For those who've been playing along...

I aced the GRE this afternoon... 730 Verbal, 670 Math... I'll find out about the essay questions in a couple weeks - one was iffy, the other I'm pretty sure I slamdunked. SO. I would have been happier with a higher verbal score, but I'm so pleased with the math (even if it doesn't *really* matter; the 670 is easily 100 points higher than I usually test. (Must have guessed more luckily than I thought.)

Anyway, thanks to all who were thinking good thoughts for me.

Oh, and GO SOX!

And from the "if it's not one thing..." file

We had this big giant company meeting thing last week. Because we are a company of many many former photographers, there were cameras everywhere. For once, I wasn't terrified of the cameras... losing nearly 70 pounds makes the camera a little easier to face. So, I'm in a lot of the pictures.

When people uploaded the pictures, I was really pleased with how I looked in most of them; I could really see the changes in myself. But then I saw it... my grey hair has now become so pronounced that I could actually see it in the pictures. Eeeek.

Perhaps it's time to reconsider growing out the dyed bits, and just color it all again.

50 Books - Books 47-50

And with this, I make it to 50. Woot.

47. The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. As I hoped, this installment in the series returned to the more interesting style and story-telling of the original book. This story takes us back to the founding of Elm Ceeek Manor and how the house was used as a station on the Underground Railroad. Along the way, discusses the theory that quilts were used as a signal for the railroad, which I find fascinating.

48. Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand. I wasn't particularly interested in this, but my Dad insisted I borrow it last time I was home. I enjoyed it a great deal; it was eminently readable, and since I didn't know how the story turned out, suspenseful as well.

49. How to be Good by Nick Hornby. Another that I borrowed from a friend, it's the story of a woman, wife and mother, whose marriage is falling apart, and what happens when her husband has a significant spiritual conversion before they split. Trying to hold the family together, trying to cope with the 180 degree about face her husband's made. This was funny and sad and very true, all at the same time. I'd definitely recommend it.

50. The Quilter's Legacy by Jennifer Chiaverini. And again, this next book in the series was as good as the first and fourth. This time around, we explore the maternal history of the main character as she searches and tries to recover the quilts made by her mother and sold off by her sister.

Next up: The Nanny Diaries, Reading Lolita in Tehran, and Why Things Bite Back.

So, to sum up

Since explaining would take to long ;)

I'm back from the month of hellish travel. I'm not scheduled to go anywhere now until the second week in November. Thank goodness. Now that I'm done with the GRE, I'm hoping to settle into something that more closely resembles my normal routine, at least at work.

I'm slowly starting to get caught up with house stuff too. Yesterday was the great closet purge of 2003. I've got four bags going to goodwill, a big shopping bag going to Carrie, and about 6 hangers with clothes on them left in the closet. But, I figure, I gotta get rid of the stuff I can't wear before I even have a real idea as to how much I have left. It's very empty now.

Speaking of closets, I need to figure out a way to get better closet doors.... My closet has so much potential for greatness - it's about 6 feet long, but it has one narrow little door, so two feet on either end can't be used efficiently. Gotta figure something out.

Getting caught up on laundry and bills and all the rest of it as well. Making things feel normal again, I hope. Of coursae I say that, and Wiley's going to be leaving for two weeks next Saturday, off to India for two weeks. But you know, at least I'll be back at home and trying to keep on top of stuff while h's gone.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I lose touch with all the things that need to do at home when I'm on the road. The past month of home/gone/home/gone has left me feeling like I'm spinning in circles. I hope I can get back on an even keel soon.

And now, I must go flip laundry into the dryer.