New look! The old format had been the same since....wow! I started this blog pretty shortly after I moved out to Baltimore. So it's been at least 3 1/2 years. CRAZY!

I went for a run/walk this morning. I probably ran about 2 miles and walked another mile. I am hoping/planning to do another 5K at the end of June, so I should probably be running the whole 3 miles. I think I need new shoes. My feet keep hurting, like in the arches and the sides, so it makes me want to walk. I like running and I actually feel better running than when I stop, but it's hard to motivate myself sometimes. And today I was thinking that since I don't run with anyone (Trip's stomach problems have kept him for exercising with me), I should get an iPod. It seems silly to spend $250(ish) on myself for an iPod. Especially since my first MP3 player broke. We'll see...

Trip added some stuff to my Flickr page, so I've posted some pics from the Goth Prom. It was a lot of fun last weekend. I didn't think I'd be that into it, but once I got some black eyeliner and dark lipstick, I realized that I could really pull off the Goth look! If only I'd known back in high school.

This weekend looks to be a fairly tame one. I get to go to a wedding in Ocean City, NJ on Sunday with Trip's family. It's his step-cousins getting married. And I think we're going to a picnic/open house that one of his high school friends is throwing on Monday afternoon. It'll just be nice to have two days off in a row! (Not that I should complain, I didn't work Wednesday because I got to take Trip to the doctor instead.)

Anyway! Since I've made it over half-way through the 100 Books Challenge for 2007, I thought I'd post the list. I didn't do it last year (slacker!), but I'd like to at least list the books, even if I don't review 'em. I'll put stars next to the super awesome ones that everyone should read.

100 BOOKS IN 2007

1. Excellent Women - Barbara Pym (*) - 1/7
   
2. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Betty McDonald (not as good as I remembered) - 1/11
   
3. A Ring Around Her Finger (bad vintage YA fiction) - 1/13
   
4. Introducing Ruby Valentine - 1/18
   
5. The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud - 1/25
   
6. The Professor's Daughter (*) - 1/25
   
7. Peanut Butter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever (* Fun graphic novel about a kitty that wears hats) - 1/21
   
8. Austenland - Sharon Hale (Fun modern take-off on Austen) - 1/25
9. An Abundence of Katherines - John Green (*** Excellent YA fiction, v. funny. [as a side note, I met him at the library too!]) - 1/29
10. Looking for Alaska - John Green (* Sad but good)
    
11. Crunchtime - 2/2
12. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (* Good YA book about body image) - 2/5
13. Dramarama - E. Lockhart (* Fun at drama camp) - 2/6
14. Wedding Ettiquette Hell - 2/14
15. The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly (*) - 2/15
16. Bras & Broomsticks - Sarah Mlynowski - 2/21
17. Tropical Kiss - Jan Coffey - 2/24
18. American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang (** Excellent YA graphic novel) - 2/26
19. Cancer Vixen - Marisa Acocella Marchetto (*) - 3/1
20. Room for Improvement - 3/2
21. The Road of the Dead - 3/3
22. Carolina Isle - Jude Devereaux (BAD!!) - 3/4
23. Al Capone Does My Shirts - 3/10
24. The Ballad of Cauldron Bay (*) - 3/13
25. The Boy Book - E. Lockhart (*) - 3/17
26. Love and Other Four-Letter Words - Carolyn Meckler - 3/12
27. Journal - 3/26
28. The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie - Jaclyn Moriarty (*) - 3/26
29. The Year of Secret Assignments - Jaclyn Moriarty (*) - 3/29
30. The Pursuit of Happiness - Tara Alterbrand - 4/6
31. For Better or Hearse - 4/9
32. The World in My Kitchen - Colette Rossand - 4/12
33. Anatomy of a Boyfriend - Daria Snadowsky - 4/12
34. The Adventures of Michael MacInnes - 4/13
35. Newlyweds - 4/15
36. The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose - 4/16
37. Reality TV Bites - 4/20
38. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (****) - 4/25
39. 20 Times a Lady - 4/25
40. Little Lady, Big Apple - Hester Browne - 4/27
41. Hearts of Stone - Kathleen Ernst (*) - 5/3
42. Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time - Rob Sheffield (**) - 5/6
43. Tears of a Class Clown - Sara Faith Alterman (* Nice change of pace in chick lit) - 5/8
44. Altared - ed. Collen Curran (*, especially for brides!) - 5/14
45. The Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists - Gideon Defoe (**) - 5/14
46. The Pirates! in an Adventure with Ahab - Gideon Defoe (**) - 5/15
47. Size 14 is Not Fat Either - Meg Cabot (Disappointing) - 5/21
48. The Key to the Golden Firebird: A Novel - Maureen Johnson Highly (***) - 5/21
49. Feeling Sorry for Celia - Jaclyn Moriarty (*) - 5/24
50. The P.L.A.I.N. Janes (** Fun graphic novel) - 5/23
51. Polly - Amy Bryant - 5/25

