Mini Hiatus

This weekend is Canada Day weekend so we get Monday off. For the life of me I can't remember how old Canada is and I majored in history. Dumbass.

So Happy Canada Day to my Canadian blogger gals! and Happy Fourth of July coming up - do you guys get Monday off or do you get the day off?

Bob has next week off so I imagine there will be day trips and shopping to be done. Unless everyone leaves and stops blogging I'll probably just manage to get the rounds done so I'm not sure how much blogging will happen.

I'm having my family on Saturday for a BBQ but I'm breaking out the Fondue pot Bob got for Christmas and the Magic Bullet I got from my beloved Aunt so I'm a little more stressed than usual. Trying to figure out what kind of stuff you dunk in chocolate is a wee bit overwhelming and then I don't think I have the kind of liquor in the house to make specialty drinks. Maybe the magic bullet will have to stay in it's box till the next visit.

It's also obvious that I'm not reading. Not at all. I started a book and my immediate thought a paragraph in was 'meh' and I know it's not the book. So maybe some tough love is in order. I'm just going to have to sit my ass down over the next week and read dammit. It'll be good for me.

I'm thinking I need to promise not to blog until I have read - okay, I was going to say one book but maybe I should set that bar a little higher. I mean, I am a massive underachiever but my God man am I really so very pathetic?

So unless something horribly funny happens (and really it happens daily around here) I promise not to blog until I have read two whole books.

Ow.

And no cheating either. No MJD's or anything.

Unless I get a copy of Lean Mean 13 by Evanovich. That soooo counts!

Hugs and love to you all!

Damn. This is going to be harder than I thought!

OH!! I just realized I can comment on blogs though!! Yeah!! Loop hole!

Shut up.

Spider is Gone

Okay let's finish up the books I bought:

Tina St. John's Hear of the Flame - I think I have only one of hers on the TBR pile and they had like five titles on the shelf. Again, another opportunity for a backlist and well, I had to find my two free books!

The Kept Woman by Susan Donovan. I'm telling ya, this is the great part about shopping with romance readers. For some reason I saw the review (I'm thinking at Book Binge) and decided I would pick it up. I also remember thinking because it's new it'll stand out and I'll remember. Me and my optimism about my memory. Sheesh. So I told the ladies it was a cover with a woman's leg up in the air in a bathtub. It took Ames and Nath a few minutes but they were rumbling through titles when Nath suddenly remembered and found a copy on the shelf. I will never need a list again! *snort*

So that was WBB buys and then my used bookstore buys were:

Linda Howard's Inferno (Nocturne) I'm intrigued by the mind rape and wondering if it brings the old heat of her series books. They had her latest paperback but I wasn't willing to take a risk - her last single title bore me to tears.

Then I bought outside of my box and when I went looking for a picture I discovered the author is the one who wrote The Starter Wife that is now playing on some American channel. Lucky bastards. Man I hate Canadian TV!!

Maneater by Gigi Levangie Grazer. Ames and I were heading to the cash at the first UBS (heavy breather buy) when she pulled this one off the shelf and said it was great and a funny read. S-old! I could use some funny.

So that's all the books I managed to buy and I said to Ames, Nath and Kristie that when I'm buying the books I just can't wait to get home and start reading and then I get home and don't know where to start and then they end up in my bookcase and then ....

I'm such a butt.

Okay, some fun stuff.

Why you ask?

• hell (8x)
• gay (6x)
• crap (5x)
• shit (3x)
• hurt (2x)
• punch (1x)

I wonder how many posts it scans cause I know I've said worse than punch. Really? Punch? Although I am tickled that I got such a high rating.

66%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Wow, if I'm only 66% addicted I'm wondering what it takes to be in the 80's and I'm thinking I was truthful. 2 hours to read most of the blogs on my sidebar is about right. It didn't ask how long it takes to read the blogs and then how long to blog after that. Now that takes some time!


So I'm thinking I'm curable.

The Books!

Let's get to the books!

HelenKay Dimon's Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy was recently reviewed by Tara Marie and given the thumbs up. Great dialogue and sexy. I'm in! Shopping with other romance readers can also be dangerous - Ames saw this before me and had it off the shelf so fast I wasn't sure I hadn't just imagined it sitting there. Luckily there were more in another area. Phew!


Kristie picked up Hard Lovin' Man and was saying just how much she loved it when I snatched it out of her hand. Hey, Nath was moving towards us! I loved Heath's historicals so it'll be nice to try a contemporary that comes highly recommended!

What's scary about I'm in No Mood For Love is I can't quite remember if the person loved it or hated it. I'm thinking Ag recently read this one and that cover has been hard to resist for as long as I have! Gibson is a hit or miss with me so I'm hoping this one is a HIT.


Somebody somewhere is reading this series by Lara Adrian but bloody hell if I can remember who. I really thought it was Ames but I think she said she hadn't read this series. Now, I'm at three books and need a free one and this one is as good a try as any.

Homigod!!! We're all perusing the books and of course I'm asking the vital question, how the sensuality in the book. That'd be sex. Ames, my sweetest bestest friend is all, if it's not hot, forget about it. As Holly says, 'girl crush!' I'm going to be keeping a better eye on her reading list!

A Julia Quinn that is not part of a series. At least not as far as I know. Quinn is a consistent B read with certain things that bug me while having scenes that overwhelm me so I'm hoping this will be less about bother and more about the love!

I had no idea that Pamela Britton had written books that had nothing to do with NASCAR. Thank God! I've never read her books but lately if I see the Warner Forever strip on the top of a cover I need to take a closer look. I can't say the books I've read by them are steaming hot but I haven't been disappointed either. Again, this is why WBB is the best. I have never seen this book!


On the topic of never seeing books. I saw an entire shelf of books by an author named Amanda Scott. Never. Heard. Of. Her. There is not one book in stock at my local store but when I go to her website she has been writing since 1977!! What caught my eye was once again the Warners Forever strip but I didn't buy that one. I started looking at the back blurbs and the first line of this one caught me. "Abducted from her first wedding and widowed an hour after her second one, Lady Adela Macleod, the unluckiest bride ever, has given up all hope of finding true love..." IN!! Ames had mentioned that she had read Scott and came over to look at the blurbs. There had to be seven books there and Ames kept saying 'nope, not that one' and I kept thinking, maybe the blurbs aren't telling the real story. Nah. She's written 47 books!! I hope I love Scott like George cause the backlist would be amazing!



Okay, there is a huge ass spider running around on my desk and I've tried to kill it twice but it keeps getting away so now I have that horrible crawly feeling like it's on me so I'm getting the hell outta here for a bit!!

I hate spiders! I'm publishing without checking so yeah, that's my excuse.

The End of Saturday

We left off with Bob and I on our way out of the city.

Basically we stopped to feed me (I had eaten some egg and part of a croissant to keep tummy from having a hissy fit) and headed straight home. Even Bob was starting to feel some pain!

