Project Complete!

I finished sewing my robe!

There's always such a strong sense of accomplishment when you're able to complete a project in a total time span of about 10 hours. As I had written in Burning Vinegar, I began working on this robe about a month ago. I had cut out the pattern, ironed the tissue paper pattern pieces, ironed the fabric, pinned the pattern, and cut the fabric. Usually, those steps consume about half of the total time spent on the project. Oh, and I also succeeded in stinking up the entire apartment.

Today, I began working on the robe again around 1:00, not expecting to get it done today. Surprisingly, it was done 5 hours later! I made a few adjustments to personalize the project. I'm also still considering having my mom embroider something on the two pockets just to add some fun decorations.

Now, in spite of all the coffee I drank while working on the project, I am exhausted. I think I will spend my Saturday night curled up with a good book and warm blanket. Who knows--maybe I'll have another blog for you all tomorrow ;)

Discovering and Developing Strengths

I have been slacking. Hardcore. I would like to apologize for that, and will try to write an extra long blog today to make it up to you. Well, kinda long. I do have a life, you know!

It's certainly been a busy week and a half. At work, my to-do list kept getting longer and longer. I keep my to-do list on a legal pad, which has about 30 lines? I rewrote that list at least once a day, because it would get too full. There was so much going on that I was, at times, convinced my head would spin right off. Another challenge was that I could hardly read, since my eyes kept getting worse. I went to an eye doctor (about time, huh?) and was given medicinal eye drops and told not to wear my glasses for a week. When I returned to his office today, my eye doctor informed me that my eyes have improved, but still aren't nearly where they should be. I will be meeting with him weekly until it's fixed...unfortunately, he believes it may take a whole month. Yuck.

On Friday night I had a girl's night with my coworkers, which was a lot of fun! It's been waaaaaayyyyy too long since I've had one of those. I spent Saturday doing laundry, packing, and reading an entire book (more of that to follow). On Sunday I left for Bismarck for work. I was there until yesterday evening, and headed back home. Nothing too exciting happened there--but I did eat at a restaurant called Grizzly's Grill n Saloon. It looks to be a Midwest chain, so should you be in the area, it's definitely a place I recommend.

So, now I am exhausted. Today feels like it should be my Thursday, since I have already put in 32+ hours this week. But alas, it is not. Hopefully this will be a very relaxing (and not so distant) weekend for me.

Now it's time to catch you up on the readings of the past 10 days:

Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack has been sitting, unread, on my bookshelf for a couple of years. I discovered it in the clearance section of Barnes and Noble, and the description enticed me to adopt it. The novel even got a fabulous review by the New York Times! It is about Dora, a 35-year-old L.A. bibliophile, twice divorced. She dates a man who works in a bookstore, and goes on book binges any time she's upset. The end of the novel has a slight twist and then becomes predictable again. Character development was lacking, particularly Dora's past and her mother. I thought this book would discuss literature and Dora's passion for writing, but was slightly disappointed. I just didn't find it to be one of those books that will stick with me or have any kind of impact whatsoever. It's a book I would recommend bibliophiles read at some point in their lives, but it certainly shouldn't be a priority novel for anyone.

Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 315
2011 Reading Goal: 1564/12500

I can't leave a series unfinished, regardless of whether it is a novel, TV show, or movie. In May, James Patterson will be releasing the 10th book in the Women's Murder Club Series, and it drives me crazy that I'm nowhere near being ready to read it! Therefore, I spent Saturday evening reading 5th Horseman by James Patterson. Character Yuki Castellano is officially introduced as the newest member of the Women's Murder Club and undergoes a tragic experience linked to the case Lindsay Boxer is working on. Lindsay is also trying to handle a mysterious case of petite, blonde escorts showing up dead in high-end cars. Both cases captivated my interest. Alas, Patterson has done it again!

5th Horseman by James Patterson
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 409
2011 Reading Goal: 1973/12500

Those of you who know me personally are aware of my interest/obsession with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. I have a true passion for understanding personality tests and utilizing them in management and leadership practices. For years I have been wanting to take the Strengths Finder. The Strengths Finder is based on the concept of discovering your strengths, then building on those strengths to excel at whatever it is you do.

