The ties that bind...

Cooking is a passion for me.  That along with boating, reading and playing with different types of software.  

It seems for the last six months or so I have not had time for anything more than reading.  And the only reason I have had time for reading is because I am taking that time for myself.  Makes getting everything else done that needs to be done harder, but I'm okay with that.

This past weekend I spent all day Sunday reading.  Laying in bed, my laptop, kindle, iPad, tablet and cell phone all within in easy reach.  (Yes I have a little thing for technology.) The day flew by for me.  But overall, it was a productive day.  I completed four books.  Those were full length books, but I also read three novellas.  

I haven't had time to read during the week.  With work, working out and rushing around trying to get everything done before the end of the evening, reading just seems to be a by product of everything else.  But it is my one vice that I am not willing to give away.

During the summer I lose the inclination to heat up the kitchen.  I find sitting behind my computer a drag and boating is something that can only be done on the weekend.  Reading.  Well reading is something I can do any time of the day.  I can carry my devices with me and anytime I have a spare moment I can enjoy some leisurely down time.  

Reading...it does a body good.

What if?

Another week bites the dust.  

I can't believe how fast time if going.  

When I was as kid I was always wishing time away.

I can't wait until the weekend.  I can't wait until summer.  Can't wait to turn thirteen.  Sixteen.  And the big one...Twenty one.  And then before you know it, your turning thirty.

Thirty.  

That was a big change for me.  

Wishing away my life.

I find that not to be so true as I get older.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  I tend to embrace the seconds, the minutes, the hours, etc.  I don't wish my days away anymore.  

There are lot of ways we spend time we can never get back.  It frustrates me.  At the end of the week if I realize that I wasted any part of my day it drives me crazy.  This is relatively new for me.  I was never a believer of what if?  But now, now I find myself looking back over my day, or my week wondering.

I'm thinking this has more to do with my age then anything else.  

What about you?  Do you spend time wondering what if?

Divergent...

Show it.

I want it now.

I am so psyched for this movie to come out.  

Very rarely do the hubs and I go to the movies to actually see them.  We normally wait for them to come out on Netflix.  Mainly because I hate to be disappointed.  

But this one.

I'm not waiting. 

I will be in line the day it comes out.

Enjoy...

Ceilings are totally over-rated

Life looks pretty good from the front of a convertible two-seater.


Not familiar with what I am talking about?

Let me show you.

I have had Sheldon since July.  This years birthday present.  You're right, I am a special girl.

Anyway, what I have learned since I started driving a convertible is that I had no idea what I really wanted to begin with.  And by that I mean... a convertible.

I have already logged over sixty hours with the top down.  Any chance I get, that top goes down.  I have never enjoyed driving to and from work as much as I do now.

It's not just the commute to work, its all the other drives I get to make as well.

For example last week we had a girls night.  Yes, that was lovely.  But even more so, the drive home was AMAZING.  I had the setting sun to my back as I traveled west from Spanish Fort.  The rainbow of pinks, purples and blues had me catching my breath and looking back quite often.

There is something poetic if you will, traveling in the dark with nothing over your head but night sky.   Night sky and a sparkling new moon.  It was literally the easiest hour I spent the entire week.  It's also amazing to me how the sky looks different each and every day.  No two days have been alike since I started driving a convertible.  How is it I never noticed it before?  

Yeah, I don't know either, but one thing I am sure of.  I will always drive a convertible.  

Promise.

Speed of Light

So...

Just when I think I have a handle on this blogging thing, it becomes apparent quite quickly that I don't.  If for some reason I don't get all of my posts for the week written on the weekend I can just forget about it.

In a nut shell...I'm screwed.

The new job has me so crazy busy (which I totally love) but it leaves no time for me to try and come up with new blog ideas.

Add to the fact that I am doing school and still trying to squeeze some writing time in.  Well, you get the picture.

So here I am sitting on the couch.  It's Friday.  Not whatever day I selected to post this and I am contemplating what to do with my weekend.

