Anxiety the Bitch!!

I haven't blogged in about two nights and now there are a million things buzzing around in my brain. I guess that'll teach me.

Let's start with my nemesis and body partner anxiety. The bastard decided to wake up Thursday and throw all my sensory terminals to code red. Fucker.

It all started with my new found resolve to not get sick. Last year was a bust and I am so not doing it again. So off I go to the local flu shot clinic where I get to read the sheet that explains how some people had a bad reaction to the 2001 flu shot (note, I have only ever had one flu shot in my life and I believe it was in 2003) and that if you were one of them you should get your flu shot from your doctor. Nope, not one of them so I get ready.

The shot was nothing but then I have to sit and wait 20 minutes. Twenty whole minutes to look at the list of symptoms that I am to watch for. Now, the last time I got a shot I was more concerned about my panic attacks coming out to play so a little thing like anaphylactic shock seemed like nothing (trust me, a severed artery would come as a welcome relief from a panic attack. Hey, at that point there *is* something wrong and you know it's not in your head!). This time I'm not worried about my panic and I settle in to read the book I brought.

Are my lips starting to swell? Would someone notice if I was having a reaction to the shot? Can I still swallow? So it goes for the next 20 minutes. I have no idea why my brain decided to react like this but I guess it needed something to do. I am currently reading Lynn Viehl's If Angel's Burn and it is really good but there is a lack of romance so far so maybe that's why my brain decided to play with me. After the twenty minutes I decide to go to my friend's house because she will talk me down and everything will go back to normal.

Now at this point I would like to point out to the crowd that I may have been able to shake off this doom and gloom feeling I was having. Afterall, I'm with my best friend and her kids and there isn't a moment to wonder if you have broken out in a rash.

My friend's friend (who is my friend also but I don't see her as much as my friend) has asked if she can ask me a bunch of questions. Being the people pleaser I am and not knowing how I would later react, I say yes.

The questions were about God and my belief system.

Ouch! Sonofa..!

Now, I will openly talk with anyone who wants to discuss beliefs and how theirs might differ from mine, etc. as long as I know they are coming in with an open mind just like I am. Here's the thing - I know that this friend believes that only through Jesus can someone go to Heaven. That's it, that's all. Jesus = Heaven. I don't believe this. In the rounds of questions, I ask her what she thinks happens to those who have never heard of Jesus. She responded by saying, 'do you really think there is someone left who hasn't heard of Jesus?'. I was floored. When pushed on the issue of those who have not heard of Jesus the answer is, 'I can't know what is in a person's heart'. Uh, okay. Needless to say the conversation took a few twists I didn't foresee and by the time I got home I was wondering if I had just blasphemed my way into Hell. Geez, my stomach is getting upset just thinking about it.

I just erased everything I typed about what I said. It's bad enough my friend wrote down my question to ask to her minister. Did I mention I'm not all that well?

So I guess I was jumpy after that (you think!) and during the night I decided to become a hypochondriac (I just scored a 40 but, but....If I only checked a medical encyclopedia once in 35 years, does that count?!). The next day I could no longer lift my arm above my shoulder without great pain which of course led to me wondering if my muscles were dying. Isn't anxiety a wonderful thing? StupidCrudyMcCrap....

So there I am Friday night in a heightened state of anxiety when I realize my bestest friends are coming the next day to spend the afternoon and evening with me. I hit high octane anxiety and have the phone in my hand ready to call and tell them not to come. What keeps me from dialing is realizing that if this *is* all due to anxiety and is not really a stomach virus then I will have it even worse the next time they come down. Yep, that's right. You cower in the face of anxiety once and that bitch'll make you scream for mercy on the next round. Lucky me, my husband talked me down off the ceiling and I was very happy to see my friends the next day.

They taught me to scrapbook and that's a whole other blog ;)

Now it's Sunday night and I have had another round with my stomach. IBS. Yeah, I don't want to get into the TMI territory but this is your follow up prize when you have anxiety! Nausea, hot flashes, cramps, (as I get older the urge to puke gets stronger) and well, yetch. Oh, and my new lovely, fear of fainting. Or maybe it is the wish to faint. I'm not sure. I get worse with milk (I stopped drinking it when I was 21) and nowadays it's murder if something is made with real cream. Ice cream has also become forbidden (I decided that tonight) :(

So there you have it. My anxiety has decided to deck my halls and somehow I know it is only going to get worse as the season progresses. This is the worse it has felt in a long, long time.

It's okay though. I'm not giving up! Peppermint oil pills will be taken twice daily to keep the tummy from wanting to explode. Smaller meals will be eaten so I don't get that overstuffed feeling. Walking will be employed to work off excess energy from anxiety. And, uh, yeah. I don't know what else but, I will do it with great zeal! Yeah, I will!

Screw anxiety!

Did I mention that my only brother (who I love, love, love) who is lucky to have a live in girlfriend with two children, a rental place, a brand new truck and mustang up and quit his job last Monday but only told us this weekend? Any job opportunities? No.

Fucker.

Reading and Stuff

Okay, I am back to reading which I am very happy to report. I am currently reading If Angels Burn by Lynn Viehl, a new to me author.

Her writing is fantastic and her character's are compelling but.... I'm getting the urge to put the book down. I'm on page 116 and the hero/heroine have spent about 8 of those pages together. I'm beginning to think this book is not a romance even though it is marked as one. My other problem is that so far there is not enough back story for me to figure out exactly what's going on. I get that there are the Darkyn and the Brethren. The hierarchy of the Darkyn has been alluded to but I don't understand it. They talk of a man named Richard who I think is their leader but he is in Europe while the hero of this book is not a leader of the American Darkyn, it looks like he is a shoe in. But, now there is a talk of the man who destroyed the hero's face and he is the enforcer for Richard. So, friend or foe?

Maybe this book is above me ;)

Anyways, just wanted to step up and let you know what I am currently trying to read.

I am also searching our city website to learn about building permits and fees. Apparently my husband needs a project and he has decided on a two phases. Phase one is the addition of a library with a main floor laundry room. Someone loves me ;) I'm terrified but hey, if this will keep him from buying another house to renovate and spend more time with me, then I'm all for it!

I am going to see if Bob can make the plans he has come up with in excel much more blogger friendly. That way you can see the depth of my fear .... and yet, I am excited. More on this later. Still have to track down some information and I am soon off to bed.

More Gifting

This one is for the people on your list who love Christmas. You know that ones. They deck their halls, floors, walls even their bathrooms with decorations. Oh, and the tree goes up in November. What? You don't have anyone like this!? I have THREE people like this and they scare me. Easy to buy for, not so easy to keep from smacking them in all their 'Martha like' glory.

Uh, yeah. Look at my Christmas cheer ;)

Anyways, I wanted to put up a picture of The Night Before Christmas dining set. (Actually, it looks like they are called A Christmas Story)

My husband found these plates last year at a local gift shop and went nuts. There are 4 different sets of four plates and he bought the first one for my parents, the second for my Aunt and the third for my brother and then a few for his side of the family. He wanted my family to bring their dinner set every year so that we could eat off of them. I didn't want to crush my poor husband's feelings by telling him that my mother would not allow us to eat off of anything but her good china. I mean, she bought it for a reason.

Not this Christmas but next, Bob and I tell a white lie to the families where we tell them we are at the other families (does that make sense) and we stay home for dinner. Just the two of us. Since dinner is such an anxious time for me (Christmas day is the very worst and it can start a few days before and just grow moment to moment until I can't think of anything else but dinner - has to do with panic attacks - For years I had to deal with the Trinity of Meals. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. I'm just starting to enjoy these holidays!) Bob put his foot down and said I would get to enjoy at least one year out of every three. I'm really wishing it was this year ;)

Wow, time to get back on track!

We went out on Monday and picked up a few more items we found that were not available to us last year. I am in love with - Holy Cow! I cannot find a picture of the square serving dish we bought! I am absolutely in awe of it. That's the second gift I have been unable to show you guys! I may have to dig the gifts out of my closet! (edited: sometimes Google doesn't get it done. From a Yahoo search I give you the picture to the left. Yeah!!) Onward. We also bought a serving bowl that would be perfect for mashed potatoes and a covered bowl for veggies. This two tier piece we bought last year and is perfect for those friends and family who bring out the cookies and chocolates when anyone visits.

The good news is that there are pieces that are not too expensive and can be used in those Secret Santa swaps. The plate sets (4 plates) are 40 bucks Canadian. (you may be picking up on my budget techniques as the last gift I talked about was also in this ballpark)

Hmmm, was this one too obvious? Hey, sometimes you have to go with what works!

Undead and Unreturnable by Mary Janice Davidson

I cheated.

I grabbed a book that I knew would be a quick read so that I could say I have read, at the very least, one book so far for November. What's funny is that I did it deliberately and read faster than I ever have in order to get a book read. Not exactly what I was going for but, now I have jumped the hurdle and hopefully I will relax and be able to read without over thinking.

I read Undead and Unreturnable and I loved it. No other way to say it really. Yeah, there are things that bug me but I just really enjoy the world that Davidson has created and her humour is so very me.

