Play Dates

I guess the best way to tell this story is to tell how things occurred. It’s one of those situations where you realize - after the fact - that you missed the signs.

Okay, so I came home last night and as I walked into the house I was hit with the smell of wet dog. Since I have a doggy door and a wading pool for my dogs, I checked them out to see which one of them was the smelly dog. They were both dry.

I figured that maybe the smell had been from earlier in the day and it didn’t last long so I didn’t think much about it.

Then, in the living room, Max’s dog bowl was on the floor (it’s usually on the elevated area in front of the fireplace) by the sofa. I thought that was kind of strange and even had the fleeting thought that in the almost six years that I’ve had Max, that’s never happened. But again, I brushed the thought aside and didn’t think much more about it.

However, I did notice that Max didn’t seem himself last night. He was breathing heavy when I got home and lacked energy. When I would call him, he wasn’t coming - which normally he does at breakneck speed. I hounded that dog, trying to figure out what was wrong. I massaged every part of him and kept expecting to have him whimper or cry when I hit the spot that was hurting him - he never let out a peep. Although, he did seem more whiny about me petting him when he crawled up in my lap (for those that don’t know, Max is a 120 lb. lap dog) - more so than I can recall him ever being. I was really getting concerned about him.

He seemed okay this morning so I went to work without having much concern about him.

And then I came home.

I parked the car in the garage and heard the dogs excitement at me being home, although it wasn’t overly enthusiastic, like it normally is. Then, when Brewsky wasn’t really jumping on the door, like he normally does, I had another flash of worry. I was concerned about what I was going to find inside the house.

So, I opened the door and there was Max and Brewsky, like they always are, excited to see me. Then all of a sudden, bounding around the corner is this yellow dog I’ve never seen before - and this dog is caught up in the excitement of me being home as well.

I let out this scream as my garage door is closing behind me. (It kinda scared me!) Then, as my door is still closing, I recovered enough to say, “Who the hell are you?” I can only imagine what my neighbors thought about that. LOL

Anyway, I came in to find that Brewsky’s bowl was upended today and one of the expensive dog beds I’d bought the dogs had been ripped up and one of the dogs (I assume the guest) had thrown up a couple of times in the house.

Come to find out, two of my fence posts had been knocked down and that’s how this dog got in. I put him (or her - I didn’t check closely) out and went to get a hammer to nail the posts back up and s/he was gone, or so I thought. S/He was on the side of the fence, trying to get back in my backyard.

I got the fence nailed back up and that dog hung around for two hours (at least) whining at my windows and pawing the screens because s/he wasn’t ready to leave.

But the bottom line is this, when you have a doggy door, you have to remember that anything that can fit through the door could be inside waiting for you when you get home. I guess I’m lucky it was a friendly dog. :~)

The Secret Blog

Last night I went to my local RWA chapter's holiday party. I was sitting next to Alyssa Goodnight, whose blog I frequent and occasionally comment on. We were talking and she asked me why I didn't have a blog (you see, I don't have this - or any blog - listed on my blogger profile so when I would post, she didn't have anywhere to come see me).

Well, being as I'm not a skilled liar or anything, I sheepishly told her I did have one.

She seemed kind of excited but I could tell it was because she thought I'd recently gotten one, because otherwise, people would know about it, right? And she asked me when I got it.

I couldn't look her in the eye when I softly mumbled, "Um, over a year ago."

She seemed really surprised at this. We talked some more and I finally had to confess, "Alyssa, no one in our chapter knows I have a blog, well besides you now, it's kind of a secret."

"So, the only people that comment on it are people who randomly, accidentally happen upon it?" she asked.

Still not looking her in the eye, "Uh, pretty much, yeah."

I went on to tell her about The Alphabet Girls, telling her that I used to be a part of that group blog so that they all knew about the blog and that I think, in part, that's why a few others have found my blog but that really, not that many people knew it existed. One friend from work and then a few from the RWA Online Chapter but that's pretty much it.

I further confessed that no one in my family knew anything about it, or the fact that I wrote or anything.

And in saying all that, I came to the conclusion that I guess it's because I just get intimidated by what other people do. For example, I read my friend's blogs and they always are so insightful or fun...and then there's my blog. Alyssa asked me what kinds of posts I make and I drew a blank. About my own blog. She made a comment that made me realize that she thought I didn't want to answer but the truth was, I honestly drew a blank. It was like "I know I have a blog, and I know I make posts but what do I post anyway???" I mean, if I can't even remember what it's about, why would anyone else even care?

But, the bottom line is this... It's not that I have a secret blog per se...I just don't want anyone to know it exists. ;~)

Hot off the presses - literally

Out today! Ellen's book is finally out. Just in time for Christmas.

Ava Carrolton has decided to make her own fate this holiday season. Tired of being alone and hoping to find love, she finally agrees to date the dashing and persistent owner of the department store where she works. Who wouldn’t enjoy spending time with a man who looks like a GQ model? But, she has one misgiving. She doesn’t feel The Spark with Mr. Debonair, so how is she to know if he’s The One?

When Ava literally bumps into Noah Shepard, every girl’s definition of The Boy Next Door, they form an unlikely friendship. As they bond, Noah seems to transform through Ava’s eyes. His thick frame glasses and shy stutters fade away, while a knight in shining armor emerges. Will Ava choose excitement and security with the handsome store owner, or a lifetime of making snow angels with a man who’s anything but ordinary?

Tagged - Again ;o)

All I can say is me and my big mouth. Ellen had been tagged and when she was tagging people she said “Lucy’s already been tagged”. I read that and thought, “I was? When? By Who?” And stupid me, asked the question. I was told where they thought I’d been tagged and I came back, “Oh, that wasn’t me that was tagged.” Next thing I know Honey’s saying “I’ll fix that.” And here we are. I’ve officially been tagged.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog. Although I love, love LOVE chocolate, hot chocolate just doesn’t do it for me but I love egg nog. And now that I know Mr. Honey has a special recipe for it, I think I’m going to have to ask Honey to bring some to Dallas this summer. (What? Haven’t you heard of Christmas in July? ;o) ) Although I’m with Honey on the alcohol thing...I’ll take the virgin, thankyouverymuch.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Actually neither. Santa sets out the presents in strategic areas - unwrapped - in the room with the tree. Each area is labeled with the name of the individual the gifts are for. But the fact that they’re not wrapped identifies them as being from Santa, as opposed to from family or friends.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, I never have.

5. When do you put your decorations up? I haven’t put up decorations in probably 15 years but when I did, it was usually a week or two before Christmas.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Deviled eggs. I think I’m the only one in my family that doesn’t know how to make these - but I saw that Honey makes them for Mr. Honey so Hon, can you bring some of these to go with the eggnog in July? ;o)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I just remember waking up on Christmas morning, all excited because Santa had been there the night before. We weren’t allowed to go into the living room until the adults were awake and could go in - first - so me and my sisters were as noisy as could be on Christmas morning. :o)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t know exactly when I learned the truth but I got my first clue when one year some of my presents from Santa were sporting price tags. I mean, with all the elves working for him, why did Santa have to buy presents?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We didn’t until my nieces and nephew were born. Once they were old enough to understand the concept of Santa, they would spend Christmas day at home and we’d do the family thing on Christmas Eve, opening all of our presents.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I’ve seen an assortment of answers to this question so I’m not sure what is expected here but I will say, there are an assortment of ornaments. Some store bought, some handmade, lots of lights, ornaments, tinsel and stuff.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Since 2004 when I was stranded in Little Rock for two days at Christmastime, HATE IT. Before that, since I rarely got to see it, I had loved it. Now, hate it.

12. Can you ice skate? I used to be able to a little.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? When I first got married, or even when we were dating, my ex-husband would buy me presents that were very unexpected. During the year when we’d be out shopping and I’d mention I liked something, he would store that information and then months later, surprise me for some occasion. I loved that!

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I don’t have an answer for this. Sorry.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Fudge. (I’ve mentioned I love chocolate, right?)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? When my family started having Christmas on Christmas Eve, I started going to the movies on Christmas day. I see at least two movies - one that’s been out a while and one that opened Christmas day. Never less than two movies on Christmas day.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I liked Honey’s answer. Giving, so long as there's a personal touch to it. That’s what I loved about what my ex did. Plus, I have a sister who would ask how much you were spending and then tell you what to buy. Kind of killed it for me and I couldn’t tell you what I ever got her - and twenty plus years later, I can still tell you the first few presents my ex gave me.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I like the silly songs like Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer and I Want a Hippopotamus and Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Not a big fan but they’ll work in a pinch when I’m having a candy craving.


Now I’ll tag Kim, Monica and Mr. Honey (say thank you Honey!).

And next time I keep my big mouth shut. ;o)

To Be or Not To Be

I’ve worked with this man for almost a year now and I have a pretty good idea of who I think he is. Well, before yesterday, that is.

You see, he’s a sweet man. He’s Greek - not that that has anything to do with anything but I thought I’d throw it in there. He’s also very conservative - at least he comes across that way. He’s very prim and proper and very meticulous about his appearance. He doesn’t come across as vain or arrogant but it’s obvious that he cares how he presents himself. And he’s in my top five list of nicest people I’ve ever known.

