The Sunday Salon #29

Listening To: A ton of new music including Mumford & Sons, Ben Folds Five, The Lumineers and Needtobreathe.  I keep putting those on repeat over and over again.  Plus I've restarted going through our entire music collection for my 101 favorite songs.  Done with the As through Cs.

Book finished: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Reading: Persuasion by Jane Austen.  A quick read before my zombie week.

On the Nightstand: Zombie books for the FrightFall Readathon! (Newsflesh trllogy, As the World Dies trilogy, Sadie Walker is Stranded)

Around the house: I got into a weird cleaning kick.  I dusted and vacuumed and organized.   I replaced the yucky old towels with new dark gray ones.  I finally hung some curtains in the bedroom.  The curtains look blue in this picture, but they're a beautiful gray that works with the black, white, and red of the rest of the bedroom.  Now if only we could get around to framing and hanging the pictures, it might actually look like a real bedroom.

From the kitchen: Nothing interesting.  Since J is still gone until next Saturday, I am finding ways to eat meals with minimal cooking.

Crafting: So much crafting this week.  I've really gotten on a roll lately.  We had a 3D Christmas ornaments class on Tuesday.  Check these out...

Then on Wednesday, I went to another craft meet and greet.  Unfortunately we didn't have a great turnout.  I did make this cute peacock inspired card.  Next time, I will definitely bring stuff to work on...

And at home, I got inspired to make some Valentine/Love themed cards.  I used a ton of scraps lying around.

Watching: I plowed through Gossip Girl S4 and Parenthood S2.  Unfortunately I will have to wait for GG S5 until the library or Netflix gets it.  Parenthood S3 is on Netflix instant queue, so that's probably up next.  I grabbed some new Redbox movies (romantic movies) and have been watching some of my cheesy movies while J is away.

Wondering: Why have I not read like anything this week?  I am feeling a bit ashamed of myself.  I keep finding other things (movies, crafting, cleaning) to spend my time. Hopefully this is rectified with next week's readathon...

From Nature: After cooler temps (60s), we're back into the low to mid 80s.  Of course, it's still sunny every day...

Shopping Scores: I sold some cds at Amazon, so I had a credit.  I snatched up Mira Grant's Blackout, a moleskine journal, The Hunger Games dvd, and Iron Jawed Angels dvd (replacement for my scratched beyond use copy).  I already received the journal and book, just waiting on the movies...

Project: I'm right at the tail end of Bloggiesta, trying to get a few more things checked off of my list...

The Sunday Salon #28

Last night, J left for Romania for a two week work trip.  (Part of the engineering team is in Cludj.)  So I am all alone for two weeks with not much to do.  I plan on reading a ton, applying for more jobs, do some crafting, and possibly go in to the city for a visit/exploring...  I'm really going to miss him.

Listening To: Rediscovering some cds.  My current faves are Relient K and Flogging Molly.  And I snatched the new Lumineers record from iTunes.  I love it!

Book finished: Slanted and Enchanted, Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History, On Target, Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

On the Nightstand: Historical fiction and fairy tales...  and zombies are lurking in the back for the FrightFall Readathon October 1-7.  And I'm heading off to the library book sale to see if I can find any elusive titles and possibly gifts for the boys...  It's Sunday which means $5 bag sale!

MakingLists: Bloggiesta to dos and craft projects.  My Bloggiesta list is currently static (thank goodness).  I'm just waiting for Friday to dive in and get some things dones.

Around the house: After our fridge temper tantrums this past month, I really didn't need anything else to go wrong.  But of course it did.  We woke up on Sunday to a a dripping ceiling...  A bubble was forming in the ceiling.  I contacted the office who said they would page maintenance.  The guy from upstairs informed me that his sink was leaking, but he hadn't noticed until now.  I assume they fixed his sink as our ceiling stopped dripping.  But they never came to fix our ceiling, so we have a bubble that I hope isn't filled with water.  Argh!  Just one more problem. Thank goodness we don't own this place.

From the kitchen: I've been so lazy this week.  I made a giant pot of spaghetti and ate it most nights for dinner.  Blah!  I did make some scrumptious brownies for a pot luck last night.  According to the people at the party, they were a hit!

On the Web: I'm trying to get my GoogleReader unread down to 0, but it just keeps creeping back up.  And I don't even read every post.  A clean-out of subscriptions is on the Bloggiesta list.

Crafting: I had two (yes two!) card classes this week.  Fun times!  Monday's class was all about fall cards.

Saturday's class was Christmas cards.  I especially love the gift card holder idea.  I will have to keep that in mind for the holiday season...

Plus, I finished the spring break family album.  That was a ton of pages.  Now I need to order a few more prints to start the boys' spring break pages.  My next event/project is our move west.  We drove from Nebraska to California stopping in some crazy places.  Of course I have a ton of pictures to help me remember.

Watching: We finished Stargate Atlantis (really going to miss that show) and started Stargate Universe.  The change in tone is really something to get used to.  Universe is much darker and serious.  J says that they tried to copy Battlestar Galactica...  (I haven't watched that one yet, so don't know).  So far, I'm liking it, it's just a different show than the other two Stargate series.  I also plowed through Gossip Girl S3 and started S4.  It's my guilty pleasure show.  Unfortunately Netflix or the library doesn't have S5.  I may have to wait.

