Retrospective/Looking Ahead

I'm looking forward to the start of a new year. 2005 was not a particularly good year for me. A dear friend of mine died unexpectedly at the age of 46, leaving a hole in my heart. I got my first ever flu shot, only to find out that the vaccine was not what was in the syringes and that the FBI was investigating the matter. (A number of side dramas are attached to that one.) Not to mention a number of smaller (in general) events that added to the desire to see the end of 2005.

Having had the last couple of weeks off just to recharge the batteries has been wonderful. Today I feel an energy that I haven't felt in a long, long time. I know that work is going to be a challenge in 2006 (my work load doubled in 2005 and I was informed right before my vacation started that I would be taking on more responsibility in 2006, keeping all my current responsibilities) but I hope to be up to the challenge. The personalities I will be working with are the challenge, not the work itself per se. So, I'm hoping that 2006 gives me what I need to do my job, do it well and not kill anyone in the process. :)

On a personal level, my goal is to do things that make me happy, including (but not limited to) the following (in no particular order):

1. More massages in 2006
2. Take more time to read
3. Spend more time writing because:
a) I plan to enter contests in 2006,
b) I plan to query agents in 2006,
c) I plan to pitch at National, and
d) I want to get the story written!
4. Be more social
5. Get healthy/lose weight
6. Take time to smell the roses
7. In general, do more to pamper myself

Note, these are not resolutions but goals so if you see me shoving an entire Sara Lee Chocolate Cheese Cake down my throat on January 5th, I'm not breaking any resolutions. ;o)

Happy New Year to all! I hope 2006 is good to us all!

What are your goals?

Remembering a Princess

I don't know what it is but I've always been fascinated by Princess Diana. I remember when she married Prince Charles. VCRs weren't commonplace at the time. In fact, I'm not really sure if they were around. I do know, if they were, they were still too expensive for the average Joe to have one. As such, I didn't have one but I wanted to see the wedding so I got up at something like 3:30 am so I could watch it.

I also remember where I was and what I was doing when she died. It was so shocking. I kept thinking there had to be a mistake. She was too young and how she died was so awful. VCRs were more common then, it was unusual if you didn't have one, so I recorded the funeral rather than get up in the middle of the night to watch it. And I cried when I watched it.

I've been appalled at the people who have tried to exploit her, for their own gain, since her death. For instance, the man who, whenever he needs money, sells off more of her private story but when interviewed, refuses to answer certain questions because he wants to respect her privacy. Yeah right! You just want to save something for the next time. He should be shot. Or better yet, slowly tortured. Nothing is too horrible. But I digress.

Yesterday I went to an area museum to see the Princess Diana Exhibit . It's a traveling exhibit which happens to be on display in Houston now. The exhibit was divided into a number of different rooms, each representing an area of her life. There were pictures, video and actual memorabilia from all phases of her life. Her wedding gown was on display and video from her wedding was shown. The actual sheet music from Elton John's tribute song was on display, and played while video of her life and funeral were shown (heard a lot of sobs in that room) while it was played.

I went alone to the exhibit and I'm glad I did. I was able to spend a lot of time there without worrying about someone else being bored, tired or anything else. I read everything in every room. I watched every video in its entirety. When I reached the end, I went back almost to the beginning and came back through, just looking.

I know people are making money off of the exhibit and that may be their only reason for allowing her things to be viewed but whatever the reasons I want to say this: This exhibit honors Princess Diana and is done in a very respectful manner to her memory. To me, it was worth every penny (including the $8.00 parking fee) I paid to see it.

Latest Plug

Part of my vacation agenda is to read as many books as possible. In the past four days I've read three - all wonderful. The latest of which is Julia Quinn's An Offer From A Gentleman.

It's a Cinderella-like story. Sophie is the bastard child of the Earl of Penbroke. Her mother had died in childbirth and her maternal grandmother had cared for her until she turned three, at which time she deposited young Sophie on the doorstep of her father.

Recognized as the Earl's "ward" (not daughter), Sophie was raised in luxury, if not love. However, when Sophie's father married, his new wife made it clear that she could not be treated in the same manner as her daughters (two - Rosamund and Posy).

The Earl died unexpectedly at a young age. His wife would receive 2000 a year, or 6000 if she provided for Sophie until she was twenty. He also provided for a dowry for all three girls.

The stepmother kept Sophie on so she could collect the money but not in the manner she had previously lived. She made Sophie work for her keep - without pay.

And then they received an invitation to a masquerade ball. Sophie dilligently prepared her step-mother and step-sisters for the ball, never dreaming of going herself. But once they were on their way, the staff prepared Sophie to attend the ball herself. She wore clothing that had been her grandmother's (on her father's side) and was taken in the family carriage. The one caveat, she had to meet the carriage at midnight, otherwise she could be caught.

So dressed in her grandmother's clothes, her face covered by a mask, she attends the ball. On entrance, she garners the attention of several men but it's Benedict Bridgerton that whisks her away. They both are smitten but she refuses to give him her name and he steals a kiss.

He comments that her hair feels like silk. She laughs and reminds him that he has on gloves. He has her remove his glove and feels her hair. She asks for the same liberty so he removes her glove, which bears the family crest and her grandmother's initials. He is about to remove her mask when the clock starts chiming midnight and she narrowly escapes, having left the glove behind.

He spends years trying to locate her and she dreams of him, knowing that societal proprieties will not allow for them to be together, so she tries to forget him. When they meet again, he does not recognize her (he never really saw her face). He's drawn to her but cannot allow himself to really give in to his care for her because he feels he's being unfaithful to his true love, the mystery lady from the ball.

It was a fun, light read. Predictable? Yes, but still fun. I highly recommend it. :)

Another Plug

Earlier this year I read Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich for a reading group I participate in. I'd never read anything by Janet Evanovich and wasn't overly impressed but everyone kept saying her Stephanie Plum series was wonderful so I said I'd give it a try.

Well, I ordered (and received) One for the Money last week and since I rotate what I read in genre's (so I don't get over tired of one particular genre), I cracked open One for the Money yesterday for my "mystery" genre.

For all intents and purposes I read it in one sitting. I took a couple of breaks, surfed the net and took restroom breaks but basically, I read it in a few hours time.

It was a light, fun read with a mystery to boot. I'm officially a fan. :)

P.S. Merry Christmas!!!

My remote control is possessed!

I have a number of TV remotes in various conditions. Several bear teeth marks from Max and/or Brewsky. The one in my living room has loose parts inside of it while the one in the bedroom has buttons I have no idea what their purpose is. These two remotes are in the best condition of my collection.

Anyway, the remote in the living room rattles when I pick it up now. I'm sure this is because it has been dropped so many times. But, here's the deal, I will be watching TV and I'll want to mute the TV for some reason (maybe a call, maybe to write a blog) and when I hit the mute, it turns my TV off. Not every time but enough to aggravate me.

Other times I'll move my remote and the channel changes...on the TV, not the cable channel. That's the weirdest thing because if I click on the channel up or down it changes the cable station I'm watching. If I punch in the numbers in the remote, again, it changes the cable station I'm watching so to have it change the station my TV is on is just bizarre. And did I mention I won't have clicked anything on my remote when this happens? Again, not all the time, just periodically.

Maybe the rattling I'm hearing in the remote is little gremlins out to make me crazy. So far their plan is working.

Perfect Days

My vacation officially started at 4:33 pm Tuesday, December 20. I'm off for the rest of the year. (You can't see it but I'm doing the happy dance here.)

I left work and went immediately to get a massage from the massage queen, Robin. Came home and had a good night's sleep.

Yesterday I got up and met a friend for a leisurely lunch - very nice.

A little later I went to the movies and saw The Family Stone. It was different than I thought it would be but I liked it. I laughed and cried during the movie. I debated sitting in the theater for a while after it was over so the puffiness of my eyes would go down.

Of course the crying thing could have just been me. They showed a preview for a movie called Eight Down or Eight Under, something like that. It's about a dog team. They are taken out on an adventure (not sure exactly why) and things go awry. The dogs save this man's life and then when help comes, they leave the dogs behind, planning to come back later. Then the weather gets really bad and they can't go back for them so the dogs have to fend for themselves in this artic weather. I was crying at the preview! So, it could have just been me that got weepy at The Family Stone.

