Hairspray

I went to see Hairspray this afternoon and absolutely loved it. It's one I'll probably have to buy when it comes out on DVD. The lead, Nikki Blonsky, was great, as was John Travolta as her mother. It was a fun, upbeat movie. And it had a message! It was better than I expected it to be. Always a good thing. :o)

So, what movies have you seen lately?

What's in a Name?

Over on the Deadline Divas' blog, Rhoda recently posted a picture she used for inspiration and I absolutely loved it. In fact, it inspired me too! Several years ago I was inspired to write this story. In my head I saw it on stage rather than in a book. Not sure why but that's what I was seeing. And having less of a clue of how to write a screenplay than I do a book, the idea got shoved to the further most recesses of story idea queue in my mind. Well, plus, the idea wasn't fully formed - I basically only knew the concept.

Fast forward to this picture of inspiration and suddenly the concept is fully formed. I know the beginning, the middle and well, I don't know the exact ending but I do know it is a happily ever after one. I even have a title for the story.

The only thing I don't have is the character's names. I never get fully invested in the names so they might change a gazillion times in the process. And I hate that.

One exception to that is a story idea that I have but it's based on someone I actually know and so I only see that person's name for my character. But, should it be published and should my friend actually read my book, I wouldn't want her (or a jury) to know (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that I based the character on her - or at least one of my initial impressions of her. (I should point out here that it is a person I adore and have the utmost respect for but this particular aspect may not seem "flattering" and I don't want to hurt any feelings.)

Anyway, I've told you all this to ask this - how do you come up with your character's names? Do they just come to you? Do they grow into them?

I just had this flashback to when I got my dog Harley and I called him something different every day until I took him to the vet and was forced to decide on a name. I don't know that I can do that with my characters.

Again, anyway, how do you work these details out? Inquiring minds want to know. :o)

On the Road Again

As promised, I'm going to comment on my virgin audio book experience. As you may recall, I was listening to Nicholas Sparks' (who, after talking to several people at the conference, is definitely off my "list") Dear John.

I was skeptical for a couple of reasons. One being that I didn't think I had the attention span to follow a story being read. Another being that I was so disappointed in the last book of his I read that I wasn't sure if I wanted to read/hear another.

So, okay, I put it on as soon as I dropped off the boys at the kennel Wednesday morning. The reader initially had a thick southern accent that I wasn't fond of (but I also think I may have been looking for things to not like). And I never did get comfortable with the "voices" he did for the people. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at first but, several hours out, I realized that one thing that was bugging me was that the heroine of the story sounded EXACTLY like Dustin Hoffman in his role of Tootsie. Exactly like it! So I couldn't quite get the image out of my head that the heroine was a drag queen as I listened. Not to mention that the southern accent he attributed to the characters made them all come off sounding dumber than dirt - which I think is a misconception about southerners, but that's another story.

But, I plowed on anyway. The story was okay - definitely not my favorite of his books (but also not my least favorite - that honor goes to the last one I read) and there were a couple of places that I cried (which wasn't necessarily a good thing, considering I was behind the wheel of a car at the time). And there were a few places where my mind wandered off enough that I knew I had missed something - but I didn't really care so I didn't go back and replay anything.

In the end though, I might try another audio book but what I was telling my roommate was that what I think part of the problem for me was, was that I read in my own voice. The intonation and inflection I would have given would have been different I think. I think I might have enjoyed it more reading it than I did having it read "to me". And part of that might be because the story was told in first person, I don't know.

Anyway, as I said, I might try another audio book but I'm still kind of leaning towards thinking it's not really for me.

Lucy does Dallas

I'm noticing a bit of a theme - everyone is titling their posts " (name here) does Dallas", so why not me too? (And no - before you ask - if everyone else was jumping off a bridge, I wouldn't do that too. . . I don't think... ;o) )

Anyway, my stay in Dallas was a short one, not being registered and all so I'm already home. I had a lot of fun though and even have pictures this year to prove it! (I may have mentioned that I've depended on the kindness of others in years past and never saw the pictures so I made sure to take matters into my own hands this year.)


I arrived Wednesday afternoon after driving in from Houston (the drive made longer by a serious accident in Houston and my inability to navigate downtown Dallas streets, but that's a whole other story). I had called my roommate a couple of times from the road and she indicated that she was out and about in the hotel but that check-in should be a breeze for me, as she'd added my name to the reservation (it was a breeze, by the way). So I arrived and checked in, went to the room, dropped my stuff off and immediately went in search of water.


On my way up to the room, someone got on the elevator with a take-out box and someone else on the elevator asked her where she'd gotten it and she said there was food on the second floor. So when I went out in search of water, I went to the second floor first. Which is where I ran into the person I always see first at the conferences - Pamela Hathaway. She told me that Mel, Maria and The Pam were at the bar, so off I went.


Mel was walking away from the table so I went up and said hello to her. Turns out she wasn't feeling great so she was going for some water and then heading back to the room (she told me the water was on the first floor). We said our good-byes and I headed over to talk to Maria. We visited for a few minutes when Louisa showed up and the three of us visited.


Then I went over to say hello to The Pam and her first words were "How's Harley? That's what I want to know!" Gotta love a woman (man, person - anyone) who loves animals like that. I told her I had pictures on my camera that I'd show her later. We visited for 20 or 30 minutes and I headed out for the water that I'd originally left my room for, which I now knew was on the first floor (thanks Mel!).


I get my water and decide that I'll just scope out the hotel and find out where the signing was going to be later that evening. I go down one more level and see a line formed outside of this one room. One quick look confirmed that it was a line forming for the literacy signing - only two hours before the event officially started!


After a moment or two of thought, I decided to join the line - after I went up to my room to get the new Julia Quinn book I'd brought for signing (I figure I can read it while I wait too!). So I head back to my room (which, for the record, was as far away from the elevator as the hotel could get it). I grab the book and leave the water, thinking I don't want to bother with carrying two things around (doing mental eye roll here). I head back to the elevator and decide, you know, I DO want to have my water with me after all - it's a long wait before the doors open. I go back to the room, grab the water and head back out again. I'm almost to the elevator again when I remember that I want my camera, so back I go to the room. I head out once more and realize, I must've put the book down because I only have the water and camera. It only took one more visit to the room before I was good to go.


The line that had been coming straight out from the ballroom doors was now up against the wall. It hadn't grown much while I was gone but I wasn't as close as you might think, for being there an hour and a half early. Everyone around me had stacks of books for signing - 90% of which were Sherilyn Kenyon books. I didn't get a lot of reading done because everyone was visiting. I met some really neat people in line (which I have each year that I've waited in lines) and it was kind of fun.


The crowds started coming more regularly and they roped off the area so that the line would go in a maze sort of thing (if you know what I mean) and the hotel staff was working furiously to keep up with the incoming crowd. Below is a picture (what I could get of it) of the line that was already in place an hour before the event started.

The event started a few minutes late because some of the authors were late but all-in-all, it was all good. More details to come tomorrow. . .

Books We Love

I'm driving up to Dallas on Wednesday (Nationals, in case you didn't know) and I decided this would be the perfect opportunity for me to try out audio books. I've never done that before but lots of people love it (I've always been concerned that it wouldn't hold my attention - my mind tends to wander and drown out the background noises.) so I thought I'd give it a try. So I went to the library the other day to check out their audio selection. (And by the way, I guess I've used my library card more recently than I realized because they actually had my current phone number on it! But I digress.)

Well, let's start with, I didn't know where the audio books were (kinda goes with the "never having listened to one before), so I had to ask. Then I get over there and they have a very limited selection. Someone else was on the aisle so I kept looking around her and then we started talking about what was where and all. (She said they were in alphabetical order but if they were, I need to relearn my ABCs, that's all I'm saying.)

I was specifically looking for SEP's Natural Born Charmer and/or Janet Evanovich's Lean Mean Thirteen, which, of course, I never found. (But they did have every Danielle Steele book ever written - in cassette tape, of course.) I really didn't find anything that made me think this is the one so I finally settled on Dear John by Nicholas Sparks.

I used to be a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. He was one of my auto-buy authors - I would even buy in hardback until this happened. Since then I haven't read anything of his. Haven't been motivated to attempt to read anything of his. So the fact that I picked one of his for my first audio book should say something about the lack of choices. So that will be what I'm listening to (maybe) on the way to Dallas.

But, while I was at the library, talking to this lady, I noticed that she had a book copy (as opposed to an audio copy) of Evanovich's Two for the Dough. I made a comment and she was saying that she loves the series and reads them over and over again.

You know, I love reading and I keep all my books (unless they are dreadfully awful, then I can manage to part with them - if I must) but there are few, if any books that I would read over and over again. It was about a year ago that I read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I loved it and was so awed by it, it made me want to read all of Ms. Austen's books but I haven't felt the desire to re-read - at least not yet. But maybe I'm alone in this.