Shopping Scores: My Amazon music trade-in went through so I now have a credit in my account.  I'm resisting the urge to spend to all now.  But I did buy a copy of Blackout by Mira Grant so I can read the Newsflesh trilogy during the FrightFall Readathon.

Project: Scrapbooking?  I really getting back into the rhythm and want to get mostly up to date.  One season behind is my goal.  I'm almost there...

The Sunday Salon #27

Listening To: More forgotten cds...  almost completed the upload.

Book finished: At the Queen's Summons; The Lost Millennium; Change.edu

Reading: Slanted and Enchanted by Kaya Oakes

On the Nightstand: Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History; On Target

Making Lists: Bloggiesta to do list.  I am up to 14 items and holding steady.  I don't think I will be adding anything else to the list.

Around the house:  Our fridge has another of its mini temper tantrums complete with crazy sounds and a drop in cooling.  The maintenance men came and did something again.  The fridge started working, but I have little faith that this won't happen again.

From the kitchen: Nothing interesting.  I ate a ton of random leftovers and small meals.

On the Web: Found some new wonderful blogs to follow.  My Google Reader is up to 396 subscriptions!  (Number #12 on my Bloggiesta list)

Farmer's Market Finds: See yesterday's post for a complete rundown.

Crafting: Crafty madness this week!  I scrapped a ton catching our books up to Spring Break 2012.  I ordered the prints and am just waiting for the delivery.  Plus I completed a crap ton of bookmarks for giveaways and friends.

Watching: We finished Stargate Atlantis S4 and started S5.  Plus I caught up on Grimm.  I grabbed Gossip Girl S3 and S4 from the library.

Wondering: When this cold will go away?  It's been a week I'm over it!

Shopping Scores: I got a deal on prints from Walgreens and I went on a bit of Michael's crafting supply spree.  I got a ton of supplies and items for Christmas gifts.  I traveled over to Old Navy and finally bought some new jeans that fit.

Project: Crafting, crafting, and more crafting 

The Sunday Salon #26

Listening To: The last of my cds being put onto the server.  Lots and lots of music to enjoy.  Now I can get rid of another huge box.  Plus, I sold some of my cds to Amazon.

Book finished: Liberty Defined; King Lear; The Maiden's Hand -- Slower week, but good page count.  950 for the week.

Reading: At the Queen's Summons

On the Nightstand: Shakespeare, HP7,  and nonfiction from the library

Making Lists: Bloggiesta to do list.  I am finally joining in the fun this year.  I have a growing list (14 at last count) of housekeeping projects for my blog and books.

Around the house: I was struck down with a nasty cold this weekend, so not much is getting down.   I had wanted to clean and organize, but no energy.  Instead J and I watched a ton of West Wing.

On the Web: Remember the FrightFall Readathon is coming October 1-7.  Come and join the fun!

Crafting: During the week I caught up my scrapbooking just a bit more.  We're to Spring 2012!  I need to print our spring break photos before I can complete the next phase.  I'm also debating about whether to put those in a separate album combined with my westward journey photos.  Hmmm...  decisions decisions.

I had signed up for a meet and greet card class today, but with my cold I decided to cancel.  I think the other ladies will appreciate not getting infected today.  Thankfully I have a class the week after next to look forward to.

Watching: J got me hooked on The West Wing.  We're already in season 2.  I caught up on The Daily Show and Colbert Report's coverage of the RNC and DNC.  I am losing hope for our country...  I've also been watching Grimm, trying to catch up to the current season.  I like the play on old fairy tales.  Finally, we acquired the DW season premiere, Asylum of the Daleks.  OMG that was good.  And now we have a whole season to look forward too...

Wondering: If Oswin Oswald will show up again, or just the actress playing a new character for the Christmas special?  (Doctor Who question)

Shopping Scores: While J was in Seattle meeting with Microsoft, I decided to go and browse at Barnes and Noble.  I've been trying to avoid bookstores, because I always go a little nuts.  I somehow managed to walk out with only one book, Sadie Walker is Stranded, that  I have been craving for awhile.  It will make an appearance during the FrightFall Readathon as I am doing an all zombie readathon.

I also embarked on the adventure that is buying plane tickets this week.  After perusing the sites, I found a flight for $570 flying San Jose to Fort Wayne.  Many other airlines were charging $740+.  I got excited, whipped out the credit card, entered tons of info, and hit buy.  Nothing happened.  An error message popped up saying they couldn't complete my order.  Bummer!  I happened to be on Travelocity and hit the "flexible dates" button just to see what happened.  If I flew out of Fort Wayne a day later, I could get a ticket for $400.  Sold!  Thankfully this time it worked and I now have my tickets for Thanksgiving.  I'll be there a few days before and a fews days after the boys get out of school, so I can help with the flower shop or hang out with old friends.

Project: I'm getting closer and closer to completing my Christmas cards.  Now I've started to think about gifts...

The Sunday Salon #25

SUPER DUPER EXCITED!   This is my 1000th blog post!  I didn't think I would get to this point when I started and now I'm here...  On to the next 1000 post!

Listening To: Previously owned cds newly added to our server.  Rediscovering lots of old music.  I forget I even owned some of these.  For whatever reasons the iTunes dj keeps pulling Linkin Park, Josh Kelley, and Green Day... Odd combo.

Book finished: Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Importance of Being Earnest, Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, This Book is Overdue, Haunts of San Jose, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love...  It was a play week obviously

Reading: Liberty Defined by Ron Paul

On the Nightstand: More Shakespeare

Making Lists: Does grocery count?  This seems to be a biweekly thing.

