February Reads: 40 Books for 2012

"According to Dickens, the first rule of human nature is self-preservation and when I forgive him for writing a character as pathetic as Oliver Twist, I’ll thank him for the advice."

-Jellicoe Road

Yes, my reading list is still pretty heavy with the YA selections. The Young Adult genre has simply produced some of the most amazing stories in the last ten years. It’s so different than how I remember YA from when I was a kid. I adored my beloved Paula Danziger, but I read all of her books in middle school. By high school, I read nothing but adult fiction. If YA fiction had been this amazing and epic when I was in high school, I wouldn’t have had to read all that Anne Rice. And may have abandoned black lipstick that much sooner.

#4: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – Set on an island off Ireland where the annual sport every November is catching vicious water horses and racing them for a cash prize. This book was scary and brutal, but also incredibly moving and memorable. The characters were all so sympathetic and realistic, and the Irish village setting was so quaint and freezing. The main characters Kate and Sean also had some significant swoon factor. [book club selection]





#5: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta – This is quite simply, one of the best books I’ve ever read. It was so good, that the moment I finished it, I started reading it all over again. I never do that. Taylor Markham goes to school on the Jellicoe Road where every Fall for a generation, a group of cadets from a military academy descends on the school property, and territory wars erupt between the two schools and the townies. This year, Taylor is in charge of the Jellicoe side, and Jonah Griggs, a boy from her murky past, is in charge of the cadets. There are so many amazing layers to this story, and all of the characters are fantastic, and I love them so much.


#6: Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling, Book 1) by Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling’s best friend, Hope, has just moved away and left her alone in a high school where she seems to hate everyone and everything. The book is comprised of journal entries and letters to Hope about how awful her pseudo-friends are and her growing obsession with oddly hot pothead, Marcus Flutie. I liked aspects of this book, like the awesome stylings of Marcus Flutie, but overall found Jessica to be such a miserable whiner that she’s not at all sympathetic. [book club selection]



#7: Second Helpings (Jessica Darling, Book 2) by Megan McCafferty – So I loved Marcus Flutie so much, that I read the second Jessica Darling book just to get more of him. And this book, though still written as a series of whiny Jessica’s journal entries and letters, was much more rewarding in the Marcus Flutie department, and for that, I am grateful. This is Jessica’s senior year of high school, and she finally has some epiphanies about herself that serve to make her a slightly less obnoxious teenager. And I will probably read the third book in the series, because, you know, MARCUS.

Why aren't you watching The Vampire Diaries?

“There’s no such thing as a bad idea, just poorly executed awesome ones.”

-Damon Salvatore

Something to keep in mind when making your Oscar picks.

Via Lindy West:


A Los Angeles Times study found that academy voters are markedly less diverse than the moviegoing public, and even more monolithic than many in the film industry may suspect. Oscar voters are nearly 94% Caucasian and 77% male, the Times found. Blacks are about 2% of the academy, and Latinos are less than 2%. Oscar voters have a median age of 62, the study showed. People younger than 50 constitute just 14% of the membership.

Oscar winner Jack Palance = it all makes sense now.

My Oscar Predictions 2012

Geez, when did the Best Picture category get so glutted? I think I agree with most of Roger Ebert's predictions this year. (Though you'll note that I also predict the possible upset where applicable.) Ebert predicts The Artist for Best Picture, which is a perfectly rational guess, based on it's performance at the preceeding award shows. However, I do not have that much faith in the Academy. I think The Artist will be too avant-garde for their sensibilities, and they'll choose The Help, just like they chose Crash, and Forrest Gump. Because sometimes, the Academy is just dumb.

Best PictureExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Artist
The Descendants
The HelpThe Tree of Life
War Horse

Leading ActorBrad Pitt (Moneyball)
Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
My heart says "George Clooney!" because... well, why wouldn't your heart cry out for him? But Jean Dujardin is likely the sure bet, especially if the voter didn't choose his movie for Best Picture. Can you say 'consolation prize'?

Leading ActressGlenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)
Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Viola Davis (The Help)
For the love of all that is holy, Academy, do not screw this up. Do not give yet another freaking award to a tepid Meryl Streep movie.