Anyway, I left there and went to Foley's to spend my gift card the attorneys I work with gave me. I couldn't find what I wanted so I went to leave the mall - passing the movie theater on my way to my car. I happened to look at the time and see what was playing...Fun with Dick and Jane started in ten minutes so I bought a ticket and went to see it too. I'm not a Jim Carrey (sp?) fan but I liked this movie. It was funny.

Today I'm going to see if I can find a local theater that still has Rent playing.

I love being on vacation!

Embarrassing moments

A number of years ago my mother told me this story.

A little old lady (okay, I think she just said a lady...I just imagine her as little and old) was coming out of the grocery store with her shopping cart full of grocery bags. As she approached her car she realized that there were three "thugs" (you know, look like trouble making late teen, early twenties kids) sitting in her car. Well, she knew the times had changed so she carried a gun in her purse and she thought this was the perfect opportunity to pull it out and use it. So she walked up to the driver's side window (which had been rolled down) and pointed the gun at the "head thug's" (why else would he be in the driver's seat) head. She calmly told them to get out of the car. And they did. Running away as fast as their thug legs would carry them.

Happy that she'd defended herself and her vehicle, she unloaded her groceries into the car and then got in the front seat. It was then that it dawned on her.

It wasn't her car.

Her car, she realized, was a couple of parking spaces over. She loaded the groceries back into the shopping cart and then into her car and drove to the police station to explain what had happened. As she was telling her story the police officer started laughing. When asked what was so funny he pointed to the three kids that were reporting a car jacking by a little old lady.

That story always makes me laugh because I can just imagine the kids' faces as this lady pulls a gun on them and tells them to get out of the car - their car. LOL

Anyway, so what made me think of this story? Last night when I was leaving the office, I spotted my car in the parking lot and noticed that some sort of flyer was on my car. I work in a place that has tight security so I knew it was something the company had put on the car. It kind of annoyed me.

So, I'm walking to my car and as I approached it I snatched the flyer off the windshield and clicked the automatic locks on my keychain. Nothing happened. I'm reading the flyer, even more annoyed at the message, as I click the locks again. Still nothing. I turned the keychain around and clicked it again and heard a faint beep. I tried to open the door and it was locked. I clicked one last time again I heard a faint beep but this time I noticed a car a couple of spaces over with its lights flashing. Then it dawned on me, I was trying to get into the wrong car. I dart around the car to my own car, realizing that I'm taking the flyer from the car with me. I make the decision not to return it but as I'm snatching the flyer off of MY car, I look back and see someone walking straight towards me with this big grin on his face.

I knew immediately that it had been his car I'd tried to break into. I walked over, laughed as I gave him his flyer while he told me he'd done that with my car before (yeah, but he never got caught!). Very embarrassing moment. LOL

Is it just me?

My boss took our group to lunch today - a holiday lunch. We went to Pappas Seafood. I'm not sure if that's national or local. In any event, it's one of the nicer restaurants in the area. More upscale.

Anyway, one of my attorneys has been in a pissy mood for at least two weeks now and it's not been real clear why. All I know is the first week I went in to say good morning to her and she bit my head off. Actually she did that two out of three mornings. I quit going in to see her.

Then she stopped talking to me altogether. Wouldn't even make eye contact with me last week. On one occasion she needed something done and rather than tell me, she wrote it on a post it note and stuck it on my desk.

I was sitting at my desk at the time.

So this kind of behavior has been going on for at least two weeks. The invitation for lunch went out before she stopped talking to me. She made some comment about she didn't want to go. See, I'm like the only one in the group she likes and she didn't want to spend her lunch hour with a group of people she doesn't like.

Fine - it was optional.

So my boss sends out a reminder this morning about it and offered to drive me and the other two staff support ladies. Said if anyone didn't want to go to let him know, otherwise we'd get a table for the group.

No one declined.

The female attorney rode out with another attorney. In the restaurant, she sat in the corner with her arms crossed the entire time. She never joined in the conversation or made eye contact with anyone and she didn't even order lunch!

So, is it just me or is that not rude?

Aside from her negativity, it was a nice lunch.

No Plot? No Problem!

That's the name of a book intended as a writing tool for writers. Chris Baty is the author and, if I'm not mistaken, he also is the one that heads up the annual NaNoWriMo in November. But that's not really the subject of this post. It's about books that have no plot.

I know people who don't like books without a plot. I know others who say the story is all about the characters.

I think I fall in the latter category. Not that I have anything against plots but if I'm not relating with the characters in some way, the author can have the best plot ever devised and s/he will have lost me as a reader. On the flip side, if s/he can make me care about the characters, I probably won't notice/care that there is no plot.

If the author has created a character who hits a nerve with me and I hate them, that's okay because they've been so descriptive that they've evoked an emotion out of me. It's only bad when it's the hero or heroine. And that happens.

I've heard (and find it to be true for my tastes) that it's not good to have a book that is only about sex. A well written love scene is one thing but when the characters can't seem to drag themselves out of bed long enough to have a discussion or a life, there's a problem. I'll move on to the next book.

I recently read a book where all either characters could think about was having sex with the other one. I think there was only one scene where they actually consummated the relationship but it never left their thoughts. (And the sex scene was on the cutting room floor. They discussed it and thought about it a lot afterwards though but the act itself didn't make the cut.) I didn't hate the book but the author also did not go on my "automatic buy" list.

For me, reading is an escape. I like mindless reading. I love fun, light reads - something that can make me laugh and/or cry but not require too much thought on my part. Don't get me wrong, I love John Grisham thrillers and Mary Higgins Clark mysteries but those kinds of books only make up about twenty-five percent of my reading. The other seventy-five percent is made up of lighter fare. But if they can't make me care about the characters, they lose me as a reader. (Can't stress that enough. LOL)

So, bottom line for me and my reading preferences, my motto is: No Plot? No Problem! ;o)

How about you?

Your Honor, I give you Exhibit A

Men don't listen. A woman rarely has a man's full attention. The one exception is when he is watching sports and you get between him and the television. Even then though, he's not listening. He will pretend to listen and promise anything to get you to move but the second you move, you've lost him again. And for those of you that would think you have his attention during sex, I'm sad to say, you don't. Little Johnny has his attention and little Johnny isn't going to listen to you either. In fact, the only word little Johnny understands is "yes" and every word known to man (or woman) sounds like "yes" to little Johnny.

Some of you may be reading this and shaking/nodding your head in agreement but for those of you who are not convinced, I bring proof.

To give a little background, I was making limo arrangements for my boss yesterday. He's attending a company sponsored event tomorrow night and wanted to arrive in style. He placed the charges on his corporate card. I like my boss so I didn't comment but it got me to thinking, does this mean that since the Christmas party is company sponsored I can hire a limosine to take me there and have the company pay for it? Hmmmm....something to consider - but I digress.

So, I called our travel department and reached, what else, a man. We'll call him Travel Guy or TG for short for the purposes of this transcript. The following is the actual transcript of the telephone conversation:

TG: How may I help you?
Me: I need to set up limosine services.
TG: Is this for travel already scheduled?
Me: No, it's transportation within the city for a company sponsored event.
TG: I see. And the name?
Me: I give him my boss' name, spelling the last name because it's one of those names that is spelled in a way that you're convinced someone's cat ran across the keyboard (multiple times) as it was being typed but actually sounds like "Smith".
TG: How will Mr. Smith be paying for this?
Me: Corporate AMEX.
TG: He's putting it on his corporate card?
Me: Yes.
TG: Account number (recites account number).
Me: Like I have his number committed to memory! Not to mention I've NEVER been asked to confirm a credit card number before! Yes.
TG: Are we picking him up at his home (proceeds to recite home address).
Me: No. I have an address for pick up. (I recite the street address.)
TG: What is that?
Me: I don't know. I just have the address. It could be his townhouse but I'm not sure.
TG: What's the zip code?
Me: I don't have that information.
TG: Well, I need that to schedule the pick up.
Me: Realizing boss is in the office next to mine, probably standing near the doorway. Hang on one minute. (covering mouthpiece of phone - yelling) Mr. Smith!!!

No response (which actually, when you think about it, could be used as Exhibit A-1. Like the (A-1) sauce. Not really all that strong by itself but boy can it bring out the flavor of the meat!)

