'Tis the season

Thanksgiving went so much better than I had expected it to. One of my fellow co-workers, Alisha, graciously invited me to spend the afternoon eating a real Thanksgiving feast with her family. They were all very nice and welcoming and it was much better than eating a turkey frozen meal with only Scout for company. I also go out of work two hours early because Katie was driving down to Delaware after and wanted us done quickly. Brian (sports copy editor) even very nicely said he would do paper check so I wouldn't have to sit around waiting for the sports section to be done.

So it turned out to be a very nice day. Though I did miss my family, but I'll be seeing them this weekend for a long four-day break from the daily grind! I can't wait.

I also decorated my apartment for Christmas!! I got a fake tree at Micheal's and decorated that, too. (Still needs candy canes though) I think it all turned out really nicely, and Scout hasn't even knocked the tree over or broken any of the ornaments! She's a good kitty.

Here's some pics...

Giving in for good reason

So I finally caved and decided to ask for a Nook Color for Christmas.

My indecision came from the fact that, like website's effects on newspapers, I feared e-readers would kill books. And a Nook also won't do anything to help build the physical library I want in my future home.

But then I thought about it, and realized that e-readers won't kill books and most likely will help foster a stronger love of reading in the new generations that are so enamored with technology. I love reading because it allows for such imagination, freedom interpretation and strengthens writing skills and vocabulary. The e-reader won't kill any of these aspects of reading in my opinion.

And getting one also won't end my dreams of a den with shelves and shelves of books. I'll just be more selective about which ones I actually buy a physical copy of -- so instead of the shelves being full of books that will just sit there and collect dust, the shelves will hold classics and favorites that I will want to visit again and again.

This will also save me room if I ever move to a city and live in a smaller apartment. My parents will sell our house eventually and move to a smaller place where I won't have room to store even all the books I currently have. This way they'll be in one place and I can lose myself in them with just a few clicks of a button.

And who knows, maybe when I'm older the appeal of an e-reader will fade and I'll rely on my paperback friends once again.

Thanksgiving is almost here, but it feels like Christmas

I decorated for Thanksgiving last week, but I feel more in a Christmas-y mood. It hasn't even been that cold, but there are Christmas commercials, music and things like that. The world of commercialism tends to just skip right over Thanksgiving and land on Christmas. And this year I feel that way, too. But I think it is a little TOO early for those decorations yet.

Talking to my mom last weekend, she said Christmas decorations were the most boring and tend to be pretty much all the same. While I do agree that Halloween decorations are the most fun, I love Christmas ones the best. One, because it is a whole month long season and thus the decorations mean more to me for a longer amount of time. Two, because I think they can be very fun and creative and some can be left up all through winter.

But, it's not time for that yet, so here are my few decorations for Thanksgiving/fall:

The trials of small feet

Last weekend I went home to N.J. for Halloween. Whenever I go home, there's always a few shopping trips with my mom.

The goal last weekend was a winter coat, which was achieved. We got a really cute one at Nordstrom's. It's a black pea coat and will hopefully soon be on its way to Maryland. (The sleeves were too long and had to be shortened.)

I also wanted a new pair of nicer shoes for work, instead of having to wear flats or my converse all the time, which don't do much to keep my feet warm in cold weather.

But, of course, finding shoes that fit is anything but easy for me. We went into Journeys and had my feet measured ... children's size FOUR. This is the reason I wear converse or cheap kids shoes from Payless. This is the reason why I don't really like shoes and why I HATE heels. Stores don't make shoes a size four for women. A five sometimes fits, but that's also ridiculously hard to find.

We finally went into Easy Spirit where they had size fives in some of the styles. I ended up getting these ones:

They're pretty nice, but still a little roomy in the back, causing them to lift up off my foot a slightly when I walk. But they get the job done as a nicer shoe that I can wear when going out or to work.

However, other than this store, finding shoes that fit me is ridiculously hard. And sure I could fit into children's sized shoes, but most of the nicer shoes for little girls have glitter and sparkles on them. And, for me, that was so eighth grade.

Anyone else out there have this problem? Where do you get your shoes?