Want/Need/Wear/Read & January Update

I know I've been slacking. I've been having a bit of writer's block lately.


John's been working on a project when these winter days are 80degrees out.

As you can see, it was really rusty. John took it apart and sanded it. And he's already put on the first coat of primer. This job wouldn't normally take that long but we've had really beautiful days and then the next it'll freeze so it's been kind of stop-and-start.



We bought a washer last weekend. We desperately needed one as we'd been doing laundry at my mum's or the laundromat. We found a cheap but good one at Home Depot and finally did our first load of laundry at our house. We don't have a dryer though (and didn't feel like buying one right now) so we've been hanging our laundry outside.

I've seen some other bloggers doing this Want/Need/Wear/Read thing and it's not only simple I thought it might be fun, so here's my first stab at it.



Want: A bicycle. I want to ride a bike to work on the days it's nice out and I would love to ride a bike down the renovated Mission Riverwalk area.

Need: Jars, canisters, tupperware. We have really big Pyrex or plastic containers that our turkey comes in. We need different sizes, all with air-tight lids.

Wear: I haven't worn these yet but I bought them! I'm super excited to purchase my first item for my (eventually) new wardrobe.

Read: I started reading Wintergirls yesterday. I love Young Adult fiction and Anderson is one of the great authors who tackle hard issues. She doesn't only do it -- she does it well. This book will be my 4th of my 25 for the year goal.

Click on any of the pictures to be taken to their website for purchase. 

Books of 2013

I love to read, unfortunately I didn't get to read as much as usual in 2013. I usually read double what I read last year so I'm going to remedy that in 2014. 

The Books I Read in 2013

The Rag and Bone Shop - Robert Cormier

“With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not.” 

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
The Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot
The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier 

“So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.” 

Looking for Alaska - John Green
Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty
Paper Towns - John Green
The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen
This Lullaby  - Sarah Dessen
Perfect on Paper - Maria Murnane 

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.” 

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling 

“All good things pass away.” 

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
Other Words for Love - Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

“I am going to become a writer for Cosmo - you don’t have to make any sense at all. Or maybe I’ll be a bloke, they don’t have to make sense either.” 

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging - Louise Rennison
Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas - Louise Rennison
On The Bright Side I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God - Louise Rennison
Dancing in my Nuddy-Pants - Louise Rennison
Away Laughing on a Fast Camel - Louise Rennison
And Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers - Louise Rennison

If you want, you can follow what I'm reading on Goodreads. 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Directed by: Ben Stiller
Edited by: Greg Hayden
Screenplay by: Steve Conrad (based on the short story by James Thurber)



In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Ben Stiller plays Walter Mitty, a daydreaming negative assets manager for Life Magazine. Content but bored with his life he daydreams about the person he wishes he could be. When young, mean, bearded boy/men come to turn Life into an online-only magazine they tell the employees that some will be let go. With his job on the line, Mitty loses what is to be the very last photo cover. Hoping to retrieve it before the magazine goes to print, Mitty seeks out the photographer for the missing negative.

The movie has gotten mixed reviews from audiences and critics but I loved it. Stiller's awkward but sincere nature had me rooting for him from the beginning. The over-the-top scenarios he plays out in his head -when he should be living in the now- strikes a cord with me and anyone who has ever wished they could punch their rude boss in the face or walk up to their crush and kiss them without a hesitation.

He is the everyman wishing to be something more - to be brave, to be adventurous, to be a different version of himself.

Kirsten Wiig plays a good love interest. She's nice and cute and believable but a bit bland.

The beardy boy/men are great at being easy to hate. They seem to represent a generation of youngsters (myself sometimes included) who do not quite understand the gratification a hands-on job, like Mitty's yielded.

The movie has beautiful scenery and refreshing editing.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is not shrouded in mystery. There really is nothing more underneath the surface. The story is about a man who is finally able to live the life he always wanted. And though the premise isn't complicated, it doesn't make the story any less intriguing, inspiring, or beautiful.

“To see things thousands of miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous to come to, to draw closer, to see and be amazed and to feel that is the purpose of life.”

4 out of 5 stars.