Finally!!

So two Thursdays ago (July 12) we FINALLY went to settlement and closed on our house! It only took 4 tries.  And there was a tiny issue with a dead tree from the derecho, however, it was not a dealbreaker (and the fact that it is still in my new, spacious backyard doesn't bother me.)  After we closed, Nate and I came back here to scrub the walls and tape the ceiling.  And then we spent the next 3 days painting every room in the house (aside from the hallway, since we didn't want to nick the new paint when we moved in our furniture).  (My chiropractor gently suggested I hire someone next time).  Nate rented a RugDoctor and steam cleaned all the carpets (previous owners had cats).  And on Wednesday, we rented a truck and moved in our furniture!
Then we made 6 more trips with our cars and Nate's fantastic friend's Jeep (seriously, Scott, you were a lifesaver!).  And I've got one more trip to do, to clean up the place and remove the last couple of boxes.

But we are in our brand new house!  YAY!


In the news...
Nate took all of last week off to move (originally, it was so we could go on vacation to Virginia, but then we bought a house.  Best. Choice. Ever!.).  He worked super hard moving everything and on Thursday night, exhausted as we were, we treated ourselves (and my sister and her boyfriend) to see the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises.  Although it was slightly difficult to stay awake until 3 in the morning, it was totally worth it.
Comcast was coming "early" the next morning, so I woke up at 8:30 and turned on the news.  And all four major news programs and CNN were all showing the same headlines.  A mass shooting at a Batman midnight premiere in Colorado.  70 people injured.  At least 10 fatalities.
For the rest of the day I could not turn CNN off.
Its heartbreaking.  There are no other words.

pack a box, read a chapter...

Our closing got pushed back again.  The new date is this Thursday.  While its super frustrating that we keep changing the date, this gives me more time to pack so that after we paint this coming weekend, we can actually move everything in.

In the meantime, I am attempting (again) the Nest Book Club Summer Book Challenge.  Which means that in the last week, I have borrowed 6 books from the library (3 of which are brand-new-never-before-been-borrowed books - Insurgent, Spellbound, and Between the Lines).  So I have been faced with a dilemma.  I just want to lay on the couch, with Sex and the City in the background, and read.  However, I have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a family room to pack up.  In addition to my two shifts at the GAP this week (one of which is only 3 1/2 hours.  Not quite sure what the deal is with that.)

So, as my father suggested, I will be packing a box, then reading a chapter.

Starting with Spellbound (because I just got to a REALLY good part).

This is what I did two weekends ago, instead of packing.  I na and her sister came over and we drank two bottles of wine and watched Kung Fu movies.

Gone Girl - by Gillian Flynn

I was hooked from the description on Goodreads.  Gillian Flynn is a very unique, but twisted, author and I love it!  The first half of the book left me feeling a little "WTF?!" for most of it.  And I know its intentional, but I absolutely hated both Nick and Amy.  Neither main character had any redeeming qualities.  I need to admit that the ending made me really angry.  I didn't expect it at all, but I didn't like it either.  I recommend Gone Girl, though.

Today is my first official day of Summer Vacation!  I will miss my two classes immensely, but I am so proud that they are now first graders!  I have made sure to start the summer with a jam-packed day.  Chiropractor appointment, LIBRARY BOOK PICK UP (my favorite!), insurance appointment, and my summer job for 5 hours.

Busy busy day.

Nate and I are in the process of buying the house next to my parents.  It has been the single most stressful experience of my life.  More stressful than planning our wedding.  More stressful than planning Tiffany's bridal shower and bachelorette party and all of the stress that came with that.  This is the worst.  But it will totally be worth it in the end.

Although, I wonder if there's a site where you can rate your real estate agent, kind of like you could rate your professors in college?

Its been a rough reading year so far.  I am in the middle of two books right now, Defending Jacob and Afterwards, both of which are due back this week and I am only about halfway through each.  I am curious about the endings, but not enough to stay up late into the night.  They aren't easy reads at all.

My favorite part of summer - concerts!
*Darius Rucker*

Smithville

One of my favorite places to go is Historic Smithville.  Yesterday, after lunch with my sister (All You Can Eat Sushi at Tomo), we headed over there.  There is a gift shop (http://www.pocketfullofposiesnj.com/) that sells Vera Bradley, which A and I are pretty much obsessed with (it all started with a wristlet in 2010) - we each have, easily, 15 items a piece.  We normally go in and browse, and find it impossible to leave without purchasing something (I got a head warmer for bus duty and A got the resort tote and beach towel).  Next stop was Through the Looking Glass (http://www.lookingglasstea.bigcartel.com/about-us), which is my favorite tea store.  I love the colors in there and their tea is delicious - my favorite is the chocolate chai.  We weren't there very long, just long enough for my iced tea to finish brewing.  Next, we headed to the Little Egg Harbor Soap Company (http://lehsoap.com/).  I only buy soap from here.