Hubs is on call.  AKA On my own.  Which I'm okay with.  Actually better than okay with as we don't need to live up each other's...well you get the picture.

I have enough work to keep me busy around the house, but I am hoping I get some pool time in.  Since this summer started I have neglected the pool and even worse, we have neglected the boat.  I am truly ashamed.  We have all these wonderful things to avail ourselves of, and no time what so ever to do so. Here's hoping that I don't miss the holidays this year because I am too tired to get anything done.

Speaking of holidays...who's looking forward to some cooler weather?  Me!  I have already starting planning my decorations for Halloween.  I promise I will post pictures.

Friday...you can't get here soon enough!

Really...

What else is there to say?

No, I am not promoting alcohol, I am just supporting the cause.

Loss, it never quite leaves you.

My Gram was a pioneer.

When she was still a girl she made the decision to leave her home and her family for a better life.

She was my hero and I miss her everyday.

This month marks five years since she left us. 

I so wish I could say that there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think of her.  Plenty of them whistle right along.  But then, one will happen and the loss will sucker punch me so hard I can't breathe.

Her time here on this earth was put to good use.  She raised a family.  She stepped in and raised a grandchild when it was called for.  Yep, that would be me.

She didn't complain about her lot in life.  She just lived it.  She laughed.  She loved.  She was loved.

She instilled in me a desire to see the world and be the best women I could be.

I don't always live up to the standard she set, but I do try.

I miss you.

 

Happy Birthday to my friend...

Today my friend is celebrating her birthday.

Marylee.

We have been friends for over twenty years.

She means the world to me and I am so lucky to have her in my life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Girl we were hot...

We still are, but now it comes in flashes!!!

Happy Birthday from one hot chick to another!

The Story of Us

Recently I completed a collaboration with a friend on a book celebrating his late wife's life.  It's a lovely tribute and completely heartfelt.  When we started this project I thought I would breeze through this.  

I was incredibly wrong.

While she was still alive I saw their life together through the lens of friendship.  But after, diving in and taking the reins on this project, I saw my friend in a new light.  Their marriage was built on a solid foundation of love, friendship and mutual respect. And in the years that would follow, their fairy tale would be the stuff that inspires the next generation.
  The undertaking of this work was such an emotional roller coaster ride.  I was reintroduced to my friend's wife and had a front row seat to how their happily ever after played out.  

In the end; her life was cut short way too early.  But I have comfort in the knowledge that she got to spend the rest of her days with the man of her dreams.  

I'm also proud to call him my friend.

We ordered the first book to see how it turned out and I am on pins and needles with the hope that he is completely happy with what we did.  While the words were all his, the design and detail were mine and I desperately want this to be right.

It was such a pleasure, even as it wrung me dry, to participate in this love letter he put together to leave for his children and grandchildren.  A legacy that will be passed on from one generation to the next.

Thank you Houston for trusting me with something so important to you and yours.  It was truly an honor.

When getting banged isn't dirty at all...

September 26, 2013

You can't get here soon enough.

Why?  Why?

Because that is when Sheldon and the gang will be back for the new season.

I have missed them.

Much!

At least I have something to look forward to as we say Goodbye to Summer.


But don't worry, I haven't been without.  I have spent the summer watching re-runs.  I know that those of you who know me are not surprised.  Or maybe you are.  Maybe you weren't aware that I was a BBT junkie.  How you wouldn't know is beyond me.  I have a Soft Kitty mouse pad on my desk at work.  

The lanyard I wear around my neck to hold my badge has Bazinga stamped all over it.

Plus I named my new Mini Cooper Sheldon too. 

These are the things that make me happy.

Now I am just waiting for summer to wind down so Sheldon and I can pick up where we left off last May.  

It's not really cheating, the Captain is aware.

Besides I have questions that can't be answered until the show is back on the air.  I'm wondering if Raj will still be speaking to girls and if Leonard had a great summer working for Hawking.  

What shows are you guys looking forward to in September? 

Hypocrisy...the new political party

My nephew is having a birthday.