Are there books that you love and re-read over and over. And if so, what are those books?

The Geek Squad

I know I've been a bit neglectful, if you will, of my blog recently but I've really had a good reason. I've had zero computer access at home for the last two weeks and an unstable computer environment for a couple of weeks before that. It wasn't until last night that I was able to get back online at home (and don't think I'm not happy about it - I've been spending the last four hours catching up on internet surfing! :o) ).



Anyway, I found out just how little I really know about computer and I also learned that the experts don't know a whole lot more than I do. This all started the first weekend of the month when I noticed my computer was going slower than usual and I shut it off. It shut off alright . . . it wouldn't reboot for me to save my life.



I took it to work and, on the first try mind you, a co-worker got it up and running. I immediately started yelling "save my newsletter! I've gotta save my newsletter!" And then I promptly saved the one document (to a flash drive) that would be the most easy to recreate, should I lose everything and we shut 'er back down - where it once again died.



An "expert" told me I should try to re-boot it from my boot disk and I did, and it actually worked. At that time, I copied as many files as I could (starting with all my partial wips) on the flash drive. It didn't get everything but it got a lot. I'm thinking I'm doing pretty good. I was getting advice that I should re-install everything on my computer and start fresh (I'd bought Norton because the initial diagnosis was that I had a virus - and maybe I did but in the end, it wasn't my biggest problem, but it wouldn't install on my computer) but I wasn't finished with the newsletter I was working on and I really wanted to get it out before I wiped the slate clean, so to speak.



Well, with each change I made to the newsletter, I resaved it to the flash drive, right? That is until my computer quit recognizing the flash drive. You know, the one that had my life on it? Yeah, that one. Suddenly I didn't feel like I was doing so good anymore. That's when I started emailing EVERYTHING on my computer to my gmail account (gotta love 'em) so I could feel good again. :o)



So, I finally finished the newsletter and got it out and decided to reinstall everything. Oh, during all this, I was having some issues with my computer where if it stalled, I could tilt it and it would un-stall, if you know what I mean. The Pam said she thought it was my hard drive. I told the computer "expert" at work all this and he disagreed, saying that if it was my hard drive that I would hear a grinding noise and it would just crash. Which is exactly what happened after I stayed up all night reinstalling everything on my computer.



That was two weeks ago tomorrow.



Tuesday I went Best Buy and bought the hard drive that the computer "expert" from work told me to buy. To shorten the story, it was the wrong hard drive. Fortunately I made the decision to have the "geek squad" at Best Buy install it. Some thought it was a waste of money to do that but considering it turned out to be the wrong hard drive and they wouldn't have refunded my money had someone else opened the box and tried to install it, I think it was money well spent! Anyway, the geek squad had issues too but at the end of the day yesterday (and I mean the end of the day!), I was finally back up and running. (If you wonder why I wasn't up before then - let's just say this was a contributing factor.)

In any event, it's good to be back! :o)

The Theatre

I'm a big fan of the theatre . The first time I remember going was to see Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr in The King and I back in 1982. It was either later that year or the next year that I went to see Debbie Reynolds and Harve Presnell in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. LIVE and in person! There's nothing like it.

Over the next many years, I went to the theatre with a regularity. When my ex-husband and I separated and divorced, I started taking my nieces and/or nephew with me before I made it a solo act, ocassionally deciding to go on the spur of the moment.

Only once was I disenchanted with a play I saw.

Anyway, back in the early '90s my mother and I went to Las Vegas. Debbie Reynolds had a hotel there at the time (off the strip) and we went to see her show which, in my opinion, is the best show I've ever seen in Vegas. She, in her show, commented that her fans were "of an age", suggesting that younger people didn't much care for her. Well after the show, she talked to and took pictures with anyone who wanted to chat or have their picture taken with her. I, of course, have a picture with me, my mother and her in it and made a point of telling her I (in my early 30's at the time) was a huge fan.

But, back to the theatre...I haven't been much in the last five to ten years or so. Something I keep telling myself that I will remedy soon.

At work this man who was transferred out before I arrived (over a year ago) occasionally gets mail from a theatre in Galveston...The Grand 1894 Opera House. It's what I've always pictured in my head when I read historicals and they talk about going to the theatre (although, when it tells you a seat is "obstructed", they mean it! Just so you know.). It's this quaint little place - very nice. Well, this man from work received another brochure this past week and Debbie Reynolds is going to be there this coming March. She's hosting a dance thing but I think I'm going to have to go. Galveston is less than an hour away so it's definitely doable.

It's almost a year away and I'm already excited about it. How silly is that? LOL

What celebrity would you like to see come to your area to perform?

All the comforts of home

I called a contractor out earlier this week because I wanted to discuss installation of hurricane shutters. Before he got out here it occurred to me that I might need the HOA's approval to do this, so I called them. I do need it but I couldn't reach the contractor before he arrived so he came out.

As a result we started swapping contractor stories (mine coming from the side of "can you believe what that awful contractor did?" his being "then they wanted me to do so and so..." ). During the course of this discussion, he told me about a product I'd never heard of before...walk-in bathtubs! He said he'd installed one for this elderly couple, and that it'd be his last installation of a walk-in bathtub. Anyway, I was curious so I asked some questions about it and then looked it up online. You're looking at the Cambridge Walk-in Bathtub which is described as follows:

This standard length walk in bathtub provides a very effective solution to everyday bathing problems and can simply be fitted in place of your existing tub to allow you to continue to lie down and luxuriate in a bathtub full of water.

The Cambridge walk in bathtub allows you to simply step in through its conveniently sited side entry door.

Once in, make yourself comfortable on the contoured bath seat, turn the handle to seal the door and open the taps. It's as simple as that. Once the tub is filled to your satisfaction press the button and you will be gently lowered into the water. Lie back and enjoy your bath. There is of course a choice of tap options; from traditional cross-headed faucetts, lever style or a more contemporary style. All are available in Chrome or Gold finish to complement your bathroom fittings.

When you have finished your bath, simply press the control once more lift you back to the seated position ready to get out of the bath and into a comfortable position ready for standing again.

The Cambridge walk in bathtub is available in a range of colours to complement your bathroom.

Who wouldn't want one of those? :)

Suspicious Minds

I've been trying to blog more consistently but some days nothing comes to me. Other days I have lots of ideas but have to settle on one. Today is one of those days (where I have more than one idea).

Anyway, today I wanted to blog on this segment they have on my local radio station. It's called Roula & Ryan's Roses. What happens is someone writes/emails in telling them why they think their significant other may be cheating on them. I have no idea how many letters/emails they get on this but every Thursday morning they take one and do their bit. Their bit being that they (well Roula) call the supposed cheating party and tell them that they've randomly been selected to receive a dozen long stem red roses that can be sent anywhere in the US within 24 hours, for free. She goes on to tell them that it's a promotional thing for her new business "plantsandflowers.com" and that her hope is that the flowers will be so great that they will consider doing business with her in the future, should they have a need. In most cases the supposed cheating party will accept the roses.

The whole time Roula is giving her spiel, the person who wrote in is listening in. They've been instructed not to jump in until after they've gotten the name and note for the card and Ryan has jumped in to say they are listening in.

Okay, so this morning's "couple" was a young married couple. The husband (named Fred) works for a company who takes its employees on all expense paid trips (I missed the part of why they do but I don't think it's important to the story). This weekend the company was paying for its employees to spend the long weekend (four days total) in Jamaica. Fred told his wife (whose name I don't remember) that spouses weren't invited this time. She was concerned because he works with a lot of attractive women and they would be at a place where those attractive women would be scantily clad. Not to mention that he's recently been putting in really long hours and their sex life is virtually non-existent of late. She "needed" to know who he would send the flowers to.

So Roula called. He accepted the flowers. He said he wanted them to go to Jennifer (funny how I remember HER name, huh? anyway) and the card to read (and he said this in a very seductive voice) something like "I can't wait until this weekend" or "I'm looking forward to this weekend".

At that point Ryan jumped in and told him what was going on. His wife jumps in and asks him what's going on, why would he send flowers to Jennifer and not her? He starts saying that Jennifer has been working really hard and he wanted to show his appreciation for all her hard work - that he wouldn't have survived (at work) without her that past couple of months. The wife starts whining that she was going to be home alone all weekend and she doesn't understand why he didn't send them to her. He goes on to point out that he spent $300 on a spa day for her and that should be enough.

Meanwhile, Ryan is jumping in going "Dude, the greeting on the card was (whatever it was). And it was red roses. Red usually signifies love!" Fred defends himself saying he had no idea what would be sent (Roula does say a dozen red roses, by the way) and he just wanted to recognize Jennifer's hard work. Roula is being uncharacteristically quiet and Ryan shuts up at this time.

