Tiger & Kelly - Another Mistress?

Just kidding!

I have some book news to share – some interesting tidbits I’ve found in the news over the last few days. First, apparently the Tiger Woods camp will be publishing a book this June on the infamous golfer. The book will be titled: "Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season". Another book also slated for later this year will simply be called "Tiger Woods", written by People Magazine's Steve Helling. Find out more about it here. What do you think? Would you read this simply in light of his sex scandal?

Are there any Hills or City fans in the house? If so, the no-nonsense boss at People's Revolution, Kelly Cutrone, is coming out with her own book! It will be titled: "If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You." This one I may actually pick up - she offers some advice on workplace behavior as well as stories on her own professional development - I'm sure it will not disappoint! I think she's super harsh, and I'm so happy my supervisor isn't her, but I can appreciate her drive and hard work for sure.


It has been a good week thus far, despite a slightly rough ending on Monday. This is my first week in my new office, and everything has been great - the people, the transition into new work, and the facilities! The building is MUCH newer and more modern than the one I was in, and the bathrooms rock compared to the 60s style (or possibly older) rooms we had in the other place. Bathrooms are a big deal to me! I cannot be comfortable in unkempt facilities - although our janitorial staff did do the best with what they had.

Moving on.. haha.. I call myself a 'power commuter' because I get up in the wee hours of the night to make my trek downtown each day. My day begins at 4:27 AM and ends between 9 and 9:30 PM. Now, because of this new position, I'm a hardcore power commuter b/c I'm utilizing almost every form of transportation - my car, a commuter bus, the train, and walking! On Monday afternoon, I began my journey home with the standard dash between my office and where I get on the bus. Picture this - a line of 30-40 people standing on a sidewalk at a bus stop. I am near the end of this line. Two commuter buses pull up, both for the same route. The majority of the line walks toward the first bus. I glance to see if any others are making moves to the second bus, no one is, so I proceed. Out of nowhere these 2 men came up behind me just as I'm ready to board the bus and the first man puts his arm up in front of me, blocking me from stepping onto the bus. Of course, I was caught off guard, because as I said, I did not notice anyone migrating toward that second bus. The man told me in a snotty tone that I was cutting line and I needed to move. Then the next man in line mumbled some smart ass remark. Then, as though we've rescinded to elementary school, the bus driver and some ladies on the bus start busting out laughing, taunting me with "Well you told her" and those 2 jerks joined in with the laughter. It was a sweet ending to my first work day to say the least. I don't get how people can be so rude!

Did anyone else watch the birth of Pam and Jim's baby on The Office last night? Man, do I LOVE that show!! My favorite parts were seeing Dwight get out of Pam & Jim's bed naked, and then Jim demonstrating to Pam the proper way to breastfeed! HAHA!! It was hilarious!

P.S. - Stay tuned everyone - Charles will be on his way home this afternoon!!!

P.P.S - I cannot get this underline to go away - sorry - it's a distraction!

Becoming a Better You (Joel Osteen), Crab Legs, Parties & More!

I had to share our awesome dinner we had the other night – Alaskan King Crab Legs! Definitely one of my favorites, and Joel, being a former seafood restaurant head chef, makes them oh-so-well! Eating these allowed me to pretend I was at the beach for a moment, enjoying a nice, evening meal by the ocean – I'm so looking forward to spring and summer! They're VERY simple to make too! All you need is a large pot with a lid, a steamer basket, a few bay leaves, and some Old Bay seasoning. You drop the bay leaves into the water and season the water with the Old Bay. Then you also season the crab legs with Old Bay and then steam them for about 10-15 min (keep them cooking for just a few minutes longer after they just start turning red). Serve right away because they get cold fast!

~Served with butter & Old Bay – nothin' better!~

Thursday I celebrated my last day in the office. It was a great day – they had a little party for me complete with cake that I couldn't enjoy (but will freeze for post-Lent), 2 cards, and a $60 gift card to Starbucks – here I come Chai and London Fog! Perhaps the reality of it all will set in after Monday. I'm slightly nervous for Monday, because the first day of work, for me, is always the most stressful. It doesn't even matter that I know most of the people where I'm going – I'm still a little uneasy! I look forward to the day when I'm celebrating my last day at work in the DC area! Hopefully that will be someday soon!

