Heaven

The company I work for has these online auctions a couple of times a year to support specific charities and a few years ago one of the items up for auction was a massage. Since I love massages, I decided that I would place a bid on one - and I won. The place where I had to go to get the massage was across town but I figured that since it was for a good cause, I could deal with the long drive to and from the facility, right?

Well, I got the massage the Friday before Thanksgiving. I remember this because I was annoyed that the radio stations were already playing Christmas music. So, on my drive to get the massage, I was changing the radio stations quite a bit.

On the way home, not only was I listening to the Christmas music, I was singing along to the music. That's how good the massage was. And despite the fact that I have to drive across town, I haven't been to another massage therapist since.

That was several years ago and while I don't go nearly often enough, when I called earlier in the week to schedule an appointment, she thought it would be okay for me to come to her house to get the massage.

So, I drove out to her house this morning and as I drove through the neighborhood I calculated the houses to be about the same age as the houses in my neighborhood. Then I get to her street, all of the houses but one seem to fit the rest of the neighborhood. Yep, you guessed it, her house seemed a bit out of place because it was so nice.

Anyway, I pulled up in the driveway and walked up to the front door and I absolutely loved the way it was set up. She had a little wicker seat set up for her clients to sit on while they waited. On the table was this wonderfully smelling candle burning (I forgot to check or ask what kind it was). In the window is a sign that says "QUIET Massage in session".



Then, over in the corner was a cute little fountain for the calming waterfall effect.


It's all covered and seemed so perfect for her situation. I asked if they'd added that part of the porch on and she said that it was that way when they bought it. How cool is that?

And in other news, I figured out how to email myself pictures I've taken on my cell phone. It probably costs an arm and a leg, since that's not part of my program, but you know, I'm too relaxed to care at the moment. :)

Back in the Saddle Again

For some unknown reason I tend to get crushes on the most inappropriate men. Last year it was a married man. This year it's someone who is, quite literally, half my age. Aside from the fact there are just some things he may want to experience that I may not be able or want to, knowing that I had been married two years when he was born provides enough of an ick factor for me that I'm trying to divert my attention - much like I did last year - again.

Which is why I joined another online dating service a few weeks ago. I think it's a newer one and I don't know of anyone who has previously used this service. But, it's associated with a known service (that I had eliminated as a possible service I would use) that others I know have used - and loved.

Can someone please explain to me why I keep doing this to myself because I just don't get it. I also don't get some of the guys on there.

Like the one that says he has an "athletic/toned" body with pictures that show a beer gut plain as day.

Or the one whose picture is taken of him from the bridge of his nose up. Yes, there are other pictures of him in the profile but seriously, why include that one?

Then there's the one that says "I'm 55 but don't look it". Um, you're right, you don't...you look much, much older than that sorry to say.

There was one who "channeled" his deceased mother for the profile saying something like "I never know what to say on these profiles so I thought I'd 'interview' my mother for this one." And then proceeds to "ask" his mother questions and have her answer them - about him. I thought it was a little strange but decided to look at it as creative and humorous and I communicated with him for a little while. He became obsessive about communicating offline and pictures. So, when I sent him a link to see a picture of me, he closed the communication because he was suddenly "pursuing another relationship". Should've followed my first instinct on that one.

And in a "drapes don't match the carpet" kind of way, one listed himself as having red hair. Now, I guess you just have to take that on faith because, while I didn't see his "carpet", the man had no drapes, so to speak. Dude, you're bald! If you don't want people to know that up front, then don't post your picture!

Of course I still get the geographically undesirable matches with people in other states. The service has a drop down list of reasons you're closing a match, which they say they will use to better match you in the future. But let's start with the fact that I have that my matches must be within 25 miles (the shortest distance allowed on the site) and they're matching me with people in Louisiana - again. I marked "physical distance is too great" (120 miles away) as the reason I was closing the match. So what do they do? They match me with someone in Fort Worth, Texas because, I guess they think if they keep it in the state of Texas it's acceptable? Uh, excuse me but Fort Worth is roughly 285 miles away. If Lake Charles is too far away, why would Fort Worth be acceptable?

And lastly, there was a match with someone I think I know...again. I can't quite place him but I'm pretty sure I know him from somewhere else. I mentioned this to him and he said it could be from another site. I looked at the site he mentioned and I'm pretty sure that's not it. So, it's got me to thinking that the people they're thinking are the best matches for me are people I rejected in my past. And if I rejected them in the past, why would I want to be matched up with them now?

But the good news is, it's working at getting my mind off my totally inappropriate crush (heretofore to be known as TIC).

Spotlight on...Amanda Ashby

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a huge fan of Amanda Ashby's. I absolutely loved her debut novel, You Had Me at Halo and have been anxiously waiting for the release of her latest book, Zombie Queen of Newbury High ever since.

I met her last summer when she made her first trip to the United States so that we could vacation together. (What? We were both in San Fransisco and it was my vacation!)

Anyway, Zombie Queen of Newbury High will be out in two days (March 5!!! I can't wait!!!). And in honor of that, Amanda has been having a party on her blog. She's had some great guests and some great giveaways and it's still going on. So, if you haven't already, stop by and say hello and who knows, maybe you'll will one of the great giveaways. :)

In the meantime, Amanda agreed to answer some questions for me and I have to say, I've read a few of her interviews lately and I've yet to read one that she didn't manage to work David Boreanaz into it...including this one. :)

With that, here she is...

Tell us about your story.
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH is the story of what happens when seventeen-year-old Mia Everett does a love spell on her date to help convince him not to dump her four days before prom. Instead, as these things are wont to do, instead of casting a love spell, she actually casts an ancient thing called Viral Zombaticus, or in another words, a zombie virus. Whoops. Even worse, because she was the one who did the spell, she is now the zombie queen – which isn’t a good thing – it just means that she’s at the top of the menu. And so she’s forced to work with zombie hunter hottie, Chase Miller to try and find a cure before her classmates and teachers all turn into the living dead and she gets turned into an all-you-can-eat buffet!

What's a typical day like for you?
I have two young children so the mornings are spent finding homework and getting them ready for school. Then I go for a quick jog and back home to the computer. I normally spend an hour doing essential Internet stuff like reading www.pinkisthenewblog.com before I get to work on my wip. Then I go and get the kids from school and don’t normally get back to the computer until about eight at night where I will either edit what I’ve written or catch up on any other things that need to be done. Well, in theory in anyway!!!!

How long have you been writing? How many books did you write before you sold?
I started seriously writing in 1999 and wrote about 13 completed manuscripts before finally selling my debut book YOU HAD ME AT HALO back in 2005. It then took another two years for it to hit the shelves and I spent that time working on my young adult projects. So as you can see I had a long apprenticeship but every thing I wrote helped lead me to where am I today so I can’t regret it any of it (okay, I can totally regret some of the Mills and Boons attempts I made because they were dreadful and I pity the poor editor who had to read them!)

