-i went to the bookstore yesterday. on my way in i saw a guy with a gun blatantly holstered to his hip and a knife sticking out of his boot. it was disconcerting and quite shocking. to me, anyway.

-saw time traveler's wife this weekend. i was disappointed. the colors were luscious, the cinematography beautiful, the acting superb, but the story was sorely lacking. i know it's based on a bestseller. i am sure the story in the book is more substantial than the one in the movie. at least i hope it is. there were snippets in the movie that made me wonder, what are they cutting out? so i bought the book yesterday so i could find out. (there is a long wait list at my library and i am impatient).

-new issue of VT has several recipes for vegan doughnuts and crepes! vegan crepes, regular crepes, buckwheat galettes. i can't wait to try them out. :)

-getting handfasted in two months. weird.

-i am finding the second season of trueblood a bit spotty. some episodes are super engaging and others i find myself a little bored. of course that isn't going to keep me from watching the season finale.

-september is yoga awareness month. i am going to observe this by challenging myself to do yoga every day from 9/1 to 9/30. i can do it at home, in a studio, for 30 or 90 minutes. but the point is to do it every day.

-b's parents are out of town for the week. a lovely week by ourselves in the house. it feels like a vacation at home. :)

Vision in White

by Nora Roberts
Rating: 3.5
Series: The Bride Quartet
Format: romantic fiction
Reason for Reading: i love nora roberts

i admit it. i love nora roberts. it's my mom's fault. i don't know why this makes me feel embarrassed, but it does. maybe it's because i don't read romance novels. but i do read nora roberts. her books are like really good romantic comedies but in book form.

sure her format is the same: strong, female protagonist meets man, falls in love with man, is reluctant to admit it, eventually they wind up engaged. but there is so much more to it than that. her characters are so well-developed. they have layers, quirks. they are three-dimensional. they are dynamic.

there are several ways to spin a story within this format and i, personally, don't get tired of it. when i finish a tale by nora roberts, i am thoroughly satisfied after i turn the last page. i always know it is going to be a several hour affair because i can not put her books down. i either read all day or stay up all night. her stories are that engaging.

in her newest trilogy, scratch that, this one's a quartet, mackensie is a successful wedding photographer. she and her three best friends since childhood have created a thriving, successful wedding planning business.

mac is smart and good at what she does. however, she is extremely emotionally guarded, having grown up with an absentee father and an emotionally manipulative, neglectful and self-destructive mom.

mac's world turns upside down when she meets carter maguire.

and so the delicious reading adventure begins. . .

R.I.P. IV

it's that time again. carl's R.I.P. challenge is here. i look forward to this challenge announcement each year, as it heralds the arrival of fall, crispy weather and the onset of halloween. i rarely participate, but this year i think i will have the time. i can't wait to get started.

as for a reading pool, i don't really have one. i think i may check out colleen gleason's vampire series or even laura k. hamilton's anita blake series. i may read some neil gaiman. or i will just browse around and see what books jump out at me.

i am going to attempt peril the first.

go on and sign up. you know you want to.

crisis averted

monday we scheduled an appointment with our space to do a walk-through. we wanted to figure out how we were going to set up the rectangular tables. i just bought some tablecloths from a fellow obb and wanted to see how they looked. i wanted to get some answers to questions i emailed my contact three weeks ago. answers that needed to be relayed to my caterer and bartender.

our appointment was for wednesday afternoon.

imagine my surprise when we show up and our greeted with a refund check and the announcement that the space has been sold to a church.

i felt some heartfelt disappointment because i thought that place was beautiful. but i was more disappointed that they had given us the runaround. they could have let us know three weeks ago when the property went on the market. they could have let us know as soon as the church placed their bid. they could have let us know when i called on monday. instead my contact acted rude on the phone during our monday afternoon conversation.

i think they were planning on running off with our money. it would have been worse, though to show up after the end of september to find the space converted into a church with no chance of a deposit refund.

and we had just ordered and received our invitations last week! (fortunately, they are going to give us a hefty discount to re-print them).

i was pretty calm during all of this. i informed our parents and our caterer. i sent off some emails to a couple of people that have some connections in the area. i made a post on the obt asking for help, which ultimately led me to our new and better reception site.

i did feel extreme disappointment and a strong sense of annoyance at having to start from scratch on a task i didn't particularly enjoy in the first place. i did my best to remain in the moment, breathe and keep my eyes focused on opportunity. i refused to let it get me down. i honored my emotions by cooking and baking. but i didn't give my attention to them. i allowed them their space and then sent them on their merry way out of my body, out of my mind, out of my spirit.
pasta man and i enjoyed a delicious dinner of mexican-quinoa stuffed red peppers with some salad and red currant tea cakes for dessert.