I'm sitting here trying to think of how to summarize the story and I don't have a clue! That may be a really bad thing. So what happened in this book...

*thinking*

Huh.

*picks up book to read the blurb*

Okay, it says something about Christmas, it was mentioned in the last few pages. Planning a wedding to Sinclair, bit of a stretch but okay.....ghosts and serial killer, yep, they were there.

Huh.

You know what, the book is like a few days in the life of Betsy the Queen of One-liners, no....Vampires, Queen of Vampires. So yeah, Sinclair is there and her best friend Jessica gets a date and her sister Laura (the daughter of the devil) gets to play and George the fiend is in the basement and ....

This is brutal!!

What I liked about the book is that the relationship between Sinclair and Betsy does get deeper. Things happen that are funny and well, if you enjoyed the last book in the series then you will enjoy this one.

It is hard, however, to justify the price of this book. To say that I am kooky for buying a hardcover book that is a whole 250 pages with print that could easily be read from across a very large room would be accurate. I really do need to reign myself in when I see these books. I would just have to let my book buying schedule go back 6 months and then I could buy these books in paperback.

Things that are bad. 1) MJD needs a better copy editor. Words are missing, sentences get jumbled and characters that are not dead refer to themselves as dead. 2) She needs to clean up her writing so that the reader knows who is speaking. It gets busy and things are said and I don't know who said them and character reactions are no hint.

Wow, I started this thinking I would buy the next book but I'm thinking I should become a bit more frugal.

I enjoyed the ride, just not sure it was worth the price of admission.

Edited: I am such a sucker!! I went to do the linking thing and saw this at Amazon. I swear shiny objects can distract me! It shows the book will be 368 pages and a paperback. So I'm thinking the text will look like an eye exam chart ;)

Another One Bites the Dust

I was just at Tod Goldberg's blog and saw that Dean Koontz managed to offend a good number of people at a luncheon for the Men of Mystery over the weekend.

I then had to go and read Lee Goldberg's blog because he received a phone call from Koontz telling him how very unhappy he was about Lee's thoughts on his speech.

The problem is, if intelligent people can sit in a room and get even a notion that what you are saying *could* be racial prejudice then you have said something you shouldn't have. I have not seen a response from Koontz but, there was a suggestion that he was trying to be funny. Let's hope that he will realize that he can't do funny and change his speaking engagements to something more along the lines of writing.

As a side note: I have not read either of the Goldberg's books but I do enjoy going to their blogs every once in a while. Tod's blog is less formal and words like fucktard are used in copious amounts. Just my kind of person. He has a relaxed style that makes his reader (of his blog) very comfortable. Lee's blog however, is very intimidating but can also be informative about the writing process.

Anyways, it was a bit of a relief to see that other genres have some of the same problems as those of romance community. RWA Rita Awards anyone?

For the Sci-Fi People in the Crowd

Thought I would quickly let you know that my free time has been getting sucked up by the newest Battlestar Galactica series.

I have only seen the last hour of the mini-series movie and it was enough to let me know I wanted to see more. If I haven't mentioned it lately Canadian television BLOWS!!

So I'm out last week and I see the Battlestar Galactica DVD Season 1 and I'm left thinking, 'Get out!! They have a series?!' So I bought it for myself because I was celebrating.

Every night now I have gone downstairs to watch a few episodes of this series. I'm loving it!

If you know someone who loves sci-fi movies or if you do yourself and you haven't seen this series, it is well worth it.

There. No reading. TV watching instead. I only have 3 more episodes to watch which I will probably polish off tonight. It's getting to the point where I don't know how I would watch a series show anymore!

Season II will be released on Dec 20th which I am considering ordering from Amazon so it will show up on my doorstep before Christmas. Then again, my husband might want to spend some time with me ;)

In the Need

I have an idea and I'm hoping all of you who drop in are game.

Christmas is coming and I get so stressed out about gifts it is crazy . I ask people what they want and they say 'surprise me'. I'm thinking of getting those people coal but Bob has said that might mess with our karma.

So here is what I am asking. I am going to put up the gifts that I have bought family and friends and I am hoping that if you have found the best Mom gift or cousin gift or anybody gift that you will post it here also. We can do a weekly update thing. I will even post some of my best gifts to others over the years to help others out.

Just so you know, nobody who knows me knows this blog exists so I won't be ruining anyone's surprise. My Aunt said last year that she wanted Christmas ideas that did not involve DVDs. So far, we've all been stumped. Also, I try to suggest reasonable gifts as I don't want anyone to over spend on Bob and I.

I have asked my Aunt for anything white (like birdhouses) that can be put on my bookshelves. So if you have someone who's picky and they have shelves for everything except books then a knickknack of some sort might be a good idea.

First up: A gift for Anyone but I bought it for my Aunt who loves everything Mexican.

A chili pepper fajita grill (yikes, I can't find a pic but here is the Quesadilla maker, which is also fun). I think my Aunt will love it and if I get a kick out of it then I hope she will enjoy it. It was 40 dollars Canadian and was at The Bay. My Aunt also loves crafts so my husband found these old wood windows which I am going to paint in beautiful Mexican colours. I was thinking of either frosting the glass and putting three Spanish words on them or making it more of a large picture frame. I can post a picture of it when I finally get it done at 5am Christmas morning ;)

(Side story! You knew it was coming ;) . Bob and I are shoppers (even though we rarely buy, we like to browse) and we have been in some exclusive places and I noticed that old window sashes were being painted white and sold for a huge amounts of money. So we buy the first reno with all the old wooden windows and I'm psyched because I have seen what others do with them and I know I can make a bunch of fun presents. Hubby hears about this for weeks and has promised umpteen times that the wood windows are to come home. Ah, no. He actually threw them all away! I was busy putting the new windows in with my dad and didn't notice Bob loading them into the pickup to take to the dump! He hasn't heard the end of it since. New reno house, no old windows. Bob on his way home one night notices that someone is throwing out two old wood windows and he stops and picks them up. He says, 'I've never dumpster dived until now.' Good thing he loves me!)

I know that Christmas is about more than the gifts. I get that. Doesn't mean I don't get stressed. Also, apparently people are sick of me asking for book gift certificates or anything to do with books. They think that there must be something other than books that I want. They're kidding, right?

P.S. I am going to be reading for the next week so I don't know how much blogging I am going to get done. I figure most people who come here are coming for book suggestions and since I read two whole books in October I figure I better get cracking! I have to break past my book blues or I won't read for another month. Can't have that.

Odds and Ends

I had a post written last night but blogger ate it so I'm hoping this one works!

Just wanted to let you know that I have landed back on the planet and all things are good. Pool closers came and shut that down. The insurance rep came and looked at the damage that I had left in the basement and I am hoping to know by tomorrow afternoon. (Wouldn't want them to rush it or anything). And my husband fell asleep at 9pm Tuesday night for the first time in about 3 months. It was good to see him relax.

On Monday night I went book shopping online but I kept myself from over purchasing. Now I am regretting that decision ;) I really, really want like 10 books to show up on my doorstep.

I ordered:


The Hunger by Susan Squires
The Companion by Susan Squires
Undead and Unreturnable by Mary Janice Davidson
Perfect Waltz by Anne Gracie

Yeah, yeah, I made a big deal about connected books in this post but it is clear, I'm a masochist ;) The Squires books are part of a connected series. At least, I think they are because I have only been skimming the reviews. No big deal, right? Okay, I'm in denial. Not only this, I have two books by Squires in the TBR pile. That's right. I've never read Squires. What if I don't like Squires? I will now have 4 books by her. Crazy. That's what I am.

Undead and Unreturnable was an easy choice except for the hit to the bank account. I loved the last book in this series and I am hoping that Davidson was able to keep up the magic. The others in the series are good but there was no meat. *fingers crossed* Here I can proudly announce that I am not buying the second book in her Royal series because the first one was such a mess and I know I read somewhere that the mess continues. So, not quite a fangirl because if I was, I wouldn't be able to resisit.

Anne Gracie. I've read Anne Gracie and really enjoyed one of her books. It was *this* close to being a keeper but then, I don't like to be kept out of the bedroom. For more on that, this post here explains. So, Gracie goes on the do not buy list and I'm fine with that decision.

Now, I'm browsing on Amazon as I like to do and looked at the books it recommended for me. Anne Gracie's latest is high on the list. I'm thinking, 'Why in the world would this book be on my recommend list'. So I click on that little button that tells me why the book is being recommended to me. Passion by Lisa Valdez. Yes, I loved this book and it is extremely sexy so I am intrigued as to why Gracie would be recommended on the basis of enjoy a 'hot' book. These authors are so far apart in the sexual spectrum that it's impossible to understand the recommendation. Unless, the recommends are not so much about whose books you like as to the quality of the writing. I mean, Amazon has never had the gaul to recommend any of the current bestsellers to me (that's right, I consider many of the bestselling authors to write very simplistic stories and that they appeal to a common denominator in the reading population but I guess that should be a whole other blog).