We pitched in with his folks to get him this sweet ride.

I'm jealous.  I want one.



I love how excited he gets.

But what I really love is how video on the go and social media allow us to share these moments with him.  Of course at the same time I am so grateful that I didn't grow up in a world where all of my childhood indiscretions were posted for the entire world to see.

Yeah, I see the hypocrisy.  

May the force be with you...

Recently, I got a convertible.

I never wanted a convertible, or at least I never thought I wanted a convertible.

Back in the day, when I was much younger I had a Suzuki Samurai and I loved that little Jeep.  I took it with me to Alaska where we spent many a cold days driving the snow covered roads and hot dogging on top of large snow drifts.

Unfortunately it was so cold in Alaska I only ever had one day where the sun was shining (petering sadly through clouds) and the temperature reached a balmy 42 degrees.  Trust me, in Alaska that was balmy.  I felt it was worth it to take that rag top off, bundle myself up into three layers of clothes and take a drive.  Of course there was wind in my hair, the wind drifts off the water were enough to freeze my eyes to the open position.   The sun was in my face, or a blindingly bright facsimile.  During the day the glare off the snow was enough to convince you the sun was shining. Sadly if the sun had come it would have burned us all like vampires since we hadn't seen it in so long.  True Story.

Even if I did lose feeling in all my extremities, I was grateful for that drive.  It was glorious.
 
Yeah, not so much.  After that I pretty much realized that driving a convertible wasn't really worth it.  Too hard to take the top off.  Could have had something to do with the three pairs of gloves I was wearing and this was 1992.  I don't think they had electric rag tops back then. 

So when we started looking at Coopers I was positive I didn't want a convertible.  I can still hear myself telling the hubs why.  "I will never drive with the top down."  I was emphatic.  By the way emphatic used this way is just another word for dumb ass.  Seriously.

The salesmen said, "Just take the car for a spin."
It was like nothing I have ever slid into before.  If I were a guy I would compare this to apple pie.  (Please tell me you get the reference?)  But the part that took my breath away was the 12.2 second release I have on Sheldon to lower the top.  (I bet the boys can relate with the 12.2 second release as well.)  I can even do it while the car is in motion.  But that's a story for another day.

 Suffice it to say life is looking pretty cool from the front seat of a my new Coop, which I have loving christened "Sheldon".  For those of you who know me, you already know why.  For those of you who need some education, it's simple really.  The car is the color of Luke Skywalker's light saber before it was digitally remastered.  And if you don't know what that means, well, I can't explain it to you.

Bug or Windshield

It's been a while since I posted.

I know, bad Kelly.

Here's the thing.  So many changes recently for me that I've barely had the time to catch my breath, let alone keep up with my blog.

Excuses?  Maybe.

Truth?  Absolutely.

I started a new job in June.  And I adore it.  Why, because I have been blessed with a boss that encourages me to bring my very best everyday.  I get to work with a team of folks who are fun and they challenge me every day to out-do myself.  I've not gotten this from a job since I was in the Navy. (Full disclosure, my last position was with a much smaller company.)

But life here in the Breakey household continues to be one long "I love Lucy" episode.  Thankfully, the role of Lucy is currently being played by the Captain.

I swear it's true.  Coffee is a passion for the hubs. Especially in the mornings before work.  He has at least two cups at home and then another two that he takes with him.

For Christmas last year I got him a new Keurig coffee maker.  He really wanted it and I really wanted to get it for him.

So on Friday, he made his coffee like normal and had his breakfast.  Once he was ready to get in the shower he set the coffee maker up to make the first of his two fisted travel mugs.  He got everything ready.  Put the coffee in the little cup.  Put the little cup in the coffee maker.  Checked to make sure the water resevoir was filled and then he hit the start button.

Of course he forgot to put his mug under the stream so the little over flow tray caught the entire cup.  But the best part had to be his confusion when he went back to get the cup and couldn't figure out where it went, especially since it was sitting next to the coffee maker.  Empty.