What was it like getting "the call"? Who was the first person you told?
My call was actually an email from my agent! I was in the UK and she was in NY so it came through at about 8pm at night and basically she forwarded on the publishers offer (along with a few smiley faces and exclamation marks!). I actually went into complete and utter shock and I’m not sure how long it took before I called my husband in to show him. Then I spoke to my cps on the phone and then I started emailing my family a few hours later. I can honestly say that it was the most surreal moment of my life to have such a long held dream suddenly turned into reality!!!!

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Of course there are all the standard pieces of advice like write lots, read lots etc. But I was actually talking to an aspiring writer on the weekend and one thing really stood out for me – that she had never sent anything out to a publisher or an agent. Huh? That makes no sense to me because if you don’t put stuff out there, then you will never be able to achieve your goals, so really my best advice is to submit, submit, submit.

Where do you get your story ideas? What inspires you?
I wish I knew! Often I just stumble across things that resonate with me. I’ve talked a lot about how my debut book was inspired by an imaginary conversation I had with my dead father on the day of his funeral. Obviously at the time the funeral wasn’t funny, but the idea of my dad being there and commenting on it all did amuse me and that was the basis of the story. With ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH the idea actually came about because I think the word zombie is hilarious and I used to joke about writing a sort of B-grade zombie slasher story (I Was a Killer Zombie Bride). Anyway, even though I was joking, the idea of doing a zombie book just stuck. Another thing that often happens to me is that I see a traditional storyline and then I have fun trying to twist it and turn it around to see what I can come up with.


How much of a role did contests play in your quest for publication?
Not much. After my daughter was born (eight years ago now – ack!), I entered a competition with the RWNZ (Romance Writers of New Zealand) and I actually won. Then I entered another competition and I didn’t win – which, as I soon discovered, wasn’t nearly so much fun! At that point I decided the feedback I wanted wasn’t from contest judges but from editors and agents and that’s why I concentrated more on submitting stuff than entering contests. Of course I’m not saying that it would work for everyone, but it’s definitely what I felt more comfortable with.

What do you wish you'd known before you reached where you are now - and would it have made a difference in the steps you've taken to get there?
That just because you sell a book, you don’t automatically get to meet David Boreanaz. That was a major blow to me! But all joking aside, even though my published friends had told me that it actually gets harder once you sell, I absolutely did not believe them (after all, they’re fiction writers so they make stuff up all the time, right?). Unfortunately, this time they weren’t making it up and everything about my writing has become harder since I sold. However, I really think it’s one of those things you just have to learn as you because there isn’t really anything you can do to prepare yourself for it. Darn because I’m a big fan of do-over days!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Panster. With a capital panster. I try to plot, I really, really do and while I do have a loose outline of what might happen, about 90% of it is up in the air until I actually get there. Even then, I more often than not have to rewrite scenes over and over again until I can finally find the right one. It’s an exhausting process but despite all my best efforts, I’ve never quite managed to change it.


What's it like to write in two different genres? How do you transition between the two?
This is where I have to confess that there is no difference at all! Though in my defense, my first book actually started life as a young adult book and the publisher asked me to turn it into women’s fiction, so I think my voice naturally lies down the younger end of the scale. Also, while I love having romance in my stories I don’t tend to ever turn up the heat. In fact half the time the poor things don’t get much more than a kiss at the end!!!



You can visit Amanda at her website - and who knows, if you send her an email, maybe she'll vacation with you next year. It worked for me. ;)

And then there were two

Have you been watching the Bachelor this season? Last season's cast off, Jason Mesnick, is this season's bachelor. He's the single father who won everyone's - except Deanna's - heart last year. He's back to find the woman of his dreams.

Now, I have to remind you all that I'd never watched the Bachelor before Deanna's season. I saw the last five minutes of her season when she was rejected by Brad and this was how (and why) my friend was able to convince me to watch the Bachelorette.

And, although Jason was an early favorite of mine last season, he lost some points by being reluctant to mention his child to Deanna. I mean, Ty is supposedly the most important thing in the world to Jason but he let her potential negative reaction keep him from mentioning it for several weeks. That was a problem for me. I mean, I still liked him a lot and thought he deserved to be in the final two but it weighed heavily enough that I was a Jesse girl. In the end, Deanna was too - well, at least for the public, she's since given up on him.

Anyway, I liked Jason enough that I was willing to spend another season watching him try to find true love. On the first night I sent an email to my good friend (the one who got me to watch) and told her what my initial reaction was to the ladies, just from their meeting Jason outside the limo. I said I thought Shelby would be the winner. And for those of you wondering who the heck Shelby is, she was eliminated that first night. Goes to show what I know. lol

I did, however, send a second email that evening, after the rose ceremony, telling my friend who I thought would be in the top three. I said, Melissa (score!), Megan (really? I liked Megan? Well, at least I'm over it now!) and the "Brazilian girl" (Raquel, I think). Okay, so I'm not that great at predicting - at least I'm not charging for this, right?


Well, tomorrow is the finale and we find out who he selected. There's been talk and rumors about it but no one really knows. I've saved all the shows because I had planned to go back when it was all over and see if I could see the real thing developing - or if they deliberately edited to mislead. My friend knows this and has asked me a couple of times to go back and look at things.

So, here are some things that I've discovered to have been misleading...

My friend wanted me to go back and look at the previews and see who all was still there when Deanna showed up. Well, they showed the ladies at the pool saying "where is she?" and the like and looking up - as if they were looking into the window where Deanna and Jason were. They showed Shannon saying "I cried over Deanna" (or something to that effect). She has been gone a couple of weeks and Deanna hasn't shown up yet...she was talking about the previous season.

You see the hands of whoever Jason proposes to...they have what appears to be a french manicure. She also has on a pinky ring. I saw a youtube thing that someone posted after the first night and he was predicting Melissa as the winner because of the pinky ring. Also, at the last rose ceremony, Molly had on red nail polish and Melissa had, what appeared to be, a french manicure. Seems like a lock, right?

Well, on The Women Tell All edition last week, they showed more previews for the final show. It shows Molly giving herself a french manicure and wearing a pinky ring. So, I'm back to square one and have no idea who he's going with.

I have, however, seen Jason on interviews. This past week he was on the View and they said the rumor was that he proposed to Melissa and immediately regretted it and that that has something to do with him hanging over the balcony crying his eyes out. He neither confirmed or denied the rumor.

They've said the after the final rose episode is done without an audience, due to the potential drama. Someone pointed out that it could be that they didn't want to traumatize Ty, who would probably be there. That makes sense so I'm going on that assumption at the moment.