Here's hoping these books show up tomorrow. It used to be that I could order a bunch of books and they would arrive on my doorstep two mornings later. Now, it can take upwards of a week. Some may suggest going to the local bookstore to buy these books but it is very rare for me to find the books I am looking for. I don't know how a bookstore can have close to 50' of retail space for romances and still not have the books I am looking for. Of course, Roberts, Krentz, Quick, Coulter and others take up a good half of that space.

I'm off to bed soon. It's 5am. Not happy. Hey, the daylight hours were a blast and I hope I can pull out of this tailspin I am in but the weekend is upon us and I don't have time to work on it. Too many people want to see us after the 9 months of nights and weekends we worked.

On Sunday night I will give it my all. I enjoy the daylight too much and with winter about to set in. I'm going to need all the help I can get ;)

Let's Get This Party Started!!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!

*Get OUT!! I was going to get a huge picture of something, anything dancing a crazy jig (I knew robots had come a long way but, this?) and (in my limited knowledge) add it here. Yeah, I don't know what I am doing and there is no blogger help for adding animated gifs.*

Am I going to let this bring me down?

HELL NO!!!

Start your brain's turntable because you are about to be slammed with 80's, 90's and today's tunage to mark the occasion.

Join in if you know the words!!! Ya know ya wanna! *starts singing* Yah, Celebrate good times, C'MON, we're going to cele....We are the champion's my fri...eeeennnds *da, da, da* and we'll keep on fighting to the....Let's get it starrted, yeah! let's get it started, in here!.....*yelling* Since you've been goo-one (background vocals echo - since you've been goo-one) I can breathe for the first time!....We're not gonna take it. No, we ain't going to take it. We're not going to take it, annyyymoorreee!!...Take this job and SHOVE IT!

Phew!

You're welcome ;)

Do you know what happened today? YEAH, you do! The Reno House Sold!!! (ohh, ahh, look at the pretty fireworks) I'm telling you, it's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel so very free...*breaks into song* as free as the wind blows, as free as .... Wheeee!

Okay, seriously, have any of you done a delirious blog because, MAN!, I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.

You know how I love books and authors and anything to do with books or authors? You know how you see the blogs of people who have suddenly 'got the call' and they are all happy and stuff? TOTALLY know what they are feeling because it is like I 'got the call' only, I'm completely loopy and letting it show whereas newly crowned authors have that demure ' I got the call - woohoo ' post and then they sign off. No more I say! Let us see the JOY!!

Serious Guy Voice-over begins.

This message brought to you by the makers of butt-loads of back breaking labour, realtors, buyers, lawyers, movers and profit margins baaaybbeeee! Results may vary but, if you are Cindy Smith you will react like a complete loon. Other's may experience nausea, vomiting, eye-rolling and general embarrassment to be anywhere near this area. Avoid onslaught of symptoms by removing said blog from your list of acquaintances. If symptom get worse go immediately to your nearest 'stick in the mud' blog and get your bearings. If you can read this liability clause without a magnifying glass, the print is too big. If you can actually hear a voice reciting this list, welcome to the dark side ;)

Not Fun

For those of you keeping up ::cough::, tonight was the last night for the reno house. I should be doing some sort of wacky dance of joy except, I can barely move.

Tonight was a blast from my past and not in a good way.

My father. I love him and everyone who knows me knows I love him. My father comes off as a great guy and he is. However, sharing a house with him as an overly sensitive child was hellish, add to that a mother who was physically and emotionally cold and things were horrid.

I was spoiled as a child. No ifs, ands or buts. If I had been remotely normal in my emotional state I would have been completely fine with the parents I had. Billy (brother) turned out all right. Okay, anger management courses have been suggested by me and he is not exactly a good sell. In other words, he is not charming nor does he exude an air of self confidence. This was due mainly to not having the proper support for his educational needs. He once told me that he could study and know the stuff but put him down in front of a test and he knew nothing. The nightly battles over why Billy didn't understand what was before him were grueling to my nerves.

It is only with the perception of an adult do you start to see your parents as people.

My dad can act like an over grown child. If he doesn't get his way he pouts. Hello, people pleaser gene anyone? I have one in spades. Explains why I always want to fix things. My dad sighs dramatically when you do something wrong and makes a remark that you can hear but, is meant as an aside. I call these cheap shots and my dad takes them. As a child these stung and made you feel like you were letting him down. Today, I feel like telling him to grow up. Hey, so the shelves are wrong, not the end of the world.

Bob has been dealing with a moody father in law for the past 3 months. Like I said before, if my dad is in a good mood, all are happy. When he is acting out, things become rotten.

A silent partner asked Bob how things were going. Bob said, all things were going great. We'd just celebrated my father's 10th birthday.

Amazing the clarity that comes with age.

I'm blessed to still have both my parents and I am even more blessed now to not have to see my father daily or even weekly for that matter. I have a feeling he is feeling the same way ;)

We just got out of the house by the skin of our teeth. A professional cleaning lady is supposed to show tomorrow at 9:30am. With my cold, the idea of cleaning the world's dustiest hardwood floors was not appealing. So I have to go to the house at 1:30pm tomorrow and pay the lady and help my dad load in the last of the stuff still there. Knowing my father, a 1/2 hour job will turn into a 4 hour ordeal.

As Bob says, just one more day.

Guess what, my father's birthday is on Wednesday for real. I haven't been thinking past closing the house so I don't have a clue what to get him.

Too bad they don't sell mute buttons for parents. Course, I'd never hear their voices again. Just hug them at the door when they come in and hug 'em on the way out.

I love my parents. Honestly. It's that Commandment that's going to fry me. Honor thy mother and father. I hope it means as long as you are a child because that's just plain hilarious if you still have to do so as a reasonable adult.

I'm going to hell.

Diana Gabaldon

Tonight I took my friend to the local bookstore to see Diana Gabaldon. The line wound through the store like a snake. My friend looked in from the car and said, well, it's just to the door. No. It just kept winding and winding and...well you get the point.

I felt so very bad because I forgot my camera and wanted to take a picture of Michelle with Gabaldon. This woman is gorgeous and I doubt she would ever take a bad picture. She is not talkative however. I bought the latest book although I have not read the rest. Michelle wants me to read the books and I will. No really. I promised so I will sit down mid month Nov to read the first book. Anyways, Michelle didn't say a word to her. Not a word! I figure she was gushing on the inside ;) Gabaldon herself was busy and only looked up periodically. I believe she looked at me, said my name to make sure she was signing the right book and then signed. Shoved the book towards me and looked behind me. I was a wee bit surprised. However, the signing had started at 7pm and I think we got to her by 8:30ish. I guess after an hour and a half your hand would start to cramp! Not only that, it kept the line moving so that everyone got to see her. Yeah, so that's my take on a superstar signing.

Bad Cindy

I was on my nightly blogging rounds (seriously, I'm losing my daylight hours due to illness) and went to Jay's.

Jay has a contest to win a copy of Megan Frampton's book A Singular Lady.

Go and win! Oh, I should mention there is trivia and it is not for the weak at heart. Don't copy any of my answers because A) my first list was me trying to be funny and B) the real list is probably horribly wrong and since I did buy a copy of the book I would prefer that you actually get a shot at winning.

I know I won't win because I messed up on the very first question. I said that Megan also wrote for Romancing the Blog and I was positive of this. I'm wrong. Megan is listed in the Author links. Bad Cindy. I'm sorry.

Also, *damn, I'm such an ass* I have been linking to Megan's website on my sidebar. For some reason, I got it in my head that Megan didn't have a blog and yet, there it is, all pretty and stuff.

Bad Cindy.

So, the link to your left will now bring you to Megan Frampton's blog which is fantastic. I love all the descriptors she uses for her family. Especially her mother. I also love the way she mixes her text sizes, fonts and colours. I would commence copying her but, I think we've all seen Bad Cindy enough for now.

Now, go and read the month of August to discover what The Muffin Top is. My dearest cousin has started to put on weight (now mind you I am not small either) but she is still wearing clothes for a normal sized 19 year old. Problem? The Muffin. I love my cousin way too much to ever say anything derogatory about her weight (unlike my mother who loves to watch every morsel I put in my mouth and to tell me I shouldn't be eating that. I should mention she says that about anything I eat. Whoof! Another story for another time. (Okay, I can't resist. I have two friends that will stare in astonishment and yell OMG whenever I tell a mother story. It's all true - no embellishments needed.))

Damn, where was I.

Oh yeah, git!!

Weird Rant

Okay, so my cold has decided to do a roundhouse kick to my head and I'm all whiny and crappy again. You've been warned.

Also, moved the pool guys back to next week when hopefully I will be the picture of health. One can hope.

As to the topic of this blog - connected books.

I've never been one to get on a bandwagon. I remember there were pins (now I never saw them but I heard about them and isn't that as good as factual information?) made up that said Waiting for Rothgar.

I didn't get it.

Well at the time I had never read Jo Beverly so this obsession for a particular character was new to me. Guess what book I read first when I decided to read Beverly? That's right, Rothgars'. Why, because I could. I hadn't waited through years of torture for this character but, everyone else thought that this guy's story was the be all and end all. I read the book and again, I didn't get it.