The wife starts apologizing to Fred, saying she was just feeling a little insecure and hopes he will forgive her for doing this to him on the radio. She then, in a young child happy voice tells Fred, "If you come home early tonight I'll cook all your favorites, okay?!" Ryan, incredulous, jumps back in and says, "(her name - whatever it is), you're believing him?" She said she was so he tells them he's going to let them take it offline and they get the couple off the air.

As soon as they get the couple off the air, Roula jumps in and says, "Ohmigod! I had to hold my reaction but I cannot believe she was buying that! He was so LYING!" Roula and Ryan discussed their feelings about it (they do that each week, and then take listener calls) and they both believed he was lying out his backside but that they didn't press it because they believed the wife was one of those people who didn't want to know/believe the truth. All the callers I heard agreed.

So, my question to you is, you have a sneaking suspicion that your significant other may be getting some action on the side and when given the opportunity, s/he sends roses to someone else. How would you react?

The Finale

Congratulations Apolo and Julianne!

If you missed the finale, you missed that Apolo walked away with the mirrored trophy last night. I was so excited and thought it was so deserved.

It's funny because when the season started, well, actually BEFORE the season started I made a judgment based on his picture. I really hated the hair on his chin. It can't even be called a goatee. And I wanted him voted off in week one because it was so unattractive in his "official photo".

Well, after week one of dancing, I changed my mind. He was so good and his partner was adorable. And it wasn't long into the competition before I decided I wanted him to win the whole thing! AND HE DID!

He wasn't always number one with the judges (but then none of the past winners were either) but he was number one in the end, and that's what matters. And he won it all on his birthday!

I was so excited for him. So, happy birthday Apolo and congratulations!

New to the Pile

Today a friend at work asked me if I wanted to meet her at the bookstore at lunch. (Well DUH! know your audience girl!) So, I got there at the time she said to meet her...she showed up thirty minutes later. But I digress.

As I waited for my friend, I came across this book that looked like it might be interesting...The PMS Murder. I read the back cover and well, I bought it. It sounds like it will be fun. And if it is, I've found a new author to read. If not, it was just $7.00.

Here's the back blurb:

On the frontlines of the battle of the bulge, otherwise known as trying on bathing suits in the communal dressing room at Loehmann's, freelance writer Jaine Austen makes a new friend - a wanna be actress named Pam - and gets a new job: sprucing up Pam's bare-bones resume. Their feeling of connection is mutual, so Pam invites Jaine to join The PMS Club - a woman's support group that meets once a week over guacamole and margaritas.

But joining the club proves to be more a curse than a blessing for Jaine. Though she is warned that Rochelle, the hostess, makes a guacamole to die for, Jaine never takes the warning literally. Until another PMS member, Marybeth, drops dead over a mouthful of the green stuff after confessing she is having an affair with Rochelle's husband.

While Rochelle and her husband are the obvious suspects, everyone at that night's meeting is under suspicion, including Jaine. So, instead of dishing dirt with The PMS Club, Jaine has to dig up dirt on the surviving members. And soon it becomes clear: someone in this club thinks getting away with murder should be a privilege of membership...

So that's the newest on my TBR pile. What have you read lately?

*Sigh*

Tonight my dog, Harley, came in when he heard me open a muffin wrapper. He placed his chin on my leg and when he moved it, it was covered in mud. So I decided to investigate what he (and possibly the other dogs) had been doing outside. It was already dark outside so I took my flashlight with me.

Over in the front corner of the fence it appears like he/they have been digging a hole. O-kay. Now, I don't know if you've heard this but if you fill a hole where dogs have been digging with their own poop, they won't dig there anymore. I was told this a few years back when Max was a puppy and doing the digging - and it worked. So I went and got my shovel to fill the hole and go searching for poop (jealous are you? LOL).

First I filled in the hole and then went looking, shining my flashlight everywhere. The first "pile" I saw and approached turned out to be a dead bird. Poor thing. I hope it went quickly.

Anyway, I decided to look on the other side of my yard because that's where they do most of their business anyway and I headed out on the path that they've created out that way, watching my step. And you know what I found? Are you ready for this?

The cable line that the cable guy buried a couple of weeks ago (see Television Reception entry)? The cable line that I could barely tell WHERE the cable guy buried it because he did such a smooth, clean job? The cable line that is NOW exposed and just begging for Harley to rip it back out of the wall.

Yeah, that's what I found.

I'm telling you, I love the little guy but he is making me crazy.

In any event, I found some poop, filled the hole and disposed of the poor dead bird. Not exactly how I'd pictured this evening going but what are ya gonna do?

Changes

Ever since my dog, Harley, took out my cable, I've been thinking about something. Those two days where I had no reception forced me to focus my energy otherwise (that is when I wasn't striking a pose to get in better television reception) and I realized how much time I waste with the TV on. Like now, the TV is on but the sound is muted - and I do that a lot. What's the point?

So, my thought was, I should try to go without cable during the summer. I went so far as calling the cable company to see what I would have to do and what it would cost to have it reinstalled (turned back on - whatever) at a later date. And they offered me "options". Right now I have the digital cable with a gazillion channels (I watch approximately 3 of them, but who's counting) and pay out the wazoo, what with the "extended cable" box in the bedroom and the DVR in the living room. I could cut back to the standard cable (channels 1-80) for about 1/3 of what I'm paying now (not including the DVR, which would add ~$16 back). Or I could just keep the cable line (aka basic cable) on to give me clear pictures on my local stations (and we already know I don't get reception for crap here on the local stations) for under $20.

If I do away with cable altogether and later want it reinstalled it will cost me ~$29 for the first connection and ~$19 for each additional (I currently have three lines - two in the living room but I like the option of being able to move my furniture around).

On the "basic cable" option it would cost me a one time fee of ~20 to fully upgrade - all lines.

With standard cable there would be no charge to reconnect/upgrade.

But here's the deal. I feel certain I will want my cable back when the fall line-up comes back on. Most shows I could watch online but I wouldn't be able to vote on Dancing with the Stars (unless I struck a pose at least once a week - which I could do if I had to!).

Actually, that's not even the whole deal. The reason I posted this entry tonight was, I was reading someone else's blog entry and they were talking about participating in Jessica Trapp's "100 days" and now adding a daily workout to go with it. Someone responded that they just never have time to work out anymore and that kind of hit a note with me. In Weight Watchers when they talk about exercise they bring up the things we did when we were growing up - things that we enjoyed. Things that we no longer indulge ourselves with because "we don't have time". Working out is no longer considered fun, like it was when we were younger. Instead, it's just one more thing on the long list of things we have to do and it's more like a chore. Only it's one we don't have to do, so it's one of the first ones we eliminate.

Personally, I want to make time for things. I want to read more. I want to write more. I want to start working out again. Walking the dogs (only not in my neighborhood since I'm only allowed two dogs and I have three). Yes, TV is something I sometimes enjoy but I think I indulge in it too much. And too much of a good thing is not good!

Anyway, I don't know if you've picked up on this but I think I'm talking myself more and more into getting rid of cable - at least for the summer. But I'd love to hear what others think. So if you don't have a TV or if you don't have cable - or if you know someone like that, let me hear from you and tell them to come on over and tell me why and what-for.

And for those that have TV and cable, could you give it up?

The Plan

Have you ever noticed that things don't always go as planned?

Yesterday, I got up early and went to the grocery store to buy more fruits and vegetables (I say more because I'd done the same thing Saturday morning too). You see, over at The Cupcake Police a couple of us are drinking our fruits and vegetables, which is working out great for me because I wasn't getting in my daily requirement otherwise.

Anyway, back to The Plan.

The plan was to bring home the items and chop them all up, ready to go. Only problem was my kitchen was a mess. I needed to clean up and THEN do the chopping. Okay, I can handle that, right?

So, I'm standing in the kitchen thinking "you know, my living room really needs cleaning worse than the kitchen. maybe I should clean that first." The fact that I wasn't going to chop the food in the living room, which was the reason for the cleaning, didn't even enter my head. I just started cleaning - the living room.

I dusted. I vacuumed the furniture. I put things away. I swept and I mopped. It looked good. I moved into the kitchen to continue there.

I unloaded the dishwasher and reloaded it with the few dirty dishes (I don't cook often) I had. I wiped down the counter then went back over it with a lysol wipe. I took out the trash. I swept the floor and mopped. It looked good. But the floor was wet so I couldn't get to work on the food. So I moved into my bedroom.

All this while, I've also been doing laundry.

But I'm in the bedroom. I dusted. I put things away. I stripped the bed (to be added to the laundry loads). I swept and I mopped. And repeated in my closet and dressing area.