So given everything I just told you (and I hope I gave the impression I meant to), I was surprised when he was walking down the hall yesterday, whistling away. Loudly. Not at all self-consciously or as if he was even aware that people could hear him.

Not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with whistling to your heart’s content. Not at all. It’s just it didn’t fit the image I have of this man.

But to top it off, I recognized the tune he was whistling. That was the real surprise.

Now, it’s possible this is a real song from a real musical (I’m not familiar enough with Shakespeare’s works to know if there are any musicals of them out there) but where I remember it from is Gilligan’s Island.

Yes, you read that right, Gilligan’s Island. There was an episode where they put on a play - I can’t remember why - and they did it as a musical. I think it was MacBeth or Hamlet (to be or not to be anyone?) and part of the lyrics were “not to be...that is the question that I ask of thee” and it’s done in a staccato beat.

Anyway, that’s what he was whistling. As I said, it could be that it’s truly from a musical and he was showing how culturally advanced he is but I can’t get the image of this sweet, genteel man, running out and buying up all the seasons of Gilligan’s Island, and this is what stuck with him. It’s kind of like taking the mask off the lone ranger...that image stays with you and you’re never quite the same again. LOL

The Six Month Rule

At least I think it’s a six month rule...if you haven’t touched or needed something in six months, you don’t need it so you can throw it out without looking at it. That’s it isn’t it?

Anyway, this long weekend I finally decided to go through the old boxes in my “guest” bedroom. See, about two and a half years ago I had all the carpet in my house ripped up and laid wall-to-wall tile throughout my house. The thing about that is, you have to “move out” (as if you’d never lived there) of the room in order for them to lay it. So lots of stuff got boxed up.

My bedroom was the last room to get tile in it so initially, everything was moved into my room. But when they did my room, I moved it all into the room that had been the guest room. And it was wall-to-wall boxes. So when I had company coming, I just set up the bed in the other spare bedroom. And that’s how things have been set up since.

But I wanted the right guest bedroom again so I started cleaning it up/out, after two and a half years.

I found shoes I don’t remember having. I found clothes that I can actually fit in. I found one of the two thermometers I own. But since one was for me and one was for the dogs and I didn’t know which one I’d found, I threw it out.

I found a box of magazines from when I was married, including a stack of Popular Photography, a couple of editions of Playboy (including the Vanessa Williams/Miss America one, Suzanne Somers and Jessica Hahn). I found a Brides magazine circa 1982 (the year before I got married)...I threw it out.

I’m not quite done with going through all the boxes but I did clear enough out that I was able to move the bed back in there last night, so I’m happy about that.

So that’s pretty much my weekend, what did you do on this nice long weekend?

Weird Dreams and Designated Hysterical People

In any crisis, there needs to be a hysterical person, right? Something I've discovered about myself is that, when there is a crisis and no one becomes hysterical, I take on that role, making me the designated hysterical person. However, if there is already someone who is hysterical in the situation, I can be calm. I tell you all this because it relates to the dream I had last night.

I dreamed that my entire family was on a private plane. My mother, sisters, nieces, nephew, dogs and either my father or my step-father - that part isn't clear to me, although my father was a licensed pilot at one time and it was the male figure in this dream who was flying the plane. The dogs were the dogs I had growing, two chihuahuas, Poco and Jose. My nieces and nephew were young and my mother was alive (I dream about her quite frequently and I kind of wonder if there is a significance to that, but I digress).

So, we're all on this plane with the male figure flying. My mother came out of the cockpit and headed back to the bedroom with my oldest sister (my other sister was in another room with all the kids) and I sitting in the front part of the plane that had seating just like your normal, everyday commercial plane - coach no less. (Keep in mind that as I describe it, it sounds like it would be a luxury plane but I didn't view that way in my dream - not that it makes that much of a difference, I don't think...maybe it does in the interpretation, who knows?)

Anyway, Poco hobbled back to the restroom and crawled in the tub (don't ask me why, I didn't understand the dog when I was growing up, much less in a dream some thirty years later). Shortly thereafter my father/step-father left the cockpit in a huff (did I mention he was flying the plane?) and headed towards the shower.

My thoughts briefly landed on the fact that Poco was in the tub/shower already but those thoughts were overridden by the fact that no one was flying the plane!

I ran back to the bedroom my mother and oldest sister were in and frantically tried to tell them my concerns over the situation. They seemed totally unconcerned.

I went back to my coach seat and started thinking of the possibilities. Maybe it was on auto-pilot and we were okay. But, how long could/should you leave the flight controls unattended, I mean, he was in the shower!

As I took deep non-relaxing breaths, the plane suddenly took a sharp right turn...right before it did a nose-dive. It was like one of those annoying scenes in movies where you can see out of the front of the airplane and the plane is almost about to "kiss" the ground but back in the plane you're a long way off, know what I mean? Anyway, this is what I was looking at.

Next thing I know, I'm in a hotel lobby...in Galveston! I'm alone and I'm asking if they can go ahead and check me in to the hotel. Now, it didn't occur to me in the dream but I live near Houston and it wouldn't make sense to fly from Houston to Galveston because you could drive there almost as fast - and you would have a car for getting around - but again, I digress.

I'm at the registration desk asking if I can check in early. The clerk tells me only if I have a signed authorization stating that I could check in early. I start yelling at the guy, telling him I've just been in a plane crash and why can't he just give me a friggin' room already. He says he can't without this authorization so I demand (in a high pitch hysterical kind of way) to see the manager immediately.

As I'm making this demand, my sister and oldest sister walk in to the hotel as if nothing has happened, still just chit-chatting. I run over to them and ask them where everyone else was. They said they didn't know - and they didn't seem concerned about it. So I start back in with my high pitch hysterical voice asking them how they can be so calm and start on a rant how the hotel won't let me check in and where is the bleeping manager anyway?

Next my other sister walks in, alone. I run over to her and ask her about the kids, the dogs and the male type person that had been flying the plane. She's a bit more upset but it's not about the kids, dogs or anyone else - she also seems unconcerned about anyone else - no, she's upset because we hadn't waited for her when we left the crash site.

I leave her and go back to the registration desk and again demand to see the hotel manager.

As I'm ranting at the registration clerk, my mother starts reading a statement she's been given (she wasn't making one, although at this point I notice that a lot of people are in the lobby - press included). She reads that it was known that there was a problem with the fuselage yet they let us take the plane anyway, knowing it would crash. She's reading this in a very calm, matter of fact type voice.

I, on the other hand, jump up and start yelling (high pitch hysterical voice again) "They knew it had a problem??? And they let us take it up anyway???" As I looked around the room, I realized that I was the only one who seemed to see the problem with that. "Does no one else think that was a problem?" I went on.

My mother went on to read the statement and from something she said, the plane was in one piece, despite the fact that it did a nose-dive (by the way, none of us looked disheveled in any way). I tried but couldn't picture the actual crash or the remains but I thought that was odd that it would have landed in one place (although, in the actual dream there was no impact - it's just odd that in the dream I couldn't picture it).

Anyway, I went back to try to get a room, telling anyone who would listen that I couldn't understand why they wouldn't check me in when they knew the horror I'd just been through and they wouldn't even let me talk to the manager. A friend showed up and was going to try to help me get a room from a back way and we were on our way to do that when I woke up.

I don't know, it could just be me but I thought that was a weird dream.

Excuse me...Officer?

Lately it seems that everyone I talk to has a story about being pulled over or getting a ticket or some driving incident. It's not like I've been soliciting the stories and it's not like it's coming from people who all know each other. These topics are all coming up independent of each other - which is interesting to me.

Anyway, one such story was told to me on Friday, when I had lunch with a friend. She was telling me that Tuesday evening when she was driving home after classes she was working her way onto the freeway. It was dark and there were several cars behind her "pushing" her on the freeway. The traffic on the freeway was moving at a fast pace so she considered her options.

She could:

a. stop on the feeder street and be rear-ended or cause others further back to be in an accident;
b. try to inch her way on to the freeway and risk being in or causing an accident that way; or
c. punch it and work her way into the traffic.

She chose option c. and punched it.

Well, turns out, a nice policeman was waiting for someone to do that and promptly pulled her over for speeding.

She pulled over and he asked to see her driver's license. Since she works with the kids at the local elementary school in Junior Achievement, she keeps her license in that bag. But being under pressure, she didn't immediately remember that so she first pulled out her wallet, and her purse before she remembered where her license was. But when she did remember, she made a point of displaying the JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT on the bag where the officer could see it.

Then, when she reached in the bag, instead of pulling out the license directly (she saw it immediately), she pulled out all the books and pictures she used for the kids...to be sure he knew she was a good person - what working with kids and all. Also in the bag (the kids had asked to see pictures) were framed pictures of her two dogs, George and Nitro. She pulled those out for the officer to see too, since someone who cared about their dogs enough to have framed pictures of them had to be a good person, right?

It wasn't until after she did all that that she "found" her license.

She didn't get a ticket.


