Still Here!

Inspiration has been - well, lacking.

Things I can tell you:

1. My sleep is waging a war against me. Who will win is anyone's guess.

Okay, it'll kick my ass and take names but I figure now is as good a time as any to let my body ooze out any 'over' chemical stuff.

2. Our mattress has had it. There is a friggin' divot on my side of the bed and I wake up with aches and pains everywhere. Makes me sad because the bed used to rock! Bob doesn't want to have to put money out for a new mattress but waking up not feeling great is no way for me to carry on.

3. One of Bob's brother's is in a pickle which means for the next year at least we'll be giving him money out right. 5 Brothers have agreed to pick up the slack of one of the other brothers (the other, other brother lives in a home and we wouldn't think of burdening him with this). Thing is, Bob is not sure he can trust a certain member of his family to make good on his promise. Having just locked in our mortgage, getting a new 'bill' of 235 bucks a month was so not on my agenda.

I would rather pay the full amount and be done but Bob wants to try and do it from cash - I get it - no really I do, but it makes it a bit more complicated for me to keep all the damn squawking ducks in a row! Friggin' things keep running around and switching spots with each other. I'm always better once I get an idea of how the chips will fall. Then it's more about moving money where it needs to be and not worrying that I have lost a payment somewhere.

Okay, bad bitching from me. I like to be organized when it comes to money but too many changes this month have made me a grumpy bill payer. Eg. We also took the insurance off two vehicles so that savings it not a savings because it will go towards the 'bill' mentioned above.

4. I'm in a mood. I can't nail it down but Bob took one look at me and said 'you look lost' and that's exactly how I felt.

5. I have a Jessica Bird book being carried around with me so I can get my read back on. I have errands to do in about 12 different stores and when you wake up achy and more hungry than you should be, well, I'm not all happy sunshine.

6. Finally I was working on the AAR mini poll for the past few weeks but with all the aches and pains I found it hard to sit and do my normal work. So it all piled up to the last two days. I will not be doing that again!

Anyways, we'll see what I can get done today. Having easier to cook meals would help. I stood in the kitchen tonight with a dazed look on my face for about 15 minutes because I couldn't think of any thing I could make myself. Toast and peanut butter it was.

Okay, off to bed with me.

Bob and I now have a joke about the bed. I told him he's fine because he is sleeping on the 'hump' in the middle of the bed. So tonight he tried to snug in and said 'hey, you're sleeping on the hump!!

Yeah, now let's see how you feel after sleeping in a divot all night!

Yep.

Bad Cindy is definitely lurking.

And Then There Was Peace

It's early AM Wednesday morning and I'm awake which is fine as Bob goes back to work tomorrow.

We had a great time although C-Rex showed up at one point during the day. One thing about my Hubby is he can ask a person a million and one questions when thinking about buying something.

Story Time!

It sometimes takes me a while to figure things out and well just this year I realized my hubby can shop for something (like a stand up freezer) for like a year or two.

Now, at first, when I'm told we're going appliance shopping I would show up like a perky gazelle all excited about the shiny things. Ohhhhh, this one. (Bob: Nope, too deep) *gasp* this one! (Bob: uh, no, don't like it) and on and on. And I'm not stupid, shopping around does save you money so off we go.

Then a month later Bob will come home and tell me about the most perfect freezer he just saw and I must go with him now to see it. Now, if you tell me I have to see something I also believe I'm probably going to be buying it. Not so with Bob. There will be inventory checks, how long to order one in, does it come in stainless steel etc.

By this point I'm sick to death of freezer. I don't even want to set foot in a store that might contain an appliance. Seriously, I know which one I'm going to buy - it's a simple stand up freezer that only comes in white but it's in the pantry so who cares and it should fit.

This morning Bob starts saying how maybe he can make the spot for the freezer bigger.

WTF!? I've been asking about that and the answer has been 'No, not really.' But NOW, NOW you can do it?

Seriously, if I didn't know he loved me I would think he was trying to kill me.

Still here? How we doing? Need a break?

Too bad.

This morning my hubby (it's Bobby Birthday week - recession style (3 days - yep, you got me, I just needed it to be over!)) decides he wants to go to a warehouse store to look for a huge sink I want in our pantry. This story is very near Toronto which normally takes me some serious mojo working magic but I thought 'screw it', we'll go. This will be a sink for cleaning large pots and grills and defrosting turkeys and stuff. In my mind I want the designer sink but hey, 1400 dollars for a sink is crazy.

We get to the store which is very near the CN Tower which is a visual that can crank on the anxiety. Thankfully I was fine. We get inside and we finally get to the kitchen sinks (it's a huge ass showroom and I was taking it all in) So Bob is asking how about this sink? What about this one? You got your tape measure? Did you see this one?

Now, I'm exhausted, I'm awake during a time I'm normally sleeping.

