Busy Two Weeks

I've been meaning to update and I kept putting it off putting it off. It is 10:38pm and I'm off tomorrow, just finished reading a good book and figured now is a good time. So much too talk about I don't know where to start.

Let's start with my boyfriends birthday. It was on August 5th. He works for my dad so my dad and I came up with a plan. My dad set it up by telling my BF that they had a big job to do on his birthday and he would pick him up in the morning. He called him the morning of and told him to meet him outside. He went outside and after waiting a few minutes I met him at the curb with a gift bag, a Christmas gift bag I didn't have time to get to the store. Anyway he opened the bag and inside was a note that rhymed and it basically said he wasn't working on his birthday and I have planned Eric's Day of fun.

First we stopped at Panera Bread and got breakfast to take on the road and then we went to the NYC Aquarium which I'm sorry to say I was sadly disappointed by. The tanks were dirty and they really didn't have much to see. I would highly recommend the Atlantis Marine World Aquarium in Riverhead LI it blows the NYC Aquarium out of the water. <---Am I the only one who finds the humor in that. Probably. Okay moving on. Afterwards we walked the boardwalk through Coney Island. Walking the boardwalk is very emotional for me. Since I was a little kid my dad would tell me about how growing up they really didn't have much money, but at least once a year my grandfather would pile everyone in whatever heap of a car he was driving at the time and bring them to Coney Island. He would buy each of them a hotdog at Nathans and then one ride on the Cyclone. It's what my grandparents could afford and obviously it's something that has stuck with my dad all of these years. My grandfather passed away in 2008 and walking the boardwalk made me feel like he was walking beside me as crazy as that may sound. I even teared up when I spotted Nathan's and if my stomach wasn't feeling quesy at the time I guarantee I would have been on line waiting to buy a hotdog.

After Coney Island we drove into Manhattan. I gave him another note with a rhyme that told him I made dinner reservations at Sushi Samba a place he had been wanting to try. However, since the aquarium took less time then I expected we had so much time to kill. We walked around Chelsea, Soho, the Village we went all over the place. I talked him into stopping in at a Barnes and Noble and realized they had a better selection of YA books then the one I go to out here on Long Island. I was tempted to buy a few but I couldn't fit them in my bag and didn't want to carry around the extra weight. We went to the Limelight building which I remember as the church that was the stripclub I went to for my friends bachelorette party two years ago, but now looks completely different on the inside. It is beautiful. Shops and in the back a cute area where local bakers sell their goods. We shared an amazing peanut butter gelato. Yum. We had dessert before dinner. Oh well it was well worth it and we shared.

Now on to dinner. We were so hungry and dinner reservations weren't until 5:30 we got there at 4:30. They let us sit but the kitchen wasn't opened only sushi, salads and soups were available which we decided was fine by us. I was so happy we decided to do that. The sushi was awesome and the mojitos were even better. I forced my BF to get chocolate banana fudge cake which was oh my god so good. Then I presented him with another rhyme. It basically said because you are turning thirty I assume you are feeling blue so why not know what it is like to be blue and that's when I gave him tickets to the Blue Man Group. I've dragged him to so many Broadway shows including some of his favorites such as Avenue Q and Dirty Rotten Scoundrals and he said by far Blue Man Group was the best show he's ever seen. It was a successful day, successful night, successful birthday.

The next night we went to the Paramore concert at Jones Beach. It was awesome. New Found Glory was one of the opening acts and they were my favorite band in high school it was like being warped back in time. I felt like I was in high school again. The next morning when I woke up I felt exhausted so I obviously was not in high school again. Either way it was another great night. Oh and Paramore was amazing she has such a good voice. I've seen so many bands, singers live who don't sound like they do on the radio she sounds spot on everytime. I can't get over how energenic she is and how much she bounces around without gasping for air.

I also went to my friends bachelorette party last week which was an experience in itself and I think that is all I am going to say about that. Just know it was fun and I will probably keep the pictures hidden for eternity.

I have also finished two books since the last time I posted. The first being Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt.I really, really liked it. I loved the chemistry between the two characters and I loved the alternating point of views. I couldn't imagine having to take a road trip with an ex especially an ex I wasn't over. It makes for the perfect story. My only complaint is the cover which is actually my complaint for the next book I read but I'll get to that. This cover is great don't get me wrong. It is what made me pick up the book in the first place. The only problem is the car they take the road trip in isn't red it's not even a car. It's an SUV. I know it's just a cover, but the cover to me gives you an inside look into the characters and into the story and this one while amazing kind of is all wrong. Get past the cover and go right into the story it's great. Like I said their chemistry is undeniable and makes you root for them and their two friends provide comedy relief. I would definitely recommend picking this book up.

The next book I actually just finished reading all of thirty minutes ago is Take Me There by Carolee Dean. First starting with the cover. The cover is hot. However, it makes the book seem like it's going to be a light romantic typical young adult romance and it is so much more than that. Again the cover made me pick up the book which is a plus, but I think it takes away from the story. The story is not light it is heavy and full of harsh realities with the romance taking a backseat to the bigger plot of the story; Dylan the main character finding himself and doing all the wrong things in order to do the right thing. I think the story is really good and while I wish there was more romance involved I think in away it would have taken away from the overall story and made it not as powerful. I'm not a fan of the ending either but to say that is to say I'm not a fan of life. Not everything works out the way you plan or the way you hope. However, it does end with a feeling of hope that in time things might actually fall together for Dylan, his family and friends. I'd also recommend picking this book up. You won't regret it.

I actually don't think I mentioned that I also finished reading When it Happens by Susane Colasanti. I also liked this book. I liked it much better then Waiting for You. I think maybe because the characters were older I related to the relationship better. Also the writing was stronger.When I read Waiting for You I know it was in the POV of a 15 yr old girl (or is it 16) but I think the writing tried to take on the way a 15 yr old girl talks, not just in the dialogue but the whole book and it kind of made it hard for me to read. When it Happens isn't so heavy on trying to sound youthful.

When It Happens was a light story no major drama and sometimes you need something like that. Something to take you back to a time in school when you had a crush on a certain person and spent your days wondering if they felt the same. The characters Tobey and Sara were very relatable as if I could have been reading about my own high school experience. I like her style in this particular book like I said it's light and bubbly and fun. I look forward to reading more of her books.

I think I have fit two weeks into one blog post. Oh one last thing I started writing another book. I know. I know. Finish one before you start another but the idea came to me and I just went with it and I've already written 40 pages in the matter or 3 days so I think I'm going to keep going with it. On Sunday my BF and I took a drive out to the North fork of Long Island and along the way I saw something that made me say, that is great I need to use that in a story somehow and then by the end of the ride the idea came to me. It's the first story I'm not thinking past what I'm writing and it's flowing so much better. It's like when I write an outline and have an idea of where I want the story to go I lose steam and interest, but not planning and writing whatever comes to my head in the moment is making it so much more pleasurable. I love the surprises my characters keep throwing at me. Love it. Okay so now that I have babbled for way too long I'm going to say good bye for now. Pictures to be added later. I have tons.