I don't know nuthin' about no stinkin' internet...

I don't know nuthin' about no stinkin' internet...

I say this because I feel like a kid with my nose pressed up against the store window longing to go in and buy... whatever it is kids long to buy these days. I seem to run out of gas before I get my bottom in a chair and doing some of my favorite stuff. What's up with that? I refuse to believe that it's my age so that leaves the men in my life conspiring against me. Yes, let's go with that shall we? GG has turned into a tyrant who never lets me sit in front of the computer and demands ALL my attention.

I am feeling more energized with longer days and more sunshine and daylight hours. We'll see how it goes. I'm woefully out of the loop and have been sporadically spying lurking on some of your sites. It's sort of unbelievable that I ever posted 3-4 (or more) times a week. Or, did I ever REALLY do that?

Let's see...

1. Nose pressed against the glass? Check.

2. GG is a tyrant? Check.

3. Summer is coming and I'm elated? Double-check!

4. I totally lied about number 2? C'mon you know the answer to that one.

How 'bout this one?

Me: Babe? C'mere a minute.

Turn around. Waits. Goes to entrance of store where GG is standing.

Me: Honey, I need you to come in here and smell this and tell me if you like it.

GG: *pained deer in the headlights look* Just buy what you like.

Me: I want you to like it too. Don't you like it when I smell good?

GG: (a wise man married for almost 30 years) You always smell good.

Me: Reeeeeeeallly? Can you smell me right now?

GG: *leans in for a sniff* Yep.

Me: Okay, what do you smell?

GG: What do you mean what do I smell? I smell you...

Me: What's the scent, the frangrance...

GG: *smiles* Delectable.

Smart man, who did come inside the store and help me pick out some stuff.

Stuff you really should know...

What do you need to know? Well, for instance, Shmoo turned 20 last Friday. Can't believe that. That's him in the balloon court jester hat. Can't believe we got him to wear that at dinner. Of course, he's already moved past this birthday and is planning the big "I'm turning 21" bash for Las Vegas next year. Let's just say it's hard to keep a straight face much less discuss a trip to Vegas when one of the participants has a balloon hat on his head.

Fortunately, he wants GG and I to go, which I guess is a good thing unless it's only to pay for the whole thing. That can't be the only reason, can it? OTOH, it is a little surprising since Beanie hasn't quite forgiven us for his "family" Vegas bash. Not only did he not get drunk, (Is THAT really necessary or am I dating myself by even mentioning that?) I don't think he bought or drank any alcohol that weekend. Needless to say Shmoo has different ideas for his birthday debauchery party. Thankfully it's a year away and if the college gods are listening it will be just weeks before Beanie (finally!) graduates from college.

Speaking of Beanie... The dear boy is always up to something. His latest shenanigans include a radio show called "Geek say what?" Yes you read that right. GEEK SAY WHAT? The link is to their facebook page. The little darlings in true geek fashion have gone to a whole rash of Comic Con events around the state and have interviews and other geek type stuff up. I believe they also have links to podcasts of their radio show. I'll tell you again... I never know what he's going to do next. He's thrilled that because he's on a radio show he has press passes and doesn't have to shell out for all these events. Wish I'd known that before getting he and his GF the 4-day pass to THE Comic Con in San Diego in July. Who knew?

Beanie called me on Saturday afternoon all excited because Stan Lee walked by him at a Comic Con he went to in LA. *eye roll* He was beside himself with glee. It's a goal to try and get an interview with Mr. Lee. OTOH, he was really looking forward to meeting Adam West and passed that up when he found out West was charging $50 for his autograph. I believe his words were something to the affect "Does he need money for retirement or something?" I reminded him how long ago that original Batman TV series was and how little Mr. West probably got paid.

He also told me how and I'm quoting here, how "freakin' weird" Verne Troyer, the actor who played Mini-Me, in the Austin Powers movies, is. Well duh...