But as for the final two, I'm still rooting for Melissa. I think she is the most genuine and seems to be the best fit for Ty. She's sweet and pretty. I'm just hoping that her family's lack of participation didn't hurt her.

As for Molly, there's something about her I don't like. She doesn't seem to be genuine to me. She seems in it to win it, rather than to be truly falling in love. She also seemed, to me, to be trying to undermine the others' confidence. She came back from a date with Jason and said that Natalie had named names of trouble makers. Not only did he not say that, Natalie hadn't named names so she created some drama for some unknown reason. She also made a point of letting everyone know she spent the night with Jason and "got very little sleep" leading people to believe they'd slept together when, if you believe Jason, they didn't (and considering he refuses to discuss whether or not he slept with them on the overnight dates, I believe him on that). I will be very disappointed if Jason goes with Molly. In fact, I don't think I'll watch again if he does...Well...until next season anyway. ;)

What about you? Are you watching this season? Who do you think Jason should/will pick - and why?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Amanda Ashby's Blog Party

Well, I'm a little late to the party but I am making a showing. Amanda Ashby is having a blog party to promote her release of Zombie Queen of Newbury High. And, in case you live in a cave and this is your first time visiting my blog, I'm a huge fan of Amanda's (she was my official stalkee in San Francisco). Her novel, You Had Me at Halo is one of my top three all time favorite books (as noted by its being spotlighted in my sidebar...eta I just looked and somewhere along the way, I lost the pictures of my favorites...note to self - fix that!!) and I am really looking forward to the release of Zombie Queen.

Anyway, at the blog party, Amanda has a number of guest bloggers who are giving away great prizes so stop by her blog and join the fun. Oh, and feel free to pre-order Zombie here or order Halo here.

For more details on the blog party, sit back, relax and watch...

I never get sick

Okay, I can't really say I never get sick but I hardly ever get sick. Yet, this year - already - I've been down for the count, twice now.

A couple of weeks ago I had my first migraine in a good five years and missed 2-1/2 days of work. And now I, apparently, have the flu. I woke up yesterday not feeling all that great but I didn't really think it was going to kick my butt like it has. By yesterday afternoon I was running close to a 102 temperature. I took my last prescription strength motrin pill about 5:00 last night but the fever didn't start breaking until around 8:00.

Woke up this morning with a fever and sent an email to my bosses and co-worker saying I wouldn't be in this morning but after I went to the doctor I might be in - depending on what she said. Well, I called the doctor at 9:00 a.m. (when they open) and said I needed an appointment. I was told they had an opening at 2:45 this afternoon. I really wanted to get in earlier than that and asked if that was the earliest appointment they had - she said yes. So I said I would take it. About 30 minutes later I got a phone call saying that the doctor wouldn't be in this afternoon so they would have to reschedule for the morning or some other day.

Hmmm...did she mean this morning? The one where there was no opening? I asked if she meant this morning and she said, "Can you come in this morning?" as if I was the one asking for an afternoon appointment. I said I could and she said she could see me at 11:00. Why that wasn't offered to me when I called in, I don't know but I got in then anyway so I guess all was good.

I made the decision not to shower before I went in to see the doctor because - without fail - when I do, I start sweating like a pig right after I get out of the shower and end up stinking when I get to the doctor's office and having a normal temperature. I always feel like they think I'm a hypochondriac because of that. Anyway, so I went in without the shower. I had a 102.2 temperature and was diagnosed with the flu.

She prescribed four medications. One I have to take in the morning. One I take before I go to bed. One I take twice a day and one I take three times a day. Guess she wants to keep my brain active (and alert?) while I'm sick? ;)

How's everyone else doing?

More Random Stuff

I was leaving the office today and somehow realized I was heading towards the stairs. I never do that. I know I should, but I don't. Anyway, I headed down the stairs and went down two flights of stairs and came out. I headed around the corner towards the exit, only it wasn't there. And then it dawned on me...I started out on the fourth floor, not the third!!!

That's actually why I saw a lady I work with on her way out. She was talking to someone when I came up on her and something was said about having to take her husband to a doctor that night - he was waiting on her. So, when we weren't done with all the talking we could've done when we reached the cars I kind of cut her off and told her I knew she needed to go, was she available for lunch tomorrow? She said she was, and then proceeded to tell me everything we would've discussed tomorrow at lunch. So now I have lunch plans for tomorrow with someone I'll have nothing to talk about with.

Which, is kind of what my ex-husband did again today. I had called on Monday because I was having a panic attack over the papers I completed (I answered every last question on the questionnaire!). It turns out that either my ex or I can go and read what everyone wrote - including each other. It isn't that I care if he knows what I put but it seemed kind of personal and initially I wanted to know if he was going to go read my stuff. I got his voicemail and said I had something I wanted to talk to him about. But, he never called me. It was kind of bothersome for me. I mean, I know it shouldn't have been but it was. So, today I decided to call him again because I wanted him to know I'd sent the stuff in. He didn't pick up the phone and someone got back on the phone and said they'd page him. Then they came back and asked who was calling. I was seriously starting to get a complex about it when he picked up the phone. (He asked if I'd called earlier in the week and long story short, he said he hasn't listened to his voicemail messages. He was a chronic liar when we were married so that may or may not be true - not really important at this point.) Anyway, I asked if it was a bad time and he said no but that he did have to go into a meeting in a few minutes. We talked for over an hour again. I kept telling him that he needed to go but he kept wanting to talk. He did that last time we talked too. The conversations have been pleasant but I'm not looking to strike up a friendship with him. I know he's changed since we've divorced but he cheated on me and I will always be questioning his motives because of that. So, it was comfortable but creepy, all at the same time, if you know what I mean.

So, I went to classes last night (missed last week because of the migraine!). I think there may be someone out there who obsesses about their grades more than I do. I'm taking a Planetary Geology class and we have three tests, including the final. They will all either carry equal weight for the overall grade (with no other variables factored in) or he will drop the lowest test grade and count the final twice (he says people generally do better on the finals than the other two tests). Anyway, someone was stressing about it and talked to the instructor about it so he decided he would give us quizzes throughout the semester now - starting next week - that will factor into our grade as well. So now, instead of three tests we're going to have something like eight (basically one every other week). So thank you obsessive person because with everything else going on in my life, I had five minutes left over every month. And now I know how I will be spending it! Grrrr!

I'm wondering, how do sign your letters? Or do you? At work I sign mine "Regards". It seemed nice enough. That is, until someone sent me a reply that said "Warm Regards". That seemed better than just plain ol' "Regards". And someone else sent an email signed "Kind Regards". Seriously, making me look bad. Then came the big daddy of them all, "Best Regards" I mean, you can't get any better than that, can you? So, I'm thinking of changing my signature line to reflect what, in light of all the other "regards" out there make mine look like, it comes across as - even if it's not what was intended. I'll sign off here with what I'm thinking...let me know what you think.