before i went to bed on wednesday night i acknowledged all of my blessings, all that i am thankful for, as i do most nights. i meditated. i sent prayers to my angels and guides. i meditated on being open and centered, ready to receive any guidance that would reveal itself.

thursday was full of contacts and emails and conversations. i made an appointment for today with a hotel that had a good price on their meeting room. i had a feeling it wouldn't be what we were looking for, but the sales manager was very friendly and said if it wasn't what we were looking for she could point us in the direction of some other places. no pressure.

we showed up this morning at the hotel and our lovely sales manager had a bag of goodies waiting for us. she told us about the area, she gave us a tour of the hotel, showed us the different types of rooms along with the various amenities. the rooms are really nice. some even have a kitchenette. we looked at the meeting room. as i suspected it was too small for what we were wanting. it would seat everyone but there wouldn't be any room for dancing. and it didn't have any sort of ambiance at all. no problem. our friendly sales manager told us about another place, gave us their business card. she even called to see if they could see us right then. she sent us on our way with a stack of discount cards for surrounding businesses since we were new to the area. she said she would email me group room rates on monday. and she let us know that the hotel provides free shuttle service to the space she was sending us to. they also provide service to the shopping district down the street where several restaurants, clubs, stores reside.

i felt so taken care of. some aspects of the planning i have really struggled with. not stressed, just struggle. it just felt really good to have someone take the reins and show me the way.

so we went to the recommended spot. it is beautiful. it is a full two acres of grass and shade trees. in arizona! the owner was so friendly and helpful. the property is completely private, we get to utilize all of it. at night it is a twinkling faery-land. we can have a true outdoor reception with indoor getaways. it is cozy and quaint and ambient. we did some negotiating on the price and were able to stay within our budget. we signed our contract and we all parted ways happy and fulfilled. how did we get a luscious space two months out? she had a cancellation for our date three weeks ago (when our original venue went for sale, ha). it was completely serendipitous.

i take this as another example of manifesting my desires through my thoughts, decisive, positive actions and disengaging from any negative thoughts and actions.

so yeah, new space, new start time and lawn games!!! croquet anyone?

13 observations about arizona

1. arizonans call the hot, windy weather "monsoon season." apparently there are supposed to be storms involved but so far there has been very little evidence of this. just a lot of oven-hot, high winds knocking over the skinny trees in the front yard.

2. arizonans really obey that speed limit, even the 55mph highway limit. it is nearly impossible to go 70mph on the highway. in texas it seems like everyone drives closer to 80 whether the posted limit is 55, 60 or 65.

3. i blame this on the cameras posted everywhere. yes, they even have them on the highway. cameras hooked up to freestanding radar ready to flash and snap your plates in the event you are driving faster than the posted limit. what will they think of next?

4. it also next to impossible to make a protected left-hand turn without the light turning red halfway through your turn. i think it is so they can garner more revenue with their red-light cameras.

5. there is a giant surplus of vanity plates. i thought RI took the cake with vanity plates, but i may have to revise that notion. some of them are funny, most are stupid and some are just downright ridiculous. CNUCMENW on a corvette. really?

6. you see a lot more mister action out here. i have only ever seen them at six flags in texas. but here they are everywhere. at the farmer's market. at shopping complexes. outside restaurants. it's quite nice, actually.

7. practically everyone has a tan. and i bet they are all bona-fide sunshine tans. no fake bake, tanning bed tans. the sun is relentless and the shade is nonexistent. i really stick out like a sore thumb with my pale ass skin. this reminds me of twilight when jessica makes that snide remark to bella about her coming from az sans brown skin.

8. the metro phoenix area good location. i can drive five hours in different directions and end up somewhere interesting. san diego, las vegas, the grand canyon, anyone?

9. living in a state that doesn't observe daylight saving time is kind of cool but also kind of confusing. the sun rises during the five o'clock hour, which i like. and it still sets late around 7 or so. but it's difficult to remember that my east coast friends are currently three hours ahead instead of one hour (from tx) or two hours (from the MST during non-DST).

10. water features abound. there are fountains and waterfalls everywhere. it is hard to resist the water's siren call when passing by them.

11. grass in nonexistent. but there are plenty of palm trees, cacti and rock gardens, which i happen to like. but did you know that some people will install fake grass (read astroturf) in their yards? and this grass is absolutely lethal if you accidentally run across it with your bare feet in the 100+ degree heat. um, no thanks.

12. the water in the faucet doesn't truly run cold. it's lukewarm and hot.

