Miscellaneous Monday

It's another rainy day in Charleston and I'm trying to stay focused at work with little success. It seems like everyone in the office is on their phone, on speakerphone, etc. and I cannot focus at all - it's like a hundred different voices swarming around me. I want to stand up on my chair above all the cubes and yell "BEEEEEE QUIEEEEETTTTTT!!!".

It's Monday.

So last week I finished listening to the audiobook of The Carrie Diaries. I'm a big Sex & The City fan, so I was really excited about this prequel that follows Carrie's senior year in high school.

It was... ok.

To the book's credit, it is targeted towards a preteen/teen audience, so I think if you're in high school, you can relate to the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. The greatest conflicts in the book are whether or not to have sex with a guy, girlfriends stealing boyfriends, and getting into college. Yawn. So for someone who is way past her high school days and actually wasn't a fan of high school when I was there - I didn't like being reminded of how much high school can stink.

And I think listening to the audiobook for this one was a bad idea as well - the narrator of the book was obviously trying to sound very 'Carrie' like, which was cool at first, but then just became really annoying. Ok, we get it.. you're trying to sound like SJP.

And finally, I didn't like the way Candace Bushnell created Carrie's high school persona - it didn't feel like Carrie to me, I had a hard time connecting this Carrie Diaries character to the Carrie in the show and movies that we've all gotten to know and love. So that bothered me as well.

The biggest redeeming quality of the book, however, is the very, very, very end. The very last sentence. That's really the only part I really liked.

Now I'm listening to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and so far it's captured my interest - it's pretty good so far, but I have to pay attention - it's filled with a ton of characters with foreign names.

I've started using one of my new Lily journals I got in the Rue La La Lily sale to track what I eat each day. I don't eat bad, but I have crazy portion control issues - so I'm hoping by tracking what I eat, I'll be able to manage my appetite better. I've also started loosely tracking weight watchers points to see if I'm staying within the daily points level I should be maintaining.


I almost hate to write in this thing...it's so darn pretty and cute. I feel like I'm ruining it.

Speaking of food...I grabbed a turkey sub from Subway today and lo and behold SunChips has a new flavor! Monterrey Jack and Sundried Tomato. It was actually very good and contained a lot of fiber. The taste reminded me of the Pizza Chips from the 90's - anyone else eat those? :)

And just in case you want to mark your calendars...my birthday is this Saturday. And in true Leo fashion, I'm celebrating all week. Tonight my best girlfriend and I are going to a place called Bottles & Brushes in Mt. Pleasant. You bring a bottle of wine and you get to paint a picture... this is the picture we're painting tonight - perfect for my beach themed condo.

So, how is your Monday going?? Is it as (un)eventful as mine??

E.P.L.

I was wary of reading this after hearing from multiple people that it was difficult to get through, that the author was whiney, etc.

I. Loved. It.

I want to drop everything and travel the world!

I actually listened to the audiobook instead of reading - and I think that made all the difference. It was narrated by the author herself. I would put in my headphones and listen while unpacking my condo, or listen in my car on the way to work - so I was able to finish it in about a week and a half. I actually looked forward to getting in my car and sitting in traffic just to listen to the book.

Italy was my favorite - I wanted her to stay there...probably because I LOVE Italian food. But I like Bali as well. India was kind of... meh. I think because I'm not into the whole 'spiritual' yoga and chanting. Although I would love to learn to meditate to help me not get so stressed at times and to keep focused.

I am so excited for the movie too - I have this thing where I love to read a book and then go see the movie. My girlfriends and I are going next Tuesday - dinner first at a local sushi restaurant Bambu and then the movie!