Books

I decided this year that I would read more. Less tv, more read. It has helped that we have a netbook and hubby can netflix "Lost" til he falls asleep and I can read, all in one bed! So far here is a list of books that I have read this year -

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - I liked this book. I felt connected to the characters and though there was a nice development. I remember being a teenager and feeling helpless over the plight of women in Afghanastian, and that helplessness was refueled with this book.

2. Memory Keepers Daughter - Kim Edwards - Blah, blah, blah. I have never been so happy for a book to end. It was just contrite and uninteresting. I felt no feelings towards the characters or their plights. I even skipped the last page.

3. The Good Wife - Stewart O'Nan - An interesting book. I wouldn't read it again. It was the every day life of the characters, no real climax, no real end.

4. The time of the uprooted -Elie Wiesel - Holly Moses, this is a hard book. I have been out of the academic world too long to grasp this book. It wasn't a book I could read right before going to bed, or after a glass of wine.

5. Remember us : my journey from the shtetl through the Holocaust - Martin Small - I cried and cried. It was a beautiful book and it was nice to have the author skip over the brutality he (and everyone else) endured. It was more about the human spirit and a remembrance of his family and his life. Highly recommended!

6. Daphne : a novel - Justine Picardie - A good book. I like how the author wove the characters and different time periods together. Wasn't a huge fan of the characters, but that is because I view them as whiny women, and I hate whiny women.


Currently on my nightstand
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire.

New Map

visited 33 states (66%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

It's How We Roll

In the Horne household there are certain chores that we HATE to do. Sometimes they are not done until our lovely and wonderful and perfect Tammi comes to make our castle sparkle. But, because we have to be adults (sometimes) we have a system that divides the chores evenly...




That is how adults make decisions in our house! Luckily, I win most of the time. Here is a list of items that are on the rock,paper,scissors game board

1. Cleaning the kitty box (we are trying to house break her like we did our other cat)
2. Bringing the sheets up stairs at 11pm so we can make the bed
3. Cleaning the kitty box
4. cleaning the kitty box

Reason 1,543 why I love my husband

While watching tv I asked dear Hubby if he would like me to look like a particular thin actress. His response - "I just want you to look like you." aaawwww!

A Christmas Story

This story is a wee-bit late:

As we all know Bert and I eloped. One day just woke up and got married. It was actually planned a lot longer then that, since it is so freakin' time consuming to get married in Pa, but anyway. So with an elopment came "bump watch '09"

Bert thought it would be funny for me to get a little fake pregnancy belly. You know that stage between "is she getting fat" or "is she preggo". hehehe, we did not do that, it would have killed his mother.

SO, I haven't been drinking in front of his family since this elopment, why, more then likely I was nursing a hangover from the night before. On Christmas Eve we were at the BIL *funny because his name is Bill* and I was drinking water. THEN!! The MIL comes into the kitchen and starts to stare at my belly and then smiles at me....I promptly drank a few glasses of wine in front of her, and promised myself more spinning classes in the very near future.

2009

I have composed numerous posts in my head, for whatever reason I have yet to get out of my head and into my computer.

Here it is New Years Eve - where does the time go? Remember being young and thinking time just drags on and on BUT THEN you blink and the next thing you know you are - in college, old enough to drink, approaching ten years since high school, married, have a house, have pets of your own, some have children, people keep looking at your tummy like you are old enough to reproduce (more wine please).... AHHH! Where does the time go?

This year alone I have - adopeted another cat, did well enough in my career to do it again next year, became engaged, became married, my brother turned 40, I'm one more year closer to 30 and once again drank too much :)Went to New Orleans, Las Vegas, Norfolk, Va, CT and home (twice).

2009 was a lovely year. I am excited to see what 2010 holds for everyone.

Here are my goals for 2010
- Make it to Europe
- Produce more in real estate then I did last year
- Try to work on being patient
- Have a better work - life balance (this probably not happen,lets keep it real)
- Continue to be madly in love with Hubby, like madly deeply honeymoon period happy I will work on that until we are dead, I want to be one of those old couples that hold hands and kiss a LOT
- See my parents more then a few times a year or in a an emergency/surgery situation

Pictures of Vegas

VEGAS

Bert and I went on a mini-honeymoon. Three days of Vegas, that was all we needed. We both our work-aholics. I had to make a deal with Bert that I would leave my cell phone in the room, and I had an amazing agent taking care of two transactions that were occuring. But, three days of not knowing what was going on in my business freaked me out :)

Anyway, back to Vegas. Super fun time! The city does NOT sleep! Even when were up at 5am (thank you time delays) there were people gambling, getting coffee, returning from the club... We were in bed by 10pm everynight. That is our kind of vacation, sleeping. We don't do enough. I don't know how people have children and work. We stayed at the MGM Grand and had a view of the strip from our room. We went to a magic show, and to see Zoomanity. We ate good food and gambled a little. Here is the thing - We both work so hard for our money it is not easy for us to let it go. I played the penny slots for two days on one dollar, and Bert played enough blackjack to double his money then cashed out. I don't think the MGM will be asking us back because we are high rollers. I think it would be fun to go to Vegas with a group of friends in the summer, maybe a trip next year? More then likely not. My business is too crazy in the summer to take time off. I think I went to the pool twice this year? And thank goodness for Bill & Bffness otherwise our lawn/garden would have not exsisted.

When the clients are hiding

In my profession there are times when your clients are hiding. For me two weeks ago all of my clients had purchased a home/in the end process of purchase/were still on the fence and didn't want my help. SO, what is a newly married girl to do?? BAKE!





YUMMY bread! I have been scared of yeast for awhile now, but I took the plunge and it worked out well. I have now graduated to whole wheat bread, super good with homemade chili!

And what about this?

We ELOPED!!!

That is right, we ELOPED! After much thought and lots of talking we both agreed that we just didn't care if we had a wedding. We didn't really want the stress that everyone else brings to weddings, we didn't want to spend that much money, we would rather take that money and go to Europe. SO, we went to the court house with Bill & Tom and we eloped. It was a lovely, fun and sunshiny day. After our stint at the courthouse, we went to La Casa (tapas) for lunch and martinis, then we went to the Harris Grill for another martini, and then BOWLING!!! That is right, bowling in all our finery. There was no stress, no tears, no stupid people ruining a perfectly good day. The sun was out all day the boys and I had the best time, and I would like to repeat it every year.

SO, I am a married women now! Yay!! We are both super excited to see what this next chapter holds for us.