168 - A different kind of Sunday

Most Sundays my parents and I have lunch and watch a couple of dvd's. I like Sunday to be really low-key because I know that, even though I try not to think about it because it's such a buzzkill, Monday is a workday. Still, after a while, routine can become boring. Every once in a while it's nice to shake things up before you resume business as usual. Today, we did something a little different and it was a nice change, but definitely something I can't do all the time...

After lunch they mentioned that the B. Dalton Bookstore at one of our local malls is going out of business, and knowing how I love to read, asked if I wanted to drop by. I wasn't all that gung ho because I'm trying not to spend money (and not doing a very good job by the way), I have a cabinet full of books waiting to be read (in my bathroom... I read in the tub so it made sense to put them there), and a bookstore going out of business is never a happy event. Eventually though, the thought of potentially getting books at 60% off won out and I said 'okay'. As I expected, the shelves were chaos, and there wasn't a whole lot that piqued my interest... and yet... I still came out with:

• Two Laurell K Hamilton books - books that, mind you, I will have to buy the rest of the series prior to the two books I bought in able to be able to read. The new Merry Gentry book, Divine Misdemeanors (like book 7 or something of a series I haven't even begun to read), and a paperback that I assume is the one prior to that... can't remember what it's called... Midnight something-or-other. I know DM because she's been talking about the release on her blog, which I'm sure you guys already know I obssess over. I was hoping to find more of her books, but those were the only two I could hunt down... I could have gotten the entire Sookie Stackhouse series though... it's just that True Blood kind of turned me off of it, so I don't really want to read the books. (I actually cringed when I wrote that because I know people have strong feelings about the series and I'm due a tongue lashing)
• The latest Sophie Kinsella novel, Twenties Girl. I love the Shopaholic series because they make me laugh, and even though this isn't a Shopaholic book, I like Kinsella's style enough to venture out. I know some people don't like Shopaholic, but with 4-5 titles in the series I can't be the only one who finds them enjoyable. Yes, they're far-fetched, but they're fun!
• A Barefoot Contessa cookbook with some yummy sounding recipes. I'll be honest, she bores the crap out of me on television, but I'll admit, sometimes I watch anyway because the food looks delicious.

And it appears that I'm attempting to single-handedly fund the Jillian Michael's retirement fund, because I also bought:

• Hot Bod in a Box, which is a set of workout cards... I bought this knowing that these exercises are probably duplicates of the dvd I just bought
• Making the Cut, which has a 30-day meal and exercise plan, probably duplicates of the book and dvd and exercise cards I have already purchased

In addition -- I bet you didn't know you could buy makeup at a bookstore -- but I bought about six different shades of Burt's Bees lip balm, a jar of the almond beeswax hand salve, and three Lindor truffles (I realize they aren't makeup, but they also don't warrant their own paragraph so I'm sticking them here thankyouvermuch).

All in all I 'saved' $104.76, and spent $62.35 (and $5 of that was tax). I feel pretty good about it, all things considered.

Then we went to Bath & Body Works... I don't need more bath products, but I'm a bath product whore. They were having a buy 2 get 2 free sale on the stuff I bought, but there was also a buy 3 get 2 free and buy 2 get 1 free sale (I think I got the better deal)... what was I supposed to do? I wanted to smell some of the fragrances I'd seen online... hard to buy online if you haven't smelled the scent... I mean, what does Twilight Woods smell like? Anyone? Blood and dirt and sparkles, perhaps? It does not. It smells mild and flowery and lovely. But it does sparkle. Just like Edward. Oh - I could have bought an Edward doll at B. Dalton, but it was even less attractive than... whoa... I should stop there lest I really do get people all riled up...

So I guess the Extreme Makeover people read my blog and took me seriously when I joked that I was starting to hope they wouldn't call... I didn't really mean it... I would have gladly taken a nap or put on several layers of clothing to have gotten the call... Now the website says the volunteer slots are filled and they had over 3,000 responses, so I guess that's that. I'm sad that I didn't get to be a part of it, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter... the family is benefitting whether I'm there or not, and that's what really counts. The show that features this family is supposed to air in March. Here's more info on the Extreme Makeover build if anyone is interested. Been meaning to post it but it slipped my mind.

So I will do as I had already intended and contact someone from Habitat for Humanity to volunteer for that program, and see how that goes. I think it'll be right up my alley.

One last thing before I go... I'm currently reading Pat Conroy's South of Broad. He is absolutely one of my favorite authors, top five, maybe even number two, just after Dickens. He is such a talented storyteller that he can make anything interesting. Seriously. I read two of his non-fiction books and I rarely read non-fiction (thus far in my life, except for diet and exercise books, I've only read four voluntarily). I don't even watch basketball unless The Rockets are going to the playoffs, but I read My Losing Season and loved it. I had no idea The Water is Wide was autobiographical until I started reading it, but I was captivated. But back to South of Broad... I think chapter 4 is my favorite chapter ever, of any book I've ever read. It is so witty and fun to read that I told myself specifically to blog about it -- and remembered to do so. You can check out some of it if you follow the link above and click 'preview this book'. I want a whole book of banter between these two characters...