~my girl, Katie, & I on my last day~

Also, I have a special surprise at the end of this post!! I can't wait to share it!!!

Moving on – I also FINALLY finished my latest book, Become a Better You by Joel Osteen. This is the second book of Joel's I have read and it didn't disappoint. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with life, and we all are, so you should just go ahead and pick it up on your next trip to the store! For those of you who don't know, Joel is an tele-evangelist out of Houston, Texas who took over Lakewood Church after his father passed away several years ago. Joel's service airs on Sunday mornings (check local listings), and he also shares that service on Itunes (for free) as a podcast either in video or audio. Check it out sometime if you haven't already done so – they are less than 30 min long. The book highlighted 7 subject areas: Keep Pressing Forward, Be Positive Toward Yourself, Develop Better Relationships, Form Better Habits, Embrace the Place Where You Are, Develop Your Inner Life, and Stay Passionate About Life. Each of those seven sections ends with action points – ways in which to apply what you've just read.

In Keep Pressing Forward, Joel talks about stretching yourself to the next level, staying faithful to God and challenging your faith in Him to move to the next level of your life. This section also touches on generational blessings, which are blessings we receive from our ancestors (not prehistoric ones – but grandparents, etc). These blessings come to us from how they've lived their life, such as parents who were able to completely provide for their families, and instill a Godly way of life in their children, which in turn can and will be passed on from generation to generation. Likewise, those who have family members who suffered from defeat (alcoholism and other addictions) also pass that on to other generations. This doesn't mean that every descendant will be an alcoholic, but they may struggle with other addictions or feelings of defeat in their lives. Part two goes on to talk about how important it is to Be Positive Toward Yourself. We need to stop listening to people who tell us we cannot do things. We need to disassociate ourselves from those who are constantly dumping their negativity into our lives, which in turn makes us feel badly. And we need to start accepting who we are and having confidence in ourselves. Developing Better Relationships is the subject area in part three. Here, Joel addresses the need to bring out the best in people – compliment people, tell them you believe in them and that they can do whatever they set their mind to. Keep strife out of your life and take a stand for your family. If your husband, wife, son or daughter does something you don't agree with, say not replacing the toilet paper when it runs out, don't get bent out of shape – just accept it and move on. Allowing small situations such as that to seep into your lives will start to wear down your relationships. It's simply not worth it. Then, we can also stop assuming responsibility for the happiness of those around us – this is part four – Form Better Habits. While we should be kind to everyone, we should be our top priority, and then our families. Still, we cannot take on a false sense of responsibility for those around us and their feelings. Part five spoke the loudest to me, although each section really did, but Embracing the Place Where You Are really nipped me in the butt. It is no mystery that I've been unsettled with where I'm at in my life right now. While I've been trying to make it better by getting a new job, moving to a different part of the metro area, and forcing myself to take on new hobbies, I'm still not where I thought I'd be at 25! With that said, part five is self-explanatory! Developing Your Inner Life, part six, focuses on developing a tender conscience. This means that we should thank God when our conscience alerts us to things we know we shouldn't be doing – maybe unethical things in the workplace, or even to our families. Some people learn to shut off that little voice in their head telling them they're doing something wrong so much so that they don't think twice before committing un-Godly acts. There is plenty of evidence around us these days of people who have shut off their conscience entirely. And finally, part seven, Stay Passionate About Life, tells us we should always live expectantly in God's eyes. We should always wake up with excitement for the day, knowing that our God will be there with us and fulfill our needs each and every day – and we should expect this.

Those are just a few things that were touched on in the book, but I did not even do it one ounce of justice! There is plenty more of great information to absorb from Joel. If you do end up reading this book, I would love to hear your thoughts on it, and what your favorite part was!