Supporting ActorChristopher Plummer (Beginners)Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)
Nick Nolte (Warrior)
If it doesn't go Plummer's way (though he's old, and the Academy loves that shit), look for Nick Nolte for the upset.
Supporting ActressBerenice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy could be the upset here, and with good reason. Though Octavia had the more serious performance, and that always has the edge.


Animated FeatureA Cat in Paris
Chico
& Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Directing
Hugo (Martin Scorsese)Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)
The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
The Descendants (Alexander Payne)
The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)
Again, I break with Ebert. The Academy loves them some freakin' Scorsese (drink!). Though, this is also another consolation prize award, and they may choose to give it to Terrence Malick, because Tree of Life won't be picking up a single other statue.

Screenplay (Adapted)The DescendantsHugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Though Moneyball could be the upset here.


Screenplay (Original)The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in ParisA Separation

Documentary FeatureHell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: PurgatoryPina
Undefeated

And just in case you're curious, I'm also calling A Separation for the Foreign Language Film.

January Reads: 40 Books for 2012

#1: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart – Fifteen year-old Frankie is a sophomore at a prestigious prep school who went from ugly duckling to swan over the Summer. She’s acquired a hot senior boyfriend Matthew, and been accepted into his group of friends - except for the secret meetings that Matthew doesn’t tell her about. Frankie manages to infiltrate the secret club and lead them into their best pranks ever, without their knowledge. Everyone in my book club loved this book, so I expected to like it better. But I wanted Frankie to be more invested in her own life, instead of trying to find acceptance from a secret boys club. It was good, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype.


#2: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Sixteen year-old Hazel has been living with terminal cancer for three years. Her life is centered around her parents and her trashy reality shows, and the oxygen tank she has to lug everywhere she goes, until she meets amputee and cancer survivor Augustus Waters at her teen cancer group. I don’t want to give too much away, but the truth is, I have a hard time talking about this book. It’s an incredibly emotional experience, and it stays with you for a really long time. Two days after finishing it, I broke down in tears at a stoplight. It’s not just the best John Green book, it may be the best book ever. My favorite review, from Forever Young Adult: Augustus Waters is MAGIC.

#3: Something Wikkid This Way Comes: A Novella by Nicole Peeler – Capitola, Shar, and Moo, the #1 ladies detective agency from Nicole Peeler’s Tempest Legacy gets their own story. They’re hired to investigate cult-like disappearances at a girls’ Catholic school. This was a light mystery, that I read in one evening on my Kindle for iPhone app. I wasn’t especially attached to the characters. I think the thing that works best about the Jane True series for me is Jane True herself, who is sadly absent from this story.

December Reads: 50 Books for 2011

37 books. Sadly, I did not reach my goal of 50 new books for 2011. It’s very likely that I did read 50 books last year, just due to the fact that I’m a re-reading nerd. There are a handful of books that I read over again every single year (the entire Twilight saga – to my utter shame, the first few books of the In Death series, Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me and Jude Deveraux’s Sweet Liar – just to name a few). But the idea of this type of goal is to get me out of that rut and trying new books, authors, and genres. So now I’m thinking of a more conservative goal for 2012. What do we think of 40 new books this year?

2011 Round-up:

#35: Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen – Formerly chubby Colie spends the Summer with her eccentric aunt, working at a diner and making friends with a couple of older girls, and a quirky artist named Norman. This is my second Sarah Dessen novel. And while I don’t completely adore the heroines in either story, I like where the stories go, and I do love the secondary characters. This book made me want to spend the Summer at the beach (reading Sarah Dessen books) in an assortment of flashy sunglasses.

#36: Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 11) by Charlaine Harris – Sookie Stackhouse’s workplace gets bombed and she gets sucked into yet another supernatural political intrigue, and it’s pretty much just another day at the office. I still love Sookie. But I think this series should have ended about three books ago, so now everything is just dragging. And I really hate how much Eric has changed as a character. It doesn’t seem realistic. And yes, I’m talking about a thousand year old vampire and realism.

#37: The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery by Philip Pullman – I keep going back and forth on whether I liked this book. I said 'no' when my book club met to discuss it. The Victorian London and opium dens setting is fascinating and moody. The mystery-solving in that era reminded me heavily of my beloved Francesca Cahill mysteries. And I liked the secondary characters, and the family of misfits that they build together. But I never really liked Sally. I liked her unconventional business skills, and her curiosity. But otherwise, she fell somewhat flat for me. [book club selection]

November Reads: 50 Books for 2011

#32: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling - This book is adorable and hilarious, much like Mindy herself. It has excellent advice for how to be a good friend and how to be a hot dude. So basically, it's the best gift book of all time.








