Whacha Think?

This is about the new TV series Battlestar Galactica but you don't have to have watched it to follow this post. I'm really talking about how men and women love differently and why certain things are expected of a man while the reverse isn't often the case for a woman.

So let's start with the hero and heroine of this particular story. You won't like either of these people but it doesn't matter - their story is just very compelling and when the final chapter came I wasn't sure how I felt about what happened.

Batter up! Let's hope I can make some sense.

We have Ellen Tigh and her husband Col. Saul Tigh (I'm not good with names so we'll see if I can keep things straight) who are an older couple - I'm not really sure of their history but I'm sure they don't have any kids. So I would say Ellen is in her late 40s while the Col is late 50s.

Col. Tigh is a drunk and the second in command of the entire fleet. His best friend is Commander Adama and Adama seems to make allowances for this man. When the planet they all live on is annihilated by Cylons, Tigh is forced to give up the bottle and become the man he needs to be to help those who survived find earth.

Saul is one crusty, angry, hating son of a bitch. There's nothing really pleasant about this man and many of the crew don't like him but he could care less. It's all about the war with the Cylons and the survival of the human race.

Suddenly they find another ship (there are about 45000 people left alive on various ships with no weapons that the Battlestar is responsible for - this is the entire human population) and discover that Col. Tigh's wife survived the holocaust.

We meet Ellen, a woman who loves to drink and have indiscreet affairs with other men. At least, that seems to be what she is like. Also, she is power hungry for her husband and wants him to take over command of Galactica.

These two people are treacherous to each other and yet for some reason, you feel they are perfect for each other. Yes, they are drunks and yes, they have a weird sense of what is right and wrong but they only seem to be hurting each other so what is the harm. During this time I came to believe that Saul truly loves his wife. I mean, how many men can deal with a woman who openly flirts with others and has possibly been unfaithful.

Let's just say, I wasn't an Ellen fan.

In the third season of the show the humans find a planet that can sustain life and it is decided that they will live here. What they don't know is that the Cylons know of this planet and are on their way to take over. The Cylons come and take command. Col. Tigh and his wife were on the planet when this occurred and the Battlestar, knowing they couldn't fight the arrival of the Cylons, was forced to leave the people on the ground behind.

Occupation starts and Col. Tigh is taken into custody by the Cylons and is tortured for information which, of course, is not forthcoming anytime soon. He even has his eye plucked from his head but he remains true to who he is and gives the Cylons nothing.

What Saul doesn't know is how desperate Ellen is to save him from the Cylons. While Saul is incarcerated, Ellen does everything she can to get the Cylons (should mention that there are 7 in human form (Lucy Lawless is Cylon # 3!)) to release him. She finally gets to the one guy who can help and starts an affair with him to get what she wants.

When Saul is released he is surprised but Ellen is so happy to see him. At this point I came to realize just how much Ellen loves Saul.

Saul is one of the main players in the resistance movement to kill Cylons and prepares for when Adama finally comes back for them. What Saul doesn't know is the lengths that Ellen will go to to keep the Cylons from coming and killing him. The Cylons continually threaten Saul's life if Ellen doesn't do as she is asked.

Saul openly talks about the raids and such in front of Ellen and at one point he has a map of where he is to meet Adama's people. He goes to throw it in the fire but Ellen reaches for it and tells him not to get up. She then hides the paper under her top and throws something else in the fire. Many people are in the tent when this occurs.

Sure enough the rendezvous point is compromised and the Cylons attack.

Afterwards, two of the men go to Saul to tell him that his wife is a traitor. It becomes clear to him that his wife was the one to give the Cylons the information they needed to sabotage their rescue. One of the men says to Saul, it would be better if it was you. I didn't really know what they were talking about.

So here I am, completely convinced that these two people are in love with each other. I hadn't seen it before but the actions of each have shown that neither seem to be able to survive without the other.

What happens next?

Ellen is being held in a cell and Saul goes and sits with her. She is tired and mentions how she had to do what she did to save Saul. Saul pours a glass of liquor and Ellen says, something about how timely it is. I truly believe that she knew Saul was poisoning her for her treason but she didn't care. When she falls asleep (dies) Saul is devastated and sobs over her dead body.

It is many episodes afterwards and Saul is deep in the bottle and is obviously broken over the loss of his wife. I think after the last episode we'll see him come out of it.

So why did I tell you all this?

I wonder if this doesn't show the difference in love for men and women. Having just gone to the forum boards I can see that not too many people agree with the fact that he killed his wife but I think they are missing a point.

For Ellen, Saul was the be all and end all. She betrayed the human race to keep the man she loved alive. She went against everything she knew Saul believed in order to keep him from being taken and tortured by the Cylons again. She in essence gave up every thing for the man she loved.

Saul, however, gave up his love to remain loyal to his beliefs.

You all know I read Anne Stuart and I love dark heroes and well, Saul, he's pretty dark. All the same, he didn't react the way I would want a man in love to react. In romances the hero would have found a way to save the woman he loves. Even leave every thing he knows and loves behind to be with his soulmate.

I wonder if the roles had been reversed, that it was Ellen who was the soldier and Saul who committed treason, if people would be able to accept her poisoning her husband?

I was moved to tears by the 'death' scene but it made me wonder about gender roles and the value of love to each. Why did he feel the need to kill her? Why didn't he at least try to save her? Was his loyalty and duty more important in the end?

Neither of these characters are perfect. Far from it. I would have expected a heroine to find a way to save her hero while not betraying her people.

Actually this specific episode brought up so many different issues. Col. Tigh allowed men to strap themselves with bombs and head into heavily populated Cylon events. When are these acts terrorism and when is it a part of war? This is touched on in the show but Col. Tigh is so strong in his beliefs that nothing is too horrible to contemplate. So on one side we have a man fighting for the life of all humans and willing to do horrendous things and on the other side we (the audience) can see the futility of what he is doing because the Cylons don't die. They have regeneration ships where they are reborn with all their prior life memories.

I guess this show is looking to give answers which I normally find very frustrating. I don't like to have people point out a problem and then stand back and shrug when asked what we can do about it.

That might be way off point though.

So basically, is it expected that a man love his 'country' more than his wife? Is a woman expected to love her husband more than her 'country'?

Whacha think?

I think I had a hard time coming to my point!

Double O - Not Sexy!

I was introduced to Bond, James Bond at the age of 12 by my parents. They seemed very excited that a 'new' Bond film was out - it was called Octopussy.

After seeing this movie I just couldn't understand how my Mom could think of the hero as sexy.

This was my first encounter with a Male Slut.

There was nothing about this character that I found even remotely appealing. I felt sorry for the women who wanted to have sex with him because they seemed to care. Meanwhile, I knew he was in it for a 'toss in the hay'.

Many years later this character still makes me shudder in revulsion. I enjoy the over the top stunts and the special effects but other than that, I have no love for 007.

I think men like the character because he is superman while at the same time being sexy and suave. In all honesty, I have no clue what it is about this man that women in the audience would find sexy.

I don't think my take on James Bond will ever change because I may have taken my mother's response to him as a 'great man' too seriously. Maybe if they had just told me that Bond movies were cheesy fun I would have found some sort of appeal. Instead, I was introduced to a man that had no redeemable qualities. A man that I would turn and walk away from in a heart beat. A man who never grew up.

So, how about it. Anyone 'love' this character? Can you explain what the appeal is?

A Thief In A Kilt by Sandy Blair

Yes. I'm avoiding my list - turns out there were more things that should have been on there so I did those today.

Hey!

Napping did not end up on the list!

Obviously, I could use one.

Anyways, we are here to discuss A Thief in a Kilt by Sandy Blair which I'm grading a C.

I have read her two previous books, A Man in a Kilt and A Rogue in a Kilt. I have AMIAK as a B+ and wrote in my tiny journal "Fantastic! Like Garwood. Just needs to be fleshed out more. TT romance". ARIAK was given Keeper status and I remember being very taken by Blair's humour.

