Sunday Salon: Checked out

Howdy friends! We're not in Maui anymore Toto...we boarded a plane last Monday, headed for home and some cold, hard reality! You know what it is like when you come home after a week of playing. 12 loads of laundry, no food, a dirty house, jet lag, and work/school the next day. To add insult to injury, my first official task was dealing with the local cable company in an attempt to hook up an additional TV in our new workout room. I think cable companies are uniformly obnoxious and incompetent nationwide, so I'm sure you understand it when I tell you I turn into a homicidal madwoman when they enter my home. I don't even like myself when they are around. I also had the pleasure of a couple of doctor's appointments this week as well, so I knew the vacation was officially over. But all was not lost. Let me reflect on the bright side of the week and stop my whining.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with a local author and blogging friend Danette Haworth. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed Danette's debut novel, Violet Raines Almost Got Struck By Lightning. She graciously donated a signed copy for the Adult Literacy League silent auction. AND, she gave me a preview copy of her new novel Summer of Moonlight Secrets, which is to be released in May. My daughter and I are all over this one! Stay tuned for that review in early May.

We also had another Adult Literacy League meeting, and are ramping up to a fever pitch for our annual fundraising event on April 9th. Oh, the books I've received for donation! Believe me when I tell you that each and every one of you, as book lovers, would be in pulp utopia over the book table alone at this event. And the exciting news is that I will be the monitor/host/garden variety obsessive for the book table, promoting and selling bidders on the literary feasts on the auction block.

Another highlight was book club, and our Read the Book/See the Movie extravaganza with Shutter Island (review coming this Tuesday). I think I've already waxed orgasmic over the book, and I really enjoyed the movie as well. I will zip my lip at this point, and save my rantings and blabbings for the review. I have yet to receive word on the next book selection, but am excited at the prospect of my BFF joining the club next month. One can never have enough nights out with the BFF.

I had a respectable week of reading for a change. I finished my ARC Murder in Baker Company on the airplane back from Maui, and also started and finished The Dead and the Gone, the second book in the Last Survivors Trilogy. My daughter and I both reviewed this one, which you will see in another couple of weeks. I started Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin, and am only about 60 pages into it. But still, I remember why I fell in love with her book The Post-Birthday World. This woman's writing is so...clever. And smart. I want to have lunch with Lionel Shriver, at the risk of being made to look like a simpleton.

I also finished The Swan Thieves on audio (a long 17 discs!), and started Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (only 5 discs, believe it or not). I might become a fangirl of Lehane, only to be outloved by Connie May Fowler and Sarah Waters and Jacqueline Woodson. I'll let you know when I decide. The kids and I are closing in on the last few discs of the fifth Harry Potter audio book, with the 6th on the way from the library. This one has been very close to a commitment, but a good one nevertheless.

With all the ruckus this week, I am ashamed to report that I only exercised 4 miles. FOUR MILES! With every other week since January 1st averaging about 23 miles. I didn't even report it to Trisha, our host for the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge. I am embarrassed. I fear it will not improve for the month of March. Next week brings setup for the Book Fair of which I am in charge (I will take pictures), several more doctor appointments, final touches on my renovated bathroom, a golf tournament, and a three day religious retreat that promises an epiphany that will change my life (per my husband who participated in the fall).

I have attempted to make the rounds to visit my favorite blogs this week, but have failed miserably. I take pride in being a sociable blogger, but life has swallowed me whole. This may continue for another couple of weeks, but will be back in the saddle soon. I promise!