What I am Thankful for this year

With turkey day fast approaching I thought that it would be appropriate to do a posting on some of the things I am thankful for.  I know what you are thinking.  Yeah, we get another list this from wacky gal.  Big smiles all around.  Am I right?  Of course I am.  And because I don't want to bore you, I am only going to offer up five today.  And these five aren't even the most important.  Just five random things I am thankful for.

Fried Turkey.  I'm sorry, but I am so thankful for fried turkey I could cry.  I never had a turkey prepared this way until I moved to the south.  God Bless the south.  Captain Kid can fry a mean turkey but I can only get him to do it a couple times a year.  Thanksgiving being the number one day.  We also fry a turkey for Christmas and I can almost always get him to do one at least once during the summer.

Coke Zero.  I don't function well without at least one hit of caffeine in the morning.  The colder the better.  It's like an electric charge to my system when I get that first taste.  The sound the tab makes when I punch it through the can.  Pure joy!  I am not a coffee drinker, and don't apologize for it.  There was a bad experience in Japan that involved me, a twelve hour mid-watch and three pots of the foul smelling stuff.  So Coca cola....thank you.  From the bottom of my heart.  Thank you.

My iPad.  It is just plain mean that I mention this because I can guarantee a snarky comment from both Karla and Patty regarding this one, but it's true.  I've only owned my iPad for a couple of months and now cannot fathom how I survived without one.  If you don't have one, I am so sorry and if you do, I know you get exactly what I'm talking about.  This is one time giving into what I was jonesing for was a good thing.

My Kindle.  Okay, shoot me, I am doing another gadget.  Yes, I have an iPad and yes I can read on it as well.  But for reading outside, nothing beats my kindle.  During the summer we spend quite a bit of time on the water, boating.  This is how we choose to unwind after a stressful week.  And for me, reading is a big part of that.  Nothing, and I mean,  NOTHING can beat the kindle for how clear that screen is in the sun.

My Blogger Buddies and Tweeps.  Nothing brightens my day more than the comments and conversations I share here on Blogger and over at Twitter.  I have met some of the most amazing, Lenny Lee, and interesting, Patty Blount, and generous, Karla Nellenbach, and kind, Abby Mumford, and committed (no she is not insane) Linda Grimes, and wonderful, Jeannie Moon.  Just to name a few.  All of you come back over and over and leave me messages and share with me.  You all have made me a better writer and dare I say it, a better social networking friend.  So I thank you. 

Of course now I want to hear what you are thankful for.  Talk to me.  And of course if you are thankful for my blog, well that would just be the icing on the cake. 

My Eyes...My Eyes

Do you remember that episode of friends where Phoebe finds out about Chandler and Monica?  She is standing in the window screaming, "My eyes! My, eyes!"  One of my favorite scenes from friends.  Ever!

Yes this post is about eyes, but I digress.  Last weekend was another pretty busy weekend in the Breakey house hold.  

Captain Kid has been complaining recently about his eye site.  Not nagging or anything, just mentioning in passing that his eyes bother him when spends too much time staring at the computer or how the cheaters he has are no longer working.  Personally I think he just hated wearing them because he had to keep them on the end of his nose.  It was really cute, but he didn't need them to see for distance, only for close up reading.

Friday night we went out to dinner with some really good friends to celebrate fellow tweeter, @PattyBlount's birthday.  No, she wasn't there but we did have a toast in her honor.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants, a local Irish pub.  Anyway, the point here was he couldn't read the menu.  I had to read it for him, which irritated him to no end.  

He didn't complain, but I could tell how much it was bothering him.  He hasn't had his eyes checked in about three years but has had perfect 20/20 vision his entire life.

On Saturday we went and got his eyes checked and guess what?  He needs glasses.  And not just any type of glasses.  Bifocals.  I am not going to lie, this just tickled me.  

He picked out two pairs of glasses, cause it was buy one get one free, and was able to pick them up the same day.   For me having to wear glasses has been at times both trying and rewarding.  But for the most part annoying.  I have looked into getting the surgery but am not eligible because of my astigmatism.  

Okay, maybe that makes me small because I get such a charge out of his new glasses, but honestly I don't think he is bothered by it at all.  I told him it was refreshing that he was no longer perfect.  Of course his smart remark to that was he never was and if felt that he was on a pedestal it was only because I had put him there.  So, I knocked him off.  He looks pretty good from where I am standing now.  Glasses and all.

Book Hungry: All Creatures Great and Small

The book review below was a Book Hungry Club read.  All of the Book Hungry Members are posting a book review today on their blogs.  They are all listed in my blog roll to the right here, so after you read mine, go check them out too!

This months selection for the book hungry club is by James Herriot called "All Creatures Great and Small".  This was brought to us by Alyson Peterson and you can directly link over to her blog right here.  The rest of the book hungry clan can be found to the right in the blog roll under Book Hungry. 