Well, let's just say that A Thief in a Kilt was a disappointment.

Cindy Blurb: Kate Templeton is a seer and has been a friend of the rightful Scottish King James while he has been incarcerated in the Tower of London. On one occasion she had a vision of James returning to Scotland and razing the land and the people because he believes they have forsaken him. Upset by this vision, Kate decides to go to Scotland and determine who is a 'friend' of James.

I'm thinking Carrot Top would have made a better spy but whatever.

Ian Mackay is the second hand of the man who has been 'holding' the throne for James. Turns out the man is a traitor but Ian doesn't find this out until way later. Anyways, women fall for him left, right and center so when this Kate doesn't faint at the sight of him he is bewitched.

Ian discovers Kate is a spy (but he doesn't know why and she's not telling) so begins some horse chase scenes that made me smile. Then they go to London, Ian gets caught in the Tower of London and Kate somehow rescues him and they head back to Scotland.

There's a part of me that wants to go back to the earlier two books and see if I missed what bothered me so much in this book. Course, I would have to find them and that ain't happening for a while.

I commented on many of the problems here. The good news is the awking, hmmphing and arrghs did tone down after the half way point. Either that or I had become immune. The middle part of the story was probably the best except for them not trusting each other.

Oh, there is a sex scene that I'm pretty sure defies physics but if any of you have actually made love in a hammock and not ended up on your head, please share. I should mention the hammock is on a ship heaving on the sea. I have that obsessive brain that won't let me forget that they are on a friggin' hammock having wild sex! I couldn't just enjoy the moment, I was waiting for the thing to flip over. I'm just saying. Way too distracting.

As to the events at the end. Not believing it was anywhere near possible but hey, maybe attempts at breaching the Tower of London on a moments notice have happened.

Oh and then there were visuals that didn't come off the way the author was intending them. I mean, I think this next line is to show the way a man thinks but I just experienced more of an 'eww' feeling. "Since he'd been old enough to sprout hair on his balls, women had been seeking him out to share their woes." pg 115

Hair on his balls. Yeah, my obsessive brain wouldn't let that image go. Then there was the skeevy image of him as a teen - not sexy.

So why a C?

There were places that made me smile and near the end I managed to tear up over how they believed they would never see each other again. I just think the story had potential but didn't hit it's mark. It wasn't a 'meh' read but there were too many problems that the story couldn't overcome.

Whether I buy Blair's next book is yet to be seen. I think the book could have been much better with some strict editing of over used words and phrases.

So there's my take.

As to what I am going to read now, it's going to be Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart. It's evident that I need to break myself out of my reading slump. Even still, just knowing all the tasks I have to accomplish in the coming month has made it almost impossible for me to sit still.

Wednesday I'm going to go shopping with my gorgeous cousin (I call her my baby girl even though she is now 20 years old) so I need to whip myself into shape or my house is going to look like it does right now, 25 days from now.

That would kill me.

New and Improved Cindy?

Edited - find a wooden wishing well and buy flat rocks to write on because I can only bring 'well wishes' to my Aunt Nora so I figured this would be a cute joke - I will write words on the stones - if I can actually get this done I will take a picture of it.

1. I'm up during daylight hours.

2. It's going to be unseasonably warm over the next few days. (Yee-haw!!)

3. Bob has asked that I cut the grass again which means charging the battery on the tractor - yay! Last time I did that I had sparks arcing everywhere. (Boo-hiss-boo)

4. I want our house decked out for Christmas since we are hosting it this year.

5. I'm afraid of heights.

6. We now live in a 2 storey home. (Where do I put the lights!?)

7. There's a huge blue spruce tree in the front yard. (I don't own a boom truck!)

8. I will put 911 on speed dial and pray I'm not as klutzy as I know I am.

9. I have to pick a new paint colour for the bathroom because it turns out the one I picked is too dark. And too green. This means another Home Depot run. (Uber-hiss-boo!!)

10. It's time to set up the second guest room before my chest pains get any worse. Procrastination is no longer an option.

11. Get this! I have done quite a lot of my Christmas shopping over the net and having stuff delivered straight to my door. Believe it or not this is a great anxiety buster. Now I just have to find something unique for my Dad and then for my wonderful hubby. After that, it's all the little stuff.

12. Let's just get real for a moment. It's the little stuff that's the killer.

13. I must do up all our Christmas cards. I don't want people getting our cards in January like in the second year of our marriage. Jan 15th to be exact. Ugh.

14. I'm going to do indoor lights around all our front windows - we have a traditional square house and I think having the window lit up will bring some cheer. This will cost money because I don't actually have these lights. I'm also not telling Bob so he can be surprised when he gets home. On that note, anyone know how to do this without using tape? Do they have a window trimming kit nowadays?

15. Reading? *snort* Anne Stuart may have to get up on deck because I need to get sucked into a book!

16. Organizing all the 'shit' for lack of a better word so that I don't feel like I'm about to be attacked by all the clutter in my house. (Shhhh, I've been hearing about a coup for a few days now)

17. Go to thrift stores and see if I can find a wooden chest of drawers to paint for one of the bedrooms. Yeah, this one is soooo not happening. I'm not so good with the antiques/second hand shopping. I get bored fast.

18. I figure that's enough for this week and will re-visit how I did next Monday.

Hmmm, setting goals and then evaluating my success.

Interesting concept.

New.

But interesting.

Pass The Gas Mask Please!

Well, Cody is back to his ol' self but with a new and improved (in a kill you dead kinda way) uh, scent.

Yes. Our dog is a lethal weapon. Or at least, his butt is.

My brother and his girlfriend came over today and we were in another room (living room) while Cody was snoozing at the other side of the house. I think they were here for about an hour before I said 'oh, by the way, Cody has gas' and my brother says 'no kidding!'.

I was stunned that they were able to smell him but OMG!! Once they knew I knew there was a smell, Krista started taking her sweater and covering her nose. I was the farthest away so I couldn't smell anything until I got up to get them drinks and hit a wall of 'Holy Mary Mother of God what died!' smell.

Yes.

It's that bad.

I woke up this morning and was in the room with Cody for about an hour before I just couldn't take it anymore and went upstairs. Seriously, the only thing that'll save you is to be on a different floor! I even opened up windows to get fresh air in the house and still, we're afraid to light matches.

Bob has suggested we turn off the pilot light on the furnace.

It's been like this for three days.

I'm not sure I know what fresh air would smell like!

Other than that, I'm a wee bit emotional and can't remember when I took my meds last. Let's just say that I did the marathon sleeping thing to get my sleep to a regular pattern and that's a sure way to make sure I don't remember entire days. I have no clue what I did on Saturday. Not a one.

Oh wait.

I remember watching about 8 hours of the TV show The 4400. Not all at once mind you but close enough. I got to the stage where I had been up for way too long and wasn't able to wind back down. And I was lonely because Bob didn't know I was going to be up during the day and he was pulled in to work at the reno home (although I was told he was done there until January).

Since I won't drive if I am the least bit sleepy I stayed in. Also, I don't really enjoy shopping by myself and I couldn't think of anything pressing that I needed to get. Most of my friends live an hour away so I couldn't just call someone up and say, hey, meet me over at the mall.

I also can't get into any book I pick up right now but I seem more in the mood for crosswords than for just sitting and reading. I think I might have to get some keepers off the shelf to get me back into the swing of things. I finished A Thief in a Kilt and would give it a C but I'll write up my reasons hopefully in the next post.

Tonight I went and rented 4 movies. The DaVinci Code (never read the book and haven't seen it yet), An Inconvenient Truth (could be about dogs with horrible gas), Ice Age II because I'm still a kid at heart and X-Men III because I'm a sucker for Sci-fi/Fantasy crap.

Now I just have to be able to sit in the TV room long enough to watch any of these. Right now, tears are streaming down my face just writing up this post.