Ah, as a side point, and c'mon you knew this road was going to be scenic when you signed on, I'm not huge on Jo Beverly. Great writer, great stories, an author who probably stays so close in character it can be detrimental to the story (Rothgar was too cold for me, no passion but I understood from others that that was who he was. No hero for me. Give me some heat and give me a man with flaws. Perfection bores.). Where was I, oh, right. Beverly has me in her story up to the point where every character ends up before the King and Queen and is somehow forgiven for their supposed sins. In fairness, every story I have read has ended like this and again, I'm not keen on it. Anyways, let's see if I can get back on point.

Could happen.

Before the mid 90's I would go so far as to say I didn't wait for any particular character's book and I don't think most reader's of romance did either. Afterall, the story was about two people falling in love and the other characters were supporting cast. Now, I should mention that characters from previous books would sometimes get a walk on but, since I don't know most character's names by the time I end a book it would go over my head. Julie Garwood used to do this and I had no clue and trust me when I tell you I believed I was her number one fan. I just knew that suddenly an extremely happy couple would show up with a perfect bouncing baby and well, perfection. I would wonder why it was important for this couple to be there. Turns out, other fans knew. Me? Clueless. Yeah, I know, shocking!

I'm not sure when I started reading Suzanne Brockmann but, I believe it was with her second silhouette book. I loved this author and was excited whenever I saw a new book out by her. I considered myself quite a fan but apparently there are people who can outfan me. People were intrigued by glimpses of other men lurking about while I would be wrapped up in the main couple's story. I knew the books were connected but, who was Joe Cat vs .... crap, I don't remember names but, it wasn't something I worried about. I was just happy to have another book by the author.

Then Brockmann moved to single titles. Don't be getting ahead of me now! Just because you can see the station doesn't mean you can get off while we're still in motion ;)

The beginning of the never ending story. That's right, never ending! I got wrapped up in Sam and Alyssa's story because Sam was just such an ass and who do I love more? Asses. That's right, I like the flawed man.

Does it stop with them?

No.

Max and Gina. My Achilles' heel.

Their story was released after 4 years of waiting. Four years. For a romance. No, I'm not talking about those Sci-fi books because I have never read them and yes, I know some of you have waited as many as 10 years for a book (please, I would have forgotten the story line 5 years out and probably decided the author had died before they wrote the book) but, c'mon! This was new to me. Guess what? Four years is a long time to wait for a story. Way too long. Especially for someone like me. Like I said before, I'm not one to notice the background characters so while others squealed with glee over other character's stories, I was pissed. Who the hell are these people? Where are Max and Gina?

Max and Gina showed up finally and to say I was happy with the result would be overstating the situation. Yes, the author gets to tell the story but, four years builds quite the expectation and in my opinion Max and Gina's story was not sufficient. At. All.

I'm not sure about others but, I have decided to take a break from Brockmann. ( Okay, weird aside, but apparently she's decided she needs a break. Well, let me tell you! I decided to take a break before she decided to take a break. That's right! I win!) I need to let her get ahead of me so that when I read about a character, I can go and get their book when I want to and not when the author and publisher decide I get to. (Okay, this last part sounds quite childish but remember I'm sniffing cold meds here and I'm feeling my inner child *snort*)

No more waiting for me!!

I'm free from the tethers that bound me to an author's will! I am able to read any book I want when I want! You want to dangle a character as bait? You won't get me!

Two words.

Dark Lover.

How do you love a book and hate the process that binds you to the author's will? I am so very pissed that I have been led on by another author only to discover that it will be ages before the book I want gets published. Ages. We're talking continental shifts will happen before I get my hands on this book.

So, where does that leave me?

Suspicious.

That's right. Now I'm reading reviews looking for that little clue. You know the one. Words like brothers, clan, coven, secret society (two words, big deal), siblings. Shit, I'm thinking a street address in a book may become suspect! 'And there they all lived HEA 10 years from now, on Montgomery Lane'. No, uh-uh. Not doin' it. How, guarded am I? The last Pandora's Box at AAR mentioned the dreaded secret society and I was done.

Go ahead and write your connected books. You're not going to get me! I can wait years before I buy an author. Heck, it's been years since I bought a Nora Roberts' book because I couldn't remember where I had left off. And you know that's hurting her pocket book!!

Wait.

Good News / Bad News and Then Some

Okay, the NyQuil didn't work. Apparently I'm now immune ;)

The good news is that my cold (I liked the description of a cold, don't use herbals) is heading into my chest which is much better for me. Head colds make me super cranky (and whiney in the sobbing sort of way - Bob loves that stage!) but once they go into my chest and I just hack up phlegm, it's all good again. Sure, racing up stairs is out but at least I can breathe and function as a person!

The other good news? Bob came home on a half days holiday and ripped out 90% of the mold in the basement. I'm telling you, he's my hero! It was pouring rain and miserable today and he had to take load after load out to the truck. I think the fact that I got sick freaked him out and he wanted to get the mold out NOW. I should have hacked up a lung earlier ;)

I spent the day in my PJs and slept this afternoon. At first Bob was pulling the 'sweetie, could you....?' until I told him I was going to lay down. It's amazing that Bob can tear a house down and rebuild it without me in sight but, if I am anywhere near the construction zone I get pulled into it. Hey, I'm sick. Not going to do any labour or even move from the couch!!

Our pool isn't closed yet and we have the 'closers' coming on Thursday but the pool needs to be balanced (which can take 36 hours) and it needs to be vacuumed. Bob said I wasn't to go outside in this weather but I have no choice. I have to go out and get this done. I considered calling and getting them to back off until November (I've closed it myself in drizzling rain) but I don't want to give myself an out. The only reason we are having someone else close the pool is because we put in the heat pump this year (which was worth every penny!) and we want to make sure all the lines are drained so nothing bursts during the winter. I know I could do it myself (and for the most part, I really am because I am the one who balances, vacuums and gets all the supplies out for the guys) but Bob wanted to try our pool people this year. We'll see.

It is really too early for me to be hitting the winter blues but, wow, I am just not ready for this weather!! Okay, the great book blues are probably playing with me and I need to move on and read another book.

Did I mention that Diana Gabaldon will be at a local Chapters this Friday for a book signing. I'm taking my friend as she will need someone to prop her up and wipe the drool. Thing is, I've never read Gabaldon so I don't know what I'm going to do if there is no line and we are forced to chat. 'Uh, yeah, I find the size of your books intimidating so, uh, I haven't actually read your books....' Pretty sure that Gabaldon will not be impressed and neither will my friend. Look, I just haven't found the time. I should really get that book out and read over the next few days to be prepared but then it will feel like a book project and I'm sure the author would be able to pick out those people who have only ever read one of her books. Yes, I am the one who has made procrastination an art form.

So, anyone ever go to a booksigning for Gabaldon? I'm wondering if others think it will be busy. I should call the store and see if she is staying until closing or until she figures she's done. My friend wants to go shopping that night also but I don't know if there will be a line or what. Watch, it'll be like the opening night of Star Wars Episode III where Bob and I just stood in wonderment. Realizing that the wookies, imperial storm troopers and leias were my peeps was a real shock but then, it explains a lot ;) I wonder if there will be people wearing costumes or if the people will be more literary in form and look down their noses at me for daring to scope out the romance isle.

How did I get here? Ah well, I need to take my train of thought off to bed soon where it can rumble through pool closing rituals, grocery list and the number of ways I can close down an insurance agency. Damn those insurance people! The bigwig hasn't called so I imagine I'm going to get the brush off. They have no clue just how tenacious I can be! I will be their worst nightmare! I will be that niggle in their brain that tells them something is wrong! They will rue the..! *ahem*

Yep, even I start to feel sorry for Bob and then I realize he picked me! I warned him I was a loon and still he married me. My parents send him a thank you card every year on our anniversary ;)

I Really Shouldn't

I shouldn't post right now but, what the hell.

I HAVE A COLD !!!!!

This blows on levels I can't even explain. Bob and I were so sick last year that I swore I was going to do everything I could to stay healthy this year. Not even Halloween and I have a cold. This soooo better not be the way my winter is going to go.

I will be taking some NyQuil tonight and to quote (okay, I don't know it word for word) one of my favourite comedians. ' What's with the makers of NyQuil? Capital N, little y, Big Fucking Q. It should just say on the box, kiss your wife and kids good-bye because you are going on a little trip. ' He's the reason I take NyQuil - lame I know. Anyways, it dopes me out the first night I take it and sometimes it can knock a cold right out of me. I'm hoping here! If it doesn't I don't take anymore because it either gets it the first dose or I'm sick.

I know there is never a good time to be sick but we are one week from closing on the reno house (little chair dance but don't want to get ahead of myself) and there is *still* painting to be done. I'm sick to death of paint. Sick of it I tell you!

I told Bob tonight that Nov 1st I'm battening down the hatches and I'm not leaving this house until the spring. Can't really happen because I have about 6 birthdays (the family kind with gifts) before Christmas so Nov/Dec are very, very busy around here.

The good news is that my family is very open about not wanting to get sick. If you are sick, stay the *^^&% home!! I was the first to create this mantra and I guess being rude to everyone makes them realize that sometimes you are right.