I would like to start my review by saying that this is one book I am glad I did not miss reading.  Another selection, that if I were browsing in the local bookstore, I would pass right by.  Thanks to Alyson I had a reason to sit down and enjoy it.

This was a book to be savored.  That is the best way I can describe it.  It was a magical story told through the eyes of veterinarian who kept me constantly enthralled.  I loved how green he was when he started and the almost romantic ideals he had and how it was derailed by the everyday realities of what being a rural vet really entailed.

There were times that I felt that I was right there in the thick of it due to the stylistic writings of Mr. Herriot.  I was whisked away to the English country side by his descriptions and the hilarity of his stories.  

From the very first page you are thrust into his idealism of what he expected versus what he got.  I really liked the fact that through the stories he tells you get the sense that he is laughing at himself as well as sharing his view of the world from the inside of a barn, or any where else he may have had to perform his vocation.

The secondary characters were just as entertaining and I was totally charmed by them.  In a nut shell this is one book I would recommend to anyone.  Even the most hardened of folks will enjoy it.


So now for the give away.  If you follow my blog you are automatically entered.  If you don't that's okay, I am not going to make you follow me although I would love if you did.  But if you don't, just leave a comment below and you will be entered.  Simple really.  The winner will be announced next Friday.  Good Luck!

Who you gonna call?

Today Karla over at The Lastword is offering up her installment of this weeks Fun and Games with K&K.  Go over to her blog and check it out.  The reason she is doing it today instead of tomorrow is our book club posts their reviews tomorrow.  She is also planning on posting Wednesday of next week since Thursday is a holiday.

I also want to point out that I have added another page to the blog.  Do you see it?  Look up.  No below the name...there, yes that's it right next to the bright green tab that says home.  Check it out.  I will keep updating it with our weekly posts so they are all in the same place.

Since I knew I could not match or entertain as well as Ms. Karla this morning I have decided to just offer up a video for your viewing pleasure today.

Soooooo......check it out!

I'm gonna kick his ask!

So what did you think?  

By the way as I am writing this I am watching NCIS Los Angeles and the best line I have heard all week, "You don't kick a guy in his junk based on a hunch!"  I am still laughing.

Fun and Games with K&K Week 2

A quick recap:  I am currently working on a writing project with my twitter friend Karla Nellenbach.  We each take a turn writing up a part of the story and passing the baton back and forth.  Here is the my next installment.  When we last left Harper and Grace, Harper was pretty much bent on keeping whatever happened at the party a secret.  Enjoy.

If you missed either of the first two parts you can find them here and here.

Grace’s fingers drummed furiously on Frenchy’s steering wheel to the beat of the Foo Fighters pouring out of the speakers, eyes glued to the door of Maestro’s Music.  No way was he getting past her again.  She tried unsuccessfully to catch Owen twice at school and both times she had the distinct impression he was dodging her.

It hadn’t been hard to find out who Owen Lancaster was.  New guy and uber talented like Harper.  Everyone who was associated with the music department seemed to know him.  A few well-placed questions and she had his class schedule and home address.  Since Grace didn’t have a shy bone in her body she had no problems marching up to his front door.  Unfortunately he wasn’t home, but his cute -she assumed younger brother- told her where she could find him.  

Now, it was almost nine, and according to store hours for Friday, closing time.  She was more than happy to wait.

 

Owen didn’t miss the neon pink VW parked in front of the store.   She was tenacious; he would give her that.  In fact he wasn’t sure if he admired it or was a little afraid of it.  Knowing Harper, she wouldn’t like him talking to Grace about what he had seen.  With that in mind he decided to duck out the back. 

Pulling his soft grey hoodie up with hopes of some semblance of disguise he turned the corner away from the store and came face to face with Grace Monroe leaning on his boss’ BMW.   He was adding stealth to that list of things she seemed to be good at.  

“Hey, Owen.  How’s it going?”  Like sitting in the dark on a stranger’s car waiting for someone she had never spoken to before today was normal?  Oh yeah, they were definitely made of steel. 

“Grace,” Owen acknowledged.

Cocking her head to the side, she remarked, “You don’t seem to be too surprised to see me?”

A preemptive strike was called for.  “Listen Grace, I don’t know what Harper told you about the party, but I don’t think we should be discussing what might’ve happened.  So, sorry.  But you need to speak to her about it.”

Confused Grace asked, “Party?  What party?”  Searching her memory banks, she stumbled across the get- together that Mr. Haas, the schools musical director, hosted at his house every year.  Just for band students.  “You mean the band thing from Saturday night?”

Owen took a step back, and Grace was on the scent.  Moving in on his personal space, Grace demanded, “What happened at the party Owen?  Did you do something to Harper? “

Raising his hands in supplication, Owen sighed, “No.  I didn’t do anything to Harper.”

“But something happened, right?”

