used cars

Well, it appears that the wonderful little car the girls were driving will end up being totalled out. Or at least that is the first opinion we've received. The car was towed to the wrong repair shop, a satellite location instead of the main facility, so the head honcho adjuster hasn't seen it yet. But, another guy has and he thinks it is a total loss due to the damage under the vehicle, basically the back end is crunched.

Just. Lovely.

This wasn't the news we were hoping to hear.  Buying cars is probably at the top of both our 'hate this' lists. For me, it is right up there with cleaning toilets or cleaning up after kids stricken with the tummy flu.

I spent a good portion of the evening online looking at vehicles. I then got to have an entertaining and informative conversation with the used car manager of a local Acura dealership. He is a fellow 'townie' and did share some good advice and has two possible vehicles we could consider. He called me after a brief email chat with 'Steve' who 'found' me when I was on the dealer's website. I'm sure 'Steve' was probably really 'Rajeet' in Bombay, but the system works and I was called within 15 minutes of looking at the website. Pretty snazzy.

Of course we are also preparing info to argue about just how much our car was worth. Trying to replace it won't be easy and everything out there with comparable miles, features etc is pricey.

In other news, my left eye is apparently afflicted with some sort of allergic reaction to something. The doctor doesn't think it is infected, just having an issue with some sort of allergen. So, I'm on a steroid drop for a month, but if it doesn't improve in one week, I get to go back. I hope she is right. I'm tired of looking like a one eyed pink freak.

It has been just a lovely week. I will be glad to see it end since we can't hit rewind and enjoy a do-over.

bar karma

I happened across the new show Bar Karma on our on Demand guide a couple of days ago and watched the first episode while I folded laundry. Interesting show with a lot of potential. The premise is that a software/computer mega millionaire finds himself in a 'cosmic' bar after he attempts to leave a one night stand's apartment. The bartender and the waitress walk him through what has happened to him and help him to understand why. He is at a crossroads, a point in 'reality' where if different choices are made, different outcomes will occur.

It is the land of the 'what ifs'. Or at least the watering hole for the 'what ifs'.

Yesterday afternoon I attended a meeting, a real business meeting complete with town executives, alderman, department heads etc.  I was asked to join in by the gal running the meeting, our Main Street director. She knows I've started my job search, yes, I'm returning to the work force, but that is another story, and thought this would be great exposure for me. It was and it will be.

I had left a text message on the middle kid's cell to let her know I wouldn't be home when they arrived from school as I was in a meeting. Well, of course, my cell starts to buzz towards the end of the meeting. I sneak a peek and it is her. I ignore it, not once, but two more times. The meeting ends and I sneak out to answer her fourth call.

She and her sister had been in a car accident on the major thoroughfare in town. They were the second car in a three car chain reaction. Another young driver hit them from behind and pushed them into the car ahead of them.  All drivers are fine.  Two cars aren't and had to be towed, ours being one of them. Luckily the final car in the chain was just tapped by our car as the oldest kid was at a complete stop when this happened and had left a good amount of space between her and the car ahead of her.

It was quite the scene, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars etc. Even though I knew driving over there that everyone was okay, seeing those ambulances and the fire truck made my stomach do a major flip.

Now, the tie in to the Bar Karma.....if only she hadn't had to take that route. If only she had stopped for an ice cream, if only she hadn't...and on and on. The 'what ifs' take over and they can haunt you. She was dealing with that a bit last night. But life isn't a TV show and we don't get a chance to choose a different path and hope for a very different result.  Accidents happen. Cars can be fixed. And sometimes, even when you do things right, bad things can happen.

mumford & sons

We all sat down and watched the Grammy awards this year. Not sure why, but we were all home, it was on the TV and it was something that interested all of us enough to tune in. The program opened well with the five 'divas' singing an Aretha Franklin montage; those ladies can belt it out. From then on it was a standard show complete with bizarre dresses and hair-dos, odd musical arrangements and flubbed lines.  The show dragged until a group we'd never heard of took the stage and made all of us sit up a bit straighter.

Less than 30 seconds into their song, the oldest and I looked at each other and exclaimed, "They have to be Brits." The music, the melody, the lyrics, the passion. I could feel the smoky London pub with every note they played.

Of course we were spot on correct. Mumford & Sons.  The computers were turned on and in short order iTunes was accessed so we could listen to tidbits of their songs and learn more about the band.  Offers of money were made if I'd make a trip to Target and get the CD.

So, I did just that yesterday and as soon as the CD was purchased and I was back in the minivan, I loaded it into the disc player and listened all the way home. Then I pulled out the lyrics sheet and read the words to every song.

Love it. Love them.

I can't even tell you how long it had been since I bought a CD before yesterday. A very long time, a very, very long time. I parted with $9.99 plus tax yesterday and consider it money well spent.