Me: (back into the phone) He didn't hear me.
TG: I can look it up on mapquest.
Me: (Look at destination, realize no address number or zip code is listed, turn to computer and pull up mapquest myself.)
TG: I found it. (He recites the zip code he found to me.) Does that sound right?
Me: (Pull phone away from my ear, make face and exaggerated arm gesture, excuse me but didn't I just tell you I DON'T KNOW the zip code? How the heck would I know if it "sounded" right? put phone back to ear) I have no idea. (rolling eyes) Sure, whatever.
TG: Do you know the name of these townhouses?
Me: I don't know that it is his townhouse. It may not be. But to answer your question, I don't know the name of the townhouses he lives in. And this may not be his townhouse anyway. Don't put that on there because it may not be his townhouse.
TG: So where are we taking him?
Me: (I give him name address and zip code of destination.)
TG: What time do we need to pick him up at the townhouse?
Me: I don't know that it is his townhouse but he needs to be picked up at the address I gave you at 6:30 pm.
TG: Okay, so what time does he need to be picked up from (name of destination)?
Me: 9:45 pm
TG: Okay, so let's recap: We have him being picked up from his townhouse at 6:30 pm, address (gives address).
Me: (interrupting) I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT IS HIS TOWNHOUSE!
TG: (continuing as if I hadn't said anything) We will pick him up at 9:45 pm and bring him home.
Me: Those are the right times and addresses but I don't know that the address is his townhouse. I don't know the address to the townhouse. That needs to be removed from the record in case it's not.
TG: Okay, is there anything else I can do for you today?
Me: Yes, is it possible to put in the record that this needs to be charged immediately? We want to prepay for the services.
TG: We can do that. He's putting this on his corporate card?
Me: Yes. Also, he wanted me to be sure the limo service had his cell number, just in case they had difficulty locating him.
TG: He wants the limo service to have his cell number in case they get lost going to his townhouse?
Me: (through gritted teeth) I don't know that that is his townhouse! He wants them to have the number in case they need to reach him for any reason! Can that be included in his record?
TG: Of course.

We finish up the call with him telling me he would email me the confirmation. I submit to you Exhibit A. (Due to technical difficulties I cannot post the confirmation but in big bold letters it said to pick up the passenger at his TOWNHOME!!!!! P.S. there was no zip code listed anywhere on the confirmation either) No mention was made of prepayment or cell number.

I called the limo company directly. No mention was made on what they received about prepayment so I set that up directly (and they charged immediately, thank you very much...did I mention I spoke with a WOMAN at the limo service? yeah!). As for the cell number, she said a number was included and proceeded to give me the number provided, which happened to be MY work number. Yeah, when the limo service is trying to locate Mr. Smith, it will be good that they call my work number, after hours, on a Friday night. We fixed that too. (When I saw the confirmation had it listed as his townhome I went to Mr. Smith. He confirmed that it WAS his townhome so I didn't have to address that with the limo company - but that wasn't the point.)

So, with that, Your Honor, I rest this case.

Tune in tomorrow when we look at the hypnotic properties or gravitational pull of a woman's breasts, also known as "excuse me sir but my eyes are up here!"

What the devil?

At the recommendation of Honey, I decided to wait to read Jennifer Crusie's Strange Bedfellows. In its place I'll be reading Shirley Jump's The Devil Served Tortellini.

For Maria Pagliano, too much of a good thing has always been a problem. Whether it's men or carbs, she just can't say no. But that's about to change. For her high school reunion, Maria's vowed to reinvent herself as a woman who has her life strictly in order. No more pasta, bread, dessert, or datingeven if the menu offering is one sexy chef named Dante Del Rosso.

Everything about Dante is off-limits. From his come-hither smile to his sultry way around the kitchen in his Boston restaurant, he's too much temptation...for her taste buds and her heart. Just being around the guy makes her crave more. The only thing to do is go cold turkey on Dante. But he has other ideas. Now, this devil is out to woo his dream woman using every spicy, sweet, and sinfully delicious weapon he's got. And once Maria gets a taste of the real thing, how can she possibly settle for anything less?

Last chance

Okay, I'm giving Jennifer Crusie another try. I've only read one of her books before now and I have to say, I hated it. I didn't like the hero or heroine. I didn't like "the bad guy" (in fact I HATED the bad guy) and I didn't much like the friend, that recommended the book, for a while. In fact, I haven't read - or finished - a book she's recommended since then.

Anyway, I've heard such wonderful things about Ms Crusie's books and I want to give her another chance. And she was so funny accepting her Rita in Reno. My local RWA chapter sells member donated books at their meetings for $1 to raise money to buy the speaker's books to give as giveaways at our meetings. They had Ms. Crusie's Strange Bedpersons at one meeting so I snatched it up.

But this is it. If I have the same "I wanna beat the shift outta someone" feeling when I finish this book as I did the last one, I won't read another of her books - ever, except under threat of severe torture. So, if you know this is the wrong one of her books for me to read to get the warm fuzzies, STOP ME NOW, before I start it.

I've been tagged! Gasp!

Okay, so I'm minding my own business reading a response to a friend's blog about not having anything to blog about. The response said they were tagging the blogger. Laughing to myself I run over to the responder's blog to see what the tag was because I love reading those things and think it's funny when unsuspecting people get tagged. Well, in THAT blog, three people were tagged, among them one Lucy S. I'm thinking "I wonder who that is" because after all Mel (she only needs one name, like Cher or Madonna) has no idea who I am...does she? I click on the link and *GASP* it takes me to MY blog. Suddenly tagging isn't as funny as it was two minutes ago. LOL

Okay, so here's the deal: I need to list 15 facts and personal preferences (quirks, habits, whatever) about books.

Here goes:

1. I love the escape a book gives.
2. I like reading a variety of different genres.
3. Until recently, John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks were automatic buys. (Their last few books have put them back in the "gotta read the back cover first" category again.)
4. Mary Higgins Clark is still an automatic buy.
5. I sometimes get embarrassed by the book cover of the book I'm reading - but I still read it, and enjoy it.
6. I love discovering new authors.
7. I hadn't ever read a Julia Quinn book when I accosted her at the Reno Airport in July.
8. After reading one of Julia Quinn's book, I'm now a huge fan of her work.
9. I love books that make me laugh out loud, snort or laugh until tears are streaming.
10. I love books that can grab me at an emotional level that they can make me cry.
11. I'm not a fan of alpha males in books.
12. If I can figure out who the killer is, anyone else can figure it out by reading the back cover - but I love reading mysteries anyway.
13. I own every single book ever published by Cheryl Bolen .
14. I love that I can order books from amazon.com and they will be delivered to my door...eventually.
15. My TBR pile is high enough that if I read one book a day until I read every book in the pile, I would be reading into the new year.

Okay, so now I have to tag three people. I don't suppose I can re-tag Mel and Pam can I? No? Okay, I tag Sam, Aura, and Maria (who I'm sure has no idea this blog exists). :o)

Is your glass half empty or half full?

So, someone takes a glass and fills it half-way to the top and asks you, "Is the glass half empty or half full?" what do you say? No matter how you answer, you've told the person something about yourself. A person who answers "half empty" could be telling the person that they are hard to satisfy - it's never enough. It's related more to the negative.

On the other hand, a person who answers "half full" is saying they're happy with what they get - it's more positive.

With that in mind, I considered my position on the matter today. I came to the conclusion that while my glass is half full, I'm not altogether happy with what's in it.

Shameless Plug

I finished reading One Golden Ring by Cheryl Bolen last night. I started it Thanksgiving day and probably would have finished it that day except I made a commitment to myself to complete some tasks around the house. I had a hard time putting it down.

Fiona Hollingsworth was first introduced in Ms. Bolen's The Counterfeit Countess. In The Counterfeit Countess, Fiona loses her love to another woman. One Golden Ring is Fiona's story of love. It opens with her needing to secure a large sum of money to pay a ransom for her beloved brother, Randolph. Though her family is a respected member of the ton, they have endured many setbacks in the past few years and no longer possess the wealth they once had. So, in order to save her brother, she offers herself in marriage to the wealthiest man in town, Nicholas (Nick) Birmingham.

Nicholas Birmingham has worked hard for everything he has. He is a respected business man but despite the fact that he has more money than anyone else, he is not deemed worthy of courting a woman of the ton because of his lineage. So, when Fiona offers himself to him he declines but offers the money she needs anyway. Fiona declines, refusing to take charity. After mulling it over, Nick realizes that Fiona intends to marry someone, one way or another, and he decides he is as good as any and they wed.

This was a sweet love story and timely for the holidays as it begins just before Christmas and ends a year later, at Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dog Days

I spent several hours yesterday raking my backyard and bagging up leaves. I am so sore today it hurts to blink. (Okay, it's not that bad but my legs and back do ache today.)