It's these little things that crack me up and make me grateful that sometimes I'm the Lucy and other times I get to be the Ricky.  But not a boy, cause ew!

Sweet New Ride...

Recently, I have started a new career.  

Can I just share with you guys how happy I am that sometimes prayers do go unanswered.

Anyway,  since starting this new position I have been crazy busy.  So busy I can hardly keep my eyes open after eight o'clock each night.  (Why I have been neglecting this lovely blog.)  I don't remember a time when I have been so challenged with something, but challenged in a good way.

One of the greatest things to come from this new endeavor is my sweet new ride.

I have wanted a Mini for about three years.  While working from home I just couldn't justify the cost of an extra vehicle when we really didn't have a need.

Now I can justify it.  The Captain was okay with me driving his truck when I was only going a few miles a day.  But suddenly, I was commuting again.  

Off we went car shopping.  In all fairness I test drove a ton of stuff.  It was only logical.  Even though at the end of the day I was hooked on the idea of a cooper.  

Saving my favorite for last, I had no intention of getting anything on this day.  But alas, the cooper was too hypnotizing.  Sort of like when I bought my first iPad.  

Meet Sheldon.

Isn't he a beaut?  Plus it's a convertible, which I thought I would never want.  One drive and I was hooked.  

Of course I named him Sheldon.  He is a Cooper after all.  It was only logical. 

I took possession July 5.  The weather didn't cooperate, so I have been unable to partake of the joy of driving with the top down.  Today I might have had the opportunity, but in a moment of weakness I offered to let the hubs have him for the next two days.  He has driven to a resort town close by to hang out with some friends.  Yes, he is on vacation.  

If nothing else, I should win wife of the year for this.  

So, what do you think of Sheldon?

Men...they say the funniest things

It's been a while since I posted.  

I know.  I am ashamed.  (Not really, but for the five of you that visit my blog daily I apologize.)

But yesterday at dinner the hubs said something so funny to me I knew I needed to sit down and tell you all about it.

Recently a co-worker of his just returned from vacation.  Yesterday.  He returned yesterday.  He and his wife took a whirlwind tour of Ireland via their multiple bread and breakfasts.

When the Captain mentioned that his friend had returned I asked quite excitedly how they enjoyed their  trip.  

So just stop and ask yourself this.  If you had just returned from a trip to Ireland what would you be talking about?  Me, I would probably talk about how green it is.  How beautiful.  How unspoiled.  Stonehenge.  The pubs.  The craggy cliffs.  The leprechauns.  The fairies.  The hot guys with those delicious accents.  

Lots of stuff to speak about. 

So imagine my surprise when our conversation when something like this."

Hubs:  "Co-worker's just returned from vacation today."

Me.  "Did they enjoy it?"

Hubs:  "Yeah, but there was one thing that was kind of a downer."

Me:  Really interested.  "Really, what?"

Hubs:  "They had to pay to watch TV!"  He was indignant.

I sat there totally thrown for a loop.  TV?  Really?  That was the bummer?  

Me:  "Who goes to Ireland to watch TV?"

Hubs:  Blank stare.

Me:  "Seriously, he was in Ireland.  IRELAND!"

Hubs:  "It's a guy thing."

Me:  "Obviously."

These are the kinds of conversations we have.  It's a good thing I love this man.  

Yes, really.  

P.S. We are never, ever, ever, ever, going to Ireland to watch TV.  He was a little disappointed.

Sometimes I really can't handle the heat

I love to cook.  It relaxes me.  My kitchen is my sanctuary.

I got mad skills too.

This past weekend I decided that I wanted Mexican.  (To clarify, the type of food and not a type of guy.)

Fajitas to be exact. 

I didn't have any salsa.  I had everything I needed to make one, but decided since I had some fresh pineapple to make a sweet pineapple salsa instead. Yes, you guessed it, I am a chance taker. 

I found a pretty easy recipe on the Internet.