Needing a moment, because Owen really hoped that what he caught sight of wasn’t really what it looked like, he turned and looked down the street praying for something to get him out of the interrogation she was currently subjecting him to.

When no high-speed car chases or lightning bolts appeared, Owen turned back and looked at Grace.  “I get it.  You guys are friends.”

“Best friends.” She interjected.

“Best friends.” He repeated.  “Well, Harper is my friend, too.  And I care about her-“

“If you care about her, tell me what is going on.  She blew me off for lunch and the last time she did that was because Danny Jacobson told her boys don’t kiss girls who wear glasses when we were freshman.  If someone hurt my friend, I want to know about it.”

“I’m sorry.  You need to speak to Harper.”  Owen started to move past her, but Grace was fast.  

Grabbing his arm, she stopped him with, “Owen what do you think you saw?”

“What?”

“You said ‘I don’t know what Harper told you about the party, but I don’t think we should be discussing what might have happened.’  What do you think happened?”

Suddenly glad to have someone to share what he saw with, even it meant risking Harper’s wrath, Owen said, “I think Mr. Haas did something to Harper.”  He didn’t mention seeing Harper leaving the teacher’s bedroom or Mr. Haas following her down the hall all the while stuffing his polo shirt back into his khakis.  Owen was still reeling from the implications of it.  

Grace watched the emotions playing across Owen’s face and the first fissions of fear started to race.  “Screw this.  You know what?  You’re right.  I am going over to Harper’s right now.  I am getting to the bottom of this.”

This time it was Owen grabbing Grace’s arm to stop her departure.  “What are you going to do?  I could be way off base, and maybe nothing happened.  Besides it is late and…”  Owen stopped himself and ran his hand down his face.  She was right. 

 

Yes, he was new to the school, but he and Harper had become fast friends.  He enjoyed hanging out with her after seventh hour and talking about music.  If he had been hoping for more from Harper, she need never know.  Grace was right.  They had to get to the bottom of it.  

“You’re, right, let’s go.”  Owen did an abrupt about face and headed toward the front of the store. 

 

Surprise registered for only a second before she recovered.   Once they were both in the car and on the way to Harper’s, Owen remembered to ask, “So what happened to Danny Jacobson?”

Distracted, Grace asked, “Hmm?”

“Danny Jacobson, ninth grade.  Made fun of Harper’s glasses.” He prodded.

Smiling at the memory and finding it ironic that she could find anything to smile about she looked over and said, “He played the saxophone and had a tendency to leave it unattended in the band room during the day.  Someone dusted itching powder around the mouth piece.  Let’s just say he wasn’t kissing any girls for a while.”

Owen’s lips tipped at the thought before he and Grace both fell silent as they drove the ten minutes across town to Harper’s.  If what he suspected was true, Harper was going to need them.  The hard part was going to be getting Harper to admit it.  

Be on the look out for the next installment from Karla on Wednesday over at her blog The Lastword.

Wait, don't go yet, tell me what you think.

Reconnecting...New meaning for giving thanks

As the Thanksgiving holiday draws near we are spending a lot of time getting the house ready.  We have been doing this for the past two weekends.  Mucking out old stuff, reorganizing cramped storage spaces and freshening up our place.

It's for one main reason, beside the whole Kelly is a cleaning Nazi.  We have a old friend coming to visit.  He will be here for a week, over the Thanksgiving holiday.

You should know we are not the type of people who think holidays should only be spent with family.  Being in the Navy, you learn that family can grow and take on new meaning and we have certainly broadened ours with the friends we have made.

Captain Kid and I have not seen Tatum in almost nineteen years.  Wow, what long time.  I wonder how different he will be.  I wonder how different we will seem to him.  We had plenty in common back in the day, but will that carry over to now?

Scott spent every holiday at our place when we were stationed in Okinawa.  He didn't live too far from us, but shared a house with room mates.  This made us ideal for him as we were within walking distance and I love to cook and did so quite often.

Having Tatum over was never a hard ship and he was always welcome.  When we left Okinawa we went on to Alaska and he went back to the states after he was discharged from the Navy.  Life took us in two completely different directions and through fate and a social networking site, we reconnected all of these years later.

We picked up right where we left off and when he called to tell us he would be in New Orleans the weekend before Thanksgiving it didn't seem odd to us at all to extend the invitation for a visit.  He will be here for a week, but staying at the beach.  

I am looking forward to renewing this old acquaintance and my husband is thrilled that he is getting to reconnect with one of his best friends.  I wonder if there is any etiquette for this type of situation, besides cocktails, that is.  Well for Scott, I will have plenty of Corona on hand, his drink of choice.

As I sat down to write this posting I started to think about the things I have to be grateful for this year and I am especially giving thanks that I will get to spend the holiday with Scott.  Plus I get to show off my mad cooking skills which have greatly improved since Japan.
 
When was the last time social networking offered you a great surprise and do you guys have any advice, words of wisdom, etc. you care to share?