A few year ago, my dermatologist prescribed me antibiotic cream for my rosacea.  Which only dried out my skin terribly.  And no amount of moisturizer could help.  Eventually, I stopped using the cream.  This past year, I wandered into LEH Soap during Octoberfest (my FAVORITE time to visit Smithville).  It was pretty busy - everything gets really packed during Octoberfest.  But the woman who was working found time to assist me and recommended the Detox soap and the Bobbisue Therapy soap (alternating the two every other day or so).  My skin is so much healthier!  I have since started using the Beta-Carrot bars as my all over soap and Nate uses the Men's moisturizing line.  I use the Balm on my cuticles and my dry lips (especially in the winter!).  Yesterday, my sister got the soap curls, which is their alternative to pump soap.  Its vegan and alcohol free!  I highly recommend the products here - they really are my favorite skin care line!

Anyway, today I get to go back because I left the bag with my soap curls there.  My goal is to leave without purchasing anything new.  Wish me luck!  I'll probably have a hot tea in my hand, too.

her eyes were bigger than her stomach!

Spring Break

Spring Break is finally here!  Yesterday was the first official day, and I have to tell you, I was already a little bored out of my  mind.  It felt like a Saturday and Nate was working (as he is today, on an actual Saturday) and I just sat around and read my book (11/22/63, which is a giant book and I am making slow progress on.  I need to hurry up because its due back on the 11.  Yikes!)  I don't know what I am going to do next week, when Nate is working Mon-Friday and I am here, alone.  Still.
Yes, I do - I will be reading.  I am attempting to do the Spring Book Challenge on the Nest this time.  I always start them and never finish.  I get bored with the categories or a better book comes along (as in, the library gets in all my holds at once!).  But this time, I picked books that I already have on my wishlist at the library (although, one book I am 34 in line, so I might have to rethink that one) or already own.  I need to make a concerted effort to read books that are on my 4 bookcases.  They aren't just decorations!

In other areas...
Tee's wedding was about a week and a half ago.  So much fun!  She got married in Disney at the Wedding Pavilion and it was beautiful.  Her reception was at the Grand Floridian and half way through Mickey and Minnie and Pluto came to visit!  It was, by far, my favorite part of the day - dancing with Mickey Mouse!

Nate and I at the end of the night, after watching the fireworks outside and dancing all night. (My second favorite part - most of the ladies who were at the reception put on Mickey ears during the dancing.  The ears are so fancy now!)

The three of us - me, Jul, and Tee.
(I met Tee when my college roommate (Jul) invited me to Disney for Tee's 21st birthday.  I kind of knew her before that, but we became really close after that.  So here we are, almost 9 years later, back in Disney!)

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

I have heard fabulous things about John Green.  I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I enjoyed it (of course, let me fangirl a minute and say that it was almost definitely because of David Levithan.)  But I tried to read Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines.  But I just didn't see the appeal.

But I wanted to give him one last try.  And so I picked up The Fault in Our Stars from the library. I came home from the library on Thursday night, sat on the couch (with my coat and library bag still on) and read for 3 1/2 hours.  I finished it in less than 24 hours.

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind. -from Goodreads.com

Remember those Lurlene McDaniel books you read in middle/high school?  The ones about the sick kids with rare diseases or cancer?

This is not one of those books.  John Green approaches the subject of sick teenagers with grace and a sense of reality.  The main characters drip with sarcasm and teenager-ness.
Without giving too much away, I think its a good thing I didn't read Green's other books, because from the reviews I have read, this book follows most of his other plotlines.

I do not think I will reread his other books, but I am glad I picked this one up.

Sister - Rosamund Lupton

When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn’t be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand.

Bee is certain that Tess didn’t commit suicide. Their family and the police accept the sad reality, but Bee feels sure that Tess has been murdered. Single-minded in her search for a killer, Bee moves into Tess’s apartment and throws herself headlong into her sister’s life—and all its secrets.

Though her family and the police see a grieving sister in denial, unwilling to accept the facts, Bee uncovers the affair Tess was having with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted, and her difficulty with a stalker who may have crossed the line when Tess refused his advances. Tess was also participating in an experimental medical trial that might have gone very wrong. As a determined Bee gives her statement to the lead investigator, her story reveals a predator who got away with murder—and an obsession that may cost Bee her own life.

A thrilling story of fierce love between siblings, Sister is a suspenseful and accomplished debut with a stunning twist. (from Goodreads.com)

I was sucked in from page 1.  I have a sister who is 9 years younger than I am  and the whole time I was reading, I kept thinking "what if that was A?"  To be honest, during the 4 days it took me to read the book, I had nightmares each night that it was MY life.

The character development was really good.  I felt like I knew the characters, like they could have been my friends.  Even the characters who were in the book solely to throw you off as to the real killer were well written.

I guessed who the killer was the first time he was introduced (to be fair, I kind of guessed EVERY man when they were introduced), but then changed my mind to someone else.  So I was completely surprised with that.

My only problem?  I would have written a different ending.  The ending was great, but if I had written the book, I would have done the complete opposite.

My next book: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? , which is written by a girl who writes for The Office.  Its okay.  I am not loving it, but it is good for the type of book it is (think Chelsea Handler light).