In other news I've just finished re-reading Carolyn Jewel's books MY WICKED ENEMY and MY FORBIDDEN DESIRE. I needed to read something was going to be a sure thing to take my mind off real life stuff and these two books filled the ticket.

Now I'm just looking forward to getting away this coming weekend with my boyfriend. Of course as of this morning GG hadn't made any reservations. Isn't it a rule or something that if you ask your sweetie for a weekend get away you do the planning? Isn't that how it's supposed to work?

29 on the 29th

Yesterday was my 29th wedding anniversary. Trust me, if you don't have many miles on your marriage when you hit 29 years you can be struck anew with how fast the time goes. Conversely you may also be stunned at how much living you've done in what feels like a short amount of time.

Like any couple that has been together for 29 minutes much less 29 years we've had ups and downs, good times and bad, happy and sad. At the end of the day all I can say is love endures. Love endures AND it helps to have a sense of humor. Oh and it didn't hurt that I married a man that "gets" me and loves me anyway. That's a big plus. Thanks GG you are the best man a woman could ever hope to spend her life with. Thank you for loving me even when I forget to buy you an anniversary card.

I'm over at Access Romance Readers Gab today. Come over and see what I have to say about passion and music.

Me, GG and a little book called SKIN GAME

After a fun time at the Tim McGraw concert GG and I decided to take today off and just be together. We love doing that. You might be wondering why I'm sitting here writing this post?

Isn't it obvious? I'm sneaking this in.

Because I bitch night and day about my phone GG told me we are going to buy me a new one today.

Me: I don't think so.

GG: I'm sick of you bitching about your phone.

Me: We are spending a gazillion dollars on new heat and air unit. I can wait.

GG: Well I can't. You are getting a new phone.

Isn't that bullying? I think it is.

Moving on to a trip to my favorite Borders...

Me: I'm just going to look for a couple of books.

GG: Riiiiight. I'm going to get a cup of coffee, want anything.

Me: Nope. (making a bee line for the romance section)

Perhaps 10 minutes goes by.

GG: I leave you for a few minutes and look at you.

Me: *frantically juggling about 7 books* Yep.

GG: What are you doing with another copy of SKIN GAME?

Me: I gave all my others away and I want to send my sister WarriorM a copy.

GG: You should write the author and let her know you buy a copy every time you're at the book store. *walks away shaking his head*

Me: Hey! I do not... and... she probably knows!

Yeah not my best come back. Who's he to talk?! HE is reading MY copy as we speak.

Random

Lots of work at the salt mines this week. Remember my comment that you always pay for the short work week? I hate when I'm right.
(Not really. I actually love it when I'm right. Aren't you? Heh.)

Did anybody see the season finale of RESCUE ME? We watched it over the long weekend. Holy crap! Right?

I went swimming for the first time in 3 weeks yesterday morning. It was glorious. The water temperature verged on bath water which is a tad warm for lap swimming, but I can't complain. Really. Can't. Nothing beats the sheer happiness of getting back in the water.

I'm currently reading Christine Feehan's latest. I'm about half way through it and am feeling sort of 'meh' about it. Anybody else reading it?

Instead of finishing my August reading list, which at this rate I'll post sometime in November, I watched THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB for about the sixth time. It's not a spectacular movie particularly, but I get hooked by it every time.

Okay here goes, after more than 15 years at the same nail salon I'm making a change. Why am I writing about it? Well, it's sort of a big deal to me because I'm a very loyal person. Not to mention I still really like the person who did my nails, I just don't like the shop any more. I've been stewing about making the change for months and finally made the leap. Did I mention I haven't really told the people at the old shop yet? They called yesterday and I sort of dodged telling them. I know. I'm a coward.

Color me stunned. Did not see that coming.

Last night getting ready for bed GG is thinking this...

While I'm thinking this...

and this...

But THIS is what really happened.

Ahhhhh...marriage, ya gotta love it.