Whatever,
Lucy

Random Thoughts

I was reading someone else's blog a bit ago and the phrase "talk her off a ledge" was used and it got me to thinking. What exactly does that mean? I mean, I know that its intent is that there is someone standing out on a ledge and another person maybe goes out on the ledge with them to get them to come back in the window of the top floor skyscraper. But, what if it meant that someone just yelled things like "DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!!" at them. Or, "I don't believe you'd really jump - I dare ya." Or things like that. After all, they'd be talking them off the ledge...just not the way you'd normally think.

Rapid change of topic

We had a baby shower today at work. One of my guys came to me at the end of the year and said he thought we should have a baby shower for one of our second line supervisors. He later added on another one of our co-workers to the festivities. It was up to me to schedule a time and place to have it (at work, during business hours) and get the cake and drinks. So, I sent out invitations the middle of last month and put off shopping until Saturday. I went to Baby's R Us and bought things off the registry for both new dads. Last week I ordered the cake. This morning I got up early and went out and bought everything else. Well, the guy who had coordinated our doing this came into my office this morning and had me sign a group card. I thought it was awesome that he thought of that because I totally didn't. Then he tells me that some of the guys went in on getting one of the fathers a gift card for bass fishing stuff and the other one gift cards to restaurants.

Huh? It was a baby shower!!!!! But whatever, they'll have other gifts from those that didn't contribute, right? Uh, no. That was the entire gift from everyone else. The only exception was one of the fathers got a bag of gifts for the other father - and what I bought each of them. I hadn't put a card on my stuff so when they opened my gifts and said thank you, the others in the group said they were welcome, as if it was all community gifts. Is that not just strange or is it just me?

Another rapid change of topic

I did the paperwork for the annulment my ex-husband wants. I spent all day yesterday on it. It was 22 pages long - single spaced. A lot of writing. If I could only put that much out in my fiction writing, we'd be in business.

It really wasn't that bad. My ex had said that it was emotional for him. It really wasn't for me. I just answered the questions (all of them!) honestly - and then moved on to the next one. I found out that I have the ability to view all the forms that are submitted on the annulment. My ex does too. At first I thought I might want to see what was submitted by all the others but while I was completing the questionnaire I realized that it really is kind of personal. I mean, I didn't put anything in there that I wouldn't tell my ex if he asked me but I didn't really write it for his eyes to see, you know?! And I realized that it doesn't really matter what he put in there either - and not just for the reason I just listed. No, I realized that in completing the questionnaire we've really just put everything behind us. To go back and read what the other wrote would only serve to bring up things that don't matter anymore back into view. I'm not interested in doing that.

I mailed it off today so that is done. I'm glad I did it and we just go forward from here. :)

So, that's what going on in my world, what's going on with everyone else?

Just Stuff

I keep starting posts about what has happened in the last week but for some reason I keep taking them down. Maybe because they feel too personal.

Anyway, the short version is, I called my ex last Monday. I figured if the church was going to send me certified mail/return receipt, I was within my rights to call and see what was going on. After all what was the worst thing that could happen? He could hang up on me and I'd be none the wiser about what was going on. I could handle that.

Funny thing about it was, I talked to SCG beforehand and asked him what his reaction would be if he were my ex. He told me that he would be expecting the call. So, my conversation with my ex started like this:

Him: This is Ex.
Me: Hey Ex, this is Lucy.
Him: Who?
Me: Lucy.
Him: Lucy who?

Yeah, he wasn't expecting my call. LOL

Anyway, in case you all were curious, my ex is getting an annulment to become a Catholic. He's not moving on to another wife but instead, doing this with/for wife #3, who he's been married to going on 10 years - which is a nice thing. We talked for about an hour and it was all very pleasant and nice. It was also, when all was said and done, emotional. Afterwards I felt things I haven't felt in probably 15 years. And it's that stuff that I keep posting and finding too personal to leave up so I'm not going to try to get into it here. No, instead, I'll see if I can amuse you all with the dreams I've had, since last we spoke. :)

Monday night I dreamed I was on the Bachelor. It wasn't as fun as my last dream of being on the Bachelor because I wasn't handing out roses - I was hoping to get one. My ex-husband was in the dream but I don't specifically recall what role he played. I also don't recall Angelina being in the dream but she probably was my competition. ;) Anyway, it was down to only a couple of us when I woke up. However, since Tuesday's dream was that the ex and I were getting married, I think he probably was the Bachelor and that he kicked ol' Angie to the curb. hehehe

Last night's dream had nothing to do with the previous dreams (that I recall anyway) but rather had to do with the migraine I've had since Monday night. It's gotten so much better but I still have that sensitivity to light and it's making me crazy at this point. So, in the dream, I went to the doctor to see if there was anything she could do about it. I was going in for migraines and somehow or another I was trying to locate all my clothes to put back on after the exam. I had several outfits with me (how long did I think I was going to be at the doctor's for an exam anyway???) but none of them with the pants that fit (note to self: MUST lose weight!!!). And, every five minutes, someone else called me at the doctor's office. I felt like no one believed I was really sick and going to the doctor so they were calling the doctor to check up on me - and everyone seemed surprised to find I was actually there! I was standing there talking to my sister with jeans that wouldn't go over my hips when I woke up.

So tell me, do I even want to know what these dreams mean? LOL

It's been a while

While I realize the title of this blog post might make people think I mean it's been a while since I posted - and while it has, that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about since I've had weird dreams - and then posted about them.

I know I've only had a couple of posts this year and I don't think I posted about a letter I received a few weeks ago. It was from a Catholic church in Galveston, Texas. Normally I wouldn't open anything from a church but I was curious because Galveston was hit so hard by Hurricane Ike and I was curious as to whether they wanted me to join their church (to build back up membership) or if they were soliciting donations to help rebuild. Those were the only options I considered. Neither of them even came close. No. It seems my ex-husband - who I haven't had any communication with whatsoever in more than 15 years - is seeking an annulment.

Personally I couldn't care less if he gets an annulment, that part of my life is long since over and I have no reason to try to stop it from going through. However, the questions they ask are quite invasive and I would be reluctant to answer them if I wanted the annulment. So, I asked a few people if he could still get the annulment if I didn't participate, or if I only answered those questions I was willing to answer. The resounding response I got was, if he didn't contact me personally (which he didn't), I shouldn't help him out. Okay, not what I was looking for but just kind of spotlights the type of relationship my ex and I always had - no communication.

Anyway, that's a little background as to why I think I'm having the dreams I am. The weekend after I got the first letter (I got it on a Friday afternoon), I dreamed my ex was in a serious relationship with Angelina Jolie. I don't really remember any of the specifics of the dream other than that. Well, that and the fact that every time I fell back to sleep, the dream would continue where I left off - for several days.