Oh, Cody is on two new drugs - one for his liver and one for pain and we're wondering if this eau d'toilet (literally) scent is a side effect.

If so, it's going to be one hell of a few months!

It's Better Than We Thought!

Cody went in yesterday and was sedated and had X-rays taken. Get this, they also were able to 'scope the nostril and biopsy the tumor'. They were quoting over a thousand dollars for this procedure in August and today the cost was about 400 bucks.

So the news is that only one nostril has the tumor (thankfully) and it is beginning to push against the other nostril which is making it narrower. I swear, I have no clue why they wouldn't just cut it out but Bob was the one to pick Cody up and he was told it was on the bone. So we are having the biopsy pieces tested and should know by Friday.

The only other concern was that his liver test came back with a change from August so we have some new meds for him.

Like Suisan said, they do have treatment options for him - the last visit I had they told me they could do nothing but could (and this part is morbid) take the top part of his snout off. Uh, no. This time she was telling me they could do radiation therapy (she said something about the costs and such but I don't really care - I'm much more about his quality of life!) and it would be in pill form and would stop the tumor from growing but isn't a cure. I'm also thinking they should be able to cut enough away to keep it from collapsing the other nostril and possibly opening the other. Course, I'm probably talking out my ass because for all I know the minute you cut the cells they spread.

He's 12 and I know he hasn't got a ton of years left but I feel so much better about his prognosis today. Now I think we have at least another year with him.

The vet, God bless her, also recognized that I was struggling with a puppy (okay, he's 12) who just doesn't act old. She told me that it is hard when you can see that the dog isn't affected in any other way. How can he be sick? So it was nice to hear her talk about the validity of my concerns about Cody. Oh and again, when Bob picked up Cody she said that in every other way Cody is in exceptional health for him age. Weird eh? Still, good to hear that we have been looking after him right.

The worst part was when the vet had me sign for his procedures and told me that with his age and breathing problems there was a chance he wouldn't come out of anesthesia. I hesitated for sure but realized that Cody needed this done but he sure got lots of kisses and hugs before he left the room.

Bob was home because he had 'people' come to do the electrical and he wasn't about to ask me to stay up all day for what, the 15th time in 4 weeks ;) So I get home and know I have to tell him there is a risk. Sure enough he wanted me to call and cancel right away. I said no. He was all upset because he said he would have come with us if he had known that there was a risk in the procedure. I'm just glad that I can call him on his bullshit - he was going to have Rocky put down at the house but the minute the guy said 'maybe he could be helped' he was all about getting him to the vet and there was nothing they could do and for me, Rocky suffered needlessly for about 8 hrs because of that dumb home vet. (Okay, bit of bitterness about that)

Cody's my boy though. Rocky, Bunny and Winston were here before me so I always felt the final decision was Bob's but Cody, Amber and Emma are MINE! I will push to have what I think is right for them.

Anyways, I was so happy to see Cody when I got up (midnight) and Bob snorted when he saw Cody's tail wag the minute he saw me. 'Oh sure, Mom gets a tail wag' - yeah, that makes me happy.

So even though I was trying to get around the clock the vet asked that someone stay with him for the next twenty four hours to make sure that bleeding doesn't begin where they took out the samples. There's some blood but not horrible.

I have my Cody Bear snoring beside me and I feel better again. He still has trouble breathing but I truly believe that we'll have an answer in the next week or so to help him.

Thank you all so much for the well wishes! You guys keep me sane I tell ya. I was messed up last night and just decided to start typing and it was nice to unload my feelings about this. I know there are bigger things in the world to worry about so thanks for being so understanding and supportive. Man, I love blogging!

Yeah. I'm happy and lo and behold my tummy has stopped hurting also!

Edited: I will do a review for a book that wasn't a KEEPER - I mean, wow, when was the last time that happened!? I also have a few things about heroes and the male/female differences that came to me while watching Battlestar Galactica - I'm not good with words right now and I'm not sure I can get my point across yet but as soon as I can I will write that one up. Oh, note to self - remember the 007 post also. So two different posts about men and WTF coming soon ;) And I know you guys are dying for updates on the bathroom reno! I have some 'in the middle' pics for ya.

Just Freaking Out

It's almost 4am on Friday and my body is telling me that something is definitely up.

Bad Tummy.

And I'm bored.

It's a very horrid combination. It's not the kind of boredom that anything will snap you out of. It think it's more of a lethargy that I can't seem to snap out of. I am getting things done but the idea of searching the internet for a 'different' gift for Bob feels overwhelming. Even so, I have bought many gifts from the internet this week which should have my stress ratcheting down.

At 9:15 I take Cody to the vet and he will probably get a head X-ray to see if he has a growth in his head somewhere. I'm hoping the X-ray comes out clear and it's allergies.

Okay, hoping and feeling like I'm going to throw up every time Cody starts to panic because he can't breathe are kind of opposite in feelings. I am definitely worked up and I can actually feel something rise up in me when Cody struggles to breathe. (which is almost every minute he is awake) When he falls asleep his mouth opens naturally and he snores but at least he isn't upset and it's the only time that I feel myself come down from whatever it is that rises up in me.

So I'll fess up and say that I'm terrified the vet is going to tell me that they can't do anything for Cody. At this rate, he won't be able to breathe by Christmas. I think that's why I'm all out of sorts lately.

I'm not ready and I know for sure that Bob isn't ready. When Rocky had to go I knew it and could deal with it. I've always known that part of loving your pet is knowing when it is time to let them go and usually I feel a sense of duty to them. They can't live as long as I can so I am there with them until the end and it is a privilege for me to be there with them at their last moments. I don't normally cry or get that upset because I have never made the decision on anything other than knowing that the suffering had to stop and that they only had days or hours left.

I will do my duty by Cody but I'm thinking I won't be the emotional rock I'm supposed to be. I don't think he has to go right now but if they can't do anything for him I think he will be lucky to make it to the new year. With Rocky it was different - I could see his legs start to fail him and his effort to get up the stairs. With Bob's cat Bunny (the most affectionate cat I have ever met in my life) he was starting to hide and lost control of his bodily functions. With Winston, Bunny's boon companion, (the emperor cat (easily weighed 20 lbs) that we all thought would live forever) the cancer had made him a shadow of his former self and by the time I convinced Bob Winston was suffering the poor guy could no longer stand.

Cody shows no signs of old age or any sign of disease.

Except for gas.

Good Lord the gas.

Other than that, no one would know he is an old dog and for some reason this is what is sticking with me. It doesn't seem right that there is nothing that can be done. I think in this case I will wonder if there was something somewhere that could have been done to help him.

How was that for a long and convoluted post!

Grateful for Romance

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I decided to list a few things to be thankful for about romance books.

1. And they all lived happily ever after.

2. The hero and heroine can go anywhere with you even when you are scared. Like to the doctors or lawyers or uh, Toronto ;)

3. Heroes who are so dark that only the heroine can bring light into their lives. Hey, it's a fantasy and I'm working it.

4. Anne Stuart. (C'mon, you saw that one coming a mile away)

5. The ability to experience falling in love all over again, day after day after day. *sigh*

6. The diversity of characters - if you are lucky. Some days we get real lucky.

7. The idea that romance is not limited to one time or one place. That people all over the world, from different cultures and times felt the same way as we do. And hey, so do space aliens, werewolves and vampires. Sweet!

8. I'm grateful for the ability to open a book and experience a whole new adventure with sights and sounds that my eyes nor ears will ever really experience firsthand.

9. For teaching me what love *wasn't* - although my boyfriend from high school pretty much hammered that one home ;)

10. And finally, I'm really grateful to romance books for making me an avid reader. Before romance I only read books that I had to read for school. Okay, there was a Hardy Boys phase and a Sweet Valley High phase but I never considered myself an avid reader. I know my life is much richer for being an avid reader.

How about you?

SAD

SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder

Or, what I like to call Winter.