Saving all my love for you...or something

When my husband and I were dating he said our song was "Saving all my love for you" by Yes.  I should have gotten a clue then.  

My husband is a Pack Rat.  Not like the hoarder on that episode of Bones that caused the ceiling to cave in.  Ewww.  No he is not quite that bad.  But he does have a problem with getting rid of things.  His mentality is that someday he may need that orange pair of parachute pants that he has not been able to fit into since 1992, and lets face it, they had ceased being popular prior to 1992.

Since the weather has turned cooler getting the house back into some semblance of neatness becomes a priority with me.  In fact you could say my Nazi cleaning ways become a bone of contention, much the same way his "saving" tendencies do.  That being said, this past weekend was the weekend we had set aside to muck out the junk clean and straighten up his office.

Going into it, I was advised not to throw anything away unless he approved of it ahead of time.  Oh yeah, that was gonna happen.  Let me give you an example.  He had six, count them six, old cell phone head sets.  You know the ones of which I speak.  They look like headsets but with a single ear bud.  And they don't work by bluetooth (gasp) they actually have to be plugged into the phone.

He has not used a headset like that in five years.  But we can't throw them out.  No sir.  He also still has old stereo equipment he can't part with either stacked up in the closet.  An old record player, but no records.  An old cassette player and no cassettes.  Are you seeing the theme here.  We can't get rid of these things because hey, you never know.

But after it was all said and done and we had filled an entire garbage can with shred from all the old files he no longer needed, and the cell phone headsets, and the few other things I was able to get him to part with, no he kept the stereo equipment, baby steps, people.  Baby steps.  After, he came clean and admitted that it had felt really good to spend time in there knowing his office was organized and cleaned.

I really am a good influence.  Heil Kelly!  Now strike the Hitler pose.  Well I couldn't get him to do it either!  So what brings your inner Nazi out of hiding?

When you can't get the teeenage dream out of your head

Today is Thursday and while I am so glad you stopped by I want you to head over to Karla's blog The Last Word to catch the next segment in our Fun and Games with K&K.  It is worth the trip, I promise.  And just in case you missed the first installment from this week you can find it here. 

Okay since I really want you guys to go and check out my twitterista's blog posting today I decided to just make mine a tribute to one of my twitter sista's and bookhungry club pals, Abby Mumford.  

Yesterday I was slammed at work.  Slammed and  stressed.  I had very little time to check my twitter stream and even less time to catch up on my blog reading.  For whatever reason a tweet came across the tweetdeck that caught my eye.  @abbymumford tweeted that she couldn't get this song out of her head and attached the link to the video at youtube.

I was feeling pretty stressed and hit the link and sat back to take a meditation minute.  And suddenly I was bopping and swaying and my mood improved about 200 percent.  By the way Abby, my co-workers thank you even though they thought I was pretty nuts for bopping and dancing around, everyone was glad the crazed, freaked out Kelly was gone for the day.  For whatever reason once the song was there it just seemed to stay in my head.  

So here is a shout out to one of my twitterati who make me glad I stay tuned to the list of my twitter favs and always pay attention to what they say.  And for the rest of you I hope you enjoy it.  What's that feel good music you fall back on when you are having that kind of a day?

The one where I had to give it up....Literally

I have a confession to make.

Yesterday I did something I have not done in three years. 

I went to the dentist.  I am embarrassed to say it has been three years and I have no excuse.  Well I guess in a pinch I could tap my blogger/twitter buddy @linda_grimes for an excuse.  She is the queen of explanations. 

The bottom line is that my particular dentist stopped taking the insurance I was on three years ago and while we knew we needed our regular check-ups it just got easier to not find a new dentist that did.  Now I am just peeved at myself, because I paid for the insurance and just didn't use it. 

Well this year we found out our dentist is on the insurance we currently have so I made an appointment to get in and get cleaned up.

Before I went I brushed, flossed and deodorized with mouthwash because that is just how I roll.  My hygienist congratulated me on how great my teeth looked since it had been three years and I had not cheated on Dr. T. in all that time.  (They thought that was so funny.  I thought that just showed laziness on my part for not wanting to find another dentist.  In my defense, I love mine.  He has a great bedside manner and he is always so cheerful.)

During the exam my hygienist Vicky, who I am always impressed with, asked me what kind of toothpaste and mouthwash I was using.  They ask me this question each and every time I go and I know how they feel about the abrasive toothpastes I prefer so you know what I do right?  Yep you got it, I lie.  Now how freaking pathetic is that?  My mouth looks great, my gums are healthy, no cavities and I feel like I am sitting in the principals office being grilled for cutting class when they start in on the questions. 

That spotlight they use to see into your mouth is suddenly blaring in my eyes and for whatever reason I am hearing a thick accent telling me she has ways of making me talk. 

In the end I crack.  I always do.  I think this is almost like a game.  I get instructed on what I should be using versus what I am using and why.  After that ten minute lecture when I start rethink my high regard of Vicky I am finally excused to go home. 

