And now I can return to my real life...

I did something stupid last week.  On top of work, planning a wedding, trying to finish our wedding website, and attempting to run these 10 lbs off at the gym, I added one more thing to my plate.  Before I go any further, let me attempt to explain....

I really, really like to read.  Yes, I am a nerd like that.  I took A.P. English in high school.  I minored in English in college.  I used to get excited when I went to Kennedy's at the beginning of the semester and I got to see what the required reading was for my literature courses.  I finished all 4 books in the "Twilight" series in 6 days.  If you hadn't already caught on by my previous posts what a colossal dork I am...let this one set the record straight.  Me = Nerdy bookworm.

So now you kind of know why it was a pretty severely stupid move, on top of everything I have going on in life, for me to start reading "The Hunger Games".  Yeah, I did it.  But let me take you one step further to really drive home the whole I'm-a-dork thing....I was actually planning to reward myself for finishing all of my stuff in my real life by allowing myself to read the books.  Well, silly me just couldn't wait, and last Thursday night, I downloaded the first book in the series on my Kindle and went to town.  I finished it on Friday at midnight, just in time to settle in for some pretty freakin' strange dreams...pretty sure I even had to wake the boy up and have him rub my head to "soothe" me to sleep because the book had me so on edge. 

Saturday I took my car in to Ken Towery's to get the brakes checked and some new tires, and I actually didn't mind sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours because I had just started "Catching Fire" (the 2nd book in the series).  I was actually starting to get annoyed when they came back to update me on the status of my car every half hour - they were interrupting my reading for heaven's sake!  By the time the the guy came back to tell me I was good to go, the waiting area was cleared out and I was so engrossed in my book that I not only jumped in my chair when he said my name, I nearly ducked behind my chair and threw a dagger at him....pretty sure that's what Katniss would have done. 

Saturday night I took a 3 hour break from Panem and the Cloak arena to meet Hilary and Hillary out at Painting with a Twist for a fun little co-worker gals night involving one too many cookies, half a bottle of Chardonnay, and my wicked art skills.  The whimsical evening of painting was short lived though, because I quickly returned home, put my sweatpants back on and devoured the better part of book two.  For those who have not read the books, I cannot really explain how on edge the make you (or at least me) feel.  It's like watching a suspense movie, except you're reading it, not watching it.  Those who have read the books....you know what I'm talking about.

A brief break from reading - at Painting with a Twist!

Saturday marked night 3 of my bizarre dreams which I have no doubt involved scaling trees, fending off wild mutated dogs, and running from waves of blood and poisonous gas, considering I woke up Sunday morning in the fetal position clutching my BlackBerry in my hands like it was a spear.  I even broke down and started "Mockingjay" (book 3) during the second half of the Superbowl.  Thankfully, I finally finished the series yesterday, just as I was contemplating google-ing the price of a good bow and arrow and searching for great recipes made with roots, berries, and squirrel meat.  I kid you not...I finished all 3 books in 4.5 days, and it could not have happened sooner. 

After seriously neglecting sleep in order to finish "just one more chapter" and requesting nightly face massages to calm my nerves...it was time to put the books away and return to my real life.  My real boring life.  That doesn't involve fighting to the death.  And hunting President Snow.  And where my name is Taryn.  Not Katniss.