13. everybody wears shorts or skirts or dresses. nobody wears jeans save for some young guys. but everyone is in shorts and t-shirts or tank tops. i am a weirdo in my everpresent jeans and short-sleeved hoodies.

to participate in thursday thirteen, go here.

vampires, vampires and more vampires

when i was a mere adolescent i discovered the author l.j. smith. a close friend gave me the secret circle trilogy and i was hooked. i then proceeded to read everything i could find by her. the vampire diaries, dark visions, all the night world books. then one day her books disappeared. i searched in vain for the last night world book. now, ten years later, her books are finally being reprinted. (thanks to the twilight craze i'm sure). and come to find out, ms. smith is finishing the final installment of night world to be printed soon. yay!!

today i discovered that the cw will be premiering a new tv show on sept 10th based on l.j. smith's vampire diaries.

i also discovered a reading challenge devoted to, you guessed it, l.j. smith!!

so of course i signed up.

the challenge runs from sept 1, 2009 to aug 31, 2010. the focus is the vampire diaries. and keep up with the new show, but that's optional. for more details and to sign up, go here.

my inner 15 year old is beyond excited. :)

circadian rhythms

so pasta man started a new job this week. it's a temp to perm, part-time to full-time gig in downtown phoenix with a ridiculously early schedule. as in 5am early. it takes about 35 minutes without traffic and he likes to get there 15 minutes early so we leave at 4am. so i wake up at 3:50am. oh wait, didn't i mention i volunteered to drive him to and from work? i know it sounds crazy but pasta man didn't want to pay for the parking garage. i think mainly because it would come directly out of his check and he wasn't too crazy about that. he was going to scout out a place to park and take the rail to work if the parking area was too far. but no i had to open my big mouth and volunteer my chauffer services. my motivation was-hey, it will get me up during the hours of bearable weather so i can actually run! or ride my bike! without waiting til dark! and i will be up and not sleeping in! i will be productive!

the execution? it was a bit shaky.

sunday night i was too wired for sleep so i stayed up past midnight. woke up at 3:40 with less than 4 hours of sleep. dropped p.m. off at work, came home and slept for 2.5 hours, picked him up and then we both slept for another two hours. the result? a sluggish, unproductive day. all i wanted to do was go back to bed.

tuesday morning was much better. when i got home i immediately went for a run. then i did my circuit training afterwards. i felt good and productive. i did a double workout and was still awake! had some breakfast, hung out then got back on the road. i had a packed afternoon so there was no time for napping. i crashed at 7pm and didn't wake up until pasta man came home from jiu-jitsu at a quarter to 9. went to bed at 10:30.

wednesday morning was similar to monday. i came home and napped again after dropping p.m. at work. i didn't sleep well the previous night and i was sore from my workout. then when we got home i crawled back into bed for another 30 minutes. i was sore. it hurt to move. daily productivity level? minimal.

thursday morning we woke up to rain. rain! well, i detest driving in the rain, especially when it's dark and when there is traffic. i did NOT want to get up that day, not only because of the rain but i was enjoying some nice solid sleep and was also having a very interesting dream about the harry potter gang. i was tempted to tell pasta man to go by himself. but i didn't because i had made an agreement with myself on monday that i would give it a week. if i felt it wasn't working out after the week was over, then i could back out.
so i dragged myself out of bed and decided i was not driving home but would sleep in the car. our meeting point is on a side street right by his office building at one of the 2hr meters. you don't have to start putting change in until 8am. so i slept for two hours, then got up to put in some change and went back to sleep until pasta man got off work. i did not take a nap when we got home but i was still really tired. this whole interrupted sleep thing was not working for me. i was struggling to get on a regular sleep cycle at night but so far it wasn't happening. i kept telling myself, it's only the first week. it takes time to establish a new routine. thursday night i was dragging but i did yoga for an hour and a half, fell into bed at ten pm and had the best night of sleep all week. i didn't wake up at all during the night or lay awake in bed for several hours waiting in vain for sleep to come.

and then friday morning came. i popped up out of bed, wide awake and alert. i felt truly rested in my whole body. my eyes weren't droopy. i felt good. when i got home for the morning interlude i did another hour and half session of yoga. actually got dressed (i had been hanging out in my pj's all week for the morning drives). not only that i put some time into my hair AND put on some eye makeup. (i never do these things). then i made a cup of english breakfast tea to enjoy with cherry preserves toast and read some YJ. it was a lovely and languid morning. i felt rested all day. no dragging my feet and feeling bone exhausted. i did take a nap at 3pm for an hour but that was ok. and when ten pm rolled around my body was good and tired, ready for bed.

