Sunday Sunset #10

Listening To: Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra "Theatre is Evil" -- I'm a bit obsessed with this album this week.

Book finished: Girl of Nightmares; Let's Pretend This Never Happened; London Eye; Valley of Silence

Reading: Choosing my next book from the listed below...

On the Nightstand: Next by Michael Crichton, The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, P.S I Love You by Cecelia Ahern, The Doomsday Vault by Steven Harper

Making Lists: Possible book club selections.  I am hosting next Sunday and have started to gather some possible books together.  Of course, those books are coming from my TBR shelves, but I want to pick a variety.  Also thinking about what food to buy for book club...

From the kitchen: I actually cooked this week.  I've been craving grilled chicken and steamed veggies.  I want to try and make more of the same, but I do so hate cooking.

On the Web: Evaluating my options with the announcement of GoogleReader's demise.    I imported my blogroll to Bloglovin'.  I'm going to try it out for about a week and then reevaluate...

Farmer's Market Finds: Slim pickings this time of year unless you are searching for lettuce or root vegetables or overpriced strawberries.  I'm waiting for the spring produce and a bit of lower prices.  I did pick up a nice bunch of mixed greens, a fruit tart, cheese danish, and ham and cheese quiche.  I plan on making those ingredients my meals for today.

Crafting: Nothing.  I did reorganize some of my supplies and reevaluate my plan.  I'm thinking about switching to Project Life style scrapbooking by the end of the year.  Still thinking about it...

Watching: Randomness this week.  We continued our season 2 of The Walking Dead and some of our currently airing shows.  I finished S1 of Hart of Dixie, but have to wait for season 2 to be finished so I can start.  And I started watching V season 1 (newer series, not the original).  I remember watching the first two episodes when it aired, but never finished it.  So far so good.  Now I need to go get S2 from the library.

From Nature: The temperatures are gorgeous and it's almost always sunny.  With the rise into the 70s, I was hoping to restart my daily swim.  But I just got notification that the complex is closing the pool for 30 days for renovations.  Guess I will have to wait until the end of April.

Sunday Sunset #9

Book finished: Morrigan's Cross, Death: At Death's Door, The Ghost and the Goth, Queen of the Dead, Dance of the Gods

Reading: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

On the Nightstand: Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

MakingLists: Packing list for Spring Break.  I'm headed back east to see the boys and family for spring break. Of course, I am the uber-planner and must start packing weeks ahead of time...

Crafting: I had a fun card class on Monday using some products that I actually own.

At class, I received my February Stampin' Up order.  So lots of fun new toys to play with.  I got inspired...  Lots of butterflies.  Using my new stamps and embossing folders.  And a couple of birthday cards for the boys.

Watching: For television, we watched lots of currently airing shows.  Thank goodness the new episodes are back.  I was loving new Castle, Community, and Psych.

Movie selections for the week

• Seven Psychopaths -- Hilariously dark comedy.  Loved it!
• The Raven -- Cheesy fun.  Much like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.
• Machete -- Very cheesy fun.

For my birthday week, I had a zombie movie marathon.  Lots and lots of fun.

Shopping Scores Birthday Gifts: A few, but such good gifts.  After a few months of poking, J bought me a Big Shot and a few embossing folders!  Mom sent me some great blossoming teas.  Crafting friends gave me some random supplies.  And with the check grandma and grandpa sent me, I bought myself some fun patterned coloring books.

Sunday Sunset #8

Book finished: The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Complete Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales, Crossed, Locke and Key Volume 5, A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Princess of Glass, Princess of the Midnight Ball

Reading: Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts

On the Nightstand: Neverwhere, Death, Beautiful Creatures, Let's Pretend This Never Happened

MakingLists: March blog posts.  I am loving Evernote to organize my future blog posts.  I'm planning on a Zombie movie marathon for my birthday and multiple posts about my boys for their birthday.  If I didn't make lists, I would never have blog posts...

On the Web: Reading lots of interesting parenting websites.  I find the different lifestyles to be good reading.  I think I am obsessed.

Watching: Along with watching ST:TNG S4, I started watching Hart of Dixie S1 on Netflix.  And we started watching S1 and S2 of The Inbetweeners.  Freaking hilarious!  Must keep watching.  And we caught up on currently airing shows: Archer (Hello Anthony Bourdain!), Learning Town, Once Upon a Time, Community, Castle, Modern Family.

The end of New Movie February:

• Magic Mike (NMF #24)
• Hysteria (NMF #25)
• The Bourne Legacy (NMF #26)
• The War Bride (NMF #27)
• Star Trek: First Contact (NMF #28)

Wondering: How did I make it through almost 30 crappy weather birthdays?  I am loving the great California weather to bask in on my birthday.

From Nature: Hello!  Beautiful!

Project: Gearing up for spring break back in Indiana and summer with the boys.

Sunday Sunset #7

Listening To: Lots of Arctic Monkeys.  A few bloggers I follow have mentioned them in the past week and suddenly I had a hankering for some AM.  One of the new songs I instantly fell in love with ("Cornerstone"), I didn't actually have.  So I have some new-to-me AM music to enjoy this week.

Book finished: Garden Spells, Matched, Thin Air

Reading: The Beekeeper's Apprentice

On the Nightstand: Wrapping up Fantasy February with... Matched, Neverwhere, Stories of Hans Christian Anderson

MakingLists: Stampin' Up order for February.  Every month I change my order at least three times before committing.  This month is no exception.