So that's all for now!!

How exciting! Blogger now has tags. I have always thought tags for blogging is essential, but I didn't want to move over to Typepad. Some weekend when I'm not crazy-busy, I'll have to figure out some tags for this blog.

Weekly update: the wedding I went to was really, really nice. Some friends from church (we'll call them Lutheran Lovers) got married on Saturday at my church. It was really cool to see a big-ish wedding take place at my church -- the Lutheran Lovers had 12 attendants total! And then we had the reception at the library, which was both pretty and weird. Weird mostly because people kept saying how beautiful it was and I look around and think, yeah, it is pretty, but I am here every day! I forget how beautiful the Central Hall is at night when there aren't as many lights on and people are dressed up. That was the nice part. Plus I got to dance at my workplace. A DJ really jazzes things up!

In other news, I am giving up buying candy until the end of the year. I feel like I get candy (M&Ms and Reese's peanut butter cups) fairly often, and with Halloween ending, I thought it would be a good idea to just say no to buying candy. Now, if someone were to give me candy, I wouldn't say no. Or if there is candy in our department -- but I won't be purchasing it.

I'm off to another weekend -- the end of the "Four Weddings and a Roadtrip Summer/Fall Extravaganza" is in sight. Trip and I are off to New York to a black-tie optional wedding. I am guessing it will probably be the best one we go to this year -- the bride mentioned that when the reception starts, there should be champagne and strawberries for everyone! I really like champagne (as long as it's not too dry), as I discovered at the Champagne Party I went to last spring, so that's awesome. They are also having a live band. So I've got a fancy dress -- it is a retro dress that I got in Hampden for around $20. It's got a Grecian design to it and is a bright peachy color with fake jewelery sewn into the bodice area. It is prettier than my description.

How is everyone liking the new fall TV shows? I haven't picked up too many new shows -- pretty much just Studio 60 (which I don't particularly like, but it's the only thing on on Monday nights), Desperate Housewives (which I know isn't new, but I just started watching it this season and it was surprisingly easy to catch up on), Top Chef (which isn't as good as Project Runway), and Ugly Betty (which I totally LOVE - it's so cute and kitschy!). I am still enjoying Veronica Mars, Lost ('cuz I get to watch it with my sweetie), How I Met Your Mother (LOVE Barney and Marshall!), and The Office (when I can catch it after Confirmation). Anything I should be watching? Anything I should drop?

I've also been going craaaazy reading this year. It's only the beginning of November and I've already read more books than I read last year. I think this may be due to the fact that I've been reading young adult fiction, but still...it's not that much shorter. I'm thinking that I may have to start trying to read more challenging fiction every couple of months. Perhaps during December I'll tackle re-reading Anna Karenina. It's my favorite book, and I still haven't read the new translation that I bought, oh, say four years ago.