On the Web: I recently found The Bloggess... how did I not know about her before now?  I think we are kindred spirits.  I think I have annoyed J many times this week by bursting into giggles and guffaws.  I'm still two years behind on her archives, but good god she is hilarious.

Also the signups are ready for the FrightFall Readathon.  This year I'm going with zombies for my spooky books.  Wait, a minuted...  I do that every year.  And I love it!  Come join us!

Farmer's Market Finds: I had a horrible night trying to sleep Friday and when I finally fell asleep, I overslept Saturday morning. So no wonderful croissants for me.  Thankfully J walked across the street for donuts.  Yummy!

Crafting: I finished some Christmas gifts (yeah, super early!) and some Christmas cards.  I'll probably get back to some scrapbooking this coming week.  My goal is to be within one season of the present.  Plus, I want to make some more bookmarks for an upcoming book giveaway.  (Stayed tuned for October...)

Watching: We finished Stargate SG1...  Holy crap!  Now we only have a few seasons of Atlantis and all of Universe to watch.  I can see the end coming.  Plus we've caught up on a ton of currently airing shows.

Wondering: How much Shakespeare can I read in a row?  Holy crap, I've moved through a ton lately.  Only five more plays to go.

Project: My parents recently bought a flower shop.  Holy crap.  And now they need to start building the business.  I'm possibly going to be working on a blog/marketing side.  Stay tuned...

The Sunday Salon #24

I didn't post a Sunday Salon last week due to my ill health.  Thankfully I'm getting back on track.

Health Note: I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.  I've been off pain medication for almost a week now and I haven't felt like taking any for a few days. My constant headache has abated yet it hasn't completely left me.  Overall I have had more energy, less fatigue, and less severe mood swings.  My next goal is to get back on an exercise regiment.  My last walk about killed me, so I should start slow.  I'm thinking 15-30 minutes on the stationary bike and then adding in the elliptical/treadmill/weights/more bike.

Listening To: I've added 8tracks to my phone and iPad.  It's like Pandora but people submit playlists.  I have been checking out all kinds of weird/fun sounding lists.  I only wish that I could see the entire playlist before playing...

Book finished: The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass; Northanger Abbey

Reading: Much Ado About Nothing

On the Nightstand: Lots of Shakespeare

MakingLists: Grocery lists.  After weeks of not really eating and not feeling like cooking, we had no food in the house to make any meals.  I spent a ridiculous amount of time creating a grocery list.  Once I went, I was left with a full fridge and comically long receipt.

From the kitchen: Besides prepping for actually cooked meals for the coming week, I washed out most of the fridge.

On the Web: I got back into the habit of checking out other blogs.

Farmer's Market Finds: Made it in time to grab some of my favorite seller's nectarines, raspberries, and sausages for lunch.  I plan on using the nectarines and raspberries for hand pies and the rest of the nectarines for my yummy bacon, gouda, nectarine sandwiches.

Crafting: I have been a crafting maniac lately.  I reorganized by crafting stash.  I separated out all the Christmas stuff to make cards.  I scrapped a ton of pages checking the boys up with me.  I finally finished the Disney trip.  I had a great card class before my medical emergency.  Very cute things.  The last one is actuallythank you card from my Stampin' Up demonstrator.

And I had a Christmas card themed class today. Great ideas for my own cards.

Finally I grabbed this idea from A Turtle's Life for Me.  Originally I was going to make it for the baby's nursery to use to record notes and feedings.  Obviously that's not going to happen.  But I thought I would make it anyway for the boy's room.

Watching: Children's Hospital (way to funny and full of people); The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret; White Collar; Suits; and tons more Stargate (SG1 and Atlantis)

From Nature: It's been a bit cooler around here lately; definitely helping my walking and sitting outside

Shopping Scores: I grabbed some more clearance items at Michael's.  Some of them were for my mystery Christmas project.  Loving how it's turning out.

Project: I restarted my project of prepping my blog for the rest of the year.  I want to get posts scheduled or at least templates readied.

The Sunday Salon #23

Book finished: The Wizard of Oz; The Golden Compass

Reading: Nothing tonight...  gearing up for Bout of Books Readathon starting tomorrow

On the Nightstand: Bout of Books selections

Making Lists: I've been creating a baby registry on Amazon.com.  I love this feature. This way people can buy us items and send them to our house in California instead of trying to ship it themselves.  I've got most of the essentials on the list so far.  Except the crib we want to sold at Ikea and not on Amazon.

Around the house: I've been really getting back into assembling puzzles this past week.  I've almost completed a great San Francisco one I picked up at the Exploratorium.

Pregnancy update: I had my full panel of blood tests done this week.  Usually I absolutely hate getting my blood drawn.  I've never had a nurse/lab technician that hit a vein on the first try.  This time I had an amazing lab tech that actually checked my arms for veins before trying.  And she hit a vein the first stick.  Plus, she stayed with me the entire time (8 vials!) and kept me calm.  She was amazing. I really want her for my next blood draw.

Crafting: I had a great summer themed Saturday class.  We made some great cards, but I didn't get around to photographing them yet.  Just take my word for it that they are gorgeous.  I've also gotten into a huge scrapbooking binge.  I'm almost finished with our Disney trip last summer.

