Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to:


1. Vera Bradley bags - My sister's friend works at Vera Bradley, and we stopped in to visit her at her new job back in June. That's the first time I was introduced to Vera Bradley bags, and I fell in love. They are adorable! Last weekend when we were back in Seattle, J said I should get one for carrying my laptop to and from school. The school district upgraded computers and I was able to choose a laptop...very convenient, but the bag they provided is not useful. It only holds the computer, and it's big and bulky. I didn't want to have to carry two bags, so J and I picked out a Vera Bradley bag! I think it's adorable, he thinks it's so gaudy not even his Grandma from the South would carry it. Whatever...it was WAY cheaper than the Coach bag he suggested before he thought about it!


2. Weekends - I'm SO glad it's the weekend! J and I went on a real date last night, and it was nice. We spent today just goofing off and doing whatever we felt like. Tomorrow I will be back to school work and he will be back to yard work, but today was a lazy-do-whatever-you-want day. We've almost completely beaten Indiana Jones Lego! We're nowhere near close on Star Wars, and we're excited for Batman to be released at the end of this month!


3. Harry and David's strawberry creme licorice - It's yummy. It's probably a good thing that I can't find a way to order it online. And that the nearest Harry and David's is several hours away. I'm pretty sure I am addicted to that stuff! On the upside, it's a fat free treat, and relatively low calories compared to a lot of other candies.


4. BarnesandNoble.com - Laurie and I needed copies of several books we want to share with our freshmen as read alouds. We need to do some language and topic editing, though, so we each need our own copies. Don't want to deface a library book you know! In the Tri-Cities we have a Barnes and Noble, two Hastings and a local used book store with two locations. We called ALL FIVE bookstores in the Tri-Cities and came up completely empty handed. So we turned to the internet. For the first time ever, Amazon let me down, but Barnes and Noble.com saved the day! Barnes and Noble was $10 cheaper in just the cost of books. Plus, their shipping was free and guaranteed in three business days. Amazon must be really busy right now because their three day shipping was $30 and they didn't guarantee it within three days...they approximated a three week delivery date! Barnes and Noble came through, though, and saved us more than $40. Even without using my educator's discount!


5. Sex and the City - I have never seen this show, but both of my sisters love it. I borrowed Seasons One and Two from T last weekend, and have seen about four episodes now. While I am not completely sold yet, I am enjoying it so far! I'll let you know how I feel after I finish the first two seasons!

Thumbs down to:

1. Tropic Thunder - How on earth has this horrible movie been a box office hit for the last three weeks? J and I went to see it last night and neither of us were all that impressed. J liked it more than I did. I fell asleep about half an hour before the end. It was terrible. I should have known better - it was rated R after all. R for ridiculous and really offensive and raunchy and wRong.

2. Washington State University's football team - Okay, losing last week to Oklahoma State was embarrassing. Losing today to California was humiliating. Final score: WSU, 3 and Cal 66. That's not a football score, that's basketball. Some days I'm not proud to be a Coug.

3. Never-ending political campaigns - Though I'm intrigued by the candidates and their running mates, it seems like this presidential campaign is never going to end. It makes for some heated conversations in the Hocking household, too. J and I basically cancel each other's votes, so you can imagine what it's like around here lately! I love him, but man, do we have different viewpoints on nearly EVERY topic.