For some reason I got it in my head that it only happened around February of each year and I think that's because that is *my* worst month. Cabin fever doesn't even begin to describe February for me.

You know what though, last year wasn't nearly as bad as the years before and that's because my hubby bought me a SAD light. Since moving, however, I've been remiss in putting it out and I was reminded by a post at Holly's that November is a hard month for most people because of the time change and less sun.

Hello! Why is it that the basic stuff that helps us function gets put to the back of our minds!

I'm trying to figure out where to put it. Last year it was at the top of our desk and I'm thinking since I'm on the computer at least an hour a day that that would be a good place. Thing is, the directions say you need to be very close to the light so I used to sit close (like a few hairs away) and read for twenty minutes. I think if I set it up by my reading chair then I will be more likely to get more reading done.

Win. Win.

Holly also put it quite succinctly when she said she was having a hard time writing just a few sentences. I have noticed this with myself lately and since I lost the 'funny bone' I'm wondering if I should take a break. Like Holly I have a few posts I would like to write but they aren't coming out right.

I figure I'll sleep on it and see where I'm at tonight.

Before I head to bed I'll set up my SAD light for tonight and maybe that'll get my 'pep' back!

The picture above is the SAD light that I have and here is the site I found the picture at.

Yes. For me, it was worth every penny!

Anyone else have a SAD light? Do you like the one you have or do you find that it doesn't work?

The Party is OVER!

That's what I've been yelling at my tummy for the last few hours.

I'm not sure if it's the normal stress tummy I get or if I have a touch of the flu or some other virus that makes me feel all achy.

That's it gremlins! Get out of my belly!! (I would try and write it out in phonetic Scots (Maili dies) but I figure just using phonetic and Scots in one sentence is enough of a butch job) If you don't know what I'm referring to you would have to have a husband who will spout lines from Austin Powers at odd moments.

Apparently we really are soul mates.

He would be so proud.

The AAR polls just finished at midnight and my normal 'post poll' writing block has flared up with a vengeance.

I love me a deadline!

So I'm just zapping in to say I am going to get one of my blankies (yes, I have more than one) curl up on the 'sofa of immediate sleep' and watch a bunch of crap I've taped over the last little bit.

I have two blogs I want to write up about heroes of the movie/TV kind but I don't have that kind of time right now.

I mentioned I'm on deadline right?

On another note Cody has got me beyond worried. Bob has suggested we take him in to another vet for a 2nd opinion on why Cody is struggling so much to breathe.

Basically my understanding is that Cody has a tumor in one of his nostrils - I believe it has grown and is now partially blocking the other nostril. So when he is awake he tries to breathe through his nose but ends up snorting and choking. I am trying to teach him to breathe with his mouth but there is a saying about teaching an old dog new tricks for a reason. When he is sleeping his mouth falls open naturally thank goodness but he does wake himself up sometimes if he closes him mouth.

Bob's in denial and I'm trying to stay there with him.

Okay, I know what you are thinking.

How exactly is Cindy 'teaching' Cody to breathe through his mouth?

I pant at him.

Shut up.

Roll Call

I'm still not finished the book.

I haven't painted yet.

I'm currently gathering all the information I will need to write up a summary for the AAR mini-polls that are still running. They end tonight at midnight but I wanted to get ahead of the 'nightmare of writer's block' that normally happens when I'm on a deadline. If I start before I feel pressured at least I can get something down before losing my way.

By the way, super duper (as Mailyn would say) thank yous to all of you that went over and voted!

Christmas has been flipping me the bird for the last little bit and I'm wondering what the big deal would be if I crawled into bed and didn't come out until May. I might even shed some weight.

Then I remember my brother has been laid off since August with no signs of a call back and a friend who once did something stupid and now has a criminal record has just learned that the organization he is working for might require police checks done on it's employees in order to land a new contract.

Talk about bad news.

I figure if all I have to worry about is finding the 'perfect' gift for a loved one, then I have come out of this truly blessed.

OJ Yetch!

This one is a serious post so bail now if you want. I totally understand.

Why didn't OJ Simpson just disappear?

I know I will not purchase or read the book but I have heard there is an interview and I am really struggling with myself.

Ooops. I should say that I believe OJ killed Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman without a shadow of a doubt.

I have often wondered about his children. I don't know if any child who is raised by their lone parent can believe that that parent was the one who killed the other. Maybe it's a mechanism that kicks in to survive.

I have mentioned before that I am a bit addicted to the reality shows around murders but more so around ones that are solved. I want to know how the person was caught and the evidence against them. I have seen some instances where I know the children have no clue but the evidence doesn't lie and then I've seen shows where an entire family will blame one person but from the evidence I believe the family is grasping at straws.

There is a dark side of me that wants to hear what OJ says because I'm not sure he is bright enough not to say something stupid or revealing. I want the case to be solved and yet, I know it was solved. It's just that justice was not attained. I'm also intrigued by a man who could viciously slaughter two people and not go insane. I mean, as far as we know he has only ever killed that one time. How does someone do something so horrific but manage to go on with their life like it never happened?

So, I'm wondering about you guys. Anyone else wondering about the interview or the book? Am I the worst person in the world to want to see if he reveals himself to be a monster? Course there are people who have already read the book and seen the interview and I guess if this guy did reveal himself as the monster I believe he is then we would have heard about it by now.

Maybe that is enough to keep me from watching this interview cause I so don't want him to make money off of this.

Edited: I asked Bob about this tonight and he said that watching the interview wasn't helping OJ in any way. OJ wants people to buy his book and that's that. Also, from what I have seen of him I think it's going to be two hours of him mumbling or just carrying on. I watched the last few minutes of Larry King tonight and he had a panel of people talking about this. The family of Ron Goldman doesn't want anyone to watch the interview and I think that pretty much nails it for me.

So on another bent. If I were to watch this interview wouldn't Fox News then feel justified in it's ratings grab? Then I remember that people like Charles Manson have been interviewed and I never wondered about the right or wrong of it but then, he's in jail for the rest of his life. Would I be more inclined to watch the interview if I knew that OJ was in prison serving time?

Sorry, I haven't been up much so I haven't done anything fun and this is where my brain keeps taking me.

Ugh.

There, There

In the past 27 hours I have had 3 hours sleep.

Yeah, I'm a real princess right now.

The uncute but, very nice pool guys left at 12:30pm and I crawled into bed at 1:30pm. From my last docs appointment I changed my pain pills to Ibuprofen and discovered I would prefer to feel some pain to feeling like I'm about to hurl at any second. Back to tylenol for me.

In fear of making myself puke I didn't take any Ibuprofen before crawling into bed so I woke up at 4:30pm with some major crampage.

I love being a woman, but this part blows.

Now, I am over tired which always freaks me out and I'm afraid to go to bed in case I can't sleep.

Hey, you've been here long enough to know I've never claimed to be sane.

Stupid brain.

The good news is I am reading a book.

The bad news? It's not perfect by a long shot but I will prevail. I will finish a book that will not receive a keeper grade.

A Thief in a Kilt by Sandy Blair - Her last book was a keeper for me so I went into this with some expectations. Since I'm still reading the book I won't do a full review here.

Here is what you need to know.

1. The first few chapters has the heroine acting like such a fearful mouse that I was sure I was going to chuck the book at any moment. The heroine has passed that stage now (thank you) but if I hadn't been strident in my need to just read a friggin' book already I may have put it aside.

2. And this is where it gets ugly. Every character Hmphs (or however Blair spells it), acks and arghs. I started to count them on the page and if I hit two acks on one page it was a small blessing. I never notice things like this (seriously, the first time someone commented on Ward using 'wifebeater' in her book as a description I almost fell out of my chair. Since I find that term ugly I was surprised I had never noticed it in her books) so if I am noticing it I'm surprised an editor didn't notice and slash at the very least, half of them.