1/2 of a pineapple.
1 small red onion.
2 tablespoons cilantro
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 jalapeño peppers diced.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Okay, I am willing to take chances when it comes to ingredients.  In fact I will try anything once.  But I am not crazy about hot stuff.  I want to be able to taste my food and when there is a lot of heat in something I find that it stops my taste buds from working correctly.  So in anticipation of that I only added 1/2 of 1 jalapeño to the salsa.  

It looked beautiful.  It smelled beautiful.  

The taste?

Hmmm, how can I describe this in a way that makes complete sense and paints a picture.  

There was no taste.  None at all.  There was just heat.  Heat.  Hot.  Hot.  More heat.  All I felt was heat.  Too much heat.  It was so bad that I wanted to cut my own lips off.  And to top it off, I had no milk.  Luckily I remembered a container of Oikos Greek pineapple yogurt was sitting in the back of my fridge.  Thank you John Stamos for being so damn cute I bought your yogurt and had it on hand.  I was in pain for almost 30 minutes (which actually felt more like days that passed in a haze of pain and suffering) until I started to get relief from the dairy.

But the best part, and I can't even believe I am putting this out there, was when I got into the shower.  I thought I had washed all of the heat from the jalapeño off of my hands, turns out,  I was wrong.  And I don't even want to go into how I know I was wrong or what I touched that I later needed to slather yogurt over to get the burning to stop.  Trust me that is one mental picture you really don't need or want.  

Trust me.

Friends in Different Places

Spent all day yesterday working on a friends blog.

One of my friends that I met on twitter.  In fact we have never met face to face.  What I find astounding is that while we have never met, we have had some wonderful, deep conversations.  We are both part of a book club that was founded on Twitter. 

She has become one of my favorite people.  She is funny, sarcastic, snarky and loyal. 

It's not to easy to find friends the older you get so I feel doubly blessed that Karla, as well as the rest of the bookhungry gals have come into my life. 

So where am I going with this? 

Well you read where I said Karla is snarky?  So much so that she pretty much never has anything nice to say to anyone.  Well, not to me anyway.

But yesterday was different.  Why?  Because she went on the record about how wonderful I am.  So today I am sharing with you so it will be a matter of public record forever.

Today is a good day.  

And it's good to be me. 

Love will Find a Way

Love will Find a Way 

by Barbara Freethy

Dylan Prescott and Gary Tanner were best friends since they were kids and that friendship withstood the test of time.  Even when Gary married Rachel, the one women Dylan wanted but couldn't have. 

Rachel was off limits.  And Dylan respected that.  His best friend got to her first.  So he went on and built a successful business while maintaining his friendship with Gary, but only viewing their marriage in a peripheral capacity.  That is until Gary dies.  

Then everything changes.

Rachel knew the first time she met Gary he was going to be someone special.  After all he ate the special apple.  Rachel's family owns an orchard and once every so many years one special tree will bear fruit.  Family legend says whomever eats the apple that a female descendant shares from this tree is destined to be her one true love.  On their first meeting Rachel gave Gary one of those apples.  So for her, when their romance goes whirlwind she isn't surprised.  It was after all part of the plan.

Once Gary is gone a bunch of inconsistencies start to show cracks in a foundation that Rachel had been sure was rock solid.  In the beginning you feel for her because her husband has just died, but as the story progresses you have to wonder how Rachel could have been so oblivious.  Her husband spent every week in the city where he worked while she stayed on the farm. 

While he was alive this worked for them for the duration of their marriage.  This was something I would never understand.  What is the point of getting married if you aren't going to grow your lives together?  But okay, I suspended disbelief because this author did a good job of painting Gary as the guy who just wanted his wife to be happy.  And if that meant she didn't want to live in the city so be it.  As the story progresses, we learn that maybe his selflessness had more of a selfish tint than we might have expected. 

When the story starts Dylan is confronted by Rachel's fears and concerns that Gary didn't die in an accident, but actually took his own life.  Now she is wondering if Gary had more going on in the city where he spent all that time?  Rachel doesn't know what to believe,  or even if she really wants to know, but she does know where to get the answers.  Dylan, her husbands best friend.

