Weekend Recap

Friday I left work and headed to Norfolk to see my sister, brother in law, and nephew and to help with their yard sale on Saturday morning.  It was a quick trip but productive and fun.  The weather was wonderful and my nephew was so cute!  

Perfect Day for a yard sale!

Corbin made so much money at the Yard Sale cause he is so cute!

I left there Saturday afternoon and came back to Richmond.  My friend CJ and I went to hit up the Lebanese Food Festival in Richmond where we got the best tasting thing in the world, Zalabia -- it is a Lebanese donut with like a honey glaze....HEAVENLY!

Sunday morning, I decided to sleep in and do a few things around the house before I headed over to CJ's where we spent the afternoon in her back yard pool....

It was a great relaxing time.  Then Sunday night I had our final youth group dinner....now its back to work this week, then Philadelphia for a long weekend coming up!

In case you were wondering...

I started reading the book "Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide" last night.  I don't even have this one on my list, so I may have to add it but I am excited to read it, it was a freebie on Amazon for Prime users!  Next up after that is "Sarah's Key," I am picking it up at the library today!  Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

Books Reviewed

So I know it has been awhile since I have given a good book review and since I have read quite a few books since then, I will update you on a few of my recent reads.


What Alice Forgot
This book was a fairly easy read and it was engaging, it reminded me a lot of the style of writing that Sophie Kinsella does in her books (which if you know me you know i love ANYTHING by Sophie Kinsella).  So obviously I enjoyed this book.  It is a story about a women who feel at the gym and temporarily looses her memory from her last 10 years of life.  She forgets she has any kids at all.  It is a feel good story and the writer grabs you and makes you want to read more.  I think it is a great book for any girls who just want a simple read in their life.


The Purpose Driven Life
Ehh, I could take this or leave it.  It is a 40 chapter (meant to be read one chapter a day for 40 days) book that I found extremely hard to get through in 2+ months, so obviously its not my best read.  But if you take it for what it is--self help, finding out your purpose in life, I think you will enjoy most of the chapters.  I can honestly say I got a little something out of at least 70% of the chapters in the book, so I think, if you have the commitment, it is worth a try.


The Reservoir
This was a bit of a disappointment.  It was a recommended read from my friend, Kristi.  My problem was not necessarily with the book itself, I loved that and could not put it down, but my issue came with the ending, all that lead up and I HATED how the author chose to end this book.  I want closure and a nicely tied up little bow and you will NOT get that from this book.  If you go in knowing that I think you will love and appreciate the book for what it is.  The best best part of this book is that it is based in Richmond, Virginia in 1885.  So I know and could relate personally to a lot of the locations in the book, which meant that I got that much more into the story.  The author claims this book is loosely based on a case in Richmond history but he took some artistic liberties with a lot of the story line, so in all fairness, the ending may have a LOT to do with how the actual trial turned out in real life.  But honestly if you can make the plot better, can't you change the ending too?


Private Games
So, you all know I am a HUGE James Patterson fan and I have yet to find even one book of his that has disappointment me and this one was no exception.  This is the 3rd book in the Private series, Private #1 Suspect (that I read earlier in the year) is the second, and Private is the 1st (I have not yet read this one).  This book is actually about the 2012 London Olympic Games so it was fitting to read this right before the games take place.  It was super interesting and since my mom had already read it, At about 75% of the way through, I told her who I thought was behind it all...and I GOT IT RIGHT.  I almost never figure it out, but I was impressed with myself that I figured out the killer before the end of the book.  Overall, if you like murder mystery, might I just suggest reading all of Mr. Patterson's novels!


Mountains Beyond Mountains
Loved Loved Loved this book!  I had mentioned to my friend, Kathryn, a while back that I love non-fiction books about human kindness, World War II, or human services.  Well she thought I might enjoy this book and I did.  It follows Dr. Paul Farmer on his journey through third world countries as he helps to set up and administer health care to the poorest of the poor in the world.  It was a great reality check for me and I like reading books that put me in my place.  So read with an open heart and open eyes and I think before long, you will be checking out Partners in Health website to see what you can do to attempt to help out in this suffering world of ours.  (Side note: even if you do not intend to read the book, I would suggest checking out the website, most of the employees work as volunteers or below wage jobs so almost all of the money goes directly to those in need across the world and just cause we are lucky enough to live in the U.S. does not mean we should neglect the problems of our neighbors around the world).


I have not yet decide what book will be next up...as you  can probably see, I do not always go in order from my list so it is anyone's guess right now...we will see how the mood strikes me tonight (mystery, non-fiction, fiction, comedy....who knows)

Bahamas Recap

Well I have been back 3 days so I figure it was about time for a blog post about my trip.  For starters, it was AWESOME!  I could totally see myself living in the Bahamas, I think that would be amazing! To truly capture the beauty of this small but amazing country (or commonwealth, not sure what we call it), you are going to need to visit yourself; but to wet your appetite for beauty, I will do a little recap through pictures....

So we got to the Bahamas on Friday night and explored for awhile but were tired from traveling, so we had dinner and called it a night.  Saturday we woke up and went over to Atlantis for a day at the water park.  Then Saturday night we went to the little shopping area, where they had a "Junkaroo" mini parade...here are some pictures.  Words cannot describe this, the people (only men) are dressed up in crazy colorful outfits and playing awesome music and dancing around.  I looked it up on wikipedia and here is the explanation: 

"Junkanoo is a street parade with music, which occurs in many 

towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26), 

New Year's Day and, more, recently in the summer....."

