Monday Musings 11/19

Well, I am a giant stress-ball at the moment, so I am playing catch-up a bit on my NaBloPoMo posting. I know there isn't anyone out there complaining, but I still feel guilty. Saturday and Sunday's posts will be up by the end of the day.

Today is the big day we get to talk to the relocation company and get the down-low on exactly what needs to be done by when, and where we will be and how we will get there. All good things to know. But we can't call until noon because of the time difference. Killer!

Tomorrow we're taking pictures to put up with our house listing, so we've been organizing and cleaning out the wazoo. It is hilarious to see how much clutter creeps into your life even when you think you're being good. Once we started moving it out into the garage, I remembered how nice and airy our house was initially. In our new home, I think I'll have to institute a much firmer policy on spring cleaning, and a "just because we have it doesn't mean we need to keep it" policy. Down with clutter!

Friday Ramblings 11/16

So yes! Moving! I am currently neck deep in panicky thoughts about things like realtors, moving companies, and how to adjust my kids to a 3 hour time difference with a minimum of DOOOOOOM. Not exactly sexy blog fodder, amirite?

To perk things up, I did a google search. The topic? AWESOME THINGS ABOUT PORTLAND! Here is a list to help get me to see beyond the minutiae of the relocating process and into the funtimes that are coming!

• Japanese Gardens! Portland is known for its awesome parks and gardens. This garden, over 5 acres and very authentic, is tops on my list to visit!
• Portland Timbers! They have an MLS team! I love soccer, and it sounds like their fans are a lot of fun. We will definitely be checking them out.
• Powell's City of Books! Because SERIOUSLY!
• Food carts! A friend of a friend of a friend owns a food cart out there that sells PIE, I can't wait to hit it up! Come on, people. I'm not made of stone.

Thankful Thursday 11/15

Well, this week I am thankful for POSSIBILITIES.

 Even when they kind of scare us, seeing our world open up in new directions is an amazing thing. My husband got the job offer. We'll be moving waaaaay across the country in about 3 weeks. Portland, watch out!

Waiting on Wednesday: 11/14

This is another on Netgalley - I adore Ally Carter and the Gallagher Girl books, and I've heard good things about Audrey, Wait! so I'll definitely give this a whirl. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good andbad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

ROBIN BENWAY is the acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! and The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June, both ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Benway's books have been published in 16 languages, won awards abroad, and been bestsellers in several countries. Formerly a bookseller and book publicist, she lives in Los Angeles.

Also Known As... comes out February 26, 2013!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Audiobook Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

Title: The Diviners
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Listening Library
Reader: January LaVoy
Source: Library
Rating: 7/10

Summary: SOMETHING DARK AND EVIL HAS AWAKENED. . .
Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho is hiding a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened. . . 

Monday Musings 11/12

Good morning lovelies! I hope everyone had a stellar weekend. Sadly, despite a gorgeous last gasp of nice weather before a cold front drizzles in today, it was my weekend to work so I got up to not much. I did volunteer to take the recycling to the center just to get outside a bit on Sunday, and it was totally worth it.

Today is expected to be the big day, regarding news on my husband's job prospects and our possible move ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Sadly, the time difference means a long, stressful wait. This is all very strange for me. I lived in the house I was LITERALLY born in my entire childhood. Then I went away to college, and then I settled into our current city with my boyfriend/future husband. Moving is just not something I've ever really done! *cue panic*

But of course, there is also a lot of excitement inherent in a move. New places, new dreams, new possibilities.

We'll be fine, wherever we are. I just want to knooooooooooooooooooow!

Around here 11/11

I love that I'm still able to wear my summer flats. I'm not a boot girl, it is so sad in the winter, when cute shoes disappear for a while.

Basically the cutest of all time, ever.

A new blanket. Sooooo soft. I think I'll be under this all winter, reading or crafting.

Our buddy to help us cheer on the Cards! It is that glorious time of year, when we have a football game on Saturday and a basketball game on Sunday! Wheeeee! Go Cards!