Holidays

Can you pick a more crazy time to try and see everyone in the limited days that you get time off from your job. Ack the holidays.
In a span of five days I averaged one city a day. I call it the midwest tour to see relatives and friends and then get back on the plane to leave. I got in at 2am last night and then got myself off to work by 8am and for some odd reason have a burst of energy this evening in which I have unpacked, reorganized, and started several projects.
My cookie baking extravaganza is over. I made sandies, sugar cookies, brownies, choc chip, and shortbread. I wanted to also make some gingerbread, but bought enough of that at the store that I thought I might end up turning my eyes into frosting.
Books that I received over the holidays and hope to enjoy:
Time Travelers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Tokyo Cancelled - Rana Dasgupta
The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
A Year in the Merde - Stephen Clarke
Five Quarters of an Orange - Joanne Harris
Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
Thank you for Smoking - Christopher Buckley
The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
I will let you know what they are like. :)
I need a vacation right after this vacation.

Oh blast. I just wrote a huge email detailing a ton of the books I have read this month and then I lost it. Argh.
So, I am going to post a shorter version.
I have been spending a lot of my free time absorbing books. My library card is starting to bend from excessive use. I am not much of a review writer, but I can let people know which book is worth a read or can stay on the shelf.
Right now I am reading "Tales of the Otori - Across the Nightingale Floor" by Lian Hearn (book one in a three book series) : Really well-written and an easy read. I started this morning and am already halfway through the book. I am going to rent out the second and third immediately. Not sure if my liking is partly due to my interest in Japan or that the characters seem so real in this book.
Other books that I have read in the last month include:
"My Sister's Keeper" - Jodi Picoult: A slight downer, but good read with fantastic characters. I am still split on whether or not I liked the ending.
A Treasury of Scandals - Michael Farquhar: More fact fact fact and less storyline that involves, but packed with great secrets about the royalty. I am glad I checked this one out from the library as I probably would not want to have paid for it, but it was interesting.
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith : Great, fast and funny! Loved the characters.
Drowning Ruth - Christina Schwarz: It is with great trepidation that I rent out a book from the Oprah book list as she usually picks out books that are depressing, heartwrenching, and syrupy. This book would fall under the category of depressing. I did not really like any characters except the dead one, but I kept reading to find out what really happened at the drowning.

The word Monday just sucks unless in the following instance:

Ugh, I hate Mondays...I wish this day would go faster.

Uh, it is Wednesday, not Monday.

No way, really. No way. I thought it was Monday (self-employed)

Cool.

Conversation I had yesterday with a freelance designer who I met in the office.

I need to get a new digital camera soon. Comparing models right now.

New beginning

Being glued to this computer on a daily basis has finally alloted me the time to start this!
I think it will be a good for me to write and remember and keep a journal unlike the hundreds of paper journals I have started and not gotten past page 10.
Now...I wonder if I should let those I know in person know about this site...must get that clear now.
I just recently ended some online correspondence with a friend so I need to have someplace to come and type away all this fun stuff.
Ok, let me get this thing started.