new year's resolution

Unbelievable. The holidays have come and gone and I was just putting my party hat on. 

Despite the fact that my official work week starts up again tomorrow, I've decided to allow my holiday vacation to end at exactly midnight. That gives me a little less than two hours to relax and enjoy my free time.

I'm not sure if any of you have heard of librarything.com, but it is actually an amazing website. They have a section that is dedicated for groups of people to have topics of discussions related to one of my favorite things... books! One of the groups that was created recently is called '75 Books Challenge for 2012'. Given my dwindling holiday spirit (not midnight yet!), I've decided to make this one of my New Year's resolutions...

75 Books in 2012
Number 1: East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Yes, it's over 500 pages. Haven't you heard? I'm kind of an over achiever.

Let's just pretend I started it today instead of 2 weeks ago...

The Piano Tuner

The Piano Tuner @ Amazon.com

'Have you read The Piano Tuner? I just could not put this book down!'

'Oh yes! I read this one in only a couple of days.'

'Okay, good. I won't take this one then.'

This is exactly the conversation I overheard while browsing through the books at the Newberry Library book fair this summer (well, if you call browsing pushing through people to grab a book that YOU saw first). Of course, as soon as I heard the lady was putting the book back down I just had to grab it. This did require me to squat down in a crowd full of people, proceed to look underneath a table, and find the box of books that had not been put on display yet. I'm not really sure why the woman couldn't just put it back on a shelf. Either way, I was not letting this book go!

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason is an enchanting story of Edgar Drake, commissioned by the British War Office in 1886 to travel to hostile Burma to repair a rare grand piano vital to the country's strategic interests. Eccentric Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll has brokered peace with local warlords primarily through music, a free medical clinic, and the "powers" of common scientific instruments, much to the dismay of warmongering officers suspect of such unorthodox methods. Drake is an introspective, well-mannered person who, once there, falls in love with Burma and stays long past the piano-fixing to aid Carroll's political agenda.

I have to admit, the conversation I overheard might have gotten me a little too hyped up for the book. I did enjoy it but it was not one of my all-time favorites. The Piano Tuner did a great job of grabbing my attention from the first page, however I felt like Edgar Drake's journey to Burma was a little too long for my taste. I would have enjoyed more action when Mr. Drake arrived at Burma and was introduced to the eccentric Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll. Dr. Carroll was such a well-developed character and it would have been nice to hear more about him and his adventures. 

All in all, I enjoyed the book. If you ever come across The Piano Tuner, hopefully not in the compromising position I found myself in, be sure to pick it up.

kitty cats

About a month ago, I made a somewhat irrational decision to adopt two 6 month old kittens. Most normal people would think this kind of decision through, given that you are pretty much changing your entire life. I, however, did not. I never even owned a cat or knew anything about cats. The word "litter box" was literally another word for "trash can" to me. I've grown up with dogs all my life, so how much different could cats be? They ARE both animals.. 


I could never have been so wrong.. Cats are extremely different than dogs. They can jump and climb and squeeze into the tiniest of places. Places you didn't even know existed in this apartment. I mean, you would never find a dog in one of your cabinets in the kitchen. You would never expect a dog to jump in your sink, take out the sink stopper, and drop it right next to you. You would never expect a dog to place themselves directly in front of the TV and try to paw themselves INTO the TV. 


But... they are the most adorable kittens in the world. Marley & Charlie are two sisters who are absolutely nothing alike. That seems to be a common theme among sisters in general. Marley is the trouble maker who does not listen to anything I say. Charlie is the most laid back kitten who just wants to sleep next to you all day. I have to say, I think I'm in love.


Let's just hope I don't become a crazy cat lady now. If you do get my hand made Christmas card that has pictures of my kittens all over it, you might want to look the other way. Maybe I have already gone off the deep end...

  

hello again

I know, I know. It's been awhile. You can only imagine what I've been up to. 

For starters, I moved into my own apartment near the Northside of Chicago in the beginning of September. Not only did I have to move my enormous collection of clothes, shoes and handbags, but I also had to move at least 100 pounds of books that I've collected. Let me tell you, my movers were not happy. I found a place on the top floor of an apartment building that doesn't have an elevator. "It was pretty challenging" might be the understatement of the year.

Prior to moving into my new place, my boyfriend and I took on the project of painting the entire apartment. One important fact to note, I've NEVER painted anything. I must admit, I believe we took on too much in a short amount of time. However, my place has a very catchy name now.. The Yellow Submarine.

The hockey season also started recently and for all of you who know me well, I am a HUGE fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. Given that I try to go to almost every game, October was pretty busy. 

My parent's company also began filming commercials for the family business, which I am a star in. Well, if you count the blonde hair that you can see through a windshield of a car for a split second. I definitely count that! One bonus was that we were lucky enough to have not one, but two Blackhawks players star in the commercial. That was definitely one of my favorite days! More to come once the commercial airs..

My newest adventure I've taken on is the adoption of two kittens! I've never had cats growing up, only dogs. But I have to say, they are AMAZING! They are two sisters, Marley and Charlie. Once I have my camera up and running, I will share more photos. These two girls definitely keep me on my toes. 

And of course, I've read a couple of books along the way... If only I had enough bookcases to fit all these books I own.