#33: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - I have started this book a dozen times over the years and finally made it over the hump. Around chapter 40, it starts to get really juicy. Based on Pinterest, the quote “You have bewitched me body and soul.” plays a huge part. Except it's totally not in the book! I'm assuming it's from the Colin Firth BBC mini-series (which I got for Christmas, and can't wait to devour all 5 hours). I really loved the story, and the characters, just as I knew I would. I just had to get past those first tiresome chapters.




#34: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - This YA novel was based on a series of old photos of children that appear to be in some kind of circus sideshow. It was okay, though the main character was came off as super whiny. The ending is somewhat abrupt and unsatisfying, due to a sequel (or likely, yawn, trilogy) in the works. [book club selection]

This is my ouch face.

I poked a hole in my nose. Happy birthday Sally! Now it's your turn!

A Letter to Santa

Cooper's Christmas wish list as dictated to his 11 year-old aunt. God forbid Santa leave some non-shiny coins in his stocking.

October Reads: 50 Books for 2011

It was a YA-tastic October! For no reason at all, and completely by accident, all of the books I finished in October were from the Young Adult genre. Okay, it wasn’t completely by accident as two of the selections were for the Forever YA book club I joined.

#28: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Is a 576 page tome about an orphan, her foster family, and the Jew hidden in their basement in Nazi Germany during World War II. It’s horribly depressing, mainly because everyone is starving and then dies. Okay, not everyone. But geez, did I need a fluffy romance novel to recover from this one. Liesel, the 11 year-old heroine learns to read over the course of the book and also begins accumulating a collection of stolen books. I didn’t love this story. I could see how it was skillfully written, but by the end, it was very hard to find something good to take away from it. Due to the sucking of the joy out of the world. And I hated the narrator. [book club selection]

#29: The Radleys by Matt Haig – This was recommended to me by two avid readers and it’s vampire YA – what more could I want?? The Radley’s are your average suburban-dwelling English family that go to work, go to school, eat dinner, socialize with the neighbors, take out the trash etc. Except they’re also vampires. I really enjoyed the family dynamic juxtaposed against the paranormal drama. It was entertaining, and had some genuinely exciting moments. And even with all the moodiness and noir of a vampire family drama, it was a relaxing breath of fresh air after The Book Thief.

#30: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor – This YA fantasy has some insane world building and fascinating secondary characters. The heroine Karou, is a blue-haired, tattooed art student in Prague, with a very unusual part time job. She's kickass and incredibly vivid. The Prague setting is wonderfully drawn and has me dying to visit and have a bowl of goulash in a hidden cafe. I would never have chosen this novel for myself, but actually really enjoyed it and look forward to a sequel. [book club selection]

#31: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen - This is my first Sarah Dessen (the reigning queen of YA romance). Remy is the daughter of a one-hit-wonder rock star and an oft-married mother and is cynical about romance. Then she meets Dexter, a mess of a dude in a band. I kind of like the fact that Dexter took on the manic pixie dream girl role. I had a hard time connecting with Remy because I didn't understand her terror of committing herself to awesome Dexter. But I liked the ending and will be squeezing in some more Sarah Dessen.

It happened to me.

“You're dead, dude. Get over it.”

So my current obsession is vampires. And you’re like “You? No! That’s crazy talk.” But no, REALLY, YOU GUYS. The Vampire Diaries is currently in its third season, and it is so insanely good, that I can’t even stop talking about it. The energy and pacing is amazing. They throw so many huge plot twists and new developments into every single episode, that it’s like sweeps week all the time.

In the first season, and on the surface, it’s very Twilight-esque. A hundred-something year-old vampire falls in love with a human teenager. But right away, the story expands, and it’s not just about the two star-crossed lovers anymore. It’s really funny, and genuine, and action-packed. It’s about love and loss, and betrayal and forgiveness, and trying to be strong in the face of overwhelming odds. And the epic bromance between a vampire and a vampire hunter. But at its core, The Vampire Diaries is about characters. Amazing, flawed, three-dimensional, evolving characters.