Well, I was given a deadline of January 20th to get in my response on the annulment questions and I didn't submit anything. Then yesterday afternoon my doorbell rings. It's the mail lady and she has a certified letter/return receipt for me - from the Catholic Church. They informed me that I'd missed the deadline but that they were willing to give me two more weeks to get my response in. If I haven't responded by then, they will assume I'm not willing to participate and will progress the annulment without a response from me. They go on to point out that it can still go through, even if I don't respond, suggesting that if I want to stop it, I'll have to respond with why it shouldn't be granted, which I think is hysterical. But I digress.

So, I had another dream last night. My ex was still with Angelina Jolie. They were living in a house with other people - including my mother! I wasn't much welcome there because everyone was more concerned with hurting my ex and Angelina, but I went over there to discuss things with the ex and we ended up in bed together. Mind you, this bed was in the middle of the living room - a common room. We're getting ready to do the deed when Angie's (yes, I called her Angie in the dream) brother walks in and interrupts us. He makes my ex feel really guilty so he gets dressed and leaves, leaving me there to contend with the brother and everyone else, who all want me out of there before Angie gets home and discovers I was there. The kids were all there, Pax, Maddox, Shiloh - all of them (they all loved me, by the way) and they were playing with my stuff so I was having a hard time finding my keys and cell phone and stuff.

And I was still looking for my stuff when Angie got home - and was pissed. She came across my phone and was pointing it at the TV (apparently it also subbed as a TV remote - I haven't really figured that one out) yelling at me. When she finally set it down, I went to get it but it was gone. By this point my mother was telling me I needed to leave because I was upsetting Angelina but I didn't want to leave without all my stuff because who knew if or when I would get it back. I finally decided to leave without my phone because I didn't think there was anything incriminating on it - I didn't have my ex's number programmed into it or anything. Heck, it was much like when we were separated, I didn't have his numbers...I had to wait for him to call me, so I figured I was safe - even though I wanted my phone for convenience of having it when I needed it. I got out to the car and remembered that there were some text messages that Angelina wouldn't appreciate and I went back in to look some more. I also thought I would be able to call him to warn him that I'd run into his lady love.

Well, when I got back into the house my ex was in there. We looked for the phone a bit and then ended back up in the bed, this time doing the deed. Angie's brother came in just after and then I woke up.

I'm thinking I should send off the paperwork, if for no other reason, to stop the weird dreams!

Recap of 2008

I'm stealing this from Alyssa, who stole it from Sarakastic who stole it from others, so this is far from an original post idea but it looked like fun and I'm nothing if not a follower (hey, the leaders gotta have someone following them, right? ;) ). Basically what I've done is taken the first sentence of the last blog post of every month. Then assembled the sentences in such a way that it might tell a bit of a story.

Here are the sentences:

January Well, Slime Boy (the probably married man that asked me out) got let go.

February The other day I had a doctor's appointment.

March Dear Muse, It was so nice to see you this weekend.

April Lately I've felt like I've been so behind on everything.

May I've been having some interesting dreams lately.

June I told a friend of mine yesterday that I'd blog about an eHarmony discovery I made.

July In less than 24 hours I should be in San Francisco.

August Okay, so you know that it took an online dating service for me to reconnect with a long lost friend (who I went out with once before a hundred years ago).

September Well, SCG and his family got here Friday around 10:00 a.m. and worked until about 4:00 p.m. - and we didn't finish the clean up! I

October Well, I went running last night.

November As most of you know, I did the online dating thing this past summer.

December Okay, this has to be a top 9 because well, there aren't 10 books that I feel that I can say I loved this year - of course that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm down from over 70 books read from last year to just over 30 this year, including audio books.

So, my mishmash, for what it's worth:

The other day I had a doctor's appointment. Well, Slime Boy (the probably married man that asked me out) got let go.

I told a friend of mine yesterday that I'd blog about an eHarmony discovery I made. As most of you know, I did the online dating thing this past summer. Okay, so you know that it took an online dating service for me to reconnect with a long lost friend (who I went out with once before a hundred years ago).

Dear Muse, It was so nice to see you this weekend. I've been having some interesting dreams lately. Lately I've felt like I've been so behind on everything. Well, SCG and his family got here Friday around 10:00 a.m. and worked until about 4:00 p.m. - and we didn't finish the clean up!

Well, I went running last night. In less than 24 hours I should be in San Francisco.

Okay, this has to be a top 9 because well, there aren't 10 books that I feel that I can say I loved this year - of course that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm down from over 70 books read from last year to just over 30 this year, including audio books. (Yeah, I know this one doesn't work but what are ya gonna do?)

2009 - A Look Ahead

Over the last few days I've seen a lot of blogs talking up resolutions - do you have them or not? Well, I'm a member of the "not" group. I became a member of that group when, one year after many years of not keeping my resolutions, I resolved to gain 10 pounds. It was a joke and something that at the end of the year I could say "I didn't gain 10 pounds. . . darn." It was the first resolution I kept, unfortunately. But, from that point forward, I don't do resolutions - just goals, and gaining weight has never been among them again.

I only recall two goals being set for 2008 (if there were more, I've forgotten them). One was to get a passport and the other was to have a scandalously inappropriate affair. And, while there was promise of the second one happening, neither goal was met so I'm officially rolling them over into my 2009 goals.

However, I want to add a few more goals to the 2009 list. They are (in no particular order):

• pamper myself more - massages are going to become more of a necessity rather than a luxury. :) I'm also going to indulge myself more, without thinking of the monetary consequences. I actually started this yesterday by buying my first Coach purse. Never thought I'd spend that much on a purse but you only live once.
  
• query this year. I'm working on something that I like and the goal is to have it complete before I start querying it but I've written a synopsis that starts going out January 20 (when school starts back up), whether I've finished the manuscript or not.
• make time for friends. With going back to school this past year it's been hard to work in the friends but that's important to do as well. It's part of the "things need to be more balanced" goal.
  
• get a passport - and use it! I know the passport thing was already mentioned but not that I plan to use it. SCG and his family are moving overseas in a few months and that would be a great way to break in the passport I think. (I've already received an open invitation so it's okay - really! :) )
  
• get the work done on my house that needs being done and maybe some of the things I just want done. The main thing is to get the baseboards down and painting - inside and out. The roof is a given since it's required because of the hurricane (it doesn't leak but insurance gave me money to get an entire new roof so I'm obligated to do so). It's the kitchen being redone that is the want.
  
• host a few parties at my house. I used to do this with a regularity but I haven't hosted one single party in my house since I bought it almost 8 years ago - well, unless you count the one time I had Bunco at my house, and I don't. I want to start doing that again.
• get weight back under control. This has been a tough year and well, I'm a comfort eater.