Of course last night I promised myself I will start using the sonic toothbrush again, even though I like my regular one.  I promised myself to let the whitening toothpaste going, even though it makes my teeth sparkle and I promised to change from my heavy duty mouth wash to one that is more sensitive to my gums.

Yeah, I was depressed after that too.  What have you been forced to do lately, that you know will be better for you, but is killing you to give up?  And Patty...don't say chocolate. 

Round Robin: Let's Get This Party Started

This week Karla and I are unveiling our Round Robin writing experiment.  This is where we work together to create a literary master piece.  My posts will go up every Tuesday and she will be posting over at her blog, The Last Word every Thursday so make sure you stop by to catch the next installment.  We hope you like it so make sure you tell us either way.

Grace Monroe flew out the door on a run, almost losing her book bag in the process.  She was late and she hated being late.  It was all Harper’s fault.  Smiling to herself, she decided she liked that excuse and was going to keep it.

She had to yank on the door handle three times before getting the driver’s side opened and flinging her books in the back seat.  With the flick of her wrist, the old broad came to life.  Another smile tipped her glossed mouth as she thought of the name Harper had christened her car with. 

Her father had gifted the car to her three weeks ago as an early Christmas/guilt gift.  Jack Monroe was an airline pilot who spent more time flying the friendly skies than spending it with his teenage daughter, when he remembered he had one.

Grace’s care was handled primarily by Mrs. Maguire, the live in housekeeper that was brought in after her mother died when she was three.  It didn’t bother her all that much that she and her father didn’t get along or for that matter really know each other.  She only had the rest of this year to get through and then her life would officially begin.  And she couldn’t wait.

Pulling out of the driveway Grace left the thoughts of a discorded family behind as she headed out to pick up her best friend, Harper Simonson.

Harper and Grace had been friends since pre-K and while Grace didn’t remember the exact nature of how they met, Harper’s mother did and she liked to tell the story often.  Smiling over the memory she almost missed the turn on Harper’s street but caught it at the last moment and made a screeching right, not quite on two wheels.

God she loved driving this little car, even if her father only bought it to appease his own conscience.  Slamming to a sudden stop in front of the rambling house the Simonson’s called home, Grace laid on the horn.  It drove Harper nuts, especially when she was already on the sidewalk waiting. 

Harper was petite.  No other word could or would do her justice.  She had a small frame and Grace mostly felt like a giraffe when standing next to her friend.  With long brown hair that was always neatly clipped back she had the presence of someone wise beyond her years.  “An old soul” as Mrs. M liked to call her.  She liked hiding behind her stylish square framed black glasses of which Grace was pretty sure didn’t even have a prescription. 

Sliding into the car, Harper tossed Grace the pop-tart she had warmed in the toaster for her.  “You’re late, and no way is this my fault,” she added before Grace could give her excuse.   Turning she stored her violin and flute in the back seat before strapping her seat belt on.  “Hurry before the brat gets out here and wants to bum a ride.”

Grace just grinned over the pop-tart she had stuffed in her mouth, put the car in gear and hit the gas.

  

“Did you bring the CD?” she asked around the pastry.

Harper shot her a look sideways and shook her head.

“Come on, I want to hear it.”

This time Harper shrugged.

This was one of the things that really drove Grace crazy. She loved Harper, she really did but it drove her nuts how insecure Harper was about her music.  She was a freaking genius.  A savant or whatever they called musical Prodigies and she got all twitchy about letting Grace hear her stuff.   

“OK, look.  We can go the ten rounds like normal, but you know you are going to just give in and play it. So, can we just skip to that part today since we are already running late?”

A steady stare was her answer. 

“If I say please?”

Harper leaned forward, removed the CD from her bag and pushed it into the player.  “Just remember it’s not finished” of which not finished was said in tandem. 

Listening to the rough cut, Grace was once again struck by what her friend could do.  And if a little bit of jealousy streaked its way up her spine, well it was understandable.  Harper was one of the lucky ones.  She had great parents, an enviable talent and she even had brothers.  Grace sometimes found herself just sitting in the midst of the chaos that was the Simonson family grinning for no more of a reason than the fact that she was there.

Pulling up to the back entrance of the School Grace was just about to lavish praise when she noticed the young man who detached himself from the building and started moving in their direction.   He stopped a few feet away from the car, waiting.  Waiting and watching.  She knew the exact moment Harper noticed him, her posture went from relaxed and friendly to arrow straight and don’t come near me. 

“Who’s that?”

With a quick “Nobody” Harper got out, leaned back in to retrieve her stuff and tried to smile.  Without meeting Grace’s eye she murmured “I will catch you later at lunch” and slammed the door.

Okay, that is the start, be sure to check out what happens next on Thursday when Karla picks up the ball or in this case, the flute and runs with it.

Tag your it!