From the kitchen: Nothing.  I've been unable to keep a ton of food down, so I've eating lots of sandwiches and salad.

Crafting: A great crafting class on Tuesday.  All the stamps were from the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  I've got some great new ideas.  I love the new chalkboard technique of the first card.  I changed my order to get the white craft ink so I can replicate!  The last card is actually from Pam as a thank you.  I just love the colors of that card.

Plus I had a free crafting night at Panera where I worked on our scrapbook.  I completed multiple pages and made some great headway.

Watching: Legit (on FX, hilarious!), S3 of Star Trek: TNG; Raising Hope (finished the series).

As for New Movie February:

• The Warrior's Way (NMF #18)
• Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus (NMF #19)
• Love's Kitchen (NMF #20)
• Explorers (NMF #21)
• Special (NMF #22)
• Battlestar Galactica (NMF #23)

Wondering: When will this nausea abate?  Because I'm really getting sick of it! (mild chuckle)

Shopping Scores: A plane ticket for Spring Break, finally.  All set to visit the family and spend time with the boys.

Sunday Sunset #6

Book finished: Windfall, 300, The Forgotten Garden, Terror by Night, Firestorm

Reading: Garden Spells

On the Nightstand: Velveteen, Matched, Crossed, Stories of Hans Christian Anderson

MakingLists: I have stamp club in two weeks and I need to start thinking about my monthly order.  It's so hard trying to narrow down all my choices.  I'm sure I'll change my order at least three times before club.  That's just reality.

From the kitchen: On Monday I made faux egg mcmuffins and they are friggin' delicious!!!!! Other than that, I'm feeling really crappy this week so no more cooking or recipes.

Crafting: I had a bit of fun with my new butterfly punch this week.  I love the simplistic look of colored butterflies on a white background.  For the two polka dot cards, I wanted to play with repeating background images.  I stamped the same simple dot flair stamp in a yellow, light pink, and pink to match the designer paper (DSP stack from Stampin' Up).  In real life, the colors work much better.  Plus, I love the repeating colors.  I want to play around with the idea some more.  Lastly, I used another sheet of the DSP for the background of the "Bloom" card.  I tried to bring out the green of the paper with green ink, but it doesn't quite work right.  Maybe layering of stamps is a bit much.

Watching: As for television, we’ve been watching Star Trek: TNG S2-S3, Wonders of the Universe S1, Learning Town, Archer, and Raising Hope S2.

Movies watched for New Movie February

• Urbanized (NMF #10)
• Centurion (NMF #11)
• Life Happens (NMF #12)
• Angel (NMF #13)
• The Black Hole (NMF #14)
• Seven Samurai (NMF #15)
• Immortals (NMF #16)
• Aziz Ansari (NMF #17)

From Nature: Gorgeous.  If I wasn't feeling bad, I would have dove straight into the pool yesterday...

Picture: My pretty arrangement from J for Valentine's Day.  Every once in awhile, he really surprises me...

Sunday Sunset #5

Listening To: Spotify and 8tracks.  My mom sent me a link to an 8track playlist of Doctor Who music.  Love it!  It's been on repeat all week.

Book finished: Chicks Dig TIme Lords, Fables Vol 17 Inherit the Wind, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Gone Girl, Cowboys and Aliens

Reading: Windfall by Rachel Caine

On the Nightstand: The Forgotten Garden, Garden Spells, 300, Velveteen

From the kitchen: Nothing exciting this week, but I do have plans for the next couple of weeks.  To make meal planning easier, I am going with a two week rotation of types of food.  For example, every other Monday is breakfast for dinner and every Sunday is slow cooker for dinner.  I am not a fan of cooking, but this just might lessen the difficulty.  We'll see...

Crafting: Somehow I only made one card this week.  Just one!  But I did use some of my new products. I love my new butterfly stamps and punch.  This is the small one, I have yet to play with the larger butterfly stamps.  And I got to use my new Sale-a-Bration stamps ("Oh happy day" and flowers)  I love the simplicity of this card.  I even like the pastels (not usually a fan).  Hopefully next week, I will be more inspired for crafting.

Watching: As for television, we've been watching S1 and S2 of Raising Hope, S1 of Star Trek: TOS, S1 and S2 of Star Trek: TNG, and catching up with some of currently airing shows (Castle, Modern Family, Parks and Rec, Portlandia, The Guild).

Movies watched for New Movie February

• Transformers Dark of the Moon (NMF #3)
• Objectified (NMF #4)
• Moonrise Kingdom (NMF #5)
• Wizards (NMF #6)
• Pizza My Heart (NMF #7)
• Helvetica (NMF #8)
• Moon (NMF #9)

Project: Summer plans.  I grabbed a few California travel books to list some great summer activities.  I want to explore more of our area.  I started an Evernote notebook with some ideas.  Love it!

Sunday Sunset #4

Listening To: Spotify.  I've been loving finding new and old songs to add to a few playlists.  I love the randomness of many of the playlists.  Currently I am working on a work out playlist.

Book finished: Thomas Paine, The Reader, One Day, Mansfield Park

Reading: Chicks Dig Time Lords

On the Nightstand: Matched, Crossed, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, 300, Cowboys and Aliens, Fables Vol. 17

On the Web: I found some great articles this week...

