Ummm, where are the raindrops?

Forgive me for a moment while I complain...

It was supposed to be raining today. But the weather people said there was going to be a lull this morning which would allow to me to go for a quick run outside. So I set my alarm for 9 a.m.

The alarm went off, I rolled out of bed, threw some running clothes on, laced up my sneakers and headed out the door. In the brisk 43 degree temperatures and a stiff wind, which made it quite chilly depending which way I was running. But I sucked it up and ran, about 2.4 miles.

And it still hasn't rained a drop.

Reading review

Well, there's only another 11 hours and a handful of minutes left in March, so now's a good time to review what I read during the month and how I'm progressing toward that goal of 40 books for the year.

Here's what I read in March:
The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
Little Children by Tom Perrotta
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

That's six books for a total of 2,132 pages in March. For the year I'm at 17 books and 5,805 pages.

My reading plans include Harry

I've been thinking about my reading list lately.

See, the pile of books that I had stacked on the floor near my end table in January? It's gone. Which means I'm going to have to think of something to read soon because I can't just go without having a book in progress.

At the moment, I'm reading the last of my library books, Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I wanted to read it before, actually had it in my possession, but I never got around to reading it before it was due back at the library. But it's in my hands once again and I've actually started reading it and it isn't too bad so far.

But once I'm done? There's where the problem comes into play. The stack? It's gone. A list? I don't really have one at the moment.

The other day I was thinking, something that gets me into trouble every so often. It was morning and I was getting ready for work with The Today Show on in the background. And as I flipped my hair dryer to the off switch, I happened to hear them talking about unveiling the cover for the last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

And that got me thinking. The last book in the series is released July 21. That's just shy of four months. I could, no take that back, I should, reread the previous 6 Harry Potter books in anticipation of the final installment's release.

So once I finish Plain Truth, it's time to begin my journey through the Harry Potter books, beginning with Harry's first year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And if one of the books on my hold list happen to come in at the library, I can always take a short break from Harry's adventures.

I've developed a fear of the treadmill

I road around with my gym bag in the car all week.

But I just couldn't make myself go to the YMCA. Not after the beautiful weather we've had recently and not after I've gotten used to running outside. I just don't know if I can do the running to nowhere on a treadmill again.

Monday was gorgeous. Almost 80, sunny. Needless to say I ran outside. Tuesday it was supposed to rain, so I packed my bag and took it with me to work, with the intention of hitting the YMCA. But I just couldn't. So I didn't go, although I justified not going because my calves were a little sore after Monday's 3.35 mile run. Wednesday came. It was cold and windy. Perfect indoor running weather. And although I left work late, I didn't have anything going on at night, so I really could have gone to the YMCA. But once again, I just couldn't make myself do it. So when I left work today and it was semi nice outside (about mid 50s and overcast), I decided to take advantage of it and run outside. I wasn't planning on going far, but I ended up doing the same 3.35 mile route I took Monday.

But I think I really will have to reacquaint myself with the treadmill this weekend, since it's supposed to be rainy. And next week doesn't look too promising temperature wise. I'll just have to enjoy the outdoors while I can.

Concert season, here I come

One of the things I enjoy the most about summer is concerts.

I love live music. It doesn't even matter if I actually like the band or musician that's playing. It's all about the atmosphere and groovin' to the tunes.

Each summer there are two musical adventures I make sure I hit up. The Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley and Summerfest in Milwaukee.

And today was a good day, as the Dave Matthews Band summer tour was announced.

For the past three years, I've been making the trek down to Alpine Valley with my friend Amanda from the 'burg. It's become a tradition. We pack up her car, pop a CD in her stereo (never DMB since that's who we'll be jamming away to in a few short hours) and hit the road, traveling on the back roads, avoiding the mess of the Interstate. Once we hit the parking lot, it's time for a few drinks and some food (crossing our fingers the little portable grill works...last year it didn't) before heading off for the show.

Even though I've seen the band play 9 times, each time is a totally different experience. It doesn't matter to me that the same songs are played, it's always different and so unlike what I hear on the studio recordings.

Amanda and I have both been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the summer tour schedule. It's starting later than usual this year, but DMB's rolling into Alpine Aug. 25 and 26 and assuming I win the battle with Ticketmaster, I know where I'll be one of those days.

Sorry sunshine, I can't come out to play

*Sigh *

It was such a nice day, temperatures hovering in the mid-70s and I was stuck inside, working at my desk. And it looks like today could be the last unusually warm spring day we have for a while.

So I made sure I enjoyed it while I was out. Cruising through town with my windows down, arm hanging out the window and my tunes cranked. And when I got home, I quickly changed into shorts and laced up my sneakers and headed out for a 3.35 mile run. It was nice, even though the sweat was running down the side of my face and it drenched the T-shirt I was wearing.

And since they're calling for rain tomorrow, I have a feeling I might have to get reacquainted with the treadmill and my runs to nowhere.

Disappointed by a resturant

It was a sad day for me yesterday.

There was no Uno Chicago Grill for me.

The outside lights were on and there were ton of cars in the parking lot. With thoughts of four cheese pizza running through my head, I walked through their revolving door and was quite disappointed when I was greeted by a "We're not open. Today's our run through, we actually open tomorrow" from a snarky young boy.

So instead, I had to settle for Charcoal Grill and Rotisserie, another new restaurant that recently opened by my parents. And while my cheeseburger was tasty, it was so not the four cheese pizza from Uno's that I had been craving since the sign went up in the fall.

I spent my weekend putzing around

When 4 p.m. hit on Friday, I left the office with no specific plans for the weekend. I was just going to putter around and do whatever I felt like.

So far, mission accomplished.

Yesterday was gorgeous outside. I woke up around 10 a.m., showered and headed out the door to do the dreaded grocery shopping. Yeah, that's an hour of my life I'll never get back. Maybe I'd enjoy grocery shopping more if I actually knew how to cook. But I don't. So I find myself buying the same things all the time - macaroni and cheese, pasta, some french bread pizza, cereal and yogurt. Not too exciting. Maybe that should be a goal of mine. Learn to cook. But then I run across the problem of cooking for one. Not fun and recipes always assume you're making food for multiple mouths, and since I'm not a big fan of leftovers for days, not a good idea. Oh well.

After the trip to the grocery store, I decided it was time to pull down my chair for the patio. Of course it needed a good bath to get all the cobwebs and dirt of of it, so I washed it up, set it up to dry and then went for a run. When I came back, I put my now clean chair to use and sat out on my patio and read.

I got together with my friend Nicole later in the evening and when I got home, I finished "Flags of Our Fathers" like I was hoping to.

Today I have a morning of laundry planned and then I'm heading up to my parents' house for the rest of the day. My mom and I have an exciting trip to Fleet Farm planned (as geeky as it sounds, I'm kind of excited, I haven't been in the new Fleet Farm in Appleton yet and it's ginormous!) as well as a few other stores.

Later, we're going to dinner at Uno Chicago Grill. It was one of my favorite resturants when I was going to school in Madison and it just opened in Appleton. Since they erected the sign way back in October, I've been craving a four cheese pizza, my favorite. I'll just have to cross my fingers the resturant is really open and all those cars my mom saw there weren't just for an employee training session!