Anyway, I left the bags of leaves on the back patio because trash day isn't until Monday and who wants to move a gazillion bags of "garbage" if they don't have to? I get up this morning and while reading my email I hear the dogs in the backyard and I'm hearing some strange noises. I have french doors looking out onto the patio and while the blinds are closed, I can see "images" through them. I looked out and realized my dogs were in the vicinity of the bags of leaves and it dawns on me...they are probably ripping open the bags of leaves. I jump up and run to the back door and sure enough, Brewsky has his head buried in one of the bags - which has been ripped open. I fuss at them and they came in the house but now I have to rebag leaves today. UGH!

(P.S. I feel a little bad because while writing this, it dawned on me that I scooped up some of their more worn out toys with the leaves. What if Brewsky was just trying to save his favorite toy?)

Things that annoy

I'm one of those people that hate to shop. Any kind of shopping (well, except for books on amazon.com, which my Visa rep can verify). When it's absolutely necessary I do it, but I'm in and out as quickly as I can.

Today was a must shop day (boys needed food). I went after work, like everyone else in town. Anyway, I get to the bread aisle. All I want is a loaf of bread and muffins, if they have them.

The bread aisle was a popular aisle. There were at least half a dozen baskets (along with a bazillion people) on the aisle, not to mention a stocker with one of those dollies stocking the shelves.

As I approach the bread there is this lady with two kids (a boy and a girl about 5 and 3, respectively, I would guess) blocking where I wanted to be. I was patient because they were there first. The lady hands a loaf to the boy who starts running and darting through the maze of shopping carts until he reaches a cart just behind me, where I realize his father is. He slam dunks the bread into the cart and weaves his way back to his mother, who is still blocking the bread I want.

The boy says something to his mother and the mother says something back. None of which I hear but after the mother's comment the boy squeals something about needing to take something back to the cart and the mother tells him she doesn't have anything for him to take back to the cart. He darts back through the carts to his father, upset.

The mother finally moves to the other side of the aisle and I move up to the bread products. I snatch up what I need only to be stalled by the dolly in the aisle. On the other side is the mother with her two kids now. This time the daughter starts darting through the carts and people in the aisle. I look over at the father (who's now beside me) and he's staring intently at something in his shopping cart.

At this point, I'm pretty annoyed. Neither parent is saying anything to the kids about staying out of the way, to be careful or anything they should be saying. Instead, they're allowing their kids to do whatever they want in a very congested grocery store aisle.

Two carts were maneuvering themselves around the dolly and barely had clearance to get through without hitting each other...they were moving very slowly to avoid that. Yet, the daughter darted between the two carts just before they collided. And still neither parent said a word. I glared at the father, who was still engrossed in whatever was in their shopping cart. I again looked at the mother, who had just handed the boy something to take back to the cart. The boy was, once again, darting through the maze of shoppers and carts and instead of saying something helpful like "be careful" or "watch out for whatever", she says, "Don't throw it into the cart, it will break." She yelled this over two carts and at least three people. I made eye contact with one of the other shoppers and we exchanged "can you believe this shift" looks with one another.

It was at this time I saw my opening to get around the dolly, out of loaves of bread and into the muffin area. As I was negotiating my way around the dolly, I saw the boy's hand raise high in the air as he went to slam dunk whatever he had in his hand into the shopping cart.

I didn't hear a crash but I didn't look back to see what had happened. What I know didn't happen is nothing was said by the parents.

Don't get me wrong, I love kids. Have always wanted to have kids, even now. But I don't think there is a good reason to 1) flat out not watch your kids in a public place; and 2) expect others to watch out for your kids, again, in a public place.

I'm not a confrontational person or I would have said something to one or both of the parents because I was pretty annoyed. It took me no less than ten minutes to get down the aisle to get two items, due in no small part to two kids weaving in and out of "traffic". I was so annoyed.

Okay, this concludes this rant.

I'll be happy when...

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we are able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right no. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that times waits for no one.


So, stop waiting...
Until your car or home is paid off.
Until you get a new car or home.
Until your kids leave the house.
Until you go back to school.
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married.
Until you get a divorce.
Until you have kids.
Until you retire.
Until summer.
Until spring.
Until winter.
Until fall.
Until you die.


There's no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching.

Where it all started

I don't know why I thought about this today but I did.

A couple of years ago I received in the mail a video tape. My father had taken some old home movies and had them put on video - to music.

When I watched it, it explained a lot. On the video was my first Christmas (actually probably my second because I would have been a month old for my first). My mother was holding my hands in the air and walking me into the living room. At first I wasn't even sure it was me because I have two older sisters and they were no where to be seen.

Then the camera panned to the doorway of the living room and here came my sisters 3 and 5 years old (assuming it was my second Christmas). You can tell they are squealing and running to the toys under the tree (Santa didn't wrap the presents he left...only the one's friends and family brought were wrapped).

The video shows my sisters opening a present, squealing and holding it up to the camera. One by one. And it would show my mother opening a present and smiling, holding it up for the camera.

This went on for a while and it dawned on me, I haven't been seen since I was walked in the room.

It was like that thought was anticipated because suddenly the camera pans out to show the entire room again. I'm sitting in the middle of the room, facing my father with the camera, a cookie in either hand. Behind me is all the excitement that is Christmas but I don't care, I have my cookies.

So, now you know where my love for chocolate/cookies comes from and you know that all it takes to make me happy is a cookie in either hand. ;o)

Home for the Holidays

I'm so excited about the upcoming holidays. Not because I'm such a holiday person...I'm not. In fact, I'm almost anti-holiday (long story). Part of that has to do with the fact that I always feel obligated to go somewhere and act a certain way, when in fact I don't want to be there.

This year is different though. I'm not going anywhere. No one is expecting me (I sent an email to my step-father saying I wasn't coming and he said he understood...okay I fudged a little on my reason but the result is the same). I'm so excited!!!

I only have the four day weekend for Thanksgiving but I'll have it all to myself. To do whatever I want.

For Christmas I am two days shy of having two full weeks off (one day if you count the day after New Years) AND NO WHERE TO GO!!! YES!

I may have mentioned this somewhere before but when my mother was alive, we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve so I spent Christmas Day at the movie theater. After she died, I started visiting my step-father and the movie tradition ended. This year I can do it - if I want to. I'm really excited about this.

So anyway, those are my plans (nothing I don't want to do) for the holidays, what are your plans?

The problem with quizzes

Your Career Type: Artistic

You are expressive, original, and independent.Your talents lie in your artistic abilities: creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art. You would make an excellent: Actor - Art Teacher - Book Editor Clothes Designer - Comedian - Composer Dancer - DJ - Graphic DesignerIllustrator - Musician - Sculptor The worst career options for your are conventional careers, like bank teller or secretary.

What's" Your Ideal Career?

Here's how the conversation would go:

Me: I'm giving my two week notice.
Boss: What?
Me: I have to quit. My last day will be two weeks from today.
Boss: Next week is a holiday week, you're only working three days.
Me: Doesn't matter. I leave in two weeks.
Boss: Is there something we can do to change your mind?
Me: I have to do this.
Boss: You have to? Why?
Me: A blog quiz said being a secretary would be the worst career move I could make.
Boss: (looking at me like I've just grown an extra head or something) A blog quiz? (Deciding it's none of his business) What are you going to do?
Me: I don't know yet. There were lots of recommendations. I think I'll start with the Book Editor job.

The Yellow shirt (A love story)

The baggy yellow shirt had long sleeves, four extra-large pockets trimmed in black thread and snaps up the front. It was faded from years of wear, but still in decent shape. I found it in 1963 when I was home from college on Christmas break, rummaging through bags of clothes Mom intended to give away. "You're not taking that old thing, are you?" Mom said when she saw me packing the yellow shirt. "I wore that when I was pregnant with your brother in 1954!"

"It's just the thing to wear over my clothes during art class, Mom. Thanks!" I slipped it into my suitcase before she could object. The became a part of my college wardrobe. I loved it. After graduation, I wore the shirt the day I moved into my new apartment and on Saturday mornings when I cleaned.

The next year, I married. When I became pregnant, I wore the yellow shirt during big-belly days. I missed Mom and the rest of my family, since we were in Colorado and they were in Illinois. But that shirt helped. I smiled, remembering that Mother had worn it when she was pregnant, 15 years earlier.