The two very different brothers who’ve fallen in love with the same woman… twice. The brooding vampire who’s been betrayed by his brother a hundred times, but hasn’t become jaded or forgotten how to smile. The anti-Bella who loves a vampire, but hasn’t lost her self, who values family and friends above everything, and never wants to become a vampire. The most reckless, manipulative, and self-destructive vampire ever, who loves his brother… and his brother’s girlfriend. The human history teacher who’s lost the two women he’s loved but is trying to be there for two teenagers who’ve lost everyone. The cheerleader turned Vampire Barbie who’s acquired depth and compassion but never lost her enthusiasm for life. The young witch who’s willing to sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. The sullen teenager who’s faced overwhelming loss but is growing up and trying to be there for his family.

Oh, and every actor on this show is mind-blowingly talented and insanely good-looking. The first two seasons are on dvd and Netflix Instant and if you don’t start watching them immediately, I don’t even want to know you.

September Reads: 50 Books for 2011

Okay, I can promise I read more than one book in the month of September. I did a bit of a re-reading and then also read a big chunk of The Book Thief for Forever Young Adult book club, but that post will be in the October round-up.

#27: Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead - They finally get the cover art right and it's the last damn book in the series. Succubus Georgina Kincaid finally finds what she's been looking for - a loophole in her contract with hell. But hell doesn't really like losing employees so this could turn out really bad for her. But of course she gets her (mostly) happy ending and the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, it's not the one I wanted her to end up with. Carter 4-eva!

August Reads: 50 Books for 2011

#22: Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler – I was SO excited for this fourth installment in the Jane True series. I’ve been dying for Jane to get together with the big hulking barghest that she has a thing for, but epic forces of good and evil keep getting in the way. Jane basically gets sent on a quest for the holy grail (substitute: powerful relic) and has to decide whether she really wants to be a hero or not. I have to admit, I found this one to be a bit repetitive and not quite as good as the previous volumes in the series. I’m anxious to see where the author goes next.

#23: Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb - This is the eleventieth million in the In Death Series. Or, number 32. This series has been getting pretty stale and formulaic, which is probably what happens after you’ve written 30 books about the same characters. I was skeptical this one would be any better since it was also about corrupt cops within the force, which has been covered in this series before. But the approach felt fresher and the character’s reactions were much more emotional. I think kick-ass homicide detective Eve Dallas is finally allowing her soft side to show.

#24: Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead – Demonic and yet essentially good-hearted succubus Georgina Kincaid is having a crappy Christmas. Some mysterious angels have stowed some random dude in her apartment for safe-keeping, and some mystical force is draining her succubus energy. There’s also more and more discord between her and the human boyfriend she keeps at arms-length out of concern for his mortal soul. This book was depressing.

#25: Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead – This fourth book in the Georgina Kincaid series sees Regina’s boss, the arch-demon of Seattle disappear from the city, which renders the lesser immortals under him temporarily mortal. This allows Georgina and Seth to give into their long denied desires, even though he’s now with someone else. But of course Georgina can’t leave anything alone and feels the need to rescue her boss, even if it means she goes back to being a succubus.

#26: Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead – As a result of what happened in Succubus Dreams, succubus Georgina has been kidnapped by some kind of evil dream-sucking thing. She’s left in an in-between state where she’s constantly dreaming. Some of the dreams are real events from her life and some are fake – just to mess with her. This is all really just a device for the character to relive all the things she’s done in her centuries long life, including all the men she’s hurt. Her friends work to save her, and I have to say, I was surprised at who ended up being the key to ending her torture.

Having a bad day?

This makes everything better.

The Little Missus

I've been giving some thought to weddings and marriage since this week I celebrate my eleventh wedding anniversary (I may even let Rob celebrate too). And then this post by Andrea Grimes got me thinking (and okay, a little bit defensive) about the long-held, and somewhat outdated tradition of women taking their husband's name when marrying. I made my decision a long time ago, and have occasionally felt twinges of guilt (as good, privileged liberals are wont to do) about the possibility of having done a disservice to the sisterhood. But then I remind myself, thanks to hard fought battles of the women who came before me, it was my own damn choice to make.

I am a third-wave feminist. I was raised Unitarian, by a single mother, and I majored in Anthropology. And I chose to take my husband’s last name when I got married.

