Persephone Secret Santa

Wanted to post to say that I have received my Persephone Secret Santa gift. I am not opening it yet, as we are not supposed to reveal until the 16th, but I wanted my Santa to know that it got here. Also, it is so pretty! Can't wait to open it in a couple of weeks. :)

Tomorrow my husband and I are off to Italy! We are spending a week in Rome and Florence, looking forward to taking in the culture, the food (!), and getting into the Christmas spirit. 

Today the Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit and it was insane trying to get out of my office, I work at 30Rock, and there was a sea of people trying to stop me from getting home after work. The tree is beautiful, but I cannot imagine standing outside all day just to see it lit!

me.

Verity did this earlier today and I thought it looked fun, I know I need to be better at blogging!


Age: 27... 28 in January.

Book Size: Kindle or paperback.

Chore that you hate: Putting away dishes.

Dogs: I love them and wish we could have one. Two cats suffice for now.

Essential start to your day: Shower and Coffee.

Favorite colour: Blue.

Gold or Silver: Silver.

Height: 5' 4"

Instruments you play: I took clarinet, piano and drums, but play none of these now.

Job Title: Senior Graphic Designer

Kids: none for us yet.

Live: New York City

Milk: Skim, Almond Milk, or Soy

Nicknames: Em

Oldest living relative: I have a few great-aunt and uncles in their 90s

Pet Peeves: Golf umbrellas in Manhattan - unnecessary!

Quote from a movie: ...I am not good at this.

Right or Left handed: right.

Siblings: 2. 1 brother and 1 sister.

Time you wake up: Alarm is set for 5:15, a good portion of my days I am not up until 6:30 though... shameful.

Underwear: Always.

Vegetable you hate: None.

What makes you run late: My lack of organization.

X-Rays you’ve had: Mouth, shoulder and wrist.

Yummy food that you make: I like to think I make lots of good food, I really enjoy baking.

Zoo animal: All mammals, especially the big cats.

readathon, the end

I woke up about an hour ago and tried to read but between making breakfast for everyone and two cats that hadn't received any attention in over 6 hours, it was pretty hard.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hours 16-23 in which I was sleeping.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I read The House of Paper and really enjoyed it, it is a book about people who love books - what could be better for the readathon?
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope, I wish I had a different start time, but that would involve me moving, so chances are it will be 8am again.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? My fellow cheerleaders were great, and the hosts made everything so organized and easy!
5. How many books did you read? About one and a half.
6. What were the names of the books you read? The House of Paper & French Lessons
7. Which book did you enjoy most? I actually think I enjoyed them equally.
8. Which did you enjoy least? Neither.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? This was my first time cheering, my advice is to not set too high of a goal for yourself. I didn't realize how long it would take to read posts and cheer people on, so I set a goal of 100 and I only got to 70. It also takes a while in the beginning when you have to weed out the people that aren't actually participating. Overall though it was really fun!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will definitely participate, probably reading and cheering again.

readathon, hour 16

I think I am near the end, after this post I plan on grabbing my book and reading in the extra bedroom for as long as I can stay awake. Hopefully I will be up early enough to keep reading tomorrow though, Mr. Serious needs to be at work by 8am (closing time here) so I will probably be up too. Either way, today was a great and productive day for me!

Books Finished: The House of Paper
Currently Reading: French Lessons
Time Read: 2 hour, 40 minutes
Pages Read: 185
Cheers Left: 66 (I doubt I will make my goal of 100, but I am happy that I at least got this far!)

readathon, hour 14

Hour 14 and I am back! I have read about 2 pages since the last time I checked in but Mr. Serious is in bed now and I am going to try to stay awake a bit longer.

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
French Lessons by Ellen Sussman
2. How many books have you read so far?
1.2
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
French Lessons and possibly getting into more of The Hangman's Daughter
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
My entire day wasn't free as there was a lot of housework to do, but from now on I should be better.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Cleaning, vet, movie, dinner, and on and on6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I am really enjoying my Cheerleading duties - I'm not surprised I enjoy them, just surprised by how much!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
nope, well done!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Clean my house the day before so that I can focus.
9. Are you getting tired yet?
A little, might have to have some coffee or tea soon.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
For me, I just keep switching between things to keep from getting too tired.

readathon, hour 10

I am almost half way to my cheering goal! Go Team Froot Loops! I have tried to keep up with the readathon on twitter (@SeriousEmily) but I cannot keep up with it, I do not have the focus for twitter. I started reading an ARC of French Lessons by Ellen Sussman that I have had for a while and at about 40 pages in I am really enjoying it so far.

My productivity level has also been pretty high! Since my last post, I have done the dishes, taken a shower and made a cheesecake! Mr. Serious is home now so things might slow down for a while as he will probably turn the TV on which always distracts me.  Hope everyone else is staying strong!

Books Finished: The House of Paper
Currently Reading: French Lessons
Time Read: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Pages Read: 143
Cheers Left: 46

readathon, hour 7

I can't believe that it is hour 7 already! Luckily, I accomplished one of my goals which was to finish a book, I happily finished The House of Paper a few minutes ago -- as you can tell it is avery short book, but good nonetheless. I have also cheered on 30 fellow readers so far! AND.. vacuumed both the living and dining rooms, hung up a shoe organizer, put all of my shoes away, shredded months worth of documents and removed all the stray cat hairs from the furniture. I'm on a roll!




Books Finished: The House of Paper
Currently Reading: Haven't decided yet - maybe Kitchen?
Time Read: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Pages Read: 103
Cheers Left: 30