Bob and I went to my friends one night and she opened the door and said that my Godson had just gotten sick. 180. I was outta there!!

Also, I have the great book blues. I hate when they set in because nothing you pick up looks interesting. I am going to try and dive into Lynn Viehl's book because I think there is a vampire and I am so in the mood. If it doesn't get me I may crack the second book in the Kim Harrison series.

Good Lord, I think it may be depressing to drop by here lately! I would link to some fun jokes but I need to go and drug myself up - sooooo, go look at the kitties ;)

Ah, screw it I found the quote for NyQuil from Denis Leary - if you are easily offended, move on. If you could use a good laugh and don't mind bad language read on!!


I don't do illegal drugs anymore. Now I just do the legal drugs. Tonight I'm on NyQuil and Sudafed. Let me tell you something, folks. Forget about cocaine and heroine. All you need is NyQuil and Sudafed. I'm telling you right now, I took the NyQuil five years ago. I just came out of the coma tonight before the fucking show! Claus Vanbulo was standing over my bed going, "Denis, get up! There's something the matter with Sunny! Hurry up!" I love NyQuil. Man, I love it! I love it. I love it. I love it. It's the best thing shit ever invented. Isn't it, huh? I love the name alone. NyQuil - Capitol N, small Y, big fucking Q! I love that fucking Q, don't you!? What a great advertising idea! Put a huge fucking Q on the box. They'll get high and stare at it. "The Q is talking to me! The Q is talking to me!"

I love NyQuil, man. Because NyQuil has never changed, man. It's never changed. All the other medicines are doing that inner-child thing. "we know that there's a small child inside of you, so now we have grape and cherry and orange flavor." Not NyQuil! They still have the original green death fucking flavor! You know why!? Because it doesn't matter what it tastes like! It's so strong you go, "*wheeze* Hey this stuff really tastes like.." Bang! Yer in the coma already! "What happened?" "He said tastes like and he went right into the coma, it was unbelievable!" We have reached the point where the over the counter drugs are actually stronger than anything you can buy on the street. It says on the back of the NyQuil box, on the back of the box it says, "May cause drowsiness." It should say, "Don't make any fucking plans! Kiss your family and friends goodbye. Say hello to Klaus!" NyQuil, NyQuil, NyQuil, we love you! You giant fucking Q!


Ah, I feel better and now I can't stop laughing. Laughter is the best medicine? I'll let you know. I really need to buy Leary's DVDs because even when you know you're going to hell for laughing...well, you're laughing!! I loved the Darth Vadar stuff with his kids - classic. I should also mention that I think he is sexy. Wouldn't want to kiss him because he is always smoking like a chimney but he definitely does it for me. There TMI. Everytime someone brings up 'guys you think are sexy that no one else does' I draw a blank so maybe I'll just toss them out there as they come to me.

I know what you are thinking. She already took the NyQuil.

I was Tagged - woohoo!!

I have just received my first tag from Tara Marie!! I'm it!! Yeah, I know you are laughing because you're thinking it gets old but...I got tagged!!

Ah basically you have to search your blog for the word joy used in the context of happiness. Since I did not find joy or happiness in my blog I got to choose a few from this list given

joy — amusement, bliss, cheer, comfort, delectation, delight, ecstasy, elation, exaltation, exultation, exulting, felicity, gaiety, gladness, glee, good humor, gratification, happiness, hilarity, humor, jubilance, liveliness, merriment, mirth, pleasure, rapture, regalement, rejoicing, revelry, satisfaction, wonder

Holy Crap, none of these words are in my blog!! Can't be true!

To put it plainly I must find something that gives me joy in this very minute.

Well, Emma my kitty is sleeping on the desk in front of me and when I touch her every so often she starts purring like a loud motor.

I got to spend the day with my two dear friends at the Pumpkinfest and even though it rained and we didn't get out of the house we still had a good time!

My ability to get out of my house is something that I always consider a great blessing because I know what it is like when I can't.

Hmmm, see, I usually will sit with Bob and tell him the things that I feel blessed with and then we talk about all the things that bring us joy.

Hopefully this blog brings you guys some joy because it does bring me joy. Writing about books, renos, cats, dogs, friends, books etc, that's fun so I won't stop doing it ;)

I tag Suisan, Kristie J and Nicole

For Nicole

Not one of mine but way too cute!












Now these two are mine. Amber in the box, Emma on the lid. Emma is a long hair who gets mattes now that she is older. So I shaved her with a razor because I was worried her skin would get sores. This is an after shot of kitty mohawk - where her side is lighter in colour.







To the left, Amber in a decorative basket that I got for Christmas. I have actually seen her work her way into a Kleenex box.

Emma sleeping with all fours in the air. Only thing is she decided to yawn while I took the picture. Look at that pink belly - too cute!

Not mine but SQUEEEEEEE!

Uber Mess about to Commence

Finally, finally treated myself to a reading night and I finished Dark Lover which is a keeper. No question. I believe there are many reviews and if it wasn't so late I would direct you to them although I know if you follow The Good, The Bad and The Unread link on the left to Sybil's she has a link to her review at AAR.

Yeah, the names of the Brothers are all weird but as you read you realize they are the keeper of their name. Something weird has happened to each of them and I can't remember if it was explained in the book or not. Zsadist, well, he doesn't have much of his soul left, was a slave and tortured for centuries. So yeah, he is into pain and is scary. I really hope that Ward remains true to his character. He isn't nearly as bad as he plays but I can't imagine that he is a pussy cat either. So if you have been reading about how these guys have weird names don't worry about it. At least in this book, I can see the reason.

I like darkness in my books and the Brothers were definitely that. Butch, a human homicide cop was also very dark. Very, very dark in the I may want to eat my gun kind of way. I fell hard for him and have been antsy and anxious about him for a few days. (Okay, life stuff may have been the underlying cause but whenever I began to think that Butch might not get a HEA I would get tense) So, of course, this part was excellent.

Where the book started to pull at the seams was when Wrath and Beth found each other. This cold, heartless man finds Beth and becomes this soft puppy dog. Okay, not really a soft puppy dog but there is a shift noticeable. Wrath is the King of the Vampires so I guess the rituals that happened surrounding Beth are to be expected. It was just a little cutesy. I wanted these fanged monsters to remain monsterish. Yeah, we will die for you but don't piss us off because we are capable of some seriously crazy shit. Especially when their 'curse' takes over. You only get to see one of the Brother's curse and hear of another's.

Anyways, I am way intrigued by these characters and I don't want to stay up too late tonight so I won't start my rant on connected books. Hey, it may not be fresh but I am a newbie at series books and it's starting to grate.

More on that next time.

OT: Super Bitch Rant

You know that whole basement saga I have going on. Well it finally dawned on me that I have home owners insurance so I called and they sent someone out. The someone said that we definitely have a claim because the pipe that sprayed water was a burst pipe. Not a slow dripping pipe. Keep this in mind. Not a slow dripping pipe.

Now, I have mentioned that my husband invented this product called Dxxxxxx and well, we have the prototype in our basement - dxxxxxx allows water to move under your flooring because it has a plastic back and there are dipples that keep the floor elevated. No mold or dampness. Voila. We've had the floor down for 8 years and not one problem.

Problem. Suddenly our floors are slushing and baseboards have split and OMG what happened to the top of Bob's ceramic counter top. Bob, very busy thinks water must be coming in where the pool guys installed the heat pump this year. Also, maybe air conditioner water because of the overly hot humid summmer.

No, not until Thanksgiving do we discover where the problem is. Guess what? The insurance company considers this a 'slow' leak and therefore we aren't covered. The loss had to be sudden. WTF am I paying insurance for? Yeah, we failed (and maybe that's what is really bothering me is that my husband and I didn't take the time to look for all possible problems because we are too damn busy making another house beautiful to take care of our own ::cough:: yeah, we may have hit the nail on the head) but, what, when was I supposed to call these people?

Gah, I'm so pissed and I wouldn't be if they had just said, you know, we don't cover water damage from inside the home. Oh, okay. No, they won't cover *my* water damage because they decided without seeing the pipe that there was a slow leak. Afterall, mold had time to grow.

Okay, that's enough from me. I'm going to my friend's house to bitch, complain and whine. Aren't you glad you're not going to be there?

Trouble Brewing

It's like watching a freight train coming at me!

I am only half way through Dark Lover and even though I am involved in the main characters there is a character named Butch that I have completely fallen for. I am beginning to hate reading books that are connected. Like I said in a previous post, I know that Butch gets a story but as it stands right now, there are at least 2 others before him and those books are not out until my bloody pool is opened next spring.

OH SHIT! I just went to J. R. Ward's website and there is no mention of Butch!

I'll be back, I need to go find a paper bag to breath in!

A Blogging We Will Go!

OMG! I don't know where to begin. Everyone out there is coming up with some incredibly deep, insightful or just plain funny stuff!

Let's start with Bam since it's her birthday. No review of the book in question but some birthday love may help the hangover.

Keishon has my head spinning and I so don't enjoy that. You'll have to go see. No, no, not the sports thing keep looking! Summing up. What would you do for you pet and when is it too much? Then in the comments we decided to bring up human euthanasia - yeah, that was me. Don't hurt me now! Check out the previous day's blogging for inspiration for your own blog.