• Article about being on the cusp size wise.  I am so in this category...
• Rape article
• Great discussion on book blogging
• YA Book Exchange
• Choosing Your Wardrobe Colors
• Doctor Who funnies

Crafting: I went a bit crazy this week and crafted a ton of cards.  Instead of cluttering up this post, I made a separate post yesterday to show off my creations.  As to general crafting, we had our first Stampin' Up Club meeting this past Monday.  It's Sale-a-Bration, so of course I had to spend $50 to get my free product.  Here are my goodies:

• Versamark (for my new embossing heat tool)
• Pewter embossing powder
• Small butterfly punch (coordinates with both stamp sets
• Papillion Potpourri
• Bloomin Marvelous (Sale-a-Bration pick)
• Print Poetry DSP (lots of fun designs)

And of course I had some cute cards to show from Stamp Club and Card Class.

Watching: On TV, we've been continuing our Star Trek marathons (TOS S1 and TNG S1).  Separately, I've been watching Raising Hope on Netflix.  I started when the show first aired, but somehow stopped watching.  I went back and started at the beginning.  We also caught up with Modern Family, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, and Castle.

As to movies, we started our New Movie February:

• One Day -- Awesome adaptation of a contemporary romance that broke my heart.
• My Future Boyfriend (NMF #1)
• Ip Man (NMF #2)

Wondering: Will I get any responses to my job applications I put in this week?

From Nature: It's light jacket and sweater weather.  I love the cooler temps, but still enjoy the almost daily sunshine.

Shopping Scores: Nothing major, but I did find my book club book for a good price.  All the local used book stores only had the new copy for $15.  I found a used one for $7.98 on Amazon.  Love it!  Of course, club isn't until the end of the month, so I have time to read.

Picture: Originally we were going to wine county today, but I have come down with some nasty stomach bug.  I don't think I could take the car ride, and definitely no wine today.  So no cute picture to add this week.

Sunday Sunset #3

This week has been ridiculously slow.  I went to the library (movies and returns only).  I visited the coffeehouse.  I helped out a friend with an event.  I applied to tons of jobs.  I just didn't have many set activities at all.  Plus, A Winter's Respite readathon did take up a bit of my time.

Listening To: Random playlists on Spotify and 8tracks.  Love the random sometimes.

Book finished: The Wedding Gift, A Foreign Affair, Persuasion, A Long Way Gone, The Reader

Reading: Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson

On the Nightstand: P.S. I Love You, Mansfield Park, One Day, Fantasy February books

MakingLists: Stampin' Up order for Stamp Club.  I'm aiming for $50 to receive a free item for Sale-a-Bration.  The hard part is paring it down to $50... so many fun objects to buy.

Crafting: Nothing that I created, but I did help out a friend teaching others to make cards.  And I did look at a ton of craft blogs to get some great ideas.

Watching: We finished The West Wing and I'm sad to see it end.  Such a great show.  We plan on watching The Newsroom as soon as we recover from The West Wing.  We've also continued our watching of Star Trek (past halfway of S1 of The Original Series and started S1 of The Next Generation).  I'm a bit disappoint that we haven't finished Stargate Universe, but we have almost a week before January ends.

From Nature: Beautiful 60 degree temps and sunshine.  Perfect conditions to watch outside.

Project: Prepping for Fantasy February and New-to-Me Movie February

Sunday Sunset #2

Listening To: Not much music being listening to this week.  Although I did have The Killers Battle Born on repeat...

Book finished: Almost America, The Passage

Reading: Nothing.  Gearing up for A Winter's Respite readathon

On the Nightstand: A Winter's Respite readathon TBR...

MakingLists: Potential movies and books for February. I'm doing Fantasy February, so I need to pull tons of fantasy books to choose from.  And, as a personal challenge, I'm watching one new-to-me movie each day of February.  To help accomplish this, I'm making a list of ~10 must watches.  Mostly these are movies from the server and on our DVD shelves that I've just not gotten around to.

From the kitchen: J's back at work after being so sick last week.  That means I'm back to making meals for one or at least making a meal and having tons of leftovers.  I haven't been too creative with my meals (mostly the standards), but I'm making plans to try something new next week.  Just have to pick it.

On the Web: I'm so far behind in my GoogleReader, but I"m still neglecting it.  Instead of following the blogs I usually follow, I've found myself being sucked into the black abyss of the internet searching for fun card making ideas.  I now have a ton of new bookmarks and at least 7 new blogs to follow.  Check out my "Crafting" section for some of the outcomes...

Crafting: I got a bit inspired and made a few cards.  I'm on a new plan to use my scraps before cutting up new 12x12 sheets.  Thankfully I found a ton of ideas to do just that.

I had a few scraps of this fun pink chandelier paper.  I paired it with scraps of polka dot ribbon, fabric flowers, and a cute little "congrats" stamp.

More fabric flowers and last of the polka dot ribbon, but with a hot pink zebra print background.  This would be a perfect birthday card for a pre-teen girl.

I experimented with double stamping with the background flowers.  I don't love the result, but it's nice.  I decided to add a tag with sentiment instead of adding a new stamp.

It's a bit hard to tell, but I stamped "dream" in silver behind the black to add some dimension.  I like the look and will definitely be playing with the idea more in the future.

I had a few pieces of this beautiful watercolor paper.  It was so pretty that I didn't really want to use it, but i just had to.  One of these "hope" cards is going to a my mom's friend who's dealing with a cancer diagnosis.  I think the soft colors add a soothing presence to these cards.