Now I am mentally skipping them whenever I come across these words and I'm not stretching the truth when I say they are on every page. If all these sounds had been scrubbed from the book it would be sitting firmly in a B range for a review. Oh and then there was a parrot that I wasn't expecting that spoke before the reader knew who was speaking and yes, he said 'Awk' I read the sentence at least three times trying to figure out why the heroine was suddenly 'awking'.

Why continue on? Because I will break this slump by force of will (I will dammit!) and I have chuckled at a few scenes and every once in a while the heroine says something funny. I'll do a full review once I finish the book.

Since I will probably fall into a sleep coma at some point, don't be surprised if I disappear for a day.

And I hate when I am craving a food but don't have a clue what it is. I have Sour Kids, All Dressed potato chips, Corn chips, Cheesies, Sour Cream and Onion chips, Dairy Milk chocolate (straight chocolate with no frills), chocolate chip cookies, Animal crackers (the batch I have are over baked and have a burnt taste to them but they help keep the nausea at bay), Coca-cola, chocolate cupcakes (I thought maybe I wanted cake) and ice cream. Also, swiss steak, real beef gravy and mashed potatoes. Don't worry, I would eat a few of something, realize it wasn't working and leave it be.

Okay, the tylenol just quit so I'm off to medicate and veg in front of the TV. I just need to find something interesting to watch.

AND Goodnight!

Rant Ville Population ONE

I'm definitely feeling better today although Lord knows my period is about to come and whack my ass back into perpetual bitchitude.

Bob's trying to find out how to enter the witness protection program but scary wives are not a good enough reason. Poor guy.

As to my latest rant, I just can't seem to catch a break.

In the last probably 6 weeks I have had any number of service repair people, gas fitters and now pool people in my house. In order for these people to get into my house I have to be awake and most of these people want in between the time of ohhh, crack of dawn to whenever the fuck I feel like.

Seriously.

I would love to tell my doctor, dentist, best friend whatever, that I will arrive whenever I get my plump tush out of bed. Hey, I know these people aren't just getting out of bed but, holy crapazoid, could they be more vague?

YES!

I actually stayed home all friggin' day two weeks ago which is never good because I get that 'cabin mania' thing happening (shut up, you get it too and the cats weren't too upset about the shaving cream clothes I put on them) and the guy DIDN'T SHOW! I call and they're all, 'Really? How odd. How's 54 days from today at say, some point in the absolute middle of your sleep cycle? Good?'

So, for the first time in weeks Bob and I realize that this week (the one we are now in), this blessed week would not be broken by people needing me to be awake when I'm normally deep in REM sleep.

Wait! I forgot to tell you about the guy that showed up later than 'the window' they gave me! I had stayed up all night and was literally (and yes I can use it here because like, literally!) I was seeing double but I was in that 'well beyond sleep' stage. I think I was closing in on being awake for almost 24hrs straight.

This guy shows up (he was lucky I was still trying to unwind) and well, I'm pretty much drooling but he's all about what has gone wrong in his life. I say something about, as long as you have the part and he showed up without the part! What the fuck are you doing in my house without the part? (for my washer which I had to stay awake two weeks earlier for the service guy to say - I gotta order a part) Not that I said this but, the guy felt the need to show me his little service computer that told him to show up at my house but not the reason.

GET OUT!

That's all I wanted to say and I had made it clear I hadn't slept in a bloody long time and still this guy was talking. I don't remember anything after the guy left because I hit the bed and woke a few days later. Happens. And yes, a third service call was set up for somewhere between 'getting ready for bed' and 'WTF time is it!? Nine am!? How rude!'

So, this week dawns and I'm excited. A full week of me doing as I please and sleeping whenever I want and YAHOO!

Sunday night (okay sometime Monday morning) I go to bed but can only sleep for 7 hours. This has been happening for about a week and no, I don't like it. It's okay though because I know I can probably get it back up to my normal 10 hours a day.

That's right.

I have goals.

Anyways, I get a call and realize I've been suckered.

The Pool Guys.

Did we close our pool? Hell yeah! What the hell do I need pool guys for?

Apparently they are coming into the house at 9am tomorrow (otherwise known as REM cycle 3) to move the pump, filter and crap out of the basement (where it should never have been) to the side of our house.

The only thing saving Bob's life right now is that he ordered a new gas heater for the pool so it will be toasty warm all next summer.

The man knows me well.

I hope the guys like my plaid jammies.

Tearing Off More Than You Can Chew

Ugh.

You know it's a been a bad day when even your spam checker mocks you.

I mean, I own the blog right? Why do I have to fill in the spam check when I'm responding to the cool comments?

Do you think the creators of spam blockers get a thrill out of creating a string of letters that are impossible to read?

I'm thinking they do.

One of these days I'm going to get locked out of my own blog.

Did you see how I managed to imply I haven't been locked out of my blog before? Lips are sealed my friends.

Oh please, you know I've done it.

Anyways!

This is the song that has been in my head all day and I just love it so if you are at home and can blast your speakers go for it!



Well, if only and I don't think jets can hover the way they do in the video. I'm just saying, maybe brushing up on the laws of physics and gravity may have helped in this situation.

This video also reminds me that my problems are nothing.

I think I need to stitch that on a pillow. You know, if I did that sort of thing.

I have been setting up Bloglines and since I'm not great with reading directions I kind of just pushed buttons until I had everyone up. I'm not sure if this will save me time or make me even more confused!

Today was an overcast grey day and they never see me well. I should have stayed in bed but I have discovered my dreams are becoming overly vivid again. Yippee for me. Blergh.

I'm looking forward to going to bed and starting on a fresh day.

Anyone want to do a reading check? Whatcha reading?

I've decided to stop kidding myself. At the moment, I'm reading nothing.

I said, 'Blergh' already right?

Hey, at least I posted a peppy song.

'The Saints are coming, the Saints are coming ....'

I'm starting to worry that I have a thing for angry men who wear eye liner.

Just saying.

Head's Up!!

My family was here tonight and I'm bagged so I just thought I would pop in and pimp the current AAR mini-poll.

We are polling for Top Ten Hanky Read Authors and Top Ten Hanky Read Titles - these are authors who wring you out emotionally when reading their books. (just personally, I would say Laura Kinsale is an author who I know I have to have a certain energy to read her book). Then list your 10 favorite books that you have found emotionally draining in a weepy way ;)

Also, we are polling for your Top Ten Favorite Holiday Romances (I was at Devonna's and she had Macomber up and was saying how her books are some of the best for Christmas and I realized I should pimp the mini-polls) but, don't feel you are limited to any one holiday! Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween etc.

And finally, we are re-polling for E-books. These are from the romance genre and must be books that started out as an e-book. Therefore, it might be in print now but, as long as the book got it's start as an e-book, it's eligible.

Here's my reminder post from AAR here (just in case I'm not making the greatest of sense and you need clarification)

If you're ready then go here to get your lists in!!

C'mon, going and voting means I can't be lazy! That's right, you will know that you personally made me do work.

Wow, you all disappeared fast!

When Is It Time?

When is it the right time to throw in the towel on a book?

I was with Kristie at the bookstore and I saw a book that I had been trying to read on the shelf. Huh. I picked it up and scanned through the pages until I found where I had stopped reading.

"Kristie, if I read 68 pages of a book and don't like what I'm reading have I gone far enough?"

Kristie laughed and shrugged because she's too kind to call me a moron.

I was surprised that I had actually read that far!

So the question is, when do you as a reader finally decide that you have seen enough? Seen so much that you are positive that the book is heading to the UBS without another pass?

The reason I ask is that lately I can't seem to let myself give up books even when I have started them and put them aside for some reason. I'm trying to remember if I have ever gone back to a book I had started and not liked. I'm pulling a blank but then remembering what I had to eat 5 minutes ago can be a stumper too.

I know that for me it's the guilt thing. Knowing that I have so many books in the TBR pile, I can't get my mind around the fact that I could have wasted money on a bad book! I have heard of people doing the 15 page test but, I don't make time for that at the bookstore. I have tried it a few times and have found out in the first paragraph that a book isn't what I thought it would be. I consider that quite lucky but for the most part, after a page, I'll have decided.