I turn one way and Bob's in another section calling over 'Cindy, come here. I need to measure this ...' you get the picture (I bought a tiny measuring tape about 2 weeks ago to carry around because we are always looking for dimensions. Today I considered staple gunning the damn thing to Bob's forehead)

Anyways, I know what the sinks look like cause back when we originally thought about a sink I went online to look at them.

THEN, he gets a sales person involved.

Kill me now.

I actually had to walk away at one point because he was killing me.

I felt bad cause I kind of snapped and growled 'I have to leave, you're making me crazy' and I'm sure the salesperson heard that. Thankfully they had a chair I could sit in for a few minutes to think calm soothing thoughts that did not include tearing off people's arms and beating them with 'em.

Okay, I may have visualized the carnage for a few seconds but I managed to stuff the inclination back down.

So I go back to him and the sales lady and they have picked out all the gadgets and the sink and all the whatnots.

This is the sink we bought below - it's 33" wide and 22" depth - it's huge but you can't tell that from the picture.

I say to the lady, order it all.

I don't even flinch.

Bob's there sitting beside me, 'You know, we could just go with the sink at Lowe's for like 300 bucks or whatever.' and I'm thinking, this poor lady has spent a half hour with you, the least you can do is buy the stuff she's been working on!'

And it's a gorgeous sink and we bought the wire racks for the bottoms of the sink we have and the new one coming.

We're cashing out and I'm sitting in a chair again trying to not kill anyone and Bob turns and says 'Do you want to order the racks for your Mom's sink while we're here? You know she'll want them.'

OH.

MY.

GOD.

I have been in the store for what feels like days and the lady took a damn long time filling out the order we already had I wasn't going to go back and get her to add two more simple items (would have taken me 30 seconds but she was taking her sweet time) to the order.

I said to Bob - can you do that when you come pick the order up?

He nods.

Yep, I have unleashed my question asking, non-buying husband on another person for now.

(Sink up top on right is the one we already have but we bought the grates (the part on the left) for it. My mom bought the same sink after seeing mine so I'm sure she would like the grates also.)

I got better after we left and I started walking around another store. I'm just saying, when I'm done shopping I just want to order the one I wanted without the billion and one questions.

And I was done.

Bob commented in the car that I had obviously had a grand scheme to get him to buy the sink I wanted by dragging him out to the store today.

I let him live.

Okay, I was too tired to do any harm.

As my Gorgeous Cousin says - 'You married him.'

Yep, I did.

My Guy

I don't exactly know how I got so lucky.

Long sappy post about to commence. Run while you can!!

Still here? Hello?

'kay, just me. I do so love to talking to myself too though so onwards.

The Fiesta Party was Saturday starting a 2pm - house was rockin' Mexico Friday night by midnight. I'm telling you, Mexico (or everything stereotypical Mexico) was in our house. Oh, yes. I do have pics!!

The family that drives 4-5 hours to get here tells us at 10pm that they are not going to stay over night. WHAT!? I let them know they were definitely welcome, everyone was more than ready to party the weekend away but I understood the need to get back home. After all, Cousin J and her hubby have three little kids (OMG they are precious!!) and it was the last weekend of March Break and I think they wanted to be in their own home all day Sunday.

(In this picture you can see the garland had fallen but it was fixed before the party - it was either that or get hanged every ten seconds - or do a limbo contest! Oh and crafts were done with the 4 little ones in attendance so that table got nothing but WORSE!)

Anyways, again the house is done up something fierce. And the kitchen. Well, that's a whole story unto itself. Tacos were made, Chicken fajitas were made, Roast Pork Tenderloin was made, diced up everything was out and about and it was a serve your friggin' self kind of mess.

My brother helped me fry up 4 lbs of ground beef in my brand new cast iron skillet. The skillet is probably 5 lbs on it's own. If there is one thing I won't do is clean the damn thing because I have a porcelain sink and cracking that would be something I would end up doing.

To say the house looked like a circus had just come through with animals and all would be an understatement. I cleaned up as I went and had a load of dishes working. My mother at some point got up and cleaned the kitchen up while dessert was being served. Wow!

Still, I did mention the circus, right? (I bought like 4 giant Helium Balloons (a parrot, a giant fish with little fishies all around and a palm tree) that floated around the rooms that took up space also - this is just one of them)

So everyone leaves and I'm beat and Bob's beat and we head to bed.

Wake up on Sunday and it's my Bob's Birthday. He woke me about 4pm - bless him.

I come down stairs and everything is back to normal.

There is not a piece of confetti, paper napkin or stray balloon to be found. The house has been de-Mexicanized and Bob has sorted out things people have forgotten and put them in boxes to go back to the owners.

Bob's birthday and he's cleaned up the entire party by himself!

And he might have put up a wall or nailed up a piece of trim while he was at it.