As for me, when I was about sixteen, I was driving down a busy street with my bright lights blaring (I didn't know) when a car flashed their lights at me. I figured they would be passing soon anyway so I didn't see the point in turning mine off.

When the person passed me, I saw it was a police officer. (Oops!) He did a U-turn and got behind me, pulling me over. I was young and stupid so I didn't really know why he was pulling me over but when I pulled over I also turned off my brights - you know, just in case.

He came up to the driver's window and said "Did you know you're brights are on?"

Well, no they weren't...not then anyway, so I said - innocently, "I don't think so."

He told me they were and so I flashed them - from dim to bright to dim again.

"Oh," he said. "Well, just try to be sure you don't drive with your brights on and if someone flashes theirs at you, flash yours back so they know you don't have yours on."

"I will. Thanks."

I didn't get a ticket either. :o)

So, do you have any stories about traffic "incidents" or tips on how to get out of tickets? Please share! :o)

Ack! I've been Tagged!

Okay, so I missed that my Special Friend K (aka Special K) tagged me. I totally blame it on the fact that I’m having computer issues but am sorry nonetheless.

So I have to list five interesting things about me? Let’s see.

1. I used to serve on a grievance committee for the State Bar of Texas. The committee was made up of four attorneys and myself (there was another opening for a non-attorney but we never had that position filled). Hearings where the committee voted to disbar the attorney were automatically appealed and put before another committee where a court reporter was present and the decision of the second committee was final. On one such hearing, I was the lone holdout in saving an attorney’s license...all four of the attorneys on the committee thought he should be disbarred.

2. When I was younger, if I didn’t like any aspect of my job, I had no qualms about quitting. Piss me off before lunch? I didn’t come back from lunch. Piss me off after lunch? I just didn’t come back the next day. Once, I accepted a job and showed up about 15 to 20 minutes early. Ten minutes after I arrived I went into the manager’s office and said, “this isn’t going to work out” and I walked out of the office, never looking back.

3. Shortly after I separated from my ex-husband, I met a woman who I decided I wanted to be like, when I grew up. She was so confident, warm and giving. She was my mentor. One of the things she told me about though was that she sunbathed in the nude! I thought that was scandalous (particularly when I went to her house and saw that all the houses surrounding hers were two-story houses and people could see into her backyard!) but secretly wanted to do it myself. So, one weekend my ex-husband came over and was mowing my lawn for me and I laid out nude in the backyard. He went inside and was gone for a while so I went to check on him...he was videoing me in the nude! Less than a week later my house was broken into and my video recorder (with nude video of me in it) was stolen. (I choose to believe my ex-husband was the culprit but it’s possible there’s a nude video of me out there somewhere. Scary, isn’t it?!)

4. The first dog I ever got as an adult was the result of my ex-husband sending me to the mall to get our Christmas pictures developed. I came home with the pictures - and a doberman. A few weeks later, he sent me to a flea market to get our new doberman a collar and I came home with an Irish Setter. In between, I agreed to watch my sister’s dog for the weekend and as soon as we got it home, I informed my ex that we weren’t giving her back. So within a very short time, I went from having no dogs to having three.

5. I once received an email from a man I knew and he detailed his five-year plan for us, which included marriage and kids. We’d never been on a date. He’d never hugged me. He’d never even held my hand. And my only problem with his plan was, I thought five years was too long...I was impatient. (P.S. We stopped “seeing” each other a few weeks later and he still hadn’t ever hugged me, kissed me or held my hand...and I wasn’t upset at all that things broke off.)

I’m going to tag Maria, Kim, Laura and Jan. :o)

Voting Day

I went and voted today. Since it’s Election Day that may not seem like such a big deal but you have to understand, I’ve never voted unless it was a presidential election. So why did I break with tradition and vote today?

Fred Head, that’s why!

In case you haven’t heard, Fred Head is running for the State Comptroller’s office in Texas. He’s running against Susan Combs, a former romance novelist. Ms. Combs supports abstinence for school-aged children. Twenty years ago she had a romance novel published which depicted a couple expressing their love physically. Mr. Head calls it porn and says Ms. Combs is a hypocrite because you can’t write porn and then promote abstinence.

Now this topic has made the rounds of every loop and board I visit but I’ve remained quiet until now because I didn’t want to give the guy any more free publicity (he had zero campaign funds) but since the polls close shortly, I’m finally breaking my silence.

Is this guy an idiot? First off, Texas is a Republican state and he’s a Democrat so he’s handicapped going in. Not to mention that the Romance Writers of America was founded in Houston, Texas. He’s pissed off a lot of people.

And again, the reason I voted today. See, it’s not like he lost my vote because 1) I wouldn’t have voted for him if I was one to vote in non-presidential elections because I typically vote Republican (not always but most of the time); and 2) I don’t normally vote in non-presidential elections so he wasn’t losing anything by keeping his mouth shut. Instead, what he did was get me to go vote, which I know they want everyone to do but, and I could be wrong here but I don’t think so, the intent is to get me to vote for him, when instead it got me to vote for his opponent. So I guess the joke is on him. It will be interesting to see the outcome but I have to say, I’d be really surprised if Mr. Head won.

But in happier voting news, tonight is Dancing with the Stars. I haven’t seen the dances but I can tell you right now that I’m voting for Joey. That’s right, the person who has consistently said “You can’t decide who to vote for until you’ve seen all the dances” has decided who she’s voting for more than an hour before the first dance. (Heck, I knew at last week’s elimination round who I would vote for this week!) Not only that, I’ve given the number to all my friends and told them to start calling at 7:00 p.m. (CST).

So, if you want to make me happy, call 1-800-868-3401 starting at 8:00 (7:00 Central) from every phone line you have, until they tell you to stop. ;o)

Memory Lane

When I was young - sixth grade at the latest - I wrote a letter to a Bonnie A. from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. I think I got her name and address from the back of a comic book where it said “pen pals wanted”, or something like that.

Anyway, I sent the letter off and she wrote me back. We wrote each other for years and even exchanged pictures (which I still have, believe it or not!) and cassette tapes, so we heard each other talking.

At the time, Bonnie had several pen pals but she was the only one I had. But something she introduced me to was “slam books”. Slam books were cut up sheets of paper that are stapled together to make a book. The person who made it decorated it up any old way they wanted to and each page had a theme. They might look something like this:

Page 1
Your Name
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Page 2
Your Address
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Page 3
Favorite Singer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

You would go to each page and fill out your answer. If you were #1 on page one, you were #1 on page two, and so on.

The last page always said something like “when this book is complete, please return to:” and it would have the name and address of the person who made the booklet. There was almost always a page that asked if you were interested in new pen pals. If one said “yes”, anyone could start writing them.

Over time I started writing people from the books and at one point I had a pen pal from almost every single state in the United States. I got a lot of mail, every day. It eventually got to be too much and I cut back the number of pen pals I had.

First to go where the superficial “how are you? Write me back. letters. (That would literally be the extent of their correspondence.)

I ended up with five that were special to me (unfortunately I’m drawing a blank on two of their names and I hate that!). There was Bonnie, Kathy R from California, Aviva C from New York, someone from Minnesota (Sharon, I think but I’m not sure) and someone from Oklahoma.

Bonnie and I stopped writing each other when we were in high school. She wrote me a letter saying she had to stop writing. I never really understood why but I respected that and I still remember her fondly today.

The girl from Oklahoma, that ending was weird. She was a huge Elvis fan and after he died I only received one letter from her. She was telling me how much she had loved him and how upset she was that he’d died and the letter ended mid-sentence. I never heard from her again, despite sending her several letters asking if she was okay.

I’m not sure when Aviva and I stopped writing. I think we had graduated high school though. Same goes for the girl from Minnesota (although I wrote Aviva even longer than her).

Kathy though, we corresponded up until I got married at 21. I was willing to continue writing but I think she felt she was more of an intrusion - like it changed things. The first couple of years after I married I got a birthday and Christmas card but that was it. I think we lost touch because my ex and I moved around a lot those first few years. I always hated that - losing touch that is.

You’re probably wondering what the point of this long post is. Well, yesterday I had lunch with two co-workers and one of them asked me if I went to high school with someone and I didn’t know. So I pulled out my junior year yearbook last night to see if I could find this girl. (I didn’t.) While going through it, a letter I’d started to Kathy fell out and it brought back some great memories of the friendship we had - despite never having met face to face.

So, I guess the point (if there really is one) is that people you haven’t communicated with in decades, people you haven’t ever met face to face, can impact your life and still bring a smile to your face some 20+ years later, at just the memory of them.

By special request :o)

If I’ve seemed scarce lately it’s because I’m having computer issues. Internet issues to be more specific because it hasn’t impacted any other aspect of my computer life but the issues are only on my home computer so I don’t really know what that says. I have some ideas about how I might fix things but the concern is that I’ll lose internet access altogether, so I’ve kinda been putting that off for now. :o)

Anyway, Ellen asked for a new blog post, so here it is...