Here are my five strengths and a quote or two I believe is particularly applicable to my personality:

1. Learner
• "The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. ... You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence"
• "This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential"
2. Communication
• "Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, energize them, to make them exciting and vivid" (This perhaps explains my passion for writing)
3. Includer
•  "...you actively avoid those groups that exclude others. You want to expand the group so that as many people as possible can benefit from its support."
• "You are an instinctively accepting person. Regardless of race or sex or nationality or personality or faith, you cast few judgments. ... Your accepting nature does not necessarily rest on a belief that each of us is different and that one should respect those differences.  Rather, it rests on your conviction that fundamentally we are the same. We are all equally important. ... Each of us should be included. It is the least we all deserve."
4.  Input
• First of all, the author accuses me of being a collector and lists books as an example. I think he's creeping on me. Unless...there are more like me?
• "If you read a great deal, it's not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives."
5. Woo (Winning Others Over)
• "...strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, as questions, and find some areas of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport"
• "Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking on the ice and making a connection"

  

  I've been lonely my whole life. Can there
  really be other book collectors like me?

For those of you readers who are interested by individuals' personalities, take the test now! Each strength comes with an example and suggestions for working with others who possess the same strength.

What I discovered is that I really have the perfect job and career goals for my strengths. This insight is all very accurate and it will be helpful to utilize it in my career goals.

<---------I love Wall-E. I now feel like watching it, but Criminal Minds will be on soon. Dilemma!

The Good, the Bad, and the Delicious

Hi readers!

I'm sorry to have neglected you for so long! It's unintentional, I promise. This was a bit of a rough week, but I'm recovering well and today is a new day. My right eye was really inflamed and it hurt really bad. This prevented me from reading for more than three minutes and also made it miserable to look at a computer screen (which I already do 7 hours a week at work). In addition to my eye issues, I got sick! Again! This time it wasn't the flu, but a sore throat, stuffy nose, and a light fever. Colleges are one of the germiest places in existence, and the germs have all chosen to attack me. Not fair. And then, to make things worse, my reading light stopped working! AAAGGGGHHH what a week! But, things got better. I'll share them with you here.

Anyway, you're probably curious what I've been up to. Or maybe you aren't. But I'm going to share anyway!  On Monday I completed reading One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. I've read all of her other works and was only disappointed with one (Sex and the City--BOOORRRRING!). This was another pick off my bookshelf. I had purchased it last spring after a job interview in Walla Walla, WA. I got it from Hastings, one of my favorite bookstore chains (yay for having used books!) Although this book wasn't used, it was two years old and already bargain priced at $3.99 for the trade paperback edition. Score!


This novel is about a building (located at One Fifth Avenue, hence the title) and the inhabitants. The first hundred pages or so were extremely slow for me and I contemplated putting the book down and not picking it up again, but I will say now that I'm so glad I continued reading it! The storyline itself is perhaps a little dry and slow moving, but Bushnell is an artist when it comes to observing the different generations. She gives almost side-by-side comparisons of how different generations react to different events (example: a 60-year-old gossip columnist vs a 22-year-old gossip blogger). I found several of here generational observations to be right-on and highly intriguing. Bushnell blends an unusual mix of characters and stories in this novel, and I consider it to be very well-written. I recommend it to those of you fascinated by the lives of New York socialites, generational observations, or just looking for a good read.
Here's my reading goal information for the novel:
One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 433
2011 Reading Goal: 986/12,500

Yesterday (Saturday), I completed another book found on my bookshelf. It has been sitting there for at least three years that I can recall. I picked it up thrift shopping (at those local chain stores I had mentioned in a previous blog), back before I had even heard of James Patterson. I was feeling in the mood for a James Patterson novel, and was pleasantly surprised by what I got.

The book is called Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson. It is a love story (THAT was the surprise!), where Jennifer's grandmother, Sam, goes into a coma. Jennifer arrives at her grandmother's place to find a stack of unopened envelopes on her bed, all addressed to her. They tell the story of her grandmother's relationship with her grandfather and reveals to Jennifer her deepest secret. Meanwhile, Jennifer, traumatized by the death of her late husband and child, meets an old childhood friend and begins to develop feelings for him. I'm going to stop there because I don't want to give away the book, since it's so good! I recommend it to people who love Nicholas Sparks novels (because it's just as well written as one) or anyone looking for a happy-ending romance.
Here's my reading goal information for this novel:
Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson
Rating: 4/5
Pages:263
2011 Reading Goal: 1,249/12,500

 I went to the local library yesterday for the first time. Shameful, I know. I got a library card and looked around. It's a very nice facility with a surprising number of fiction novels, so I'm pretty happy with it. To me, libraries can make or break a town. My hometown has a 3-story library with a very wide selection of books and serves a population of around 90,000 people. When I went to college, the local library was so small and they only had one copy of new releases, and no website. It was tragic. The facility was nice, but there were too many bare shelves, which was depressing. It just felt like there was no life to the facility. They served a population of about 12,000. My local library now serves a population of about 17,000. They don't have a website (it was actually REALLY hard to track them down), which is a negative, but I was still pretty impressed with their book selection. Maybe I can survive this year only purchasing six books.

Yum yum!