This was the Junkanoo leader, he was an amazing dancer

Members of the band

This is harborside at Atlantis, the place where we stayed.  I loved the colorful houses!

This is a picture of the Royal Towers at the Atlantis Resort

Here is a picture of the little Harbor outside Atlantis, it gives you a good idea on just how big those boats are!

I loved the beautiful colors of all the flowers there.

My favorite boat in port, it was called "Pipe Dreams" and it was HUGE

Beautiful Palm

A Lot of beautiful Palms!

So about mid-week, I had my fair share of SUN, so we took the afternoon off from the poolside/beachside and my mom and I went to look through all the amazing aquariums of Atlantis...Straight from the Atlantis website, there is: " 14 lagoons, eight million galls of salt water and more than 50,000 aquatic animals representing over 250 marine species."  This is supposedly the biggest marine aquarium in the world and it was awesome...here are just a few pictures:

Notice the HUGE fish at the bottom

Rays (sting, manta, baby), they were all over the place

Eels!  EEK!

I found Nemo in all of that vast water!

In this one part of the aquarium, all these fish were huddled together, I thought it was funny and figured that might be where they are getting fed. 

This picture is from above at 3 of the 100+ tank windows they have.

A nice contrast of the resort and nature.  

My mom and I got Ben and Jerry's ice cream in the Bahamas!

The bridge in the middle of the resort is the $25,000 a night room (with a 4 night minimum), apparently that is where Michael Jackson used to stay when he would come visit.

A shopping day in town.

Take about fresh catch, this man was catching conch and selling it right from his boat.  Conch is the big local favorite--they eat it live with lime and onions!  YUCK!

Tom on the water taxi

On Thursday, dad and I went to Blue Lagoon beach and did a dolphin and sea lion encounter--it was AWESOME!  We got to hug, kiss, dance, and pet these beautiful creatures.  

Then on Friday, my parents friend, Donny, took us out on his boat to a secluded island (no electric or running water) where only a few people build little weekend places to sort of camp in a house.

Mom feeling so Zen on the boat ride

Dad "trying" to fish!

Me, captain for the day!

The water there was so clear, this water is about 4 feet deep and you can see the almost translucent  fish in the water.

Paradise FOUND!

On the roof of a make shift "house" there!

Playing in the water!

Relaxing!

Footprints in the sand

The Bopsie, our boat for the day.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, lots of walking, lots of reading, lots of sleeping, lots of relaxing, and most of all LOTS OF FUN!  Now where to next....

May 2012--Book Update

Drumroll Please...I am exactly half way through my reading list for 2012 and ahead of schedule.  Please note, I added Private Games by James Patterson so there are now 27 books, so I may drop off another book if need be.  Ahhh vacation really allows for good reading time :)

List of books I have read in 2012

1. Five Love Languages

2. Sisterhood Everlasting

3. The Holocaust Diaries

4. Private #1 Suspect

5. The Fixer Upper

6. The Hunger Games

7. Catching Fire (book 2)

8. Mockingjay (book 3)

9. The Carrie Diaries
10. What Alice Forgot
11. The Purpose Driven Life

12. The Reservoir

13. Private Games
14. Mountain beyond Mountains

  

 List of books I plan to read in 2012

15. Generous Justice (started 4/20/12, reading as part of my small group).

16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

17. The Girl who Played with Fire

18. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

19. The Horse Boy

20. The Magicians

21. Sarah's Key

22. Unbroken

23. Kisses from Katie

24. The Other Boleyn Girl 

25. A good and perfect Gift

26. Lexapros and Cons

27. There are No Children Here
28. The 100 thing challenge
29. Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide
30. I've Got Your Number

Girlfriends, but not the lesbian kind!

So there is a quote I love by an unknown author that reads, "Friendship isn't a big thing, it's a million little things."  Well I got the joy of experience just one of those million little things tonight.  Two of my best girlfriends, CJ and Anna, came over for dinner (to eat up the leftovers in my fridge as I was going out of town).  We chatted, drank a little bit, ate cookies and just enjoyed each other's company.  It is really hard for me to image 4 years ago when these ladies were not even in my life (well not in any big way anyway); now it is hard for be to envision the next 8 days without seeing them at all!  They know my life, they know my heart and they love me just the same.  It's a wonderful thing.  


And it's not just one little thing....its a million....
* drinking buddies
* prayer partners
* vacation buddies
* Sex and the City fantics
* Downton Abbey Lovers
* Hokie fans
* encouragers
* And best of all....FRIENDS!


Here is a picture of us 10 years from now.....Oh wait, that is just our alter egos :)

Miranda = CJ, the sensible one
Carrie = Anna, the stylish one
Charlotte = Me, the traditional one
(As a side note, our good friend Emily completes the quartet as a great Samantha!)

I love these girls so much and am so blessed by their presence in my life. 

(Dear CJ & Anna, after all that fuss about my blog, did you honestly think I wouldn't write about it?  XOXO)

Bahamas...the countdown is on!

Well I have started laying out clothes to pack, I have checked out 3 e-books from the library on my Kindle, stocked up the dog supplies, and am counting down the days until sunshine and a week off of work. 


We will be staying right next to Atlantis in these cute little multi-colored timeshare units!  Gotta love the Bahamas, where pink, teal, and yellow are considered common place among house colors.

I *hope* to knock at least a couple of books off the list this week, in addition to touring the island, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, and oh yeah...RELAXING :)