Tara Marie's husband decided that telling their 4 yr old the story of the headless horseman before bed would be a good idea. Go offer support and find out what happened - nightmares or superman?

Nicole is my new heroine! Like I said in the comments, I can't read more than one book as even with one, I can forget what happened a page ago when I have left the book for too long.

Jay has decided it is time to read some historical fiction. My prayers are with her. I also *love* the little guy reading a book on the side of her blog. Love him!

LLB - well, good Lord, when doesn't this thinking woman not come up with compelling topics for discussion. I have not been to AAR's ATBF yet but I am hoping that by the time I get there, there will still be time for me to be honest in my opinion.

Suisan is just trying to keep her head above water so go give her a holler so she knows you care ;)

ReneeW in the Used Bookstore. Go share your stories of salesclerk stalking. I was once in a makeup store where the woman just stood beside me. I couldn't figure out what was going on but then realized that she thought my friend and I were going to steal something (I was 19 at the time) . I was so bloody offended I turned on my heal, called out to my friend it was time to go and left the area. She didn't stay in business long.

If you haven't been to Rosario's in a while go check out her new look. I love her new format. I haven't read the last few reviews because I didn't want to come across any spoilers. Still I managed to see 'did not feel the love' before I zapped myself out of there and yeah, I know what book she was talking about. Not feeling the love sucks and now I am glaring at the book in the TBR pile - I'll just move it down a few slots.

Meljean's new book is coming out very, very soon and for the cover alone, I am buying this book. Forget that her ideas intrigue me and her thoughts on what makes a hero ring true. Nah, it's the cover ;)

Hop over to Kristie's and tell all of us how you decide what to read next. In all honesty, those who list upcoming reads truly inspire me. I wouldn't know what book I was going to read next if you put a gun to my head. Oh, alright, I would say the first title to pop into my mind but, dude, there's a gun! As to regular life, it depends on what I am jonesin (?) for and even then, I am normally wrong.

This, entry by Mrs. Giggles is good fun and no, I have not had time to read what she has to say about LOST. Tomorrow, I'll get there tomorrow.

I bought Megan Frampton's new book because I heard that even though it is a regency set romance, there is sex in it. Now, I haven't read it yet so I cannot confirm this but hey, I'm going to give it a go as soon as I can find the time! (more on that in a minute)

Sybil had the best news of all for me and yes, I saved my favourite information for last. JR Ward. I have not finished this book but I am in love with some guy named Butch and on Sybil's blog she gives the good news that he gets his own story - Sweet!!


On the other front. Painting will be the death of me. Tomorrow I have to go and paint. Then I hope to come home and tear out all the moldy walls in my basement but one of my friends hasn't seen me in a week and may demand my presence. I'm pretty sure I can hold her off long enough to get the freakin' mold out of my house. Please, Lord let me get this poison out! Then maybe, if I'm a really, really, good girl I can read *that* book on Tuesday (yeah, I know, you are sick of hearing about it). I'm shooting for the stars here people!

I'm wondering if I should take pictures of my mold so you all know I'm not just being a paranoid freak. Truth is, it could be horribly embarrassing in the 'how could you not know you had mold?' kind of way. I knew something went funky but I thought I wasn't cleaning up to par - what with the other house and stuff. Turns out, I just don't know what mold smells like. I do now.

Vacation

I'm still on vacation time with Bob but I swear we would need two weeks to get all our commitments to people in and still find time to have on our own fun!

I'm still clawing at Dark Lover but won't let myself open it again or I'm afraid we'll lose a whole day to me sitting in a chair reading feverishly and ignoring the husband's whine to get out of the house.

So to keep my mind occupied we are finally going to see the movie Serenity tomorrow afternoon!! I can't wait!!
Other things. We are going to go see a house tomorrow before the movie. I'm pretty sure I don't care about it but, I guess I told them I would keep an open mind. Don't know if I mentioned it or not but we found our dream house an hour from where we live about 100 000 dollars more than we were comfortable spending. The house was brand new and gorgeous. Okay, I couldn't resist sharing some of the pictures I took of this house because I had a feeling I wasn't going to see it again. I'm not sure how long it will take to get over the 'dream house' but so far, everything else has paled in comparison. If only I could win the lottery. Did I mention it had a 2 car garage attached to the house and then a seperate shop with a two car garage attached? It was literally my husband's dream shop and except for a few country touches, the house was my dream. French doors off the master bedroom to a deck. It was in a small town and was on 1/2 an acre. Not only that it was on city water and natural gas. Cisterns, wells and oil heat are the norm in the country. It sounds standard but when you have seen as many houses as I have over the last 10 years you know a house like this only comes up about .... once every 10 years :(

There was only one other time that I was ready to buy a house and I hadn't even seen the inside of it. It was on 5 acres, was a cute little house that was going to need years of work and there was a shop. It was on a corner of two roads so there were only two neighbours and the feeling of being in the open. It was also priced way below what was selling in the area. We called our agent (who has been with us for probably 7 years now) and told him to make an offer at the asking price. He was so excited and said he would get the details and call right back. The listing was 4 days old by this time. He called back and told us the house had been sold in a bidding war the night before. I cried all the way home and told Bob I was done looking for our dream house.

I don't take to change very well and the last few years have been hectic with change. They say one of the most stressful times is when a couple is selling a house. (Hmm, I went to find this statistic and I swear the top 10 stressors have changed. All the same, I can't argue with any of them and since marriage and change of job are in there then I guess I am in some sort of boat. Course, all you are in the same boat so grab a paddle!!) Well, we've now sold two in a year. We may not have lived in them but the selling process is the same. I didn't just have Bob getting all antsy, but my Dad also. Then there was the other partner who asked us to drop our price when Katrina hit because he was worried the real estate market would crash with soaring gas prices. Who was the voice of reason during all this. Me. I'm one tough bitch when I have to be and I told all of them I wasn't budging on price because it took 9 months of my life and I wanted what was fair. Lucky me, we got an excellent offer. My husband likes to be the sound of doom and gloom and tells me we were just lucky. Hey, we've done this twice now. Once is luck. Twice is good workmanship and patience. The average sell through on a house is 48 days (Bloody hell, I have to start noting where I am getting my statistics from - this is for the Ontario, Canada market - I'm going to see if Remax had it up - sorry can't find it but you trust me, right?). Our house sold in 43. Our first house sold in 10 (which is why the men were all freaking - not many people can just step up and purchase a house - you have to wait for a buyer).

Ooops, there I go again. Sometimes I just need to vent.

Have I mentioned that our house has mold in it. I'm freaking out. I'm trying to remain calm but at the same time, my inner voice is set to scream. I can't wait for Bob to go back to work so I can get down there and demo the room. It needs to be done but I don't want Bob to have to worry about it during our holiday. It's better when I work alone anyways. That way, I can take as many breaks as I need and Bob is always happy by my work when he gets surprised. Hey, after 10 years of marriage, I've learned a few tricks ;)

And what the hell, here's a picture of part of the ensuite bathroom.

That my friends, is a free standing modern claw foot tub like tub, only no claws! Loved it!
::Sigh:: I should really have a good cry over this house but it hasn't sold yet and I'm one of those people who's hope is a hard thing to quash. I keep thinking we could offer them 100 000k under their asking price firm no conditions and that maybe they would take it. Yeah, I live in my own little world ;)

Wow, it's 1am already and all I want to do is go read.

Must. Stay. Away. From. Dark. Lover.

Ah, screw it, what's an hour?

Edited : Good news, it took me a half an hour to find the links, can't possibly justify reading for only a 1/2 an hour!

Dude, Where's My Book?

Is it just me or do others have those times where everything is great and then everything is rotten and then everything is great again. Yes, yes, I know that most people do but is it like, weekly with you guys? I tell ya, it's like I'm getting punched every other day and good Lord, why am I complaining after what has happened in the world!

Our news the other night had a segment on donor fatigue. I didn't watch it because I understood what they were going to say. All the same, I know I have to do something. Thankfully, the governments are accepting aid as soon as it is offered this time. It's not the giving of money as much as it is the feeling of being overwhelmed. It started last year on Boxing Day and it feels like mother nature just won't let up. Again, by the grace of God. What angers me most is that there isn't the hourly news coverage for what has happened in Pakistan and India. Maybe the news crews just aren't there. I know the police beating in New Orleans is horrible and has to be dealt with but is it really as important as a 30 000 death toll? I didn't start this to bitch, sorry it went that way.

I was going to tell you about my weekend and that we had a great time. Then, Monday 4am Bob woke me to tell me he couldn't catch his breath. Now, I don't believe I have mentioned my husband's frequent visits to the ER. I really should be able to set my watch by it. It happens at least every 6 months. Normally it is chest pains and I used to be very concerned about it. Afterall, his family history combined with high cholesterol do not make a good combination. His father, however, just celebrated his 86th and his mother her 82nd birthdays. I think longevity is in the blood. Nevertheless, the chest pains were something that I would worry about.

