The Sunday Salon: Coasters, Blondie and beads, oh my!

Happy Sunday! Well, I thought this post may be late today, as we are spending the weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel and have been cavorting at Universal Studios. I woke up at an obscene hour though (brains scrambled from too much roller coaster?) so here I am.

I will likely publish a separate post on all the activities of the weekend, but let me just say that paying for a couple of nights at a Universal resort, even for us locals, is the way to go. It allows you "fast pass" for nearly every ride in the park, which means no standing in lines - you can experience both the Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in less than two days. They are also in the middle of the Mardi Gras days (a little manipulation of the religious season I realize) which awarded us a parade with lots of beads last night, and Blondie in concert. Call me! The Tide is High! Heart of Glass! The cherry on top of the whole thing was that the weather was perfect. After two solid months of the nastiest, coldest weather in Florida history, our weekend was blessed with 70 degree cloudless skies. Almost more than MY little heart of glass could take.

I'm sure you will all be shocked to learn that our bathroom renovation was not completed this past Friday, per original schedule. It is looking more like the middle of next week, which I guess isn't bad. Serenity now.

Our book club met this past week to discuss Sarah's Key. Overall, everyone enjoyed the book. There were a few of us (me included) that felt it had its weaknesses, but compared to some of the other selections, it was a winner. For next month, we will be reading Shutter Island, which I just finished, then will see the movie together in a few weeks. I campaigned hard for this, for as I said in the last Sunday Salon, I thought the book was fabulous. My sister saw the movie Friday night and she gave it her stamp of approval. I can't wait to see it! This is the most excited I've been since I joined our book club.

I feel I am repeating myself when I say I wasn't too productive with my printed books this week. I finished A Black Tie Affair, a light romance written by my mom's old high school chum, Sherrill Bodine, and started Stone's Fall by Iain Pears, which was highly recommended by Jackie at Farm Lane Books, and a gift from my secret santa Trisha @ Eclectic/Eccentric. It is a sizable book...nearly 600 pages...so it may take me awhile to get through it, but I am REALLY enjoying it so far. What's not to love with mystery and intrigue in turn-of-the-century London? I did listen to "Olive Kitteredge" on audio, and am about halfway through a Harlan Coban thriller called "Hold Tight". I fear the audio version of Olive may not have showcased the book to its highest potential, because while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. More on that in a couple of weeks, when I post my review. The kids and I continue to plod our way through the fifth Harry Potter audio, which is beginning to feel like a career. We love it of course, but 25 discs is a long trek when you only listen in the car, and only when both kids are present, and only when there is no drama or emotion that needs to be resolved. I am hoping we can wrap it up before we take off for Hawaii in early March. I must say I'm pretty excited to witness the toad-like Umbridge's defeat! Oh, how we loathe that woman!

Apologies in advance that I may not be able to get around and socialize with you all today. I shall be averting death from earthquakes, tornado, and shark attacks. Shooting aliens. Riding my bicycle across the sky with E.T. Stuff like that. Hope everyone has a great day!