I'm off today...lots of thing to do! Taxes, groceries, napping, and making dinner.

I also should go for a run this morning. I feel really stupid for offering up this excuse, but my arm hurts! It makes me not want to do anything, especially running. It's really stupid, because it's my ARM, not my leg or really anything that would prevent running and/or walking. So we'll see how long I let myself be silly and achy. I'm hoping the Vitamin I (ibuprofen) will kick in during the next hour or so and I'll feel up to going.

I just finished reading an interesting book -- Waking Beauty. It's all about this woman who is fat and ugly (her description of herself!) who wakes up one morning as a beautiful supermodel. Despite the change in her appearance, she ends up changing her behavior and getting revenge on those who disliked her when she was her former self. Short and actually kind of thought provoking.

So...yeah...the ibuprofen hasn't quite kicked in yet, but I think I'll probably get outside at least this morning. Probably in the next half-hour. Although it is awful nice and warm under my blanket!

I went to Starbucks today to get a vanilla latte. I was too busy reading this morning to have time to make coffee and breakfast so I decided to get a treat. I can't imagine making a $3.26 latte a part of my daily routine! The cashier at Starbucks declared I looked like a celebrity -- but not Kirsten Dunst, as I am accustomed to hearing. No, he said I looked like Nicole Kidman. Ha! She's a super skinny Australian! And I...I am definitely not. But it was a nice compliment to hear right away in the morning.

It's only ten days to the wedding! I am starting to get a little stressed out about things. It's hard to put my finger on what is the most stressful because most of the things are under control. But I wake up early each morning with my mind racing through everything I need to do that day. So reading my book (One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson) has been good for escaping the wedding stresses. I realized that I enjoy reading books set in Edinburgh, Scotland. I love Andrew McCall Scott's 44 Scotland Street stories, which are also set in the capital city of Edinburgh. Perhaps that means I should visit the city again! If only the exchange rate was better...

I had the weirdest thing happen to me last night.

I was sleeping on my side with my arm tucked under my head. I woke up, rolled over, and stretched my right arm. Then I reached over with my left hand and felt something warm. My hand was raised, so I was terribly worried about why there was a mystery hand in my bed right next to me. And then I realized that I hadn't really stretched my arm out. It was so asleep that I couldn't even see it -- or feel it when the other hand touched it.

It was so surreal to feel like there was an extra hand in my bed. Especially since it was warm!

But I managed to fall back asleep -- and this time I didn't sleep on my arm.

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!!

Amusing thing I saw while out on a lunchtime walk:

A group of school kids leaving the Walters Museum area and one of the boys burst out into "Stop! in the Name of Love" as he crossed the street. Other boys joined in with him, much to the chagrin of me and what looked like a teacher.

That is all.