I’ve really been enjoying Dancing with the Stars. All of the celebrities have really been coming along wonderfully. But to answer Ellen’s question - Jerry went home last night. I really hated to see him go (huge difference from my initial, they haven’t danced yet, opinion isn’t it? ;o) ) but in fairness, he did have the least natural talent of the remaining celebrities. Worst part for me (and maybe him, I don’t know) was that he gave the best performance he has to date this week. All the couples are having to learn two new dances every week now and this was the first week of that. I really thought we’d see some “off” dancing but everyone really stepped it up in a big way. It’s just been really great to watch the progress of the celebrities.

The final four dancers are Monique, Joey, Emmitt and Mario. Mario keeps being compared to the professional dancers and is consistently coming in first place with the judges so I think he has a good chance of winning the whole thing, although Emmitt and Joey have been strong competitors. I think it will be the fan base that determines the winner and if I had to guess, I would say that Emmitt has the biggest fan base.

But what do I know? ;o)

Don't forget the list!

You can make a list. You can check it twice. But if you forget to take it with you to the store.....you might forget something you need.

Which is kind of what happened to me this morning. We're celebrating Boss's Day tomorrow at work and all the staff support are making something for it.

I'm bringing Shrimp Pasta Salad. I pulled out the recipe and made a list of all the ingredients. Then I went into my kitchen to see what I was out of and what I had and checked off the items I needed (basically I had the salt and the chili sauce - which I only ever use for this recipe but not much is needed so I still have some - and needed everything else).

You add to that that we have a cake in the freezer from the retirement reception (see previous post) and needed it to thaw by 10:30 tomorrow morning. We considered taking it out Friday afternoon but our cleaning crew is supposed to clean out our refrigerators every Friday and they will if it's filled with items they can take home to their families, otherwise they leave it alone. And we didn't want them to take our cake. So I decided to go in before I went to the grocery store this morning and take the cake out of the freezer.

It wasn't until after I left work and was headed for the grocery store that I realized I'd forgotten my list! It was pouring down rain and I decided to wing it and hope I remembered everything I needed, instead of going by my house and getting the list.

So there I was, going down every aisle, looking at everything they had, hoping all the ingredients would come back to me. I spent more time in the grocery store than I think I ever have in my life!

I checked out, confident that I (hopefully) remembered everything and as I was loading the bags into my trunk I remembered the last time I made this recipe. I'd made it for my Bunco group and one person wouldn't touch it because it had white ingredients in it. Seriously, she won't eat anything white - even if it's just an ingredient in a dish.

Anyway, I'm glad I remembered that story because I'd forgotten the mayonnaise! I closed my trunk and went right back into the store and bought a jar of mayonnaise, hoping THAT was the only ingredient I had forgotten on the first round and came home.

I REMEMBERED EVERYTHING! Yay!

Now I just have to wait for the shrimp to thaw (in the refrigerator) and I'm good to go. :o)

What a relief!

Who has more fun?

I thought I’d post a few pictures from the reception we had for a man who retired last week (he comes back next week as a consultant - not a long retirement). The theme of reception was “mobster”. Tom (the retiree) is Italian and he makes reference to that daily. Everyone (or most everyone) received hats when they walked in the door - “mobster” hats - and most wore them for the duration of the reception. And those of us "in the know" wore black for the occasion. :o)

Anyway, we had a visit from "Guido". Guido gave a history of Tom’s career with the company. He spoke like the godfather. He was great, never once breaking character, despite the fact that everyone in the audience was rolling over laughing.


Guido introduced "Cousin Vinny". Like Guido, Vinny stayed in character the entire time, despite everyone laughing their rears off. He gave a presentation using materials Tom used in his day to day job. You see, Tom was our team’s safety specialist. We have a million acronyms and Vinny used the numbers but just “tweaked” the meanings of the acronyms. For example, we have to do these safety observations every month, called BBSOs (Behavior Based Safety Observations). Vinny used BBSO as Big Bosses Secretly Offed. GIMT (I can’t remember what stands for in our world...it’s not one I use) stood for Guys In My Trunk. Things like that. It was hilarious! Oh yeah, and Vinny, in real life, is a skinny guy but he was “beefed” up with bubble wrap for effect. It was so much fun.

We had a nice spread of food. I sampled everything except what is dead center on the table. Can you see what it is? It’s fruit! That’s right, I sampled all the sweets and unhealthy stuff but passed on fruit, ‘cause that’s the kind of girl I am (see Pam’s Naughty Chair if you want specifics).

This last picture is of my friend who wanted her picture taken with me (I’m on the right for those that don’t know). Normally I don’t like pictures taken of me but you know, I kinda like this one. :o)

The Tango and the Jive

I wasn’t going to post on Dancing with the Stars this week but since Ellen asked, I will. :o)

You know, when I watch the dancing I have no idea if they’re doing the right steps or not. Sometimes I can tell a little because they may have shown the professionals doing it or something but I’m by no means competent to say whether they did what they were supposed to or not. I just know what I like and enjoy.

Having said that, in season one of DWTS, on day one, they announced the rules of dancing. The biggest no-no that I remember is there were to be no lifts done.

They didn’t announce the rules in season two so they let the first few lifts slide, with a warning, and they were never repeated by the warned dancers.

They didn’t announce the rules this year but they’re holding the dancers accountable anyway. Last night started with Emmit Smith. He danced the tango (as did all the men, with the exception of Joey Lawrence, who danced the jive). I thoroughly enjoyed his dance but he did have one move that I wondered if it was a lift (it wasn’t a lift in the tradition of what I would identify as a lift, but then again, what do I know?). He got reamed by the judges for doing a lift, as well as breaking the hold during the dance. He scored a total of 19 (which ended up being the low score of the night).

Next came Monique. In the pre-dance talk, she was saying that her mother was coming in to watch her and she was so excited about that and said she hoped the judges didn’t say mean things about her in front of her mother (she was so cute). She danced the jive (as did all the women, except for Vivica, who danced the tango).

If you haven’t seen it, they have a stage and a dance floor. Some of the dancers have used the stage, and the stairs to get to the stage and/or dance floor, in their routines. Monique started on the stage, her partner was on the dance floor. When the music started, Monique ran full on to the dance floor, taking a flying leap, twisting so her back was to her partner, off the stage. Her partner caught her (and I again wondered if that would be considered a “lift” - it apparently wasn’t) and they went to town. She was great! She got straight 9s but I have to wonder if she would have gotten 10s if she hadn’t performed so early in the evening, but anyway... The MC mentioned that he knew the jump scared her and she laughed saying something like, “yeah, it apparently scared my clothes off too”. Had no idea what she was talking about until this morning when I saw the news. During the dance, the bottom of her costume slipped down and she, it would seem, mooned the audience and then pulled her costume back on. It happened so fast though, I didn’t notice.

Mario and his partner broke more rules again, despite the pre-dance talk that they were going to dance a “safe” tango so’s not to tick off the judges again. They broke their hold and did a lift. Len was the first to give comments and he said he would have given them a 10 but they lost him when they broke the hold. Bruno ranted that Mario made them mark him down - they didn’t want to but they had no choice. Carrie Ann calmly told them that they knew the rules and they needed him to follow them. Carrie Ann and Bruno both said, when giving their scores, “would have been a 10, but instead...8". Len gave them a 6.

You can tell Harry is really improving and given that the tango requires a more serious “character” for dancing, he did well, and scored well.

And, I know I initially said I wanted Jerry to be voted off in week one, I’m now at a point where I would be okay if he won the whole thing. I think I’m falling in love just a little bit. He’s so funny and you can tell that he takes it seriously. His partner said that he wanted to make it to the next round so that he could learn the waltz so that he could waltz with his daughter at her wedding. At the end of the dance when they talked with them, he said he did want to make it to the next round but then America needed to stop voting for him because “everything hurt”. He had a few missteps but overall, did a good job.

I thought Sara Evans did a great jive. They danced to These Boots Are Made For Walking and they both wore cowboy boots and hats. It was her best dance so far (and the judges agreed with me on that).

Vivica did a great tango and scored straight 9s. She got a bit emotional...it was sweet.

Joey did a great jive and Carrie Ann and Bruno liked him but Len thought he did too much acrobatics (he did a handstand). I can’t remember if he did a lift or not but he got the same scores from the judges as Mario did.

So, again, I don’t want any of them to go but I guess one will. My guess would be it could be Willa Ford, simply because she’s scored well with the judges in the past and found herself in the bottom after the public votes and she didn’t score as well with the judges last night. But who knows, it could be any of them.

I'm Torn

Tonight they do the next elimination round on Dancing with the Stars and I'm torn.

I don't want anyone to go. You can tell that everyone has worked so hard this past week and I thought everyone did great. But someone has to go, so who?

I loved Mario's routine but the judges were right - he didn't dance the quick step. I was surprised that he scored as well as he did, given the fact that he didn't do the dance he was supposed to. He didn't get any of my votes, even though he was my originally named favorite. I'd hate to see him go but he didn't do the dance. Not to mention that I was annoyed that Bruno, who raked him over the coals, gave him an 8, yet gave someone else, who he praised, a 7. How does that work?

Anyway, I thought Jerry did really good (I'm really starting to warm up to him...he's pretty funny!). He's the George Hamilton from last season, only I think he's doing the steps better than George did. I don't want to see him go either. They had a cute routine. And bless his partner's heart, dancing with a knee injury! That's dedication!