Watching: We're into the last season of The West Wing and trying to finish the last season of Stargate Universe.  Those are my two must finishs by the end of January.  Beyond that, I finished Lie to Me and S1 of Legend of the Seeker (love me some cheese).  I imagine February's television series watching will be low do to my movie watching plans.  We'll probably just be catching up on our currently airing shows.  But I would really love to finish Legend of the Seeker next month.

Wondering: Where's a good dim sum place not in San Francisco?  I only know of places in the city, but don't really want to travel 45 minutes for a good meal.  There has to be places somewhere in South Bay.

From Nature: Gorgeous temps and sunshine.  Helped me get out and walk instead of staying in and lounging.

Project: Job searching.  No one hires over the holidays, so I didn't get anywhere the past month.  Hopefully January-February has much better results.  The problem is that I don't have a set idea of what job I'm looking for.  Basically anything I qualify for that looks at all interesting, I apply.

Picture: Yummy dinner at The Fish Market.  I actually got a pic of J!  Amazing!

Sunday Sunset #1

This is my weekly wrap-up post for life and bookish concerns.  After a few weeks on vacation back in Indiana, I'm back in California and looking forward to getting back to a good routine of blogging.

Listening To: I snapped up a few discounted albums on iTunes right after Christmas.  Lady Antebellum "Own the Night,"  The Killers "Battle Born," and The Avett Brothers "The Carpenter."  Basically those have been on heavy rotation.  Plus, I've been listening to huge iTunes shuffle during traveling (over 5000 songs).

Book finished: Change of Fortune, Wanted, Chicken with Plums, Locke and Key Vol. 1, Locke and Key Vol. 2, Locke and Key Vol. 3, Locke and Key Vol. 4, Game of Thrones, Beauty and the Bitch, Good Omens, Ill Wind, Heat Stroke, and Chill Factor.  It was a good two weeks with 13 books read!

Reading: Chill Factor by Rachel Caine

On the Nightstand: The Passage by Justin Cronin, Chicks Dig Time Lords, Persuasion and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Anderson

MakingLists: I've got a few lists ready to be made...

• Grocery List -- I came home to a house with no food.  So of course, I needed to make a kicking grocery list
• Winter's Respite TBR -- it's coming soon, January 21-27.
• Fantasy February TBR -- I joined Fantasy February, committing myself to read all fantasy for a month.  I'm excited!  My only exception is the month's book club selection (it probably won't be fantasy).

Around the house: I came home to a sick J.  So, it's been not so fun around here.  No sleep, germs everywhere...

From the kitchen: We haven't really left the house, so I've had to actually cook dinner the past few days.  I made an awesome pot of chicken and noodles with enough left over to freeze for later.  Yummy!  But nothing else exciting.

Crafting: Nothing, but I did make sure to stop by and snap up items from Stampin' Up's clearance racks.  And I made sure to hit Hobby Lobby while in Indiana.  Next week, I'm back to crafting classes and get togethers.  Looking forward to it!

Watching: While in Indiana, I didn't watch much (lots of sports in the house).  I got in the Doctor Who Christmas special, Mockingbird Lane (I missed it during Halloween), and S1 of American Horror Story (oh no they didn't!).  Since getting back, we've caught up on our currently airing shows, S6 of The West Wing, S1 of Star Trek, and S3 of Lie to Me.

Wondering: How many books will I be able to read this year?  I'm hoping for at least 175 books.

From Nature: It feels great being back to the West Coast with decent temps (50s - low 60s) instead of the frigid Midwest.  I think I'll stay here awhile.

Project: I'm getting my blog and reading plan under control.  I've started using Evernote to organize my monthly blog posts.  And I'm loving it!  Plus, I'm planning the rest of my 2013 Must Reads.

The Sunday Salon #39

Listening To: Enjoying the last of the Christmas music, although our local radio channels just play the same 20 Christmas songs over and over.  I have to retreat to my iPod.  I really wish we had Sirius in the cars.  The Indie Christmas channel is just awesome.

Book finished: The Selfish Gene, Batman: Earth One Preview, The Magician King, The Son of Neptune

Reading: None; taking a break for family activities and Christmas.  Will resume my reading with the start of 2013.

On the Nightstand: January 2013 reads

From the kitchen: Since I'm at my mom's house, I'm not cooking.  But I did make sure to stop by the store and pick up some interesting wine for us.  I'll let you know if it was any good.  And I'm planning on making an appetizer of baked brie, caramel, and pecans for Christmas Eve dinner.

On the Web: Reading all the year end book blogger posts and getting ideas for next year's reading challenge.  I think I've finalized my list.

Watching: Whatever my mom and stepdad are watching, which means a lot of sports and reality shows.  I may have to retreat into my bedroom and pop on some scifi or Doctor Who just because.  Maybe the boys' will join me for some Doctor Who.

Wondering: If we will have a white Christmas?  It's been awhile since it snowed on Christmas and didn't just turn into slush or sheets of ice.

From Nature: I'm really not liking the cold.  I want to go back to my climate of 50s in December.

Shopping Scores: I finished my Christmas shopping on Thursday, just in time to miss the crazed last minute shoppers and trying to do it with the boys around.  I did have to enter Toys R Us and the mall, but it wasn't that bad.  I entered the mall right where I needed to go (I actually remembered where the store is) and got in and out within 15 minutes.  Pretty good time.

Project: The boys and I have tie dye shirts and Christmas cards to make.  We're planning on doing them today, but who knows.  I wonder how this will go.

