rachelpink rides the bus

June Books

This month I surpassed the halfway mark. With 9 books read, my 2008 total is 56 books. I'm astonished.

Here's the list:
The Host
In The Woods
Get Back in the Box
Have You Found Her
Here Comes Everybody
Click
The Mistress's Daughter
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Hunger Games

Favorite book this month? The Hunger Games

Favorite book jacket this month? Here Comes Everybody

Favorite book to describe to other people this month? The Host

Foster Fun Facts

1. Foster likes to stick his paw in my mouth when I yawn--so I'm trying not to yawn.

2. Foster runs at my face, and then settles down on my neck. It's awkward but endearing.

3. Foster was snuggled up with me last night as I watched BSG on my laptop. I turned it off midway through my second episode and Foster freaked out, started pawing the laptop lid, and crying. My cat might be a cylon.

4. Foster kneads me like I'm a big ball of bread dough.

5. Cupcake and Foster are starting to chase each other around the apartment, and I think that's encouraging.

6. Foster puts one little paw (no claws) on my cheek and stares into my eyes.

7. Foster is a great little cat.

Tasty

This weekend I've been enjoying the fruits (or, vegetables) of my CSA. Fresh soft boiled beets with goat cheese. Baby arugula with homemade balsamic dressing. Beet greens and chard in a coconut curry.

Simple fresh unfussy food that's perfect for summer. I haven't been tempted by takeout since the veggies arrived, and this week I have so much greenery, I'm bringing a nice assortment in for Vince and Lisa to share.

Which reminds me--I'll be out of town at the end of the month and I don't want my share to go to waste. Anyone interested in picking it up? It's all yours if you do--just drop me an email.

Guilty Pleasure Saturday

I finished The Host and I saw Sex and the City--it's guilty pleasure Saturday!

Sex and the City: The Previews
Baz Luhrman's Australia looks amazing! Hancock looks promising! He Just Not That Into You looks terrifying! Swing Vote looks ridiculous.

Sex and the City: The Movie
I was the youngest person in the theater by 40 years, just 30-something me and all the grandmothers of Queens sipping Cosmos and clicking our Manolos. Audience aside, my expectations were moderate, and they were exceeded. I didn't start watching the TV show until the second to last season--and then I fell for it. Hard. But that feels like a long time ago. I'm definitely not one of the hardcore legions, but I had a good time. Some thoughts:

Miranda's neck is ridiculously long. Upsettingly long. Do turtlenecks even go that high?
I love Chris Noth and I don't care if he does jerky stuff.
The personal assistant subplot was just so stupid and racist. It made NO sense. NONE.
Samantha looked bad. She must have angered the lighting director.
Carrie's footwear doesn't do it for me. I'm surprised she didn't don a pair of bandals during her Mexicoma.
I only like Carrie because Big likes Carrie.
The Brooklyn Bridge scene made me tear up, even though Miranda's neck was prominently featured.
I kind of loved the ending. A lot.

OK, so I watched that, and despite the criticisms I liked it. It's maddening and adorable all rolled into one.

And then I came home and finished The Host.

The Host: The Book (no doubt soon to me a movie)
This is Stephanie Meyer's first adult novel. I've read all her YA books (about vampires, werewolves, and young love), so I was happy that Meg lent me her library copy (Meg--I'll return it on Monday for you?). All of Meyer's books are too long by 100 pages. They also tend to have the emotional complexity of a high school sophomore. All shallow but intense, romantic but ridiculously so. There's no reason The Host couldn't be YA. It's chaste as a latter-day Kirk Cameron, and the scariness is mild. Still, I recommend this book for chicks looking for a summer beach read--especially chicks who like their sci-fi with a side of Sweet Valley High.

I'm Keeping Him

Raise your hand if you're surprised.

What sealed the deal? Aside from love, kneading, and a tongue that occasionally sticks out, the clincher was the $150 vet bill.  This means that el gato is one of the most expensive things in my apartment.

His official name (in case you were considering a personalized gift):

FOSTER BE (Bright Eyes) KEMPST3R

Nothing Beats Beets

This week's haul:
ESCAROLE
RED OAKLEAF LETTUCE
CABBAGE
COLLARDS
SWISS CHARD
BULB FENNEL
BASIL
RED BEETS
I really need to start paying attention to the list. Tonight I greedily went for a piece of escarole thinking it was plain old lettuce. Ack. It was crazy bitter.

I prepped what I needed to prep and then made a yum dinner salad: fresh basil, escarole, cabbage, broccoli, glass noodles and Newman's Own Sesame Ginger dressing.

While I ate, the beets bubbled away on the stove, and now they're chilling in the fridge. I think I'll use them in a salad tomorrow with the last of last week's baby argula and some goat cheese. Good good haul. I am greedy for the beets.

Love and Cupcake

Delaney and Donovan are proud owners of goldfish. Delaney named her fish Cupcake. "Now we both have Cupcakes!!" she beamed. I told her that when she comes to visit me next year, we're going to have a girls-only tea party. Donovan was irked--he stood behind her (we were video chatting) and talked in a high voice and said he'd wear a wig so he could come too until I reminded him that there are plenty of boys-only activities. "Like the Empire State Building!!" he yelled. Yup. So then he started asking what we'd do while he was in town. "On Friday, can we have pizza delivered?" "Of course!" "So Friday we'll play video games and eat pizza?" "Why not?" "Yeah yeah yeah! I'm going to write a list of everything we're going to do!" It's going to be a tight squeeze this visit. Donovan doesn't know that he's going on a mystery surprise trip from Monday to Wednesday. Shhh. Don't tell. And then he'll be with me from then until Sunday. I promised him a party--looks like I'll need to get that sorted ASAP.

More on Me

The Penguin Blog interviewed me this week. Read all about it here. You'll learn all about my favorite children's books, my love of technology, and my PR shenanigans (they're word, not mine).

A Happy-Making Thing

Weekend Work

I'm not maximizing my weekends. I planned to get some work done, finish In The Woods, and be all kinds of productive. Instead I:

1. Wasted 2.5 hours commuting to and from, and then waiting for a volunteer project that didn't happen.
2. Ate some Pinkberry and then came home for a nap.
3. A really long nap.
4. Watched 3 episodes of BSG while knitting something for Lylablu's birthday.
5. Made a taco salad and cleaned up the apartment.
6. Slept.
7. Went to shelter.
8. Brought home a foster cat.
9. Ran out for foster cat supplies.
10. Went a little crazy from screaming foster cat.
11. Took a nap with foster cat.
12. Made fish tacos and put way too much lime juice in the cabbage slaw.
13. Watched Law and Order while foster cat kneaded me and scratched my neck.
14. Slept.