My blogger buddy and twitterista Karla Nellenbach and I are going to be doing something a little different starting tomorrow.  We will be conducting a writing experiment much like a Round Robin project that we are calling Fun and Games with K&K. 

For those of you who know me, you know that I have been suffering a bit in the writing department.  I don't know why, but I have not been able to shake it loose. 

The idea was actually born about a month ago and what I originally started with is not what you will be reading tomorrow.  Mainly because where I started sucked.  After that I had a hard time with it and while I would love to blame it on the writers block, honestly I think it had more to do with giving myself an impossibly high bar to overcome.  Karla is a little intimidating.  Which means she writes good.

I have to say after writing my first draft for the like the 100th time and then getting her reply in an hour (no I am not kidding) I am now positive I will be throwing some plot twists and turns at her that will be fun.  (Insert evil laugh)  Although, her mind works at warp speed, mine still travels at the speed of Fred Flintstone.  But I am up for the challenge.

What I like about the idea of a red robin writing session is that I won't be able to plot every point like I normally do.  Scary, yes, but in a more exhilerating way.  I will have to rely on her help in driving the story so I can't know the outcome of everything.  Plus this is way to stay sharp.  I feel energized and excited about working on this.
 
So make sure you stop by tomorrow to see the very first installment of Fun and Games and let us know what you think.  I am including an easy reference right here to find Karla's blog and I promise to post a link to her write up every Thursday so don't forget to stay tuned.

What do you think about the idea of writing with someone else like this?  Just curious.

Another Great Halloween!

For starters, I want to apologize. This post was scheduled to go up on Tuesday, but since I am a total dumb ass when it comes to blogger and scheduling...it didn't.  I took a couple of days off to regroup and re-energize with the hubs and one of our agreements when we take off is no outside contact at all.  Which of course includes all of you guys.  So I apologize in advance for missing three days of blog post.  No, I am not going to add them all today, instead I will just be happy that I am three days ahead in postings.

Have I mentioned lately that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays?  I am not even sure it is considered a holiday.  I mean you don't get the day off work unless like me you take it. I do know that part of it is based on the Celtic tradition of Samhain.  Samhain marks the end of the harvest and the time of the year we say good-bye to the light and hello to the dark.  I really like that symbolism since we are getting ready to change the blasted clocks again.

This year for Halloween we spent it at home giving out candy.  And the night before which is called "Devils Night" where I come from was spent partying with our friends at their annual Halloween Party.  There was food and drinks to be had and a lot of laughter and stories to be shared.   

We spent the evening dressed up in our funny costumes, watching football and playing funny games.  Some singing may have occurred.  At least I sound good in my own head.

Anyway, this year I was the Devils Queen and I attended the party with Darth Vader.  And can I just say it was fun bringing him over to the dark side.

Okay as promised here is a picture of us and our fabulous costumes.

What did everyone else end up doing?

Meet Charlie

For starters, I want to apologize. This post was scheduled to go up on Monday, but since I am a total dumb ass when it comes to blogger and scheduling...it didn't.  I took a couple of days off to regroup and re-energize with the hubs and one of our agreements when we take off is no outside contact at all.  Which of course includes all of you guys.  So I apologize in advance for missing three days of blog post.  No, I am not going to add them all today, instead I will just be happy that I am three days ahead in postings.

Our weekend was awesome.  Mainly because it didn't not go exactly the way I had planned.

Normally we decorate the house up big for the trick-or-treaters and have just as much fun as the kinds coming around and bargaining for candy.  This weekend it didn't work out quite the way we planned it.

Oh, we made our friends annual Halloween Party and had a great time, but during the party I stepped outside to help with the traffic jam, that had become her driveway.  While I was trying to help a crossfire not get crushed by a ram a kitten came out from under some bushes to talk to me.  

Now with three of them at home I was not interested in the least to add to our family at this time.  Or at least that is where my thinking started until he stretched up on his back paws begging for a lift.  There was something about this little one that tugged at my heart strings.  More than usual.  

He followed me to the house and I finally gave in and picked him up.  I even tried to introduce him to Captain Kid, but he was having none of that.  Sadly I left him on the porch of my friends home and went back to join the party.  

Originally we had planned to stay the night, but at the last minute we decided she really did have a full house and going home would work better for us.  Since hubs had not imbibed we were good to leave.  I changed from awesome Demon Costume (pictures to come) and packed up our stuff to head out to the truck.  

Imagine my surprise when I arrived outside and found kitty standing by the front tire of our truck waiting.  I swear he was waiting.  Just standing there and when we approached he started to do the happy dance.  You know the one.  He purred and started winding himself between my legs so naturally I had to lean over and pick him up for a cuddle before we left.  Hubs packed up the truck and even opened my side door.  I sat the little guy on the ground after sadly explaining we were not ready to increase the size of our family.  Turning away to grab my purse off the back of the truck he immediately made himself at home and jumped right up into the truck.