We got home and I hit the bed. What was really funny was hearing Bob walk in and fall in beside me.

Sweet. Wore the man out!

I got up three hours later and Bob wants to go to Home Depot.

Yeah.

I get in the car and we head over so Bob can buy more wood chips for our gardens (we have so many gardens I'm thinking Bob has dropped about 700 bucks on chips - keep in mind they keep weeds under control and I like black chips because it looks like rich dark soil from the road way).

We go to check out and there is this cute skinny brunette who rings us out.

I know what you're thinking, why would I even notice this?

Well, Bob and I are heading out of the store and he's all 'you know, she worked here a year ago and I saw her this morning and said 'hey, you used to work here' and she said 'yeah, I took a year off and went to Australia.....' . There was more but at this point my brain is stuck on the fact that my HUSBAND has recognized a woman from a year ago.

Me: You know what, you're not coming to Depot without me anymore - knowing all about some skinny woman, blah, blah, blah.

Bob: *evil laugh* After today, I don't ever have to come to Depot without you.

Me: Crap.

I'm just saying, 5 hours of running around book shopping is not nearly as painful as running around Home Depot!

Me: Oh, I'll come to Home Depot if you like but I don't think you can afford it. I saw a kitchen in there that would look mighty fine ...

Bob: Not going to work.

Me: Double Crap!

Good news is they now have a little reading nook area for looking at building plans and stuff. I imagine I'm going to know every inch of that place by the time Bob gets finished with me!

Okay, I have to go and work on a write up for an AAR mini-poll that just finished up and hopefully tomorrow night I can get to the books I bought!

Best Day Ever Part II & III

Where did we leave off?

Ah, right!

We definitely ransacked the romance shelves at the World's Biggest Bookstore and the check out was funny because Ames wanted to know how much everyone saved. I like looking at that too and I often feel the need to point out my savings to Bob. His reply is normally 'yeah, but how much did you have to spend to save that?' And my reply is 'I was going to buy it all anyways so no matter what, I saved money!' I saved 28.06 on a purchase of 96.07 so I remember telling Bob that I saved up to 25% cause I'm all fast with the head math. (In case you are also doing the head math, Bob bought a book on Sheds for 20 bucks so that means I bought 8 books and a tradeback for 76 bucks.)

Nath had the the slowest cashier so even though she was served first she was still checking out while we waited. (It's Saturday and they had 3 cashiers on (possibly 4) and it's a major frickin' city!! I have 3 cashiers at my store and yeah, we have lines but I figure that's to be expected but in a - okay, this is why my posts get so long!)

Right next door to the WBB was BMV which I have no clue what it means but it is a used bookstore. Sweet! We go in and they have one measly area of romance maybe 3 ft wide and 8 ft tall and fuck the alphabetical - we no need no stinkin' alphabet! So there's the four of us peering over each other's shoulders and moving crap out of the way. I really should have taken a picture but I was in full shopping mode. I bought a book there that Ames saw and said was funny and since I'm all about the funny I grabbed it - turns out there is a DVD section and Bob decided to hand me a bunch of John Wayne movies for my dad. At this point I was in line (one person ringing people out) and the guy behind me started this heavy sigh thing when Bob leaped over aisles to hand me the DVDs (it wasn't my turn yet!). I guess Bob then found another and handed it over people's head and I swear the guy behind me sighed so hard the back of my hair parted. (Still not my turn dumbass)

Then, and I swear I partially did it because I'm a bitch, there are mountains of DVDs of TV series on the wall behind the cashier and I see Season 1 of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List (okay, I had no clue what season it was because my eye sight isn't that good but I was all 'gotta have it!') I think Kristie may have still been checking out and Ames was in front of me and I yell up to the guy 'OMG, I have to have that DVD!'

The guy behind me not only sighed on me but this time the fucker leaned right in so I felt his hot breath on my scalp. Poor Ames must have wondered how affectionate a person I am because I swear I was practically hugging her to keep 'heavy breathing guy' from actually touching me. All the same I bought my friggin' DVD and the guy was very close to meeting C-Rex but luckily C-Rex can be logical and the guy had a point.

OMG!! Totally off topic but what is with grown ass men running around without their shirts on!? Okay, it was Gay Pride and I understood the gay men but they have all waxed or shaved themselves to a polished sheen and were strutting their stuff. It was men that I'm sure were straight walking around with their chest hair all out in the open (and I do love me some chest hair) but DUDE you're in public and you're not mowing your lawn or lifting heavy stuff! Then there was the pot bellied man whose hair was grey all over (on his belly!) - these guys were in various degrees of dress. I mean, if you have a button down shirt on and decide it's just too hot, why is the shirt still on their back with their bellies hanging out!?

Okay, back on track.

We decided that the current book haul was too heavy to lug around the city and so we head back to the hotel Ames, Nath and Kristie were staying at. Did I mention niiiiiice. We dropped off our stash of books, told a few stories and headed back out to find us some used bookstores.

Nath had a handy-dandy list of all the UBS in Toronto and I had a map with some of them and most were on Younge St. so we decided that was where to start. Oh and Nath and Ames had already scouted a few bookstores while walking around on Friday.

Ahem.

You may all recall that I'm lazy and having been to the big city I know that a city block is not nearly as small as it sounds. I came prepared though, I had on my sneaks and was ready to march to wherever we were heading.

Too bad we walked the wrong way. To be fair, there was supposed to be a bookstore there but we were busy gabbing and walking and hey, where is this bookstore? It was gone. Okay, regroup.

We start hoofing it up the other way now.

And we're hoofing.

And hoofing.

I think the first bookstore we came to was the one that was closing in a week. Speakers were blaring 'super deals cause we're closing in seven days' on a wicked ass repeat. Bob still mocks me with the 'super deals to be had'.

They had a massive 'Adult fiction' area (porn straight up) with books I had never seen or heard of before. The romance books were scattered in amongst the fiction but there was no A/C and I was getting hot and did I mention the blaring speakers playing on a loop? I went and stood outside with Bob cause there was a breeze but I know Kristie scored for sure. It was also at this time that I did some people watching, hence the reference to men without shirts.

We crossed the street at some point and were now in the sun - seriously with those tall buildings I just didn't think we would be in the sun!

Did you know your lips can get sunburned?

I do now!

We mosied through a little craft fair area where I bought some essential oils. I have a thing about those kind of markets. A family friend of ours used to work weekends at something like that and it was all they could do to earn their rent and they did it for years! So whenever I see something that I would buy normally I try to buy it at these kind of fairs. (Sweet Orange (for sleeping - put it on an old face cloth beside your pillow) and Lavender) I didn't ask how much the oils were and was hit up for 20 bucks. Eagle eye Bob saw the twenty leave my hands and thought to remind us the kiosks were not bookstores.

Men.