Personally, I was least impressed with Harry, he still seemed pretty stiff. It was obvious that he's worked hard this past week and I think he's improved a lot but he just doesn't seem to have it. And still, I don't want him to leave tonight.

I don't want any of them to leave and even want them to bring Tucker back. *sigh* It's going to be hard no matter who they send home.

Foiled Again

I have an aluminum foil couch.

Well, sort of.

See, a few years ago I was having a problem with my dogs getting on the furniture and I wasn't crazy about that. Add to that, I have a doggy door so my dogs could get out "in the elements" and THEN jump on the furniture, when I wasn't home. On more than one (or two or three) occasions, I came home to find my couch AND my bed covered in mud because Max took a dip in the pool (wading pool, purchased just for him) or went out after it rained and then ran around the muddy yard - right before he jumped on furniture. (I could always tell the paths he took in the house, but I digress.)

Anyway, a friend told me that if I put aluminum foil on the furniture that would stop it because dogs didn't like the sound or the feel of aluminum foil. I figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying it so I put a strip on the couch the next day before I went to work. Now, aluminum foil is pretty flimsy so you'd be able to tell if it was "disturbed" during the day. I came home to find the aluminum foil in perfect condition and so it became an every day thing. Each morning I'd cover the furniture (bed too) with aluminum foil and go to work. Every evening I'd remove the aluminum foil - putting the foil from the couch on the piano and the foil from the bed on the dresser - so I could use it. This became my routine.

Then I got Brewsky.

Not only did the aluminum foil not "scare" Brewsky, he thought it was a toy. As a result, it was more of an incentive for him TO jump on the furniture. I'd come home in the evenings to find aluminum foil all over the house and backyard. Shredded. In little pieces. I also caught him, or more than one occasion, running through the house with this long strip of aluminum foil trailing behind him. It served no purpose to put it out anymore. It was a lot more work for me to clean it up and it wasn't effective anymore.

So my furniture hasn't been covered in aluminum foil in a couple of years now and the dogs have been jumping on it (no mud - knock wood - though). That is, until today.

Last night I thought Brewsky might be old enough now to think he should be afraid of aluminum foil, so I covered my couch last night. Of course, overnight coverage isn't really a true test so I left it on this morning when I went to work and was happily surprised to see the foil hasn't been touched!

So, when it comes to covering the furniture to protect it, forget about plastic - I use aluminum foil. LOL

WOW!

I think Dancing with the Stars got off to a great start tonight!

First dancer was Joey Lawrence. I thought he did a great job. He looked like he was having fun and I'm looking forward to seeing him progress.

I have to say, when Emmit Smith came up and they said he was the football player, all I could think was that it would be a repeat of last season where Jerry Rice tried hard but just didn't cut it - in my opinion (which is what all of this is, my opinion). But Oh. My. God! He was fabulous. I was very impressed. I think he's going to be a true contender! Wow!

I wasn't overly impressed with Willa Ford. I was watching her and felt like she was doing a lot of posing as opposed to dancing. The foxtrot, according to Len, is a romantic / love dance. I saw a lot of love there but she was directing it all at herself - at least from my point of view. But the judges loved her. Don't get it.

Then, when my named favorite (Mario, in case you forgot) came up and they showed the work background, I was worried. I really didn't think he was going to step up to the plate. But WOW, did he ever! He was my favorite tonight, and I'm not just saying that because he was my named favorite (Emmit is a close second though!).

I thought Vivica A. Fox nailed it tonight. I guess I'm not a big fan of the foxtrot because none of the other ladies did it for me at all but I thought she was great. She was in my top three favorites tonight. Good job!

And then there's Jerry. You know, he didn't suck tonight. In fact, he did alright. I hope he gets to come back next week.

I'm excited about this season!

What did y'all think?

I've heard there are no more original ideas but is this what it's come to?

Not be negative or anything but I want to discuss a book I recently read.

It was about a woman who'd recently found herself looking for a job and the only one she could find had her doing "investigative" type of work. Her boss is a sleazy man who only pays her when the job is done (and only gives her the low paying jobs because she's still "in training"). One of the office workers has a colorful past (think illegal), but they're still friends.

Because she's so new to the job (and totally inept), a man, who has been doing the job a long time and is quite good at it, helps her out from time to time. She can call him day or night and he is there for her. And although she's out of her element in this job, she keeps plugging along because she's notoriously behind on her bills.

Her family would like to see her settle down, and thinks she should get a "normal" job. She goes to her parents house quite frequently for dinner and whenever she brings home a young man (which happens from time to time) her family assumes it's her latest boyfriend and try to progress the relationship. Her parents live in a nice neighborhood and have an elderly quirky relative living with them. This elderly quirky relative wants to help out on the "investigations" and often finds themselves in the middle of it. And she has a small "rat-like" pet at home.

Then there are the two men she's drawn to. One she works with who helps her out when he can and one who is a bit mysterious. He works in the law enforcement field and always seems to be assigned to the cases she's on but is unwilling to share the information he has with her. And he always seems to show up just when she needs him...bails her out of a lot of scrapes.

As for love scenes, every time she decides to get intimate with one of these hunky men, something really bizarre happens and the mood passes.

And this is a series.

So, think you know what I'm reading? I'll give you a hint: It's NOT Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.

Shocked? So was I.

Now here's the deal. Last summer I came home from Reno with two of these books in this series (I got another one in Atlanta). I read the first one shortly after I got home from Reno and wasn't overly impressed (I hadn't read any of Evanovich's stories at this point). As a result, I wasn't motivated to pick up the second one any too quickly.

But then, a couple of days ago, I was situating all my books in my linen closet (yeah, don't expect towels in there if you come visit me) and came across the second book by this author. I was trying to decide what book to read next and narrowed it down to this book or Hot Six by Evanovich (whose series I started reading a couple of months ago...LOVE IT!). I decided to go with this other book, having forgotten the details of the first one (only remembering that I wasn't overly impressed by it, but wanting to give the author another chance).

As I read this other book, all I could think was it was stolen from Evanovich! I mean, it's one thing to decide to write mysteries or to take an idea and write your own story (for example, say the story has to be set at a B&B and a murder and mayhem happens) because if you give a million people the same thing to work with, you'd get back a million different stories. But this? I felt like this author took all the same characters, the same premise and only slightly changed it (ie names). I mean, who wouldn't want to be the next Evanovich or Nora Roberts but this is a bit much if you ask me.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I liked this book better than I did the first one although, I don't know if I will be able to get past the fact that I feel like the idea was a stolen one.

T Minus Six, and Counting

Just six more days until the new season of Dancing With the Stars! The contestants are:

Tucker Carlson (News Anchor)
Monique Coleman (Actress)
Sara Evans (Singer)
Willa Ford (Singer)
Vivica A. Fox (Actress)
Harry Hamlin (Actor)
Joe (don't call me Joey) Lawrence (Actor)
Mario Lopez (Actor)
Shanna Moakley (Beauty Queen/Actress)
Emmitt Smith (Football Player)
Jerry Springer (Talk Show Host)

I put their profession because, well, I don't know most of them. I didn't recognize many of the professionals either. Ashley (Master P's partner from last season) is paired with Harry Hamlin and I think Cheryl (Drew Lachey's partner) is there. Lisa Rinna's partner is also back but I didn't see any other professionals that I recognized right off the bat...doesn't mean there aren't more, just that I didn't recognize them.

So, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess at the first round elimination and final winner - before it starts and before I've seen the first dance step.

First round elimination candidate is: JERRY SPRINGER for no other reason other than I don't like his talk show and I don't want to suffer through watching him dance for ten weeks.

Final round winner: Mario Lopez for no other reason than I think he's kinda sexy. Mmmm

So, what about you? Any guesses about who might win?

A fool and his money....

Nothing beats a hot bath with a good book. I love taking leisurely baths on the weekends reading to my heart's content. And since I spend so much time like that (on the weekends, that is, not enough time during the week to indulge :o( ), I like to have a nice bath pillow. So throwing my old one out a couple of months ago, without a replacement, wasn't such a good idea.

I went to WalMart, since that's where I'd bought the last one, but they didn't have any. I looked every week in new places to see if I was missing where they kept them, with no luck. (I even looked for one while in Atlanta...I really missed the pillow!)

Then I remembered, I was given a Bath and Bodyworks gift card for Secretary's Day, and I hadn't used it yet! I drag myself over there and, sure enough, they're out as well. It's like I'd done something to piss the bath gods off or something...they weren't going to make it easy on me.

Finally I snagged someone at WalMart and she said they usually carried them but she didn't know why they didn't have any. She recommended I call the manager on Monday.

I forgot.

BUT, a week or so later (which was only a couple of weeks ago), they had stocked them again, so I grabbed one up. $1.67 (or somewhere thereabout)! It's one of those plastic blow up pillows but it does the job, right?

So now I still have the gift card to use. I go back to the store and what do they now have? You guessed it! Bath pillows, for $18.00. The difference is, they're more like an actual pillow. It looked really comfy. It had suction cups to hold it to the side of the tub and everything. I figured that the gift card made it "free" to me, so I decided to do my own comparison test and bought one. I used it Saturday night.