In my defense, I got married at 22. I think it’s downright miraculous that I’ve stuck with any decision I made at 22, including my choice in husband. I often think about all the things I’d do differently if I had my wedding to do over again. I’d pick a different dress, possibly a different venue, and there’s no way in hell I’d do that damned garter toss again. But strangely enough, taking my husband’s name isn’t one of those things.

Given my background, I grew up knowing that taking my husband’s name when marrying was my choice to make. Since I was one of the first to get married among my friends, I didn’t even have a peer sample to compare. My mother, who’s been married three times (don’t tell her I told you that), has taken his name, been a hyphenate, and is now sporting her maiden name for good.

I don’t think Rob cared either way if I took his name. To be honest, I don’t recall ever asking him. If he’d had a definite opinion, I hope I would have at least listened politely. But even at 22, his opinion on this wouldn’t have carried much weight. It was always my decision to make.

Many factors went into my decision.

• My parents divorced when I was a baby and I’ve never had a relationship with my father or his family, yet I carried his name for 22 years.


• Maybe because of that, I was never particularly attached to the name. It wasn’t anything special, nor anything especially horrid.


• It wasn't a difficult name to pronounce, yet people always seemed to stumble over it.


• I am alive and vital and so very easy to find on the internet, regardless of what name you know me by.


• There’s one benefit to getting married at 22: Before I became the internet sensation I am today, I was too young to have done anything especially noteworthy to give that name any added cache.


• Having a uniquely spelled first name (silly as it is) was always my more memorable quality and I’ve always identified more with that.


• Maybe if I’d had my last name changed to my mother’s family name when I was a kid, I would have felt differently.


• I had and have a far stronger relationship with the family I married into, than the one who’s name I was born with.

I still worry sometimes (when I forget there are so many more important things to worry about) that some people will make incorrect assumptions about me and my values and background because of the fact that I carry my husband’s name. But never fear ladies, I didn’t lose my chance to fight the patriarchy. I just fought my own.

July Reads: 50 Books for 2011

I was an urban fantasy devouring fiend in July.

#15: Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler – The second book in the Jane True series takes adorable Jane out of her small coastal Maine town and into the big city to visit her vampire boyfriend and fight big bad evil. (While cracking jokes and sporting Converse of course.)









#16: Tempest’s Legacy by Nicole Peeler – The third book in the Jane True series and my favorite one so far. Jane’s world is turned upside-down when she finds out the fate of her long-lost mother. She makes some big decisions about her relationships and also starts really coming into her own power. I adore Jane, but also really love all of the secondary characters in this series.








#17: Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells – The first in the Sabina Kane series. Sabina is a vampire half-breed assassin in L.A. with a ginormous chip on her shoulder. She’s pretty rough around the edges but has fascinating adventures and a joins forces with a hot wizard.









#18: The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells – The second book in the Sabina Kane series sees Sabina relocating to New York to meet the magical half of her family. Things turn violent pretty quickly, which is pretty much just how Sabina rolls. I want to like Sabina, but she makes such dumb decisions sometimes that I kind of want to thump her on the head.








#19: Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead – The first book in the Georgina Kincaid series introduces the succubus with the heart of gold, who works in a bookstore in Seattle, when she’s not stealing the life force from people. Georgina is full of all kinds of idiosyncrasies for a demon from hell. She also finds herself torn between two men that she really can’t have.








#20: Succubus on Top by Richelle Mead – In the second book from this series, Georgina is trying to make a go of it with her human boyfriend Seth, while also trying please her bosses in hell. There are going to be a LOT of obstacles in between Georgina and her happily ever after.









#21: Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells – The third book in the Sabina Kane series sees Sabina and her motley crue (hot mage Adam and her demon familiar Giguhl) heading to New Orleans to rescue her sister and go to war with her evil grandmother once and for all. The New Orleans setting is the perfect background for a paranormal adventure.

June Reads: 50 Books for 2011

For some reason my reading picks up in the Summer. So I managed three new books in June (and some re-reads of course) and July is looking even better. Yay! My credit card bill? Not looking so good.

#12: Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - The fug girls wrote a book! The best celebrity fashion bloggers on the internet wrote a young adult novel, and it's fantastic. Brooke and Molly, who never knew they were sisters, have been thrown together as teenagers by their movie star father. It's Sweet Valley High meets Dynasty meets Beverly Hills 90210 meets every guilty pleasure you've ever loved. It's sweet and fluffy, and funny and poignant. If you love YA, and/or the fug girls, you should read this already.