PS. While in Target I also saw "Madame Tussaud" prominently featured on an end cap book display!

madame tussaud releases today

It is a special thing when a book releases. With the advent of facebook and other internet tools, avid readers can experience a bit of the joy an author has when their latest 'baby' is unpacked and put on store shelves for purchase. Publication is a unique joy. I've only been published nationally once, but the joy I felt when I got the phone call that my essay was going to appear in a Mary Englebreit mini magazine about blew my mind. I still have the coat I purchased with my $75 pay check and I had the essay framed.

One author, actually it was Karen Marie Moning, the author I blogged about yesterday, told me in an email she licked her first published book, just to make sure it was real! I loved it!! And when my essay was published, I understood.

Today Michelle Moran's latest historical fiction novel is released. "Madame Tussaud" is about the very famous French lady who survived the Revolution. I love the cover of the book, and I often ignore the old adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Yes, I do judge books by their covers and this cover rocks. Finally, a heroine facing the reader head on (no pun intended).

Cheers to Michelle Moran on her latest novel. I can't wait to read it.

shadowfever by karen marie moning

A long time ago, back when my big kids were little kids, I picked up a debut romance novel from a gal whose bio listed she went to Purdue University. Being an IU grad, I didn't hold that against her and bought and read the book anyway. Loved it. I then read her next book, and her next, and her next. I've just read her twelfth novel, "Shadowfever." 

Along the way, about ten years ago, I actually sent the author an email. She responded and we corresponded a few times as I read her third and fourth novels. She was generous and answered fledgling novelist questions about the craft with insight and lots of humor. She wrote wonderful books, full of Scottish highlanders, a bit of magic and resourceful heroines. She had a penchant for putting her heroines in purple, a color she wasn't encouraged to wear because as a red head, she was told it looked bad.

Then she switched gears. When she launched the Fever series, it was a departure for her from what she had written over the previous seven novels. That book and the four that followed have grown her fanbase to the point where "Shadowfever", the fifth and final Fever title, debuted as number one on the NYT list. Woohoo!

More Urban Fantasy than Romance, the Fever series stars MacKayla Lane, a Southern belle who goes to Ireland in hopes of solving her sister's murder case. The plot that ensues features ancient relics, magical creatures, fae and plenty of adventure.

Karen Marie Moning's status has grown and grown and it is very well deserved. She is a terrific writer who can plot an incredible story and develop unforgettable characters. Just ask any of the Moning Maniacs who follow her books and follow her to fan conferences and gatherings.

Big cheers for my fellow Indiana girl, even if she is a Boilermaker and not a Hoosier!

storytime on the square

As the sun came out yesterday in full force, shining bright in a clear blue sky, and the temperature rose higher than expected, the icy roads melted away and everyone is off to school today. Which means that I am the reader for our local Story time on the Square event this morning. I was signed up to read twice, but my first date was a snow day and story time was cancelled.

Today I will be reading "I Like to be Little" by Charlotte Zolotow. One of the girls received this book as a gift from my best friend one year for Christmas. It is a lovely story about the joys of being little. I read it aloud a few times yesterday to practice and I think I am ready to go.

In other news, our school consolidation mess grows more messy by the hour. The state has passed a law that is waiting for the governor's signature as they have horses in this race since they fund the schools. The city council is telling the state to back off and has accepted the city school board surrender, officially, last night in an unanimous vote. So, I suspect it will now go to the courts and the lawyers. More money wasted.

Of course, this still continues to be about money, ego and power and not about education. It is about saving face. The dialogue has deteriorated to name calling, racial invectives and tired old stereotypes. Sickening. No one is going to be a winner in any of this; not the politicians, local or state, not the children, county or city.

But, I do have some children to tend to today. And I'm excited to share one of my favorite books with them.

Happy Friday.

watching the snow fall

When it finally began to snow yesterday, it continued on falling well into the night. The temps dropped even more and this morning we woke to a glistening white and icy world. My bird feeder is doing a hopping business this morning as my feathered friends swoop in for some food. I threw on some clothes and managed to haul the trash and recycling bins to the curb, just in case the crews make it out today.

It seems we received about 3.5 inches of snow here, which isn't a lot, but the problem is we have ice underneath all that white stuff.  Folks are reporting the side streets are quite icy and difficult to navigate. The sun is blazing in a clear blue sky, but the high today won't reach the freezing mark and if Mother Nature does manage to melt some of this white stuff, tonight it will all refreeze. I wouldn't be surprised if the kids get tomorrow off from school as well.

I have no need to drive anywhere today and as the kids are out of school, we may just enjoy a few movies and some snacks.

Happy Thursday. Happy Snow Day. COME ON SPRING!!