Sunday, July 31, 2011

Book Review: What I read in July

I actually finished this book in the last couple of days in June.

If you like the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you will love this one as well.

This book was not as difficult to get into as the first book for me. Just like the first one, it is filled with dark secrets and twists in the plot that can keep you guessing the entire time! This time, Lisbeth Salander is the central character, with all of the controversy surrounding her life since the first book. It also digs a little deeper into her past, and we learn more about how much she cares for certain characters.

I'm anxiously awaiting my copy of The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest to come into my favorite local bookstore and wrap up this series of books. I like a good mystery!



I tried to start this series last summer before I went back to Norman for school. My friend Jessie had read the books that were out up to that point, and had been trying to get me and her aunt to read them all summer. Then the TV show came out, and I became addicted. So we all picked up the books, and I read what I could before I left. I finished this book last summer, along with the first few chapters of the second book.

However, I have done a lot of reading, sleeping, drinking, and studying since last summer, so when I decided that I wanted to read them again, I figured I should probably start all over again.

If you watch the series, you should definitely pick up the books. Granted, I haven't really watched the TV show since probably a month or so into it, but I can say that the first episode follows the first book really well. As far as the rest of the books go, I'll also be reading them to finish up the series.

This book, just like the TV show, has you wondering who the mysterious "A" is that has all the girls of Rosewood squirming in their seats. Each has a secret that they don't want anyone to know, and this "A" knows all of them and is torturing them every day. A Young Adult book, it's a pretty easy read and it only took me about a week to finish.

This is book two of the Pretty Little Liars series. I'm pretty sure that I read a little over half of this book in my quest to try to read as many of them as possible last summer. However, I enjoyed it just as much the second time around, and it was nice to refresh my memory as to what was going on with the liars....I haven't really watched the show much either since I went back to school.

In this book, the plot thickens as the liars think they have figured out who A is...but for any of you who follow anything about this series, you know that's impossible because there are like 9 books, or something like that. This book seriously took me 4 days to complete for two reasons: 1 it's a pretty easy read; 2 I couldn't put it down. Seriously. I mean, I finished the book before I even had time to update the "Current Read(s)" box with this cover. The awful thing about these books is that every chapter is a cliffhanger, and each chapter is told from the perspective of a different liar. So it makes it hard to put down. If you have a little bit of free time to devote to these books, go do it. Now. And thank me later.


This WONDERFUL book was a recommendation from my friend Sam. She will tell you that she recommends this book to every woman until she is blue in the face, and I'm about to join her on that one.

Have you ever felt insecure? Have you ever wanted a beautiful man and thought you didn't deserve him? Have you ever felt like the world wanted you to be with a person but you didn't want that at all? If you answered yes to any or all of these, this book is for you.

It jumps around a little bit, and some characters are miniscule and then get dumped on you randomly, and so you try to remember who the heck Shanna is and then you remember while you're in the shower that she's the bartender and next door neighbor (and now you're going to remember that when you read this book. Not if, WHEN). But it's definitely one of the best love stories I've ever read, and it's not super sappy like all the Nicholas Sparks books. It has parts that are hilarious, parts that make you want to punch her mother for being a rude ass, parts that are very closely x-rated, and parts that make you feel all warm and ooey inside.

This definitely was not one that was slow to start, like so many have seemed recently. So if you read any of these books, this is a good one to start with. It was great from the beginning, and the only reason why it took me a week to finish is because I was always exhausted by the time I crawled into bed to curl up with it.

First book of August's Book Review: Eat Pray Love

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Simple Things

With all of the crazy stuff that's been going on, I decided to participate in this again this week just to remind myself that I have an amazingly blessed life. I bring you another week of The Simple Things, hosted by Jesslyn Amber. I really like this link up, and I should probably participate every week. Anyways, here's my version!









♥I love the fact that I got to spend time with Emma this weekend! I had a good time with her!
♥I love that I have a job in tough economic times that allows me to do things like go to Oklahoma City for two weekends in a row.
♥I have gotten four letters or so from my brother, who is at bootcamp.
♥I got to go to a much anticipated concert on Sunday!
♥I have made a good friend quickly with one of the awesome girls I work with. She's bad ass!
♥I was close enough to the stage that I got to snap this picture of Ke$ha on Sunday:
(be jealous)
♥I love that I have friends who care about me enough to buy me tickets to said concert :)
♥I love that we have a girls' night out planned for tomorrow!


What are things in your life that make you blessed? Go link up this week!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

slacker!

I know that every time I go for any short or long amount of time without writing, I always say something along the lines of life getting busy. This time, it's only half true.

Last week was just a rough week. I had my great-great-uncle pass away two Fridays ago. He was a good man, one of the best you'll ever meet.
My uncle-slash-father figure got rear-ended by a woman who had had a couple glasses of wine and was texting while driving. For once, he drove his truck to work that night and not his motorcycle, or else he could have died.
Sunday morning, I got woken up by a text from a very good friend whose 10-year-old sister had passed out and had a seizure in church. It was pretty scary.
Boything returned home that Saturday, but his mom went into the hospital that Monday because they thought she had a stroke.
My good friend Jessie lost her great-grandmother last Friday morning. Mackie was a good woman as well.