Watching: While J has been at work, I've been watching Stephen Fry in America.  I love hearing about America from a British perspective.  So far, I've watching New England, the South, the Mississippi, and the Great Plains.  I'm sure that I'll finish the series this week.  Plus, i've watched a ton of Stargate and Children's Hospital.

Wondering: Should I sign up for prenatal yoga?  I've been looking at ways to keep active throughout even though I haven't felt all that great.   

From Nature: The temps have risen a bit this week.  Instead of an average of 75, we've had low to mid 80s.  Just a slight noticeable difference.

Shopping Scores: I went on a bit of a craft store binge.  I hit up Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics for supplies.  They didn't really have what I specifically wanted, but I did grab a ton of clearance items.  Unfortunately their stock was really low, so I'll have to wait on the other stuff.

Project: I've been going through my blog getting things set up for the rest of year.  I love having my templates ready to go when I need them.  I've gotten a ton of drafts ready to fill in.

The Sunday Salon #22

Book finished: Ashfall and Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

Reading: The Wizard of Oz

On the Nightstand: Lots of Jane Austen; The Importance of Being Earnest; His Dark Materials

MakingLists: Freezer meals.  Our freezer is almost empty.  I need to make another batch to restock.

Around the house: Putting the house back in order after a summer with the boys.  We completely cleaned out and organized their room.  I even moved some of the furniture to prepare for baby (not due til March, but I had energy and motivation to do it now).

Pregnancy update: 10 weeks along and I'm feeling like crap.  I don't remember feeling this tired last time.  I do remember the all day nausea.  Thankfully, that has seemed to pass.  I only get nauseous when I haven't eaten in awhile.  Speaking of, I am constantly hungry.  This is getting a bit ridiculous.  I am trying to eat 5-6 small meals a day to try and stave off the hunger pains.  I have my big set of lab tests (lots of blood draws) this coming week.  I am not looking forward to that at all.  Hopefully I won't have to do another for two months.  Somehow we got into a discussion of names the other night.  We've always had a boy's name, but had to really think about a girl's.  I think we might have settled on one.  It will be revealed after we find out the sex on October 10th.

From the kitchen: Bacon, peach, fontina panins.  I found the idea on some blog (can't remember).  I grabbed the ingredients and whipped them up.  Yummy Yummy Yummy!  I must do this again.

Crafting: Had a quick Meet and Greet on Friday.  We made one card to keep and another to donate to the Ronald McDonald House.  The card wasn't my favorite design, but I loved chatting with some fellow crafters and even meeting a few new ones.

Watching: The boys and I ended up making into season 6 for Doctor Who.  They are thoroughly addicted to the show.  I finally caught up with The Daily Show and Colbert Report.  And I made it through season 1 of Suits so J and I can watch it together.  I am really loving that show.  And angry Harvey is just the best.

Shopping Scores: Baby stuff.  We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet, but I did grab a few things.  The clothes are all gender neutral.  And who doesn't love Snoopy!  Plus, I found a great deal on a baby sling.  Finally, the local kids bookstore had the sequel to The Monster at the End of This Book (childhood favorite).  Now we have both and in Little Golden Book form.

Project: Crafting.  I have some great ideas of baby cards.  And I need to figure out my Christmas card situation.  Before I know it, the holidays will be upon us.

The Sunday Salon #21

Listening To: Lots and lots of Alt Nation on Sirius X and Mumford and Sons (can't wait until September for their new album!)

Book finished: Dog Blood; Them or Us

Reading: Mythology by Edith Hamilton; The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan; Ashfall by Mike Mullin

On the Nightstand: Ashfall; Shakespeare; Jane Austen

Making Lists: Meal plans...  I've completely gotten away from doing this and need to get back

Around the house: I've been on a weird cleaning kick lately.  I vacuumed, did ton of laundry, washed many dishes, reorganized some areas.  Crazy motivation!

On the Web: All of the Chik-Fil-A crap is just too much for me.  At this point, I am really having some mixed feelings.  While I don't agree with the company's thoughts, what do we expect from a fundamentalist Christian company.  I have decided that my personal philosophy must be to not patronize companies whose political stances I disagree with.  So I won't be eating at Chik-Fil-a, but I also won't be throwing insults around.

Watching: We're up to S5 of Doctor and the boys are begging to finish the series.  I also caught up with Parks and Recreation.  I'm ready for the fall season.  And we've been watching a ton of new to me movies and The Princess Bride.

Wondering: If we'll be having a boy or a girl?

From Nature: Do I need to say it?  Absolutely perfect...

Shopping Scores: Lots of clothes.  I found some great pre and post pregnancy pieces to get me through.  Plus, I did break down and buy actual maternity pants.  I'm sure I'll be getting another pair at some point.  I didn't take any pictures, but will probably share at a later date.

Project: The boys go back to Indiana on Wednesday.  We have a few days, but need to start organizing their room and luggage pile.

The Sunday Salon #20

Book finished: Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice, Hater

Reading: Dog Blood by David Moody; Mythology by Edith Hamilton; The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

On the Nightstand: Wizard of Oz; A Kiss in Time; The Reader

Around the house: I got into a weird cleaning kick yesterday.  Cleaned two of the three bathrooms, cleaned the kitchen, and vacuumed the master bedroom.  I don't know what got into me, but it was nice.

Farmer's Market Finds: I made it this week for my lovely nectarines and some breakfast for J and I.

Crafting: A great little card making class this week.