In a nut shell this story sucked me in.  I wanted to know if Gary killed himself.  I wanted to know if he was having an affair.  These were all things that grabbed me and kept me turning the page.  And of course Rachel and Dylan are forced to face their mutual attraction.  An attraction we learn, that has been simmering for years.

There is a secondary romance with Rachel's younger sister that I adored, more so than the main story.  I think because by the end I was no longer longer invested in the romance, just in the mystery of what happened to Gary.  At least I got my closure on that issue, but I did have a hard time with some of the closing points.  

Overall it was a good read and won't deter me from picking up another of Ms. Freethy books.  But this wasn't a keeper.  At least not for me.  Have you read it?  If so, tell me what you thought.

For the Cat Lovers!

I am sharing this because every time I watch it I laugh just a little harder.

This is for all the cat lovers out there.

Do you YouTube?

It's Friday.

Yeah!  *throws confetti*

Whew, this one has been a seriously long week.  And keep in mind that as I write this it is only Thursday and we had a day off.  

I know!  Right?

Yesterday I spent some time trying to get my youtube account to sync with my google account because I had a legacy youtube account.  Which basically means I set it up a really, really, really long time ago.  I didn't have all that many video's uploaded.  Just some boating and Xmas stuff.  After two hours and a major rager of a headache I ended up deleting the old account and starting a new one.  

Why do I torture myself that way?  I have no idea.

Anyway, I logged up one of my early works of the hubs wakeboarding and thought I would share it with you guys.  



Also you can now find me on youtube if you are so inclined to subscribe.  Not really up on the youtube lingo and why subscriptions are necessary but you can if you want.  If any of you frequent followers have a youtube channel leave me a note so I can check it out.  I definitely want to help get the word out and support you guys.

Have a great weekend and just know this...it's boating time somewhere.

Cornhole...it's really not dirty

We hosted a BBQ this past Saturday.

We invited all of the neighbors and a smattering of friends.  

It was a crashing success.  

The menu was a work of art.  Seriously.  (You guys know I am a kitchen diva right?)  So when I say we invited everyone for a cook-out you just know you ain't getting no burgers and dogs here.  Let me just add, there is nothing wrong with burgers and dogs.  But everyone was doing that this weekend and I really wanted to make something that my guest wouldn't be eating Sunday or Monday.  That's right.  I'm always thinking like that.

The menu consisted of Korean BBQ kebabs, Chicken & pineapple Hawaiian kabobs. two different pasta salads, tomato and feta salad, broccoli casserole, spinach dip, carrot cake, crack cookies and a 3 gallon dispenser of spa water.

I am always the last one to eat when we have company.  That's just how I roll.  I was hoping to get pictures, but everyone fell on the food before I could do that.  In fact, by the time I got around to making a plate there was exactly 1 Korean BBQ kebab left.  One.  No worries.  I had the chicken, but I think it is fair to say the steak was a huge hit.  

Since I have been planning this summer soiree for a little over a month I debated on what outdoor game I should invest in.  Horseshoes? Bocci? Cornhole?  Finally I decided to go with something I wanted to learn.  Cornhole won.  It sounds a lot dirtier than it actually is.

  

The point of the game is to throw your bean bags through a six inch hole from twenty six - thirty-two feet away.  I have no idea why I thought this would be easy.  It wasn't.  During the actual party, I just got to watch.  We had a rousing game of Cornhole going on behind the pool and a loud and boisterous game of bocci (neighbors brought over their game) happening on the east lawn.  (East lawn.  I crack myself up.  Snooty.)  

On Sunday, after breakfast I brought the new game out and spent most of the day tossing bean bags.  I worked really hard and even once I was able to get the Captain to join me, I still sucked.  But it's all good, because now I'm am fixated on mastering this game.  I promise to keep you guys in the loop and let you know how that fares.  

So tell me, what outdoor games do you guys like to play?  Keep it clean people.  And by people I mean Karla.  

A great debut...

The Temporary Wife by Jeannie Moon.

