Book the 19th: Flipped

Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen, is a quick, fun read. Here's the cover blurb:

The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran.

And from the second grade to the seventh, that's how it was. She says: "My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss." He says: "It's been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort."

But in the eighth grade, their views of the world -- and each other -- turn upside down. Hey says: "I'd spent so many years avoiding Juli Baker that I'd never really looked at her, but now I couldn't stop." And she says: "I felt a cold, hard knot tighten in my heart. I was through with Bryce Loski."

Is there hope for happiness in junior high?

Have you flipped?

I mention this book specifically (when I've not mentioned a lot of the other books on my 30 Books in 09 list) is because it's being made into a movie. And the movie is being filmed here in my area.

The movie, directed by Rob Reiner (how COOL is that!?), is being set in the late 50s and early 60s.

And who owns a 1961 Chevy Impala?

S, that's who.

And guess who gets to take his 1961 Chevy Impala to the set on Monday and Tuesday so it can be one of the "extras"?

S, that's who.

And guess who is taking some time off work to go watch a movie being made?

Me.

That's who.

My Busy Weekend

It's 2 p.m. on Monday and I am still exhausted from this past weekend.

Day by day, in bullets:

Friday, June 19, A Father's Day Celebration:

• 8:30 - out the door to spend the day with my parents
• 9:00 - arrive at Mom & Dad's. Eat yummy mom-fixed breakfast.
• 9:30 - head out to the Boyscout Rummage Sale
• 10:15 - spend money on lovely goodies (there is a Thrifty Thursday post in my future)
• 10:30 - break from thrift shopping for Dad's chiro appointment.
• 10:45 - back on the road to find yard/garage sales
• 11:30 - Church rummage sale!
• 11:50 - spend some more money (another Thrifty Thursday post - 10 cent Vogue patterns!)
• 12:15 - back to my folks house. Mom needs a nap, Dad got called to fix a friend's mower.
• 12:30 - head out to hit the Boyscout Rummage Sale solo and find more yard sales. (Find yet MORE Thrifty Thursday fodder.)
• 2:30 - find a great yard sale with a vintage blender.
• 3:00 - head to the local A&W for lunch and a free root beer float (yum)
• 3:45 - slip into a food coma and laze about at Mom & Dad's for about an hour.
• 5:00 - head to my brother & sister-in law's house.
• 6:30 - head to the mall to meet my best bud, K.
• 7:45 - leave mall, head towards home but first...
• 8:30 - stop and cover an appointment for S who got called away for a drain emergency.
• 9:10 - walk through front door.

Saturday, June 20, Motor Muster

• 9:00 a.m. - leave for Motor Muster at Greenfield Village. (We took an old car. Pics later. Maybe.)
  
• 10 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. - walk around Greenfield village and look at all the old cars, soak up the sun, and pray for a reduction in humidity.
  
• 8:30 - shopping for Dad's Father's Day present and lunch fixin's for Sunday.
• 10:00 - head to I and R's for a beverage.
• 10:30 - head off to Mom & Dad's. Again.
• 11:40 - head to one of the local elementary schools for my 12 to 1 a.m. Relay For Life walk.
  

Sunday, June 21, Relay for Life and Motor Muster

• 12 to 1 a.m. - Relay for Life walk. (4 miles, baby!)
• 1:50 a.m. - fall into bed, exhausted.
• 8:30 a.m. - wake up, prepare cooler with lunch fixin's, get dressed, hop in car, and...
• 10:15 - arrive at Motor Muster.
• 5:00 - leave Motor Muster.
• 6:00 to 8:00 - nap
• 8:05 to 8:50 - walk dogs
• 9:15 - pour wine
  
• 9:30 - watch "how to bind off" video on youtube so I can start another practice knitting piece.
• 11:00 - go to bed.

I slept so soundly last night that I slept right through my alarm and was a few minutes late for work.

Oops.

V

Do you all remember V from the '80s?

I do. I was 10 when it was released in May of 1983 and it was my first exposure to SciFi (I was a bit too young to partake in the Star Wars craze). I loved it.

It's being remade.



I will be watching it.

Oh, yes.

I will be watching.

Call me sentimental.

I love the Pure Michigan ads*.

Sunrises


Woods


Nicknames


Back Yards


Go here to see more ads.

Or go to Pure Michigan and start planning your trip.

*voice-overs done by Tim Allen.

I learned a new word today...

The Coffee Lady posted today about being the Queen of Faff.

Well, of course, I had to look it up because, hello, NOT A BRIT. (Actually, I followed the link that she so thoughtfully provided us.) In case you can't be bothered to click the link, here's the definition:

Faff (faffing): To muck about, wasting time doing something not necessary.

Hey! That's what I do! A lot. Seriously. TCL maybe the Queen of Faff across the pond but here in the US? I hold that title.

Example...

WHERE do my evenings go? Last night, I mowed the lawn (required as I don't want to get fined by the city), went to dinner with a friend & her kids, and got a pedicure.

Did I get the dishes done? No. Laundry? Of course not! How 'bout writing those thank you notes for my graduation that was at the end of April? NO WAY. Nor did I work on a myriad of other things that need to be done.

I faffed the evening away. I was faffing around. When there's work to be done? I faff.

To show that I do officially belong to the Queen of Faff club, here's my admission token:

Family lunch.

Yesterday, through a series of seemingly unrelated events, it worked out that me, my parents, and my brother were able to have lunch together. No sister-in-law. No nieces & nephew. No boyfriend.

Just the four of us.

For the first time in probably a dozen years. Probably longer.

It was wonderful.

And it was over too soon.

I must try to arrange these lunches more often. Can I just say to my sister-in-law, "Hey, love you and the kids, but you're not invited."?

Also? I'd like to take my brother to a movie and dinner. Just the two of us. That, I think, would be pretty easy to arrange. Maybe I'll take him to see the new Star Trek movie.

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The Orphan Car Show was yesterday. It turned out to be a beautiful day. Rain threatened for a big part of the morning, but it held off.

Book the 17th...

The month of May was a weird one when it came to my reading. I read a ton of little romance novels that have been lurking on my shelves for years. They were all books I'd read before so I've not counted them in my 30 Books of 2009 quest.

I'm also not counting A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby which I only got halfway through before I decided I'd regret spending time to finish it. (I could not stand three of the four characters. And the one character I did like began to get on my nerves.) This book marks the end of my relationship with Mr. Hornby. I've tried to like his books. Alas, it is not to be. He irks me. Next time I see a Nick Hornby novel, I shall leave it where it lay and shall be happier for it.

So.

Book 17.

Made In The U.S.A. by Billie Letts. This book started out very dark. It took me places I didn't want to go, but lead me out safely in the end. But that's Billie Letts for you. Nothing fancy, just a good story involving some wonderful characters. And the names! Her characters always have the most unusual names. Lutie and Fate McFee, for example. And Floy.

So! Onward! I've got a book club book to read, along with one I won (!!!) via a blog contest. Hopefully I can knock both of those out within a week or so.

Not to mention the DOZENS of books on my 'to be read' shelves (yet I never have anything to read. Funny how that works, isn't it?).

Happy reading!

Bad attitude days...with sunshine.

People, I have been pissy lately.

So much so, that I took a day and a half worth of sick leave from work. It was either that or run the risk of snapping and telling a coworker to go stick their head up their ass. I'm not embarrassed to call the days off mental health days.

Poor S. He's been a trooper.

On a happy note, it's sunny today.

Happier note: I've not killed any of the veggie plants I've planted so far...and I've got a few more to plant yet.

Hopefully I'll give enough of a crap to go exercise tonight. Hopefully that'll help.

That and a new job.