There are one or two more that are a bit more person but those are the biggies. So, how about you? Do you make goals? Resolutions? If so, care to share? :)

Top 9 of 2008

Okay, this has to be a top 9 because well, there aren't 10 books that I feel that I can say I loved this year - of course that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm down from over 70 books read from last year to just over 30 this year, including audio books. Oh, and it should be noted that it doesn't mean that they were published in 2008 - just that I read them in 2008.

So, without further ado, here were my favorites of 2008 listed in no particular order (other than the order that I read them):

1. The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz. I'll be honest, I picked this one up because Amanda Ashby is Sara's good friend and I absolutely loved Amanda's book, You Had Me At Halo - it's one of my all time favorite books. But you know what? I really liked this book. Very smart, relatable characters that I liked and a believable storyline. I'd definitely recommend it to others.



2. Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane. I'd read the author's other book, Forget about it last new year's eve and couldn't put it down. It was hysterical. So, I picked up a copy of this book - which I believe was an earlier book. Anyway, this one was hysterical too. The heroine is not always believable in the things she does but the writing and the fun of it all was so good, I didn't care. If you want to laugh, I'd say this would be a good choice.


3. The Devil's Daughter by Laura Drewry. I'm a huge fan of all things Laura Drewry. I've read all of her books but I have to say, this one was my favorite. The things that come to mind that I loved so much about the story are things that would give plot twists away and include spoilers and I don't want to do that but I can say without hesitation, I really liked this book a lot. :)



4. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella. I'll start this by saying, I don't recall specific details of this story because I've read several "amnesia" stories in the last year and a half. However, I do recall the feeling that I was reading a classic Sophie Kinsella, which would mean I loved it. I've enjoyed everything she's written, with the exception of the Shopaholic and Sister story - and I was glad to see that one book was the fluke that didn't fit with the others.


5. Unpredictable by Eileen Cook. This was a book that I was seeing talked up early in the year. I'd put it on my "save for later" cart over at Amazon but never actually got around to purchasing (I blame school and work). Then I met Eileen in San Francisco and instantly liked her and got an autographed copy of the book. It wasn't long after that that I pulled it out and read it and it is hysterical. Seriously, I don't know when I've laughed so much. It's up there with my favorite books of all time. Highly recommend it.

6. The Fidelity Files by Jessica Brody. This is one that I saw recommended on Amanda Ashby's blog. She had met Jessica in San Francisco and interviewed her for her blog (Jessica later returned the favor via Skype). On the blog she had the book trailer. I got to tell you, few book trailers have made me want to buy a book but this one did. It was done like a movie and I still want them to do the movie. When my local bookstore didn't have it in stock, I ordered it online and promptly read it when it arrived. It lived up to the trailer. Another I would highly recommend.

7. What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook. After I read Unpredictable, I started following Eileen's blog. She's had the WWED information up for a while now. And to be honest, I hadn't expected to buy it, after all it's a YA. Then one day I was checking out her blog and decided to check out the first chapter of the book. I only read a couple of paragraphs before I went over to amazon and ordered the book. I ordered several other books that I had to wait for because WWED wasn't released yet. It came a day or two before Christmas and I read it within a couple of days of when it arrived. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now, that's all I had for "chosen" reading to list but I wanted to come as close to 10 as I could so I decided to include "required" reading (ie for class/school). I'm not going to post the cover here though - sorry. ;)

8. Cymbeline by William Shakespeare. I took a Shakespeare class and this was the only one that I didn't have to read page after page of "footnotes" in order to understand the language. I'm a visual person and I could totally visualize this story. I totally did the laughing out loud with a maybe snort laugh when reading this one. :)

9. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was drawn in immediately into the story and instantly cared about the characters. It wasn't at all predictable and I loved that even though, by today's standards, it's a historical, it was a novel that when written reflected the times as they were then. That's so fascinating to me. The only downfall to this story for me was that we were having to read criticisms of the novel as we went along and they had some unexpected spoilers in them - which wouldn't be a problem for someone else just picking up the novel to read.


So that's my list. Now, I want to say that this doesn't mean that other books on my list weren't good, it just means that they didn't stand out like these did for me.

But that's my list. . . what made your list?

Spotlight on...Eileen Cook

I haven't gotten to read as much this year as I would like to, what with school and changing jobs (twice) but that just makes finding a well-written, funny story all the more enjoyable. What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook is one such book. I read it mostly in one sitting - I couldn't put it down. (You might recall I had a similar reaction to her book, Unpredictable, as well.)

It's smart and funny and I thoroughly enjoyed it. (You can see her book trailer here.) So, I emailed the author and asked if she would answer a few questions - and she said yes. Here's what she had to say. :)

Tell us about your story.
Thou shalt not kiss thy best friend’s boyfriend…again….

There is no greater sin than kissing you best friend’s boyfriend. So when Emma breaks that golden rule, she knows she’s messed up big-time. Especially since she lives in the smallest town ever, where everyone knows everything about everyone else….and especially because she maybe kinda wants to do it again. Now her best friend isn’t speaking to her, her best guy friend is making things totally weird, and Emma is running full speed toward certain social disaster. This is so not the way senior year was supposed to go.

Time to pray for a minor miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Emma to stop trying to please everyone around her, and figure out what she wants for herself.

What's a typical day like for you?
I like the idea of having a typical day, but my life doesn't seem to work that way. I still have my day job on a part time basis so my days are split between those where I wear pantyhose and those that I spend in my sweatpants with my imaginary friends. I tend to set weekly goals for my writing, some days I write all day, sometimes just for an hour, somedays not at all. I try not to worry about any particular moment, but keep the focus on moving forward.

How long have you been writing? How many books did you write before you sold?
I've been writing as long as I can remember. My parents saved a homework assignment I did in second grade. We were supposed to practice writing sentences and I managed to string mine together so that they made a story. The teacher wrote on the paper "someday I'm sure you'll be an author!" After I sold my first book my dad hunted her down. She was in her nineties and in a care home. I brought her a signed copy of my book. She was more interested in telling me about her bunions.

I had at least three completed books before I sold and I can't even tell you how many barely started or half finished projects there were. I still have all of these things saved in my filing cabinet. I'm a believer that you never know when they might come in handy.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
The first is to read and read a lot. There is so much to learn and you can learn from the very best by simply taking their book off the shelf. For books I really like (and those I hate) I break them down chapter by chapter to see what the author has done. The second is to write and keep writing. There will be plenty of people who will tell you to quit, but the decision to keep going is with you.

Where do you get your story ideas? What inspires you?
I love to read and I collect odds and ends the way black pants attract lint. I have files stuffed with stories ripped out of papers or magazines. If I see a picture I like it goes into the file as well. I keep a notebook with me at all time and when random things occur to me, or overheard snatches of conversation, I write that in there. I figure my brain is a bit like a compost pile, I just pile everything in there and wait to see what happens.