Seriously.

Then because it's my Dad's last night in the country I ask if we can go and visit and of course my hubby says yes. I go out and get him his favourite Orange Cream Cake and we go to my parents sing Happy Birthday and play a game of Upwords.

Because of the work up to the party my Bobby gets Gift Cards from his wife and loving kitties. And he's happy. I feel so bad though because it's kind of a cop out for a wife to buy GC for the man she loves. I will do much better!

Side Note : I mean, really, it had to come sooner or later!

Bob decided (and I agreed) that we should lock in our mortgage and pay the bulk of it off over the next five years. This means a huge chunk of change that Bob and I used to go out and do stuff with is now paying off the house. Great news - absolutely! But the party and gift cost 300 bucks easy so that was money I would have normally spent on Bob. Poor Bob. I told him after the GC - You locked up into a mortgage and I didn't have a spare nickel to buy you a fancy thing-a-ma-bob.

He said knowing the mortgage will be paid off in 5 years (although not all) is a great gift.

I KNOW!

Blessed I be.

Okay, end of sappiness.

General attitude and grumpiness will commence next post.

Bob's Birthday!!

It's almost 3am here and about 2 hours ago I saw the final family members to the door for the end of the Retirement Fiesta. Fun was had, Tacos and Chicken Fajitas were eaten and the Aunt was totally surprised!

THEN, remember all the cleaning I've been doing? Also, poor Bob had to get a bed back upstairs and put to rights so that our second guest room would be ready for guests? Days of worrying about bathrooms and bedding and where people would sleep?

The family that traveled the 4 hours decided that they would drive back the same night - they left at 11pm so I'm figuring they are nearing home.

So, the house looks great.

Oh and since we didn't learn of these plans until late (hour before they left) we (cousin and I) thought we'd be seeing each other for breaky at my parents house. So even though she forgot the gift card she bought for me for Bob, she'd give it to me tomorrow.

Ugh. So she'll drop it in the mailbox for me *fingers crossed*

Then I need to go and buy Bobby his B-day cards. Gifts are fine but it's the cards that are important to Bob. Sweet man.

With it being the start of 'recession' Bobby Week I'm going to fill out that little meme going around a few weeks ago:

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV. What is on the screen?

NCIS, Hockey, any of 'our' TV shows until about 10 minutes in, then he's asleep.

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?

He always prefers Caesar Salad but he will sometimes order it without the dressing!

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?

One? (He's picky like me) Left overs as a rule - Turkey, chicken - forget it. Pork chops (I miss them!!), homemade stew etc

Here's where I need to mention I took a sleeping pill and suddenly I can't remember the answers to these questions!

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?

Tea if he's watching his pop intake. Pepsi with extra ice if it's one of those days.

5. Where did he go to high school?

Don't know. I've seen his primary school and his high school but I don't know the names

6. What size shoe does he wear?

9-10 depending on the shoe

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?

Yeah. King of collecting antique porcelain sings, unique kitchen tins - at the moment Kitchen Aid gadgets (which are really useless when cooking - the mixer rocks but the flippers and stuff? Ridiculous for the money.) And uh, tools.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?!

Toasted turkey and swiss cheese

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?

Pasta

10. What is his favorite cereal?

Shreddies

11. What would he never wear?

Bermuda shorts? Spandex. Wool.

12. What is his favorite sports team?

He grew up a Habs fan (Montreal Canadiens - Hockey) I'm not sure exactly what happened but I don't know if it was after the Twin Towers fell or something to do with going to war but before a Habs game the fans booed the American National Anthem. Bob was appalled. Told me he wanted nothing to do with the Habs and was going to become a Maple Leafs Fan (just so you know, they suck - no really, I know my hockey) Eight years later and Bob has slowly mended this fence. I don't think you can erase a lifetime of memories with your father and brothers cheering for the Habs. I told him it wasn't the players who acted wrong, it was the fans and now he tries to catch a game here or there.

13. Who did he vote for?

I never really know. We think we probably cancel each other out but we don't actually say the names of the people we have voted for. Instead he gets to see the Cindy Dance of Freedom and Duty and the gratitude on my face when I sit back and remember those who fought for my right to vote.

14. Who is his best friend?

Me. And then his best buddy Greg.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?

Nothing. I've asked any number of times over 14 years and he says I'm perfect. I like the answer so I don't push it.

16. What is his heritage?

We don't know but I have told him he must have American Indian in him. Dark all year and in the summer tans without burning. Although the amount of facial hair would exclude that?

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?

Orange Cream Cake

18. Did he play sports in high school?

Hockey - ice, ball whatever

19. What could he spend hours doing?

Renovating.

20. What is one unique talent he has?

Please. Like I would tell!

