my current obsessions

Wow.

I'm a lousy blogger. I guess I've taken that "I'll blog when I feel like it" approach a bit too literally. Oh well.

So, care to hear about my latest obsessions? I should preface this by saying that I am genetically predisposed to obsess. My mom, whom I adore, is the master at taking an innocent interest in something and then allowing it to take over her life. Just ask her about Harry Potter. Or Twilight. Then prepare to be amazed.

Anyway, I've got a bit of the obsessive gene myself, though not nearly as pronounced. So here's all the frivolous stuff that has interested me recently:

Hush, Hush

by Becca Fitzpatrick

I picked up this book at Costco (love Costco!) before a recent trip to San Francisco. I read the entire book on my flight there and loved it! Instead of starting a different book that I'd brought for the flight home, I just re-read this one. Because I liked it that much. I should warn you - it's YA and very Twilight-esque. But if, while you read it, you spend the whole time comparing it to Twilight, you'll be doing yourself a huge disservice. Given the image on the cover of the book, I don't think I'm giving anything away by telling you that it's about a fallen angel and a "mortal" girl. There's a sequel coming out next year and I can't wait to read it.

The Vampire Diaries

Have you been watching this new show? I was hesitant to watch it at first, thinking it would just be a lame Twilight knockoff, but it's not. Sure there are the inevitable similarities that you would expect from a story about teenagers and the vampires living among them, but The Vampire Diaries has definitely set itself apart with different mythology and some awesome characters. Like Damon, the sexy bad-boy vampire who is seriously evil and also extremely attractive. This is sooo my type of show. A real guilty pleasure.

Finding Cool Music

Every afternoon when the toddler goes down for a nap, I turn on some tunes as white noise for him and a little indulgence for me. Listening to the same thing over and over again gets dull, so I've been on a quest recently to find new pleasant music to listen to. I should tell you that my taste in music is very broad. I like stuff from almost every genre (okay, maybe not polka). The artists that get the most play on my ipod include John Mayer, Alison Krauss, Michael Buble, Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson. But I also love OneRepublic, Kings of Leon, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, Coldplay... like I said, my taste in music, while fairly mainstream, is pretty broad. I'm always searching for new music - here's what I've been listening to recently:

I highly recommend Meese, Matt Hires, Owl City, Greg Laswell, and Crosby Loggins. Check them out and tell me what you think.

Brace yourself, because this last obsession is just plain crazy...

Exercise

While I'm not nearly as perky about it as the lady in the above image, I have recently found joy - yes, you read that right - joy in exercise. After a 2 year stand-off, I finally made peace with my treadmill. I've made a rule for myself that I can only watch my DVR'd shows while I'm walking on the treadmill. Since Scott can't stand most of the shows I like to watch, this is a mutually benficial arrangement. The only time I can exercise is at night after the kids are in bed. Since I'm a night owl, this is the time of day when I have the most energy anyway. I find that I'm exercising about 5 times a week. On days that I don't do the treadmill, I either do yoga or Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred dvd, which is 25 minutes of high-intensity aerobic hell - but I'm always glad I did it once I'm done. I'm hoping that this new habit will stick and I can make it through the next couple of months without gaining any of those dreaded holiday pounds.

So, that's it for now. Clearly blogging has not become an obsession of mine.

Now I want to know - What are your current obsessions? I'm always looking for a new time waster.

:)

Toddler Woes

Each morning when I come downstairs, there is a ritual I go through before I can officially start my day. It goes something like this:

place toddler in high chair for containment purposes and give him a sippy cup of orange juice

check all cabinet locks to ensure toddler cannot open any doors, especially under the sink where he likes to scavenge through the trash

remove all items that toddler can reach from the table and counter

move kitchen chairs and barstools from their proper place and relocate to laundry room so toddler cannot push them around and climb up to access countertops, light switches, drawer contents, and, as he discovered yesterday, sharp knives

enable the lock on the fridge's water dispenser

push ottoman in front of entertainment center so toddler cannot open doors to push buttons or empty drawers

sweep family room for remotes, books, breakables - relocate to higher area like the mantle

check piano and move any music books to the top of the bookcase

shut and lock all doors upstairs and down, especially bathrooms and office

Once all this is done - and I've gotten quite good at doing it quickly - I can feed toddler and big sisters breakfast, then stand (chairs are gone, you see) and possibly eat a bowl of cereal. What I cannot do, though I want to, is crawl back in bed.

Guilty (TV) Pleasures

We've all got them, right? Shows we watch that we're not really willing to admit that we watch. For me it started my freshman year of college. My roommate, who meant so much to me that I can't even remember her name, brought with her to our tiny dorm room a portable TV and an obsession with the soap opera Days of Our Lives. Everyday at 2:00 pm, we watched the lives of Salem's elite unfold on that 12 inch screen. By the end of winter semester I was hooked. When I planned my schedule for sophmore year, I made sure that I had no classes during that precious 2:00 hour. Yes, I was that pathetic.

The good news is that I gave up watching Days shortly after my first baby was born. To be honest, I pretty much gave up watching any daytime television that didn't involve Dora or Elmo. But that doesn't mean I've stopped having shows that I'm embarrassed to admit I watch. So, it's time to confess. Here are just a few shows that I will now admit that I love. Two are no longer on the air, but that's what TV on DVD is for, right?

Dawson's Creek

This is where my love for Josh Jackson began. Who can resist his charm? Let me share with you some classic season 3 moments from one of my favorite episodes:



And:



The OC

Another great, dearly departed show. I love Ryan. And season 4 with Ryan and Taylor together was so much fun to watch:



And now for my current guilty pleasure...

Gossip Girl

I know this show is trash. I know I should dedicate my time to more worthwhile pursuits. I cannot help myself. Here is just one reason why:





So, now you know. I've got a serious thing for bad boys on trashy shows. Pacey...Ryan...Chuck. Or maybe I just like a pretty face...

Josh Jackson



Ben McKenzie



Ed Westwick



Okay, so maybe it's more about the men. You know what? I'm okay with that.
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I've told you my guilty TV pleasures. Now you tell me yours...

the infamous research paper

REDACTED!!!

I'm afraid the time has come to remove this highly amusing and thoroughly inappropriate post. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted...

Hidden Treasure

It has been located.

I thought I had lost it forever, but I was wrong. Some of you may have heard of a certain infamous research paper I wrote long ago. Well, I found it buried in a box in the depths of my basement.

I haven't had time to sit down and read it yet. Once I do, you'll hear all about it...