Book Review: Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

With the month of January almost over, I have finished my first book of the year. I was given a Borders gift card for Christmas. Usually I spend those immediately, but I held off in order to make an informed purchase. As I stated in a previous entry, I have quite a few books that I need to read. For some reason, I just have not been motivated to read them. Anyway, I finally spent my gift card two weekends ago. I decided to buy Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Both of those books were on my TBR list.
I decided to read Sloppy Firsts first. I wanted a light-hearted read to ease me into the goal of reading 25 books this year. This book was a great choice. There was a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. When it was over I literally yelled “What? It’s Over?” out loud. If it hadn’t been 8:00 on a Monday night, I would have gotten in the car and driven to the bookstore (which is 30 minutes away).

Sloppy Firsts is about sixteen year old Jessica Darling whose best friend, Hope, has just moved away. Jessica has trouble relating to her “friends” aptly nicknamed the Clueless Crew. Jessica struggles to decide if it is better to have acceptance and be unhappy or express herself and lose acceptance. She finds an unlikely ally in Marcus Flutie, a socially unacceptable druggie.

It is easy to say that I loved this book. It was not an extremely deep, thought provoking book. However, I could totally relate the Jessica’s internal struggles. I found myself thinking about my own teenage years and wishing this book had been around then. I asked myself many of the same questions that Jessica asked and had many similar experiences. I think almost any female that has lived through high school could relate to this book. If you are looking for a light, feel good read, be sure to pick this book up.

Trouble Focusing

I am having a very difficult time focusing lately. I am terrified that it is my anxiety coming back to haunt me. It has been at least 5 years since I was on any sort of medication for anxiety and I would like to keep it that way. However, I am finding myself worrying about little things lately. As I said before, I really don't want to go back on medicine. That feels like admitting defeat. I am hoping to combat it through things like yoga. If anyone has other suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Now on to what led me to post this in the first place. It is now the 17th day of 2010 and I have yet to truly start working on my goals. I am eating better but I still have to start exercising. The one I am really struggling with is the reading. I have started two or three books that I am having a hard time sticking with. The thing is, I was really excited to get these books. Now that I have them, I can't seem to focus for more than a couple of pages. I need to commit myself to reading these which means I need to start turning my computer off and get reading. Here are the three new books that I am excited to read:

(Image source: borders.com)

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

(Image source: borders.com)

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

(Image source: borders.com)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I am starting with Sloppy Firsts because I've heard it is a nice light read. 24 starts tonight so I'm not sure how much reading I will get done. However, I have tomorrow off so I plan on doing as much reading as possible then. Hopefully I'll be able to focus.

Nail Polish Love: Sephora by OPI Too Good for Him

On New Year's Eve I decided to drive an hour to the mall that has Sephora and Forever 21. Forever 21 was a complete disaster. I have seen some really cute stuff from there but I can not handle digging through the piles of clothes to find the cute stuff.

After fleeing from Forever 21, I booked it to Sephora in search of Nars Orgasm blush and a fun nail polish to wear that night. Sadly, they were completely sold out of the blush so I went for my trusty Smashbox Soft Lights in Prism. I also happened to find a perfect nail polish for the night. I give you Too Good for Him:

Here it is shown by itself. This is how I wore it that night. I don't usually wear glitters alone but I really liked this look. This isn't the best picture but the polish is a pinkish purple, blue, and silver glitter.

A couple of days later I decided to try it over another polish. A couple of months ago I purchased OPI's Pamplona Purple. I really like the color but it seemed better suited for spring/summer. However, Too Good for Him toned it down perfectly. I LOVED this combination. It even got a few compliments at work on Monday.

Sorry about the poor quality of pictures. I really need to find a better location wtih good lighting to take them.

Goals for 2010

Sorry for the delay in posting my goals. The first five days of this new year have been insane. I will leave that recap for another day. Without further ado, he are my goals for 2010.

1. Read 25 books for fun- I love to read. This summer I spent a small fortune on books because I read them within a day a two. Unfortunately, I have not done much reading since September. Once school starts it is difficult for me to do much more than collapse on the couch when I get home. Lately, I find myself reaching for my computer and mindlessly playing on the internet for hours. Not good. I joined a book club that meets once a month so it should not be too difficult to meet my goal. If I read the book club book and at least one other book a month I will be set.


2.Lose enough weight/inches to fit into my size 4 pants again- This is a simple goal. My dress pants don't fit. That's a problem when you have to dress up every day. I have 4 pair that are big enough but that doesn't give me much variety. I don't have much weight to lose. In fact, when I went to the doctor today the scale said I had already lost 3 lbs. since last time. Now I just need to keep this up.

3. Create and Start a 101 in 1001 list-I have seen this done on a few blogs and I think it's a great idea. I originally wanted that done by January 1 but I just couldn't think of enough. Stay tuned for this one.

4.Do at least 30 minutes of housework each night after work- I hate to admit this but my house is often very messy. Between my husband and dog, it is a never ending battle. The bigger problem, however, is my motivation (see #1). I think I can realistically commit myself to 30 minutes of housework and still have time for relaxation. I am hoping this will result in a much tidier house.

5. Reconnect with 2 old friends- I will not go into details but there are two friends I have lost touch with that I really miss. They are great friends and I primarily blame myself for the distance that has developed. This is actually the most important goal for this year. Friendships are very important to me. With my two best friends on the other side of the country, I really need to work on my friendships here.

So there you have it, my goals for 2010. I think all of my goals are realistic and I look forward to accomplishing them.

(Stay tuned for another nail polish review. I've found another color that I'm in love with)