*snort*

On the positive side of things Bob hates all things political in the job. All the same, Bob has the patience and intelligence to hold information or to let something slide. He may not like politics in the work place but he is able to maneuver through the minefield. I've said many times how I would have said 'this' or 'that' and Bob just says 'no, I'm not worried about that, there are bigger things to worry about'

For a 'fly off the handle' kind of gal, that's HOT!

My Hubby

Okay, you know how I am.

YOU know how I am.

How is it BOB doesn't always know how I am!?!

He took tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday off from work!!

We have a friggin' party over this weekend and my sleep is a nightmare *ba-dum-tish* and he took time off work? So I can feel guilty whenever Sleepy Coma Cindy shows up?

You know what else?

It's Bob's Birthday on Sunday!

Have I bought him anything?

NO!

Not even a friggin' card because I'm a friggin horrible wife who is trying to keep my top (head) from exploding with stuff I don't really care about. I mopped the stupid floors, dusted all the surfaces and cleaned up the crap from the lower floor and still, I have a mountain of stuff to do AND I haven't given enough attention to Bob.

My wonderful husband.

No, I'm not sucking up because he never reads my blog so I'm just sitting here freaking out.

I'd like to say 'well at least the house looks good' but who cares!?

Bob's B-day and I have nothing special and sweet to give him.

I suck.

HUGE.

Time Keeps on Ticking

It's midnight and I shouldn't be awake. I was working my way around the clock cause of the weekend engagements.

Sunday around 3pm if you hear a giant 'WHOOF' that would be me falling into my lovely down comforter and pillow to fall into my sleep coma.

Until then I'm working on my crummy mood. I've been forgetting to take my pills.

Easy! Not what you think!

I have a pill dispenser (see I get smarter as I get older) so I remember on a daily basis to take my 2 silly pills for anxiety. Dang. And here's where I get dumber - if I don't have a drink already going when I take the pills out of the container I put them in my pocket cause we're usually heading out the door and when we get to dinner I'll take them.

You see where this is going right?

I've been finding the damn things in my pocket at night. I'm not quite sure how many days I've missed in the past week but I would say probably 3 out of 7. Would explain the headaches and now my feelings of just being a lump of meat sucking the life out of all those around me.

I'm a princess aren't I?

Turns out I'm missing that little job that no one else would care about but thankfully AAR has a poll running so that is keeping me busier than I was a week ago. With nothing to do. Nothing.

This stupid feeling then moves into every thing. I should vacuum - meh, tomorrow. I need to get the house clean before the party - meh, tomorrow and on and on. Well it's now Wednesday early AM and the party is Saturday. The house needs a general cleaning and then I need to buy all the food for the party and find my friggin' smile.

And get my sleep into a pattern that I won't be a hassle to deal with on Sat and Sun. No one likes a grumpy princess.

I'll be using my mantra that gets me through many things in life nowadays.

It's not about me.

This is a retirement party for my Aunt who has worked hard all her life to put a roof over her and her daughter's head, put said daughter through college and lived an independent life without financial help from anyone. She's accomplished so much and we're all so proud of her.

She's the reason for the party. It's about her and the new part of her life she is embarking on.

So screw my mood and my fears. It's not about me. I can just be in the background and watch the event unfold. I don't have to carry the party or worry that things will go wrong. If anyone knows about rolling with things it's my Aunt. Something goes wrong and she shrugs it off and says 'oh well, we tried'.

That's what I have to remember.

As to the other stuff prying at my brain - I don't have the time right now. You can sit on my chest and bitch at me next week. This week, I'm busy!

How Bored Am I?

Yep, I'm this bored.

I didn't even really have to try all that hard to change the template (usually lots of swearing, lost links, erased HTML etc).

I liked this one although I remember seeing one that took my breath away but meh, I'll look again later.

You're all off having wonderful lives and I'm here being all mopey.

I have a party here in one weeks time and well, I'm not exactly cleaning up a storm. Bad Cindy.

I'm guessing this is my February Blahs showing up in March.

I friggin' knew it!

Other than my boring self I can't wait for my fav shows this week. I'm worried however, as Battlestar Galactica's final show forever is this Friday. How they are going to answer all the questions is beyond me. I own all the seasons up to this one and I better be blown away cause these series rocked until the last few episodes which were maudlin and sappy without any movement towards a goal. Just my opinion of course but hey, I have one so I'm using it.

And I want my LOST fix already.

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

Holy crumb it took me forever to read this book.

My bad.

Or maybe it was the messy first half that had me scrambling.

I have to be honest and say I would have 'quit' this book much earlier if someone hadn't posted a small excerpt of Raphael and Elena's love scene. Seriously, I was reading to get to that scene and when it finally showed up?

Meh.

Cindy Blurb: Elena is a Hunter-Born which means she's like a hound dog and can sniff out vampires and track them. Why would this be something needed?

Not for the reason you are thinking of.