I believe it was at this point that I noticed the street was bare. Huh. Is that the Gay Pride Parade!!?? Nah. That's on Sunday. I mean, that's what I heard on the news! (Bob told me tonight that I was right, the GPP was on Sunday but that we experienced the Lesbian Parade - seeing as how I couldn't see past the crowd I didn't notice)

Now, you all know I'm all about the love and really so is Bob but there is something in the heterosexual male that will be forever threatened by gay men. Bob turned to me at one point and said, 'you better hope I don't end up on the news or you'll never live it down'. I'm thinking 'honey, you ain't all that.'

From the picture above you'll see a white truck and that was where the parade made a right turn. We get down there and the music is on and the song was awesome but Bob's being Mr. Negative and all, 'we're never going to get past the parade' but the women are so not listening to him which I think is fabulous and I burst out 'you're not the boss today' (Aries like to control their enviroment) Just to help Bob understand I flag down a policeman (I'd like to call him HottyMcServe and Protect Pants - yum - don't tell Bob!) and he tells us we should be fine on the left side of the street and that the parade was only going to last another half hour.

We bob and weave and Ames spots a trio of women with three adorable puppies in carry sacks and Ames wants a pic (painfully missing Max) so we take pics and I ask the ladies for their e-mail so I can send them the picture. Super nice women.

Next up, an actual book shop!!

Even though there was a romance section there were plenty of romance books intermixed with the fiction. Oh. My brain. I can barely remember what I have and don't have when I'm in a romance book section. Put me in a bookstore and say 'go fetch' and I'm a goner. I found Linda Howard's Inferno and decided to take a chance.

Get this! The parade ends while we are in the store and I notice these odd little cars on the street.

The city street cleaners are vacuuming up and cleaning the street! I've never seen anything so efficient in my life. So I ended up watching the clean up because I'm easily amused.

The next bookstore wasn't even a block away and was three levels but I ain't playing by now. I want romance books pronto so I walk up to the counter and ask the guy if he has a romance section. I get the negative head wag and am pointed to the fiction section. Ames, Nath and Kristie head on over but again, I don't have the brain power to sift through (I have a list of titles and authors and even with that, I'm usually up and down the alphabet like a ladder monkey - I was all over the place at WBB!)

While Bob and I are loitering Bob notices an old Life magazine with John Wayne on the cover and says something about my dad. The man behind the counter asks if we would like to see it and we figure sure. Let's just say my dad is going to have a Duke of a Christmas because we bought it - 22 bucks!

It was as we moved outside that I realized my legs, feet and body had had the biscuit. Ames had Nath's list and was looking up other UBS and I realized I wasn't going to be able to keep up. I really wanted to stay but I know my limit.

(Bob later said if I had just kept going we could have hailed a cab back. Bob and his gems of wisdom that come too late.)

Hugs all around and one last picture.

From left to right, me, Nath, Ames and Kristie (you'll notice I took off the long sleeve shirt I was wearing so maybe I shouldn't be casting stones at the men with their bellies hanging out).

It took Bob and I twenty minutes of speed walking to get back to the van (and I mean we were moving because I knew if I stopped I wasn't going to get started again)

It was on our way out of the city that I got the best picture of the CN Tower and the Roger Center (once upon a time called the Skydome and yes, I still refer to it as that)

Crap. I just looked at my CN Tower picture and I managed to get a street light in there. I'm just not destined to get a great picture!

All right, break time.

Smoke 'em if you get 'em.

Best Day EVER!!!!!

Knowing how long winded I am I have a feeling I should break this up into epic novel one, two, three etc.

I already said BEST DAY EVER!! Right?

I don't even know where to start!

Bob being the man he is made sure I got up when I was supposed to and had a shower before me. He was all spiffy and clean and he even shaved (weekends are shave free days). I get up and shower and am feeling great. I think I was a touch anxious and my tummy was grumbly but who cares. I come down the stairs and where is Bob? In the garden on his knees spreading around fresh wood chips! He's just so funny, always doing.

We get in the car and I take a pic of Bob and I but I'm horrible at doing those kind of pictures and all you see are my nose hairs.

I'll spare you.

I have tried a couple of times to get a picture of the CN Tower from where we live (when you go down the Hamilton mountain (hill) on a clear day you can see the CN Tower) but my camera just can't pick up that kind of detail.

Because of this I took a massive amount of pictures of the CN Tower on the way there. Weird.

I egged Bob on a few times because I was excited to get there and I wanted to make sure we were on time. Bob has a bad habit of driving in the slow lane in case we need to get off (I used to panic if I saw brake lights so he would immediately get off the highway) but I was all 'lets go!'.

The weather was gorgeous and it was such a good day to drive into the city. Not only that, as much as it was busy, the sun and the weather kept me calm. Here's a picture of the condos on the lake as we are driving in.

I called Kristie about 10 minutes from the hotel (the directions from Google had an error that would have had people unfamiliar with the area drive 16 km the wrong way - hello!) and got some hellos from Ames and Nath.

Excited!

We find the hotel (super nice) and park in their underground parking and sure enough, they were in the lobby!!

Can I say Ames and Nath are just gorgeous in person (Kristie too but I already knew she was gorgeous)! Not only that but the sweetest people in the world!

We decide to go to breakfast and walk till we find a place. It turned out it was another hotel and let me tell you, the people who worked the restaurant were too funny. They thought nothing of telling you the way it was. 'Uh, hi, could I get', 'Just hold on, I'm still working on another order'. Uh, 'kay.

We ate outside which was fantastic and Bob and Ames started to feed the pigeons. I managed to throw some muffin for a small sparrow over the pigeon's head. At this point the pigeons figured this was an invitation to land on our table. Oooops. Then we notice the sign that asks the customers not to feed the pigeons. Might explain why the guys a couple tables over were giving us dirty looks. Double whoops.

Then!!! It was time!!!

I made Bob go across the street to take our picture. He was all 'but it says right on the door 'World's Biggest Bookstore'!'

Don't care, get across the street!

Then he took one closer up.

Poor Nath was getting antsy so when Bob had to take another picture for Ames I thought she was going to burst. Of course, after seeing her book haul I understood why she wanted in that store NOW!

Ames was just like her blog title - Thrifty! but with a deal of buy 3 books get one free, well, let's just say that 8 books was the minimum for Kristie and I. I'm thinking Nath may have hit 20 but Ames says her TBR pile is nothing compared to the rest of us.

The best part about shopping with book friends is they are right there when you can't remember the title of the book that Holly recently recommended, or the one with the cover of a woman's leg out of the tub. Kristie even remembered seeing some of the books I had on my TBB list on my bookshelves at home!

We were talking about different authors and which books we loved and I was talking about Theresa Medeiros' older titles. There was one in particular where the hero was sent to kill the heroine because she was a descendant of royal blood but the minute he saw her he decided to save her. (Let me know if this was a Medeiros) So there are three titles that I know I have on my keeper shelf so I'm reading the back blurb to see if I can find the one for Nath and she says, 'that's okay, I'll just buy all three'. I told her I didn't want a phone call at 3:30 in the morning saying 'You BITCH!' if she didn't like Medeiros.