Last night I decided to make something from The Essential Pasta Cookbook, which my best friend, Jessie Mae, got me for Christmas! I made Pomodoro sauce, and it was DELICIOUS!!! As you can see, I paired it with some garlic bread, green beans, and a glass of Raging Bull wine. The wine is a red zinfandel intended to be paired with barbecue or spicy foods, but it still tasted great with my red pasta sauce.The wine hails from Modesto, CA, and I was able to purchase it at Target. I often pick too dry of red wines, but this one was perfect. I definitely recommend it for you wine lovers out there :)

So, readers, I hope this blog has confirmed for you that I am, indeed, alive. I'm already working my way through another book and have fixed my reading light, so you'll likely be hearing from me again soon!

Burning Vinegar

This is my new project:

I'm working on the robe, pattern "A". I haven't sewn in a while, but I need a new robe and new sewing project. The last project I worked on was two years ago, when I sewed my own bridesmaid dress for a friend's wedding. This project will be much, much simpler.

Although I love sewing with all my heart, it is a constant reminder that I have absolutely NO common sense. Today, I discovered that the soleplate on my iron was gunky with remnants of an accidental burning. I tried to use common sense, I really did. I unplugged the iron (still a little hot) and grabbed the white vinegar to clean it. I rationed that it would clean best if the iron was hot, because the gunk would be hot.

That was a stupid idea.

What ended up happening is that I burned vinegar. Ladies, please learn from my mistake: never put vinegar on a hot surface. It leads to the worst smell in the world! It lingered in my apartment all night. Fortunately, it was pretty warm weather outside yesterday (22 degrees ABOVE zero!!!), so I was able to open a window and let everything air out.

While cutting the fabric, I realized that the 8 cups of coffee I had that morning was slightly impractical, since my hands were shaking like crazy. However, I was still able to cut and iron all my tissue and fabric yesterday. All I need to do today is fuse some interfacing to some strips of fabric, and I will be ready to start sewing!

This has not replaced reading, I promise. I'm working on a novel currently, but am having some issues with my eyesight at the moment, so it's taking longer than anticipated to complete the novel.

Shameful secret (well, I guess it isn't a secret if I'm blogging it for the whole world to hear): I recently discovered I have over 60 unread books on my bookshelf. I'm so disappointed in myself. I'm not even sure that I will be buying books at all this year. I will contemplate this and discuss it with you all at a later date.

Today's agenda:

Today will be a relaxing day indeed!

• bubble bath
• lots of coffee (but maybe not 8 cups...)
• reading
• pedicure
• doing dishes
• fusing robe's interfacing
• sewing a bit
• vacuuming apartment

I love the holidays :D

Into the Wild with Velociraptors

I love the holidays, don't get me wrong, but it is soooo nice to get back into a routine and spend a little time alone. Yesterday after work I made myself a Montana Meal (you know, steak, potatoes, and a veggie--yum yum!). I spent the rest of the night finishing up a novel and then, later, crocheting a blanket while watching tv. I slept really well and feel energized this morning (not because of coffee, either! I've only had 1/4 cup so far!).

The novel I completed was Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild. Yes, it has been made into a movie. Unfortunately, I watched the movie first, since I wasn't aware it was a book. I really need to look that stuff up. But I did love the movie, and wanted to see how I would enjoy the book.

The book is about a 24-year-old college graduate from a wealthy family who abandons all possessions to hitchhike across the country. He wants to ultimately get up to Alaska and live off the land. Jon Krakauer wrote an article about Chris McCandless for Outdoor Magazine. The story received so much interest that Krakauer decided to research McCandless's whole two-year expedition through the nation.

This was the Alaska I saw in December. Beautiful, indeed.
But would I attempt to survive on the land in this? Absolutely not.

I'm going to spoil the story (if you haven't seen the movie), but the biggest difference is the starting and the ending. The movie begins with his adventures and ends in Chris McCandless's death, where the book begins with McCandless's death and works its way back to how he got there.

The book went really quickly for me. It was highly engaging. But--I will warn you-- Jon Krakauer writes like a journalist, so it's common for him to get a little carried away with the details. The only other negative I have about it was Krakauer's 30-page interruption to tell his story of one of his own expeditions. He had a terrible transition into his story and it wasn't as relevant to the reader as I suppose it was from his perspective. I definitely recommend this read for anyone who's ever wanted to venture out into the great unknown. It's a well-told tale of adventure and risk-taking.

Here are my stats for the book:
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 203
2011 Reading Goal: 553/12,500

I should explain that I've decided to switch from my 10-point rating system to a five-point rating system. I believe that the 5-point rating system will better fit with my definitions. Here's what the points mean:

1: Don't bother picking this book up. Seriously. Not worth your time.