The Sunday Salon #38

Listening To: After the Not So Silent Night concert last week, I finally downloaded the Imagine Dragons cd.  And I absolutely loved it!  I'm so disappointed that I missed them performing at the concert.  Anyway, the cd has been put into regular rotation.

And of course, I am have been playing the crap out of Christmas music.  Although I make sure to do it when J's at work.  I only have a few weeks left before it becomes awkward.

Book finished: Active Liberty, Blue, Minigami, The Green Book, The White Pearl, Suite Francaise

Reading: The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins.  I hope to finish it before leaving for Christmas...

On the Nightstand: Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, The Magician King by Lev Grossman, and January 2013 reads.

MakingLists: My TBR list for 2013.  I'm determined to read from my personal hoard instead of the library or buying new books.  I am well over 100 books so far...

On the Web:  I'm loving all the Best Of lists and Christmas carol posts.  The Holidays are such a fun time in the blogging community.

Crafting: I had a fun intimate card class on Thursday.  My last for 2012.  We made two adorable Christmas cards (I seriously am stealing the abstract tree idea) and two Christmas crafts (stocking stuffer and wine bottle label.

And I finally got around to making some romance/love/Valentine's Day cards to sell in the shop.  I really love the "Love You" with the typewriter one...

Watching: Stargate Universe S2, Lie to Me S2, The West Wing S5, and J got me to start Star Trek S1.

Wondering: How am I going to shove all this crap into my suitcase?  It's the same question that I had a few weeks ago.  I know I'll figure everything out by Tuesday, but I still get nervous right before traveling.

From Nature: The cooler temperatures and grayer skies are pushing me into the winter depression...  But it's not that bad.  I will still take temperatures in the 50s over the 20s any day.  I'm just a bit cold... I really need a new large sweatshirt (something from the men's department).

Shopping Scores: Christmas gift shopping of course.  I won't reveal what they are, but I am excited to say that I am almost finished.  I just need to grab a gift for my family secret santa and one more thing for the boys.  J and I exchanged gifts last night as we won't be seeing each other for the holidays.  He loved his two new shirts (Spanish Inquisition and the Winchester Tavern) and the summer sausage pack.  He got me a beautiful little dragonfly necklace with blue and purple crystals.  I love it!  Now I need to go pack it to take with me to Indiana.

Project: Packing...  It's a process for me.  I usually start about a week in advance collating things to take.  Then I have to pull almost all of my clothes from the closet to start making outfits.  I finally narrow those down to a manageable number (8 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, two dresses, underwear, socks, couple of sweaters, pjs, and accessories).  I'm in the last stretch.  I'm down to getting my carry on together.  It's a process like every time.

The Sunday Salon #37

Listening To: Instead of the usual listening to, I wanted to highlight what we did last night.  J's boss gave him two free tickets to Live 105's Not So Silent Night.  Awesome seats!  We traveled up to Oakland, finally got into the arena and took our seats.  Because of crazy traffic, we missed seeing Imagine Dragons (I really do like them).  But we did see:

• Grouplove -- Decent live, but their songs are really hit or miss with me
• Tegan and Sara -- No real stage presence, but I love their music
• Passion Pit -- Horribly mixed sound, it just didn't sound right at all
• M83 -- My second favorite band of the night... and I've only heard a little bit from them before this
• The Killers! --- OMG!  So much better live than I thought they would be.  A nice selection of old and new songs.  I loved them.

I posted a video of Tegan and Sara and two of The Killers on my Facebook page...

Book finished: With the no pressure Book Drunkard Readathon, I finished a ton of books this week!

• Arthurian Romances
• Note Quite What I was Planning
• Chocolate
• Social Q's
• The Boys Vol. 12
• Words Words Words
• Sprezzatura
• Click
• The History of Egypt

Reading: Active Liberty by Stephen Breyer

On the Nightstand: The Book Bash Club Readathon starts tomorrow.  I want to read at least five books this week to lessen my load for the trip back home.  I am focusing on reading physical books, so I can save my iPad reads for the planes.  I had tons of momentum reading last week, just hope I can keep it up for this coming week.

The White Pearl by Kate Furnivall, The Green Book, 350 Inspiring Ways to Decorate with the Color Blue, Minigami, Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton

MakingLists: Christmas gifts still to buy (only a few left) and tentative packing list for my trip back to Indiana.

On the Web: Attempting to clean out my Google Reader, but actual reading keeps getting in the way.

Crafting: None this week, although I have a meet and greet today.  I also want to send out my Christmas cards this week.  And I need to make a few for my holiday card exchange buddies.  Plus, I told mom I would bring more love and romance cards for the shop when I return to Indiana.  I need to get those done.  Finally, I'm looking forward to my final stamp class of 2012 on Thursday.

Watching: Downtown Abbey S3 (yes, I have it early and it's wonderful), White Collar S4 (caught up to the fall break), The West Wing S4 (slowly getting through this series), many cheesy Christmas movies (thank you ABC Family and Hallmark)

Wondering: Again, how am I going to pack all this crap in one suitcase?  (and leave room for returning presents?)

From Nature: A bit on the chilly side for the area (40 degrees waking up, up to low 60s), but still way better than the Midwest.

Shopping Scores: Nothing this week, although I am determined to get a decent purse before I leave for Indiana.  I need to make a Target run next week.  And maybe some skinny colorful pants?  And maybe a new lightweight sweater or dress?  Watching people at the concert last night, I was coveted some of the clothes I saw...

The Sunday Salon #36

I didn't post last Sunday as I was visiting family back in Indiana.  I'm back home and ready to blog a bit more...