What do you wish you'd known before you reached where you are now - and would it have made a difference in the steps you've taken to get there?
A wise writer friend once told me: " Writing is a craft, but publishing is a casino." So much of this business is subjective. What one person loves someone else will hate. Genres come and go in terms of popularity. For every person who loves your book someone else will be more than happy to write a long blog post on why they can't stand it. There are many really good stories out there that haven't been published.

I don't think this knowledge would have changed any of the steps I've taken thus far, but it may have cushioned the blow from time to time.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am a panster who has secret plotter envy.

What's it like to write in two different genres? How do you transition between the two?
After I completed my first book, Unpredictable, the market for romantic comedy tanked. My agent suggested that I give writing young adult a try. She thought my voice would work well with that genre. I gave it a try and loved it. There are some genres that while I love reading them, I don't think I could write them. I think the secret to genre jumping is to know your core voice.

I saved my diaries from junior high and high school so I'm thrilled to have a chance to use all that teen angst.

I want to thank Eileen for her time. For more information on Eileen and her books you can visit her website. What Would Emma Do? is currently available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Oh, and I want to go on record now, I totally plan to stalk Eileen in DC this summer - assuming she goes. ;)

Heroes, Heroines and other Writerly Stuff

In 2006 a friend of mine was having a contest for a $250 gift card to the bookstore of your choice. Being the book whore that I am, I wanted that gift card. Bad.

How it worked was your name got thrown in the pool if you read 10 books. For every five books beyond that, your name got thrown in again for another chance to win. The contest started on June 1, 2006 and ran through the end of the year. So, from June 1 to December 31 of 2006 I read something like 85 books. (I didn't win the contest, in case you were wondering. *sigh*)

In 2007 I read 70 some-odd books for the entire year.

This year, what with school and all, I haven't had as much time to read. So, with required text books included, I've only read like 30 books this entire year. Which is so depressing. But, I have two weeks off and I'm trying to make up for lost time here, which I don't want to spend on crappy books.

So, what makes a crappy book? Well, it can differ from book to book for me but I started one the other day that goes in the "I rarely ever do this but I'm pitching this book without finishing it" pile. Why? Because there's nothing in it that I can grasp on to to believe. The hero is a country boy (he's done the city life before and didn't care for it so it's not like he doesn't know what he's missing out on - he does and he's not interested in it). The heroine is a city girl, visiting the country on her way to fame and fortune. They meet and are immediately in love with each other - just like that. There's no buildup, no nothing. They just know they want to spend the rest of their lives together. Not that they've said as much to each other. No. As far as that goes, they're standoffish. The hero has something the heroine needs but he's not willing to let her have/use it and politely tells her no. She tells him, in no uncertain terms, that she WILL have it and she's not letting up until he gives it over to her. That's where I have the biggest problem. I want to see the build up of the relationship. I want to see the chemistry take over. I want to fall in love with them. But, when one says no (politely or otherwise) and the other takes steps to manipulate what they want out of the other, that's when I'm done. If they don't respect each other - and show it - I can't get behind the pairing. Not to mention, I don't see how this story can resolve itself without one giving up their dream. How is that a happy ending? This story is part of a series (that I've read a couple of the others of) and everyone ends up in this small country town. Which means the heroine has to give up her dream of fame and fortune. Sure, she might be happy for the here and now but what about in 10 years when he's burping and farting and scratching his balls all the time? Will she still be glad she made the decision she did? Which is another thing, I have to believe that 10, 20 years down the line the couple will be happy. And I just don't see it in this story. So, after only 50 some-odd pages of reading, I'm officially done with that book, for now.

Okay, enough about that - on to the other writerly stuff.

A couple of weeks ago the romance community was having an auction on ebay to help out an author who had lost her husband and had catastrophic medical bills to contend with. So, I went to check out the items and saw this and totally had an image in my head how I could use it in my writing. You see, I've been clipping pictures of people and saving them in an envelope. But I want to use this for the visual. I can post the pictures on the board (the flowers in the corner are magnets) and then put their pictures in the album, telling their story. It arrived yesterday and I can't wait to get it all together and start telling the story.

And hopefully I'll avoid the pitfalls I can't stand in other writer's stories.

I've just shared one of my pet peeves in books. What makes you want to fling a book you're reading across the room? Inquiring minds want to know. :)

White Elephants

Today my group at work had their holiday party. The meats were paid for by the department but everything else was of the potluck variety. I kept a list in my office where people could - but weren't obligated to - sign up so they could see what was needed or be sure they got in what they wanted to get in. We had a pretty good spread.

(That's my boss in the background.)

After we ate we played the White Elephant Game. You know the one. If you want to play, you have to bring a gift. All the gifts are placed on a tableand those bringing gifts draw a number. The person with number 1 goes to the table and picks a gift to unwrap.


We had some interesting "wrapping" - that envelope WAS the "wrapping paper".

Anyway, when number 1 is done, number 2 can either "steal" the present from number 1 or take another gift from the table. If the gift is stolen, then the person whose gift was can either steal someone else's gift (if it's further down the line - if only two have gone there wouldn't be another gift to steal, and you can't steal back your gift). Each gift can be stolen twice before it's "frozen" and it stays with an owner.

What we did to make sure we knew when a gift was frozen was they had to put on a hat - or other item available (hats in the picture above). Someone mentioned that people wouldn't want to wear the hats so I stipulated that if they didn't wear the hat, their present became unfrozen again and could be stolen. Yeah, I know I'm bad but it was totally worth it! lol

The first person to have their gift "frozen" was given a boa to wear.


Doesn't he look thrilled? lol I think it's a good look for him.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Christy Craig was having a contest over on her Killer Fiction blog and I said if I won (it was a pooping Santa), I'd put it in a Victoria's Secret bag and put it in the white elephant game at work. And I won. Well, I didn't win-win but she gave me one anyway - I think to see if I would do it and take pictures - and I did. :)

I have to confess that I thought about using something else because I really thought the pooping Santa was cute but I couldn't find the "replacement" gift I was going to use - my step-father's CD with the title song of "I don't look good naked anymore". I mean, really, how funny would that be in a Victoria's Secret bag? But, since I couldn't find it to save my life, I went with Plan A and used the pooping Santa.

Well, it wasn't any time before it got stolen - bag and all.


And a few minutes later, it was forever frozen (and since I was the last number in line, it was before I could steal it :( ).


So, I didn't realize how many "stealers" we'd have in our group and didn't know how many "frozen" hats I'd need. Well, I'd brought three headband hats and the boa. I borrowed six sombreros. I figured that would be enough. Well I was wrong. So, when we ran out of those, I had to get creative. Below are the "alternate" "hats" (yes, I thought the words should be quoted separately ;) ).


