Reading Rainbow

I actually took some real vacation time last week and got lots of reading done. If it were Book Week at school, I'd have earned a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut for my 5 finished books. Real life should work like elementary school sometimes.... anywho, here's what I read:

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
Night by Elie Weisel
Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim by David Sedaris
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

They are all great books & I'd highly recommend them. "Night" should be required reading along with "The Diary of Anne Frank" in schools.

"Nickel & Dimed" should be required reading for high school students along with a personal finance class. It's weird how we just sweep our poor under the rug in this country... relying on numbers that don't tell even half the story to make the rest of us feel better. Plus, we send our kids out into the "real world" without any sort of tools to avoid high debt & the financial pitfalls. Grrr...

"Julie & Julia" inspired me to challenge myself next time life gets me down. Maybe not by slicing up living lobsters or cracking open bones for the marrow but there are always other creative things for me.

David Sedaris is always a quick & hilarious read and "Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim" was no exception. And there's always a good life lesson that I wholeheartedly agree with in his books, too. Like, "Either you want a clean floor or you want to use a mop, but you can't have both." That was my favorite.

"Dry" was quite a bit more depressing than I expected from Augusten Burroughs but it was still really good. Just when I started to think he wouldn't relapse, he not only picked up the bottle again but also took up crack. And man, in case you never heard, "crack is whack." And his story does nothing to disprove that theory.

I also got some magazines in... Elle, Vanity Fair, Living etc., Dwell & Worthwhile. Elle & Vanity Fair had "green issues" focusing a lot of space to environmental issues. I thought Elle's was done much better and was way more informative. But the Vanity Fair green issue had it's moments, too. Now I need to get off my ass and implement some changes in my life.

But first, I'm off to Square for a drink with Joe.

Martha for Me

I got the new Martha Stewart magazine, Blueprint, in the mail yesterday and it's perfect. I love everything about it. It's like Budget Living has been resurrected without the budget part and with a Martha twist (a younger & hipper Martha). A few "Good Things" from Blueprint:

• The FLOR carpet tile bulletin board
  
• The Blueprint Martini
  
• Summer dresses for work & play
• Bottle opener ring
• Gorgeous dance inspired shoes
• Vitamin & supplement ideas from a Integrative Medicine specialist
• Modern ideas for charms
• Party in a box
• Knotty & Nice - cute bags from scarves

AAWWWWW....

Tonight's episode of Lost was not exactly plot-forwarding but it was definitely character-enduring. Is that the right word? Yeah... everybody loves Rose and Bernard. I like that someone else (besides the viewers) knows about Locke's pre-crash paralysis. And look!! Michael's finally back. And Vincent the Shifty Eyed Dog... who's been feeding him since Ana-Lucia plugged Shannon? No one from the looks of it. And dude, that actor, who plays faux Henry Gale has CREEPY down. He should get an emmy. Just one more thought.. if every season of Lost is only about 40 days, then Sun should be pregnant until about the 7th season, right?

Speaking of awww... first episode of Sex and the City is on TBS. I know that show was only on for 6 years but they all look so much younger. Skipper... remember Skipper? And, OMG the TBS Lord of the Rings commercials are fucking hilarious!! Especially the Frodo & Sam ones. Heh...