Listening To: Instead of music, I've been listening to podcasts these past two weeks.  Specifically I've been enjoying the archives of The Ood Cast.  All Doctor Who, All the Time!  They are the right mix of geek and weird.  The podcasts were especially nice during the plane rides when my eyes were too tired to read.

Books finished:

• Othello
• Pericles
• As You Like It
• Cymbeline
• The Martian Chronicles
• Poems of Emily Dickinson
•  Mythology
• A Wrinkle in Time
• The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
• Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Reading: ????  Check back with me in 5 minutes

On the Nightstand: Suite Francaise by irene Nemirovsky, Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes, The Firemaster's Mistress by Dickason, The Magician King by Lev Grossman

MakingLists: Grocery list.  There was a strange hodge podge of food in the house when I came back, so I had to eventually go to the grocery store.  Now we have stuff to actually make food.

Around the house: I came home to a very clean reorganized house thanks to J.  Amazing!  And thank goodness because we had people over on Wednesday night for a going away party.  After a lovely dinner out, we came back to play Ticket to Ride and Apples to Apples.  I do love me some board games!

Crafting: Nothing.  But I'm definitely ready to get back into it.

Watching: I finally finished Heroes after what seems like years.  I kept getting stuck in Season 3, but I've finally moved through.  It definitely picked up in the last season, so not all bad.  Coming back to California, we caught up on basically a month's worth of tv shows.  Next up: to finish Stargate Universe.

From Nature: I seem to have brought the gloom and rain back from Indiana.  But at least it's in the 60s.

Shopping Scores: I didn't go out on Black Friday but I did shop from the comfort of my couch.  I snapped up a few things for mom, J, and the boys.  Plus, I got penny prints from Snapfish and a Groupon for Toys R Us.  Very happy with my haul.

The Sunday Salon #35

I'm writing this Sunday Salon on Saturday as I will be traveling all day Sunday.  I'm heading back east in case you missed the post yesterday.  Going to see the family and enjoy the holiday week.  I will probably not post next week since I will be deeply entrenched in family activities.

Listening To: I finished going through our iTunes account for possible 101 Favorite Songs.  I narrowed down the list.  I've actually gotten it down to 101 (with some major culling rules).  Now I'm separating them out into categories for easier posting.  Besides listening to those songs, I updated my computer's iTunes account.  Basically I wiped everything to the server and then pulled about 2400 songs that I really love for traveling.  Plus I updated my iPod for traveling music.  So I should be set with tons of Mumford, Florence, Lumineers, Lady Antebellum, Josh Groban, etc.

Book finished: The Jewel of St. Petersburg, An Offer You Can't Refuse, Flower Fables

Reading:Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

On the Nightstand: The iPad is loaded with Shakespeare, fantasy, and science fiction ready for traveling.  First up: As You Like It.

MakingLists: Final packing lists.  I've had all my clothes packed for a few days.  I just had to get my media, tech, and toiletries.  Thankfully I only have four Apple products to take (as opposed to J's mountain of tech) and two cords.  And because of the iPad, I only have to bring two physical books (for take off and landings).

On the Web: Getting excited for 2013 reading challenges.  People are finally putting out their sign up posts.  Now I have to decide which ones to do and which ones to pass on...

Watching: I've made it a point to finish some series and get caught up on others before starting anything new.  I finished S8 of Weeds and with that the series.  I was okay with the ending, but the reunion of tons of former characters felt a little cheap.  J and I finished S2 of Fairly Legal and then found out it was canceled.  Boo!  I am really going to miss Leo, but I guess the ending was okay.  We are making our way through S4 of The West Wing and S2 of Stargate Universe (last season).  Plus, I am resolved to finish finish Heroes.  I kept getting stuck in the third season.  I finally made it out and started S4.  So far, it's much better than S3.  I might actually finish this during the Thanksgiving break as I can watch it on Netflix instant streaming.

Shopping Scores: I have resolved to wait until after Thanksgiving to do any major holiday shopping.  Plus I need the boys' Christmas lists.  So far, I am doing really good not spending any more.  Although I am eyeing Stampin' Up's current deals.  Hmm....

The Sunday Salon #34

Listening To: I made it all the way through our music.  I've narrowed the list down to ~350 songs, which need to be narrowed to 101 songs.  This is the really hard part.  But I did update my iTunes account with music to take with me (and updated the iPod).  So I will have some great music to listen to next week while traveling.

Book finished: The Goose Girl, The Girl from Junchow, and Jane Eyre

Reading: The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall

On the Nightstand: Some Shakespeare, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, The Magician King

MakingLists: Final vacation packing lists.  Getting ready to throw everything in my luggage.

Around the house: I finished organizing my craft stash and cleared a ton of room.  Very proud of myself.

From the kitchen: I made some yummy chili using random canned goods from the pantry.  It turned out lovely and just in time for slightly cooler temps.  I even made enough to throw a container of it into the freezer for next week or after I get back from vacation.  I also made a batch of salsa beef for tacos (extra spicy) for multiple meals.

Crafting: I finally finished the spring break scrapbook pages.  I felt like that task would never end, but thankfully they're completed.  Now I need to order prints of the journey west to start that section.  I also finished the stationary sets that are traveling to Indiana to sell.  I especially love the owls!  I may just have to keep one of those for myself.

Saturday morning we had a great little class making four all occasion cards.  I especially love the flowers with the little dots of red glitter.  So cute!