(By the way, he was the only one that didn't return his "hat" at the end of the game. No, seriously. lol)


And one last one with all the "hat people".A good time was had by all. :)

Nostalgia

You may have heard the story about the 9-year old Alec Greven who wrote a 46-page book called How To Talk To Girls. You can see an article on it here but basically he wrote it for a class project, went on Ellen Degeneres' show and sold the book to Harper Collins (Ellen came before the sale).

They did a story on this on our local news this past week and were showing pages from the book on air. It's 46 pages - with pictures. As they were discussing it they said something about it being made into a movie. If it was a joke, the reporter (the entertainment reporter at that) didn't let on and the anchors were asking if he was serious and then they all had a brief discussion as to how a 46-page book could (pictures or not) could be made into a movie.

And that's when the nostalgia kicked in. Now, I know I'm dating myself with this but remember Drive-In movies? Carloads of people going to the movie and, depending on where you went, paying by the person (in which case people might hide in the trunk until you got in) or by the carload (in which case you took as many people as could fit in the car for the cheaper cost). You could take the entire family. You could have several carloads of friends and all park together.

You would sit in the car and hang the speaker on your window or bring lawn chairs and sit outside to watch the movie. You could sit on your car - there were any number of ways you could watch the movie. They usually had two movies playing on each screen so you could come and watch two movies back-to-back, or you could leave after the first (or come late and only watch one - some drive-ins charged less if you came later). There was a concession stand usually at the back of the drive in that you could get your drinks and snacks at. And some drive-ins had multiple screens where different movies were playing. Those usually had a community concession stand accessible by all the areas. Some even had areas for the kids to play if they weren't interested in the movie playing.

By now you're probably wondering what all this has to do with the 9-year old's book, right? Well, there really is a connecting thought. See, the movies at the drive-in usually started with some sort of short thing. Maybe a short cartoon or little advertisement. I can't remember whether or not they had previews (I'm thinking no?) but when the little short (whatever it might be) came on, you knew the movie was about to start. I was thinking since it was such a short book, maybe they could make it into a little thing they played at the beginning of the movie at a drive in.

In any event, this strange little story got me to thinking about something I hadn't thought about in a long time. I used to enjoy going to the drive-in and watching a movie - and other such things that have fallen by the wayside.

So what about you? Anything you wish they'd bring back - even just for a day?

I like my theory better

In case you haven't heard, Houston had a snow day the other day. Tuesday the weather was warm - mid to upper 70s, and then a storm came through.

Wednesday it snowed. It snowed! In Texas!!!

Okay, I know there are parts of Texas where snow is not that uncommon but around here? Very uncommon. In fact, it's only snowed here 4 times in my entire life.

Anyway, I had just asked to leave early so that I could go to the grocery store before I had to go to my last class of the semester. My boss said OK and when I got into the parking lot it was already snowing. Not hard and not so that it would stick but still, it was snowing. I went to the grocery store, came home and put on my pajamas. Then I emailed my instructor saying "here's my final exam (thank goodness it was a take-home test!!!) and unless I hear differently from you, I won't be at class tonight because I don't do snow." or words to that effect. I heard from her about an hour and a half later and she emailed me back my grade (including my final grade - I got an A in the class). I heard from a friend the next day. Apparently I was the only one that wimped out on the class but she had everyone grade their own final and then dismissed class. (I would've been so ticked off if I'd gone in just for that! Particularly since I was freaking about the snow - you do know about my two traumatic experiences with snow, right? If not, just know they really were traumatizing and I don't respond well to snow now as a result.) My friend said on her way home there was a light dusting of snow over the Fred Hartman Bridge and you couldn't see where the lanes were. Did I mention I freak out just thinking about driving in snow? Yeah, so glad I didn't venture out.

But the topic is about my theory and the snow. You see, I think we had record snowfall in Baytown, where I live. We had 4 inches of snow. My neighbor was able to build a snowman at a height of probably at least 5 feet (I'd post a picture of it if I could email it from my cell phone but, unfortunately, I don't have that capability...I can text it though) - part of which is still in his yard. Anyway, I got up Thursday morning and my yard was the only one in the neighborhood that didn't look like a winter wonderland. It was actually kind of funny. But that's where the theory comes in. You see, a man at work was explaining something about the heat and trees and snow on the ground where there are trees. He said that basically the snow in yards with trees melts faster than the yards without trees. I didn't really understand the particulars of how it worked but since I'm the only one with trees in their front yard, it made sense that mine would be the one with the fastest melting snow.

On the other hand, my theory was that God understands how much snow freaks me out and was just helping me out. You know, making it melt first and all.

At least that's my theory, and I'm sticking with it. :)

Confession Time

As most of you know, I did the online dating thing this past summer. The purpose was to keep me "entertained" during the summer, when I wasn't too busy with classes. If something happened, great. If not, it wasn't a big deal. Well, the experience wasn't all that exciting. The only person I actually "met" from there (or even took it beyond talking on the online website) was the guy I knew before I got married. I haven't seen him since the alcohol enhanced meeting. So really no activity came from that.

But, since I seemed to have 3 extra minutes a week (after work, school and now the marathon training), I started thinking about giving it another shot. When I got the letter offering me three months for the price of one, I took them up on it.

And then it hit me. I signed up for this during the holiday season! So not cool. My membership expires a couple of days before Valentine's day. Completely uncool! I'm not a Ms Lonely Hearts and I certainly don't want to meet a Mr. Lonely Heart so I'm thinking I'm just wasting another three months membership. Oh well.

Anyway, there was one match that looked promising - at first. He's a firefighter. His profile looked really good. And then I looked at his pictures. Now, normally I'd be all over someone who judged a person based on their pictures (or lack thereof) but this was different - hear me out.

There were six photos total. Only one was of Mr. Firefighter. The other five were of his kids (one was in there twice so really only four other different pictures). First one was of his son and daughter together - it was sweet. Next two were of his son alone. Last one was of his son too. He was standing by an ice chest of sorts - and he was proudly holding a deer's head, with another one visible in the ice chest.

Now, I'm not a vegetarian but I never knowingly eat deer meat. I'm not judging those that do, it's just not for me. I'm also not judging those that hunt, but again, it's not for me. And, honestly, I think I would have been okay with him being a hunter, who eats deer meat, if we'd met, but it was shocking to see that picture with his profile.

I wanted to be open-minded though, so I didn't automatically close the match - I wanted to think on it a while. Then, I got a "communication" from the guy, asking me to share my pictures (I did finally post one but it's not open for all to see automatically). Hmmm, so he wants to see my picture before he does any further communication, does he? That suggests he's going to judge me on my picture maybe? Well, if that's the case and he was going to judge me on my picture, I decided it was okay to judge him on the one he posted - of the dead deer head.

Match closed.

Happy Turkey Day

For those that got an email from me with the pictures mysteriously missing - here they are. Happy Thanksgiving. ~L