This past year, vague feelings of being out of it. Yeah, a 12 hour ER visit because my hubby was dizzy. They found nothing and I was not feeling all that sympathetic. I get dizzy spells everyday!! So I told him the next time he thought about going to the ER for a light headed feeling to get a grip and suck it up. Apparently he has had a light headed episode since then and he told me 'he sucked it up'. I was proud.

So to say I wasn't happy to be woken up to go to the hospital is putting it mildly. I figure my husband is going to outlive us all and although the idea that he could take a deep breath should have been upsetting it wasn't like he couldn't breath. Also, he brought up the lightheaded thing and that his legs felt wobbly. Again, I walk too fast and I get this stuff ;). Good news, it was acid reflux. Apparently is can cause the trachea to spasm which was why he couldn't catch his breath for a half an hour. Second part of good news, we were in and out in 3 hours. People think it's funny that I am happy about this but c'mon, I don't remember a time in my life that I haven't had to wait in an ER. In Ontario, all the hospitals are saying they are understaffed (and I really think they are) and are saying that that is the reason for the lengthy wait times in the ER. Uh, no. The ER has always been slow - for as long as I have been alive. Ah well, I am a veteran of hospitals between Bob, my two godchildren and one of my bestfriends. I go well prepared. I grab a book, some water and money for parking and we're gone. The nurse that night saw me reading and said, 'at least you come prepared'. That's right.

On that note, on the way out the door I knew I would need a good book to keep me company so I brought JR Ward's Dark Lover. I don't even think I am on page 40 and I am loving this book. So, yeah, I dumped Crazy Hot and am now reading Dark Lover. My husband being on holidays does not work for reading so I am not getting to sit and read but next week, I'm all over this book.

Oh, and we found massive amounts of mold in our basement. I knew something was wrong downstairs but I thought maybe I wasn't cleaning thoroughly enough and with the other house, I just didn't have time. The other night I went to put away some of our extra kitchen stuff in my husband's 50's diner downstairs and smelled something horrible when I opened the cabinet. I immediately closed it and told hubby we had a problem. I didn't realize how bad until Bob came up shaking his head. The pipe under the sink had a leak and has been misting water all behind the cabinets probably for about 2 months (we have dxxxxx in our basement which allows water to flow underneath our existing flooring which is why things aren't worse but, we have the prototype which is not as good as the actual product). We had a drain backup downstairs but we thought it was from the airconditioner. Needless to say, I'm creeped out. Bob has already been down preparing the area for demo and we haven't closed on the other house yet. The next few months are going to be a whirlwind of demo and re-build - in our house this time!!

Yeah, so that's all the bad news and again, complaining feels like a horrible thing to be doing right now but, I needed to get it out.

Good news? I'm going to redo the downstairs the way I want it to be - no 50's diner! (Bob said it was okay, he's over it - Thank God!)

This Weekend

I figure most of us will be busy this weekend. This is the Canadian Thanksgiving which means family and friend weekend.

Bob and I are going to the Norfolk County Fair on Saturday. I used to live in Simcoe, Ontario and we were told in school that people would come from all over the country to see our fair (course it was the same for the Christmas lights and again, they are something). It wasn't until I moved and went to fairs for other towns that I discovered just how massive the Simcoe one is. Now, I don't know about you, but I can only look at quilts, monster vegetables, paintings by kids and home crafts before I start to get bored. Oh yeah, there is a baked good section that also has preserves. Then there is the livestock section. After all this there is a mainway that is bigger than any I have ever been to but, I haven't been there in about 8 years so I am going to see how my memory of the fair holds up. Also, I remember we would get the Tuesday off of school so we could all go to the fair opening day. It is probably one of the longest in duration. It goes from a Tues to the following Monday closing with the demolition derby. The fair for my town? 2 days. Not only that it is more money and this year I noticed attendance had dropped off substantially.

Seeing as how I don't do rides now that I am an adult - hey, I didn't want to do them as a kid but I didn't have a choice - and looking at arts and crafts can cross my eyes, I figure we'll be going for the food ;) Maybe I'll see if they have a baby animal section.

Sunday is Turkey day and it's my go. I actually prefer to have the dinner at my house because of my anxiety. I feel like I have control of the situation so I am not supposed to worry as much. What I always forget to factor in is the week of cleaning that never really seems to get done to spec. Also, I just baked a peach blueberry crumble pie which I have never made before. My best friend was telling me the last time she was down how much she loves this kind of pie but she can't bake. I thought as a gift I would bake her one - because ya know I'm all Betty Crocker - NOT. To make a long story short the pie looks like crap. Now, most of my home made pies look like crap but I am always willing to try them. Thing is, I don't think I like peaches so I won't be able to tell how the pie tastes. Ah well, it's the thought that counts so I am going to take it with me and explain that it can absolutely be rim shot into the nearest garbage can if it is horrible.

Monday is the start of Bobby week. Bob has this week off which means day trips! Can't wait until midnight Sunday after turkey because then life becomes all about me again ;)

On that note, I went to a spa and had a full body massage, pedicure and manicure. It was a gift certificate that my husband got for me *last* Christmas. I finally got to go - good health, house almost done and what the hell, when is it the perfect time to relax. Well, let me tell you! The woman who did my massage is a goddess. She really knew her stuff and I can't wait to go again. There was a point where she hit a spot in my back that was extremely painful - When I am really down or tired I get a spot dead centre of my shoulder blades that hurts like hell. When I am desperate, I ask my husband to put his hand in the center of my back and then take his other arm and pull my shoulders back. I actually have asked him to step on my back which he firmly said no to. Anyways, the spot hasn't been painful but sure enough she hits it. I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to ask her to stop when she says, 'ah, here is a problem', Now whether my back was tensing when she went over the spot or if she could actually feel it, I don't know but good Lord, she worked that spot until it was a limp noodle. Knowing that it is a muscle (pressure point actually) and not a bone in my spine is a relief. Now I know where to tell Bob to rub ;)

As for the rest, I have wanted to get a pedicure for a few years because I was sure my feet were a mess. The lady insisted it was nothing and went to cleaning me up in no time. I have the faintest of bronze on my figures which is weird because I never wear nail polish so when I see my hands I'm all, what's that? My toes, however, gorgeous!! I wish I could remember what colour it is - a brown purple - but it goes with my skin beautifully and I am all fascinated. Amazing how shallow I can become! Still, I'm loving it!

Okay, book news. Not good. I started Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen and it's not that the book isn't good, it's just meh. I may have reached my SEAL, FBI, CIA, superspy limit. This from a Suzanne Brockmann fan but then, I think I am falling away from her also. I'm probably only a quarter of the way through Crazy Hot but, I guess I want to read something different. I'm thinking I should force myself to finish so I don't go into a slump by being afraid to pick up a book. The problem is those Kim Harrison books I bought are calling to me from the TBR pile and I'm thinking it's because it's October and it's the time for witches and fairies and things that go bump in the night!

Doubting Thomas

Can you believe that I ever doubted the writers of LOST?

Okay, in my defense, have you seen Alias lately? That should be proof that sometimes our shows hit the point where everything implodes. Last year I was sure I was missing massive amounts of information and possibly a whole bunch of shows. Also, the heat between the lead actors fizzled which is why I don't really want to know about actor's private lives. How can you believe the actor is really who you are watching when the only thing I can think is, 'it isn't Vaughn's baby, it's Ben Affleck's baby'. Yeah, not good.

Sorry, went the wrong way at the last sign.

Anyways, I thought I was going to crawl out of my skin during LOST this week! Jack and Desmond, Locke and Locke - c'mon, what the hell happened to this guy! Hurley and pantry, Sayid and no questions, Flight 815, NOT the others!!

The night got away from me so that's it for now. Just a quicky ;)

Truth Time

I wanted to keep to a book theme but not having time to read I cannot do a review. So I figure we can all dish about those books that everyone loves but we just don't get, books that we have in the TBR pile that we haven't picked up yet and authors we haven't tried but if given a free year, we'll get around to ;)


Diana Gabaldon - Truthfully, I can no longer say I haven't tried her books. I started Outlander and made it to the marriage. Then they started fishing and staring into rivers. Bored. I put the book down and never picked it back up. One of my best friends borrowed my copy and ended up reading the rest of the series in about a week. She is so in love with these books. She was upset when I told her where I stopped. 'But, you're just getting to the best part!' and trust me, it was a perfect wail mixed with a bit of a whine ;) It turns out the Gabaldon will be at the Chapters store near me in October and I have sent an e-mail to my friend to see if she wants to come down. I may get to meet the author before I ever fully appreciate the author. I'm thinking of asking her if her books are romance ;)

Mary Balogh - It turns out that I may have read a book by her years ago but I didn't keep records back then and my memory stinks. What I remember is that the H/H get married and the heroine lies under her husband while he does 'the deed'. The husband doesn't mind because he has a mistress. Meanwhile, the wife thinks that she is doing exactly what her husband wants and loves him. Why I remember the book is that the hero starts to think about his sex life and admits to preferring his wife and her lack of movement in bed. I remember being somewhat horrified by this book. I was heartbroken for the wife (who I think figures out about the mistress and causes great grief for the husband) and wondered if the hero had a fetish that I don't find at all romantic ;) Anyways, I just purchased a two in one book by Balogh but again, it sits in the pile.