By then it was kind of late in the day (about 5:30) so I thought I'd sit down for a minute to watch the things I've DVR'd but really needed to be watched so I clear them so that there would be space for Dancing with the Stars (even though I'll be watching it live). So I'm watching last week's Brothers and Sisters (which I also watched when it aired) and I realized you know I don't really want to get into a clean bed after all this work - unless I take a shower. So after Brother and Sisters, I jumped in the shower and came back and watched a couple of Ellens and Murphy Browns before I watched Desperate Housewives and this week's Brothers and Sisters (which I DVR'd...both DH and B&S).

Then it was bedtime so I crawled in bed feeling pretty good about all I had done and I slept well.

Meanwhile, I never did chop up the fruits and vegetables - and that was the whole point of the day. LOL

On Writing

Do you ever read a book that just annoys you to no end? That you wonder what the author was thinking when they wrote it and the publisher when they bought it? I feel like I've run in a few too many of those of late. But, I don't like to diss particular authors on my blog so I'm just going to make a list of things that annoy me. Feel free to add your own. :~)

1. If your story is a murder mystery, don't introduce the killer on page 347 of your 360 page (including epilogue) novel. Saying on page 107 "Remember that time Eunice got upset with Doris because she thought the boy was looking at her at the third grade picnic?" does not count as an introduction to a character when said boy is not identified by name, or description and not mentioned again until page 347, when it's revealed he's the killer.

2. Also, if writing a murder mystery, it's good to keep the reader guessing but when they reach the last page of a story and they still are wondering who the hell the killer is, something's wrong - and it's not with the reader. I may be dense but when you have to email the author and ask who the killer is and you still don't get/see it, there's a problem. S-P-E-L-L I-T O-U-T! There's your clue!

3. If you're writing a series, each book should be a stand-alone. Nothing pisses me off more than to get to the end of a book only to realize that resolution won't happen until later in the series. I won't know how it's resolved either because I will not be forced to buy another book to find out! You will have lost me for any other books you've written too because, I may not always remember who the best authors are, but I never forget an author who has pissed me off. I also don't want to be forced to read the story in a particular order. I want to be able to pick up any book in the series and be able to follow the action. If you don't know how this is done, go read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.

4. Also in a series, do not introduce characters into the story in book one and make them pivotal characters if you're not going to deal with them until book three (see comment 3 above).

5. I read to escape. I want to be swept up in the fantasy. If I wanted to read something depressing, I'd subscribe to the newspaper. There doesn't have to be a hero / heroine traditional happily ever after but if I get to the end of the story and want to slit my own wrists, it's not good. Give the reader some hope.

6. No means no. I'm sorry but I cannot suspend disbelief when a woman says she doesn't want to have sex but the man "has his way" anyway. That's not an alpha male in my book, that's a rapist. As I read the rest of the book, I'll be wondering what message the author wanted to send by making a rapist the hero of her story. It will also likely be the last book of yours I'll read.

7. I don't write many "fan" emails to authors so if I write you one, it means I really LOVED your book and will be on the lookout for more of your books. It's not necessary to respond and plug your next book - I probably would've bought it anyway if I liked the one enough to write you. But, since I don't like pushy sales people, you just made me less likely to pick it up.

8. I know that bad things happen in life but I don't want to read about them (see comment 5 above) in your book. It is never necessary to be cruel to animals in a book. Do it once and I might be able to look the other way. Do it repeatedly and you will not only lose me as a reader, but anyone else I can influence.

9. If you're writing a comedy, tell more than one joke. What was funny on page 15 is not going to be funny if told again on page 16 and 17 and 18 and 19 and..... Lots of things can be funny. Be creative.

10. Be original. If you have to steal from another author, hang it up. This also goes for your own stories. If all you've done is superimpose new names over the characters of your last story, it's not good. I've heard there are no new stories and I'm easy enough to fool that it's a new story but you're gonna have to do more than change names.

Anyway, those are a few of my writing pet peeves. What annoys you?

Squirrelly neighbors

I've blogged before about my neighbors. Neighbors whose names I don't know and who I could not pick out of a line up if my life depended on it (but I can identify when they're in their own yard). Neighbors who I've spoken to a couple of times in the couple of years they've been neighbors of mine but who set a bad first impression with me and I've never quite gotten over it.

Yesterday did not help the impression.

I was sitting in my living room, minding my own business, when I see feet pass by one of my living room windows. (I raise the blinds a little so that the boys can look out and see what's going on in the world outside.) Now, I was expecting someone to come do some gutter work for me but seeing as the person coming for that was a stalker guy, I figured he would've rang my doorbell first (which, when he showed up, he did). So, I was curious who was on my property and went to look out the window than I'd seen the feet pass...a different window closer to my fenceline.

Imagine my surprise when I see a woman with a crazed look on her face looking intently at my window, a rake raised over her head and then swing it down HARD on my window. It totally freaked me out. I was staring in disbelief when she raised the rake over her head again. I yelled at her, asking "What are you doing?" There was no indication that she heard me as she brought the rake down on my window again hard (I figure the voices in her head had drowned me out.).

This time I see something fall down the window and then "fly" back up. The crazy lady is wielding her rake at some poor animal!

I ran outside in time to see the rake go over her head again. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING???" I yelled again.

She looked over at me and I watched in awe how the crazed look went to almost normal in seconds (how do they do that?) and she brought the rake down to her side. "That was in my attic," she said, pointing to the frightened squirrel that was hanging on for dear life to the side of my BRICK house (I've never seen any animal that clutched on to brick!).

She goes on to tell me how it had gotten into their attic through a hole in their overhang (which she pointed to, several times), that it made a lot of noise in the attic and they had to board the hole up. And all I can think is, it's out and they've blocked its entry and it's now on MY propery - leave it the f alone! I stepped towards the squirrel and it flinched, like an animal that's been abused does when it's approached and thinks it's about to be hit. It broke my heart.

So I kind of got between the squirrel and the crazy lady and asked if she was wanting to kill the poor thing and she said no. After that, I don't really remember what we said to each other after that (although I do remember her repeating several times "look at her! she was in my attic! we had to put up a board to keep her out!") but I said something and her response made me think she would leave the poor critter alone so I came into the house.

I really think she would have killed the squirrel had I not gone out there and I came into my house and all I could think was, "it was probably gathering nuts to take home to its family and what would have happened if it never made it back".

Is it too much to hope that one day I'll have a nice, normal, animal friendly family live next door to me? Although the lady who lived there before was a cat lover (known in the city - by everyone - as the cat lady). She was obsessed with cats and had dozens of them. She couldn't stand any other animal though. Someone in between the two extremes I've seen would be nice? Is that too much to ask?

But, what about you? Do you have good neighbors or not?

More Headlines

Okay, one day soon I'll have more of a fun post (well, hopefully I will anyway) - and even the last thing on this one should be fun (at least I was amused) but anyway....here we go.

A couple of weeks ago I was waiting at the hairdresser to get my hair cut. I'd taken a magazine because I'd anticipated having to wait. It was a People Magazine. One of the stories was about two people who had fallen overboard off of a cruise ship. When the whole story was told you found out that they were in a room with a balcony and the man was out on the balcony. The woman ran out to jump on the man's back but came a little hard and had more of the "leap frog" (magazine's wording) effect and went right over his head. The man tried to grab her, to stop her from going overboard and got pulled out and down with her. Which is how they both ended up overboard. Completely unintentional. Fortunately there were others in their room who made the ship's personnel aware of the situation. Markers were immediately thrown out and the boat stopped and turned around to find the people. The whole process took a couple of hours, if I remember right. Announcements were made and people were asked to be quiet so they could hear any screams for help. Both people were rescued with minimal injuries. A miracle really. But here's the deal...there were people who actually complained that the rescue was an "inconvenience" and "annoyance" to their cruise! Yes, I realize it wasn't on the ship's original itinerary but give me a break! If the shoe were on the other foot, would they want the ship to forget them and carry on according to schedule? NO! This was brought to my mind again, as I read this week's people and someone had commented (in the letters to the editor section) that those people who went overboard owed apologies. Yes, their actions may have been less that "mature-based" but for crying outloud, no one intended to go overboard! People amaze me.

But on to something else that makes my blood boil even more. The now imfamous Alec Baldwin voicemail message. I know I don't have kids (but I've always wanted them), so my reaction may not be the same as someone who has kids. I think it's AWFUL! You just don't talk to your kids like that! Yes, I understand people get mad and say things they don't mean - I get that...I've DONE that. But all that because his daughter didn't answer the phone? And his response? He's really pissed at his ex but took it out on his daughter, who, by the way, is in violation of a gag order in releasing the tape. Apparently, his responses - including going on The View to discuss the tape - doesn't fall under the same gag order. Personally, I think Alec has issues and needs serious help. The message I heard didn't indicate that he was pissed at Kim Basinger - if he had've been, I think it would have been more of a "you tell your mother...." sort of talk, rather than telling his daughter that she "didn't have the brains or consideration to be a human being" and that she was "a thoughtless pig" or that he was going to come to LA to "straighten out her ass". No, those were directly straight at his daughter. And he wonders why she doesn't want to take his calls.