Kristie and I also tried to convince Nath and Ames that vintage Karen Robards are great - hmmm, maybe she was the one who wrote the book I'm thinking of. Dang my memory!

Amber has just jumped on my lap and I'm typing impaired now so I'll sign off.

I have 10 books here waiting to be shared with you all but you'll have to wait until another installment. Let's just say that WBB wasn't the only stop and the walking, Oy!

(The World's Biggest Bookstore was at one time really the WBB - long before Chapters, Barnes and Noble etc. but I can't imagine that it's the biggest anymore but even so, the romance section was excellent. I swear, almost every author has a good showing on the shelves which means you find those rare gems that you have been looking for forever so it is definitely a great stop.)

But I'll second Kristie, my feet are killing me! I can only imagine the pain tomorrow will bring.

If Nath and Ames lived close by I would lose weight in a flash!

Uh oh!!

I'm watching the news and guess what?

It's the beginning of Gay Pride week in Toronto. Apparently the busiest weekend in the summer for Toronto.

Biggest gay pride event in the world.

Expecting 1 million visitors.

Certain roads will be closed down.

Uh, yeah. That's a lot of people heading to downtown TO! Couldn't just be your average big city busy. Hell no. Gotta go there when everyone else is converging on the place.

That's too funny but I am excited without that over feeling of anxiety that I normally have. I have never really felt this way before and I am loving the experience. I know anxiety (the bitch) will pitch her tent and make waves eventually but I am just feeling great joy about going and being in Toronto with friends and enjoying the weather and the shopping!

Look out world!

The good news for me is the parade isn't until 2pm on Sunday but Ames and Nath will be there and there are large sections of road way near their hotel that will be closed!

Ouch!

I've printed off a list of bookstores and used bookstores although I think Nath had that covered but just in case I have a list with little dots where there may be stores.

The ladies should be just getting out of the Medieval Times fun and maybe gabbing at the hotel. On that note, I'm going to e-mail them so they know when I'm going to get to the hotel.

Damn, I have to shut the news off cause there is just some seriously horrible stuff they are reporting. Gah. One of the rides at Canada's Wonderland has been shut down but I don't think that will upset Ames and Nath too much - at first I thought it said the entire park was closed but it's just one ride.

Okay, I have to make up my book list for shopping just in case we get to a few bookstores. I'm thinking Ames, Nath and Kristie will be just fine shopping where ever and getting lunch where we can all gab.

And I wonder if we'll get to this place and if it's still claiming it's fame?

Years and years and years ago I went here and the romance book section was bigger than anything I could have ever imagined. Not only that but they used to have stock of out of print books.

Mmmmm, books.

Shopping Online ROCKS!!!

I have mentioned that I was looking for a dress for a possible wedding I may be going to in September.

The thing is, the big women's stores sell dresses that are shapeless or clingy!? or with enough pattern to have a blind person know something is going on. Ugh.

So I started looking on the internet for plus size women's clothes.

While looking at possible dresses I knew I wanted something that would detract from the fact that I'm not a skinny minnie.

Low and behold there were sites that recommended certain dresses for certain body types. I'm pretty sure I'm more pear shaped and the online shops would let you search for dresses that would be flattering for this kind of figure.

I found many dresses but I would end up wondering what size would really be right for me. Would a normal woman's 18 fit me or do I have to go with a woman's 20W. So I was a bit antsy about ordering dresses that might not fit me and oy vey! the measuring charts are bogus. I mean, they have to be!

Then there is the fact I live in Canada and a few places just won't ship here and if I had to send the dress back how much would all the shipping be? There was one dress that I absolutely loved and while humming and hawwing it was sold out and gone. Dammit!!

All the same, I knew what I was looking for and decided what the hell, I would look in a few stores around here. There are some seriously fancy clothing stores in my town because 'la-di-dah' people live here (Bob and I are the white trash element) but I have never set foot in any of them, even when I was a size 7.

So I go up tonight and enter one of the stores that looks scary. I don't even try and pretend I'm something I'm not and immediately ask if they stock any dresses in a size 18. The young woman was delightful and said that although they didn't stock them they could order them in.

Meh. Okay then. I explain that I want an A-line dress with ruching around the bodice to give the illusion of a waist with a bit of sexy.

Bloody hell if they didn't have the dress I had seen on a few websites that I had thought would be just right (not the dream dress but very nice). It was a size 14. Offffda.

I'm all fuck it, and walk into the dressing room. I pull the dress on over head because I'm not stupid, it ain't coming over my hips, and actually get the dress zipped up. Holy shit!

Now, if my name was June then the song, June Is Busting Out All Over (I hated that play) would have been a perfect backdrop. Since there is no one else in the store I walk out of the dressing room and tell the sales lady I don't want any crap, just the truth.

The lady was quite nice and said that she thought I had picked the right kind of dress.

Basically, it's flattering in it's shape but yeah, my boobs aren't on the menu for the dinner so I'm thinking an 18 but also I wasn't keen on the under color of pink (it was brown over pink but I really like the brown over blue).

I see another dress (to the right) that I had also found on the internet and decide again, I'll try it on even though it's a 14. Poor dress couldn't handle the boobage. Again, I came out because I like the neckline of the dress but the ruching was kind of hitting the middle of the bustline and I was figuring it should be below the bust. The lady thought the first dress had a better cut and flattered my shape better (I'm thinking she knew an 18 would have been a hard squeeze).

I did see another dress and asked her what she thought and bless her for honesty she said it would be too clingy and it's clearly not what I want. Another dress with the same structure was there and I enjoyed the colour but it had a bow at the hip - yeah, let's NOT draw attention there!

Turns out that while I was changing she found the dress I wanted to order in the brown over blue in a 16 and asked me to try it on.

Okay.

We have lift off!! It was great and we agreed that the straps of the dress probably needed to be taken up about an inch. I bought the dress on the spot even though I didn't have one girlfriend there to say 'OMG, are you out of your friggin' mind!?' What was really nice was that I said something about how I managed to do that fast and she said that it was nice to help someone who knew what would be flattering on them instead of trying for something not suited to their shape.

Thank ya!

The good news is when I came home I asked Bob if I could model the dress I bought.

He liked it. He really, really liked it.

I won't be doing any pictures in the dress until I have a proper tan (super white cleavage!), sexy shoes and my hair just a touch longer. About the length in the picture of me and Cody. It's much shorter right now because I cut it for pool season but I know that by the end of August I'll just have to cut my bangs and my hair should be at a good length.

This is a picture of the dress on the left but it's with brown as it's undertone. Mine has a blue undertone - in the dress above the blue is very noticeable whereas in the dress I have it's just hinted at.

Now I just have to be invited to the wedding. *snort*

Confession Time?

It's seems I'm afraid of my books.

There. I said it.

