The Resolution

A lot of you have heard me talk about my goal of reading 18 books in 2008. Last year it was 12 and I found myself finishing The Alchemist at about 5:15 on December 31st. This year I wanted to be a little more ambitious so I upped it to 18 and hope to finish by noon New Year's Eve (I'm embracing the procrastinator in me, though I'm not sure that's a good thing). Thank goodness for going on vacation with the Knutson's or I never would have made it! I think I knocked out 3 in Nantuckett and 2 in Miami. Since you're dying to know, I'll tell you what I read. I really wish I could remember the order I read them in (that's the OCD talking) but I don't, so in no particular order, here they are, Lindsie's 2008 reading list:

1-Stardust by Neil Gaiman (see the movie, skip the book)
2-The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (cute, read it mostly at the gym)
3-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (it's been one of my favs since 9th grade)
4-Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (almost twice, I had to erase the bad movie taste)
5-Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (had to re-read in preparation for Breaking Dawn)
6-Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (Duh!)
7-The Host by Stephanie Meyer (I also never would have made it without Stephanie)
8-The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler (which apparently is a 1988 movie . . . who knew?)
9-The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (which apparently will be a 2009movie . . . Yay!)
10-Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (such a cute story)
11-Enna Burning by Shannon Hale (I love Shannon Hale!)
12-Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (Britt, I swear I'm gonna get this back to you! I've had it in the car everytime we've gotten together . . . )
13-The Bronte Project by Jennifer Vandever (my least favorite of the year, I actually threw it away after I read it)
14-The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (Loved it! I read it so fast in Miami, I think I'll need to re-read it again soon)
15-An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (funniest book of the year, I want to read more of his stuff)
16-The Martian Child by David Gerrold (an excellent book, very different from the movie, which I also loved)
17-Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (very clever, I'll hafta read her other book)
18-The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews (the perfect Christmas gift, a short and sweet book that I still need to finish before the day is done . . . so far so good)

Well there you have it my friends. My 2008 library. I laughed, I cried, I fell asleep. I didn't so much love Stardust or The Bronte Project, but I really enjoyed the others. Having said that, I wouldn't necessarily recommend every book on the list. If you have questions about any of them, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email. ;)


Who knew?

Do What I Can

It's no secret, I LOVE shoes! I've heard rumblings here and there about TOMS shoes and unfortunately I didn't discover until today what they are. Watch this . . .



A little background info . . . TOMS Shoes was founded in May 2006 when an American traveler befriended the children of an Argentine village and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created a company that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. Since its beginning, TOMS has given over 70,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world.

For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One.

Now I understand that these shoes may not be the cutest things ever but I know a good portion of you out there own and wear crocs, so I'm not too worried. And they look just as comfy as crocs are suppose to be! ;) Then there's the price. The cheapest pairs cost $42, but when you think about it, that $42 is getting two pairs of shoes. One for you and one for a child who otherwise wouldn't have any. AND if you type in the code HCT (HCT=Hotel Cafe Tour, a bunch of artists promote TOMS, including Hotel Cafe artists) you'll get $5 off. They're running the same deal for t-shirts that don't cost quite as much. Did I mention FREE 2-6 day shipping??? What a deal! ;) You proabably already have your Christmas shopping done, but I thought I'd put it out there for anyone who might be interested. Christmas gift or not, it's a good idea!



I obviously "borrowed" these pics. ;)

Far Away

Before we get to Christmas, let me tell you about Thanksgiving. (Obviously I'm a great procrastinator). This was the first Thanksgiving I've ever spent away from home, so it was a little strange. Not to worry though, I was taken care of; I had three different offers for places to go for dinner! It was never really a question of where I would go though, seeing as Spencer is family to me, but it was nice to know that there were others out there thinking about me.

Spencer and I started doing prep work for Thanksgiving dinner the night before because we had to marinate the turkeys. Okay, so Spencer was the one doing all the work; I was dead tired so I read the directions to him from a nice comfy chair. But the next morning we got up and started right in on the rest of the food. I now have new found appreciation for my Grandparents! That was a lot of work and we only did appetizers, the turkey, cranberry sauce, and desserts! I can only imagine adding more of the meal to our list of responsiblities . . . It was so worth it though, the food was delicious! See for yourself! :)


Our Maple Orange-Glazed Turkey. Of all the deliciousness that day I'm fairly certain my favorite thing was the apples that cooked with the turkey. Well, that and the bread pudding. Mmmm!


The desserts! Pumpkin Cheesecake with caramel and pecan topping, apple pie, and bread pudding. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!


A close up of my very first apple pie!


The table setting.


The flowers.

Now let's hope Christmas pics go up before Valentine's Day . . . ;)

The Way I Am

I realize a good portion of my posts are about the concerts I've gone to, but it's pretty much my favorite thing to do, so you get to hear about it. :) I think I've gone to my last concert for 2008 though. Just before Thanksgiving Spencer and I went to The Birchmere to see Ingrid Michaelson play the last show on her Be Okay tour. Of course it was fabulous, this is Ingrid we're talking about! She is one musician I will glady see over and over again for the rest of my life. This was my 6th Ingrid show and every single one has been top notch. Not only is she a talented musician but she is one heck of an entertainer! Here are some pics from the show along with a video of an unreleased song she sang at the show. Listen closely and you'll hear someone you know during the intro. ;)


Spencer and me waiting for Ingrid. I promised him it wouldn't go up online, so don't tell him. :)


David Ford, one of the openers. I have a couple of his songs that I really like, so I was excited that he was going to be there. Yeah, I didn't so much love him.


Newton Faulkner, another opener. I'd never heard of him before but was pleasantly surprised. He has amazing talent and was fun to watch. He's not anyone I would listen to on my own, but I'd go see him again.


And of course we have Ingrid!


And her friends. Note the creepy looking guy in the left hand corner. He's not real, just attached to the wall above the door. A little disturbing/hilarious.



Now the whole crew.


Blueberry Boy

It was a great evening and I'm looking forward to more Ingrid shows in 2009!

Living in Twilight

The books, loved them! They aren't the greatest work of fiction out there by any means, but they are definitely entertaining. In fact, for me, there's no better way to pass time on on the elliptical or bike, than to get lost in the world of Edward and Bella. No, joke, try it. Before you know it you're half hour is up and you'll likely add time to your work out so you can keep reading. It's fabulous!

The movie, hated it!!! I'm sorry, but when I read the book I was under the impression that Bella and Edward actually liked each other. Their relationship wasn't the least bit believable and that's what the story is ultimately about. I could go on and list the other reasons for my distain, but I'll spare you. I will say that it was a complete waste of $10.50! I knew I wasn't going to love it, so I just should have held out a few more weeks and seen a matinee while I'm home, but I caved. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to my opinion of the movie, and that's why I wanted to post about it. Twlight movie haters unite!


Now as to end on a positive note . . . I was super excited to use The Weepies song, Living in Twilight for the post title. I discovered The Weepies around the same time I was introduced to Twilight, and so I thought it was kinda funny when I listened to the song. They have three albums and World Spins Madly On is easily one of my top 10 favorite songs! They really are amazing, so you'll for sure want to check them out. :)