Watching: This past week we finished The West Wing S3 and Stargate Universe S1.  I started Weeds S8.  Plus, we watched a ton of newer movies.  My favorite was Safety Not Guaranteed.

Wondering: How do I stuff all of these things into my suitcase?  This is going to get interesting...

From Nature: The cooler temps and partly cloudy days got me in the mood for chili and coffee.  Yummy!

Shopping Scores: I finally found a corner rounder and smaller scoring board for cheap on Amazon!  Much needed crafting tools.

The Sunday Salon #33

Listening To: I'm finally into the L's.  Still rediscovering some great music.  My current new (again) favorite is KT Tunstall.  I especially love her acoustic album.  Great soundtrack for crafting and reading.

Book finished:Snow Crash.  Only one this week, I'm really slacking.

Reading: The Girl from Junchow by Kate Furnivall (I read the first book in the trilogy months ago.  Been meaning to get to the other two...)

On the Nightstand: The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (If I get through and like Girl from Junchow); The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

MakingLists: Blog ideas and updates.  I got a list of to be completed blog posts through Thanksgiving.  I also am compiling a list of maintenance tasks and future post ideas.

From the kitchen: I actually cooked this week!  It's been awhile.  I made chicken broccoli pesto penne.  It fed J and I for two meals.  Plus I went to the grocery store.  My plan is to make and freeze a few meals before I leave for Thanksgiving.  That way I have food now and once I get back.  Now I just need to go and cook this stuff...

On the Web: Checking out a few new blogs.  Trying to catch up on my Google Reader.  I did a huge clean out during Bloggiesta, but since then I've added a ton of new blogs.  I routinely have ~600 unread posts on any given day.  That's crazy, but I love reading/skimming them.

Crafting: Saturday was a crazy day for crafting.  I went to a Holiday class in the morning.  We made two cute cards (especially love the pumpkin!) and two gift ideas.  I'm thinking of making coaster sets for Christmas or to sell in the shop.

Saturday night was meet and craft.  We each brought our own projects to work on and socialize.  I love these events.  I get a ton done and don't feel like a shut in.  I finished a few more stationary sets for the shop/gifts.  The hard part is paring down my supplies to a small pile to take to the event.  I choose my papers/color combos and cut the paper before going, so that freed up space.  Plus, I stuck with one type of project.  If I finished, then I finished.  I don't need five project options for these nights.  I got four out of seven sets completed.

Watching: We finished watching Reaper.  I'm a bit disappointed at the ending.  There really should have been a third season, but oh well...  I also sped through Downton Abbey S3 (that have aired so far).  OMG!  I won't give away the spoilers, but I can't believe they did that!  I don't like!  J and I also got back into watching The West Wing S3 and Stargate Universe S1.

Wondering: How I am going to fit all this crap into my suitcase for Thanksgiving?  I may have to rethink my packing.

From Nature: It's weird to be walking around in crops, sandals, and short sleeves in November.  My body is loving it, but my head is all confused.  I keep expecting the temperature to drop 50 degrees...

Shopping Scores: After much searching, I finally found a pair of brown high heels that are cute, cheap, and I can walk in.  I happened to be in Target the other day and what did I spy?  A pair of two-tone brown mary janes on clearance!  And they had my size still! Sold!  While, there I also grabbed a skirt and a sweater (both on clearance). I can wear the two together for a fun dressy holiday outfit.  I might even take them to Thanksgiving...

Project: I wrapped up redoing my US History notes.  My student is doing better in class and decided to stop the tutoring sessions.  So, I don't really need to have any of this stuff out anymore.  I finished the notes through Chapter 8 (Settling the West) and put everything into one curriculum box.  I love that I reduced my pile!  One less box to worry about.

The Sunday Salon #32

Listening To: I've made it to the Js in my review all the music we own.  Who knew there were so many J's in our account?  Slowly slowly.  I did rediscover my love of Jimmy Eat World, especially Bleed American.

Book finished: Blackout, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Princess and the Hound, The Princess and the Bear

Reading:Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

On the Nightstand: Girl from Junchow and Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall

MakingLists: Crafting projects.  I have tried to make a list of great crafting projects that I want to complete in the next few months.  Lots of great ideas!

On the Web: More and more GoogleReader posts.  I've found some great new non-book blogs to follow.  Too many cute project ideas and recipes!

Crafting: I continued with scrapbooking Spring Break.  It's the project that never seems to end.  I still have at least 6 spreads for each kid's scrapbook.  Eventually I will finish this.

Last Tuesday's class: Fall Holiday projects.  If I still had a classroom, I would love to make these turkeys for students.  A perfect inexpensive but creative gift.  I like the tags, but won't be buying them this year.  But my favorite has to be the Halloween card.  I love the idea of four different patterned papares as a background.  Too cute!

Sunday's class: Stationary set.  This is such an easy and cute gift idea.  After whipping this out in no time, I decided that I needed to make more of these with some of my own supplies.

Wednesday's meet and greet: Individual projects.  I made a set of Thanksgiving cards and started on some stationary sets.

Watching: We completely finished Sanctuary after watching the series off and on for years.  On the old show front, I watched The West Wing S2-S3 and Gossip Girl S5.  J got me hooked on Reaper, love it!  Plus we caught up on a ton of currently airing shows and started a few newer ones (Up All Night, Arrow, Comic Book Men)

From Nature: It's been two weeks of up and down temperatures.  Rain has come and gone.  Sun has come and gone.  The weather reminds me a bit of the midwest.  Although the falling leaves contrast greatly with 80 degree temperatures.  Weird feeling.