I can't seem to pick a book and stick with it. I glance around and see some titles here and there (I've been moving them around hoping my hand will whip out and grab something) and then think, where are all the books I want to read?

I stood in front of my bookcases the other night and nothing! I know I have a ton of books that I want to read but I just couldn't see them.

Also, whenever I know I have an event coming up I can't pick a book. I'm afraid I'll get sucked into the story and be pissed because I can't finish the book. Weird I know but I used to get really upset when I was reading a book and had to put it down because I was going out for the evening. I usually had a great time but sometimes I would be wishing things would be over already so I can go back and read!

I purposely didn't pick a book this past weekend because I know I would have been even
bitchier (not possible) if I had to put down a perfectly great book to deal with all the shit around me.

Now this weekend is coming but I know I'm going to have a blast so I have more of a 'can't sit still' feeling.

I keep wondering how many bookstores we might get too and if we'll do some window shopping along Younge street. How many books can Bob carry?

Ooops. Should explain.

I'm going to Toronto (my Mt. Everest) on Saturday to meet Nath, Ames and Kristie! I mean, really, only a fellow blogger will get me into the big city and have me all excited about it!

I think Nath and Ames planned a trip to Toronto and knew that Kristie and I were near there so they asked if we would like to meet. Uh, hell ya!! (There is one other person who was supposed to come but she is having scheduling issues so I won't out her in case she can't make it although I would love to meet her also!)

Knowing myself well, I told them that I wouldn't be able to travel without Bob and that if they didn't want that I would totally understand. Apparently Bob is quite welcome as long as the man can carry books. Since he is used to me in bookstores it was all good.

I'm wondering how he will hold up meeting four other women who squeee and act like me around books. He may just start praying.

I will only be going on Saturday because you all know me - I'm like a puppy - I get all wound up and excited and then I need a nap.

I'm thinking I'll be lucky to see Sunday.

And so Ames and Nath will know who the chick is that just hugged them I'll post a picture. I figure any pictures of me from this weekend will have me with food in my mouth. Happens all the time so I'll post a picture of me that I like. I'm wearing my infamous painting clothes. People see me in this outfit and they know to get the hell out of the way cause the paint is about to fly!

So here I am with Cody bear. ( I would post a pic of Bob but with the way companies are about their employees online, I figure I'll just be safe. His work peeps don't know me from Adam)

Hey! I heard that moo!

The 7 X 7 Music Meme

Luck is on your side! I was tagged for a meme so no tumbling around Cindy's brain today.

You're welcome.

Actually, you should thank JMC.

List seven songs you are into right now, no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

1. Fall Out Boy -- This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race (I love songs you can scream the lyrics to and yes, I have the version with the bad word)


2. Finger Eleven -- Paralyzer


3. Justin Timberlake -- What Goes Around (I like the end of the song the best)


4. Mobile -- Out of My Head


5. Nelly Fortado -- Say It Right (the percussion in this blows my mind! )


6. Akon -- Don't Matter (I like the regae feeling of this song but I have a hard time just listening to the song without thinking the lead singer should be arrested)


7. Avril Lavigne -- Girlfriend (Hey Mickey knock off - don't really like the lyrics cause they really are mean)



Tagging? You betcha!

Holly (is it too early to be thinking about wedding music?)
Renee (yeah I did! You're it!)
Jay (cause I know she's around here somewhere!)
LinnieGayl (you can blog at AAR or leave a list in the comments - hey, I see you trying to leave!)
Sybil (but I'm thinking she'll be too busy and that's okay)
Ames (I know I'll see you on Saturday but I still want to know what you're listening to!)
C2 (cause THE book isn't out yet and you need to kill some time)

You don't have to post the videos or anything. I was just thinking that if someone really wanted to know about the noise in my head they could just click on the video and hear the song. Yep. I like to be helpful that way.

Question. Anyone else have to copy and paste the 'embed' code to get the videos to work? I try and send the videos to post on my back up blog but they don't show up.

If you have problems with the vids I'm sorry.

Blame Blogger.

It's Over!! But Apparently I'm Still Moping

It's Monday night (okay, early Tuesday morning) and the weekend is OVER!!

All right. If you feel like reading a recap of my whiny weekend then onwards, if not I don't blame you for bleeping out.

Read melodrama at your own risk!

I went to the surprise bridal shower of my former best friend (of 25 years) and I knew it was going to be hard but I didn't expect the gut punches to keep coming all through the 'brunch' we had at a Tea house.

First, discovering that pretty much everyone there including the woman from over an hour away had actually met the fiance was the first blow. I've never met him. Hell, I didn't know he existed until I was told she was engaged to be married. (When I knew her, she never wanted to get married. Ever.)

One of the women took my original seat which meant I had to sit very close to FBF and it was all we could do not to catch each others eyes.

She asked me what was new.

Uh, yeah. A whole shitload of stuff is new since I haven't heard from you in over a year and a half. (Hey, I was civil. My mother was within striking distance and the day wasn't about me and my shit. I talked about our house and stuff. I mean really, where do you start?)

Do you have a picture of your fiance?

She didn't.

That was the end of our conversation.

I heard her later describing her wedding dress to her other friends. The friends I used to go out with also (although they were her friends from school and I was the one with the driver's license so I knew them because we always drove them around). Her friends were nicer to me. That hurt too.

My mother, by the way, was the one who said I absolutely had to go to this shower. (my family and her family have been best friends forever and it's really just her and I that have had a falling out) I sat beside my mom but she didn't talk to me much. Nice.

Later it is time to leave and I'm helping people pack up FBF car. I went to tell my mother that I would pull my car up so she didn't have to walk (it was freaking hot) and I remember something niggling in my brain saying don't bother. Well, turns out my instincts were trying to save me from the sucker punch. I open the door to find my mother taking a picture of the friends with FBF. I was so floored I just blurted out that I was going for the car. My mother's response was 'Oh, Cindy, maybe you should be the one taking this picture.' (Yeah, so not what I need) I said pretty firmly, 'No, you're doing just fine' and walked back out the door. I'll be honest and say that that hurt the most and the next time I get a little warning in my brain I'm going to bloody well listen to it.

The next hurdle was when saying good bye to the friends they were all 'well, I guess we'll see you at the wedding' and I'm thinking 'only if I'm invited'. And then I'm wondering what they know that I don't. Obviously they must know why FBF doesn't care for me anymore which of course, made me feel even more conspicuous.

I finally get home and Zach's pool party is in full swing and I'm surrounded by people who actually care about me and love me for who I am. I ended up getting all weepy and telling each of the women that I appreciate their friendship and that they mean a lot to me. I remember hugging Sue and telling her that I love her and that she is my best friend. I guess this blew her away (she knows she's my best friend but I guess she doesn't hear it enough) and got her all misty eyed.

So it's three in the afternoon and everyone didn't leave until about 8pm. (the kids who I didn't know left at 6pm but I knew the rest and they play well together so even though I was asked many times by the adults if it was time to leave I would just say, nah, they're having fun.)

