November 21, 2013

A new couch

Ahh, I write this while sitting on a very cozy new couch. Well, new-to-us couch. We've gone through a few couches over the years that Jerry and I have been married, and, a couple of years ago, we ended up back with our original couch that we bought when we got married in 2003. We loved it, but recently realized that it was old, worn, and the cushions were looking shabby... we decided we needed a new one.

But after our history with couches, I really didn't want to get a new one. We had bad luck with them! I really like sectionals, and our couch was a three-piece sectional. When Jerry got his new job in July, we started looking online at different furniture websites for something we both liked. My ideal couch was a large sectional, preferably brown leather. They were pretty expensive, though, starting at around $3,000. So, we just put it off and kind of forgot about it.

A couple of days ago, my mom told me she went into a furniture store that had a used leather sectional for $499. She said it looked like it was in good condition, so I decided to go check it out. At $499, I didn't even get my hopes up that it would be what I was looking for; but yesterday, Jerry and I had nothing else to do in the afternoon, so we went to the store to see it.

The store was family-owned and run, VERY unique, and had some awesome stuff in there! They had some new furniture, but most were vintage and antique items. It was a huge store, so we browsed around for a bit, and then we saw the couch my mom was talking about. It was perfect! It was exactly what we were looking for: a dark brown leather three-piece sectional. There was a small tear on one side, but other than that, it was in very good condition. We sat in it, and that sealed the deal. It was so comfy!

So we paid for it yesterday, and then today, my dad and Jerry went there with a truck to pick it up. We (surprisingly) had no problems getting it into the house, and I was so excited when we got it set up!


My favorite spot is the chaise, which is where I'm sitting right now :)  I always love a good deal, and I feel like this was a very good deal! It was funny--the kids acted like it was Christmas morning when they saw it. They were SO excited!


It was pretty crappy outside today. It rained on and off all day. True to my word, I ran a very easy-paced three miles today. Mentally, it's kind of hard to run at a pace that is much slower than I'm used to, so I set my Garmin to show nothing but my heart rate zone.


My goal was to keep my pace in Zone 2 for the entire run. It was actually nice to run with a goal of slowing down rather than trying to speed up! It was kind of difficult to keep my heart rate in Zone 2, though; every time I saw it creeping up to 2.9, I would slow down again.

It started raining almost as soon as I left the house, and it rained the whole time I was running. I don't mind the rain when it's warm outside, but cold + rain isn't very fun. When I was running along the lake, the wind was blowing hard off the lake, making the rain come in sideways at me. I was tempted to pick up the speed just to get it over with, but I kept my heart rate in Zone 2. The only time my heart rate went into Zone 3 was when I ran past a group of guys working construction ;)

When I got home, I checked out my pace, and it wasn't as slow as I thought. A 10:17 average pace; I could've sworn I was going a couple of minutes per mile slower than that.


I'm hoping that by doing both slow and fast paces with my Garmin outside, it may "learn" more about me for when I run on the treadmill. I'll do a few more outdoor runs and then give the treadmill a try again. I'm also going to go to the indoor track at the rec center to see what my Garmin reads--might be interesting. Tomorrow is my long run (8 miles), and it's supposed to be rainy again. Bummer.


I'm on the last book of the FBI Profiler series by Lisa Gardner, and I need some suggestions for books that are similar. Lisa Gardner has a few books that aren't part of a series, so I'll read those next, but after that, I have no clue. I like easy-to-read fiction novels, preferably mysteries. The books I've read by Lisa Gardner are exactly what I like to read! Are any of you Lisa Gardner fans that can point me in the direction of an author who writes similar books? I've been reading quite a bit ever since we got rid of cable.

34 comments:

  1. http://www.amazon.com/forum/thriller?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2QR0B8FFJIDUZ&cdThread=Tx3TO142JCUL8I8

    Here are some suggestions.

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  2. Have you read Gone Girl? Its really popular so I wouldn't be surprised if you had, but it's very thrilling and a breeze to read!

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  3. I second Emily's recommendation of Gone Girl. Excellent book!

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  4. have you read the FBI series of Catherine Coulter (sp?) I read some before V, and they were good, but they were about 10 years ago

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  5. Find authors like your favourite authors at http://anniston.lib.al.us/readalikes.htm#G1

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  6. You might look at Sue Grafton's alphabet series. It's about a private eye (who also runs every day) and the titles go A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc. The series is up to V, so if you like it, you'd have plenty to go through.

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  7. I think you would LOVE Harlan Coben's books. He has somethat are a series, and just as many that are individual. He is one of my favorite authors and I can't put his books down! I would recommend starting with Tell No One; that was the book that got me hooked :)

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    1. Ditto. The one of his that sucked me in first was The Innocent - one of the stand alone novels. His Myron Bolitar series is very good.

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  8. LOVE the new couch. I feel your pain about broken, run-down, ugly couches. Unfortunately, we had to go through Rent-a-Center for ours (we just couldn't/can't afford a few hundred upfront). We're only 4 months into paying for it and one side is already completely broken down, the cushions are flat (I seriously have pillows under the one I sit on right now), and it's just a mess. And we still have 20 months to go. You have the Holy Grail of couches and one day, I will have it too lol. :)

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  9. Laura Lippmann has a really good series about a female PI, Tess Monaghan, that you might like. There are 11 books in the series and then I have read some of her 'stand alone' books (outside that series) and they are good, too. I also liked the Lisa Gardner books so our tastes may be similar!