Still, I worry that I will pick up ten books and discover that none are what I was hoping for and at 10 bucks a book I would have wasted ...

Huh.

Not nearly as much as I thought! Okay, it's bad but not as bad as I thought! I was thinking thousands but a hundred? That doesn't seem like it would hurt as bad!

Holy Crap! There we have it folks. I have once again had an epiphany. Quiet! I *can* let go of the books I keep thinking I have to get back to.

Life's too short!

I'm free!!

Ahem.

I would still love to know when you finally give up on a book AND can you let it go or do you hold onto it thinking that one day you will come back to it?

Also, do you want to know the books I have tried and not been able to finish? Would this help you get a feel for how similar or dissimilar we are in our reading?

Just wondering because although it looks like I haven't been reading in a very long time, I have tried other books. Until that *spot* where I am no longer invested.

Actually, I might get some feedback that says, 'Hey, read until page 90! Then if you're still bored move on.'

Hmmm, I like that.

On that note, I have read 68 pages of Shiloh Walker's Hunting The Hunter - on or about page 60 the primary conflict that would have kept the H/H apart has been resolved. Now they are just eyeing each other up for sex and I'm not sure I care.

Opinions?

Boo-ya!!!

Okay, we'll get to the sweet stuff in a minute, just thought I would share the mental break through I finally had just before Kristie showed up.

Whenever I go through a big life change I go into some sort of emotional shock. My family moved in November of my 9th grade year (or my first year of high school). My father would have to drive me an hour from where we lived at the time to go to a school with a bunch of people I didn't know, 2 years behind in French and staying in the school until 6pm well after all the other kids had left. We did this until we finally moved in November - the high school I would have started was not on semesters and the one I was going to was so they were worried I would get too far behind. Trust me, they would have been right!

I guess at the time there were too many changes at once. I didn't know that I was going through anything until 9 months later when I was watching TV with my father and saw three shows back to back that were horribly sad. I had never cried like that in my life before! I rarely if ever sob so I knew something was definitely up. I finally figured out that for the past nine months I had been on auto-pilot until something in me snapped and allowed me to feel.

It happened again when I got married. I didn't live with Bob before we got married so it was quite a change from sleeping in my own bed at night to having someone stealing all the covers! I broke at the three month mark when Bob came home and found me sobbing on the porch about how the house was a disaster and I didn't know where to start and I was an obvious failure at being a wife. Bob cleaned that house lickety split and said it was nothing to worry about. I settled in after that - I still have the 'I'm an awful wife' moments but they are only about once a year now. *snort*

Sooo, moving to this house I remember thinking that I had to be prepared to go into a shock. Thing is, when you are in the shock you don't *think* you are in the shock.

I was in the shock.

Suddenly I'm looking around me and thinking 'I don't want that toaster there!'. See, Bob unpacked and put everything where he wanted and I was fine with it.

Shock.

Now, I'm realizing that things aren't done for efficiency (Bob forgets that sometimes) so I'm starting to assert my way.

Poor Bob. He must have thought he had died and gone to Heaven with the way I was acting.

'What? You want to put your Budweiser bar stool on a glass shelf with spotlights? Sure.'

Shock.

Looks like I'm finally coming out of it and taking the reigns back. Bob and I will rib each other about our projects and tonight I made a crack about whether a toilet would be in our downstairs bathroom by Christmas. Bob said 'Of course!'. I said, 'You realize it's November.' To which the smart ass said 'It's November!! OMG!!!'

Comedian, no?

So yeah, the whip is about to get cracked!

Onwards!

Kristie came for a visit and I talked her poor ear off. I swear I see people all the time but like Kristie says we have so much in common that I barely take a breath when we are together!

All the same, we managed to get to the bookstore finally!

Here's the loot:

Okay, I have read Julia London once before but it was a contemporary. I liked her writing but I felt like the book leaned more into the chick-lit genre. (Dang, Bob was cleaning the desk and my book reading journal is missing so I can't check which title it was)

Anyways, I saw the word Highlander and then the 'At a special price!' logo and I was sold.

Yep, I'm easy.

I can hope these will have a little more steam, right?

My Forever Love was one Kristie helped me pick. I know I have Marsha Canham in my TBR pile but I'm pretty sure I don't have this one. Kristie practically melted when I asked if she had read Canham. I figure that's a good recommendation ;)

I picked up The Lady Killer by Samantha Saxon in my quest to find new Auto-buy authors. The heroine is an assassin.

Cool.

Other than that, I know nothing.

Like usual.

And then, TADA!! I found this on the shelf after asking the sales associate for help.

Duh.

I forgot my alphabet and someone had put her first book on the shelf in the wrong place so I was looking an entire 4' section out of the way.

Not bright but whatever.

So that's it from my stash! I seem to like to buy my books in odd numbers. Weird.

I also realized that I have to start reading more. Immediately! Kristie knew or had read almost every author I had asked 'have you read so and so?'

Me? Not so much.

And I call myself a reader!

Bad Cindy.

Already!!!???

I'm overwhelmed.

I knew it was there in the background but I was ignoring it.

The last few days have made me stop and look in the background because I had to start getting honest.

I currently have 5 different rooms under renovation in our house. Bob tore out our downstairs bathroom uh, three weeks ago? I hadn't even ordered the tile yet and I haven't cracked open the paint. I feel overwhelmed just looking at this little drapery piece that needs to be taken down and a shelf my father made me full of bathroom knick-knacks that has to be moved in order to paint the smallest room in existence. My problem is that there is crap every where in this house and I have no clue where to put anything while painting this tiny cubby hole!

I'm not impressed with myself!

The upstairs bedroom is at a stalemate and Bob went and bought a floor sander because our wood floors are natural with varathane and I prefer deep dark stain. Right now it is sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor. Just sitting there. Mocking me. Christmas is coming and we will have a house full so forget about sanding the floors, I need to order beds!!

Since one of the biggest closets in the house is full of my books (in boxes) I don't have anywhere to store stuff that just needs to get put away! Not my fault! I don't have bookcases! I threatened to just go to IKEA but Bob didn't like that. Now I think I'm just going to do it and forget what his plans are.

The other bedroom has the scary plaid wallpaper but Bob has this frickin' ceiling fan that I have asked him to put in the basement which his reply is 'I'm putting that up in our bedroom'. We can't put the stupid fan up because we have a four poster bed with cross rails and the fan that is there at the moment hits the frame! Bob somehow thinks that he will be able to center the fan, build a huge box above the bed with pot lights in probably the next week.

Bobby time.

Or what I like to call, Contractoritis. Bob has no clue how long anything really takes so I am usually left tripping over a fan for a year before he gets around to putting it up. I need this huge ass fan to move from the floor of the plaid room so that I can strip the damn paper!!

I'm a klutz when there's nothing in my way, put a few obstacles on a floor and a 911 phone call is imminent!

Looks like I'm going to be traipsing up and down the two flights of stairs in the house carrying a fan and whatever else can be moved to the basement. Then I'll have to figure out where to hide the 400 lb floor sander so that I can trigger the 'out of sight, out of mind' feature in Bob.

Hey, sometimes it works.

Then, there is the den which I'm sitting in right now. 70s paneling is bad enough but I bought a couch that almost blends in with it (I knew we'd paint this room sooner or later) and then Bob bought a pine piece from Depot that I had to stain (oh, no, really, I have plenty of time) and it's taking up floor space because he mounted the TV on the wall too low and every time he goes to move it I'm watching a show I MUST SEE!!

Seriously, messing with my TV can get a person maimed.

Okay, I could go on but I need to vent about what happened while I was watching LOST the first time. Yeah, you caught that?

I'm sitting on the couch completely caught up in the show when three loud beeps cut off the sound and then the scrolling weather thing pops up for Buffalo.

WTF!!!!