Watching: The boys and I have made it through four seasons of Doctor Who.  We are currently watching the specials before Matt Smith takes over.  I imagine that we'll get up to date before they leave.  And I've been watching Parks and Rec.  Love it!  Leslie Knope is like me in so many ways.  Hee hee.  I'm currently into season four and I can't wait to see how the city council race ends.

Wondering: If my headache will go away anytime soon?  Ugh!

Project: Trying to finish the house and get things ready for the boys' departure.

The Sunday Salon #19

High Summer Readathon at Seasons of Reading starts tomorrow!!!  Have you signed up?  Get on over there and get going.  I'll be posting my goals early tomorrow morning and then diving into the reading.  Hopefully I will knock out one of my reading challenges during.

Listening To: Alex Clare -- god I love his voice!

Book finished: The Sweet Far Thing; 12th Night; Carole's Christmas; Blood Promise

Reading: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead -- the last book renewed my interest in the series.  I am sure I'll be speeding through this one and the last book.

On the Nightstand: Last Sacrifice; Hater; Dogblood; Restoring Grace; Jemima J; The Wizard of Oz

MakingLists: Shopping lists; To do lists; Job Lists

Crafting: The boys and I did a scavenger hunt around the apartment complex this week.  I used one of my favorite stamps sets to crate cute clue cards with classic typewriters.  The boys just didn't fully appreciate my craftsmanship.

I also squeezed in organizing my crafting area on Saturday and make a few cards.  For the two floral ones, I used the new Stampin' Up 2012-2014 in colors and a sheet of some random paper that cordinated perfectly.  For the red and blue card, I wanted to try out a border punch I purchased months ago, but never tried.  I love the art deco feel to the pattern.  I need to figure out some other ways to work that in.

Watching: The boys and I almost finished series 2 of Doctor Who on our DW marathon day.  I did finally finish Weeds S7.  Crazy cliffhanger, like always.  And I picked up some girly movies at the library while J was away.  See I'm a super considerate girlfriend who doesn't make him watch my sappy love movies.

Wondering: What to do about dinners next week?  I really really really hate cooking.  But we need to eat.  Must figure out meal plan.

Shopping Scores: Amanda Palmer just released her fall concert tour dates and she's coming to SF in September.  I really really want to go.  The tickets just went on sale.  So now I'm off to get the credit card and buy me entrance to an outrageous night with Amanda Palmer!

From Nature: Chilly temps on the coast meant no beach trip this week.  It's been beautiful here (like always).  I hope the coast warms up a bit.  I know the boys would love to head back to the beach before they go back.

Project: I'm try to finish planning the summer (only 2 1/2 weeks until the boys go back) and think about Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Plane tickets are already outrageous!

The Sunday Salon #18

Book finished: Persepolis 1; Persepolis 2; Sandman Vol. 4; Sandman Vol. 5; Adrianna's Fairy Tales; Rebel Angels; Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

Reading: Mythology by Edith Hamilton

On the Nightstand: Rest of the Vampire Academy series; A Sweet Far Thing; Hater and Dog Blood by David Moody

MakingLists: The usual... grocery, general to-dos

Listening To: New music borrowed from the library.  Alkaline Trio, Howie Day, Coldplay, Brandon Flowers, and Glee Soundtracks

Around the house: My goodness we have a mess in this house.  There's just living bits everywhere.  Thankfully I started on the cleaning.  It's getting better slowly.

Farmer's Market Finds: A quick visit had me snapping up some beautiful nectarines, a ham and cheese croissant, and a blueberry custard danish.  On the way back to the house, I finally visited the other coffee house on Murphy Street for a peach smoothie.

Watching: Way too many episodes of Mythbusters (the boys' favorite show right now)

Wondering: How am I going to participate in Once Upon a Readathon this week with everything going on?

Shopping Scores:  I found a cute summery top on the Target clearance rack.  Only $6, I couldn't resist.

Project: I took on two crazy large projects this week.  I am going back through  my blog fixing broken links (mostly images).  And I started to go through my various TBR lists (computer and notebook) to consolidate.  I might just be crazy this week.

The Sunday Salon #17

Book finished: Shadow Kiss; The Lost Hero; Intentions of the Earl; The Sandman Vol. 3

Reading: The Sandman Vol. 4

On the Nightstand: The Sandman series; Persepolis; His Dark Materials trilogy

MakingLists: Things to do for the rest of the summer.  Hmmm.... maybe Winchester House...

Around the house: Nothing.  And it is a mess.  We've been out and about all week.  I haven't had the chance to clean the house, do laundry, or wash the dishes.  Everything is in a bit of disarray.  I really need to get back into a routine.

From the kitchen: Nothing new made.  Although I did download Paprika on the iPad.  I'm slowly pulling down some interesting looking recipes to try.

Crafting: Had a fun class of fast and fabulous cards.  The last one pictured is actually a card that my new demonstrator made for me as a little thank you note.

Watching: Stargate, Parks and Rec, and Doctor Who.  Love them!

Wondering: When this 3+ day headache will go away?  I'm really getting tired of it...

From Nature: Beautiful 60s-70s weather.  Back in my previous city and in my home city, it's been hovering around 100 degrees all week.  Crazy weather!  And then Wednesday and Thursday, my home city experienced some nasty storms complete with tornado high winds.  Scary stuff!  Thankfully everyone is okay.

Shopping Scores:  My Stampin' Up order came in.  Look at the pretty new colors (pads and card stock).

On our San Francisco adventure day, I picked up a pretty new Alcatraz print and a metal cable car.