It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) more expensive does NOT mean better. This was the case with the bath pillows.

Yes the $18.00 bath pillow looked all cute and everything when I bought it. It had lettering on it in pink letters that said "Leave me alone". I thought it was a message to anyone who might be bothering the person taking a bath. Apparently it was a message from the pillow to anyone who might think to use it! The cute pink message? BLED! The pillow is now pink (it was white when I purchased it). The pillow? Looks like a drowned cat. And two days later it's STILL soaking wet. The suction cups did NOT work and I was constantly having to make adjustments to it when I was bathing. Not to mention, I can't "hang" it anywhere to dry because it's too "bulky", so it's sitting in my tub right now (and has had to be put in my sink when I've showered).

Meanwhile, the $1.67 pillow dries minutes after I use it, has functioning suction cups and is every bit as comfortable (if not more so) than the $18.00.

So who is more stupid? The company who makes a product they know will get wet, with a color that bleeds, or the person who pays $18.00 for it? I'll let you know after I try to return my drowned cat for a refund tomorrow.....

I know I've seen that dress

Tonight, after a margarita and not much to eat, my friend and I went to the mall (she'd had a long island iced tea). We went to several shops (including the bookstore where we'd gone today during lunch, with me buying four books then) including Foleys.

When we were in Foleys we both took several dresses into the fitting room to try on. Well, she tried on this one dress that she wanted to buy. Here was our conversation:

Her: What do you think?
Me: I like it but you have one very similar to that, don't you?
Her: No.
Me: Yes you do. It's just like that one!
Her: No, I don't.
Me: Yes you do, I've seen it!
Her: (trying not to sound annoyed) No, I don't. I don't own a single dress with polka dots.
Me: (also trying not to sound annoyed because I can't understand why she's denying having a dress like the one she wants to buy) Yes, you do. (pause) I've seen it! You've worn it to work!
Her: No! I don't! I don't have any dresses with a belt either. (pause) I do have a dress with polka dots. I wore it yesterday.
Me: Not that one. You have one that looks like the one you're wearing now!
Her: (looking in the mirror) No I don't. (pausing, cocking her head to the side) You know, this kind of looks like the dress from Pretty Woman, doesn't it?
Me: (realizing THAT'S where I've seen the dress before) Um, yeah, it does. (pause) That might be where I've seen it before.

And here's the dress.....

Double Standards?

I've been reading the responses to my last entry and I started to respond and I realized that my response was more than a "comment"...it was its own blog entry - well, I think so anyway.

It started as a question of how it would impact a relationship if the woman made more than the man. The words "moocher" and "loser" came up. Exactly the words that came to my mind.

Then I started thinking...what about all the women who are stay at home wives and mothers? In fact, if I were married right now, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be working - in an office at least. I might be working full time on that first chapter of the book I keep re-writing (over and over and over again - most authors look forward to writing "the end"...I look forward to writing "chapter two", but I digress). I know that when I was married, I didn't work - by choice - a lot of the time. I figured I had "options" and I'd opted not to work - I wanted to be a housewife. My husband had no such options (except when his father was dying and I was the sole support for the better part of a year and a half - but I never had any misgivings about that, then or now).

Fact is, we live in a society that looks down on men who don't work, whether by choice or not. Women, on the other hand, have options. Those options are the only thing that make me think I might consider getting married again. But again, I wouldn't consider that my husband had the same options. Not only would he need to work, he'd need to make no less than I make because he'd have to be able to support me in the manner that I could support myself. And if he wanted to be able to do anything at all - ever - he'd need to make more than that so he could do things too. That's just how it is.

And our society supports that. Would a woman be referred to as moocher or a loser if she opted not to work? Probably not. Is it fair? I'd say no. Would I still quit my job if I were married?

In a heartbeat!

Starving Artists

This morning on the drive to work I was listening to my favorite DJ team (Roula and Ryan). The topic was women making more money than men...how does it affect the relationship - or does it?

A number of people called in with their opinions on the matter. (Personally I believe it was a contributing factor in my divorce (from his perspective) but I didn't call in.

But it did remind me of a dating relationship I was in about 10-11 years ago. I was taking college classes - my favorite of which was ceramics, which happens to be where I met this guy. This guy was an incredibly gifted artist. He could sculpt anything. I watched him do a bust of his cousin, touching his cousin's face and then feeling the clay under his hands and then molding it to where, when he was done, it looked exactly like his cousin - exactly like his cousin. (He also was a gifted painter but I didn't know that until we went out and I saw his paintings...but I'm jumping a bit ahead in the story.)

So this guy (whose name I can't remember now) asked me for my phone number. He was cute, he was talented, so I gave it to him. He called me a few days later and asked me out. I agreed to go out with him and he mentioned a transportation issue he was having so I offered to pick him up in my brand new car.

When I got to his house I saw that it needed some work. He was living in a trailer that had no porch or stairs so he basically had to pull me up in the front door to give me the "grand tour".

First thing I found out was that he didn't have running water. I see a few issues with that like, what does he do when he need to use the restroom and / or take a shower. And I asked him that. Basically he told me that if he just needs to pee, he goes out back and does his business. Anything more major and he would go to his neighbors or a nearby gas station. (Talk about your crappy neighbor! LOL) And he would hose himself down at the neighbors or ask to use their shower, as necessary.

I wasn't impressed so far (I also found out that he'd called me from a pay phone because he couldn't afford a phone either).

But we leave on our date...a movie.

We get to the theater and are getting out of the car when he announces, "Um, by the way, I don't have any money."

Inwardly I'm wondering WHY this didn't come up before this particular point in time. Outwardly, my non-confrontational self says, "That's okay. I'll pay for the tickets." And I did.

After the movie he asks me if I want to go get something to eat. Inwardly I'm thinking, "how stupid do I look? Did you get some money while we were at the movie???" Outwardly I said, "No, I ate before I picked you up, but thanks for asking."

I took him home and never saw him outside of class again.

So yeah, it was a bit of a problem that I made (so much) more than this guy. And as I said, I honestly believe it was a contributing factor (for my husband) in my divorce.

What about you? Do you think it makes a difference if the woman in the relationship makes more than the man? And why or why not?

Code Word Booby

I was blog hopping earlier and I came across an interesting post by Kim Amburn. It seems her young son was injured at school and when he was asked where he hurt, he told them his penis hurt. The mother was called and told this was unacceptable language - that he should refer to his penis as "down there" or his "private area".

She didn't get it, and neither do I. It's not like he was saying his dick was hurt or that his manhood was "throbbing". (Yeah I know...I'm groaning myself.)

I don't remember having these issues growing up. I don't remember having special names for "those" areas. (Although, my oldest sister says my mother told her to call her vagina her "tiny baby"...I didn't get that talk.)

I do, however, remember my niece coming over to my house for the weekend and my (ex) husband and I having a friend from work come by. She'd (the friend) brought her dogs and we were all in the backyard, seeing how my dogs would get along with her dogs. My doberman (male dog) hiked his legs to pee over something one of my friend's dogs peed on. When he did, my niece says "HE HAS A PECKER!" The adults all laughed that nervous laugh you have when you don't know what to say and said nothing.

So my niece repeated it. "HE HAS A PECKER." But that wasn't enough. She turned to my (ex) husband and said, "Do you have a pecker Uncle James?" I tried to calmly tell her that wasn't nice and to please stop saying that so she just got louder (that's just how she is). "MY DADDY HAS A PECKER. UNCLE JAMES, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PECKER TOO. YOU DO HAVE A PECKER DON'T YOU?" This went on for a while...in front of our company.

Later that evening I called my sister, who told me, "She knew 'boys' had something different and I didn't know what to call it so I told her it was a pecker." And she laughed about it.

Personally, I'd rather it be called what it is...a penis. But that's just me.

Keeping the Reader in the Story

I did a book reading marathon this weekend, reading six books in three days and kind of a theme that followed (in hindsight, that is) was, keeping the reader in the story...what pulls you out.

Okay, so let me say upfront that I liked all the books but there were a couple of things that pulled me out of the story.

First I read Nancy Block's Once Upon a Pirate:

Here's what got to me with this book...The heroine falls through a hole in her home onto a pirate ship. She looks up to see the pirate and he has dark (black) chest hair with a little gray.

Anything jump out at you yet? The hero on the cover of the book has ZERO chest hair. None, zip, nada. Yet in the book it's referenced a number of times and the heroine enjoys running her hands through his chest hair.

Now, I know it's not at all the author's fault but every time there was a reference to his chest hair, I flipped over to the cover. Drove me nuts and pulled me out of the story.

Other than that, it was a fun time-travel book. (Think seasick pirate. ;o) )


Next I read Linda Barrett's Reluctant Housemates.

The issue I had with this book also had to do with the cover. The heroine in the story had short hair...as short as the hero's hair. Yet on the cover, the heroine's hair is down her back. Again, not the author's fault but it was a distraction. Other than that, I absolutely loved this book, as I have all of them in this series.