I want to start this review by saying I have read Jeannie's work before.  I felt so honored when she asked me to read one of her earlier stories.  So I was pretty sure I knew what to expect.

Yeah, I was totally wrong on that one.  Not the first time and I certainly hope it won't be the last.

For her first published work this story was so much more than just the idea of two people getting married to save a child.  Meg's tendency to not be able to walk on her own two feet without tripping may have been more believable if she wasn't always pitching herself into our hero's arms and wearing killer heels while she was doing it.  I can't walk on the dreaded things either, but when I lose it on a pair of heels all I end up doing is twisting my ankle, not landing in the arms of super hot guy.  

Sigh.  My loss.

And yes folks, that was my only beef with The Temporary Wife.

Jeannie took a recycled story line and made it fresh.  This reader sure did appreciate that.

Meg and Jason have a history, but we don't get mired down in it like some stories because this book wasn't about their past, it was about their future. One of the things you get a sense for early on is while Jason hurt Meg, our heroine was not some besotted women pining for what was.  She's grown into a women who recognizes that she has been hurt once by this man, but moved on. 

REFRESHING!

I also liked how Meg seemed to be the more emotionally stable of the two.  More willing to embrace the changes in their relationship, and dare I say it, be more alpha, where Jason worried more about what people thought.  A definite role reversal from romance novels of yesteryear where the hero was the quintessential male who never questioned what anyone thought of him.  

Meg also owned it when she was playing coy and when she was shooting straight.

Again, refreshing.

The story is solid, even if there were a few typos, but I think that falls more to the publisher than the author.  For me, this was a wonderful gem of a find and because I have read Jeannie's early works I was able to see how much she has grown and honed her craft as a writer.  

Don't take my word for it.  Read it and tell me what you think.

I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. 

BookHungry May Selection: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

It's that time again.  Time when five twitter buds come together to read and review a book chosen by the circle.  This month we read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Description from Amazon:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Sounds intriguing?  Right?  Yes, it does.  But in theory while this book made me think, I can't say I liked it.  Was the writing done well?  Yes.  Were the characters developed?  Yes.  So it may be a little difficult for me to adequately explain why I didn't love this story.

Oh, who am I kidding.  No it won't.

The first part of the book carry's us through the story of Amy and Nick.  How they meet and end up moving from New York City to a little town in Missouri.  In Nick's passages we are with him in the present.  In Amy's, we follow her through diary entries.  

I didn't like Nick.  I wanted to like Nick.  What I did like was the reference to The Sure Thing.   I could write paragraphs telling you about that.  Unfortunately, we're not here to discuss one of John Cusack's best flicks (in this humble girl's opinion).  No, we're here to talk about my feelings toward Gone Girl.  Can I just say in reference to The Sure Thing there is a scene where John Cusack's character is explaining why Nick is a really good name for a guy.
 

"Yeah, Nick. Nick’s a real name. Nick’s your buddy. Nick’s the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car, Nick!"

I think this sums of the main character in this book absolute.  Or at least the kind of guy Nick wants to be.  He is very aware of how he appears and works hard to portray certain feelings and emotions, or at least the ones he thinks people want to see.

Contrived and sneaky.

Speaking of feelings.  I had plenty reading this and they varied in intensity.  Times I sympathized with Nick.  Times I felt his pain, real or imagined.  But then we learn what that burner phone he carries is really for and just like that (snap) I was over Nick.  

In the beginning I felt for Amy too.  Sympathy for her life and how she was raised.  The one thing Gillian Flynn did brilliantly was send my loyalties careening back and forth between the two characters. 

For a time.  

Then we hit part two and while the book moved much faster for me here, this is where it also went off the rails.  I felt my dislike bloom and grow for these two needy crackpots.  And crackpots they were.  Both of them.

This is a "thriller" so I don't want to give anything away.  The story was well written, but at the end I just didn't have any emotional investment in either Nick or Amy.  And don't even get me started on the ending.  The last sentence rings true for these two, but I would have preferred something more in keeping with the story.  