Project: Enjoying the crazy week of outings.  Now I need to starting planning next week and the week after that.  J is off until Thursday.  Hopefully we will be able to get out and about.

The Sunday Salon #16

Listening To: Into the Js, but now we have a problem.  The music was taking up too much of my hard drive.  So J pushed it onto the server to free up space.  I can access it from the server anytime.  Unfortunately that means that my plan to go through my music a to z is going to be much harder mixed in with all of J's music.

Book finished: Mayflower; Frostbite; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Reading: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

On the Nightstand: Rest of the Vampire Academy series; Persepolis; HP 7; Mythology

MakingLists: Grocery lists (big surprise!) and possible freezer meals.

From the kitchen: The boys tried thai food.  Not a big hit, but we'll try something else next (maybe Japanese).  With the boys here eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home, we are going through a ton of food.  I really hate cooking.  Thank goodness the freezer meals method works great.  Speaking of, I need to have another cooking day.

On the Web: There's been a huge amount of contest blog hops and I've entered them all!  Plus, I've found some other great bloggers to follow.

Crafting: Attended a great "step it up" class.  We made two different cards and then stepped up each card with some extra bling.  I signed up for another class next week.  Very excited!

Watching:  I finished Chuck and I wasn't impressed.  I feel like the series could have ended with the season 4 finale.  J also started me on Parks and Recreation.  The first season was a bit rough, but it got a whole lot better in the second season.  Ron and April are definitely my favorite characters.

Wondering: How did I miss sunscreening two little spots on my chest?  I now have a ridiculous tan line and mild sunburn.

From Nature: It's been a bit cool here lately.  Very sunny but still great.  Thankfully the pool is always heated.  Very refreshing, but getting out the pool is a bit chilly.

Shopping Scores: I put in my first Stampin' Up order in California.  I can't wait to try out some of the new colors.

Project: I'm going through all of my cds.  Finally we have gotten around to them.  I'm only about 1/6th through it.

The Sunday Salon #15

Listening To: Still in the Gs.  However the boys and I have been rocking the Pandora Mumford and Sons channel all week.  They're really getting into it.

Book finished: Vampire Academy; The Boys Vol. 11; Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

Reading: Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

On the Nightstand: The Sandman series; His Dark Materials trilogy; HP 6; Vampire Academy series

MakingLists: Of what the boys want to do this summer.  We've got most of the major things tentatively scheduled, including two weeks of summer camps (magic, engineering, and animation).

Farmer's Market Finds: I convinced the boys to go with me to the farmer's market this week.  We got popcorn, potatoes, cherries, chocolate croissants, apple strudel, pretzels (German style soft), Quiche (for J and me), and fresh squeezed lemonade.  Yummy!

Watching: Chuck S5; The Daily Show; Stargate SG1 and Atlantis; Monty Python and Mythbusters with the boys.  Thinking about starting the boys on the new series of Doctor Who...

From Nature: Gorgeous weather although yesterday it got a bit hot (90 degrees!).  Thankfully we spent a lot of time in the pool to combat the heat.

Shopping Scores: Bought things for the boys (bathroom decor).  Plus we got another box of wine in the mail (like we need more wine).  And J ordered a new MacBook for himself.

Project: Adjusting our schedules for the boys.  Planning out future trips.  The usual...

The Sunday Salon #14

Listening To: Made it into the Gs...  but have slightly stalled.  I did really dig rediscovering Garbage and Gin Blossoms.  They take me back.

Book finished: Beauty; Anna Dressed in Blood; Sandman 2; Boys 10

Reading: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

On the Nightstand: HP 6 and Scott Pilgrim

MakingLists: Summer to dos.  Trying to get a list of things to do with the boys ready for their arrival.  Plus, I reconnected with a friend who lives about 3 hours away.  Hopefully we can find time to see each other soon.

Around the house: We've gotten most of the things put away.  But we still need to get pictures framed.

From the kitchen: More and more freezer meals.  Pretty soon I'm going to make some more.  And I tried making a 2 minute chocolate cake coffee cup thing in the microwave.  Next time I need to adjust the cooking time, but they were pretty good.

On the Web: Catching up on some more blogs in my GoogleReader.

Farmer's Market Finds: First week back to the market and I woke up really late.  The market runs 9-1 and I did get there until 11:30.  By that time, all the yummy pastries were gone.  I did get some great nectarines, strawberries, broccoli, and a ciabatta loaf.  I must set my alarm for next week.

Crafting: I got to go to a card class today and meet some lovely ladies.  I already knew one of those ladies, but of course she's lovely.  Look at the pretty!

Watching: We've made it to Stargate Atlantis.  Halfway through season 1 and it is intense.  I'm still working through Chuck season 5.  I also started my DZP actor item (Dwayne Johnson!).

Wondering: Why does the Goodwill one block from my house have to be the worst one that I've been too?  I am thoroughly disappointed!

From Nature: It was 65 and rainy on Monday. You would have thought that it was below freezing by the way everyone was acting.  I was dressed in a tshirt and jeans.  Everyone I passed had sweatshirts and/or coats on.  I had to laugh at the silliness.  After the one day of some rain, it got back into the 75 degree range for the rest of the week.

Shopping Scores: Finally found a clearance everyday dress at Target.  It will be worn this week sometime.  And I received my first StitchFix box yesterday.  I'll be posting my results soon...