It did it during the show three frickin' times and one was when Sawyer asked Kate about love (Yes, I had to watch the midnight show to find out what he said). I was furious. Which is horribly stupid but I couldn't help but notice that I was seriously bent out of shape.

The third time the weather thing beeped I yelled out FUCK! Which I try not to say too often so I knew I was pissed.

Fog. Really? This is a huge problem? NOT HERE!!!

Sorry, with that snow storm Buffalo had a few weeks ago added to this, I have just had my TV watching interrupted one too many times!

Enough.

I don't want to watch TV on the Buffalo station any more! Too bad it's the only station playing some of my favourite shows.

Fuck!

Uh, Little Help?

I've changed over to Blogger Beta and I need to know how to stop the comments section from asking if I'm sure I want to download insecure information. Ugh. Just give me the comments!

I see that Sybil has figured it out because it doesn't ask me that at her place anymore and it did so in the beginning.

I have checked the settings and can't find anything that would be causing this, so HELP!!

Next!

I am just starting and by 'just' I mean I'm still in the prologue of Lora Leigh's Megan's Mark but the minute I hit the 'Breed' word a little bell went off and I'm suddenly worried about thorny penii? - no, that's not the word - oh! Barbed. I mean, I thought that stuff was romance myth but JMC came across it ... Okay, now that I think about it I think it was a Lora Leigh. Nuts.

Not sure I'm ready for that. Someone read this one recently - any uh, scratchy situations?

I know what you're thinking, I get all hot and bothered over dead dudes - hey, I'm talking Vampires!

Give me a minute, the shuddering hasn't stopped over the idea of necrophilia.

Ahem.

Thing is I don't think of vampires as dead. I don't think of them as corpses. Hmmm, what do I think?

Begin long ramble:

Since I never watched horror movies when I was a kid (if I did I watched them through my fingers but even then I was twitchy for a week afterwards) I never met vampires on the screen.
The first time I came across vampires was when I finally decided to see what the big deal was with Interview With A Vampire. The movie had come out but I already figured that would be too gory but, in a book I can skip any scenes that are too graphic.

Wow. What a mopey, sad, pathetic 'hero' for a book. I kept thinking 'why doesn't he just walk out into the sun!?' The ending of the book was even worse. It was the first time I had encountered 'sequel bait' and it was so blatant that I refused to ever read Anne Rice again.

Hmmm, apparently it only takes one really bad book to have me black ball ya. Meh. She did perfectly fine without me.

Anyways, imagine my surprise when I came across a whole different vampire in Maggie Shayne's original Twilight series sometime in 1994. Her vampires were not monsters and were only different in that they were immortal (super cool) and needed to drink blood (ugh) AND they loved being vampires (yeah they did!!)!!

I don't know, it's like superheroes being all mopey because they can fly. Get over yourself, YOU CAN FLY!!

Damn. I can see we've wandered far from whatever point I started with. Surprise, yes?

To sum up, blood sucking dead guy (who is immortal so how can he be dead, hmmmm?) good, penis that's not human, bad.

End Ramble.

Finally, (ooops, ramble still in full swing) we bought a couch recently that is a chaise with a loveseat. Bob and I love to sit on the couch with our feet up but since we moved and the TV room is smaller we had to buy a new couch so I picked one where both of us could be lying down.

Well, we've discovered a new vice. Easy. The couch seems to suck you in. I mean, you get on the couch and WHAM, you are in a prone position that is usually used when sleeping and then you start to yawn. Poor Bob hasn't seen a TV show in weeks since he will hit the couch and be out like a light.

It's starting to suck me into it's vortex. I'm lazy enough as it is but, if I get on the chaise part you might as well just tick off, 'nothing will get done' on my to-do list!

So, there you have it - the answer to the question 'Could you be anymore lazy?'.

Yes. Yes, I can.

No Rest For The Wicked by Kresley Cole

I'm beginning to feel very predictable but....

KEEPER, KEEPER, KEEPER, KEEPER, KEEPER!!!!

I am so in love with this book I'm not sure I can be trusted to be coherent!

I finally gave myself permission to just sit and read and since I'm a slow reader it took a while. I went to bed at 6am this morning only because I knew Sears was coming to fix my washer between 10 and 2.

They came at 11am (sure when I want them to be late they're on time!) and I sat to read again while the lady was fixing the machine. When she left I crawled back into bed and was unable to sleep.

I'll give you a minute.

I COULDN'T SLEEP!!!

The characters were jumping around in my brain and after twenty minutes I realized it would be of no use to lay there. I've been known to lie in bed for 2 hours without sleeping but no, I didn't even give my sleep mechanism a chance to kick in.

Now, if that doesn't say keeper I don't know what would.

Cindy Blurb: It the Amazing Race 'Lore style' which basically means there are demons and witches and fey, oh my! competing in a race called the Hie. A Goddess who loves it when people say things are impossible because she lives to prove they are possible runs this race that Kaderin (of Valkyrie) has won the last five times.

This ain't no pussy race, the only rule is you cannot kill the competition. Sweet.

Kaderin is a cold blooded killer and has been killing vampires for over a thousand years. At one time she was considered kind hearted until she lost her beloved sisters and buried their bodies on a battle field a thousand years ago. The next morning she woke unable to feel anything, anger, pain, sorrow, happiness. She considers this a blessing.

Her blessing is threatened when she is called to a village just before the Hie to come and kill a vampire. For the first time in centuries her blade stops short of cutting Sebastian Wroth's head from his body. He wants to die and has for 300 years. Until the moment his blood starts to move in his veins again and realizes the woman before him is his Bride.

Okay, just go read the book!! If I say anything else it gets into spoiler territory and well, it's complicated.

Kaderin The Cold Hearted was a great heroine. I loved that in the opening scene we are shown the chink in her armor - her own feelings coming back. This heroine is kick-ass in all ways and it's not just for show. She's earned her place through countless battles and is afraid of nothing. Nothing until she meets a leech who makes her feel.

As much as I love Kaderin it was Sebastian who held my heart. Sebastian was turned vampire against his will by his own brothers. He hated who he was and just existed for the sake of being - luckily the reader is overwhelmed by his self-pity because we meet him when he finds his Bride. The minute he meets Kaderin he finds a reason to live. His only concern is to keep her safe and it takes him a while to discover she can take care of herself just fine.

Sebastian had always been clumsy around women and was shy. This comes out while trying to court Kaderin. I loved that Sebastian wanted to deserve her and that he only had alpha moments. Those moments only happened when Kaderin was in danger. I loved his insecurities about himself and his determination to not let that stop him from trying to gain Kaderin's attention.

Also, the sex. Wow. This is what all romances should be like!

Finally, I know that paranormals have been going heavy with the 'mate' premise and although there are times I find it forced in romances, I love how Cole uses it.

Sebastian knows that Kaderin is his Bride but his compulsion is sexual and protective. At no time does he confuse this with love. He even flat out says he doesn't love Kaderin at one point. So even though the 'mate' premise is used, it is used in a better way than in most books.

Now, since I'm nothing but fair *snort*, Nath had a completely different view of this one here
while Meljean agrees with me here. Oh and she is right, I liked this one even more than the first!

I love that I have like 3 historicals of hers in my TBR pile but I'm not ready to crack 'em.

The great book blues are trying to settle in but I'm thinking of trying some sort of comedy to crack it. Sure, I have housework galore to do but I really enjoyed giving myself permission to just sit and read. It's time I did more of that.

And sleep. I really need to get some sleep!

Where Am I?

I've Gone Reading!!!

Why People Make Blonde Jokes

Let's break it down, shall we?

The last few weeks I have been shaving my underarms religiously and fervently. You see, I wear sleeveless tops basically all year round because hey, you get too hot you can put on more clothes. So, no biggie but every time I raise my arms near a mirror lately I would get 'holy hairy limphnodes Batman' surprise.