Okay, now for the one I think is fun. :~) This woman was on Ellen this week. She works at a convenience store and someone (a woman) had come in to buy lottery tickets. The customer told her what she wanted but there was a misunderstanding and the convenience store clerk was stuck with a ticket that was not paid for. So, at the end of her shift she felt she had to purchase the ticket herself (even though she didn't really want to, and suggested that it was more than she could afford - even at only $2). She WON! It wasn't the big winning but she did win $200,000. How cool is that?

Anyway, those are my "ripped from the headlines" for the day. We'll soon return to our light, fluff pieces (or at least that's the plan!).

~L

Job Security

Recently there have been a couple of stories in the local news (one, at least, made national news) where someone thought their job was in jeopardy so they took, what they thought, was appropriate measures to "keep" their job?

One is the NASA, hostage/murder/suicide situation from last week. Some man thought he was about to be fired because he'd gotten negative performance feedback. His solution was to take someone hostage - kill them, then kill himself. He took a second hostage, as backup, but just "tied" her up with duct tape. As far as career planning, not his best move. And committing suicide gives new meaning to "dead-end job", don't you think?

Then, a few weeks ago, there was a major story about an office building fire. Someone from the freeway saw flames INSIDE the building, through the windows. They pulled over to check it out and sounded the alarms (which hadn't gone off - it was an old building) and called 9-1-1. Three people (possibly more...they were having difficulty going back into the building because the structure was so badly damaged in the fire...and I never heard if there was a change in the death count) died. A firefighter was injured and hospitalized. They covered the story for days because the investigators were having problems (the structure damage thing) determining the cause of the fire. Finally someone came forward saying that she was expected to turn in a report that she hadn't prepared yet so she thought if she caused a fire in her office (guess she didn't know it would spread?), it would buy her some time. She's since been arrested on murder charges. Murder charges! But hey, at least she'll have plenty of free time to work on that report now. And who knows, maybe they'll hold her job until she's released. (yeah right!)

So I'm wondering, how far would you go to to keep your job? Inquiring minds want to know.

Television Reception

Remember when you had to get your television antenna just right so that you'd have decent reception? You know, before cable.

Or how about skits about how families had to stand in a particular formation, each holding something related to the antenna to get a sharper image?

Yeah, well, that was me tonight. Seems the cable line that the cable company failed to bury when they replaced it a few years ago (lightening strike) was ripped out of place by the newest addition to my family...Harley.

And it was Dancing with the Stars night so I was not a happy camper. Tonight is the first night in the history of the show that I did not vote - because I couldn't see enough to give a fair judgment. I tried really hard to get a decent picture but it wasn't working - or when it did, it was fleeting.

The cable company won't come out until Wednesday (some time between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm - so glad they could narrow the time down) so until then, I'm basically without television. Oh, I know I could be doing something productive, like working on my wip, but whining feels so much better.

Pass the cheese and crackers please~

Lunch

I had lunch again today with the girl I made cry yesterday (I really think we're okay now LOL).

Anyway there were some things that happened that seemed kind of strange but were oddly amusing to me. So I thought I'd share...

The restaurant we went to is relatively new. It's not convenient (from my perspective) so I've only been twice since it opened (including today, that is) but I'm pretty sure it's been in the last year that it opened. But it's what we decided on, so there we went.

When we pull up into the parking lot there is a traffic jam of a gazillion cars (give or take) and we have to drive to the very back to find a spot. I did mention that it was for LUNCH, right? Not date night at prime time, but anyway... We get into the lobby and it's packed - again like date night at dinner time. I hear the hostess tell the guy in front of us (who said he needed a table for two - same as we would) that it would be 10 to 15 minutes for a table. Again - at LUNCH!

I stepped up to the hostess's table and said, "are those tables available?" pointing to the cocktail tables. She said they were and we didn't have to have our name written down - we were immediately seated (if only we were served as quickly but I digress). I felt the glares and stares from all the people who were (im)patiently waiting to be seated. But what did I care? I was getting seated immediately!

Now, the person who seated us (in chairs so high I had to ask for a leg-up but then again, I didn't have to wait so I shouldn't complain) kept going by our table (and staring at us when they weren't passing us). Let me tell you about this person. Buzz cut. Gorgeous eyes, which looked like they might have make up on them. And a little boy chest. A lot of conflicts so I wasn't sure what gender this person was. And I mention this to my friend, who is wondering the same thing. We talk about it a little and then drop the subject.

Finally our food is brought to us (I ordered the nachos supreme) and we're diving in. Well, let me tell you about my nachos. They were made like individual little tacos but caked with cheese. Lots of cheese. So I'm eating and I realize that there is no way I can get this huge glom of cheese in my mouth - it's not gonna fit, which is hard to believe because I have a big mouth - ask anyone! So I try to "carve" off a bit of the cheese to make it bite size and I'm having to get out my knife because it's glommed together like industrial glommed cheese or something. Anyway, I'm making one last little "cut" to it when it goes FLYING across the room before it lands on the floor. My friend only saw the look on my face but when it hit the floor I burst out laughing. Loudly. And I tell her what happened. But we decide we need to have someone clean it up so that no one slips and falls on it so we wave over a waitress (not ours - ours was the elusive waitress but again, I digress). She asked us if everything was okay and I have her lean in, conspiratorily, and tell her the gentlemen (who were dressed in suits and ties, mind you) behind us were throwing food about. She knew I was kidding (my friend's - on the other hand - jaw dropped...she doesn't know me well enough to know I'm rarely serious), said they were bad boys and cleaned it up with a smile on her face.

Then, we saw a working dog come into the restaurant. It looked like my Max but I thought of Maisy and was thinking about them both as it and its owner were taken to a table in another part of the restaurant. As they were walking out of sight, my friend is looking over her shoulder where they are and says, "It's a girl."

I was impressed. I was thinking about Maisy and my friend has picked up on enough / seen enough to know the dog was female. Wow! Then she says, "And she's confused."

Huh? The dog is confused? How can she tell? And I'm saying this when it dawns on me... she's talking about the waitstaff person whose gender we couldn't determine. Didn't we drop that subject? In the end, I still was unsure but what I am sure is that person had some of the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen and male or female, the buzz cut worked for them. That's all I'm saying.

So not your typical lunch but entertaining, to say the least. LOL

Because I made someone cry today...

Someone at work did something today that ticked me off and I let them know it ticked me off. Now, I thought I was being diplomatic in my wording but considering she burst out crying, I'm thinking I might have been able to handle it better so...

I thought I'd share something that might put a smile on some faces. I'm totally stealing it from the Jaunty Quills so if you frequent over there, you may have already seen it.

Okay, here goes...

Go to Google
click on "Maps"
type in "New York to London"
and then scroll down to direction 23 (or may be 24)

Enjoy! :~)

Little Treat

I mentioned in my last post that I do my grocery shopping for the week at Walmart. Every week I stop by the book aisle and see what they have out - not that I need any more books but I like to check it out. Plus, I have a $5 gift card for use at Walmart and a book would be perfect. Well, this week I found a nice little surprise.

I found a new release of an author I love but whose name I can never remember. Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. For some reason when I go to look for her books I always (and I do mean always) think her name is Rosemary some middle name (I remember she has three names, just not what they are) and a last name like McMillan or something. Could I be any further off? Seriously.

Anyway, Nancy used to work in law enforcement and brings that experience to her stories. It sometimes gets graphic but it's always realistic. And it's always good. She's an author where I don't have to read the back blurb to be convinced to buy her book. If I read the back blurb, it's only to make sure I haven't read it before.

So, of course I bought a copy and can't wait to read it. I forgot to cash in my gift card but all that means is, I'll have to stop by the book section on my next visit. LOL

In the meantime, here's a book that's high in TBR pile.

Customer Service

Is it just me or is customer service just falling by the wayside? I do early morning, weekend shopping at WalMart to get my weekly groceries. When I'm there, there are usually few shoppers but lots of stockers. Boxes, crates and baskets full of stock clutter the aisles. And I'm okay with this because I don't like to shop when the store is crowded with shoppers. What I have a problem with though, is when you're trying to get down an aisle that has a product you want or need and the stocker has you completely blocked. Their boxes, crates, basket or whatever are blocking at least half of the aisle and they are standing in the lone pathway through. And they don't move. Now I realize they're doing their job but do they realize they're keeping me from buying stuff and that my buying stuff helps pay their salaries? Seriously people, when a customer wants to get through - LET THEM PASS.