after an arduous, sleep-deprived week i think i finally managed to re-set my internal clock. but only time (next week) will tell.

grounding, the kitchen and markets

i know, i haven't been around much. i was feeling very unsettled in july. plenty of alternating moments of feeling blue and content. but that's not surprising since i completely uprooted myself and plopped myself down in a new place. my roots are wiggling around, trying to find purchase but it's slow going.

in an attempt to ground myself i have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. and i have been really enjoying it. it reminds me of college when i lived with skullgirl. i started really exploring my culinary side during those years. i had some awesome cookbooks and someone to share my creations with. i worked my way through cooking like a goddess and intercourses. i made pumpkin soup, stuffed acorn squash, strawberry spaghetti, pasta with grapes and homemade bread. i remember wanting to throw a dinner party during the holidays. i served pumpkin soup, green beans with cranberries, roasted rosemary potatoes and a dessert that i cannot recall.

currently, i am in a mad baking mood, which happens to be a very grounding and soothing activity. i have baked cherry bread twice, a homemade nut crust for a fruit tart, chocolate chip shortbread and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. i have attempted to bake pistachio cherry cookies. and i made a batch of lemon squares that didn't look yellow but tasted sweet and lemony.

i have also been cooking regular meals. i have made black bean, mexican quinoa, asparagus enchiladas, summer quinoa pilaf for wraps, a roasted red pepper spread for vegetable baguette sandwiches, a delicious baked french toast with a honey sauce.

this time around i am working through recipes from my issues of vegetarian times and revisiting intercourses. it has been enjoyable, sustaining, fulfilling. i am taken with food right now. i have been checking out the various farmer's markets for fresh produce. i am in love with breadsmith's country buttertop bread. it is the most delicious bread i have ever tasted. i joyfully pick new things to make each week and eagerly go to trader joe's for my wares. what i can't find there i get at whole foods or sprouts. i spend more time in the kitchen than pasta man's mom. it is the only room in the house i feel truly comfortable in, aside from our bedroom.

so yeah, while we may be sweating balls in 115 degree heat, enduring the monsoon season with it's furnace winds and few storms and struggling to adjust, we are certainly eating well here in the desert.

number ?

1. sitting on the patio and reading is my favorite summertime activity.

2. My favorite John Hughes movies is breakfast club, hands down.

3. smooth, soft skin is something I love to touch.

4. The full moon has a woman's face in it and she always looks sad.

5. let's fulfill our potential right now.

6. When daylight fades i am reminded that each day brings us closer to long nights.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dancing, tomorrow my plans include possibly seeing julie and julia and Sunday, I want to catch up on things!

TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY

by Jay Asher
Rating: 5.0
Format: YA
Reason for Reading: 999 challenge

Clay Jensen arrives home from school one day to find an unmarked package on his doorstep. He opens it to find seven audiocassettes, each side labeled with a different number. He plays the first tape to discover the voice of Hannah Baker, a classmate who killed herself two weeks ago. She says there are thirteen reasons why she did it and he is one of them. He must listen to find out the role he played.

This was a powerfully written, haunting, sad tale. The novel is written in a dual narrative, intertwining Hannah and Clay's voices. You get Clay's reaction to Hannah's words immediately. Sometimes I would have to re-read a few lines when the lines overlapped one by one, but overall it was a very effective way to tell the story.

At times it was agonizing to read, as Hannah's story unfolded because everything you were learning about had already happened and you couldn't stop it or help since Hannah was gone too. I felt with Clay as he was listening and responding, getting insight into certain events; I felt his anger at Hannah, I felt his remorse, I felt his sadness.

Asher captures the high school experience well. He illuminates the effect our words and actions have on other people, whether we realize it or not.

When I turned the final page, I can't describe the emotion coursing through me. I was moved. It was like just having seen a really good, powerful, moving play, the curtains have dropped and it's over-there is a lot of emotion, no thought, just feeling whatever it was I just witnessed. I felt sad yet hopeful. I felt like crying but no tears came. I just sat with the book for several moments and let the book wash over me.

These are the kinds of books I like best. The ones that leave me with their ghost at the end. The ones that sit with me after the final page has been turned.

july reads

1. The Green Bride Guide by Kate L. Harrison

2. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

3. The Conscious Bride by Sheryl Nissinen

4. Moving to Arizona by Dorothy Tegler

5. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Storks


challenge update

999 challenge: 38/81

666 challenge: 27/36


eh, it's been a dismal reading month for me. have been in a bit of a slump but it's a new month, a fresh start. onward and upward, right? :)