Next I read Debra Clopton's And Baby Makes Five:


This was my first ever Inspirational book. I met Debra at the airport in Houston, waiting to catch our flight to Atlanta. She was a very sweet woman with a distinct accent (and as such I heard every single one of her characters with that same accent).

My "problem" with this story was that, the book starts off with a pregnant, unmarried heroine - and no explanation. It shocked me, being that it was an inspirational book. You're well into the book before it is explained that she was married but her husband, not interested in being a father, left her as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Other than that, I really liked the book. Samantha was my favorite character. :o)


After that I read Shane Bolks' Reality TV Bites:

Only complaint was a secondary character, Rory. Shane's book, The Good The Bad and the Ugly Men I've Dated was not a favorite of mine (even though it was up for a Rita this year for best first book) because Rory was soooooooooo into Star Wars and I'm so not. She would make comments that would only make sense if you were a Star Wars fan and so I didn't get a lot of that book. So, having her in this book doing the same thing annoyed the heck out of me. Thankfully she wasn't in the book much. This was a fun book to read and I enjoyed it.


Next, I read Emily McKay's Surrogate and Wife:


The heroine looks very young on the cover. In the story she's a judge...who's afraid of losing her job because she's pregnant and unmarried. I might not have been bothered at all, if she didn't have the job/profession she did. Other than that, I really liked the book. I liked the way they built the relationship. Good book.


And lastly, I read Erica Spindler's Cause for Alarm:

Only beef was I couldn't read it fast enough. I love her books!


As I said, I enjoyed all the books but sometimes little things can stand out.

So, what sort of things pull you out of the story when you're reading a book?

New Favorite Book of All Time

Several years ago, in a Dallas airport, as I waited for my connecting flight, I read a couple of chapters of John Grisham's Skipping Christmas. I was reading a particular scene that tickled my funnybone immensely. I was in a public place and I couldn't stop laughing to save my life (seriously, I couldn't). Finally, after about five minutes of uninterrupted hysterical laughing, someone came up to me and said, "Excuse me. What are you reading?" Unable to stop laughing, I flashed the cover at them. Of course, John Grisham doesn't normally write funny books but this wasn't your typical Grisham book - it wasn't even remotely a thriller - so they just looked funny at me. When I continued to laugh, they commented that they might have to read it, since it was so funny.

The Red Hat Club Rides Again had me laughing so hard my sides hurt and tears were streaming down my face. And it wasn't just for one or two scenes. About eighty percent of the book had me laughing that hard (and Honey, if you're reading this, I did a LOT of snorting-laughing with this book). The other twenty percent of the book tugged at the heart strings though. It was a very touching book about friendships and loving your friends, no matter what. Friends for more than thirty years, these six women have been through it all together. Marriage, divorce, death, cancer, drug and alcohol addictions, and they are there for each other - no matter what (it's one of the "traditions"). And even though the women are in their fifties, the humor is ageless. The things happening are not age specific and could happen to anyone in their twenties or thirties or forties. It's a story about life and love.

If I had been reading this book in the Dallas airport, instead of Skipping Christmas, no doubt security would have been called in to subdue me.

The Red Hat Club Rides Again was such a fun read - I couldn't put it down. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you get an opportunity to read this book - DO IT! You won't regret it!

Meanwhile, this book whore has already ordered The Red Hat Club (Rides Again is the sequel), even though I still have a gazillion more books from Atlanta that I've not yet read. And I don't bear even the slightest regret or guilt. ;o)

Vamps

I picked up an autographed copy of Vamps and the City while in Atlanta and sat down today to read the follow up of How to Marry A Millionaire Vampire (which I made comments about here). I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending to How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire but Vamps and the City addressed the issues I was frustrated with. My frustration might compare to watching The Wizard of Oz and at the end when the good witch tells Dorothy she's always had the power to go home, if they stopped the movie there and rolled the credits. You'd be wondering "did Dorothy figure out what to do? Did someone tell her? Did she make it home? What happened?"

Of course, having the "wrap-up" in another book would be like later telling the Scarecrow's story and, indirectly, letting the reader know that Dorothy made it home okay - and how.

But it was done in Vamps and the City without being intrusive into this story. I really liked this book. Even Gregori "I'm too sexy for my fangs" was in it and still as adorable as ever. :o)

Now for the blurb:

Who says a vamp can't have it all?

Darcy Newhart thought it was a stroke of genius -- the first-ever reality TV show where mortals vie with vampires for the title of The Sexiest Man on EArth. As the show's director, Darcy's career would be on track again. And she can finally have a life apart from the vampire harem. Okay, so she's still technically dead, but tow out of three's not bad. Now she just has to make sure that a mortal doesn't win. If only she wasn't so distracted by a super-sexy and live contestant named Austin...

But Darcy doesn't know the worst of it. Austin Erickson is actually a vampire slayer! And he's got his eye on the show's leggy blond director. Only problem is, he's never wanted any woman--living or dead--as badly. But if he wins her heart, will he lose his soul? And if it means an eternity of hot, passionate loving with Darcy, does that really matter anyway?

15 Things I learned in Atlanta

15. Burger King does not sell alcohol (okay, I knew that going in but apparently the other parties in the car didn't)

14. You can be a multi-published, big name author and still be a nice person

13. You can be an unpublished nobody and still be a snot

12. The fact that there are plenty of free books for everyone doesn't mean you won't get trampled as you head for the one book you don't have (apologies to all I may have hurt in my endeavors)

11. One can never have too many books

10. No amount of perfume will cover up the fact that you haven't bathed in four days

9. Not all perfume smells good

8. If the elevator doors open, regardless of the direction it's going, if it has room for you to get in, GET ON THE ELEVATOR

7. Pressing up against the elevator panel can result in your ass pressing the emergency button

6. Your ass pressing the emergency button will result in the elevator stopping, doors opening and an alarm to sound

5. Someone can attend ONE workshop and determine that the whole conference sucks

4. Everyone else can attend the same workshop and think it was the best workshop offered

3. You can learn a lot by hanging out in the bar (some would say this just applies to RWA Conferences but I may have to do some "research" before I reach a determination on that point ;o) )

2. One not used to wearing a cell phone on their hip can freak out the first time it vibrates, assuming they're dying (they'll later pay people to call them but that's another story)

And the number one thing I learned in Atlanta.....

1. Tiara or no tiara, Melissa Francis is one of the warmest, most genuine people you can hope to meet (even though she called me a bitch and told me she hated me...I know she really she loves me)

Hungry Dogs

I came home from Atlanta to an empty kitchen. And by empty I mean no food. So I stopped by the grocery store after work yesterday to restock my kitchen.

Among the items I bought were my muffins. I have a 5-point muffin every morning. I love those muffins. I look forward to those muffins. I dream about those muffins. They are what keep me going.

Did I mention that my dogs love those muffins too? I'm sometimes bad about putting away my groceries though. I'll put away what absolutely HAS to be put away and then leave the rest for later. But I've learned that certain things (like my muffins) need to be put WAY out of reach of my dogs, otherwise they "disappear" in the night. (Literally!)

Well, last night was a lazy night and I only put away what HAD to be put away and totally forgot about the muffins.....totally! So when I got up this morning, looking forward to having a muffin, they're gone.

My dogs were dancing at my feet, waiting for their morning treat, and I'm digging through the bags looking for my muffins (and cussing because I know I'm not going to find them - at least not inside the house).

I went outside (I have a doggy door for my dogs, in case you didn't know) and sure enough, there were the remains of my muffins. While I was asleep, my dogs drug the muffins outside and ate them. Thus proving the saying, "You snooze, you lose." *sigh*


Okay, I just remembered that the books I shipped home were there when I got home last night with my groceries. I was so excited and now that I really think about it, I'm probably very lucky that my WW ice cream isn't melted all over my kitchen floor. So, my apologies to my dogs for all the bad names I was calling them...it's really more my fault than theirs. But dang, I really wanted my muffin this morning. :(

Excuse me, Adult Beverage Please?

Go here for the scoop on Mel and SEP (Mel admitted it and there were witnesses).

Okay, with that out the way...

After several weather-related flight delays, I made it to Atlanta about 5:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. My roommate had rented a car and we'd picked up another chaptermate at the airport so there were three of us headed to the hotel. JoAnne (the other chaptermate) had asked if we could stop by a liquor store to get her some alcohol (to help her sleep...at least that was the "official" story). We said we would.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine was scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday and I hadn't gotten to talk to her Monday so I was trying to call her all morning Tuesday (while we waited for the danged plane!) without success. So Tuesday, as we're headed to the hotel, I finally reach her and I'm telling her about the events of the morning when the car I'm in pulls into a shopping strip parking lot. I assume we've found a liquor store but instead we pull into the drive thru of a McDonald's or Burger King or something, anyway... They pull up and order two cokes (I'd said I didn't want anything), which is fine but I was a little confused - didn't we want alcohol??? But I was on the phone, so I said nothing. These women pull up to the window and say - I swear this is what they said - "Do you know where we can get some alcohol?"