JD Robb's Eve series is one I just don't get. I know many people love this series and to each his own but for me, Roarke was so over the top rich and over the top everything that he didn't come across as real. Eve was like a robot. I forced myself to finish Naked in Death and tried the next but realized life was too short ;)

Christine Feehan - I read the first 1/3 of one of her first books and I didn't feel the love which is really funny because the best friend who loves Gabaldon also likes Feehan. Maybe this is a pattern I should watch.

As for books that are waiting in the TBR pile, I think many would weep over the titles that I have yet to read.

Lisa Kleypas' books all pre Lady Sophia's Lover ( a keeper) which means I still have Derek Craven to look forward to.
Penelope Williamson - I think I have two of her books but I can't remember which ones. I rented a movie called The Outsider which I enjoyed except for some stilted acting and discovered it was based on her book.
Ruth Wind - haven't read any of her books and have In The Midnight Rain in the TBR pile. Ooops I always forget that she is also Barbara Samuels - I have read one of her books and it felt more like women's fiction - great book but hey, I'm a romance junkie for a reason ;)
Tami Hoag - haven't read and have Lucky's Lady in TBR pile
Nora Roberts - I haven't read any of her books since Honest Illusions. I have the Born In series and I think the first book in the Sea series.
Gaelyn Foley - I could have sworn I read one of her books but I'm beginning to think I have her confused with someone else. I have The Duke and something with a Princess in the title in the TBR pile. I also have the latest One Night of Sin in the TBR pile. I think red covers may be my weakness because I just couldn't pass this book up and I am normally more controlled about buying too many books of an author I have not read.
Liz Carlyle - haven't read yet and I get confused by the titles so I am not even sure which book I have of hers - just in, I won three historicals by her at AAR aid auction so I know I will have some great reading ahead - I wonder who won the Devil series? Ohh, her website home page is breathtaking!
Judith Ivory/Cuevas - never read and very, very afraid ;)
Patricia Gaffney - I read her first fiction book there a few years back but haven't read any of her romances. I am looking forward to reading To Have and To Hold. I understand she has moved on to women's fiction - meh.
Mary Jo Putney - have books in the pile but have yet to read.
Catherine Coulter - I am pretty sure I read one of her books and wondered what all the fuss was about ;) Ah, according to her website she now writes suspense - I'm so over suspense and yes, I was the Queen of suspense at one time...your welcome.
Megan Chance - I did read Night in Eden this year and immediately bought all of hers I could find - still need to read though.

Oh, and I haven't read Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights (although I saw the movie on TV a while back and am glad I didn't waste my time), Emma, Persuasion (or anything by Jane Austen) or Jane Eyre. And I reallyreallyreallydon'twantto. Phew.

Uh, also Laura London, Roberta Gellis (oh my gosh she and her puppy are gorgeous!!) and Georgette Heyer (wow, the photo of her is beautiful).

See how I saved the most damning for last ;)

Side Note: I have been on the 'net' now for about 8 years and I remember back when I was surfing I would rarely find a website for a romance author. Now, they are all over and I for one am very glad. I love being able to visit an author's site and read excerpts or blurbs for their books. It is indeed very handy - hard for a link crazy post but, very handy ;) Also, after this post I now want to read a few of their biographies - oh, why not, it's not like I have time to read a book right now!

Do Over by Dorien Kelly

I finished this book last night and for the most part I enjoyed it. I would grade it a B.

Cara Adams has been working at the same law firm for 6 years and is considered a grinder. A grinder is someone who will work all hours of a day to get the job done and yes, this includes weekends. These types, however, do not have connections to help bring in new clients. It's okay though, Cara has aligned herself with one of the partners who does bring in the clients. She figures after 6 long years she is 6 months away from partnership and has put down money for a very expensive condo.

To say the shit hits the fan when Mark Morgan shows up is putting it mildly. Cara and Mark attended the same law school and for some reason, Cara didn't try to outshine Mark in some sort of interview and Mark got the job. Apparently the person who gets this job in the school suddenly has every opportunity to have a fabulous career. I'm never really clear about the relationship that Mark and Cara had in school so I don't know if Cara is projecting her 'unhappiness with her career' onto an event that happened years ago or if it is really like that.

Anyways, Mark chooses to walk away from his unbelievably successful law career in New York when his mother has a stroke and his father decides to play possum so he ends up in Detroit in Cara's law firm. It's a no brainer for all players that Mark is a hot commodity and that he will definitely make partner next up. Not only that, the lawyer Cara was working with jumped ship and left her behind without even a backward wave. Cara is blindsided by all these changes and thus begins a very painful tailspin.

I'm really not sure why Mark fell for Cara. To say she is an overachiever and not exactly a great friend is understating the situation. Cara makes every mistake in the book. On top of all this, the associates in the firm are starting to circle having smelled fresh blood. Cara takes all this very personally and decides she will fight to get her partnership. Now, I'm no business wiz, but even I knew she wasn't going to do it and I'm not sure how she could have been in denial for so long. So Mark and Cara end up in a situation that only a woman can understand. Mark knows she isn't going to get the partnership, Mark shouldn't have to apologize for having a different career or for that matter, enjoying his career.

That said, I think seeing this from the woman's perspective is painful. I've been in the position of watching the 'old boys club' go out together and discuss business while being left out and I don't think most men *get* what it is like to be on the outside. (Yeah, this is why I don't work for anyone else now - just me ;)) The reader can empathize with Cara but I guess I got lost after a certain point.

The relationship side was not exactly front and centre but that may have been because business was where the author focused her attention. Even though I was eager to read about these characters I didn't feel the emotional pull that should have been there. Near the end there is a scene that I just don't understand and Cara pulls something I thought she had developed past. Also, the ending was fast. Very fast.

So in the long run, I am glad that I finally read Dorien Kelly because I have another book of hers in the TBR pile.

I have been extremely lucky in trying new authors this year! I'll have to do up a list of new to me authors for the blog.

I should also mention that I really like the cover of this book. If you are going to do cartoon, then this is the way it should be!

Next up? I've decided to try and read a book that no one is blogging about. Hey, I was going to read Dark Lover (which apparently rocks!) but thought others would appreciate a look at another book. Right, so I picked up Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen and have read the first chapter. I'm happy. Now, I just have to read and blog my thoughts about it before anyone else does. Hmmm, I'm thinking it may be Friday before I get the book finished because A - it's huge! and B - paint.

What's Up

I've been at the Reno house painting for the last three days so I haven't had a lot of time to read. I put on my jimmies tonight and I held them up to my nose and all I can smell is paint. So at the moment I can only smell and taste paint. I'm not a happy camper.

The good news is that I have a pack of Sweettarts - my absolutely favourite candy beside Lik-M-Ade and Sour Kids - and am making my way through the pack. I think I am slowly eradicating the taste of paint from my mouth ;)

I used CIL Smart ceiling paint yesterday and today and let me tell you, this stuff is great. I painted with normal paint on the main floor and there were rooms that took 5 coats of paint on the ceilings!! (We renovate older homes and this one had water marks and such all over the place so we had to use special primer before the paint) I hate painting ceilings, because it is hard to see and it is usually just white on white - boring. Anyways, we have completely finished the basement and every surface is new drywall and needs to be painted. I wanted to get the ceilings done first because they hurt me (and anyone who helps). I decided to try the paint that starts out as a cooler. This one starts out pink. Holy crap! I am very pleased. I had to prime with drywall primer and then with only 2 coats of the CIL paint the ceilings look fabulous. I don't own any paint company just in case you're wondering. Apparently all I talked about today was how great this paint was ;)

As for reading I am still on Do-Over by Dorian Kelly and even though I wasn't sure at the beginning, it has turned out to be a great read. I believe it was mentioned back when it came out that the author got the 'office politics' right and they are definitely prevalent in this book. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I just have to keep my eyes open over the next few hours.

I have so many great books to read and I am hoping that we will have the Reno house done by the 15th of Oct. We close on the 30th of Oct so we will definitely be done by then! I need to clean my library room and set up my new books so I know what I need to read next. I noticed that the last 4 books I bought have received excellent reviews. Makes me very happy.

I'm not sure that this is the way things are done but at the moment I am bidding on three items for the AAR Aid auction. I won 2 autographed books by Lori Handeland - Blue Moon and A Soldier's Quest from the first set. I absolutely love the cover to your left. I have never read Handeland and I thought this would be a great opportunity to try her. The same goes for the three auctions I am trying for this go. I have heard of the authors but have never read any of their books. I hope I win at least one of the sets ;)

The auctions end on Monday and I just know there are some of you who are way too auction savvy and are waiting to pounce in the last minute. If only I could stay near the computer at the end.

I believe I will still be painting.

Aside: I did something stupid with the spell check and now I think words have been changed. I'm just too tired to figure out the errors. Bad Cindy - okay, lazy Cindy. Also, Bob wants in here so I better move.

Suisan - no vamps and no LOST? That's two strikes babe! ;)