Luggage and Literature

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

Friday Five 9-16-2016

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Tana in France
Me in France…a throwback picture, since I’m learning French now. 🙂

This is the fifteenth installment in my weekly series, called the Friday Five. In this series, I’ll tell you about five random things that I love, whether they be books, travel, music, movies…or whatever. So without further ado, 9-16-2016’s Friday Five!

1–Lipsense. OMG you guys! I have fallen in love with this stuff. I’m not normally one of those ‘Oooh, makeup!’ type of girls. But an attorney that I know sells this stuff, and she was talking about how it stays on all day. I get super tired of having to reapply lipstick or lip gloss every time I head back to court (usually multiple times per day), so I thought I’d give it a shot. And it seriously does last all day. I had to wash it off last night before bed, and I’d applied it at 7:30 a.m. Pretty sweet, I think.

2–Duolingo. I’ve referenced this before on my Friday Fives (back on 5-27-2016), but am listing it again. I’ve continued to use Duolingo for several months, and am making progress. I had a bit of a plateau for awhile, but I’m now up to 20% fluency in French. At this rate, I should be able to meet my goal of 30% fluency by November when we go to Guadeloupe!

3–Hastings Symphony Orchestra. I’m a cellist with the Hastings Symphony. They have a new website, and facebook page. If you’re in the area (or just want to check it out), please do so. It’s a professional sounding group of musicians, especially for no bigger than the town is, and being in a pretty rural area. And I’ve played in several symphonies over the years, so I feel like I have a good sense of how different groups sound.

4–Tom Petty. I watched a fantastic documentary on Tom Petty on Netflix. And I’ve been listening to a lot of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers music on Prime Music. I even listened to a podcast about rock and roll stars put out by Freakonomics. Now I’m listening to the audio book version of Petty: The Biography on Audible, narrated by Warren Zanes (the author, who also runs the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame). The book is fantastic. And I’m now scouting to see when the Heartbreakers will next be touring.

5–Tim Gunn. It’s no secret that I’m not a size 2. I’ve talked before on the blog about my struggles with weight and fitness. Consequently, I LOVED this article by Tim Gunn in the Washington Post, and even more the fact that Tim Gunn recognizes all of this. Designers should care more about the significant portion of the population that is classified as “plus size.” Ditto all of what he says.  All of it.

Friday Five 4-15-2016

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Friday 5This is the third installment in my new weekly series, called the Friday Five. In this series, I’ll tell you about five things that I love, whether they be books, travel, music, movies…or whatever.  So without further ado, 4-15-2016’s Friday Five!

1–Travel Honesty. Crystal Paine over at MoneySavingMom.com recently took a 10 day trip to Italy and Israel. I enjoy her site regularly, but really loved reading about her travels. She is so honest about what she felt during her adventure, as well as what she struggled with. You can check out the first entry here!

2–Good Information. Like most travelers, especially those that frequent the Caribbean, I’ve been following the stories and news reports about the Zika virus. This week, the CDC and WHO came out with some concrete information about the effects of the Zika virus (you can find a news story about it here). While I obviously don’t love Zika virus (that’s some scary stuff), I do like that we’re starting to understand the effects and complications caused by Zika. The way I see it, knowledge is power, and now people can take precautions with their travels.

3–Amazon Prime. Mike and I have Amazon Prime, and LOVE it. We use the free 2-day shipping. I get two free books per month (one through the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library, one through Kindle First). We use Amazon Instant Video. And I listen to a ton of music for free on Amazon Music. Prime is SO worth what we spend on it ($99 per year). But they’re running a promotion, where you can Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. Definitely a great way to give it a shot and see if it’s worth it for you, and get it for free. And really, who doesn’t love free?!

4–Nebraska Rural Living. A couple of sisters from my town (one of whom I actually rented my first office space from), Betty and Nancy, run a really cool site called Nebraska Rural Living. The site focuses on South Central Nebraska, what there is to do and see, local businesses and entrepreneurs, and essays. But perhaps my favorite column on the site is called Rural Foodies, as a few folks who write over at Nebraska Rural Living try out some of the best eating establishments and provide reviews. It makes me hungry just reading!

5–Mainstream Superhero Love. Mike is a HUGE superhero fan…like a super-fan.  We go to all of the movies, watch the shows, and have all kinds of superhero, action figure, and comic book memorabilia in our house. I enjoyed this article in the Washington Post about the rise of black superheros. It’s not everyday superheros make the Post.

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