Don't take my word for it.  Read it.   Come back and tell me what you think.  Because this story will make you think.  And think and think.  Even now, a week later, I'm still cringing and a little repulsed and extremely glad these two are fictional or at least I hope they are.  

To be fair, I think it takes a talented writer to create characters that you don't or can't like and write a story that is cringe worthy while still leaving you on the edge of your seat.  Don't worry, if you don't want to read it, I heard they're making a movie out of it.

Have you read it?  What did you think?  Tell me.

Adventures in Grilling

Okay folks, I did it.

Grill that is.

And it was spectacular.  Which of course in Kelly vernacular means I didn't burn the steaks to a charbroiled mess.  They were edible. 

Let's take a moment.

And here is a pic of said grill.  I think Spirit and I are going to get along just fine.  

Actually, I did exceptionally well.  I think hubs was secretly impressed even as he walked me outside and explained for the tenth time how to turn the grill on.  I had it.  I did.  What is it with men and their grills?  I don't think he trusted me to use it.  Why can't he feel that way about the vacuum cleaner?  Oh wait, he does.  Don't judge him because he is attached to Dyson.  I think it's the purple ball.  

And I digress.

He did get a little snarky after when I confessed I forgot to turn off the propane at the tank.  I was then subjected to a ten minute lecture on proper grill maintenance.  I think he forgets the I know how to work the stove.  I did give him some satisfaction and admit my failure.  Sadly, I haven't reached Grill God status.

Yet.  

Obviously.

He also had to go out after and remind me to unlock the feet.  See we have to move the grill from it's spot against the house to grill and move it back once we're done.  He is quirky that way.

Tomorrow I am on to chicken.

Fingers crossed.  

Cray-Cray came to vist, but we didn't let her stay...

Technically this was supposed to be yesterdays post.  

I got a little lazy.

And by that I mean, I forgot to check and see if blogger actually permitted said post to be viewed.  I am unsure, but I think blogger has it in for me.  (I much prefer that thought process to the other, which is I just don't always know what I'm doing on this here blog.)

So this weekend was pretty cray-cray.

We are getting ready for our annual Memorial Day BBQ.  I love that in my head I really do call it that.  Our annual BBQ.  In the 12 years we have lived in this house this one will be our second.  And the first was five years ago.  So you can see where I would get Annual? 

Obviously.

For those of you who haven't met me.  I get a little OCD crazy when it comes to having people over at our house.  Normally I just buzz around like a nutcase (that's where the cray-cray comes from) cleaning like a fanatic and barking out orders to Captain Kid.  Hey, I have a husband and I am allowed to give him as many honey-do's as I see fit.  It's in the marriage agreement.

Really.

Now that I am extremely off topic I should tell you that my main goal this week was to get the backyard ready to host said gala.  Gala.  I like the sound of that.  Okay it will now forever be know as the Annual Memorial Day Breakey Gala.  (Bathing suits required.)  And we did.  Get the backyard completed that is.  And it looks great.  But I still haven't pulled up the two overgrown flower beds that need to be redone.  I'm hoping if I hem and haw long enough CK will do it for me.  He has a tendency to take over like that sometimes.  But maybe not.  It didn't work with the jasmine and I tried that for four years.

Boat Grill

We're big grillers.  And since it's just the two of us we use our boat grill most of the time.  It's little and hubs has made a stand so it's convenient.  But I pointed out that if we're having all of these folks over this weekend we need a grill that will accommodate cooking for everyone and not just two people at at time.  After mush research and debate we decided on the grill we wanted.  Okay I decided on the grill I wanted, hubs took one look and vetoed.  Since he is technically the griller in the family I gracefully gave in.  I swear I didn't pout overly long.  

Now, since new grill is put together and the first trial run has been accomplished with outstanding results I have to admit he might have know what he was speaking of when he said it had to be a Weber.  (If you guys tell him I said that I will deny it.  Of course.)

So tonight I will be making my first attempt to grill.  This should be fun.  Stay tuned for how that comes out.  I promise to share tomorrow.