That Christmas, mindful of the warm feelings the shirt had given me, I patched one elbow, wrapped it in holiday paper and sent it to Mom. When Mom wrote to thank me for her "real" gifts, she said the yellow shirt was lovely. She never mentioned it again.

The next year, my husband, daughter and I stopped at Mom and Dad's to pickup some furniture. Days later, when we uncrated the kitchen table, I noticed something yellow taped to its bottom. The shirt!

And so the pattern was set.

On our next visit home, I secretly placed the shirt under Mom and Dad's mattress. I don't know how long it took for her to find it, but almost two years passed before I discovered it under the base of our living-room floorlamp. The yellow shirt was just what I needed now while refinishing furniture. The walnut stains added character.

In 1975 my husband and I divorced. With my three children, I prepared tomove back to Illinois. As I packed, a deep depression overtook me. I wondered if I could make it on my own. I wondered if I would find a job. I paged through the Bible, looking for comfort. In Ephesians, I read, "So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will be standing up."

I tried to picture myself wearing God's armor, but all I saw was the stained yellow shirt. Slowly, it dawned on me. Wasn't my mother's love a piece of God's armor? My courage was renewed.

Unpacking in our new home, I knew I had to get the shirt back to Mother. The next time I visited her, I tucked it in her bottom dresser drawer.

Meanwhile, I found a good job at a radio station. A year later I discovered the yellow shirt hidden in a rag bag in my cleaning closet. Something new had been added. Embroidered in bright green across the breast pocket were the words "I BELONG TO PAT."

Not to be outdone, I got out my own embroidery materials and added an apostrophe and seven more letters. Now the shirt proudly proclaimed, "I BELONG TO PAT'S MOTHER." But I didn't stop there. I zig-zagged all the frayed seams, then had a friend mail the shirt in a fancy box to Mom from Arlington, VA. We enclosed an official looking letter from "The Institute for the Destitute," announcing that she was the recipient of an award for good deeds. I would have given anything to see Mom's face when she opened the box. But, of course, she never mentioned it.

Two years later, in 1978, I remarried. The day of our wedding, Harold and I put our car in a friend's garage to avoid practical jokers. After the wedding, while my husband drove us to our honeymoon suite, I reached for a pillow in the car to rest my head. It felt lumpy. I unzipped the case and found, wrapped in wedding paper, the yellow shirt. Inside a pocket was anote: "Read John 14:27-29. I love you both, Mother."

That night I paged through the Bible in a hotel room and found the verses: "I am leaving you with a gift: peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, for now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do, you will believein me."

The shirt was Mother's final gift. She had known for three months that she had terminal Lou Gehrig's disease. Mother died the following year at age57.

I was tempted to send the yellow shirt with her to her grave. But I'm glad I didn't, because it is a vivid reminder of the love-filled game she and I played for 16 years. Besides, my older daughter is in college now, majoring in art. And every art student needs a baggy yellow shirt with big pockets.

Images

Within days of when I found out I was vaccinated with a fake flu shot the headline news in the area was the break-ins in this one subdivision. Mine! The burglar would ring the doorbell and if no one answered, he/she would kick the front door in, stealing jewelry, credit cards and money.

They surprised someone at one location and rather than retreating, they beat the crap out of the old man. He's still in the hospital.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because, up until all the break-ins started happening, I blocked off my bedroom door during the day (the break-ins were happening during working hours, so broad daylight) so my dogs wouldn't get on the bed and generally make a mess of my room while I was at work. Once this all came out, I decided to let my dogs get in the bedroom because it's in the front of the house and I figured they could alert any would-be burglars that the house was occupied (the blinds are always open about 5-6 inches so the dogs can look out).

Today was not an exception...despite the fact that there hasn't been a break-in (that I know of) in over a week, I allowed the dogs access to my bedroom while I was at work. When I got home and went into the bedroom I saw something white on the floor near the window. I got closer and realized it was the towel from my bathroom floor (I don't have bathroom rugs so each week when I do towels, I put a different towel out to step on...this week it was the white one). As I went over to collect the towel, I saw my pillow on the floor, propped up in an "L" shape against the night stand.

Next thing I know, I have this image in my head of my dog, Brewsky (not Max), reclining on the pillow with the towel/blanket held up to his chin with one paw while the other one held the TV remote, flipping channels.

Comedy Show

I just got home from a comedy show. It was a show with the Rock and Roll Hypnotist Martin Walsh.

Oh. My. Gosh! It was so funny.

He asked for volunteers to come up on stage. He had eight chairs and once they were full, no one else could come up (although he did come out into the audience and "handled" a couple of people who were going under). If they didn't go under, he asked them to sit down. He wasn't rude about it, I think he just didn't want to waste the time if they weren't really under.

An old man (who, by the way, had an obvious erection when he got on stage, but that's another story) wasn't really going under so he was the first to go. I think he tried but he just couldn't relax enough.

Then there was "Jeremy". He had a shirt on that said "My name is Richard". So when he told his name, the hypnotist asked why his shirt said his name is something else and he said, "because I'm a dick." (He may have been under then because that was a true statement. *innocent look*) He was on stage the whole show but I don't think he was under. The ladies at my table (front and center, thank you very much) and I believed he was under at first but what started as believable was taken to an extreme...either he was a plant gone bad or he wasn't really ever under.

Next was Tommy. I didn't think he was ever under but my friends disagreed. He wasn't asked to do much but I just wasn't quite convinced.

Michelle was sitting next to Tommy. Sometimes she seemed under, sometimes not. That was the general opinion at the end of the night...that she came in and out of it.

There was another woman and a man who never went under but they "played" along for awhile and then left.

One woman was up there for a while and then asked to go sit down. I wasn't convinced she was ever under but my friend said she thought she was. She was saying that she was watching her and that it was like she came out of it and realized what she was doing and that she was actually crying. I missed that part.

And last but not least was a woman whose name escapes me at the moment but I'm pretty sure it starts with a "C". If she was a plant, she was damn good. She was so sweet too. She got asked to do a lot of things. I figure that could be because she was really under and it didn't hurt that she was cute and sweet.

Anyway, among the things they did, C (it's driving me nuts that I can't remember her name) was told that the number six was removed from her memory. It was like there had never been a number six. Whenever she would count she would skip six and go to the next logical number. Then he had her hold her hands in front of her and told her to count as he pointed to her fingers. The first time she counted right, he gave her the suggestion again and did it again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. She had 11 fingers! She just stared at her hands like she was trying figure out how THAT had happened. So he counted them again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. She couldn't understand...she kept looking at her fingers. So he had her put her hands together and had her count by two. 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 Now she had 12 fingers! He told her she could sit down and she returned to her seat (on stage, that is) still staring at her hands, trying to figure out how she came up with 11 and 12 fingers.

Then he gave the suggestion that a cell phone would ring (which one was played in the room - either that or I was under too...except I didn't get the second half of the suggestion). The women would be pissed off - and vocal. The men, on the other hand, wouldn't hear it. Michelle had a few comments but C (what was her name???) was funny. She thought it was a man on the front row and told him that was rude sir. Sir. I think that was one of the reasons she was so likeable. She was very sweet and polite. Even when she's given the suggestion that she will be very vocal, she's still polite.

Then it was suggested that their favorite celebrity was in the audience. "Dick" suggested Julia Roberts was in the audience (at this point it was becoming obvious he wasn't under). C got excited and saw her too...the lady in the black shirt. Martin (the hypnotist, in case you forgot) asked her about Julia and she was so excited - said she'd loved her in Step Mom. Then he asked if she wanted to hug her. C said yes and went into the audience and hugged this woman three or four times. (Fortunately "Julia" was a good sport, although she looks nothing like she does in the movies...she must have good make-up people. ;o) )

She played air guitar, saw an entire audience nude, realized SHE was nude on the stage, smelled a fart, then realized she was the one that farted, watched a porno movie, then realized someone she knew was in it, and then so was she. She saw flying objects, became emotional during a song (from sad, to laughing, to crying, to laughing hysterically), OH, and he suggested that when he said something, they would ask to get laid. She asked and he was giving out leis. Told them that when they tugged on them that it would give "pleasure". She pulled on it quite a bit.

Like I said, if she was a plant, she was damn good. I hate that her name has left me. I'm sure it will come back to me but it's driving me nuts now.