Project: The bookshelf we ordered came.  J graciously put it together while I rearranged the office to make room for it.  We are short on wall space, so we took down the shelf and put it in the closet.  I managed to empty four boxes of books into it.  Unfortunately, we still have ~7 boxes of books in the closet and the office floor.  I think we need two more of these babies to get them all put away...

The Sunday Salon #13

Listening To: I'm through the Fs.  Only 20 more letters and thousands of songs to go...

Book finished: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; The League fo Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910; Starship Troopers

Reading: The Sandman series

On the Nightstand: The Sandman series and Anna Dressed in Blood (downloaded on my new iPad!)

Making Lists: The usual, grocery lists and house to do lists.

Around the house: Working on putting crap away.  I swear this stuff multiplies while we sleep.

From the kitchen: I made some awesome blueberry buttermilk cake.  Delicious.

On the Web: The usual, cleaning out my Google Reader.

Farmer's Market Finds: No farmer's market this week because of the Sunnyvale Food and Wine Festival.  Lots of arts and crafts stuff that I would never put in my house.  And the alcohol was definitely overpriced.  At least it was free.

Crafting: I haven't done any individual crafting.  However, I did join a great group of ladies for some meet and greet and the Stampin' Up catalog launch.  We made a cute little card using some of the new products.  But more importantly, I think I found my scrapping group.  Can't wait until the next event.

Watching: Lots and lots of Stargate.  We're into the seventh season and my goodness is it suspenseful!

Wondering: How I have never seen Michael J. Fox in The Secret of My Success.  J was flabbergasted and we immediately stuck it in the dvd player for movie night. Loved the 80s music and crazy clothing.  I could have done without the montages.

From Nature: Sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine.  The usual.

Shopping Scores: I got an iPad!  Yep, that's right, I got an iPad! Woo hoo!  I already downloaded my most used apps, plus four books that were free on iBooks.  I can't wait to start using it.

Project: Checking out my new Stampin' Up catalog.  So many pretty stamp things that I want.  Now I need to limit myself.  So hard...

Picture: No pictures this week.  I really need to take some pics of the surrounding neighborhood...

The Sunday Salon #12

Listening To: More iTunes.  I'm currently up to the Es.  This is going to take awhile.  But on a good note, I am rediscovering some great music that I already own.

Book finished: Something Borrowed, Wonderland, Kick-Ass, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

On the Nightstand: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein; The Sandman GN series by Neil Gaiman; Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli; Beauty by Robin McKinley; Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

MakingLists: The ever growing house needs list.  It just never seems to go away.  We got cord covers for the cables hanging all over the theater, but can't reach the ceiling.  So we had to order a ladder because one wouldn't fit in our car.  Argh!  

Around the house: More things are getting put away.  Now we're down to the nitty gritty and wall decorations.  We really need to decide what goes on the walls, what doesn't, and what needs to be framed.  At the last place, I lived there for almost a year and nothing was ever put on the walls.  Sad...  I really want this place to be different.

From the kitchen: Eating freezer meals as J spends most dinners at the office.  It is saving us food money, but I can't stand cooking and eating alone.  I did try a new recipe this week: chocolate avocado muffins.  I got the recipe off of a blog I follow and they were disastrous.  I have no idea what I did wrong, but they were inedible.  tasted just like flour.  Gross!  J got really excited that I was going to make them.  He came home and the first words out of my mouth were "don't eat the muffins!"  Oh well.  Better luck next time.

On the Web: Continue to follow the blogger plagiarism scandal.  I am just disgusted by how the plagiarizer has handled the whole affair.  Just disgusted!

Farmer's Market Finds:  None this week.  We slept in and did some house stuff.  With J eating at the office, I don't really need any extra food in the house this week.  And we won't be going next week as it is closed to make way for the Sunnyvale Food and Wine Festival.  It will combine my two favorite categories: food and wine.  Really looking forward to it!

Crafting: I'm still getting everything organized.  But I did manage to scrap about 16 pages for the boys' books.  Now they're up to January 2011.  Getting there...  Next week, I am going to a Stampin' Up catalog launch party Friday.  Very excited to see the new stuff and meet some area scrappers.

Watching: We've caught up on most of the episodes that we missed.  So, one to new seasons, new stuff, and some old stuff, but never seen, for me.  Episodes series two started.  I love me some Stephen Mangan.  I finished Chuck season four and started season five (the last season).  We moved through Stargate SG1 season five.  Goodness that got crazy at the end...  On to season six.  J also introduced me to the musical and comedy stylings of Tim Minchin and Bo Burnham.  I am so in love!  And I managed to convince J that I needed to rewatch Casino Royale so we could finish the James Bond Month(s).

Wondering: When our bookcases will arrive?  Had to order off of Amazon as they wouldn't fit in the car.  Once they get here, we can finish the boys' room and take care of most of the disaster that is the office.

From Nature: Cooler breezy temps (60s - low 70s).  Thank goodness the pool is heated year round.

Shopping Scores: Ordering pictures through iPhoto is friggin' awesome!  I finally got around sorting through the pictures on the computer to figure out what I needed to print for scrapbooking.  I ordered on Tuesday, they came on Friday.  The turn around was amazing.  Now I am closer to scrapping time.

Project:  Putting the office together.  I only took pics of my half of the office.  J's half is just a disaster zone of epic proportions.  Believe it or not, but my half is looking very neat and organized.  And I really need a chair.  That conference chair nonsense just won't cut it very longer.