(This is Joshua - what a ham! We've never seen him have so much fun with water - Sue bought an 8 dollar slip and slide and he must have gone done it like 200 times. The goofy face alone is too much! I need to get pics of some of the pool toys I bought. Talk about a hit and they didn't blow up or get broken and there were easily 4 hefty boys on them at one time!)

I couldn't sleep that night and got up to go to Bob's fathers. He's going to be 89 years old this week!! He's such a sweetie but Bob is hard to keep in one place so we were only there for about an hour and a half.

I fell asleep on the car ride back and begged Bob to call my parents and set them back to 5pm for dinner. We got home at 3 and I fell into bed until quarter to five.

I then BBQ'd for my dad and did up a nice dinner. Okay, nice enough. It wasn't steak or anything but I know my Dad well and you can make the fanciest grub on the BBQ and he'll be all 'where's the burgers?'

They left around 8pm and I stayed up to 10 pm and then slogged off to bed.

17 hours later I got up.

Shut up.

OH! I got Bob to turn the AC on finally. You know what I did? I noticed that Cody has been breathing heavier and today he slept on the bathroom floor so I suggested to Bob that maybe the heat was harder on Cody than we realized.

AC was turned on pronto!!

The good news is that Cody is breathing easier and he's got his 'puppy' swagger back again. So we're both cool.

I told Bob that my number one priority for this week is to finally sit and read a book.

He thought that was hilarious.

Apparently it's not often he doesn't see me with a book in my hand.

I just never have time to read it!!

Short, Sweet, and to the ... Ah, Who We Kiddin'

It's D weekend here at Smith central.

My best bud was supposed to come and spend the night but her mother no longer has an immune system (fighting cancer) so she decided it wasn't a good idea. I was already at my breaking point running around trying to get everything done before she got here so although I'm sorry she couldn't come, it actually saved my bacon. (my tummy tanked Wednesday night from the stress - I haven't had a bad tummy in almost 2 months so I was probably due but what a wonderful break it had been!)

So this weekend is no longer considered the weekend from hell. It's been down graded to a simple 'third level of hell' kind of weekend. That's just the kind of normal crap that makes me crazy but it's my own fault.

Tomorrow noon to three is the bridal shower where I need to be on my best behavior. This is pretty hard for me because my mouth is quicker than my brain and crazy stuff just pops out. Luckily, the people at the event think I'm more funny than obnoxious so that's good. I'm just praying there is air conditioning in the building.

Then I will come straight home to my Godson's eleventh birthday party. The party will have been going on for about an hour by the time I get home. Pool party!

And train of thought jumps the tracks.

You know what blows my mind? Some people think nothing of inviting themselves to my home lately. Sue was asked by her sister if her family (all adults now) were also invited to the pool party (Sue said, sure) and I was all, NO!! Has she shown up to all the sale parties Sue has had (Avon, Epicurean etc)? NO!! Sue has a party and her sister is all, I have no interest in coming even though I don't have to buy anything. Why would I want to come? Cause you get to visit with a bunch of cool women? Apparently not.

Oh, but there is something going on at my house and WHAM, they're all up in my grill. I didn't mind the parents of the kids invited to the party coming because I'm not going to be a lifeguard and someone should be responsible for the kids (Easy. I always keep an eye out but I get laughed at a lot because I panic more about safety and am usually told to just let the kids have fun - so now I just watch and have the phone ready for 911 emergencies) Now, on top of the people I find fun and like to relax with (and have no problem saying - you want a drink, good, go and get it from the fridge and grab me one while you're in there (we do this at each others homes, no acting like a waitress)) are four extra adults that will need to be fed and offered drinks etc. I just wanted to watch the kids have a good time and sit with hubby and girlfriends and gab. Meh.

In case that last paragraph didn't clue you in, I've got my period and Bitchy Cindy is making an appearance and has decided to do a daily showing until sometime Monday. I can just feel it.

Remember I was talking about how the pain has become more of a nuisance lately? Well tonight I decided to do what Sue had mentioned and went to my pharmacist and asked if he had anything stronger like Tylenol 222 behind the counter. He gave me something with Codeine in it and told me that it would make me drowsy. (He's so funny. He's knows me and is all 'What's wrong with you?' and I'm all, my period cramps are getting out of control and I have a party I have to go to tomorrow and I just need to get through it. (see, not the least bit embarrassed about my crap) (There's the normal suggestion of Ibuprofen but I tell him how I get nauseous and can't take it) He just nods and says 'This'll get you through the party'). He mentions that I should try it tonight and see how I react.

Bob and I get home and I can barely see straight cause I'm so tired. So I tell Bob that I'm going to take these pills and that I'll kiss him goodnight now in case I don't wake up till the morning.

Me: I'm going to take these pills and see what happens.

Bob: *laughs* Night sweetie.

Me: *laughing* Watch, I'll have the opposite reaction and I'll be up all night.

Bob: *snort*

Yeah. I'm not laughing anymore cause I'm still up.

But it does exactly what I need it to do and I know the shower is going to be hard enough without groaning aloud every time I move.

Phew!

The day after is Father's Day and Bitchy Cindy will still be around. I have to get up before the sun (okay, maybe not before the sun but at the same time as the sun) and go to Bob's father's home. We'll visit for a few hours and then hopefully be home by 1pm. I'll then crawl into bed for 3 hours and then get up to prepare for the BBQ I'm going to have for my dad.

You know, it's not the day of that's a killer, it's all the running around, getting the gifts and finding the right wrapping paper and just general stuff that needs to get done before the weekend. This kind of stuff never really occurs to men. I mean Bob keeps forgetting and will say how on Sunday he is going to dig holes for posts and then move this over there etc. Then I remind him and he's all, 'Damn. I'm not going to get anything done this weekend.'

Yeah. I'm bleeding for ya over here. Try not getting anything done for the past week!

So yes. I'm looking forward to Monday and I know that's selfish but hey, I'm nothing if not honest with y'all.

Sorry, just not reading right now because I can't seem to sit still and I have been trying to concentrate on the mini-poll up at AAR right now and well, just getting the shopping done!

Anyways.

I'm about to break the vacuum out and bust a move. Then I have to go in the basement (the last place in the house I like to go) and find wrapping paper because God forbid anyone sell manly wrap that doesn't say Happy Birthday (I mean, WTF?) and then I'm going to get the party stuff out and on the dining room table so Sue knows where it is when she gets here tomorrow and clean the downstairs bathroom.

Yeah, apparently 'hyper' is my response to chemicals that are supposed to make you drowsy.

AAR Mini-polls

Just so you know we have a mini-poll up at AAR for your Top Ten Short Stories and your Top Ten Anthologies and we'd (LinnieGayl, Lee and I) love it if you ran over and filled out the ballot.

On that note, I have blogged over at AAR After Hours about my favourites so feel free to come over and comment or, you can comment right here!

