Bridesmaid dresses

So, my sister-in-law was nice enough to go with my mom and try on bridesmaid dresses when she was in Cbus. She tried on the one we had thought before, as well as the other knee-length dress in the same fabric, that comes in orange. I'm inclined to just let people wear whichever one is more flattering on them. What do you think? (Thanks again, Sara!)

Inspection day

Oh so nervous! I really hope that nothing is wrong with the house, other than the million and one things we've already figured out. Alright, it's not that bad. Mostly, roof, roof, and roof. And...that makes me want a dog even more after saying that! No offense to my bro & SiL, but hopefully we'll get one a little smarter than their "hot dog". Love ya' Brutus.

More house pictures

Kitchen, upstairs bath, side yard

House tour

So, you all have seen the front of the house, but here's the rest of it! It really isn't in too bad of shape. The roof needs to be redone, but most of the rest of the work is cosmetic. So, here we go!

Success!!

We got the house! Closing July 1.

Angst

My stomach
is in knots
twirling little ribbons

Yesterday I thought it was mostly due to the fact that I had to play a solo with the orchestra, in public, and was unprepared (ok, rational knottiness). Still rational, but today I'm convinced it's because WE HAVE AN OFFER IN ON A HOUSE. I know there are other offers. This is supposed to be a down market, seriously! We'll see. At least we were first. Here's to hoping.

Shortened list

Ok, already put in more thought. Here are the top 8 I want to read both that I've not seen and seen. Haven't decided which is better yet. And 8 seems like the most I'm going to get through.

Have not watched:
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
Watchmen - Alan Moore & David Gibbons
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain
The Thin Man - Dashiell Hammett
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
The Thousand and One Nights – Anonymous

Have watched:
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo

Book Challenge Theme

So, in thinking about what I'm going to read in June, I wanted a theme, but nothing too closely related, so that it wouldn't be boring, and I came up with the idea of reading books that have become movies. I started with a list of 1001 books to read before you die (so they're at least decent) and eliminated any books that I'd already read (fortunately, such as American Psycho - DON'T want to read that again....unfortunately, such as Hitchhiker's Guide). Right now, there are still books that I've seen the movies of. Don't know if it's better or worse going in with a pre-conceived notion. For example, this wasn't even on the list, but I've read the "Bourne" books by Ludlum. Great books, great movies, but NOTHING alike. However, I don't want to read something that will match word for word. Here are the books that are being debated. Feel free to comment on any you think should or should not be included:

Atonement - Ian McEwan*
The Hours - Michael Cunningham
The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides*
Get Shorty - Elmore Leonard
Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
The Black Dahlia - James Ellroy
Watchmen - Alan Moore & David Gibbons
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel García Márquez
The Cider House Rules - John Irving*
The Shining - Stephen King*
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
The Godfather - Mario Puzo*
2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote*
The Graduate - Charles Webb
Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Truman Capote*
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
Casino Royale - Ian Fleming*
I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell*
The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain
The Thin Man - Dashiell Hammett
The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs*
The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
Dracula - Bram Stoker*
The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells
The Time Machine - H.G. Wells*
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson*
Ben-Hur - Lew Wallace*
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne*
Les Misérables - Victor Hugo*
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
The House of the Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas*
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo*
Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper*
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Dangerous Liaisons - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
The Thousand and One Nights - Anonymous

*I've seen the movie

Looking forward to tomorrow

So, yesterday downright is worthy of some four letter words. Trying to move past that. My childhood church is closing for renovations for a year, so I no longer have a place to get married, Chris's computer and camera BOTH died, and as I was on the phone with my mother learning of the church fiasco, I walked into an apartment covered with cat puke b/c the antibiotics don't agree with our little fighter. Joy. THEN I totally blew my solo at orchestra rehearsal (by the way, our next concert will be Weds, May 13 at 8pm at the Dogwood Festival). Guess I need to put in some time planning, cleaning, fixing, and practicing. Onto tomorrow.

MotherReader: The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

I am super psyched to be participating in the 48 Hour Book Challenge! I will have to delay my start time because of a wedding, but we'll see how dedicated I can be, and knock out some of the books I've been meaning to read. Maybe I'll come up with a theme. Feel free to go over and commit yourself!

MotherReader: The Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

My cat, the fighter

So, Monster took another trip to the emergency room this weekend while I was out of town. Poor Chris had to deal with the beast after he got out and got into yet ANOTHER fight. Getting beat up doesn't seem to bother him. This time, aside from tons of bites and scratches, he tore open his paw and got it infected. And he doesn't seem to be able to close the outer eyelid of one eye, so he's just using the inner lid, which has totally freaked Chris out. Maybe one day he'll learn to play nice with others.