Now, last but not least, please welcome Charles – the new addition to my family!!! He will be coming home on Friday, March 5! I can hardly wait! I've wanted a cat ever since graduating college and the time was never right until now. I cannot wait to take care of this little guy! While I love taking care of my beloved plants, they certainly are not available for cuddling, and Charles will totally fulfill that purpose! I've been searching high and low for kittens online around here, and I've had a tough time finding one that met my specifications. I wanted a long haired kitten, but all I found were a bunch of long and short haired adults. But apparently they go like hotcakes – and when we visited the animal shelter yesterday, I knew he was the one as soon as I spotted him. See, I hesitated to get another black cat (RIP Hershey!) because Joel's giant cat is a huge, black, long-haired, furry monster of a feline. I thought we should bring in some variety – say an all white cat instead? However, when I saw Charles, I could not resist. I guess he had been rescued as a stray, and had just arrived at the shelter yesterday – so my little darling didn't have to be there long before I came to his rescue. He will be off to the vet for his checkup, shots and neutering, and then I'll pick him up Friday at some point. Since he was nameless, we got to give him his name and chose Charles for the name of the county I live at in MD. I wanted to give the little man a name that somehow represented both Joel and I. YAY!

This 'n That

Happy Tuesday!

I’ve got a few tidbits on my plate for ya today! Let’s start with the latest on work to get that crap out of the way, and then we’ll end on a slightly higher note – sound good?


So, this is my last week of work in my office. I work in downtown Washington, DC for the federal government, and have been with my agency for 3 ½ years. The relationship with the agency won’t end, however. I’m actually moving to another office – this time in our Virginia location. This move is so long over due. As I stated in a previous post, there is a lot riding on this decision. What got the ball rolling was my lack of work, which ultimately lead to many, many days of sadness, frustration, anger, resentment, and then back to extreme sadness. What sealed the deal was when I learned that, in less than a year, the headquarters would be relocating to another area of the city that would make for an extremely inconvenient commute for me (try 2 hours one way!). No thanks! It’s pretty hard to make that sacrifice of your time each day going in to a job you’re not fond of…. AT ALL. Fortunately, I had already established a great relationship with my future boss, and when she offered the job to me for the 5th time, I knew it was finally time to go! As an added bonus, she used to work in my current office – so I feel pretty confident and comfortable with my decision. It can only get better! The downside to leaving, as with any job, is that you’re leaving those few people in the office who really helped get you through the tough times (shout out to Katherine!!). In the end, I’m not really sad or upset because I’m not really leaving at all, I’m just going to work in another office. It’s not at all like the time I left my job at the drugstore – I was practically heartbroken and crying at that point!! Still, once I get to the new office, I have a lot of thinking to do. Do I want a complete career change (nursing/pharmacy), OR do I want to try to do a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario and get a job in IT/healthcare? It’s a tough decision, but one that has to be made, because I already can say without a shadow of a doubt that IT/finance is NOT my cup of tea. So why am I taking another IT/finance job? The answer is simple: to keep my sanity, to gain some valuable experience, and to help me make an informed decision when I decide to leave this field. I need to know definitively that this subject matter is not for me, rather than basing that solely off of one negative experience in another office. The countdown is on!

Now onto some book news! I’ve never read any Danielle Steele books, but this morning while perusing through my MyYahoo Reader, a headline on USAToday’s Book section struck a chord with me. She has recently written and published a book called Big Girl – centered on a plus-size woman’s life. Now, I must go off on a tangent…

People are forever asking me how I make my book lists/selections, and I find myself stammering for words.. “Uhhh ya know… uhhhh… best seller lists?”. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to answer that question on the spot! Given some honest thought though, I’d say I pick my books in a variety of ways. Yes, I partake in best seller list selections, but I also base a lot of my decisions on previous books I’ve read (i.e. Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner to name a few – I’m hauling through ALL of their books). Also, I get ideas from talking to others, also from the former book club I used to be in (still on their listserv), and then also from reading news articles about upcoming books – whether it be articles online, or ones out of People Magazine. By the way, I love People’s book selections – I’ve read plenty! If I’m going to include People, I have to include AllYou magazine in this as well – they have a great reading series in which I’ve bought every book off their list! And to further explain – AllYou magazine is, hands down, my favorite magazine. I feel like it is a young version of Woman’s Day or Family Circle for ladies in their 20’s/30’s. It has a nice variety of everything (fashion/health/around the home decorating, etc), includes a ton of coupons (I’m the Coupon Princess according to Joel), and has an overall feel-good tone. It doesn’t include any of the smut that Cosmo or Glamour offers – so beware of if you’re into that! I cannot say enough good things about it – and I’m not being paid at all to say this! I just like to give credit where credit is due! Seriously – check it out!