Shopping Scores: I went a little shop crazy these past two weeks.  After trolling the local outlet mall, I only ended up buying five pieces.  The first two are from Banana Republic.  I must say that I'm really coming to love Banana Republic.  While I don't have many places to wear BR clothing, they do have more causal pieces available than I thought they did.  The second piece is a great blue color (can't tell from the picture).  The other three pieces are from Target, my store for everything.  The last one is a dress that I had been eyeing for awhile.  But I just didn't want to pay full price.  It happened to be on clearance and I had to snap up the last large.  The dress is really flattering and cute.  I can't wait to wear it.

I went shopping in Palo Alto with a friend on Thursday.  I didn't pick anything up for myself, but I did get the boys four long sleeved shirts from the Gap.  Four shirts for $18, so exciting!  I also grabbed four cupcakes from Sprinkles: mocha, dark chocolate, smore, and lemon.  Yummy yummy!

Project: I started three large projects these past two weeks.  I kept going with my US History note consolidation.  I finished Chapter 5 this week and started trying to organize the Civil War chapters.  Unfortunately the Civil War folders are just out of control.  Slowly. slowly I'm getting through them.  I also continued my crazy apartment wide reduction.  I'm working on the office right now.  Getting there...  Finally I tried to reorganize my craft supplies.  I think it is a bit out of control.

The Sunday Salon #31

Listening To: Lots of Mumford, Florence, and The Lumineers.  Basically this has been my soundtrack for the last few weeks.

Book finished: Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant

Reading: Blackout by Mira Grant (to finish my 24 zombie books challenge!)

On the Nightstand: Fairy tale books (I really want to push these through to finish the challenge)

MakingLists: Kitchen crap... I am trying to systematically clean out our cabinets by eating everything in them (don't be scared, not at one time).  As such, I am trying to not buy a ton of new food.  So no grocery lists...  it's killing me...

Crafting: Absolutely nothing.  I have been a bit distracted by headaches and tv shows.  I just didn't get around to being inspired and crafting.

Watching: Finished Life Unexpected S2.  J and I finally caught up with a ton of currently airing shows.  My goodness that was a ton of shows, but good things.  Plus we watched a ton of movies.

Project: I started tutoring, but realized that my U.S. History folders were in shambles.  First, I had to rip apart my curriculum boxes.  Even then things are not where they should be.  So, I've been trying to put things back together in order.  I also didn't complete my process of consolidating notes into one document before everything was packed.  I'm slowly working through those.  I spent 3 hours at the coffeehouse on Friday.  I didn't even finish Chapter 4, but I got really really close.  This isn't going to be a quick project, but it really needs to be done.  Especially if I keep tutoring.

The Sunday Salon #30

Listening To: Lots of rediscovered music.  Currently loving Jack's Mannequin, Ingrid Michaelson, and Howie Day.

Book finished: Because of the FrightFall Readathon, I plowed through a ton of books this week.  Getting close to wrapping up my Zombie Reading Challenge.  I read Sadie Walker is Stranded, Persuasion (on the iPad on the train), The First Days, Fighting to Survive, and Siege.

Reading: Feed by Mira Grant

On the Nightstand: Deadline and Blackout by Mira Grant (finishing my zombie challenge)

MakingLists: All things for my Thanksgiving vacation -- things to pack, places to go back in Indiana, things to do with boys, things to buy there, etc.  What can I say?  I like to be prepared in advance.

Around the house: With J gone, not much has happened and I have managed to keep things picked up.  I call that a win.

From the kitchen: Absolutely nothing.  I have been eating like a college student these past two weeks.  No real meals...

On the Web: Enjoying my Google Reader.  Wrapping up the FrightFall Readathon today.  No much else.

Crafting:  Last Sunday I had a great candy and stamps class.  We made some cute candy holders for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  So many ideas!

On Wednesday, we had a small meet and greet.  We made cards for the Ronald McDonald House in San Jose.  Plus we had a ton of scraps to share with each other.  I picked up a smallish stack of some great new printed paper sheets.  The first card was the "official" meet and greet design.  I made the others using the rest of a sticker pack I had gotten last year.  I loved who the Birthday card with yellow floral background so much, I had to take it home instead of donating.  The other three were donated.

At home, I finished up a few Halloween cards.  The one with the cat was made last year at card class.  I figured I would finally send it away to someone.  This is it for Halloween...

Watching: I went on a bit of a series bender while J was away.  To be fair, he wouldn't have watched most of these, so I feel like I'm not cheating.  I watched Parenthood S3, Revenge S1 (late to the party, but now I am hooked), and Life Unexpected S2 (finally finishing the series).  Plus I caught up on Glee, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.

Wondering: How it can be 90 degrees this week and yet leaves are falling from the trees?  Crazy contradiction.

From Nature: After consistant 75 degrees, it got up to 90 this week.  Of course that was the day I decided to travel up to San Francisco.  It was even 90 up there!  Currently it is back to the high 60s.  The huge temp swings make me feel like I'm back in the Midwest.

Shopping Scores: While in San Francisco, we window shopped in the Haight.  I found the perfect little gift for J at one of the book stores.  Shh!! Don't tell!   I'll have to head back to the Haight and go thrift store shopping soon.

Project: Slowly working through all my music to narrow it down to my 101 favorite songs.  This is way too hard...