July 2012 Round-up

Where did July go? (I'm being serious; the month flew by for me.) It's hard to believe it's time for my July round-up, but here it is.

What I Read...

• The Golden Hour by Margaret Wurtele: This was my vacation book, and I finished it halfway through out trip. It took place in Italy during World War II, and I found it an engaging, easy read.
• All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith: I LOVED this book. Not only did the book focus on Jane Austen, one of my favorite author, but it also involved travel to Central and South America. I've now added several other destinations to my must-travel-to-before-I-die list.
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Inspired by my last reading selection, I decided to reread Smith's favorite Austen novel. Sometimes it's fun to read books a second (or third) time because you notice something new, which brings us to...
• Harry Potter: I decided to reread the Harry Potter books again in anticipation of the London Olympics. I've finished the first three and am about halfway through the fourth. One of the things that has struck me this time is how much more familiar I am with the movies than with the books. I keep thinking — that didn't happen in the movie! It's strange how that works. (I blame ABC's monthly Harry Potter weekends. If it's on, I have to watch.)

What I Watched...

• DVD: I rented Albert Nobbs. It was...interesting.
• Olympics: I've enjoyed watching the competition on both the TV and computer. (Well, I enjoyed watching it on my TV until last night. Time Warner, I'm looking at you.)
• Before the Olympics, I watched some of my other shows, including Army Wives and Bunheads.

What I Want to Remember...

• Watching the U.S. women win the Olympic gold medal in the team competition for the first time since 1996! I'm so glad I was able to see it on my computer yesterday morning.
• Seeing Aly Raisman's face when she realized she had made the all-around (I feel bad for Jordyn Wieber, but Aly's been a rock for the U.S. team the last few years.)
• Traveling with my parents to New York.
• Finally finishing my Week in the Life photo book (I'll hopefully have pictures soon).
• Walking up to Times Square to watch Good Morning America with Mom the last morning we were in NYC.
• Flying first class for the first time on the way home from New York. It was wonderful, but I think it was pretty obvious to everyone that it was my first time.
• Enjoying a lazy Sunday after vacation and before heading back to work. I went to church, picked up Chuy's for lunch, and treated myself to a mani/pedi.
• Finding some dress pants and capris for great prices on an impromptu shopping trip (that never happens to me).
• Rain. In July. In Texas. It really happened.

What I Want to Forget...

• Losing my cable channels during the Olympic Games. Unacceptable, Time Warner.
• Continuing to feel stressed at work. It has to end sometime, right?
• The horrible shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. It's hard to put into words how sad it is.

Here are a few pictures from July 2012:

The cats of Catskill, NY

So much for the SI curse. :)

Friendly tissue

For my other round-ups, please go here.