My problems weren't as serious as any of these, but I just felt so lonely last week that I knew that anything I wrote would have been a self-pity party. And you all KNOW just how much I LOVE those!

However, since then, things have been on the up and up. First of all, I have had the luxury of getting to see Tyler every day this week (with the exception of this evening). He has been joining me and my awesome coworker Shawna for cheap dinner nights...we went to Taco Tuesday at El Guapo's in downtown Tulsa on Tuesday, and then $3 Burger Night at McNellie's last night. Shawna and I are hoping to make this a weekly tradition!

I've been so happy the past few days that I feel like I'm back in good ol' Norman :)

THEN, I get a very sweet e-mail from my dear friend Sam informing me that I now have OVER 100 FOLLOWERS!! you guys!!! That is pretty amazing and beyond flattering! I'm so happy you all have found my space here, and have enjoyed it enough to stick around! If you haven't done so yet, go to this post and introduce yourself :)

Originally, I wanted to do some sort of giveaway once I reached 100, but I still am at a loss as to what would be the prize. I thought I'd have quite a bit of time to figure it out, but you all snuck up on me! Best surprise ever!

So, I wanna hear all about your week! Was it as good as mine?

Happy almost weekend everyone!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I wish this was my original idea...

I'm borrowing this idea from a fellow blog friend Ashley. Find her at After Nine to Five. She's fantastic and has an awesome shop!


Well hello there! Fancy meetin' you here! In fact, there are many of you that are here, but I have never heard from you or gotten to check out your fancy space (apparently I like the word fancy tonight). You see, this little space has grown in just the short 8 months I've been a consistent blogger, and I've gained a pretty big readership. I mean, it's not HUGE like some of you have, but 98 followers is pretty impressive to me! There may even be more than that who are following anonymously that I'll never know. So how do I remedy this? How do I get you to put your foot in the door so that I can see your corner of the blogisphere? EASY peasy.

You see, Ashley had the great idea to give her readers a small "survey" to fill out.
I want to know all you people that are behind the scenes. Those of you who read faithfully, but never comment. I want to know more about you. I want to know more about what you write. And I want to direct people to your place as well.

Please fill this out in a comment below:

  • First name, or what you go by
  • blog URL
  • Favorite color
  • Top 3 places you want to travel
  • Favorite post you've written (provide the URL)
This isn't just for those of you who read only. I would LOVE IT if all of my readers filled this out...This way, I can know more about each and every one of you fantastic 98 people.

I'll even answer them if you'd like! Just please, PLEASE, introduce yourself!

Also, feel free to check out the other blogs as well! I'm sure you will not be disappointed!

If you don't blog but read this, I'd still like for you to leave a comment! Just answer the following questions:

  • First name, or what you go by
  • Where you're reading from
  • How you found me
I allow anonymous comments, so anyone is able to comment!

30 Days of Photos

I'm skipping over Day 19 (A picture of you when you were little) because I do not have them on my computer. Once I get something, I'll post it. Mind you, that may be months from now. But I want to complete this challenge as best I can!

Day 20: A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
If you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you should know that all I want to do is travel and see the world. Almost the entire world. There are so many places I want to see and so many things I want to do within those places. But for the sake of this challenge, I decided to put pictures of one place here in the states:
Note: I take no credit for ANY of these photos. I found all of them by Googling the various things.

Times Square
Brooklyn Bridge
Statue of Liberty
Broadway theater
I'd love a getaway to New York City!

Friday, July 8, 2011

30 Days of Photos

Day 18: A picture of your biggest insecurity

Okay, so the pimples on my face are nowhere near this bad.
But I don't like the fact that I'm 23 and still have acne problems.
I was lucky enough that it's probably one of the most mildest cases of acne, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it.
It's even gotten worse since I moved away from Norman.

Early morning ramblings

I woke up this morning on my own at 6:30 and stumbled like I was drunk to the bathroom. I woke up from a strange dream that was like a task show (you know, go to this location and get this item and take it to a second location) that combined people from all of my worlds--high school, college, work. But it wasn't the typical people, it was just random people from each of those places.

As I got back in bed, I was happy with the fact that it's Friday, I don't have to be at work until 11:30, and I still had over an hour to sleep. Then I started thinking and realized I overbooked myself for a weekend later this month...so I'm going to think about all day and weigh in my options as to who I'm going to disappoint. I'm hoping to be able to do both and still make everyone happy, but I'm really torn as to what I want to do more.

Because of the over-booking, I've now been awake since 6:30. SWEET.

However, today IS Friday! It's also July 8th, which means that I have been at my job for one month today! I can't believe a month has already gone by! I work my first Saturday shift tomorrow.

I'm doing my third-ever guest post today over at my friend Erin's blog (of My Beautiful Disaster fame). Go HERE to read the actual post :)

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

REAL weekend update

So I realized in my pity post from Monday that I didn't tell you ANYTHING about my weekend except for the fact that I was missing my brother on the holiday.

