freaking out

Okay, the weathermen only have themselves to blame for the utter nonsense going on today. Good Grief. People are pulling their kids out of school because there is a threat of bad weather....after school activities are cancelled, some schools are letting our early and the sun is shining in as I type. Now, granted, weather can whip up in a minute, but the radar shows nada...zilch, zippo.

Maybe it is my frame of mind today. I'm in the 'no idiots on my planet' mode. Hormonal...hell yeah.

On a positive note, the garage door was fixed yesterday in record time. The bill was reasonable and I got my checkbook and taxes ready to roll. I am woman, hear me roar. To top that off, I edited my way through a major portion of the wip and should be able to wrap that part of the process in short order. Like maybe tomorrow.

Today I helped man the bookstore...sold a boatload of stuff and vented to a willing listener about assorted bookstore/library issues.

Picked up Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely and Ian McEwan's Atonement while at the store....yeah me...nothing like two books for under $4.

Reviews to come.....

weekend update

We hosted a Super Bowl party yesterday. About 30 folks congregated in front of the various tv viewing areas the hubby had set up around the house. We ate a ton of food, had some interesting conversations and enjoyed a good game.

Today I was all set to run some errands, only to discover I can't get my garage door open. The darn thing is making some nasty sounds and won't work. So, here I sit waiting for the repairman, on a rainy Monday. I've already balanced the checkbook and am ready to tackle our tax packet.

I may actually get a chance to open the wip file today. Had a few 'ephiphanies' yesterday during church...yeah, I should have been paying attention to the homily, but it was either let my mind wander or take a snooze. I chose to let my mind wander through the wip plot.

But, first things first, I have to get the tax stuff out of my hair and sent back to the accountant.

friday recap

Sort of a weird week around here....just a strange vibe in the air. I've really been busy doing a whole lot of nothing, but I don't feel like I've wasted a bunch of time. I did manage to keep the house functioning, the kids fed and the regular routine stuff under control. Had a productive meeting on Wednesday with the bookstore committee, had good chats with several folks about the store...one of which garnered us a nice little article in the local paper. So, all in all, quite the successful week.

Except for my editing. Crap. Didn't ever get around to doing that....I've avoided that file on my desktop like it is the plague. I've got a major mental hurdle going on of late....and a huge amount of lazy brain. I have no excuse. I'm a slacker.

I am reading two books right now. One is the YA novel "The Luxe." Think Gossip Girl time traveling back to the 1890's. So far, so okay. I'm also reading the latest Aisling Gray book from Katie MacCallister. Now, she is a bona fide hoot and a half. That girl has a seriously wicked sense of humor.

That is it for me folks. Better go stir the pot. Not the metaphorical one I'm usually stirring to cause trouble for the poor souls who know me, but a geniune soup pot full of chili for our big Super Bowl Party on Sunday.

mid week meltdown

Finally got a copy of the photo from our $16,000 grant to the library presentation. What a motley crew:)

Yesterday morning it was a balmy 50 outside, today, after a Dorothy-esque wind blew through, it is a frigid 26. Just have to love those 30 degree temp drops. The wind was blowing so hard our basketball hoop fell over. Thankfully, our neighbor/friend saw it and helped me to move it out of the driveway. Yikes. Where did I put those ruby slippers??

Off to a bookstore committee meeting today. We have a fair amount to cover, but I shouldn't take more than an hour of their time.

I was a bad girl yesterday and didn't edit one word, other than my daughter's three writing prompts. I was trying to help her prepare for her writing assessment test next week. No wonder I woke up with a headache.

I did, however, finish reading Yasmine Galenorn's three sisters trilogy. Not quite sure what to think about these. The spine says paranormal romance, but I have to tell you, the romance is more along the lines of Laurell K. Hamilton than most. Galenorn isn't as dark as Hamilton in tone, but she crosses some boundaries that most who have the romance tag on their spine don't cross. The books are about three sisters who are half fae and half human. As a result of their mixed blood, their magic is a bit wonky. This oddness tends to land them in heaps of trouble. They all live in Seattle, what is it with so many paranormals being set out there? The citizens of the Otherworld (fairyland) mix freely with us Earthside folk. They are out of the 'closet' so to speak. And that is where the conflicts arise....some bad Otherworld folk are out to invade Earthside and the three sisters are the only folks standing in the way of total annihilation.

The series has its moments, but Galenorn infuses her world with every possible paranormal element and it makes for quite a salmagundi of a story. Can you say everything but the kitchen sink?? Huge lesson to be learned there.....

The first book, "Witchling" isn't as good as the second and third..."Changeling" and "Darkling."

Final verdict, I got these from that box of paranormals at the store and I will be returning them to sell....they aren't making it to the hallowed bookcase upstairs.

friday recap

Pretty fun cover, huh? I read two books this week, this one being the second one. Finished it up last night before we sat down with the kids to watch the first Terminator movie. They watched the Sara Connor Chronicles and wanted some back story. They got a real laugh over the current governor of CA's performance.

I totally enjoyed Frost's book. Lots of action, some romance, good world building and the potential for many more stories about Cat in the future. My only complaint, the ending seemed a bit rushed and the introduction of one of Bone's vamp friends seemed a bit forced, sort of like, I need to work this guy in so he can appear in book two and three.

What I loved best was the deft way Frost combined kick ass urban fantasy with romance. Usually you get one or the other. This was a perfect blend.

In other news.....the Friends helped the Library out yesterday and all went well. We survived another week of soccer conditioning, basketball, music lessons etc. Hubby is sick...enough that he actually went to the doctor without prompting. Rare indeed.

Up for the weekend is finding and purchasing new cross trainers for the daughters, a basketball game and firming up plans for the Super Bowl party we are hosting. Who knows, I may even find some time to edit a bit. I'm off to work in the bookstore today....should be busy, Friday's have seen an increase in traffic of late.

Good weekend to all:)

gourmet junk food

After I finished reading The Book Thief I experienced that oh so rare moment of, "What do I read next?" Some books make it real difficult to move away. The book lingers like a music note in your soul. Again, I can't say enough good things about that book, but I needed to move on.

I sat down yesterday and sorted through the paranormals I bought last week at the book store and came up with a title that looked like a good 'junk food' read. Boy did I guess right. Think a big old bag of nacho cheese Doritos, followed up by a package of Oreos.

I can only imagine the excitement when Rachel Vater signed this writer....because Jeaniene Frost has got it going on in a major way. Finally a paranormal romance with the grit and mystery I'd been craving. I probably would have stayed up last night to finish "Halfway to the Grave" but the hubby is sick and my reading light was bothering him. I set the book down, snuck in a half hour of reading time this morning and have every intention of finishing this story when I get back from the library. Laundry be damned. Cat and Bones rock:)

the book thief

One of the gals I volunteer with at the bookstore gave me her copy of The Book Thief to read. After hauling it around in the van for two weeks and reading a few pages here and there, I finally managed to carve out an afternoon to sit and read that book. I knew after reading the beginning 25 pages I wanted a block of time to sit and immerse myself in the story. This isn't a book to be read in a waiting room, at a sports practice etc. This book deserves some undivided attention.



It is hard to put into words just how amazing this story is. The writing is beautiful, dare I say lyrical. The characters are incredibly vivid. The plot, one of the most 'familiar' in some ways, is delivered in a stunning way. I don't want to recap the story as in some ways I'm too close to the book to focus on how to describe in a sentence or two the plot.

Liesel is haunting me.

Buy or borrow, but find a copy and read this book. My next trip to B&N will be to purchase a copy for my house. My girls are going to read this over the summer.