Birthdays, TV, and Questions

Just a quick check in. Sunday we worked at the Secret Santa for our local school kids at Wal-Mart for four hours. GG & I had our birthday on Monday. We both had the day off so that was cool. We did a little Christmas baking but mostly just enjoyed being together.

Yesterday, the 18th was my sister's birthday. Of course throw in some work, Shmoo taking his finals this week and the major holiday that's coming up in six days and you can see life's been pretty full. Not that I imagine it's been any less for all of you.

I have TEMPTED (by Megan Hart) sitting on my desk waiting for me to write the review. I hope to have that up. Tomorrow? Maybe?

Some quick questions for you.

1. Did anyone see the BIGGEST LOSER finale last night? Didn't Julie look awesome? Those twins kicked some booty didn't they? GG predicted they would both be the winners. Of course as soon as you saw them it was pretty obvious they'd done well. Sheesh. 51% of their body fat. They are literally half the person they used to be. Julie too. Neil looks like a completely different person. I bet people he used to know don't even recognize him.

2. Okay, how about ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS? I think they did a good job with the chipmunks. They were so cute. Of course stupid script, but we enjoyed it. We ended up going with our boys, both girlfriends and one other of Beanie's friends. That was lots of fun. Worth seeing for cute factor and nostalgia, but if you aren't into that...wait for the DVD.

3. Have you tried some new fantastic Christmas treat? I have! One of my co-workers brought in chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. I've had other versions of this cookie before, but these were just the right amount of chocolate and not overwhelming with the peanut butter chips. Since I sit at the end of the cubicle row she wanted to leave them on my filing cabinet. Uh, yeah...NO! Way too much temptation.

My list of Twelve Books I Can't Wait for in 2008 is up at TGTBTU or Sybil's as I refer to it. Paranormals, historicals, westerns... Huh, imagine that. Of course it starts off with TEMPTED. Yeah, yeah, I'll post up my review. Really, I will.

Take care out there. It's busy and crazy.

Thinking, TV, brownies, but no reading...

Life is busy. Are you sick of my saying that? Well I'm sick of me saying that. Things just seem to be on fast forward all of a sudden. I haven't read since I posted on Monday. But I want to thank you all for your great suggestions, it got my curiosity sparked and I'm interested in a couple of things.

The possibilities are varied. My next possible reads:

BLOODFEVER by Karen Marie Moning

LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS by CL Wilson

THE HORSEMAN by Jillian Hart

MAD DASH by Patricia Gaffney

One of the books in my TBR by Karen Rose

I had a grand time making the rounds today. I laughed quite a bit. Here are some posts worth checking out if you haven't already:

Zeek's post had a cute Christmas message. Loved it. I only wish I could actually send it in a card. Lisabea's post answering Sarah McCarty's ice breaker questions from eHarlequin was great, witty, clever and funny. Sarah had some really, really great questions. I'd love to use them at a SoCal Blogger meet up.

I also really enjoyed and got a hoot out of Jennifer Crusie's post. When you get to the part about the commune...well just be prepared. And finally, I'm tooting my own horn a little bit here, because she refers to a conversation we had at lunch on Monday, but check out SL Wendy's post about how an oldie might not be a goodie any more.

While I haven't done any more reading since last I posted, I did catch HEROES on Monday night. Isn't it always the way? Right after I complain how the series has pretty much sucked this season the last two episodes have rocked. I always know the series is cooking when my family is discussing and debating theories two days later. Shmoo is completely disgusted with my thoughts (Adam is a bad guy and tricking Peter) and has quite a theory of his own. It's loaded with lots of conjecture and subplots. I can't believe how much time and conversation we've devoted to the topic.

I'm thinking some of my malaise might be due to only going swimming once last week. Once your body gets used to a regular workout and you stop I think the muscles are talking to the bones and the bones to the heart and the heart to the brain and they all want to know why the hell they aren't getting any exercise. GG and I are back on the bandwagon this week. Who knew one week off would make such a difference?

Final note. We watched BIGGEST LOSER last night. Before I continue, I want to point out this is NOT a TV show I would ordinarily seek out and watch. However, once you tune-in it is morbidly fascinating and compelling. Go figure. Which is really curious for me because for the most part I can't stand any of the reality shows. Anyway, show of hands...was anyone else as thrilled as we were to see Amy go last night? Halleluia!! Although kudos to her for her end of show 'how they are doing now' segment where it showed she lost 100 pounds. I give credit where it's due even to lying, scheming witches.

Remember my post on the fabulous brownies? Well, I've made them several more times and they are still fabulous and yummy. Why mention them now? I'm chewing chocolatey goodness as I type this.