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  10. I agree with Tiare. Harlan Coben is fantastic, and "Tell No One" got me hooked, too! Very easy to read and really great character development!

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  11. I've finished all the Lisa Gardner books too. J.D. Robb has a pretty good murder series featuring a character called Eve Dallas. You might like.

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    1. I have read every JD Robb in the "In Death" series and wait impatiently for every new one. It's romance (but the good kind) as the backstory, but Eve Dallas is a NY cop in the years 2050 (and later, of course) so you get all the fun of a future society. Naked in Death is the first one, and you gotta start there!

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    2. LOVE the "In Death" series...all murder mystery with a bit of romance and all set in the future...awesome! I like a lot of Nora Robert's books but her books as JD Robb are exceptional.

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  12. Have you read any Sandra Brown books? They are more "suspense" and have a touch of romance (nothing sappy but enough to keep the story interesting). I like hers for easy fiction, they are usually page turners with good plot twists. I recently read the Lady Julia Grey mystery series by Deanna Raybourn. They are period/historical mystery in England and not sure if that is in the same genre you are looking for, but they are good and easy reading. Good for you on getting out in that rain! I tend to avoid it when I can, unless it's hot out :)

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  13. I love Lisa Gardner! I couldn't put her books down. I'm reading James Patterson's Alex Cross series right now and they have all been really good so far.

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  14. I've read several of the authors suggested and have like them - JD Robb and Catherine Coulter definitely stand out. Gone Girl was just okay, IMO. I've also enjoyed Patricia Cornwell over the years. The main character, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is a chief medical examiner. Also of note, Patricia Cornwell's pen name is JD Robb.

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    1. JD Robb is the pen name of Nora Roberts.

      Love the In Death series. And anything by Sandra Brown. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is fantastic. I always say to read the first two books in that series before you make a decision on it. It took me that long to get into the characters.

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  15. Allison Brennan is one I found recently and I think is similar. There is the Lucy Kincaid series which is about a girl that goes into the FBI. Also, Catherine Coulter has an FBI series about a husband/wife that are good mysteries as well!

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  16. Linwood Barclay. His books are amazing and the twists and turns are like nothing I've ever read!

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  17. Have you ever read any Jennifer Weiner books? She is one of my favorite authors, and she writes fun, easy-to-read novels. I would recommend starting with Little Earthquakes or Good in Bed! (not as racy as the title makes it sound... :)

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    1. I've read a few of her books, actually! Starting with Good in Bed :)

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  18. I really like the Kathy Reichs books (which is what the TV show Bones is based off of) and I just started reading a Robin Cook book which so far I'm enjoying.
    Congrats on the new couch! I want something similar actually - sounds like you got an amazing deal!!

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  19. I love Lisa Gardner also and Jonathan Kellerman is a very good author along the same lines as Lisa. He has written several suspense, mystery, psycho thrillers. Highly recommend you check him out.

    By the way, I have read your blog for months now and thoroughly enjoy it. You are very inspiring!

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  20. Omg we have terrible luck with couches too! My in-laws were sick of sitting on our busted up, held together with 2x4s couch with ripped up upholstery so they gave us money towards a new one. We went with leather this time to be able to wipe up spills the kids make and love it! BUT... my 13 year old cat has just discovered it after 6 months. How do you keep your cats from clawing the furniture??

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    1. We used a product called Nail caps ( we got them at Petsmart), if your cat is strictly an indoor cat, they are little covers that you slip over their claws (you use the adhesive that comes with it), they are plastic and the cat doesn't get hurt with them, but because they are plastic they don't do any harm to your furniture. We used them for about two months, and noticed that our cat wasn't even trying to scratch anymore, so we stopped using them. They stay on their nails for about 6 weeks, and molt off with the nail.

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    2. Tara, I haven't had that problem yet, so I hope we don't! That was one of the concerns I had when we were looking for a new couch. I didn't want to spend a small fortune on a piece of furniture if my cats were going to scratch it up. My cats seem to prefer carpet to scratch, so I bought some carpet tiles and placed a few of those in their favorite spots. The cats immediately knew those were for them, so they scratch those. :)

      I always wondered about those nail caps and if they really work. If the cats start scratching the couch, I'll definitely give them a try.

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  21. I concur with all the authors mentioned above, as most of them are my favorites. I also love J. A. Jance. She is a great writer and has two different series going, along with a handful of stand-alone books. Good luck, and the new couch is gorgeous! Congrats!

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  22. One of my favorite book authors is Tess Gerritsen. She writes crime fiction and they are usually pretty amazing. I think they actually have a small tv serious out now based off her books. It's called Rizzoli and Isles I believe. Anyway, happy reading!

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  23. Janet Evanovich has me laughing out lud with Stephanie and Lulu. use Grafton's alphabet series is wonderful. Also Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series.recently read Louise Penny so have a new series to try. Thank you for the lead on Lisa Gardner, have really enjoyed all of her books.

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  24. I would like to second the recommendation on Tess Gerritsen. She has a series that begins with The Surgeon. There is a cable show now called Rizzoli and Isles that are based on those books. I can't vouch for the show because I've never watched it but the books are awesome! And Janet Evanovich books are hilarious. There are like 20 of them now I think.

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  25. I've never read Lisa Gardner, but I have read Dennis Lehane and LOVE his books. They are mysteries and a thriller rolled into one. The only thing I will warn you is they can be intense and tragic, but you don't want to put them down. They totally suck you in.

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  26. James Patterson's the Women's Murder Club is a great series and there are quite a few of them.

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