Anyway, the bad thing was, as we were leaving we passed her. Her friends and family were telling her all she had done on the stage and she was mortified. My friend had seen her in the ladies room and said she was crying because she was embarrassed. I feel bad for her in that respect but it really was a good show.

So, that was my evening. I had fun. :o)

It's Official

Every morning when I wake up, I turn on the news.

One of the first things I saw this morning was about me - indirectly.

It would appear, that Leonardo DiCaprio has broken up with his long time girlfriend - a model. They weren't specific in the report as to why they broke up but I know it's because of my blog and my listing him as one of my freebies. He probably mentioned it to her and she looked it up and realized she couldn't compete.

I imagine she gave him an ultimatum - her or me. It's pretty clear how he chose...they broke up didn't they?

Something was mentioned in the report about him canoodling with Jude Law's ex - Sienna but I know that's just a cover...he wants to protect my privacy. He's good like that. So, every time he is reportedly with someone else, know he is thinking of me. ;o)

Dinner for One, Please

Most of you know (or should know?) that I am single.

I like being single - most of the time. Basically the only time I don't like being single is when I'm talking to someone and the subject comes up, for the first time, and they suddenly look at me differently. Like something must be wrong with me if I'm single. It's like they're thinking Well, she looks normal but something must be wrong because she is single. When their heads tilt to the side and they look me up and down, I know they're thinking I. just. can't. figure. out. what's. wrong. with. her. though.

For the most part I don't let that get to me, but occasionally it does. Like when it's time for a company function. I quit going to those. Of course, I don't particularly want to spend my free time with the people I work with so I don't necessarily consider that a sacrifice.

Then there's married. I've been married - once, for 8 years. I've never been more unhappy in my life. I realize that (being so unhappy in marriage, that is) puts a slant on things for me but I see my married friends and see them going through things I did and it makes me nuts. Like a hot button for me. For example, I'm going out with some friends tomorrow night...a ladies night out. Being single, I can do that with no problem.

One of my friends had to get permission from her husband to go. She had to see if he would be willing to "babysit" the kids. First of all, why is it watching the kids when she does it but babysitting (aka a chore) when he does it? Those are his kids too and some quality time between him and the kids would be good. It was all I could do not to say what I thought about that. But I digress.

Anyway, I remember the days when I had to ask permission to go out with the girls (we didn't even have kids to watch). It was rarely granted and I could never take our only car. He would either drop me off or tell me someone would have to pick me up...when it was "allowed". Meanwhile they (men) might call from work and announce they're going out with the guys. No permission requested and look out if you suggest it's not a good idea! My ex would let me know he was going out and also that he intended to be driving because he couldn't go out without a car.

Don't get me wrong, I know not all men or all relationships are like what I just described but I believe the majority of them are. Finding one (a man) not like that is rare. Finding one that is also single and available is even rarer.

I'm not opposed to being in a serious relationship, or even being married for that matter, but I have no desire to be in a relationship that is one-sided. So, until such time that I meet the perfect man for me, I'm happy being single.

Check please.

You Made Me Love You

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head that you would kill to get out of your head?

That happened to me today. You Made Me Love You kept playing over and over in my head all day today.

Well, at least it started in my head but before I knew it I was humming it - out loud.

Next thing I know, I'm singing - in my office. The worst part is I don't know all the words so it went something like this (pretend I can sing for a moment):

You made me love you,
I didn't want to do it,
da da da da da da da

(louder) You made me love you,
the da da da da da,
da da da da da da

(louder still and imagine a slight shimmying going on) Gimme gimme gimme gimme what I cry for
da da da da da da da da da da da

You know you made me love youuuuuuuuuuuu

Wait, it gets worse (no, noone actually walked in on me while I was singing and shimmying, thank goodness!).

I'm trying to get the song out of my head when I think of another version I've heard of it, which then gets stuck in my head.

A bit of history...I LOVE Billy Crystal. He was the first guest on the Tonight Show when Jay Leno took over. Bette Midler had been on the last night that Johnny Carson was on the Tonight Show. Bette had sung a song for him and while it may have been to this tune, I don't know for certain. I remember the show being emotional but that was about it.

I do, however, remember the first Tonight Show with Jay Leno. As I said, Billy Crystal was his first guest and he said something about not being out done by Bette Midler, she had sung a song for Johnny so he had a song to sing for Jay. I don't remember the whole thing but the first part has stayed with me all these years. It's to the tune of You Made Me Love You and went like this...

I am your first guest,
I didn't want to do it,
My agent really blew it

and went on from there - that's all I remember though. Anyway, all day long those two "songs" were going through my head...and they're still there.

Yeah, it was a fun day. LOL

Freebies (aka "to do" lists)

You know the rules. Nobody gets hurt - no harm, no foul.

If the opportunity presented itself and noone would be hurt, who would be on your top five "to do" list? (Drool optional)

My list is as follows (in no particular order):

1. Nicolas Cage
He has this charisma that just does it for me. Not to mention that, well, in The City of Angels his er, considerable assets were exposed. Mmm, hmm, his wife is one lucky lady.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio

His, um, assets were also exposed in one of his earlier movies (Total Eclipse) and while they are someone lacking, I'm sure he knows how to use what he has. (where is the whistling guy when you need him?

3. Michael E. Knight

What can I say? I thought he was sexy 25 years ago when he started on All My Children. Nothing has changed. I wanted him then, I want him now. Yum!

4. Gary Sinise

Okay for some reason his picture would paste here...probably too hot, I'm sure. He's another one that if I were going for looks only, wouldn't make it but he has such a magnetism to him. Hmmm. That's all I'm going to say.

5. Josh Duhamel

Sure he's young but what's your point? He was on All My Children for a couple of years and then went to prime time...Vegas. He's the reason I watched that show. Not that James Caan was bad to look at. Hmmm....James Caan.

Okay, so that's my "to do" list. What is yours? (Now I'm thinking 5 was too short a list. Seriously, where's my whistle guy? ;o) )

Favorite Movies

I have Catch Me if You Can on. I saw it opening weekend when it premiered. The decision to see it was based solely on who was in the movie...Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio. I had no idea what the movie was about. I thought it was an action thriller, which doesn't usually attract me - not that I don't like them when I see them, they just don't grab me when I see the trailers.

The movie was completely sold out. I had to sit in between two people I'd never met.

I was so pleasantly surprised that it was a comedy, although I don't think the woman on my left appreciated me laughing my ass off throughout the movie. That's what happens when I'm taken by surprise with humor (same thing happened when I went to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith, except that it wasn't sold out and I had gone with friends...didn't know it was a comedy and laughed long and hard throughout the movie).

Anyway, I'm watching Catch Me if You Can, again and the difference now and when I first saw it is, I start laughing earlier because I know something funny is fixin' (I'm southern, deal with it ;o) ) to happen. Seriously, you don't want to see a movie with me if I've already seen it...I start laughing five minutes before the joke is told.

So now you know, Catch Me if You Can is one of my favorite movies. What are your favorite movies and why (if there is a reason ;o) )?

That word you're looking for...

Well, one would be PLEASE, the other would be THANK YOU. I'm talking to people who seem to think the world revolves around them. You know them, the ones when your world is crashing down around you and they want to know how it's going to impact them. Because goodness knows, we have to plan our breakdowns around THEIR needs.

And no, I'm not having a breakdown...today - not that she would care. However, yesterday, even though I had a migraine, I went in to help her out because she's traveling the next week and a half. I wanted to be sure she had everything she needed.

Meanwhile, something I promised my other attorney (who was on vacation Wed-Fri) I'd do Wednesday (he'd promised it to someone for Tuesday) didn't get done until today. I had to put my foot down on that too because she didn't see the need. I told her I would stay as late as she needed me to tonight but she said she HAD to leave by 5:00 today.

We got out of the office at 5:45. The urgency for her to get out by 5:00 was because she had scheduled a racquetball game for after work. Um, excuse me, but how does that take precedence over something needed by our manager? That's right, my other attorney is her boss too.

We walked out together so I assume she had everything she needed (I gave her my home number - just in case) but it annoys the hell out of me how she treats me sometimes. Someone really needs to point out those three words I started this blog about because they apparently aren't part of her vocabulary.

That concludes this rant.........

I have a problem

It's noon my time. I started this post yesterday. It started "By the time you read this it will probably be too late. I will have purchased this book off of Amazon.com."