In other news, Bob surprised me with taking two days holiday this week on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Everybody remember how I feel about these kind of surprises? Yeah.

So I'm trying to be awake when my body wants to sleep and this will bring me into that Thursday mess that starts the weekend of hell.

I'm not letting my anxiety pills out of my sight!

Oh. And it's hot.

Humidex will be at 29 for the week and Bob hasn't let me close up the windows and put on the air yet.

The man lives dangerously.

Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson

I don't think too many of you read MJD but I think Jennie mentioned she wanted to know what happens even though she wasn't planning on reading the book. So I'm going to do my usual crappy review and there will be spoilers.

Well, it's a short book and the spoiler I'm going to lay on you hit fairly early but just in case you want to read the book with no influence then I would stop reading now.

Oh and don't read the author forward. I think I've learned my lesson now but wow, by the end of the book I had to sit and think about what MJD had thought was the momentous occasion that all the previous books had been leading up to.

Now I've never claimed to be that bright (quiet!) but I was expecting something HUGE and maybe it was but when I get warned something is coming I start over thinking and well, I was set up. Or I out thought myself. Whatever.

Still, it's not quite on par with Paris' epiphany that God has bigger things for her to do, even without her moisturizer.

Okay, that was a cheap shot but really, why do I have to hear about this chick daily?

Cindy Blurb: We have Betsy (Vampire Queen) getting ready for her wedding to Eric Sinclair (vampire King - or bedmate, whatever) who insists they are already married and that he doesn't care about the ceremony which of course, pisses Betsy off. So there is some bickering and then an engagement ring is presented.

Flash forward to two weeks before the wedding and everyone has left Betsy alone. Betsy and Sinclair had a fight and she figures he's off sulking, her best friend is dying of cancer and is hospitalized, Marc has disappeared (he's the gay Dr - no really, sometimes you need a chart to remember who all these people are and I still can't remember where the ghost Cathie came from), the werewolf eightball (she sees the future) is missing along with her lover and I mentioned the ghost, right? Also her mother is acting weird and her sister Laura (the Devil's daughter) is acting weirder still and her father and the Ant were killed in a bizarre car accident leaving Betsy the legal guardian of her baby (literally) brother BabyJon.

All right. Did we lose anyone? Everybody still here?

I think that this book is the more grown up version of the Betsy world even though it is still more of a skimming of personalities. Also, if you read this series for the funny, it's not really here. I think I chuckled once.

As much as Betsy is supposed to be alone in this book, there are still a lot of people showing up and moving through scenes. That said, I felt sad for most of the book which was probably how Betsy was feeling but whenever she was faced with something new, she didn't really consider asking questions, she just asked people to leave. Eg. The Wyndham werewolves show up because they haven't heard from their eightball and that's bad. Basically they are a hit and run kind of group and attack Betsy first and start talking later. Betsy, meanwhile, shows no interest in why these people showed up. I thought of about 12 questions that could have been asked and weren't. Meh. Maybe she was tired.

Anyways, there is a reason why everyone disappeared and when she gets down to thinking about what is going on she finally gets her shit together and finds her people, discovers a new power that scares the shit out of everyone but cures those around her (including her best friend) and I think the big thing the book was working up to was Betsy finally accepting that she is the Queen of the Vampires. So now she owns it and Sinclair is not the one the Vamps look to for answers anymore.

I'm giving this a B because it kept my attention and I enjoyed it for what it was even though Betsy can be slow to pick things up. My feeling is that this could be the last in this series without anyone wondering what happens next. Sure there is her sister but other than that, everyone has found their HEA and it's even hinted that Laura finds hers in the near future.

So, it's all good.

A Whole Year!!!

First, I have been over to Kristie's and I see my head is on the block again. Marg, sweets, you just outed yourself as having never read One Summer by Karen Robards either. I sense a list coming on.

My plan is to read MJD's book to ease my way back into reading - you'll see why reading is taking a backseat as you get further down the post. I then plan on reading One Summer and then *fingers crossed* one of the Kleypas titles that you all helped me with. I'm thinking Where Dreams Begin because three people mentioned it and Mailyn hated it. That there is always a reason to read a book. To figure out just where you are in the reading spectrum with others. Although Mailyn has left romance reading behind until the publishers quit sucking donkey arse.

I'm paraphrasing.

What's weird is when someone says they need a break from romance books, I feel the need to woo them back. And yet, I have had the same thing happen to me.

NEXT!!

Since I don't work I rarely know what today's date is. There are times I have no clue what day of the week it is. Okay, I know Saturdays and Sundays because Bob is home but half way through the week I start stumbling over whether it's Wednesday or Thursday.

My point?

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of our move to our new (old) house! *blows on a noise maker*

Yep. That there is quite a milestone except, uh, nothing much has changed in the past year. The gardens scare the living daylights out of me, most of the rooms are done in colours that induce my gag reflex and we've done nothing to make the rooms we live in the most, any different.

Yikes.

Wait! There is good news though.

Phew!

The reno house is up for sale. Yeah, baby! The first open house is this Sunday which means that Bobby is officially back at home with me. Poor bastard ... but it's aces for me!

I'm pretty sure I mentioned somewhere on the blog that when I don't get my Bob fix I just don't feel right. I'm more anxious, can't seem to find my gumption, etc. Just knowing that our weekends will go back to normal is a huge relief. (I have to get new pictures now that the house is staged and oy, I have stories)

This next week is going to be a bruiser for me though.

My best bud whose boyfriend broke up with her shortly after she discovered her mother is terminal (&$@#$#) is going to come with her young son and stay Thursday and over to Friday. That's two full days for me and I'm not sure I'll get a nap in. Then Saturday comes at me with a triple play. I found out that my former best friend's wedding shower is from noon to 3 and my mother put her foot down and said I was going. Problem? I told my Godson that he could have a pool party at his Aunt Cindy's house and yeah, his B-day is Saturday. So they are going to have the party from 3-5:30 so that I can be there for some of it.

This would be day three without a nap.

Sunday is Father's day and Bob and I are both blessed. Bob's dad is turning 88 years old on the 17th so Sunday will be a whirlwind of visits to both father's homes which I feel bad about cause I would have liked to at least had a BBQ for my dad. Aw, well. He was very understanding but I thought I could have a BBQ this weekend only, it's now Saturday. Talk about no notice!

Monday?

Coma.

I'll Try To Be Brief

Yeah, I've never been brief but I'm trying to wind down before going to bed at 7am today. I'm thinking I'm going to blow by that time line. Ooops. Had a nap last night and screwed with the sleep schedule.

Bad Cindy.

Anyways, I bought more books!!

Okay, you totally knew that but you didn't know what I bought so now I'll share.

Angels Fall by Nora Roberts. I have had this one on my TBB list for a while because the Nora fans loved it to itty bitty bits and I figure it's a good spot to buy back in. This book was 45% off which was even more exciting cause I think it just came out in paperback. If not, my local store hasn't stocked it yet. Seven thousand other titles by Roberts but not the one I was looking for. Typical.