The Sunday Salon #11

Listening To: Continuing with my iTunes collection.  I'm up to the Ds now.

Book finished:  The Frog Prince; Paris in Love; A Great and Terrible Beauty; Murder on the Orient Express; Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Reading: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

MakingLists: Projects for the house.  The spice racks are up, but there's really nothing else on the walls.  And we need to finish putting away the all the knick knacks, books, etc. 

Around the house: Waiting for my desk to arrive to finish putting together the office.  Supposedly it will arrive Tuesday, but we'll see.

From the kitchen: Last Monday, I made a huge number of freezer meals to last us for the next month or so.  I spent all day created at least 12 main dish servings, 10 dessert servings, and a complete farmer's casserole.  We are set.  And it is looking good.  I've already eaten one serving of the salsa shredded beef over the course of two days.  Delicious!

On the Web: Blog surfing.  I had a backlog of blogs to check out that's been sitting in my notebook for at least a few months.  I finally started getting to them,

Crafting: Nothing until my desk arrives and is put together.  I did join a few crafting Meetup groups.  Looking forward to some new ideas and encouragement.

Watching: The theater is up and running, so we've been catching up on a ton of shows.  Psych, New Girl, 30 Rock, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Once Upon a Time, and Eureka.  I also started to finish Chuck (I'm in season 4 of 5).  I finished the Pierce Bronson James Bond movies so now we only have the two Craig ones.  And J started me on a fairly recent show Fairly Legal.  I love it!  We're almost to the end of season one which will catch me up with J.

Wondering: Why the DMV is like what i imagine Purgatory to be?  I had to go get my California driver's license. After waiting almost 30 minutes I finally got my question answered.  What documents do I need?  Only be told a birth certificate or passport.  Unfortunately I do not have a county approved bc, but a decorative one.  I had to call my mom, ask if she had it, wait, and finally my dad went to get a copy.  It should have been sent yesterday.  I should be able to get my license next week.  Yippy!  More purgatory fun!

From Nature: It's been a bit chilly (for here) in the 60s, but sunny every day.  Just gorgeous.

Shopping Scores: I found a crazy dragon skull box for the boys' room for only $8.  It is going to look so great in their room.  I also ended up buying Ticket to Ride after watching the TtR episode of TableTop with Wil Wheaton.  Check it out on Geek and Sundry on YouTube.com. And finally I got a bike. It's a beauty and will be great to cruise around the neighborhood.  Very excited to break it in this coming week.

Project: Getting ready for the boys.  Plane tickets have been bought.  I'm making a list of camps to sign up for.  I've looked into taking them to Great America; it's only 10 minutes away.  And planning out a few San Francisco/beach days.

Farmer's Market Finds: J joined me this weekend at the farmer's market and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it. We picked up some lettuce, broccoli, sour baguette, white bread, duck sausage with figs (J's pick), fruit tart, and chocolate cake.  We ended up grabbing lunch while there. I had The Trinity (sausage, sauerkraut, onions, and mustard) and J had the Seoul Sausage (sausage, kimchi, and wasabi).  Yum yum!

The Sunday Salon #10

Listening To: My entire iTunes library of 9400 (nice round number!) for my Day Zero Project of 101 Favorite Songs.  It's so hard to pick and not get confused.  So I decided to systematically listen to all 9400 songs in alphabetical order.  I'm up the Cs and already have ~50 songs notated.  I will definitely have to par the list down before finalizing.

Book finished: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Reading: None -- prepping for Bout of Books starting tomorrow

MakingLists: More house crap.  We had a lot of progress on the first list, but I've since made a second...

Around the house: Unpacking...  and starting to put everything together.  I would say we are over halfway there.  But the office still looks like a disaster zone.

From the kitchen: I'm ready to get back in the freezer meal mode.  Our fridge and freezer are giant (like you could fit a full grown adult in there large) and I can't wait to get some meals together.  J's work caters in breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Since he's playing catch up this week, I've really been eating alone.  Now the trick is to not overcook...

On the Web: I've been searching for a writing/crafting desk.  I found one I liked at Ikea, but the box didn't fit into the Mini and the delivery charge wasn't worth it.  So I turned to Amazon.  I think I finally found one that is wide enough for my crap with an uncomplicated design.  It should be delivered sometime this weekend...

Crafting: None until the desk gets here and put together

Work Observations: None as I don't have a job.

Watching: The people on Murphy St.  I'm so excited to live in an area where people are out and about and not in their cars all the time.  I think I'm going to like it here.

Wondering: Why I am so tired this week?  Oh yeah, I started working out every day!  Currently I'm trying to alternate doing laps in the pool and walking on the treadmill.  My body still hasn't acclimated yet.

From Nature: I love this weather!  Not too hot, not to cold, and tons of sunshine.

Shopping Scores: I ordered the boys their Egyptian plush dog and cat they saw in Pittsburgh (those were overpriced, plus they had already got something that day).  They're sitting on the bunk beds just waiting for two 9-year-olds to come and play.  I also got two new pairs of trainers for my new walking/exercise life.  Both are Dr. Scholl's (weird, but they're comfy and cute).  I also am a huge Ikea fan now.  And it's only 15 minutes away on the 101.  Plus my haul at the Saturday Farmer's Market!

Project: Getting a collection of summer activities ready for the boys.  Next up: need to actually enroll them in a  couple of camps and possibly plan a trip to DisneyLand.