I was right...it is too late. I ordered it last night. And it's all Lynn Daniels' fault. How you ask? Well, a few weeks ago I was checking out her blog and noticed a set of links. One said "humor girl". And since I like humor, I clicked on the link and came to Jill Shalvis's blog. The entry was humorous so I set her blog up as a favorite.

I checked it every day (still do actually). It wasn't until weeks later - after I was hopelessly addicted to Jill's blog - that I discovered that Jill's blog was directly UNDER "humor girl's" blog on Lynn's page...I'd clicked on the wrong thing. Now I'm buying her book.

So as you can see, it is ALL Lynn's fault. The prosecution rests.

And as of this writing, I've still never made it to humor girl's blog. ;o)

Another "Wet" Dream

Well, I had another one my dreams last night. In the dream my mother was still alive and I was spending the weekend at her house. Her house, by the way, was an old wood structure (in the dream - not in real life), similar to the rental property I have.

Anyway, Saturday morning I was awakened (we're talking around 7:30 am and if you've read my other entries, you know anything before noon is just gonna piss me off) by a friend of hers giving a tour of the house (apparently it was on the "historical" tour route...it being so old and all). I remember hearing a comment that tickets were $40 dollars a piece and she had 30 people on her one hour tour.

I was doing the math in my head when someone made a comment that a plant needed watering.

Some time had passed and I went into the kitchen. A plant was in the sink and the faucet was on. Water was hitting the plant and bouncing off of it, going out of the sink onto the floor. I'm wondering what kind of idiot turns on a faucet sink to water a plant and then leaves it unattended for a long period of time.

I tried to turn off the water at the faucet but it wouldn't shut off. So I get down on the floor (which has a few inches of water on it) and open the cabinet to turn off the water from the shut off valve. But there is no valve there. There is, however, a leak there and water is pouring out from the pipes under the sink.

I keep looking and looking for the shut off valve but all that is under the sink is all the light switches to the house and the fuse box and all things ELECTRIC. I'm pondering what an idiot it was that put electrical switches under something that contains running water when it dawns on me that not only am I standing in water, if I touch anything while the pipe is leaking, I'll be electrocuted and die.

Then I woke up with a start.

So, any guesses as to what THAT meant?

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

This morning I was thinking about my blog and thinking I was neglecting it a bit. I was trying to think about what I could blog about today. I decided I would blog about my slut dress.

Yes, I said slut dress...like you don't have one. ;o)

I was going to tell y'all all about it and how one time I wore it I was thinking, "Okay...not bad. I have my black dress, with my black jacket, black hose and OMG one black shoe and one blue shoe on."

Then I got to work today.

I got to work with only a couple of minutes to spare. I was walking down the long hallway to my office and when I got about three offices down from my office, my boss came out of his office. The one on the end of the hallway, on the corner. He looked down the hallway, saw me and stopped. Turning towards me he walked towards me and met me at my office doorway. I wonder what the hell I've done now.

He doesn't say a word as I approach and I unlock my office door. He follows me into my office. For a second I thought he was going to close it behind him. He says, "You have an email I need you to read. Once you've read it, I need you to come talk to me about it."

I stare at him wondering what the heck he's talking about. He must pick up on this because he says, "It's about the flu vaccine."

I don't look at this as a good thing because our company gave out free flu vaccines just last week and I had gotten my first ever vaccine. Plus my boss is being very serious and seeming a bit alarmed.

He turns to leave and turns back. "There's a meeting at 8:00 this morning on the other side (he means the other building...we refer to them as the east "side" and the west "side", hence the "side")."

Again, I have no idea what he's talking about. Is he telling me I have a meeting at 8:00? He has a meeting at 8:00? What?

I say, "Is it a meeting you'll be in or do I need to go to a meeting at 8:oo?" I dump my purse and day planner on my desk.

"I'm going and I think you should too. Well, you don't have to if you don't want to but I think it would be a good idea if you did. Yeah, you need to go." He says this all in one breath.

I start to get a little alarmed at this point because whatever is going on, it has him a bit flustered to say the least.

I log on to my computer and email and I have an email from the site manager announcing that the distributor of the flu vaccine I received is under investigation by the FBI. Apparently there is reason to question the authenticity of the vaccine, which is currently being tested by the FDA. Additionally, it is unclear as to whether the needles used to inject the vaccine were sterile or reused so those are also being tested.

The email went on to strongly encourage anyone that received the vaccine (1000 employees and 100 contractors) to seek medical guidance ASAP to have a baseline test for HIV, Hepatitus B, Hepatitus C and ATL (whatever the hell that is). We were advised to follow up at one, two and six month intervals - regardless of the outcome of the investigation. These tests, no matter who we go see, will be paid for by the company.

Shortly before I left for the day I received another email stating that the FDA could not confirm the properties of the injection we were given. I didn't find that encouraging because I read that to mean it wasn't the flu vaccine or a saline solution - it's something unidentified as yet. My feeling is (and I could be jumping to conclusions here) that if it were the flu vaccine or saline solution, they would be able to tell us that.

Aside from that, despite meetings all day long on the subject, everything else I heard is rumor and speculation. Only known facts at this time are, there is an FBI investigation and it's strongly recommended that I (well and everyone else that got the vaccine) go get a series of blood tests.

We've also been advised of the following: we should not have unprotected sex until further notice, we should not breast feed until further notice, and we should not consider getting pregnant, again, until further notice.

Tomorrow, when they give us more useless information on this matter, I will be wearing my slut dress. ;o)

Jazzed

The last few weeks there has been a staggering of silent auctions for charity at work. Last week closed one that I bid on several items, winning two. I won a massage and a month of unlimited jazzercise classes.

I bid on the jazzercise classes in a tandem effort (with my diet, of course) to lose weight. Having won, I have to go through with it.

Anyway, the location of the jazzercise establishment is not terribly convenient to where I live and I found out there is another location closer to home. So, I contacted the "owner" of the location where I won and asked if I could use the certificate at the closer location. I hadn't heard from her over the weekend so I decided to contact the closer facility and see if they would honor the certificate.

When I opened my email to send this email, I had one from the original owner. She said whatever worked best for me was fine with her and gave me the email address to the closer facility. She also explained how to read the schedule (I swear it was in code!).

Well, I forwarded her email to the other location, asking if I could switch locations. Here is the email I received back almost immediately:

I apologize for this automatic reply to your email.

To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand.

If you would like to be added to my list of approved senders, please fill out the short request form (see link below).

Once I approve you, I will receive your original message in my inbox. You do not need to resend your message.

I apologize for this one-time inconvenience.

Click the link below to fill out the request:

And then it lists the link. I was at work so I decided not to click on the link at that time.

In the meantime, however, I compared the schedules.

Original location has 5:15 and 6:15 classes four days a week and once each Saturday and Sunday. (One night has cardio classes at 5:15 and jazz at 6:15)

This location offers classes at 6:15 three nights a week and cardio one night a week and then something involving body sculpting, jazz and other stuff on Saturday morning at 9:00 am. (For future references, 9:00 am is much too early for me on a Saturday!)

The 6:15 classes are closer but I couldn't go straight from work and honey, once I'm home, I'm home - for the night. So I don't think the closer location will work for me.

On the other hand, I will be pushing it to make the 5:15 class. I could, most nights, but it will be tight. Then I started thinking about the email again. This came from a place of business email address! Why the heck are they screening emails?

Is it just me or is that just stupid?

I'm going to go with the original facilities. And then afterwards, I can go have the massage. ;o)

Books

I just finished reading Wives and Sisters by Natalie R. Collins. I previously blogged about how I got interested in the story.

It's a dark story. I guess I should have known that from the first chapter. And something I had read made me think (spoiler alert) they would eventually find Cindy. The friend that was "missing".

The title is a bit misleading too, I think. I expected it to be about relationships between wives and sisters. It wasn't. It was more about how women, in general, are treated in the Mormon church. It was a scary look into it. I kept thinking about the Osmonds. They were a big thing when I was growing up and I was a big fan. I was crushed when Donny got married. Well, not really but I remember it being a shock because it seemed like a sudden thing.

Anyway, this story made me wonder about their family. If they lived the way Mormons were portrayed in this story. I would hope not but the whole thing was pretty creepy.

Now, having said all that, I liked the book. It just was a bit more intense than I guess I expected but then again, I should have known it from the first chapter. Heck, from the first sentence of the first chapter. I was six years old the first time I had an inkling God would not always protect me. That was the first line of the book. Yep, definitely should have given me a clue that it might be a bit intense.