See there are angels in this world and they create vampires whenever the mood strikes them but these vamps have contracts with the angels that last the first hundred years. Well, I guess that's an awful long time so vamps run off and the angels need to have them back. Angels can't track I guess.

Then there are archangels. I guess they are the really powerful mofos. Raphael is one of these (there are 10) and he has a job that only Elena can help him with. Elena, not being a fan of super authority is fearful of the archangel (as everyone should be) and there is a dance between them.

There are secrets, immortals who have lost their humanity and a world that feels seriously off kilter.

Here's what I can tell you about this book. The first half needed to be cut or seriously edited. See Elena is a hunter and is contracted for a job that's pretty important in the 'holy crap end of the world' kind of way. Now it could be just me but if someone told me that I had to track a super killer cause he could end humanity as I knew it, I would probably buckle down and get my head in the game.

This doesn't happen.

Instead, Elena hides from Raphael cause he's scary and the reader is introduced to a bunch of people. Then Raphael finds Elena and the reader meets a bunch more people who are vampires and angels and archangels. There was a scene I have yet to understand in the grand scheme of the story. Raphael takes Elena to see vamps and humans intermingle. WTF?

How am I as a reader suppose to worry about the 'Big Bad' that's coming if the characters in the story are acting like nothing big is happening.

The spine of the book reads 'Urban Fantasy Romance' and yes, this is urban fantasy but it was schlocky and slow in the beginning. Actually, for most of the book, questions that I had were left unanswered. Why are there angels? Where did they come from? Why are 'hunters' born? The reason for why there are vampires is answered in the last few chapters.

Everything else?

Don't know.

Do Elena and Raphael fall in love? Apparently. But it's one of those stories where I don't get why they fall in love.

When the 'Big Bad' does finally show up on the scene I didn't care.

There was this sense by the vamps and angels that humans were expendable.

You know, just there. This feeling never leaves the story so when human characters besides Elena showed up it was like watching little ants on the scene. All I kept thinking was ' you have no way to protect yourself and you are only alive because you're not a nuisance'. For me, if you build up immortals to such great heights then what shot does a human have?

Immortals in most stories have a weakness and now I know why. If there is no weakness, if they can't be killed by anything other than their own kind, what's the point?

This one is tough to grade. I would have stopped reading if I hadn't already had a sneak peek at an excerpt, after I got to that scene I didn't want to finish the book but because I'm stomping out a slump I knew I had to finish it. The last few chapters were the best because there were some answers and stuff actually happens but is it a case of too little too late?

Okay, C-

I considered a D but after thinking about it D books make me crazy mad and this story just left me feeling nothing but meh.

That said, I love the Psy books and will definitely be buying the next one in July. This series though? I think I'll be reading reviews of the next one before making a decision.

Go here to read Rosario's review which as always, will tell you much more eloquently what this book is about.

I haven't read any other reviews yet so I'm off to see what others thought. I did glance through Rosario's review when I thought to myself 'where's the plot?' and yes, she mentions this in her review.

Bob's Home!

Bob's home so all is right in my world again. It's amazing how just knowing he's in the other room sleeping while I'm watching TV or reading is so comforting to me.

I made it through just fine although I have to admit I was probably a few hours away from getting weepy while watching lame commercials. I can't remember what it was exactly but I remember feeling that little burn in your eye that tells you you are about to lose a tear. I was all WTF? and then I remembered I wasn't getting my Bobby time.

Okay, I think I need you guys to whip me into shape to finish Angels' Blood by Singh. Yes, my parents are going to come home and things are going to get busy but I want to get it finished so I can start looking at the TBR pile again. I'm not slowing up my reading! I need to keep pace so I don't fall back into Slumpville. I think I'm much better and I love when I find time to read but I've been avoiding this book because it's not working for me. I have to finish it though because I do plan on reading the next in the series.

Other than that, nothing new. I know, I'm boring ya.

I'm sad LOST wasn't on tonight. Bad ABC! BAD!

But I'm going to go watch Life now. I love this show! I hope it survives.

I'm officially in love with the male lead character. Apparently people know him from Band of Brothers but I've never seen it. I just like the banter and the idiosyncrasies of the characters. I think they were going for a darker show in the beginning but it gets lighter as it moves along.

Also, my hubby bought me the first season of ... dangit that funeral show that used to run on HBO or Showtime (I keep thinking Dead Like Me but that's no---- Six Feet Under!! Right)

Anyone a fan of this show? I really like Dexter and don't want to ruin the character as I heard the actor was in SFU.

Also, are you reading a great 2009 romance?

Share!!

For Bookwormom

Bookwormom is sprucing up her bathroom and would love some input. So AFTER you read my ideas *snort* you can go over and give her your ideas also!

I've already commented on her post but wanted to get some pictures of what I was talking about.

Okay, this was what I was talking about with wainscoting. As a general thing I prefer wainscoting to be higher up on the wall than lower down.