But that's not my only example. Contractors are the worst. They don't bother to show up and offer no explanation. A few years ago I had tile laid throughout my house. It was almost like moving because you had to move EVERYTHING from the room they were going laying tile in and put it somewhere else. And it would cause at least one room to be functionless so when they would disappear for a few days, it was really annoying.

Then there was the guy who redid my fence gate last year. I took off of work to meet him - and he knew I was doing so - and he didn't bother to show up. When I finally reached him (hours later) he said, "oh, I wasn't feeling well today". Gee, thanks for letting me know. I had (and still have) a lot of work I need done around the house. If he'd been a little more responsible, he could have had all of it. But I need someone who will do what they promise so he did the fence (he was the only one that showed up when I called around looking for someone to do my fence) and I tossed out his number.

But what I really want to talk about is my latest customer service nightmare....lawn care services. My homeowner's association is giving me grief because I have grass in the cracks in my driveway. I have weed eater issues (I can do it but it's not easy for me) so I do it as infrequently as I can get by with. However, since my HOA is hounding me, I thought I'd call in a "professional". So last Thursday I placed a call to someone who had left their business card on my door. I reached his wife who told me he'd stop by that evening. He finally showed up after dark. Now here's the deal: I only wanted him to weed eat and edge my front yard. I didn't need it mowed and I didn't need my backyard done at all. His business card says "average yard $20". That covers all mowing, weed eating and edging - $20. All I want is weed eating and edging - and only in my front yard...and I have a small front yard (backyard is huge but front yard is small) - and he tells me it will be $20. I point out what it says on his business card and that I'm not asking for even half that work but he insists it will cost $20 to do what I need. Mind you, if he were doing everything to my whole yard, $40 would be reasonable - even cheap. But that's not what I'm asking him to do. So I told him we were done and headed back into my house. He stopped me and after some discussion we agreed on $10 and that he'd do it the next night. He never showed. Even after I spoke with his wife, who assured me he would be there or that she'd call and let me know why. Not only did he never show, she never called. And they weren't answering their phone. Okay, I figure it's a right-off.

I decided to do the work myself. I did a lot of the weed eating, until I ran out of the string/rope stuff. Then I did most of the edging. Then I decided to call someone to finish the job and ask that they do my front yard the whole season. I reached someone last night who said he'd do it today. Well, we were supposed to have really nasty weather starting this afternoon so when I came home at lunch and he hadn't been here, I called him (it was already drizzly - not raining hard and certainly no storms (which still haven't materialized) but I wanted to confirm if and when he was coming). He said he still planned on coming, storms didn't bother him or his work. He went so far as insisting he'd be here at 3:00 to 3:30. I got home at 5:00 and he hadn't been here. So I called. "I'll come out tomorrow," he said. Okay, so I should believe him why? He'd said he'd be here TODAY. I basically said that to him, but nicer because I did want him to come out and he got all ugly on me. Finally I said something like I was needing someone for the season and I needed to know I could rely on them to show up when they said they would and would he or did I need to call someone else? He told me to call someone else!

So I called back the guy from last week. The one that never showed and never called. The work is 90% done, I'm still willing to pay $10 and his wife insists he'll be here tomorrow morning (and she did actually call me back later this evening to confirm) but I'm doubtful.

When did people decide it was okay to screw over their customers and get pissy and demanding with them? That's so not my idea of customer service - not when I'm getting it and not when I'm providing it. But that's just me. Maybe it falls under the umbrella of "progress" but I'm just not buying it.

Book Review

This past weekend the weather was predicted to be really nasty so I planned on staying inside, curled up with a good book and/or watching movies. Well, it was drizzly Saturday afternoon, rained hard in the middle of the night and then was nice on Sunday. Seriously, I could have given a better prediction, but that's not the point. The point is, I decided to stick with my weekend plan and read a book.



Linda Barrett is a member of my local chapter. She doesn't come to the meetings often but she came out last year and spoke about how she sold her Pilgrim Cove series (complete with the diagrams she used to pitch it). Anyway, they had her latest book as a give away at the meeting - The Daughter He Never Knew - and I really liked the cover. I didn't win a copy but when it (along with the rest of the series) was up for auction (I believe Brenda Novak's auction for Juvenile Diabetes - which is coming up again soon), I bid on it. That time I DID win. I read the series in order and just LOVED the way Linda wrote the stories (that's the series that has the Retired Old Men Eating Out, aka ROMEOs), so when her next book came out (A Man of Honor), I snatched it up. Loved it too.

So, it should be no surprise that I tell you, when her latest book (Houseful of Strangers) came out, I went right out and bought it. And that's what I read this weekend.

I absolutely loved it. It's a story about people who are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Allison Truesdale is a veterinarian whose son died about two years earlier. A month later her husband, unable to cope with it all drank himself silly and got behind the wheel of the car and killed himself (no one else was involved). Allison really hasn't recovered from all of that and accepts a temporary job with a large animal veterinarian who needs help with his practice because he's broken his arm and can't do the job. Allison will be living with Eric Mitchell (the vet with the broken arm) while she works for/with him. Allison knows his mother, Ruth (who I loved in this story), lives with Eric. But she didnt know Eric had a son - not to mention that he's about the age her son was when he died.

Eric, on the other hand, went through a very bitter divorce. His wife was from the city and couldn't handle life in the country as a country vet's wife and ripped his heart out when she left, so he's not issueless himself and has a preconceived idea about Allison because she happens to live in the city herself.

Meanwhile, there's Danielle (Dani). Dani ran away from home when she was 13 and has been living on the street for two years now. She keeps a journal (that was given to her by a runaway counselor)...well actually she keeps several and one is labeled RIP where she keeps a log of all the runaways she's known who have died (she does this because she believes they matter and she doesn't want to forget them - but the list is getting pretty long and she hates that). She's at the train station one day when she sees her father (who abused her, both physically and sexually), flashing her picture around so she buys a ticket on the first train out of there. Of course it takes her to the same country town our other characters are in and of course they find her and invite her to stay with them and of course they become "family". In that respect it was predictable but, it was so wonderfully told. I was crying as I read the story. It wasn't the sobbing kind of crying but the kind of crying you can't stop, where the tears are just flowing, but it's a good cry...you feel good about what is happening.

And then I started to ask myself why it affected me that way and this is what I came up with. All these people were broken in some way (well, except for Ruth and Eric's son) and they couldn't seem to fix themselves but coming together, they each gave each other what they needed. They completed each other (all of them, not just the hero and heroine) and made each other whole. They were a family. And I guess that just touched me in some way. I don't know what that says about me (okay, I guess I do but if I haven't already revealed that in what I've said...) but it did touch me.

So, on a scale of one to five, I'd give it an eight and a half.

What have you read recently (or at any point) that touched you deeply on an emotional level? Or, if you don't want to answer that, what are you reading now? :~)

~L

For the easily amused

I've blogged before about my two favorite DJs, Roula and Ryan. They're on the air every morning from 6:00 - 10:00 and they do some amusing things - which is one of the reasons I listen to them.

Well, this morning they sent someone (I assume their intern) out to conduct an "experiment" at a local fast food restaurant. The premise was, drive-thru restaurants waste a lot of your time so they wanted to give some payback, right?

So they send out Kevin (aka Special K) to a local drive-thru restaurant for breakfast.

We first join Special K as he's one car back from placing his order. He acknowledges that there are cars behind him in line (which was the first time they considered that this would inconvenience customers probably more than the restaurant's staff but they decided to plow on anyway).

He pulls up to the thing (what do you call it?) you place your order at and orders a breakfast taco - that's it. We hear the lady tell him it will be $1.18. He pulls up.

When he gets to the window the lady says something we can't hear but Special K says, "You said it'd be $1.18."

(unintelligible talk from the lady)

Special K: "Can I borrow a quarter?"

Anyway, there was some more talk and he offered to buy her something (the DJs commented that it sounded bad that he couldn't afford his own breakfast but he's offering to buy her something...he said "she looks hungry!"). He paid for his food and they brought it out to him.

At which time he cut his engine and proceeded to eat his breakfast while still at the window. The DJs were expecting the staff to get ugly about it but they said nothing.

Meanwhile, the car behind him honks his horn at him. The DJs tell Special K that if they come to the window to investigate the honk to ask for more salsa. They did. He did. They brought him more salsa.

The car behind him honks again. The DJs tell Special K to prop his feet on the dashboard and get all comfortable while he's eating. He does.

The lady comes over to the window and politely asks him if he would go park "over there" to finish eating his meal. Special K says, "You want me to park over there to finish eating?"

"Yes."

"It's okay, I'm almost done. Can I buy you anything while I'm here?" He continues to eat, at the window.