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the poor girl's face when they asked for liquor at a drive thru window! Poor girl probably thought I was on the phone trying to score some drugs from my dealer. Seriously, what kind of lush thinks they can get alcohol at a drive thru? LOL

Probably not the best impression to make in a new city. Welcome to Atlanta!

Oh, and we never did find the alcohol. *sigh*

What a dork am I

I probably shouldn’t admit this but I may be the only person (female in particular) on the planet who cannot identify Hugh Jackman. I know he’s a popular actor but I don’t know who he is (know the name though), and don’t know that I’ve ever seen a movie he’s been in. And, you know, I’m okay with that. (Even now.)

So when they did a clip from his movie Paperback Hero (thanks to Blogging National for that info) at the awards ceremony Saturday night, I thought it was a "staged" thing. THEN, when the women on either side of me say, "Ohmigod, that’s Hugh Jackman!" I, having never seen Paperback Hero and not realizing it’s a clip from a movie, jump to the conclusion that RWA has hired Mr. Jackman for this little performance. Seriously, that is what I was thinking as I watched that. I’m thinking they opened the purse strings and shelled out for a spot with Hugh Jackman. I’m that stupid.

It wasn’t until they started showing clips from other movies (that I knew) that I realized what they were doing and that the clip with THE Hugh Jackman was probably from an actual movie. And now, all I can think is I want to see that movie.

I’m such a dork.

~L

RWA National

Well, I made it home, safe and sound (so did the boys).

I would post pictures but the only one I have on my camera was of my roommate in bed (I was testing the camera to see if I remembered how to use it), and while she doesn't know this blog exists (few do), I don't think she would appreciate me posting that picture. HOWEVER, she took a bunch of pictures for (and of) me that she said she would email to me so I will be posting some in the near future.

As for National, suffice it to say, I had a wonderful time. If I can be perfectly candid (and who's going to stop me?), I was considering leaving RWA altogether. It's not that I've been depressed or discouraged but more dispassionate about writing and my membership dues are due at the end of this month. But a week or so ago, Claire Cross/Delacroix posted a blog entry that made me want to stay in RWA (and I renewed my membership a day or two before I left to go to Atlanta). And National got me motivated again.

But here's the deal...it wasn't a workshop I went to that did it. No. Thursday night (during Moonlight Madness) my roommate and I went to the bar and got a table (and if you were in Atlanta, you know that was no small feat). It was a large table and only the two of us sitting at it. We saw these two women looking for a place to sit down and told them we had room at our table - and they joined us. They were both published authors (Nancy Block and Sharon Schulze). They could not have been more open and giving of their time and knowledge. We visited until well after midnight (missing the entire MM, which we'd planned on going to...well, we had stopped by when it opened but it was way too busy to stay then, which is why we went to the bar, so technically, it was that we never made it back to MM...if you want to be technical). By the end of the night, I had a renewed desire to write and felt like I'd made two new friends (we saw them several times more during the conference and Nancy and I even have a "challenge" going about writing - it was so cool!). For me, that was the best thing of the conference - bar none. And, not that I have a problem or anything (I came home with thirty pounds of books, not to mention I shipped another thirty pounds of books home.), but the first thing I did when I got home was order Nancy's book - and I can't wait for it to arrive so I can read it.

But enough about that...tomorrow (or one day soon), I'll tell you about being witness to Mel making Susan Elizabeth Phillips cry.

Until then.....

~L

Do you see what I see?

So, yesterday I went to my Weight Watchers meeting like I do every Tuesday. I usually wear the same thing each week. I have two shirts that the only difference is the color (although one fits looser) and I usually alternate those with my pants. The shirt has a light jacket that I remove for the weigh in (the white one, I know for a fact, weighs .6 of a pound).

Yesterday I wore a dress instead of my usual weigh in outfit (it's a laundry issue...totally forgot..anyway...). I'm going to try to describe the dress so that you know what I was dealing with. The dress is in two pieces. The "skirt" portion of the dress is like a full dress except that the top portion of the "dress" is not intended for viewing by the general public...it just holds the "skirt" portion up. It's not obscene or anything but the top half of the skirt portion is definitely "under" wear. Then there is the top portion of the outfit. It has a button down shirt with delicate buttons (it's a very nice outfit - very professional looking) on the front. This portion of the outfit is necessary...repeat, necessary! Hopefully that gives you an idea of what it looks like?

So anyway I walk into Weight Watchers wearing this. I had been bad most of the week and I was feeling particularly "fat" when I went into the meeting but I'm a believer in weighing in anyway (particularly since I won't be able to next week...vacation and all), not to mention I didn't want three weeks to go by with no weigh in. So I step up to the scale and tell the person (Betty Jo) "don't look yet...let me see first."

Betty Jo graciously accommodated me. And I stepped on the scale. I'd figured I'd gone up in weight but it was slightly more than I'd hoped (I won't say expected because I was pretty bad last week) and I gasped. Betty Jo immediately suggested I might want to take off the "shirt" portion of my outfit (assuming it was two-piece, which, as I mentioned, it is) to weigh.

I really was surprised by this because when I've suggested it (jokingly) in the past, she shot the idea down.

There were only three of us in the room at the time and she got up to close the doors and she and the other woman stood in front of the door windows (yes, the doors have windows in them) so that no one would see me "stripping" to weigh in. Then, for some reason still unknown to me, I took the shirt off and weighed (it also weighs .6 of a pound, in case you were wondering).

The second I stepped off the scale the two women stepped away from the door windows. Now you may have noticed that I didn't say I'd put the shirt back on...because I hadn't. I'm still standing there "exposed" when they stepped away from the windows. I'm mentioning this fact when someone swings one of the doors open wide and comes in.

Of course, I'm freaking out, frantically trying to get dressed before anyone else walks in (or by) because stripping at work is just not my thing.

At that point I hadn't decided if I was going to stay for the actual meeting but they talked me into it so I went up to get my lunch. I stood in the coffee bar visiting with several people (telling a couple about being "naked" in the conference room with the door flying open lol) as my lunch heated up. I go back to the meeting, sit through it and then go back to my office and work.

A couple of hours had passed and I had talked with a number of people. Gotten up and done things, had people come in my office, etc. And then I had to go to the Ladies Room.

I do my thing and am washing my hands, looking in the mirror when I realize...I'm not properly buttoned up!!! In my rush to get dressed I'd missed buttoned myself. And no one told me.

And this, my friends, is why I have the policy of no stripping at work.

Dentists vs. Housekeepers

It's official. I've given in. I'm hiring a housekeeper to come clean my house this weekend. The dust bunnies have dust bunnies and it's time some serious attention is given to it - and I don't want to do it so I've called in the experts.

But here's the deal...I'm sitting in my living room thinking "can I let them see my living room like this? maybe I should pick up a little." Then I go into the bedroom and think "there's two inches of dust on the dresser, maybe I should just dust a little." Bathroom "I really use it when it looks like this??? I can't let anyone else see it like this...I'll just scrub the toilet...and the bathtub...and the floor."

Then I think, "why am I going to pay them to clean my house if I'm going to clean it first?" That is, after all, why I'm hiring them. Right?

So I did an informal poll at work, asking people if they had someone come out to clean their house, would they "clean" before the housekeepers got there?

The majority said no, that that is why you were paying them. It was their job to clean - don't do it for them.

One person started giving me a lecture on that point so finally I looked at her and said, "Okay then. Answer me this. Do you brush your teeth before you go to the dentist?"

She looked at me like I'd grown a third breast or something and said, "Yes. Of course!"

"Why?" I asked. "Aren't you paying him to clean your teeth? Doesn't that mean you're doing his job for him?"

Funny, she didn't have a quick comeback for that.

Great Summer Read - FINALLY OUT!

Sandra K. Moore has a knack for continually upping the level of suspense, and with Dead Reckoning, she delivers more than promised. I highly recommend Dead Reckoning.

Chris Hampton was used to bailing her younger sister out of tight spots, but discovering Natalie needed rescuing from her abusive, drug-smuggling husband, was definitely new territory.

Reluctantly, Chris accepts help from DEA Special Agents "Smitty" and Connor. They set out on her 70-foot motor yacht, Obsession, to take advantage of a two-day window of opportunity before Natalie leaves her husband’s private, highly guarded, island. Chris has no room for navigational error.

The stakes go even higher when she finds strange equipment concealed onboard Obsession, and discovers that someone is stalking her, believing she’s hiding a stolen fortune.

Despite her best efforts to stay focused, Chris finds herself responding to the advances of both agents. But after an "accident" in the engine room nearly costs Chris her life and the discovery of a dead body in the salon, Chris realizes that someone on her boat will do anything to stop her.

Torn, Chris doesn’t know who to trust. She’s drawn to Connor, but fears he is trying to seduce her merely to distract her from her purpose. And is Smitty really suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, as he claims, or is he pretending in order to further his own deadly agenda?

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Reckoning. The flow was fast paced, and I was drawn in from page one. I was there with Chris, sharing her love of boating as she risks all to go after her sister. I suffered through her upheavals, doubts, and fears. And, I was there with her in the end when she is heart-wrenchingly forced to choose between the two things she loves most in the world.

Will Chris be able to survive and save her sister?