Please, heed my warning.

2: I got through it, but it's certainly not one I'd recommend.

3: It was ok, but not at the top of my recommendation list.

4: If you have time or this interests you, please put it on your list of TBR (to be read). Definitely worth the read.

5: Must read!!!!! Velociraptors will eat you in your sleep if you don't!

I hope this helps to clarify what my ratings for various books mean.

For more information on the dangers of velociraptors, please visit this blog: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Have a lovely Saturday!!!

Flu Season

I am sick. With the flu. That's right--stuffy nose, hot forehead, blurry vision, you name it, I've got it. I'm still going to work, but have been cutting my days a little short. For the first time in two days, I'm eating. Soup! For whatever reason, the Campbell's condensed chicken noodle soup can be beat by nothing when you're sick. I'm just hoping I'll be able to keep it down.

As you can imagine, I haven't been reading much since I've been sick, so I apologize for the lack of blogs. I just thought I should post so you all know I'm not dead, I just feeling like I'm dying.

I did read Who Moved My Cheese?on Monday, shortly after my book review of Stealing Buddha's Dinner. I haven't quite decided how I feel about it yet, except that it is a HUGE ripoff to charge $23.00 for a 100-page 14-point font with 3 inch margins novelette. Good thing I purchased it from a thrift store. Anyway, for those of my readers out there who have read Who Moved My Cheese?, what did you think?

Stealing Buddha's Dinner

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Readers!

I hope 2011 is off to a productive and pleasant start for you all! I was able to make it home yesterday evening, after racing the sunset (the sunset won, but only by an hour). I had purchased a lot of goods in my hometown (helllll-ooooo Costco!) and it took me forever to haul all of that PLUS my gigantic, heavy suitcases from my trip into my apartment. I unpacked everything, only to realize how messy my apartment is. I even left dishes in the sink. Yes, I had rinsed them, but still--gross. I cleaned my apartment for three hours last night, and six hours today. Still, I feel as though I've gotten nowhere. I think that's because I've been unable to complete any tasks. I received four pounds of coffee for Christmas, so I've been very ADD all day.

To wind down for the evening and drink some hot chocolate, I decided to finish reading a book I had started in the Anchorage airport a few days ago: Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen. Before I tell you a bit about the book, I want to give some background on how I found it. My hometown has a chain of thrift stores, kind of like a Goodwill. Of course, there are different items at each of the three stores. This summer, I had been to the one closest to my house, looking for books. I found nothing. In chatting with my best friend, Jessie Mae (who I think has resolved to start buying all her books from this chain of thrift stores, because they're such awesome deals), she suggested I try the one closer to her side of town. It's her belief that they have lower prices and a larger selection. The prices are low anyway--hardcovers typically run anywhere from $2.29-$4.00; trade paperbacks are from $1.29-$3.50; and mass market paperbacks are $2.00 or less. ANYWAY, I found six books on that trip! This book was one of them. It was a hardcover in excellent condition (I'm pretty sure unread, too) and had a pricetag of only $1.29. Score! It was tucked away in the 'romance' section, although it is definitely not a romance novel. The point of this story: get your butt to your local thrift store, because you may find some hidden treasures :)

Back to the novel: this is a memoir about a Vietnamese girl growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the late 1970's and the 1980's. The author, Bich Minh Nguyen, reflects on her desire to fit in with a community of blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Dutch-Americans. Nguyen describes her lust for American food--from Shepherd's Pie to Pringles to ice cream-- as well as the American lifestyle. In the novel, her father marries a penny-pinching second generation Mexican-American, who does not care about name brands or being a stay-at-home mother. Nguyen lives in a two-story house with her Vietnamese grandmother, two Vietnamese uncles, her father, her Mexican-American stepmother, an older stepsister, her older sister, and a Vietnamese-Mexican younger brother. She explains how her lifestyle and family ostracized her from a community she so strongly desired to fit into. This novel was a pretty quick read for me and was intriguing the whole time. The only complaint I have about it is that Nguyen skipped over her teenage years, which I think would have only enriched the novel. If you've ever felt like you just didn't fit in while growing up, this is definitely a story you can relate to.
 Here's my reading goal info:
Rating: 8/10
Pages: 256
2011 Reading Goal: 256/12,500

Also, I just discovered a program on Amazon called Amazon Vine. Has anyone ever heard of it? Apparently, Amazon selects customers who have the most helpful reviews to review products before they come out, like those bloggers I was talking about! I'm thinking I'll be writing more reviews on Amazon now...

UPDATE: I apologize for the randomness of this blog. I think I need to realize that just because I now have more than four pounds of coffee, that does not mean I need to drink it all today.