The next book on my list to read is Shana Galen's When Dashing met Danger. I have to read it completely this weekend because it's up for discussion starting Monday. I've had it since June (before Reno anyway) I believe but I still haven't read it. I had read her chick-lit story The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Men I've Dated. That wasn't a bad story but it was based on a theme of Star Wars and I'm not a fan of Star Wars. When she related men to Wookies and Jedis, I didn't know who was supposed to be the good guy. As a result, I had a harder time reading the story. I think that contributed to my putting this book further down in the TBR pile.

Shana (aka Shane Bolks ) is a local author. Last year we were both members of a local RWA Chapter and I met her. Actually I first met her when she spoke at, what I consider, my home base chapter. I was very impressed with her then and I learned a lot from her workshop.

Anyway, that's what I'm reading. What are you reading?

Dreams

Some believe that your dreams are your subconscious talking to you.

I don't remember a lot of my dreams but some have stuck out in my mind. A number of years ago I had a dream that when I woke up I wrote it down so I would remember it. It represents some things to me that I continually have to remind myself of. I carry the piece of paper with me in my purse. I rarely look at it (mostly only when I'm digging for something else but I don't even read it then) but it's always with me.

I used to have a recurring dream that I would get in elevators and the bottom would fall out. It was really bizarre because these elevators would be in strange places, like boats and planes and I would always get into the elevator on the third or fourth floors going down but when they would start their free fall we'd be on the 700th floor or something. It would be awful and I would wake with a start - every time. It wouldn't stop me from getting on elevators when awake but if they ever grunted or groaned, I'd be just this side of panicked. Someone interpreted that dream as me having a fear of losing control. I could see that analogy and I haven't had that dream since.

But last night, I had a strange dream. I was on a school bus with two of my co-workers. We were the only ones on the bus. They work in my group but I don't work directly with them. One I never have, the other I only did briefly. Neither have any input into my career in the company and I don't socialize outside of work with either of them. Having said all that, one was driving and she was driving down a road that led to some body of water (I have no idea where it was, where we were going or anything but you could see the water). We came to a fork in the road and she went to the left. She'd barely gone down it and decided to go another way so she put the bus in reverse. She backed us into the water and we could see the water around the bus as it was submerged. I started panicking because I knew, at best, we would have difficulties getting the windows down or the bus door open. Suddenly both my co-workers were behind me, towards the back of the bus and we are all walking towards the front of the bus but it is very laborious and water is starting to come into the bus. I'm trying to remain as calm as possible but I'm convinced I'm going to die in this bus. I'm hearing a voice telling me to remain calm and to breathe normally - it's one of my co-workers, the one that had been driving the bus. The bus is filling with water and none of us have opened any windows or anything and now I'm holding my breath. I woke up with a start and I was holding my breath. I couldn't go back to sleep. It was weird.

Any thoughts on what it means?

Dream House

A good friend of mine is a Realtor. In fact, we met five years ago when I started my search for my first house.

My criteria for the house was 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage and a working fireplace. She asked me how flexible I was on those points. I told her the working fireplace was a deal breaker, I could (if I had to) be flexible on everything else.

During the search, we came to this one house that we were having difficulty getting into because the combination on the lock box wasn't working. But the door had windows so I could see in a little. I could see tile on the living room floor and I told her not to try too hard to get in because I could guarantee I would never make an offer on a house that had tile in the living room.

I eventually bought a house that met my criteria. (I made an offer based on the backyard...I LOVE the trees. In fact, I hadn't even seen the bedrooms or bathrooms when I made the offer, I loved the yard that much.)

So, less than two years later I ripped up all my carpet and had tile laid throughout the house. The ONLY carpet I have left in the house is a patch I held back that my dogs lay on sometimes at night. And the only thing in the house that doesn't work is (say it with me) the fireplace. We have three days of winter where I live (and they're not even consecutive days) but I like to have a fire going when we have them.

Anyway, my realtor friend called me today. Said she'd found my dream house. (I've looked off and on over the last few years but never quite found anything that could make me want to leave my trees. I've come close before but I've always passed. BUT, I've since added that I want an inground pool in my next house. And a deck would be nice, but not necessarily a deal breaker.) Said she'd been trying to call me for two days (been online or had my phone turned off - oops) to tell me about it - she sounded very anxious to show me the house. She said it met all my criteria. I said "Oh yeah?" Then she wanted to clarify my criteria.

I started with "No neighbors!" (If you knew the saga of the cat lady, you'd understand.)
Her: Oh, well there are neighbors. But the house is gorgeous. It's got an inground pool, with a hot tub. The rooms are HUGE! The living room is big enough to have your living room and your dining room in it if you wanted to.
Me: Does it have a separate dining room?
Her: Well, no but the living room is huge!
Me: Bigger than the one I have now? (I have a huge living room.)
Her: I don't know. What are the dimensions of your living room. (I give them to her.) I don't remember the dimensions of this room so I don't know. But all the rooms are huge. The kitchen is huge, the laundry room is huge.
Me: Is the kitchen open to the living room?
Her: Well no but the kitchen is huge.
Me: Does it have a fence?
Her: Around the backyard, yes. And the yard is huge. It has a deck and everything. The pool is gorgeous and there is a lot of yard around it.
Me: Is there a place I could put in a doggy door?
Her: I don't know. I didn't look for that but the kitchen has french doors going out onto the deck.
Me: The kitchen is the only room going into the backyard?
Her: Yes.
Me: That's weird, no bedrooms or anything back up to the backyard?
Her: Oh, yeah the bedrooms would, I guess but there's no door to get out there.
Me: I don't need a door, just a wall to put in a doggy door.
Her: Oh then you probably could.
Me: So when can I go see it?
Her: I don't know. I don't have the keys yet. Probably Monday. (pause) There is one drawback though.
Me: What? (there's always a catch)
Her: There are only two bedrooms.
Me: But there's a study, right? An extra room? (I say hopefully)
Her: No, there's no extra room but the rooms are huge! Oh, and it's not tiled. But it's a great house.
Me: What are they asking?
Her: (She tells me and quickly adds) but I think they will work with you.
Me: Fine, I'll take a look.
Her: I'll call you tomorrow when I get the keys.
Me: Okay, bye.
Her: Bye.

We hang up.

Ten seconds later I call her back...

Her: Hello?
Me: Working fireplace?
Her: Yes.
Me: Okay, see you tomorrow.

So, what do we know? It's out of my price range, it doesn't have enough bedrooms for me (my personal preference, not anything else), I'd have to rip up the carpet and relay tile, and it doesn't have a dining room (big issue for me, actually). So, what's the big draw for me tomorrow night? The margaritas we're going to go have afterwards. ;o)

And yes, she knows it. :-D

What's your Blogging Personality?

Your Blogging Type is Logical and Principled

You like to voice your well thought out opinions on your blog.And if someone doesn't like what you write, you really don't care!Serious and blunt, sometimes people take your blog the wrong way.But you're a true and loyal friend to those who truly get you.

What's" Your Blogging Personality?

Hmmmm....actually I do care if what I write offends and I'd rather have a fun blog than serious blog (but I do know that people sometimes take my humor the wrong way). But other than that, it's dead on. LOL

Squeezing it in

Had to bump Jennifer O'Connell's book temporarily because my boss loaned me The Constant Gardner. For those of you who have access to my other blog, you may know that I recently saw the movie that was based on this book. I loved the movie. It's very political and may offend some people but I was drawn to the love story elements of the movie. I love when, despite everything else - any obstacles or events that may happen, love wins in the end. And this movie did this.

I saw the movie with some friends, one of which who had read the book first. The friend who had read the book said the movie followed the book down the line. Next thing I know, I'm fighting an overwhelming urge to buy the book, despite my very large TBR pile.

Then last week my boss came into my office, on his way to someone else's office to lend THEM this book (he didn't know I had seen the movie and wanted to read the book), and before I knew what he was coming into MY office for, I became very animated in my enthusiasm over the book. Let's just say, it was a tad embarrassing.

Yesterday he came into my office, again carrying this book. Again before I knew what he was in my office for, I "jumped" him - just not about the book this time. (I really need to give him a chance to speak before I "attack".) He was coming to tell me that the other person had been out of the office for a week so I got bumped to the front of the line to read the book. Yay!

Since I hadn't started Jennifer's book yet, I decided to put this one first so I could give it back soon. I wish I had a bouncy icon now because I'm really excited!

Yes, I am that easily amused. ;o)