this and that

Book 7 has a title! It's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Still no publication date, though, as she hasn't even delivered the complete manuscript to Bloomsbury, her publisher. I can't wait!!!!!

Other than this, the only thing on my mind right now is pure delight that I'm off work today and tomorrow. I'm going to the store for about 45 minutes this afternoon to interview a possible new employee, but that's it. I have one more gift I need to buy before Christmas eve, so I'm going to take care of that today.

I haven't been up very long yet this morning and, actually, I had hoped to sleep even later but I woke for some reason and couldn't go back to sleep. A few minutes after getting up, I was walking across the living room to the kitchen when I noticed that one of the dogs has puked on the floor. I cleaned it up, but I don't know which dog did this. Both are now curled up on the sofa staring expectantly at me, watching every move I make just in case I decide to do something exciting, like take them for another walk (in addition to the one we just went for), which isn't going to happen for another couple hours. They both seem fine, so I can't decide which of them left me that little treat on the floor.

It's a pretty exciting morning around here...

I'm going out to dinner tonight with a friend, and then on saturday is a christmas party with a whole bunch of friends. I've been a tad anti-social for the past few weeks, so I'm trying to gear myself up for this reintroduction to my social life. I know I'll have fun, but it takes more mental preparation for us introverted folks. On the other hand, I had such a wonderful time with my good friend Becca the other night. All we did was meet for coffee at the cafe in Barnes & Noble and then wander around the bookstore together. I so love good conversation, something Becca is excellent at providing. It was one of my favorite nights in a long time.

Speaking of books (sorta), I've been reading a young-adult book that Kathy sent me: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. It's by Louise Rennison, and it is great! Kathy's been telling me for years to read it, so finally she just sent me a copy to make sure I'd get to it. It's a quick easy read, and the only reason I didn't finish it all in one sitting is because of this crazy busy work schedule. This is sort of a high-school version of Bridget Jones, in the sense that it's written in diary style and is funny as hell. Also, it takes place in a private, all-girls school, which is a main reason Kathy loved it and knew I would to, being survivors of an all-girls catholic school ourselves.

I love and totally respect any well written young-adult book. It's a hard audience to write for and anyone who does it well is truly talented. A couple of my favorite books are young-adult, for example, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I read it about once a year, ever since I first discovered it back in 7th grade, and it still moves me. Come to think of it, I haven't read it in a while, so maybe it's time to revisit it. Perhaps that's something I'll do during these next two days off.

Enough rambling for now. I need some breakfast.