Some people *cough*Bob*cough* think it must be at 36" from the ground. Uh, no. Wrong. I find it makes the room look short. You also cannot though put it at exactly the half way point between the floor and ceiling.

I like the height of this one on the left as I recognize it as a style and not a decoration (I swear I don't know where I come up with this stuff - short wainscoting reminds me of the 80's whereas taller 'scoting has a classic feel.)



Hmm, I can't blow this one up. Dang. In this one it's simply flat pieces of wood put up in a square and then painted out in the white topped with a chair rail. It's more traditional and maybe simpler to not only do but in upkeep - no grooves to catch, uh, stuff (and if you have little boys visit your house you know what I'm talking about!)

I like the freshness of this green and green is always in style cause it's the back drop of mother nature. Yes. My father tells me this but refuses to buy anything green to put in his own home. Silly man.


I wish I had been a picture taker back at the old house. Bob built our main bath from the ground up. We did the room in white ceramic tile with a border tile that only had the lightest blue in it. I then did a wallpaper in a light blue and white stripe. Even after 8 years there wasn't anything in the design I would have changed. I would have eventally taken out the 'formica' top but every thing else was classic in design. At least for me!

And finally I saw you would consider doing wallpaper. Apparently wallpaper is all the rage right now. Since I've had to scrape (blow torch) my share of wallpaper off walls, I'm not one to put it up. That said, there are some gorgeous ones out there now.

If you were to do wall paper I would suggest (and only suggest) you do the entire wall without any chair rail. Depending on the kind of pattern you choose, the paper itself may be more than enough for the room. Also, because the paint on the wall can start to run you may still have to prime the room with a high hide primer so your paper won't slide off the walls. (Bob and I have used Zinzer products before and they stink to high heaven but we've never had a problem with it covering stains or oil based paints.)

And if you can't tell I'm all about bathrooms being bright and streamlined. When it comes to fixed elements I stick to white and then a muted colour for the walls. Then I add colour with things that can be easily moved out when tired.

All that said, if you just love little duckies and must have them in your design then have at it. I'm a live and let live kind of gal ;)

I know, you're all wishing Bookwormom had never asked.

I do so love my design stuff!

Blah - Da!

I'm in the midst of too many things. I do this whenever my hubby has to go away. Bob left yesterday (Sunday) which was just as well as I was in a Midol daze and slept through most of the day.

Today I've been hyper. That also happens when Bob leaves. I get all chatty on the phone and can't stop talking to him when we finally have a minute to talk. Poor guy practically falls asleep while I'm telling him about how I went and picked up some cat food.

I'm so awake today I can barely stand myself. It's hard to explain but I'm normally even keeled and we know I like naps but on days like this it's like I'm over stimulated by every thing. I can't sit still, I will start major projects that in the long run will not get done cause again, normally sleepy.

Anyways, I'm getting the house ready for my Aunt Nora's Retirement Fiesta party!! It's a surprise for her. We've managed to get the 'out of town' family members to come on down for the event without Nora knowing. Since my parents are in Malaysia until this Thursday and then my dad will have to fly out two days after the party I decided we should have the party here at our house.

I kind of went with it and I'm not sure if I stepped wrong. I just didn't want my mother coming home and feeling like she had to over prepare for a party and family.

So I'm currently dusting and pulling apart the book room (one of our guest rooms) to get prepped. I moved the damn bed to get the fur Emma has left from under there. You can vacuum for days in the exact same spot but the minute you turn the vacuum off a lone fur ball rolls to your feet. Every. Time.

I'm washing the bedding and getting ready to dust (uh, there are so many shelves in there - I'm scared!).

Ah, well, at least Bob's stuff will get put away and hopefully it will look like an inviting room to sleep over in.

Then I need to start on the rest of the house but I have to take it a room at a time or I start to freak out.

That's what's happening around here. Fun no?

And on the reading front? I have a poor review coming unless the book I'm reading takes a fantabulous turn but I'm guessing not. So I has a sad. What's painful is I have to finish it and at the moment I want nothing to do with it.

Bad Cindy.

Bloody Hell!!!

I started this post to tell you about Bob. What a goober I am.

He's going to go and visit real live polar bears tomorrow!! I'm so jealous I can barely stand it. I don't even think there will be many people there because Bob's in a remote part of the province right now.

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole

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

Woohoo!!

Today's number is S-I-X!

As you can see, I have just read my first KEEPER of 2009 AND it's a 2009 release.

Super Cool!

Not only that, I read this book (which is part of a series) out of order (I think there are 3 previous to this one I haven't read) and completely understood everything.

I'm telling you, Kresley Cole must have a room in her house where she can write shit on the walls because her books cover similar time spans which means that while the characters in this book were falling in love, there were other characters falling in love elsewhere (and whose books were probably before this one). There has to be a flow chart somewhere in the world to keep track of the time line and events and I can't see it being contained on a measly piece of paper.

