Fall Reading

I haven’t posted any books recently, but I have been a reading machine!

First I finished the Lily Bard/Shakespeare Series by Charlaine Harris. I really enjoyed this entire series. Lily had a horrific experience and has moved to Shakespeare, Arkansas to try to live a normal life. Each book follows Lily as she uncovers a murder, mystery, and scandal.

Next, I finished the entire Harper Connelly Series (also by Charlaine Harris) including Grave Secret that was released 10/27. I started this series in July, but just finsihed it. Harper was struck by lightning and now she can find dead bodies. When she gets close to them, she can see the last minute or so of the person’s life. People from all over the country hire Harper to find out what happened to their loved ones. I’m hoping this series will become a TV show! A warning: some of the scenarios are really graphic and disturbing and Harper has an unusual/unexpected relationship with her ex-stepbrother, which may raise a few eyebrows.

I also read Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews – in 3 days. This book was a treat! It’s about 2 local TV food-show hosts that are trying to get picked up by the The Cooking Channel (aka The Food Network). The network president has developed a miniseries for these two chefs to duke it out for the national spot. This was a great chick-lit type of book with a happy ending; I never seem to get bored with a cheesy romance.

This week I read Master your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. Chris is reading it next because we’ve been gradually changing to a more organic diet and trying to eat locally grown fruits and veggies. Austin as a community is very supportive of local farmers and organic diets, so this has been an easy change for us! I love Jillian Michaels, but this book is a little scary. She talks how we can’t control every toxin our body is exposed to everyday, but there are lots that we can control. She has a 3-step guide for changing your eating habits and improving your metabolism, so your gym sessions are more efficient, your body runs better, and your overall health improves. I love this as a guide (not the bible), and hope to incorporate several of her tips in my next grocery trip.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

If you're looking for a way to give back this holiday season, I'd like to recommend a program Chris & I have participated in since its inception: the American Red Cross & Pitney Bowes Holiday Mail for Heroes program. The goal of the program is to send holiday greetings to US Service Members and Veterans across the country and abroad. There are some specific guidelines to sending cards, so if you're interested, please see the website before starting: http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.86f46a12f382290517a8f210b80f78a0/?vgnextoid=082dab0de3d64210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD
Basically, a family may send up to 15 greeting cards to the Red Cross, who will review them for appropriateness and they will forward them to service members and veterans. They ask that you not send personal information and that the greetings are generic holiday greetings. This is one of my favorite ways to spread holiday cheer this season, especially to those who may be away from their families at this time of year. I don’t have any kids, but I imagine that this would be a great craft project for kiddos. They only accept cards until December 7, so don’t wait!

AC/DC

On Sunday, my father-in-law took us to see AC/DC in Houston - we had so much fun! I only knew a couple AC/DC songs before the concert, but recognized a few more once I was there, and had a great time even though I didn't know every song. I loved looking down the row at Chris, his dad, and his brother all jamming out! They were really into it! AC/DC brings out a huge crowd - I couldn't believe the age range (7-70 it seemed like) and all different kinds of people, so the concert made for great people-watching. I also couldn't believe the athleticism - those old guys were all over that stage! Running, jumping, dancing the whole works and dripping with sweat by the end. I'm astounded that they put on the same show about every other night and their tour is from February 2009 to March 2010. Amazing!

Meet O'Reilly

Over the weekend, my parents adopted a puppy for my little brother. Meet O'Reilly! My brother wanted to name him O'Reilly, so that's what they're calling him. I wanted to name him Rebel, so that's what I'm calling him. :) Just kidding...sort of. O'Reilly is an 8-week old male Heeler/Beagle mix with blue eyes, and is the cutest puppy I've seen in a long time! He's so funny - he plays & plays & plays and then falls alseep (aka slips into a small coma) in the strangest positions. My favorite thing about O'Reilly (so far) is the bond he's already made with my brother. As soon as he sees him, his tale starts to wag and he follows him all around the house. It's really cute! Welcome to the family Rebel!

Daddy Long Legs

This past weekend my parents were cleaning in their attic and they came across a box of my old books. They found my copy of Daddy Long Legs which is really ironic because I've been thinking about re-reading it since I finished Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I started reading it on Saturday and forgot how much I love this story. It's told in a series of letters, like the Guersney book is, and is about an orphan (Judy) who goes to college thanks to a mysterious trustee. This trustee pays for her tution, room & board, and gives her an allowance, and only asks for a letter every month in return (a letter that he will not reply to). Judy nicknames him Daddy Long Legs because she caught a glimpse of him one night before she left the orphanage, and saw that he is tall and lanky and reminds her of the spider.

This is such a wonderful, classic story and has an amazing twist in it! I think its Annie + Anne of Green Gables + Shop Around the Corner together in one book. Read it or Re-Read it! It's one of my all-time favorites!

Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest

This past weekend Chris & I drove to Balmorhea, Texas and participated in an Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest. This is an annual event hosted by The Best Little Dive Shop in Texas, and some of our friends help to organize it. The last time we were able to participate was 2 years ago, and Chris proposed that weekend. I was hoping for another diamond this weekend to keep up with the tradition, but was disappointed. There’s always next year, right?

The event is so much fun, and has quickly become one of our favorites. The rules are simple: hollow out your pumpkin prior to the dive, no markings or drawings on the pumpkin allowed, a dive knife is the only approved tool for carving, and you must complete the carving with 45 minutes. (and of course, the carving has to be done underwater).

I took 1st place in the competition and Chris took 2nd! YAY! We won gift certificates to the dive shop and can't wait to spend them. This was a fabulous dive trip: no equipment malfunctions, 2 relaxing dives, and we took 1st and 2nd place! I think we’re both already looking forward to next year’s pumpkin carve.

For my birthday in July, my mom got me a new mask and this was the first time I was able to use it. The mask has a pink lens which helps to add the red pigment back into whatever you’re looking at, since red is the first color you lose underwater. I was a little skeptical, and was completely surprised when I could see my friend’s pink mask and purple fins underwater. Balmorhea has a bunch of crawfish that I thought were blue and was amazed to find out they are actually bright red. The last time I dove in Balmorhea, everything looked blue or grey, and I couldn’t believe all the colors when I had the red added back into the spectrum. And, BONUS, this mask doesn’t leak like my last one did. Great birthday present mom, thanks!

Water Gardens

Before we left Dallas after my friend's wedding, Chris had the bright idea to walk around the Ft Worth Water Gardens. My camera battery only lasted for 1 picture (blast!):

The water gardens are so pretty! There are 3 different "gardens" - all very unique. One is a bunch of fountains spraying water different directions, one is a very large calm pool, and the above picture was taken at our favorite spot - the waterfall. The calm pool is also called a meditation pool and it is surrounded by tall trees - my mom thought it would be a neat place to do yoga, and I told her if it was in Austin I'm sure they'd have yoga there. :) The waterfalls are called the active pool and have steps going to the bottom where you can look up and see waterfalls on all sides.

Great idea Chris! This was the perfect thing to do before we had to sit in the car and drive back to Austin!