Music, Books, Miles, and Looks of February

Oh man, this has been another kind of tough week.  I had to return to Charlotte for a 24 hour trip, which I was not exactly thrilled about because I was just there Thur-Sun of last week and I will be there Mon-Wed of next week. I already feel spread thin, so adding in all of these work trips is NOT helping.  After this trip next week, I sincerely hope I don't have to travel again until after my move.

Music:

 
















The Call by Regina Spektor - I was introduced to this song through Pandora, which is how I find most new songs these days.  I love Regina Spektor's voice.  I would love to see her live some day!

Books:

This was a slow reading month for me.  I increased my study hours to 18 hours/week and studied a total of 69 hours, so that cut out some reading.  And in general I just don't have as much down time with all the things I am doing to prepare for my move.  But I still managed to read 3 books.


Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters - I really enjoyed this book.  The setting seamlessly changes from post-WWII to modern day, and from the Cinque Terra region of Italy to LA. It is hard to explain the plot without getting too wordy but it is about a young American and a young Italian that meet in their 20s, and it follows them through the twists and turns of their lives.

The Secret of the Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs  - You can read my review here.

Paper Towns by John Green - I have now read all of John Green's books.  I think TFiOS and Looking Alaska kind of set an unrealistically high bar.  I enjoyed Paper Towns, just not as much as his other books.  It's about a teenage boy who tries to find his next door neighbor who has gone missing, leaving a trail of clues for him.

Miles:

Yah, this wasn't my month for running either.  I put in some miles, but nothing substantial (61).  I'm juggling a lot these days and right now, logging substantial miles is not a priority.  I am mostly doing short 4 mile runs and most have been on the dreadmill. 

Looks:

** crickets **  Between my commitment to not clothes shop until after my move and the fact that the weather has been really cold (aka sweater weather), I have no cute outfits to share this month.  I have a gift card to Banana Republic that I plan to use to buy something springy for my going away party this month (I'm thinking yellow pants!), so maybe I will have something to share next month!

As you can probably tell from this post, February was not my best month.  I feel like all I do is work, study, run a little, and deal with moving stuff.  Add in multiple trips to Charlotte and I am just overwhelmed by life in general.  As a result, I cancelled plans for the weekend and plan to lay low.  Hopefully I'll feel a bit more like my normal self after a couple of quiet nights in with Phil.