Startled, with a laugh, I removed him back to the ground where we played this game twice more.  After the third time it was up to hubs to remove him from the truck.  Now the one thing I can say for the Captain is he is just as much of a sucker as I am.  This little on had hopped up onto the center console and was rubbing his head up against hubs shoulder with a purr loud enough to wake the dead.  Hubs looked at the cat, looked at me, looked at the cat and said, "Shit!"  

And that is how Charlie came to be added to our family.  Hey everyone...Meet Charlie.

My Top Ten on Visiting Reality

Another plug for one of my faves on twitter and in the blog world.  If you are currently not following Mrs. Linda Grimes you need to stop reading this post right now and go and follow her.  Okay you don't really have to do it right this second...but you will after you read the following.

Linda is a freakishly awesome person who cracks me up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with her new blog updates as well as keeping me entertained with her daily micro blogging comments on twitter.  You can find her blog Visiting Reality here and she can be found on twitter right here.

Top Ten Reasons to Follow Linda Grimes

10.  Because she is an attention whore and proud of it.

9.    She has the best caption contests on the web.

8.    Need an excuse...she's got you covered.

7.    You can find her blog by googling "whip and chill" (I swear this is true.  She said it, I tried it and I did.)

6.    She believes that chocolate is a cure all, and since that is true...well need I say more?  Plus she eats chocolate chip cookies for breakfast and calls them the Breakfast of Champions...so take that Wheaties.

5.    Coined the phrase "sweater puppies".  Okay I don't know if that is true, but I had never heard it before she wrote it...so I am giving her the credit for that one.
4.    Believes that housework is the mark of the devil.
3.    Can be counted on in the event you would ever need help disposing of a body.

2.    Thinks Daniel Craig is hot...hot...hot

And the number one reason to follow her is 

1.     She makes snark look good

So you know the drill...give me someone...anyone that I should be following.  I'm waiting.  

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is this weekend and I am pretty psyched for it.

We have a Halloween Party to attend on Saturday evening and while the hubs has his costume all ready I am still up in the air on how I am going to proceed with my costume this year.  I am sure that whatever I pick will be awesome, don't worry pictures will be forthcoming next week.

So this first picture I found over at Jill Shalvis' blog this morning with the caption how do you make pumpkin pie.  I love this.

The next set of pictures are me in some of my recent Halloween costumes.  This is something we do enjoy doing and every year we dress up for the Annual Halloween Party our friends throw and again for Trick or Treating.

This is me as the Queen of the Vampires.  I really liked this one.  What you can't see in the picture are my really wicked spider tattoos on my neck and the huge spider ring on my finger.

This is my clown costume

from two years ago.  This was one that the hubs and I were both able to use so that worked out well. 

This is my witch costume from last year and yes the green hair is my own.  I bought one of those cans of hair color that you spray in...It looked totally terrific but make my hair really dry and took three days of washing to get it out.  What do you guys think about the face tattoo?  Nope, it wasn't real, but I liked it.

Tell me how are you going to spend your Halloween.  Do you dress up and if so what are you going as this year.  

So from me to you...Happy Halloween!  Have a great one.

Unanswered Prayers

As you all know by now I am married to my best friend and the love of my life.

Last night we were watching a movie called Our Family Wedding and I had an epiphany.  First I should say this was a great movie.  Premise: Basically in the weeks leading up to this young couples wedding is rife with stress and comic relief especially as their fathers are feuding.  It is in no way a Romeo and Juliet type of story but a great watch none the less.

When I met Captain Kid we were both stationed in Okinawa Japan doing time in the Navy.  Nah, I am kidding I loved the Navy.  It wasn't like doing time at all.  Not really.  Okay, sometimes it was like doing time.  But after I met my very own McDreamy all that changed.

When we said our "I do's", okay we didn't actually say I do.  It was more or less an ancient Japanese women came out of the Mayor's office handed us our paperwork and told us to have a great life.  When I asked her when the ceremony was going to be she shook her head and mumbled something like "Ah, these Americans."  

Turns out when you get married over seas by a Justice of the Peace who is really not a Justice of the Peace you just have to sign a lot of documents and get everything translated from English to Kanji and back again.

When we were first talking about getting married we didn't see it happening for at least two more years because we would need that long to save the  money for my "dream" wedding.  I knew exactly what kind of wedding I wanted.  Hey I am female, of course I knew.  I even had the dress already designed.  Yes I do have many talents.  Instead it was time for him to rotate and orders were being cut and the only way we were going to be assured orders together was if we were indeed married.  *sigh* 

So to make a long story short we shelved the big wedding and decided to do it right there in Japan.  Our wedding was very low key.  Just us and our attendants which consisted of his best man Ray, and my maid of honor, Eric.  (Did I mention I always got along better with the guys?) 