#13: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler - The first book in the Jane True urban fantasy series. Jane is bookish and yet scrappy and does a helluva job adjusting to her new paranomal heritage. Oh, and she meets a hot vampire. Which, of course, is like the beginning of every awesome book. Loving this series.

#14: I'm Not the New Me by Wendy McClure - Amazon has recommended this book to me for years, and the cover art has always appealed to me. But this isn't your average chick-lit novel. It reads more like a blog (which is what it's based on) so I kind of felt like it lacked a clear plot and ending. But I LOVED the retro Weight Watchers recipe cards and witty commentary that were included, and that's where the author's humor really shines.

Life List (100 Things I Want to Do)

Vacation in Hawaii
Take a photography class
Meet John Prine
Travel Scotland
See castles
Eat an In-N-Out burger
Have dinner in Little Italy
Go shopping at the Alight store in NYC
Have a Nathan’s hot dog on Coney Island
Visit Bremerton, Washington
Go on a cruise
Pay off all of our credit cards
Have my kitchen remodeled
Buy a Volkswagen Beetle
Have a swimming pool
Write a novel
Drive across the U.S. in an RV
Go to San Diego Comic Con
See a Broadway show
Take Cooper to Disney World (Planned! June 2013!)
Have a picture taken of Rob, Cooper and me that I really love
See the sunflowers in Tuscany
Open my own or work in a book store
Hire a maid service
Find a job I can do from home
Take the Jack the Ripper tour in London
Go on a trip with my mother and sister
Have an elfa closet
Become a professional organizer
Visit the M&M store in Las Vegas
Buy something at the Tiffany store in NYC
Go whale watching
Visit Deadwood South Dakota
Quit my job
Take Cooper to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
Open my own summer camp
Get my nose pierced
Resurect Jello Pudding Pops
Get a passport
Keep a plant alive
Find the perfect little black dress
Go to my high school reunion
Get back in touch with my half-brother
Go to the beach with friends
Fly first-class
Read 100 new books in a year
Be a vegetarian for a month
Go on a dinosaur dig
Adopt from foster care
Read the complete works of Zelda Fitzgerald
Go on an Etsy shopping spree
Spend a week by myself with no obligations
Learn to prepare a vegetable I never thought I liked
Take a road trip to Dollywood
Spend a month in the French quarter
Pose for boudoir portraits
Eat bread in Paris
Finish my college degree
Ride a mechanical bull
Inspire someone to do something new
Sunbathe in the Italian Riviera
Sleep more
Attend the Highland Games in North Carolina
Watch everything in my Netflix queue
Rent a beach house with my family
Take Cooper camping
Have Butterbeer at Universal Studio’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Planned! June 2013!)
Learn to pack light
Host a dinner party
Sit on a jury
Perform a karaoke solo
Write my will
See the Fall leaves in New England
Teach my sister to apply makeup
Throw a Halloween party
Have a pint in an Irish pub
Have a professional photographer take my twitter avatar photo
Make homemade ice cream
Have dinner at the Commander's Palace in New Orleans
Watch AFI's Top 100 Films of All Time (seen 28 so far)
Have a movie marathon weekend
Take a second honeymoon
Live in Central Austin
Rock pink hair
Wear a bikini, without having a "bikini body"
Make a living working less than 40 hours a week
Get to name an OPI nail polish color
Become a more mindful consumer
Spend more time with my grandmother
Take a vacation every Summer
Own every color of Converse
Get a sleeve tattoo of my favorite desserts
Take a pottery class
See Dolly Parton in concert
Have a big window-seat for reading and daydreaming
Be an extra in a movie or TV show
Send Cooper to college
Spend a weekend at a spa
Overcome my low-level OCD
Retire

"Eulogy on the Flapper"

I've never gotten around to reading any Zelda Fitzgerald, but after reading this quote from an article she wrote in Metropolitan Magazine, I think I must.

The Flapper awoke from her lethargy of sub-deb-ism, bobbed her hair, put on her choicest pair of earrings and a great deal of audacity and rouge and went into the battle. She flirted because it was fun to flirt and wore a one-piece bathing suit because she had a good figure ... she was conscious that the things she did were the things she had always wanted to do. Mothers disapproved of their sons taking the Flapper to dances, to teas, to swim and most of all to heart.