Cindy Blurb: Uh.

Okay, the world building is really intricate and there are vamps and demons and sorceri and well, anything you can imagine I'm guessing so yeah, it's a paranormal.

We have Sabine The Queen of Illusions as the heroine and what a character she is. I loved her and her 'plotting' ways. Sabine is a sorceri who has died a few times, (her sister had the magic of commanding - and every time Sabine died her sister 'commanded' her to live - seriously, that's tricky stuff!), loves and trusts only her sister and is constantly being hunted by creatures that wish to kill her. Add to this a half brother who can't be killed and is extreme evil as Sabine's protector and you get a woman who knows nothing but trickery, illusion and survival of the fittest.

Rydstrom is a Demon King who was de-throned by Sabine's half brother and barely escaped with his life. For 500 years he has tried to find a way to kill the imposter and he finally learns of a sword that should do the trick. Rydstom is all that is loyal, true and good.

His fated mate is Sabine and what won't kill you, can only make you - well, fall in love?

I have to break this story down to just the relationship between Rydstrom and Sabine. It took me about a chapter or two before I was able to settle into this book and I think most of that was because there is so much that needs to be told to the reader about the world and the characters they are about to meet.

That said, I read this book out of order and I understood every thing. So if you are itching to read a great story and are many books behind in this series, no worries, this book is stand alone. Although you'll get glimpses of other characters and want to know about their stories also.

Let's get to the story.

Sabine captures Rydstrom and imprisons him because she knows she is Rydstrom's fated mate and in order to defeat her brother (this is her side of the story) she must become pregnant with Rydstrom's heir.

Rydstrom is obviously furious and is further enraged to discover the woman given to him by fate is not even remotely what he bargained for.

I loved the way Sabine always managed to keep control. She knew what she needed and went after it with no small amount of pleasure. She, however, didn't expect to fall in love with Rydstrom as he was just a means to an end. Sabine is not a heroine I've come across often. Maybe not at all. She is not afraid to welch on deals and is always a few steps ahead of those around her. The great news is that love doesn't change who Sabine is. She's a thief, a liar and a manipulator and Rydstrom better learn to love her as she is or all hell will break loose.

Rydstrom meanwhile, was not hard to like. I did start to have problems with him when he believed that only he could save Sabine. Sabine is a fierce warrior and Rydstrom can't seem to come to grips with this. Midway through the story the tables turn on Sabine and she becomes Rydstrom's prisoner. What drove me nuts was that Rydstrom would rather leave her defenseless (if you tie Sabine's arms behind her back she can't create illusions - she can make you see your worst nightmares, make herself invisible so she can slit your throat or create distractions by having things seem to blow up) than allow her to protect herself. When she ends up being attacked Rydstrom finds her but just in the nick of time. Even after seeing that Sabine can fall into danger Rydstrom still won't allow her her magic.

I can see his point. He knew Sabine would escape him the first chance she got but somehow leaving his mate defenseless made more sense to him than making sure she was safe. I found the whole thing a bit 'neandrathol' and annoying as he never really changed in this respect.

That would be the one 'pain' for me with this story. Rydstrom couldn't back up enough to allow Sabine her due. Yes, he acknowledges her power and strength and abilities but he still has this need to protect her. Hey, you can have the need all you want, but respecting the person you love is also way up there and needs to be part of a relationship.

So I could see Rydstrom driving Sabine crazy after a few hundred years with his over protective ways.

Other than that though I loved the banter and trick for trick between these characters. Each had an agenda and each tried every thing they could to get their needs met. All this while falling in love with their so called enemy.

There were also passages that had me laughing out loud and that is always a wonderful surprise with a book.

I'm going with an A- because of that one pain that became more noticeable as the story progressed. Still, Sabine was a thrill to watch and her reactions to life were fun and different from many romance heroines.

All in all, if you want to try something different I would highly recommend this book!

Anybody else read this one yet? Other opinions? Cause you know they are always welcomed.

Another Down

I just finished my 6th book of the year.

Go me!

I'll write a review up when I'm feeling better. I have the oddest sensation going on with my ears which then triggers certain nerves to fire off. Right now it's fine but then there will be 10 - 15 minutes where my ears crack and my nerves twitch uncomfortably. I'm probably coming down with something but PMS-ing masks a multitude of sins when it comes to whether or not I'm feeling well.

I just know if I'm writing up my kind of review and my ears start firing I'll make a mess of it.

Fine, a bigger mess than usual. I mean there is some serious world building stuff and ... uh, stuff.

So, you'll have to wait.

I know. Mean I am.

The decisions that have to be made in the next hour or so are :

Can I eat that piece of cake without having a complete tummy meltdown (it's at the halfway stage and I'm pretty sure intense sugar with some ice cream will send it over the edge)?