Friday evening, I had an awesome time relaxing at home. Work was super stressful and busy ALL DAY LONG. I went in at 8 a.m. and got off work around 6:30 or so. The branch was busy from the time I got there until around 5:45. We closed at 6. It was that busy. It was pay day, It was before a holiday where lots of people needed cash for fireworks, and it was also before the bank was closed on Monday. I shortened my lunch break by 15 minutes, and because I stayed late on Thursday and came in early on Friday, I got into over time for last week! Sweet action, love that time and a half!

Late Friday evening, I got a phone call from my aunt Jessica and she asked if I wanted to join their family for an impromptu float trip. My answer was heck yes! ha ha. We left home around 7 a.m., drove to Tahlequah, and went on a 4-mile float on the Illinois. IT. WAS. AWESOME. I always love float trips and wish we would go a lot during the summer. They're so much fun!

We then spent the remainder of the day just hanging out, and went and bought fireworks later that evening. We bought a big package of night time stuff for Jacob to shoot off for us once darkness fell. I helped pay for it this year, as I actually have a job now and can afford it. I also treated myself to some Sam Adams Summer Ale for the holiday. Freaking love it.

Sunday morning I went to church, and then did a little retail therapy afterwards. Edith, MacKenzie, their friend Hannah and I went out to eat in Owasso and then went to the mall. I bought a good pair of shoes for work, a pair of jean shorts (because I don't have any), and two pairs of sunglasses. It was exactly what I was looking for when I went out to the mall.

I got to spend all day Monday relaxing at the house. I slept almost all day...it kicked my butt yesterday at work.

Today was nice, I didn't have to go into work until noon, and then tomorrow I go in at 7 and get off at 1. The hours this week are kind of nice, and something I look forward to for a long term thing...it'll be nice to have random weeks where I'll have an entire afternoon all to myself. It'll be even nicer when I'm in my apartment complex with my swimming pool...can't wait!

Hope you all are having a great (short) week! It's almost over!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Not Your Typical Independence Day celebration

I really don't know if I will finish the photo challenge...I'm stuck on the day that is a picture of something that has made a large impact on your life recently, or something along those lines. So while I get that figured out, the challenge is on hold.

My family celebrated 4th of July last night, because many of us have to be at work tomorrow and didn't want to stay up super late and be sleepy for work. This is the second year in a row that we haven't celebrated on the 4th; last year we had a tournament at the ball fields so my family celebrated on the 5th. Usually we start fireworks at dark, and they will last until almost midnight. For some reason, the fireworks didn't last that long this year. we were done by 9:45, which was perfect for me because I have become a morning person and don't enjoy staying up as late as I used to. Thanks big girl job. ha ha

This year, our celebration was different than normal. It was strictly a family thing, we didn't have friends of ours come over, and not any boyfriends/girlfriends either. Even mom's fiancee was with his family. It was the first holiday without Jared around, and Josh and I agreed that it just wasn't the same without him.

We did our usual; my uncle grilled hot dogs and brats, we had our usual sides, and I had my usual crackle balls that I love. Mimi had just returned home from her vacation in California. The Smiths (who might as well be our family members) joined us for the food and fireworks, minus a couple of them. Jared's girlfriend stopped by for a bit, but it wasn't even an hour. The family played kickball. I spent the entire afternoon before the celebration with Edith, MacKenzie, and their friend Hannah at the mall. It seemed to me like a typical Sunday, except there was added fireworks, cupcakes, and red, white, and blue strawberries.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer about the holiday because it's one of my most favorite ever. I guess because this is the third barbecue my family has had since I returned home, it was just like a special dinner. I really miss my brother, and I know it's selfish of me to wish he were here all the time. He'll be back before I know it, but it really isn't the same without him here.

I received my first letter from him on Saturday, and I know that he is probably doing better than he realizes. It was short and even had me laughing, but I really miss him. This is where my sappy-ness comes in...

Whatever you're doing in celebration of today's holiday, I hope you are enjoying the time spent with good food, good friends, and loving family! Be safe and have fun!

Friday, July 1, 2011

here's to the next 6 months!

I can't believe six months have already gone by in 2011! Here's a quick recap of the past six months (with some links to some posts!)

In January, I rang in the new year in Arizona with my best friend Erika, then got to watch my Sooners beat the Huskies in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl :)
Picture Heavy post about my adventures

Early February saw a lot of snow days in school, which allowed me to read an entire series (Hunger Games), and definitely not want to do school work for an entire semester. Then at the end of February I had an emergency appendectomy.
Timeline of the day I went into the emergency room

I healed quickly enough that I got to enjoy my final spring break in Florida with some of my best friends.
Picture heavy post about spring break

April is a blur. No really. It was jam-packed with many tests, projects, sorority obligations, and other obligations. I did however, enjoy winning a co-ed softball tournament and my last date party.
A Post of how crazy busy my life got in April

In May, I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE! Then I moved back home and began looking for my first full-time job. (I got an offer at the end of May!) I met boything.
Another picture heavy post. graduation stuff

June, I started (and loved) my first-ever full-time big girl job. I went apartment hunting. Boything and I continued to date.
A post about being excited about my job

I hope you've enjoyed the adventures I've had so far! I know I've been enjoying yours! I hope you'll stay with me for the next 6 months!