Fire Song by Catherine Coulter. Have no clue what it's about but I'm thinking one of the bloggers listed it as a favourite so I put it on the list. I was surprised I could get it because it looks like it should be from the early 90s. Ah, it was a re-issue - original cover shot from 1990. I have read one Coulter I believe. Hopefully it wasn't this one. Stupid memory.

Simply Love by Mary Balogh. I know. I keep buying her books and I haven't read them yet. I think I'm trying to find a real simple love story and I'm pretty sure that Balogh delivers. Not sure on the sex thing but maybe she's more sensual.

Undead and Uneasy by - HEY!! SETTLE DOWN!! Sheesh! I know, I suck but I didn't buy it at full price cause it was 35% off and it was like 17 dollars which is the price of trade paperbacks up here. The good news is I can probably read this one in a few hours and feel like I accomplished something. And I'll review it and you'll like it. Yeah you will!

One Summer by Karen Robards. I'm pretty sure this is a favourite of Kristie and she never steers me wrong! Again, I'm thinking this is a re-issue which makes me happy as I do love brand new books. I have a bunch of titles on my TBB list that are from the early 90s and some from the late 80s but I'll be going to Toronto soon and maybe a few UBS are in my future! Looks like this one was from 93. I know I have read quite a few Robard books but it was back when I never kept track. Here's hoping I haven't already read this one!

All right then. That's not too bad.

Well, I do have a gift certificate to use now.

And I just got some coupons in the mail where if I spend $35 I will get $5 off.

I mean, that's just easy math.

Totally worth it.

Gah!

There are days when I know I'm more trouble than I'm worth.

I went out to do weeding and by this I mean I had to remove a patch of various growths from a 20' by 6' section of garden. I swear it was a jungle in there and I needed a machete. The first time out I wore gloves and was pulling at random. Some of the weeds eased out and some, well, they fought back and I got cranky.

When I get cranky I talk out loud. Okay, there were swear words too but it was about 7:30pm and no one was around. Except Cody. And he's used to me.

Turns out these things are vines of some sort and trail back to the mother planet that has probably been there since time began and thinks my feeble attempts at removing it is highly amusing.

I get hot and I can feel the blood moving in my veins and I figure Fuck it, I'm done.

I come in the house and cool off over about 10 minutes and think about how much more has to be done.

So I get the big guns out.

Well, we have the shittiest pair of nippers ever and I can't seem to cut through most of the stuff in the bed. Again, swearing, throwing plant death and general mayhem. I should mention that this garden is about 2 ft from the pool and it's covered and it's been bloody cold for 2 days so there is no way I want to fall in. That said, every time I heaved on something I could see myself falling into the pool.

Then I stepped on the 4 by 4 timber that is the surround of the bed.

It friggin moved!

Yeah.

Bob hasn't actually drilled the mothers into place and when that moved I swear my life flashed before my eyes because I wasn't going to hit the pool but crack my head on the side of the concrete.

DONE!

Cody and I packed up and left the area.

Be that as it may, I really do worry about the way my body reacts to any kind of physical activity. I get flushed in the face, I can feel my blood moving in my veins and I get out of breath and I get so hot that I'm miserable. Now, I'm over weight but this kind of feeling has been with me since I was a teen (and I weighed next to nothing back then). Course back then I didn't really worry too much because I figured a heart attack wasn't possible. Now, I'm not so sure.

Bob told me I should get it checked but I really don't know what I'm checking for. I remember telling my doctor years ago that when I worked out and the instructor said it was time to check your heart rate, mine was off the friggin chart. My doctor just shrugged and said everyone's is different.

I'm not buying it now.

Oh! I used to swim lengths and that is the best for me because it keeps my body cool. I could do it for hours except for the fact you are alone with your thoughts and that can be boring. I did notice when I got out of the pool that I was dizzy but I wondered if the movement of my head while doing the front crawl for 30 minutes was the problem.

So, it looks like I need to do some investigating.

What's scary is that if I really am normal, then I am one huge pansy!

Edited: I have a wedding I have to go to in September and the dresses that are available for women of a certain size have 'tent' written all over them. So I decided to do some online shopping and Wowzer! I found the perfect dress, rouching where I needed it and enough sexy to make me feel like a million bucks. I went online today to purchase so I could check the fit and IT'S GONE!!

Crap.

Channeling Suisan

I got this little video in an e-mail so some of you may have seen it.

I'm telling you, this horse dances. I have never seen anything quite like it. I have seen the front leg canter but I don't recall ever seeing the back legs lift like this. It's a six minute video and I couldn't stop watching once the horse started skipping. SKIPPING for heaven's sake.

Maybe Suisan will come out and let us know if this is something as mind blowing as the announcers let us think it is. I'm thinking it's pretty spectacular.

Some Movies I've Watched

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to announce that

I just won a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate from Meljean Brook!!!

Excuse me I feel the need to dance.

*snoopy shuffle, snoopy shuffle, plie, plie, graceful leap *snort*, trip over the dog and bow*

Now, before I get a bunch of 'way to brag bitch' comments you still have time to enter her contest. Hie thee off to Meljean's pronto!

Dude, for real, she's paying out over there!! You can read my crappy movie sum ups later!

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.


The Fountain.

What. The. Fuck!!!!

I want my hour and a half back.

The whole thing was a mess. If someone can tell me what Spain, the present and the space ship have to do with one another I promise not to blog for a whole day. Win, win.

Ah, just read the Amazon blurb and apparently it was booed at the Cannes Film festival. It all makes sense now.


The Prestige.

Excellent even though I figured it out half way through. Not that I'm a genius but I had heard this movie had blown people's minds so I was looking for it. Still, it kept me thinking and wondering and even though it's really about obsession and narcissism and where it can lead, it was a good way to spend some time.




Because I Said So.

I really didn't want to rent this movie because I think the lead actress whose name is missing from my brain right now, acts the same in every movie. I think she overacts to be honest and yes, she does that in this movie. Still it was cute and not horribly obnoxious so I would say it's not a bad way to spend a few hours. Nothing earth shattering here although one spot had me tearing up.


The Painted Veil

I went into this knowing it wasn't going to be a HEA. I mean, how can it be? A man takes his wife into the middle of a cholera epidemic after discovering she is having an affair. The things they did chose to say were painful and I wished they had said what I wanted them to say while I was watching. They do this overview thing where you see them talking about the heroes work and that they are getting closer but I never hear the words. We just never hear the words. And even though I knew it wasn't going to end happily, I would have preferred a different epilogue. Should you rent it? Well, it certainly wasn't the horridness that was The Fountain and it wasn't the brilliance of The Prestige but it was beautifully shot and Naomi Watts and Edward Norton do an excellent job.

Oh. I totally went online last night and bought even more books.

I feel much better now.

I'll share when they arrive.

Hey, I have to give you a reason to keep coming back!