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.