Remember the doc's appointment? She did that whole breast thing where they press into the breast tissue under your arm pits. I had just shaved no more than a few hours before and I get the 'Son of a bitch, do I have five o'clock shadow now that I'm older!?? Under my armpits!??'

Yeah. Tonight it occured to me that maybe the blade on the razor needs to be changed.

Thank you and goodnight!!!!

If that is not a blonde moment then it has to be a blonde three weeks because that's been about how long I've been wondering what the deal is with the armpits. Ugh.

THEN - what you thought that was it? Please, I could be here all day but I'll just do one more.

Pool Closing.

Yes, I know I've been talking about it for weeks but, MY GOD, have you ever had to vacuum a 40' pool? I mean, I could do an awesome job if I could get in the water but you have to try and get all the crap out of the bottom with first a leaf catcher thingie that I bent pulling the first load of leaves from the bottom AND THEN in complete frustration you decide to vacuum the rest of the crap up.

I got 1/2 the pool done before I lost suction for the second time but I figured Bob could pick up the slack and vacuum the rest the next morning.

This afternoon he walks in and tells me that I have clogged the line with debri from the pool and we didn't have suction anymore.

WTF!!??

This means we need to get the pipes snaked (shit, I don't know what that is but they put something in the line that churns all the crap up and voila! open lines again) and apparently these plumber snakes don't come in 200' lengths.

I suck.

Personally I think I can fix it but Bob's brain just about snapped when I gave him my list of stuff we could do to the lines to clear them. He just kept looking at me and saying 'you don't get it' meanwhile, I'm thinking, quit being a pansy and put your electrical snake up the line!! Course, it occurs to me now that if I did unblock the line I would end up with 140 000 ltr of water in our basement.

That'd be a monumental blonde moment for sure!

I'm thinking my blonde ass is lucky to be alive so I'll cool it while the professionals are called in but seriously, what are you supposed to do to get all the crap off the bottom of the pool?

All right, who's the wise acre who said to close the pool before the leaves fall!?

Sleepy Cindy

I was upset today when I realized I had missed a post at Kristie's about her getting a new job. (Woohoo!!!) I immediately commented and wondered what I had done to miss her post. After jumping around on a few blogs and discovering TONS of posts I had missed well, I was stymied.

Oh yeah! Yesterday I got up around 3:30pm. Then I remember Bob coming home and well, I was super grumpy. Uber Bitch was skulking about making life miserable. I finally turned to Bob and said 'I think I better go lay down and see if I can get this bitch out of me'. Bob promptly agreed.

So I went up at 7:30pm for a nap. I did wake up a few times and considered getting up but I still felt tired so I rolled over and fell back asleep.

I woke up today at 7:30am.

Yep, I was awake for what? Five hours yesterday? No wonder I missed a bunch of posts! I slept most of the day away!

The great news is that I woke up totally refreshed and ready to get some serious shit done.

Cody and I tackled the continued cleaning of the pool. The other day the water wasn't so cold so I didn't worry about having to plunge my arm in to fill the stupid hose up with water. Well. That was a very bad idea. My arm hurt for about 15 minutes afterwards and Cody and I had to take a break.

I was able to get out there and vacuum about 1/3 of the pool (it's HUGE!! and I'm not used to that). Then I had to empty the filter in the house and re-prime the pump. Re-priming the pump involves putting your arm back in the water for way too long so I decided to let Bob do some of this work. Yeah. Cody and I called it an afternoon.

We (Cody and I - seriously, my dog is now my shadow!) then watched Mission Impossible III and all I have to say on that is WTF was going on!? There was no point to this movie. Even at the end of the movie *they* don't tell you what it was that was so important as to have certain people die or need to be killed. I just don't get what the movie was about. Now, just so you know, I loved MI:II. I thought it was very romantic whereas this one felt creepy in it's romance because the romance heroine looked like she was 18 and well, Cruise was looking a little crazy. Not. Good.

Oh, there was this one scene that was continuous of Ethan Hawke (Cruise) running full out without a camera break. In other words, Cruise had to run full out for about a minute. I found that impressive for a man over 40 years old. I used to be a sprinter and nowadays I go three steps and my knee winks out and I fall. I guess it pays to be rich and have trainers and dieticians at your demand.

Oooops. Envious Cindy.

I also watched the movie Click at some point yesterday although I have no recollection of the time. Weird.

If you have seen a Sandler movie then you already know his funny stuff and that stuff was there but I've seen it before so, not so funny.

The concept of the film for me, had a flaw.

See, he could FF through things that he didn't have time for or whatever. He FF to the time when his Boss promoted him and discovered that his boss made him wait for an entire year before doing so. Thus, a year of his life had passed. Then the controller learns his patterns of what he likes to FF and starts doing it automatically. Not Good. It's actually cool how the hero gets warped through time because of previous setting on the controller and I did manage a few tears at the end but still. THERE WAS A REWIND BUTTON!!! Seriously, if your whole premise for a movie is that some person can pause and then FF through some crap in his life then isn't also possible for him to rewind to the part where he wants to be?

So that one set off my 'illogical' button.

To end here's a picture of my Cody Bear out helping with the pool.

Doesn't that look just say 'Fuck You!'

And that was on the warm day! It was frickin' cold outside today - there were actual snow flakes floating around.

Not. Impressed.

Okay, off to bed because my best buds are coming for a visit and I need to be on my game.

Where's My Funny Bone?

I have completely lost my funny.

You've been here for the last few posts, right? You were trying to poke your eyes out weren't you?

It's okay, I don't blame you. I think I have blog block again. I'm sure I'll still manage to induce a few more eye-gouging remarks about my life.

Lucky bastards.

Okay, seriously, put your pen down! *ahem*

I had a doctor's appointment today - you know the fun one. My doc comes in and says 'Cindy, when did you last have an exam cause I can't find anything in the file'. 'Uhhhh, well, it's been about, uh, 8 years'. Doc: 'Okay. What made you come now?'

Hello!!! I'm thirty-six and isn't that when you should really start? Also, I had heard this thing which my doctor said was a myth but I think I'll double check just to be sure but, my understanding was that women who didn't have children were more likely to get breast, uterine and ovarian cancers. So, yeah. Time to start checking. Doc said that was a myth, which, PHEW!! cause there is nothing I can do about that!

AND, isn't having to get this done mortifying enough without having your doctor question your motives? 'Well, I haven't been getting any lately so I thought a date with that steel trapped go go gadget expanda tube would be just the thing.' *wink*

I guess she was seeing if I was coming for a reason like pain or something but sheesh! I was caught a little off guard.

Anyways, I get my clean bill of health and call Bob to let him know every thing went all right and there is a pause. 'HOLD ON! With all the salt you eat your blood pressure was normal!?' Yeah it was!! (do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight - you're welcome) Hey, sometimes it's all in the genes and yes, I'm a saltaholic.

While waiting on the Doc I started Kresley Cole's latest book No Rest For the Wicked which I had pre-ordered from Chapters. Once again, imagine my chagrin when I did a stock check at the local stores Friday night and discovered they had the book. I picked it up on Saturday, four days ago and just got an e-mail tonight (Tues) that they are shipping the book.

I now have two books to take back because I was able to get them at the store sooner than they shipped them out. Jerks. Oh and I asked them to cancel the books but they said it was too late. Yeah, you can't cancel an order you haven't filled yet? 'kay. I think they are counting on me being lazy and well, they are right to think that but, dude, these are books! I can get two more books for the ones that are going to show up!

Okay, so I didn't have to buy them but, I've been *waiting* for soooo long. I have to have the book in my hands to believe that I finally get to read it. Funny thing is once I have the book I can relax and choose not to read it right away.

I'm doing this with Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart (so if you do a review and don't see the fangirl commenting it's because I'm trying to avoid spoilers). I'm saving it for sometime in December when I start cracking up under the holiday pressure (notice I didn't say *if*).

Okay, true. I'll be lucky to make it to December but I'm going to try!