Giveaways, Grammys, Vlad the Impaler and Skins.

A couple of days ago, I noticed that I was chosen as one of two winners (out of 675 entries!) for a giveaway on A Beautiful Mess. Squeals ensued, perhaps a couple of exaggerated jumps in the air and incredulous facial expressions, too. But I've come across a dilemma - yes, a dilemma within the four days of the grand reveal. I didn't hesitate to e-mail the lovely and inspiring Elsie Flannigan to claim my gift certificate, however, I still haven't received a response. She's a busy person, I realize that, and the last thing I'd want to happen is for me to come across like the overzealous freak that I am when it comes to Red Velvet Art. But dang it, I want my prize. Should I send another e-mail? Perhaps my first one got lost amidst other messages in her inbox.

The Grammys are on right now and while I feel no qualms in being a Taylor Swift fan, isn't it a bit of a stretch to praise her writing ability and say her lyrics are wise beyond her years? I'm pretty sure I can come up with tantalizing lyrics and not have to resort to rhyming "me" with "see". She's still adorable, though. Oh, and I must add - my uneasiness as she accepted her Album of the Year award was palpable; I half expected Kanye West to run onstage and steal her moment once more.

Current: Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. I have a bit of an impractical schedule when it comes to books I check out from the library. From the date of check-out, you have an allotted three weeks to finish and return it. The first two weeks, I take my sweet time. The third and final week, I step it up quite a bit. A majority of the time, though, it becomes necessary to renew it, which isn't a problem because it can be easily remedied with a click of the mouse. HOWEVER. My aversion to anything history-related prompted me to take my time with this novel even more than usual, with its plot surrounding Vlad the Impaler, and the relationship between Christian West and Islamic East. I planned on renewing it this past weekend to no avail. Because someone has already reserved the book, I can't renew the damn thing, motivating me to go on an insane reading spree the past few days. Not that I'm complaining, but because of the fast pace, I'm sure to overlook a few details here and there, especially the descriptions of the lovely Eastern European cities the protagonists traverse through. My favorite thus far? The description of war-torn (yet lively) Budapest, Hungary illuminating the nighttime waters of the Danube.

Beautiful. I'm sure I don't have to say that this novel has piqued my interest in visiting Europe, do I? Let's take a trip, my treat, and get lost. Not in the cities we'll be seeing, but in one another's eyes. In my opinion, the ease of getting lost in the windows of the soul is magnified with breathtaking backdrops such as this.

There. A verbose Blogspot entry to, hopefully, compensate for the lack of words in the previous weeks. I've been watching the second series of Skins and I think Jal said it best when she exclaimed, "I keep stepping on (land) mines, Cassie!" as tears ran down her cheeks. I do, too, Jal. But things will only get better from here on out. I claim it.