Yup... I'm a Formerly!

In my quest to read 52 books this year I have come across a GREAT book.

This little jewel was recommended by my Sister- in-law.

If I didn't already love her... I would now!

This book, My Formerly Hot Life: Dispatches From Just the Other Side of Young,

is amazingly accurate and hilarious!

Stephanie Dolgoff is the author... as seen here with a few of her shoes... she's got 100's of pairs!

My sister in law and I were discussing the aspect of getting older, but not quite being old OLD yet...
I may or may not be having a HUGE birthday in a matter of weeks!
I can remember when my mom turned 40.. I drove with my boyfriend to get the balloons,
and now here I am...clawing onto my 30's for 3 more weeks-
ready to drop into the abyss of my 40's.
Just kidding.. I am being overly dramatic!
Anyway...
This book is so damn funny and TRUE!
Here are a few items off of a a checklist she has provided to see if you properly fit into the "FORMERLY" category...
1. The kids in High School are wearing what you wore in High School.
2. Your ass is starting to need a bra.
3. You freeze bread. Like there won't be another loaf at the store when you need one.
4. You have been "ma'amed" outside of the deep South.
5. Whereas you used to be grossed out by obscene catcalls, you are now relieved first, grossed out second.
6. You suddenly prefer interior design magazines to fashion magazines.
7. A supermodel could give you one of her kidneys and you would still hate her.

This is just a sample of how right on she is about life... my life!
She defines a formerly as the "tweens" of adult life...
Not young and hot, but not middle aged either.

She gives hilarious insight on fashion, friends, and health issues.
I almost cried laughing as she described how devastated she was when a thyroid test came back normal... weight gain, fatigue, and hair loss...she had all the symptoms.
So did I... I think I was on a hidden camera when the Dr. told me I was perfectly healthy... and then she wrote about me!

This is such a great read... It is my new go-to gift for my friends in the 38-45 age range.
You'll laugh, you'll want to cry, and you'll be proud to be a FORMERLY.

Stephanie also has a blog... check it out here.
Also... here is a little link to an article about her... She's so funny!

Summer Reading...

Que dramatic Tara Music....

In my quest for 52 books... I just finished reading

Gone With the Wind!

AMAZING!

It wasn't the easiest read in the world...

Basically a discourse on Southern living pre and post Civil War...

With a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure!

And am I glad it was thrown in!

Rhett and Scarlett... LOVED THEM!

Ashley... Really Scarlett? What were you thinking?

I read all sorts of reviews on it before I read it and there were so many claiming this to be such a racist book...I don't think so!

Margaret Mitchell explained EXACTLY what it was like,I felt like I had been transported back in time.

Scarlett- Let's talk about the original DIVA!

She was strong,and beautifu, and manipulative, and pretty much a brat...

AND I loved her.

Too bad there are no more kids for me... I would be all about

having a daughter named Scarlett...

I wasn't as familiar with the story as I thought I was... I kept waiting for Rhett and Scarlett to just get over it and live happily ever after!

I still think that they will end up together!

Rhett Butler... The scalawag, carpetbagger, devil,

perpetual bad-boy...

LOVED him even more than Scarlett!

I loved how he was who he was...like him or not!

And the line...

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

I can see why both the book and the movie have stood the test of time.

If nothing else great comes from my little 2010 reading challenge, that is okay...

I found one of my new favorite books!

I am not a real lover of the classics... but this one

is a must read!

I have always been somewhat curious/obsessed about the South and the Southern way of living...

This just added to that desire... bring on the Civil War, Pat Conroy, and a trip to the Bayou.

I gotta get to the original Dixie!

Books...Books...Books...

Looking for a good book...

I have made a goal to read 52 books this year... needless to say...I have been reading late into the night.

I wanted to share a few books with you... BUT more importantly I want you to share your favorites with me.

I am looking for a good book (or 40)!

Here are a few of my favorites that I have read since January...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-

I was a little hesitant to read this... sounds a little gruesome, but both this one and the sequel were very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable reads. The bad thing... the third and final book doesn't come out until May. So... if you are going to Europe and can pick up a copy- get me one too.

The Girl That Played with Fire...

The Sequel to the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo... don't let the human trafficking description detract. It is mentioned, but NO detail goes into it. It is like a subplot in the background. A great book... I just can't wait for the next one!
Hotel on the Corner of Biter and Sweet...
Such a good book. Set in 1942 in Seattle, this book deals with the relationships between Japanese Americans & Chinese Americans after Pearl Harbor. I love historical fiction and this one doesn't disappoint.

A Reliable Wife...

I had heard much about this book, yet was hesitant to read it. I wasted time... it is all about a rich man that orders a mail order bride. What gets off the train was not what he thought he was getting... She tries to kill him. An interesting book with many twists and turns...

I have read 12 out of my 52... so I am running ahead of schedule. Just 40 left to go.

I am looking for some good old fashioned chick lit... I have read all of Sophie Kinsella's and LOVED them. What have you read? What do you recommend?
Help me... I am looking for a good book!

P.S. You can follow my progress and see all the books I have read this year on my GOODREADS side bar book shelf.

Food, Blogging, Drinking, Eating...what could be better?

This past weekend I was in sunny, but cold, St. George at a baseball tourney... the ride down and back was consumed with this little jewel... Julie & Julia- My year of Cooking Dangerously

This is a memoir of Julie Powell and her quest to figure out her life. She takes on the "project" of cooking every recipe in Julia Child's recipe book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in one year. It is hilarious! She debones a duck, murders lobster, and all the while is blogging about it. This took place in 2002...she blogged before blogging was really popular. Now her story is being made into a movie starring Meryl Streep. I am so curious about Julia Child now, I want to find some old TV reruns of her show. I didn't know she was 6'2". Who knows maybe I will master the art of French Cooking...NOT! This is a great read! There are so many wonderful passages about the ups and downs of blogging... funny culinary disasters... and just funny life happenings. You can still read the blog here

P.S. Thanks Chalyce for the book! LOVED IT!

Enjoy!

Everyone Needs To Know Becky!

I was stalking my blogging buddy, Holly's blog and she was asking for suggestions for a great read. I love to read so I wanted to help her out with a few ideas... I got to thinking about what I could recommend and let me tell you- I remembered the greatest book series ever! (Sorry Twilight lovers) The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella is the best. There are five hilarious books and I am sad that I have already read them all twice, because I wish I could just be meeting Becky now for the first time! Sophie Kinsella is British and so they all have a little "Bridget Jones humor" to them...but better! I tend to be somewhat of a spender myself and also a justifier...so I understood Becky's predicaments. This isn't some deep, problem solving read...NO WAY! It is one step away from watching Friends or Will & Grace on TV- Not a heavy read, but very very very entertaining. I have actually been driving down the road and thought about one of Becky's adventures or problems and laughed out loud. I have a spending friend that said she read several in a weekend and found it to be quite theraputic for her own shopping problem. It is such a funny series and something perfect for vacation or summer or whatever! I am looking for something great to read... anymore ideas out there in the blogosphere?