The person in the car behind him lays on the horn.

Special K finishes up and drives off - the staff of the restaurant never getting ugly or rude. The guy in the car behind him though....

I was LMAO when this was going on. What can I say? I'm easily amused. LOL

Writing

Last October, during the KIA, I wrote like a bandit but I haven't written a word since. It makes me nuts. I think part of my problem is, I tend to get caught up in "the rules".

What "rules" you ask? Well, that can vary, depending on who you're asking.

Anyway, I've been wanting to get back to writing. A number of years ago I met someone who told me a bit about herself. Considering what she told me, I thought it was a bit "odd". I also thought "it" would make a GREAT character in a romance novel.

I wrote a little on it and then abandoned it - as I do much of what I start. Well, the last couple of days it's been pushing to the forefront again. I want to tell that story again. Screw the rules! LOL

So...I started thinking. Jessica Trapp is hosting a yahoo e-loop 100 words or something like that. You have to write 100 words a day for 100 days and report (for accountability purposes) on the loop. If you miss a day, you have to start back over at day one. I haven't joined it yet but it sounds like a good idea.

My other option is to follow Jes' advice on How to Stay Unpublished Forever - Ten Easy Steps.

Tough call. ;~)

Suzy Homemaker, I'm not

Larry, the Lawnboy, I'm not either.

I have this friend from work. I've been to her house a couple of times. The first time she had what she calls a "dog-hair tumbleweed" rolling across her floor. I didn't say anything but it made me feel that she'd probably cleaned her house for my visit and had just missed that. Which was a good thing - well, from my perspective.

Anyway, after I'd been to her house those couple of times, she was talking about her weekend and how she was housecleaning. She'd vacuumed the carpet and the vacuum bag was full so she vacuumed again. And again, until the bag came out empty when she ran it over the carpet.

Same for mopping the floor. She mopped over and over and over until the water in the bucket was clear when she finished. Maybe I'm way less of a Suzy Homemaker than I think but that just seems like overkill to me.

It also made me think she hadn't just cleaned for my visit and would have been mortified if I'd pointed out the "dog-hair tumbleweed" I'd seen in her entryway, which I still haven't mentioned to her.

As a result, I've been intimidated to invite her into my house - and haven't to date. However, we did once attend a training together and she came to my house to pick me up. It so happened that my yard was as bad as it gets the day she came by. All the way to (and back from) the training class, all she could talk about was my lawn and what needed to be done. (I told her it bothered me but she kept on.) After that I noticed comments she would make about things and realized that she's pretty judgmental about things. And putting everything together, I don't even want her outside my house. Doesn't mean we're not friends, just means I don't want her at or in my house.

Well, I'm home sick today (actually I'm doing a LOT better...was really sick over the weekend). I called her to ask her to take care of a couple of things for me at the office. I told her that I'd called another friend of mine on Saturday to bring me Sprite and said I would have called her but I knew her husband was in town (which was true. I was sick enough I would have happily had her come over and bring me something and not cared what she thought or said about my house - inside or out. I was that sick!).

So, she decides that she wants to bring me 7-Up and crackers during her lunch break. I told her it wasn't necessary because I still had Sprite and toast. She did it anyway. She did, however, only ring the bell, leave the goodies and leave (and I'm thankful - for the crackers that is...at least crackers have a salty taste to them...bread is so bland!). But when I called her to thank her she said, "I couldn't remember exactly where you lived so I just drove around until I found the worst lawn in the neighborhood and figured that was your house."

And she wonders why I don't invite her in! (or want her at my house)

Dancing With the Stars

Dancing With the Stars starts back up tomorrow night (conflicts Ellen? ;~) ) and I'm really excited about it.

I have to confess that until this minute, I still had episodes of last seasons DWTS on my DVR. I had watched and erased the elimination rounds (up to when Joey got eliminated) around Christmas time but I still had all the dance rounds on DVR until last weekend. I figured since it started a new season tomorrow, I needed to watch and erase everything. *sigh*

Watching all of the old shows, knowing how it turned out, was interesting. I was able to be a bit more objective about the dancing - at least I think I was.

I would have to say that Mario truly was the best dancer of the bunch. He really looked like a professional, not an amateur, when he was on the dance floor. I think what did him in was that he didn't really seem to enjoy what he was doing. He was good but it seemed like it was just a job. Whereas, on the other hand, Emmitt (as well as Joey - who placed third) seemed to really enjoy it. They both went out and gave it their all - and were good - but they weren't as technically good as Mario was. But because they went out and had a good time, they drew in the audience more, and therefore drew in the audience support more than maybe Mario did. And I'll be honest, that's why at times Emmitt got my vote when Mario didn't. Emmitt involved the audience more than Mario did.

Anyway, a new crew starts tomorrow. It looks like they're changing the rules again on scoring. The way it worked the first season it was easier to tell who might be going home. What they did was give "points" based on score and votes. For example, if there were six dancers (which is what they started with the first season) the top score with the judges received 6 points. The second place dancers would get 5 points and so on to the lowest judges score receiving 1 point. The viewer votes worked the same way - top vote getter got 6 points, second place 5 and so on. Potentially you could have the top judges scorer tied with the judges lowest scorer at the end of the night (and you actually had until the end of the night to vote...and then until noon on elimination day).

I'm not sure when they changed the scoring rules but I knew something had to have changed when Willa Ford was tied for first place with the judges and still was sent home. Now it has something to do with percentages.

But anyway, no one goes home until the second week this season...there's no elimination round in week one so that changes the dynamic again. So we'll have to see how that works out.

Oh, and a funny thing I saw...Ian Ziering was on Ellen DeGeneres' show with Cheryl Burke (two time champion of DWTS) last week. He was saying that he was excited to see that Cheryl was his partner...that he'd thought they'd pair her up with a Tucker Carlson type (he went home in week one this past season and spent half his dance in a chair)...then he thought that maybe they thought he was that guy! Too funny.

But, here are the contestants for this season's competition:

Laila Ali - undefeated world boxing champion
Billy Ray Cyrus - singer and actor
Clyde Drexler - NBA Hall of Famer
Joey Fatone - NSync star
Shandi Finnessey - Miss USA 2004
Leeza Gibbons - Talk show host
Heather Mills - Charity Activist & Campaigner
Apolo Anton Ohno - Olympic speed skating Gold Medalist
Paulina Porizkova - Supermodel
John Ratzenberger - Actor and author (came into the competition late, when someone else backed out)
Ian Ziering - TV and Broadway star

Care to make any predictions on the overall outcome? :~)

The "Experts"

Well, I'm still having connectivity issues with my internet - even though I've switched providers. It started Tuesday night, I believe.

Anyway, I would be working along and suddenly I would be dead in the water, so to speak. So I called the DSL technical support.

Have you ever seen the episode of Friends where Phoebe takes a job as a telemarketer and they sit her down with a manual "for every eventuality" so that she can answer any questions the customer has? Well, I got that guy Tuesday night because every time I asked a question it would take forever for him to get back to me (and I usually had to ask the question multiple times), presumably because he was looking up the answer.

At one point our conversation went like this: (he's taken me to the command prompt)

Him: Type in "ip" (pauses)
Me: Okay.
Him: Type in "config"
Me: Is that all one word or is there a space between them?
Him: (long silence while he looks it up)
Me: Hello?
Him: Yes, I'm here. Type in "ip" (pauses again)
Me: I know what I'm supposed to type, I need to know if it's all one word or not.
Him: Just type in "ip" (pause)
Me: I know. (in an annoyed voice) One word or two?
Him: It's (then he starts spelling it out) i-p (pause) c-o-n-f
Me: (cutting him off) I know what you're saying and how to spell it. What I need to know is if there is a space between them or if it's one word!!!!!
Him: One word.
Me: Thank you!

It is at this point that I type in what he spelled.....ipconf....not what he said. So of course, I get an error message, which I read to him.

Him: Let's try this again. ip (pause) config
Me: (realizing my mistake and typing it right) Okay.
Him: What does it say?
Me: (I read it to him.)
Him: Now type (he gave me some command that I don't recall)
Me: Okay
Him: Now type a backslash.
Me: Ooohh. I'm not good with the backslashes. Which one is that?
Him: (long silence as he looks it up)
Me: Hello?
Him: I'm still here. Type a backslash.
Me: Which one is the backslash?
Him: (silence)
Me: Is it the one over the question mark?
Him: (unconvincingly) Yes.
Me: Okay
Him: Nevermind, you don't have to type the backslash.
Me: What?
Him: Type (gives me the command again)
Me: Okay
Him: Now type www.google.com
Me: Okay
Him: What's it doing?
Me: Nothing. (pause) Oh wait (then I read the error message it gave me)
Him: You must have typed it wrong.
Me: (uh, wrong answer! but I kept that to myself)
Him: (gives me the command - again - spelling it)
Me: Okay
Him: Now type www.google.com (and then spells it - as if I didn't type every single day)
Me: Uh huh. Exactly as I typed it before.
Him: Just do it.
Me: I did. Got the exact same error too.

