grey area of that time, faced with confusion, humanity, and love. Brilliantly written as well as life changing; I absolutely recommend it for those that have an interest for holocaust and Nazi Germany stories - this is one of my favorites.

And because I couldn't lose my momentum, I just sort of snuck in 2 new books I picked up at the local grocery store of all places, so I have no chance of losing my "I heart reading again" streak. Thank gosh they had a pretty decent selection and of course grocery stores always sell those bestsellers, because I picked up a copy of Eat Pray Love which I refuse to see in theaters until I've read the book and one that I quite possibly might have shoved a cute little toddler out of the way for, by Audrey Niffenegger called Her Fearful Symmetry. It is her latest I believe since The Time Traveler's Wife which we all know is this girl's favorite book of all time. Plus the cover quote told me "Niffeneger lovers will not be able to put this down" so I had to get it.

:)

But I really haven't been able to put it down. That woman is just so freaking fantastic at writing. I will keep you updated on my thoughts about it. And my continued progress to show you ladies there's a new book nerd in town. :) Jk - you know I wish we could all just group hug :P

Alright, enough..who talks like that? Group hug. I'm sorry. I'm beyond delirious from my shotgun trip to MI this weekend - of which I still owe you two days' worth of report and images. Promise that'll happen tomorrow.

And I'll stop calling you kids.
And I'll never talk about group hugs again. I apologize.
Group hug. Damnit!