If we had planned the big wedding with our families back in the states I don't know how that would have effected our first years of marriage.  To say that my mother-in-law and I don't see eye to eye is an understatement and the planning of the wedding would have been a disaster.  I can clearly see that now.  No one would have been happy.  We didn't have a Catholic ceremony which bothered my Gram right up until the day she passed away and we would not have gotten married in his hometown which I learned after the deal was done that was expected.

And last night for the first time I was truly glad that prayer went unanswered.  Our wedding was small but our party was big.  Friends from section and neighbors who joined us for what they thought was a house warming party, which turned out to be our wedding reception.  We had a bar-b-que and plenty of drinks and dancing.  There were no expectation to fulfill except our own and we were both extremely happy.  I wonder how much different it all would have been if we had the wedding I originally wanted to begin with?

So are there any unanswered prayers you are thankful for?

Laptop Vs. Desktop

If there was a title match between the laptop and the desktop who do you think would win? 

When I work at home I work from a laptop.  Don't get me wrong, it is a velocaraptor...or at least that is what my handy IT guy Eric calls it.  It weighs as much as a desk top but has all the convenience of a laptop.

At work I have a desktop that would make Bill Gates jealous.  I have dual monitors and my computer has the latest and greatest state of the art stuff in it.  Do I know what that is?  Heck, no and guess what?  I don't have to, that is what I have an IT guy for.

Recently though I am not enjoying working from the laptop as much.  

In the beginning I liked the versatility of being able to move through out the house and on to the back patio.  It is fun to work outside when the weather is awesome. 

Now, not so much.  I find myself increasingly frustrated and missing my dual monitors when I am working from home.  I don't know how I ever worked without them.  I also find that when I work from my office instead of moving all over the house I can concentrate better, especially when I am writing so the portability is becoming less and less important.

The reason I bring this up is because it made me wonder what type of writing situations and challenges do you guys face?  Do you have enough lighting in your space?  What about the work surface?  Also is any of this really important or am I just suddenly fixating on this because the writing is not coming to me right now.  I sit there at the ready and try but I am just dry.  

You guys all gave me such great advice yesterday and I appreciate it.  I wish there was like a twelve step program to get me back on track with the writing right now.  I will keep plugging away trying to find that well of inspiration I had a couple of months ago when all I wanted to do was write, write, write.

When your not inspired...

This weekend I spent the whole thing working.  I wish I could say I was immersed in a current WIP or even the Round Robin writing expedition that Karla and I are going to embark on (more on that later), but I can't

It was work pure and simple.  

It was hard and challenging and I learned quite a bit but I found myself fighting the urge to check twitter and the rest of my social media outlets every hour than every thirty minutes, than every five.  After eight hours of keeping my nose to the grindstone I decided I could reward myself and spend the next couple of hours writing.  

It didn't work out quite the way that I hoped.  

Here is my question.  How come when I go shopping and want to spend money I can't find anything to buy?  That is how I felt about my writing after working all day.  When I finally carved out some precious time to do what I had wanted to do for myself all day I had literally nothing to say.  Nada. Zip. Zilch.

I tried going back and looking at older works.  No inspiration whatsoever.

I tried turning on the tunes.  I just sat there singing into my stapler.

I was flummoxed.  Finally after an hour, an hour which I should mention that I can never get back, I moved on to something else.  

I am currently working on a book for my sister-in-law.  As you know she had her baby boy in August.  While she was pregnant we designed and maintained a website all things about upcoming baby including a daily blog which I maintained on her behalf.  Now I am converting it into a hardback book as a gift for her and the baby.  Something he will have as he grows into adulthood.

It gave my brain a rest from writing and was something fun to do.  But here is my dilemma.  I believe in setting aside time to write everyday.  But what do I do when the words won't come.  I don't want to abandon my me time, but I also don't want to sit and stare into space for an hour or longer because my sunbathing muse has suddenly deserted me for better climes.  

How do you guys stay true to the writing time?  Tell me some of your secrets so I have something new to try next time.

In Preparation of the Weekend

Yesiree, today is Friday and can I get an Amen!

I know right?  This has been a long one even though it has moved by at the speed of light.  First we planned a major vacation for our twenty year anniversary, thank you very much.  Next we got our Xmas shopping done.  Thank God that is over!  Than there was a special Birthday in the Blogersphere to celebrate this week for Mr. Lenny Lee.  And finally yesterday we capped it off with the latest of the Book Hungry Club reviews.  So today I am a little tired.

But not too tired.  I did find a video to share with you guys.  Cause that's the way I roll.  I love this one.  So enjoy.  

And we have a winner from yesterdays entries.  The Book of Beauty goes to:

Drum Roll Please...

Michele Shaw...check out her blog here.

Congrats Michele.  Just DM message me via twitter with your address and I will get it mailed out to you ASAP!  And look at that win a prize and get a plug for your Blog.  How cool am I?

Happy Friday everyone and enjoy.

2010 E*Trade Baby Out Takes...cracks me up every single time.