Do I read Blue-Eyed Devil by Kleypas next or Singh's latest? I just finished an intense paranormal so do I cleanse with a contemp or just dive right back in?

Do I have anything on the DVR worth watching that will keep me from noticing the weird ear thing and the potential upset tummy?

Sadly I think the answer to the last decision is NO.

And clearly, that poor piece of cake didn't have a chance.

The Changeling - A Warning

Onto something completely different.

If you haven't seen the movie The Changeling - I'd just like to warn people who are like me.

Edited to Add: I should be clear that I thought this movie was excellent. This movie is about so many things that are intertwined but I wanted to warn people about one aspect of the movie I wasn't prepared for.

You may remember that I watch true-crime documentaries and such. I do it to honour the person who was killed (some have been so upsetting I have almost threw up a few times). I like knowing how the person who committed such horrible acts was caught and sometimes I'm looking for the why.

I've learned that in the truly horrible tragic stomach turning crimes there is no why. There are people out there who are just sick. In the case where a motive is found I feel like all the pieces have been put on the table. I don't understand how someone can kill another human but if someone can give me a why (even a twisted, mentally ill reason why) I seem more able to cope.

It's the murders without motive that haunt me and the ones involving children upset me to no end.

I'm heading into spoiler territory for the movie so if you would rather watch the movie without influence from me or knowledge of things that happen in the movie then don't read any further.

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First, the movie opens with A True Story. It does not say 'based on a true story' which I thought a film had to do if 'dramatic' license was taken. Thus, I can assume this story, in all it's parts are true.

Again, the previews gave me no clue of what I was about to learn (from what I can see, there are no other previews - from this preview I figured it was about a corrupt police organization and possibly the mob. I was thinking the boy got caught in the middle.) Actually, the preview is brilliant in not showing the audience all that they will experience in the film. Being a non-spoiler type of person I would normally have loved this.

Onwards.

I had never heard about the murders that The Changeling movie touches on. I'm still horrified and feeling sick. For some reason I thought The Changeling was about the mix up of a police force over a missing child. This movie is eye opening and really it's excellent. It is about so many things - with power corruption, women being treated as second class citizens (huge part of this movie - at least to me), propaganda and horribly, about a serial killer who it is believed killed up to 20 boys in little over a year.

The serial killer part alone was horrifying and upsetting, it was hearing the events from a boy's mouth in the film that had me squirming in my seat feeling sick to my stomach. Knowing myself though I couldn't stop the movie. I have walked away from documentaries or real-life crime shows when I couldn't handle the horror. When I do this, it takes me days to recover and yes, my over active imagination plagues me with 'what ifs'.

I've learned I have to sit and see it through.

I was so jumpy and sick after this movie even Bob was worried. Those little sounds a house makes in the night had me freaking out and jumping out of my skin. I know I had a few nightmares about children but I came out of my sleep feeling more like myself. When I see something through I can usually shake off the physical sensations in a day and a bit.

When I saw Shindler's List there about 2 years ago I was a mess physically and mentally for almost 2 weeks. I watched it with the belief that I needed to know and honor those who died in Nazi Germany during WWII. I had no idea the level of evil I was going to encounter in that movie. Sure, I had an idea but OMG, the movie messed me up something fierce. And seriously, it should mess up a normal person.

For The Changeling, I was broadsided by the real life horror that occurred in 1928.

So for those who are too sensitive to real life tragedies I would say either pass on this movie or go in knowing you will encounter a scene unlike any I've had to sit through in cinema. That said, I have never seen Private Ryan and have no plans to ever see the movie.

Okay, end of public service announcement.

Anyone else see this movie? What are your thoughts?

Books Sweet Books!!

I went to the bookstore not expecting anything new on the shelves and was stunned to see Nalini Singh's Angels' Blood on the shelf. I was thinking the 9th of March for some reason.

Super Score!!

My rule of never buying only one book came into play at this point.

Anne Stuart had a re-release of her first book with Harlequin called Tangled Lies - I don't think I've ever read it and hey, a brand new copy of an older book. IN! (Hot damn, I have read this one and I have wanted to re-read it for a while - Double Sweet!)

The third book was a stretch cause I'm not sure Kleypas' contemporaries are romances in *my* sense of the word, or more women's fiction. I took a gamble and bought Blue-Eyed Devil.

It was in paperback so the risk isn't as much as if it was still in hard cover.

I'm currently reading Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley but I'm wavering. I'm not far enough in to say I've given it a fair shake but, I now have a Singh in my hot little hands!

Decisions, decisions.

I'm afraid if I stop read KOADK I won't go back to it. So I'll be reading tomorrow for sure and I'm starting with KOADK.

Hope you are doing well and aren't under umpteen feet of snow.