We go through this exercise a few more times with yahoo before he realizes, there really is a problem, and puts in a ticket.

Him: We're going to send someone outside your house.
Me: You're sending someone to my house?
Him: No. I put in a ticket and someone will come outside your house.
Me: So someone is coming to my house?
Him: No. Someone will come outside your house.
Me: If someone is outside my house, they are AT my house.
Him: No, someone is not coming to your house. They are coming outside your house.

I have no idea if anyone stopped by or not but my connection seems to be working...at least for now.

Timing

We've been having a bit of a dry spell here...we've needed some rain. All last week they were saying that it would come this past weekend and have a little carryover into this week.

This weekend was GORGEOUS and they changed the rain chances for today to 40%.

Then this morning I get up and the news is having one of their special reports...all about the severe weather headed our way today. Not only have rain chances been upped to 100%, severe weather is expected.

People are calling into the TV station saying that the storms have ripped their roofs off. Doors have been ripped off their hinges. Hail, the size of baseballs, is crashing through windows. And it's headed my way.

Oh, did I forget to mention that today is the day that the appraiser was coming out to look at my house?

Yeah. I imagined our conversation going something like this:

Me: The decision to put a skylight in the bedroom was a rather sudden one. But I've always enjoyed looking at the stars at night.
Him: (just looks at me like I'm crazy)
Me: The waterfall in the living room is all natural. I'm an environmentalist, don't you know. I wouldn't dream of pumping water in for a manmade waterfall.
Him: (making notes but keeping an eye one me because he's not quite sure...)
Me: I felt so boxed in with walls and doors. I thought 'why not let the nature come to me'.
Him: (looks up from his notes...kinda has a scared look on his face)
Me: How do you like the self cleaning floor? Every time it rains, it cleans itself, whether it needs it or not! (gently grabbing his elbow) You'll want to be careful now, what with the floor being wet and all.

Who says I haven't upgraded anything? LOL

(By the way, we did get some thunderstorms (which Max didn't care for) but - to my knowledge - there wasn't anywhere near the damage they had to the west of us and the appraisal thing went fine...as far as I know. :~) )

Surfing the Net

I may or may not have mentioned that I'm the Newsletter Editor of my local chapter. Every month I collect articles from our members and put them into a newsletter that I just have to (or am supposed to) send out before our monthly meeting - which is the third Tuesday of the month. The software is easy enough to work with but I have found that it really is a lot more work than one (or at least I) thought. As such, I start plugging in the articles as soon as I get them (and I start asking for them as soon as the last one went out).

Anyway, I finished putting it all together late last night, sending it out just after midnight. I knew I had left one person off the mailing list (I didn't have her email address - but more on that later) and two bounced back. I also went to our e-loop to post it there (emails from the e-loop don't allow attachments but we can upload the file). What I saw was that it appeared that I had uploaded 72 articles, in addition to the one I meant to. Banging my head on the nearest hard surface, I sent an email acknowledging that I was an idiot. I also mentioned that the two email addresses bounced back and that I didn't send it to one person, a new member, Patricia Kay. I'm telling you her name because she's the reason I was surfing the net.

You see, she responded to my email and gave me her email address. And her signature line had her webpage - so I clicked on it (several people had mentioned how great it was to have her as a new member but I didn't know who she was - kind of reminding me of the Reno incident of '05 with Julia Quinn, but I digress).

She has a new book out called "Wish Come True" which sounded really cool (and which I bought this morning at Walmart while buying groceries for the week - and which I also suggested for the RWAOL book discussion for April, but again, I digress). She also had all these links at the top of her webpage, like "great reads" where fans can email her about books they enjoyed, "meet Pat" where she tells about herself, and "fun stuff" where she has links to some of her favorite pages - which is where I found "Romance Buy the Book", where a local woman reviews novels (she used to do it for a local news station but since the first of the year, she's been doing it but not associated with the news station). It looked fun so I was scrolling through her archives and reading reviews of some of the books I had read, and some I hadn't.

One I hadn't that caught my eye was "I Gave You My Heart but You Sold it Online" by Dixie Cash. The title was too cute not to check out the author's webpage, so next thing I know, I'm on Dixie Cash's webpage. She also has books called "My Heart May Be Broken but My Hair Still Looks Great" and "Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash". Suddenly I'm wanting to buy them.

Anyway, I came online to update my blog with the Romance Buy the Book link and decided to update a few other things as well. I've added a couple of blogs I visit but hadn't added yet and removed a couple that I never go to anymore. I updated my "Just For Fun" with new links as well. When I got to my "Favorite Authors" though, I found that I was dying to add Patricia Kay and Dixie Cash...and I may have mentioned that I've never read either of them before. Yeah, I'm that easy when it comes to books. In any event, I refrained from adding them - for now but I do see a couple of reads (at least) in the making.

And that, my friends, is how I spent my Saturday morning. What are you all doing? :~)

Wild Hogs

I went last night to see Wild Hogs with a friend of mine. I wanted to go see it because it looked funny and I like Tim Allen and John Travolta.

I was not disappointed. The sometimes annoying Martin Lawrence even had a good role and did a good job.

Tim Allen was Tim Allen but fortunately I like him (remember, he was one of the reasons I wanted to see this movie).

John Travolta was GREAT in this movie. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone else so I won't go into detail but he did more with expressions than anything. He just did a great job and was very funny in this role.

Then there was William H Macy. I really think (and maybe it's just me) that he's underestimated as an actor. His character (Dudley) was, by far, the most endearing character. I absolutely loved him and thought Macy played him perfectly. He was so funny...SO funny. It was a fun movie but it wouldn't have been as good without this character - and Macy playing it.

Anyway, bottom line, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. There were some corny and predictable moments but it was good. I recommend it.

Too good to be true

I had a board rot on the front of my house. It's been rotted for more than a year but my homeowner's association just noticed it last month and have threatened to sue me if I don't replace the rotted board immediately.

As such I went to Home Depot yesterday morning. I was proud of myself for getting up so early and taking charge. I took the offending board to the store and told the "info desk" clerk what I needed. She directed me to the lumber cashier for help. I waited in line to be told someone else would have to help me and she paged someone. This young guy comes up and says he's not sure what I need and grabs an older man and asks him. I say I wanted treated wood, if possible, because it's for outside. The older man says - and I quote - "I don't sell that here."

We start talking about what he does sell there and he offers to follow me home to see exactly what it is I need (apparently the board I brought in wasn't enough). He suggests he can install it too - which excites me because I want to be sure it's right.

I ask if he also installs baseboards (I still don't have any) and he says he does. I'm really excited at this point because I'm thinking I can charge his labor upfront and then pay when the bill comes in. So I ask if I can charge his labor. Turns out he doesn't even work for Home Depot! He's just a contractor who spends a lot of time up there - which, I decided was okay too. I still need these things done.

Anyway, we exchange numbers and I give him my address because he's going to do "one thing" and then come see what I need done. So I come home and promptly start throwing things in pantries and closets, etc. because I want to have the baseboards done and that means he'll probably come inside.

An hour passes. Then two hours. Three hours passed and I haven't heard from him.

Five hours later I called him. He'd forgotten about me, but he says he'll come right then - and then he does.

Come to find out, not only does he NOT do the work himself, minimum labor costs are $250, no matter how small the job.

I need one small board tacked up and he wants to charge me $250 in labor! That doesn't even include materials!

Needless to say, I didn't hire him to do the job. I went back to the store (Lowe's this time, so I didn't run into him again) and bought an untreated board (they won't cut treated wood and an uncut board would do me no good) and tacked it up myself - for less than $8!

So the fact that it seemed good (that I'd found someone and they seemed available to do the work) was an illusion.

I don't know though, I think I did a pretty good job with the board out front...maybe I could give installing the baseboards a try. LOL

What to say?

I've been away so long I had to brush away cobwebs to make it into my own blog.

What can I say? Things have been busy. My group is being audited (internally) at work and I found myself as the go to girl for the prep work. I'm still involved (the actual audit started this past Monday) but the workload has lessened considerably (which is good because I was putting in 11 - 12 hour days and I can only maintain that so long!). Plus, there's the new dog. He keeps life interesting with all his "antics" (although, if he hadn't chewed through my phone line, I might still be a dial up girl instead of a high-speed internet girl, but that's a whole other story).

Anyway, so I'll try to stop by more often and try to come up with fun and interesting things to blog about. If nothing else, Dancing with the Stars is starting soon and already interesting things are happening with that.....LOL