Baaaaccck to what I was originally talking about! Books about plus-size women always resonate with me, and so I threw Big Girl onto my “to-read” list on Goodreads. I definitely get the feeling at times that once you’ve read one book on weight issues, you’ve read them all, but after reading Danielle’s interview with USAToday, I’m willing to give it a shot! She seemed to be a down-to-earth kind of gal and I liked the tone she gave off in her interview, so yes Danielle, you have made it onto my list of to-reads!

That’s all I’ve got for you today, my little virtual friends! I hope that your Tuesday ends on a high note!

News, News, News!

Going to try something a little different today on Pritt-y Story to Tell! Since it’s taking me a really long time to get through my current book and I don’t anticipate a post on that anytime soon, I figured I’d throw out some book news to the people – I know you want it!

So here’s the news, short and sweet: Apparently one of my favorite authors, James Patterson, is breaking in to the comic book world! I saw here that he’s looking for a way to essentially broaden his horizons into the Hollywood realm. “Witch & Wizard” and the “Murder of King Tut” will be his first books adapted to the comic book world. This new series will be available in May & June of this year, just in case you cannot wait! I’m a JP lover, but definitely NOT a comic book lover, so I’ll pass on this one Jimmie…

Also, I think I’ve finally decided to expand on this blog to include non-book related items. Since we had a week long vacation courtesy of winter weather and the government, that meant I did absolutely no reading. As much as I would like to continue reading when I get home at night, I cannot. I want to spend as much time with Joel as possible before he goes off to work, and that never allows any additional reading time. Also, since all of my reading takes place on my daily commute, and I had no commute for over a week, we arrive at the same excuse – no reading was done! AND, sometimes I feel like I have other interesting tidbits to talk about, and I’d like to include them on my blog, but then I think “this is supposed to be about books, not ‘other’ stuff”… says who? It’s my blog, I’ll make up the rules as I go, right?

So I know some of you, thanks to Face-space, have found out about my blog and *fingers crossed* have decided to pop in every now and then to check it out (Courtney/Megan!!). Thank you in advance! Then, you may have also seen my question I posted on my status message this morning about going back to school for nursing or pharmacy. I’m seriously considering this. I’ve been miserable with my current job for well over a year – not liking the work, not liking the commute, not liking the city itself, and just not liking the subject area (IT/finance). So, recently I made the decision to switch jobs, and while this has not yet happened, my wheels are already turning for what to do when Joel and I decide to actually leave the nation’s capital all together. My hope is that with the new job and new position, I will have some fulfillment at the end of the day – where I can say I made a contribution to the organization and have helped make a difference. However, I still think that, in the end, in the bigger picture of life, IT/finance isn’t for me. Now, IT and healthcare? MAAAAAYBE…. I don’t know! It’s hard to say since my experience solely lies in finance. The idea of going back to school somewhat excites me, but then again I love my freedom that the working world has brought to me, not to mention the money flow . I love NOT studying, I love NOT doing homework – I’m still not over the shock of the amount of time that going to college fulltime cost me! I’m still getting over the It’s-Sunday-and-now-I-must-cram-for-this-week’s-exam/assignments/etc dread, and it was ALWAYS dread for me. College was supposed to be a 1 time only thing, but now I’m reconsidering an entirely different career path, which means going back to school and giving up my time… *sigh*. What to do, what to do… I welcome the advice here…

I do know one thing – I’ve taken a giant, positive step in the right direction – and that is getting out of the current situation I’m in. While I have a job that currently pays the bills, with even some left over to have some fun, I want to at least make sure that it’s not causing me misery. With the new position, I’m hoping I can at least enjoy some of what I do, and not come home every single night frustrated and wishing I wasn’t in this city to begin with! That was step one – “Get out of current situation ASAP.”… Check! Step two – “Figure out what Hilary REALLY wants to do with the rest of her life”….In Process!