Computer Stand and Plans

So I recently moved.  I'm still in the major unpacking stage, and while we moved from a large apartment to a slightly larger house, my mom now shares the space with us.  Fitting in the things we used to have was difficult.  The Hubs sacrificed his mammoth corner desk, but appropriated my simple small desk.  We really don't have room for another desk unless I squeeze it into the bedroom, but I don't like to be shut off from the world when I'm online, which is often. 

My mom spent a lot of time in the hospital and rehab, so I got inspired by all the nurses and doctors that use computer stands.  After searching on Amazon I found one that fits my needs and it came today (thank you Amazon Prime!).  So here it is:

It's super mobile and I can use it anywhere!  I'm particularly looking forward to the next Readathon in April, so I can sit on the couch or bed and blog/tweet whilst reading without moving a muscle.  It doesn't show up well in the picture (taken on my phone and artfully set so you can't see all the boxes cluttering up the new place), but the desk is dark cherry wood, not black like it looks in this light. 

And don't be impressed by all the shelf space you see behind the new desk, I'm still unpacking my thousands of boxes of books and the shelves in the living room will be color coordinated again once I'm done. 

I am proud to say that I've culled my books somewhat, donating several boxes of books to Goodwill so far, with another full box ready to go.  Four large bookshelves and two small ones should really be enough even for this book hoarder, especially since I own both a Kindle and a Nook (although the Hubs has taken over ownership of the Nook Color, which he will rectify come May when he buys me the Kindle Fire for my birthday :). 

My future blog plans:
~Catching up on reviews, but Partials by Dan Well should be up this weekend.
~Posting a giveaway of a signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (once I unpack that box, although thankfully the box is clearly marked).
~ Thinking about hosting a Stephen King read-a-long because for Valentines Day the Hubs got me this:

 So I thought maybe I'd do a read-along of these three books, since they'd also qualify (at least for me) for my Baby Read Me, 1 More Time challenge.
~Right now, I'm going to curl up and watch this:

 Found this at our beach house over the summer, while the movie was still in the theaters.  I assumed it was in Spanish, so whilst I snagged it I never bothered to check it until the other night.  Loved the book, and I'm finally ready to give the movie a try.  So wine, Valentine's chocolate (also given to me by the Hubs, along with a beautiful vase of roses and a pretty purple flower that I don't know the name of.  And a balloon.  The balloon is important.  I love balloons and wish people would give them more often.  No, I don't have a helium addiction.)

So what are your immediate plans (blog or otherwise)?  Let me know if the Stephen King Read-A-Long interests any of you.

Water For Elephants

My book club meets this Saturday to discuss Water For Elephants (which for some reason I always want to call Like Water For Elephants...), so instead of posting a comprehensive review I thought I'd share:

Things That I Have Learned Reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

 

1. Circus people are cranky!

2. Breasts can move in ways I thought only possible in Japanese Anime movies.

3. That "Stars and Stripes Forever" is also considered a Disaster March.

4. That everyone needs a little privacy, especially short men with 8-pagers.

5. Old people lie.  About carrying water for elephants.  And probably other things too. Or maybe not, maybe they think it really happened.  Like how you can just buy some mickey mouse ears off the internet and over time convince your kid that they've gone to Disney World while in reality you spent the vacation money on box wine and lottery tickets.

6. That red-lighting has nothing to do with the red light district.

7. That maybe my dog Emmy isn't really that dumb, maybe she just speaks Polish.

8. You are never too old to run away and join the circus.

9. Retirement homes serve crappy food- although I actually already knew that.

10. It's best to just go ahead and wear a name tag, preferably large print, when visiting your loved ones in a retirement home.  That way if they forget your name they can still pretend they know it and maintain a little dignity.

11. And while Water For Elephants is the holy grail to most NaNoWriMo authors, nowhere in the book, afterward, questions, etc does Sara Gruen acknowledge this.  A little disappointing, Ms. Gruen, a little disappointing.  Although I am in awe of your research skills and dedication.

Water For Elephants gets a Midnight Book Rating of: