Awesome Books Hangover

 Gratitudes:

1. Writer friends. Cuz you all rock.
2. Tea. Hot, smooth, amazing tea. 
3. Velcro Dog, for getting my ass moving in the mornings, even when I don't want to.

If you know me, you know I'm a voracious reader. And that my tastes are as varied and eclectic as there are stars in the sky. If asked what my favorite book of all time is, I'll usually stutter something inane because choosing a favorite book is like being asked whether I like my left eye more than my right. (Left is the correct answer). 

In the last month there have been some amazing books released. And since I'm not working and needed something that allowed me to procrastinate from prepping our tax returns, I was able to read in the joy and comfort of my own home. But now that the books have been read, I find myself in that interesting place where nothing appeals to me and all I want is more of the hair of the dog that bit me.

Just a snippet of some of the best books I've read in the last four weeks

So what's a girl to do? She rereads. It's the only option endorsed by Bookaholic's Anonymous, I swear. 

Over the last two weeks I have reread the entire cannon on Mercy Thompson universe books by Patricia Briggs,  Jill Shalvis's Cedar Ridge trilogy, and have made it halfway through J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. All because the latest installment in theses series were published in March and the first week of April. And because they are all made of awesome! 

Oh, let's face it, it's really because I wanted to climb up inside these books, wrap them around me, and become one with the worlds therein. I wanted to hang out with Jacob in the fictional mountain tourist town of Cedar Ridge, CO. I wanted to listen to him talk about his loss and his hopes for the future. I wanted to see him get it right with his family. 

I wanted to head to the Tri-Cities, WA and spend time with Mercy and Adam and hopefully run into Charles and Anna if they chose to visit from Montana. I wanted to go to Fairyland and see the Fae (but only if Zee or Tad were going with me). I wanted to tell Stephan that for a vampire he's the shit and he's not as broken as he thinks he is. And yes, I wanted to see Coyote. 

I wanted to go to Caldwell and hang with the Brothers and their shellans. I wanted to hear Zsadist sing, and watch him with his baby girl. And hug him, if he would let me. I wanted to spend time with Rhage and Mary and the Beast, just be with them. I wanted to fire potato launchers with Butch and Vishous. I wanted to spend time just being with Phury. I wanted to see how everything was doing and never, ever leave. 

Why? Because books transport us. It can be to somewhere lofty, full of ideas and ideals. Or somewhere practical. They can also transport us to somewhere with heart and soul. And THAT is what I want every time I open a work of fiction. And something the three series above has been able to deliver, no matter how many times I've reread them. (Fair disclosure, I've lost count of the number of times I've reread the Mercy Thompson universe books, and have reread some of the BDB books an equally infinite number of times.)

And why I reread after I've finished a book made of awesome and have no idea how any other book in the known universe will ever compare. Rereading, it's a cure for Awesome Book Hangovers. And the common cold. But mostly Awesome Book Hangovers.

Photo by Moyan Brenn

In Which I am Thankful for Dancing With the Stars

 Gratitudes:

1. My Ninja blender. It makes morning smoothies so much easier to make. And the food processor attachment makes my life so much easier.
2. Caribou Coffee's crafted press. It's cold press coffee blended with cream and sweetener (or none if you don't want). I add vanilla and yum!
3. Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) season 20. We've only watched season 19 and 20, and the talent has been awesome. Even Mountain Man has gotten into the show. 

It's been a bit of a surprise to me that Mountain Man and I can agree that a dance show is awesome. I can't get him interested in So You Think You Can Dance but the moment he learned Sadie Robertson from Duck Dynasty fame was going to be Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) last season, he willingly jumped down the dance rabbit hole. Only for DWTS mind you. I think it has something to do with the mix of 'stars' and professional dancers. And the judges. Something about the judges resonate with him. 

DWTS has it's season finale tonight and I'm worried. I love Noah Galloway and his story. I swear I cry every time I see him dance. It's beautiful and touches me deeply. That said, as much as I want him to win the mirror ball, he's not the best dancer. That would be Rumer Willis, in my opinion. I want her to win. Ryker Lynch is steep competition, and Noah may be the fan favorite due to his story. And that freestyle. Damn!

No matter who takes home the mirror ball, this is has been an amazing season. And I think Mountian Man and I will continue to watch future seasons. Now, if I could convince Mountain Man he needs to take a ballroom dance class with me...

Windows, ABBA , And Me

 Gratitudes:

1. The rain held off long enough yesterday that we were able to stain two of the four windows that have needed staining for a few years. 
2. Gluten free gourmet pizza.
3. ABBA, which is music to stain by and the foundational music for one of the kitschiest and heart-warming movies I own. Pierce Brosnan's singing notwithstanding. 

We have these wonderful windows we purchased as part of the renovation project. They have real wood inside and look fabulous. The downside. We didn't have the wood factory finished because we didn't know what the final product should look like. Would we paint the wood? Stain it? It was completely undecided. 

A few years ago, about two after the windows were purchased and installed, we decided stain it would be. But the years passed and staining was not completed. One year it was because we were forced by the city inspector to replace the deck and that took up the nice summer/early autumn days. Last year it was because my father-in-law died and all spare time was spent getting his house market ready. 

This year, we got two windows completed and if the rest remain unstained until spring, so be it. Hubs let me pick the soundtrack. He was hesitant because I've been listening to Katy Perry, ZZ Ward or P!ink a lot lately (don't ask...I have no idea why these three get stuck on play either), but for staining I went with trusty and true: ABBA. 

I grew up in a conservative home where I was allowed to listen to Christian music, classical, The Carpenters, Anne Murray, and ABBA. Oh, the days of Dancing Queen and Take a Chance on Me.  I remember when Super Trouper came out. I begged and pleaded my parents to take me to the record store where I purchased the album on vinyl and copied it to tape right away. I spent many, many hours listening to Voulez Vous, Waterloo and Super Trouper via headphones. Ah, ABBA. You saved a conservative small town girl from a fate worse than death. Okay, I exaggerate, but I am forever thankful my parents either didn't get the innuendo or didn't think I would. :) 

While putting on the final coats of poly, I dug out my copy of Mamma Mia! and watched it on the computer. The musical was amazing. Hubs even got into it when we went as an anniversary gift when the Broadway traveling cast made their way to town. He wouldn't see the movie with me, but that was okay. I wanted to enjoy it by myself. Just me and half a theater full of other fans during a weekday matinee. Pierce, I love you, but you can't sing worth spit. Everyone else was amazing. And the songs, oh the songs! Flashbacks to childhood days singing along to ABBA records filtered through my brain. 

ABBA, you make everything more enjoyable! 

I'm Feeling Sassafrassy!

 Gratitudes:

1. Used book stores for they are filled with treasures just waiting to be sifted through and purchased. Picked up 5 books for under $12 today! All new to me authors. YAY!
2. Blamtastic lip balm in Oh My Grape! and Sassafrassy Root Beer. Best, lip balm ever!
3. Words with Friends for it allows me to keep in touch with family while playing games on the internet. 

Short post today. It's hot. I'm tired of the heat. We're heading north for some rest and relaxation and cooler temperatures. I can't wait to sit in a comfy chair outside on a deck overlooking the lake and read for fun. Not for work. Not for personal development or to educate myself on any topic in general. Just for fun. 

Yes, I'm looking forward to a little time away. I hope you all enjoy your long weekend and get in some well deserved R&R before the craziness of fall is upon us. Be well!

Tape Me Up, Tape Me Down

And first, the gratitudes:

1. I have actually managed to blog three days in a row. This calls for a fist pump!
2. Hubby is roasting corn on the barbecue. Mmm, roasted corn on the cob!
3. My nook tablet still has the extended warranty so even though the battery is failing, I get a replacement nook for free! 

I had physical therapy this morning and my PT decided that the upper trapezius muscles were overworked and over compensating for weakness in my neck and my lower traps. So, after ultrasound and muscle manipulation, she put four strips of Kinisio tape on my back. It's...strange. I didn't get the neon colors that so many Olympic athletes were sporting in London last summer. It's beige, which makes me wonder if it's a knock off brand.

Anyway, the tape is supposed to help my upper traps relax and remind my lower traps to engage. So far all I have is a lot of pain, likely because I'm more conscious of this muscle group and my posture and am using these muscles in ways I likely haven't in a long time. 

I did some research and there's not a lot of scientific data that this tape actually does anything beyond a placebo effect. I say if it eventually helps my upper traps relax so my upper shoulders don't feel like concrete anymore than who cares if it's from a placebo or some sort of revolutionary treatment. 

The things we do in the name of self care. Hey, I could look like this! The tape, people. There's no way I want to look that ripped. 

Shiny

My birthday was a week ago and for this joyful occasion I decided to treat myself to something I have been lusting after for quite some time, a shiny new Macbook Pro laptop. 

I started saving money for this beauty about three years ago. Every month I socked away some of my spending money into a "replace the desktop or netbook or both" fund. Once I had enough money pocketed, I started to hem and haw about what to buy. I could save money by getting a netbook, but the processing power in those smaller laptops isn't great. Plus, I would need to get an external DVD drive if I ever wanted to play one of our myriad of DVDs on it. Also, it wouldn't really allow me to replace the Apple G5 desktop that Apple hasn't supported since 2009. 

I though about moving away from Apple products altogether. They are expensive and they have a built in obsolescence of about 5 years. Apple isn't as user friendly when it comes to home upgrades of the computer itself. For example, the husband has built and maintains a computer we use as a media center. He can upgrade all of the guts, including the motherboard. In our apple computers, we can upgrade memory and hard drives and that is about it. There just aren't parts to be had, or at least not parts we've found. 

So, given those cons, which were worth taking into consideration, I reviewed my Windows based options. And nothing appealed to me. Sure, I could get a laptop for less money. But it wouldn't be a Mac. 

I finally decided on what to purchase. I'm a Mac girl, through and through. Have been since 1993 when my husband, then boyfriend, introduced me to the joy of the Apple SE, an all-in-one computer that was also sort of portable. The platform, even then, was so user friendly. And while he is now an affirmed Windows man, I will remain loyal to my Apple roots. At least until I am priced out of the market. 

Still, after deciding on sticking with Apple, I took months agonizing over used versus new, Retina versus glossy versus anti-glare displays, solid state drives versus hard disk drives. And there was that small matter of being willing to actually part with the money I spent so long saving. Watching my account go down that quickly was not easy for me. 

It all boils down to making a choice and just...doing it. So, I decided on a new Macbook pro with the anti-glare screen and a whopping 750GB harddrive. No solid state drive...yet. I can always upgrade later, right? 

I've finally moved over much of the files form the netbook and all the iTunes media from the desktop. There's a lot more to go, along with applications to purchase and layouts to explore. It's like having a shiny new toy. My husband teases me and calls my new Macbook my Precious, complete with Gollum-like intonations. I can't help it if my my laptop is prettier AND more functional than his, now can I? 

Things I'm Thankful For

The seventh book in Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series came out today and the millionth book in J.D. Robb's In Death series came out last week. I'm happily enjoying the later and can't wait to start the former.

My friend's son, who is being treated for cancer, is doing well and all signs point to no more cancer. Fingers crossed this is truly the case!

Work upgraded their servers, making it more difficult to connect remotely. They finally resolved this and I can once again work from home. *happy dance*

My birthday is next week and my present to myself is a shiny new Macbook Pro. She arrived today and is all shiny and pretty and better than any other computer in the house. *squee* And, for those people with Facetime on their iPhones, iPads and iTouches, I can now Facetime with you, from my computer. Once I figure out how to do use it. *grin*

A is going to buy me an MS Office upgrade for my new Macbook. In addition to other birthday goodies he has planned. He's so sweet.

I was able to get my birthday off of work and have planned some fun things for me: a birthday breakfast at a restaurant that has the best GF pancakes; a birthday mani/pedi; birthday lunch with a friend I haven't seen in ages; a massage.

I will be 42 in just over a week. Yes, that makes me happy. I have survived another year and given the events that occurred last year, I don't ever want to relive 41.

I have rekindled my love affair with Doctor Who and am happily not at the EPISODE with Rose. At least, not yet.

It is warm and snowy and sunny out and I have books to read, a dog to cuddle and hot cocoa to drink.

I am loved, not for what I do, but for who I am. And isn't that a wonderful thing.

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7 Lines from the 7th Page

 A little fun from Kait Nolan's blog. The perfect fun for a day when I'm feeling anything like fun and games. Ha!

Instructions:

1. Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next seven lines as they are – no cheating
4. Tag 7 other authors

From page 7 of TIW (yes, it's a little more than 7 lines):

When I was a little girl I thought I could see fairies. Ethereal and menacingly beautiful creatures with feathery wings and shining auras. I would never engage them, never talk to them or attempt to play with them. But I could see them out of the corner of my eye. Waiting, watching. 

My mother saw me once, softening my gaze as I looked out over a fountain in the middle of the town we called home at the time. The fear on her face was enough to keep me from ever speaking about what I saw. My gaze has been clear and crisp ever since. 

I don't know enough people who will want to participate to tag anyone, so if you're reading this and you would like to play along, please do! And let me know in the comments so I can support you in reading your 7 lines on page 7. :) 

Contests are fun

 An acquaintance from the Susan Elizabeth Phillips reader board has a new blog and for her blog she is having a contest. And who doesn't love contests!

Sanna's new blog focuses on her love of all things Christmas and romance novels. She is going to start reading as many Christmas themed romance novels as possible between November 1st and Christmas, I think. It's a great challenge. I do enjoy a great happily ever after wrapped up in a festive holiday theme.

To kick off her challenge, Sanna is having a contest for a book cover (made by Sanna herself I believe). The cover pictured above to be exact. Check out her Christmas Reading Challenge blog for more information about the books she has lined up to read and the contest. Hurry, the contest ends soon!

When Worlds Collide

I love Canadian author Margaret Atwood. I love hockey. I'm disappointed there isn't Olympic hockey coverage here in the USA on non-cable tv. So when I went looking for some clips of my Canadian boys in action I came across something different. Something that at first didn't make sense to my sleep deprived brain.

Canadians do take their hockey, and their curling, very seriously. So seriously that the CBC was able to get a Canadian literary icon to demonstrate goaltending. Margaret Atwood. In full goaltender equipment. In all seriousness. Okay, in mock seriousness, but she came off very well.

I now love Margaret Atwood even more! And boys, if you're reading this blog, and I know you are, I wish you the best as you assimilate the competition and bring home another Gold for mama. I mean, Canada! Keep your stick on the ice!

Stepping Into the 21st Century

My husband and I finally entered the 21st century. At least when it comes to our internet connection. We've had cable for years and years - since I was teaching at my previous employer, in fact. Cable modems are great. The connection is fast and the price, at the time, was right! The down side was we could only have one computer online at a time.

Last summer we procured a router so we could have 2 Ethernet connections to the cable modem. With TV going digital we needed to do something so we could record TV and thanks to my husband's know how we were able to build a Media Center computer system (acts like a TV tuner and a DVR) AND have the desktop hooked up to the internet at the same time. Snazzy, but so late 20th century. Or so I'm told.

Fast forward to this month. We facilitate classes through our church. The classes run 13 weeks and then they are done. No more support. No more lessons. You're on your own unless you want to take the class again. For free, but it's still a huge time commitment. Or unless you want to spend money to belong to an online community for support.

Several graduates of the course approached us about getting together as a group so we could talk the baby steps and support each other through the continuing journey. A and I were all for that and had our first alumni meeting last Saturday. During that meeting, the Budget Crunching Party was born! Everyone wanted help with either developing a budget or refining one. Why not get everyone in the same room and go over it all together, right? So this Saturday we will again be opening up our home for our alums. Then we had a moment of panic. Some of the people in our group use the online budgeting software. Others use online banking to help them budget. How on earth were we going to turn two internet connections into enough internet for up to 6 people?

There is when we had our a ha! moment. Airport Extreme. We've been wanting wi-fi for ages and have been putting it off because, well, it's a nice to have not a need to have. Until now. And we had some Christmas money socked away waiting to be put to use on a present for the house. It took two seconds to decide to buy the house the wi-fi router. The wireless router cam home home on Sunday and last night we set it up. While it doesn't change the set up for our Media Center computer or the desktop (our main computer), or my 10 year old Apple Powerbook (doesn't have a wi-fi card) , it will allow us to use our work laptops in any room of the house. And will allow our alumni group members to bring their wi-fi enabled laptops or netbooks to our house and use them as we have our budget party!

I am giddy with delight! I can keep on top of email while watching TV which means I won't have a million email messages waiting to be cleared out on the weekends. I can take the computer outside and sit on the deck when it gets warm and surf away. We can network all the computers to the back up server and to each other making it easier to access information on any of the computers in the house. We are now THOSE PEOPLE who have many computers for different purposes and use them all! I LOVE IT!

So welcome us to the 21st century. I may still be using a cell phone that I can't text or web surf on, but we have wifi! Ah, life is good.

And The Feel Good Award Goes To...

Me! My friend and fellow blogger, April, gave me this sweet award. It's nice to know that someone out there is reading my little corner of the internet. In the spirit of sharing, below are the rules. If there is a blog you read and enjoy, please pass on the love! It's appreciated. Trust


The Lemonade Award is a feel good award which shows great attitude or gratitude.

Here are the rules:
~Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post.
~Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
~Link your nominees within your post.
~Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
~Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award

Here are my nominees (I'm only doing 5...)

Shannon of Blonde Ambition - a friend from the Judith McNaught Bulletin Board
Author Jill Shalvis's blog - I love her books, and her blog
Lynn Viehl of Paperback Writer - an amazing author and mentor to those who play with words
Kait Nolan of Shadow & Fang - an author in process, just like me
Zen Habits - a blog about simplifying one's life

Books, Glorious Books!

Books, books, surrounded by books…

I was perusing the blog of one of my favorite authors and read her post about a meme where you list the 10 books that are within arms reach—or scattered closest to you. My husband snorted when he read the post over my shoulder. Why? Because there probably isn't a room in my house that doesn't have 10 or some other astronomically large number of books piled or strewn about in some fashion. I mean, really. To quote Marjorie M. Liu, "a home isn’t complete without stacks and piles of [books] at every corner."

Amen, Marjorie, amen.

Currently, in the loft where I have been sitting with my leg elevated, watching a rerun of Supernatural and playing on the laptop, I have within reach:

1. MINION by L. A. Banks
2. COVERT PROCESSES AT WORK by Robert J. Marshak
3. RT Book Club - a magazine
4. THE POWER OF A PRAYING WIFE by Stormie Omartian
5. KEEPSAKE by Tess Gerritsen
6. THE FIRE KING by Marjorie M. Liu
7. THE ACCELERATED LEARNING HANDBOOK
8. THE POWER OF LESS by Leo Babauta
9. PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks
10. ANGELS & DEMONS by Peter Kreeft
    

There are many more on an end table and on the bookshelves behind the sofa. I'm too lazy to reach further than I have to. A couple of the books are research for a book I'm writing. Some for professional development for the day job (which I do enjoy, lest anyone say otherwise), and others are books I have recently read, am reading or with to read/reread, purely for entertainment purposes.

What books or magazines are near you at the moment? And what about them strikes your fancy?