weekend

I woke up Saturday morning, planning to go for a long run. Instead, I looked outside to find lots of snow on the ground. Which meant I didn't change out of my pajamas all weekend. Glorious.

The only thing that would have made it more glorious would be for the snow to come on Monday. There's nothing better than a day off of school.

But, lest you think I was lazy all weekend, I did finish a book (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), start and finish a second book (The Rules of Survival) and start a third book (Cutting for Stone). So far, Cutting for Stone is my favorite of the three.

names

I have this student. His name is Anthony. But under the "preferred names" section of my attendance, it says "Anth". So I've been calling him Anth for 4 months now.

He just told me yesterday that he actually goes by "Ant". (Seriously.) And that the whole class has been laughing at me every time I call him "Anth." (Meaning every day.)

If you want my opinion, they should be laughing at him for calling himself "Ant".

ps

I also discovered fabulous post-holiday sales this weekend. For less than $100, I was able to purchase:

• a gray pencil skirt (Banana Republic)
• a sweater
• a pair of corduroy pants
• a black shirt dress
• 2 new bottles of lip gloss
• bronzer
• a pair of tights
• a pair of pajamas
• 3 bottles of shampoo and conditioner (usually $20 each)
• 2 new camisoles

And while I admit that I probably didn't need any of this, I'm really just doing my part to help the economy. Plus, they're really pretty.

fnd

I discovered an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet this weekend. All the sushi I could handle for just $12. My life is complete.

ps - I usually hate buffets, mostly because they usually mean lots of mediocre food. This one was fantastic. And included fried bananas. Like I said, my life is complete.

book reviews (for shady)

The Great Gatsby: Interesting novel and much more fun to read than I remembered, but nothing that I would swoon over.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Kind of graphic in parts, but very gripping. I couldn't put it down and kept reading until 5 am when I got too scared to keep going.

Into Thin Air: Augh. Jon Krakauer is infuriatingly self-centered. But he writes good books, so what can you do?

Ender's Game: Heartbreaking. Please read it.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: Loving it so far.

up next:

The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard. I read a collection of her short stories years ago, and her writing is enchanting.

Left Behind: A co-worker of mine hates reading, and this is the only book he has ever in his life finished. He read the entire series. I'm intrigued.

Black like Me: I've heard really good things about this one.

big events of 2009

1. I loved every stinking book I read this summer. Usually I order 4 books at a time and read the first chapter of each until I find one that grabs me. For some reason, this year I couldn't decide which to start with because they were all so awesome. That in itself makes 2009 a successful year.

2. Dubai. Rome.

3. Skiing. I am a total pansy, but still love it with all my heart.

4. As it turns out, I am totally the best Santa ever. My kids are going to be SO lucky to have me around.

5. My first half-marathon. This year it's my goal to actually follow a training schedule for one of these. Just to see if it improves my time at all.

6. Ragnar. Quite possibly the best two days of the year.

7. Starting a successful book club. This month is The Great Gatsby, which I have already finished (and thoroughly enjoyed) and next month is Ender's Game, which I have started and am already in love with. Sci-fi is not my typical genre, but this one is heartwrenching. I'm already in love with Ender.

merry christmas to me!

Today I received a $900 check in the mail from the State of Texas.

I like 2010 already.

the girl with the dragon tattoo

Is terrifying. I didn't want to get out of bed to go to the bathroom for fear that somebody would jump out and smack me in the head with a golf club.

(Nobody smacked me in the head with a golf club. But it was still scary.)