Hats & Horns all around!

August 6, 2005 this blog was born. Of course if you read that first post you see that NOBODY ASKED ME had a predecessor which I inadvertently deleted after three posts. Let's just say I've learned a lot since then.

Four years. It's gone by so fast and so much as changed in in my life and in Romancelandia. There are a lot more of us out here for one thing. My tbr is 250 books as opposed to a half dozen or so. I've met so many incredible and wonderful people, readers, writers and bloggers alike. I can't believe I have two trips to RWA under my belt. Two trips that totally would NOT HAVE HAPPENED if I hadn't met the people I have out here in blogland.

My "real" life is a lot different in many ways as well. I work full time at a different place, my two sons have graduated from high school and started college. I weigh less. I swim 2-3 times a week... Just a lot of stuff has changed.

Actually I probably would have forgotten all about my blogiversary, but I'm feeling a bit reflective today. Today, August 9th, would have been my Mom's 77th birthday. It's so odd to realize she's been gone 5 years. I think she'd get a real kick out of my blogging life though.

There is one constant in my life. GG. Such a gift that guy is. He makes me laugh, cry, and shriek in equal measure. He's interesting to talk to and he thinks I'm nifty. It boggles, it truly does.

What a guy. What a life! Such bounty I have.

The Best Mother's Day Gift

It's not news that the best gifts often don't come with wrapping paper and ribbon.  Earlier this week my son Beanie called to ask me my plans for the weekend.  I reminded my absent-minded son that his Dad and I were going out of town for the 1/2 marathon.

The original plan was for our whole little family to go.  We even invited the girlfriends, but the our plans got derailed when we realized it was Mother's Day weekend and the girls wanted to (understandably!) be with their Moms. Beanie then got his job at Disney and would be working part of the weekend.  Shmoo said he would go with us, gladly.  So all was not lost, just a new plan.

Last weekend at the Relay for Life event we found out that Shmoo's friend who was going to watch Emily for us had a scheduling conflict with his work. This week we couldn't find anyone else to stay at the house either. Shmoo opted to stay home so we wouldn't have the expense of kenneling Em or just leaving her by herself and only staying one night at the race.  Not great, but practical.

I was wondering aloud to GG on our drive to the race destination how our trip got to be so different than we originally planned.  I told GG I felt bad when Beanie called because he found out he was off on Saturday, his GF was working and he had planned to come home and stay over on Friday because he wasn't working until Saturday evening.  GG shook his head because Bean is notorious for forgetting what's going on.  Anyway, I told GG I felt a little bit guilty and bummed out that I wasn't home with my kids when they made an effort to spend time with me for Mother's Day.

Now you all know from this blog that I spend time with my sons frequently. Even with Beanie 90 miles away at school, we see him at least once a month and talk on the phone several times a week. Obviously, it's not like I never seem him. Shmoo still lives with us and is a part of our daily lives, but it's Mother's Day weekend and I felt weird not being with them.

But guilt knows no logic.  The guilt got a little worse when I spoke with Shmoo late yesterday afternoon and he seemed a little down.  No plans for a Friday night, home by himself with only Emily for company.  Okay it doesn't sound so bad when you are my age, but when you are 19 it pretty much sucks.

About an hour later Bean called.  He had called his brother (on his own!) and decided if he couldn't be with me, he would go spend time with his brother and stay over and they could hang out.

It's just the best gift I could ever receive.  While I still feel sad to miss a Mother's Day with the boys, knowing that they are there for each other is just, well, I have no words.

Born to Run...

Well GG is anyway... Born to run I mean.  If there is one thing I don't get though, it's running.  I admire it.  The beauty and the discipline of it are awe-inspiring, but I sure don't get someone wanting to beat up their body like that.  

Anyway, we are off to the Central Valley for a half marathon. GG is running with the Road Warriors, my sister's group, to raise money for WWP. I told you about this a few times recently. Anyway we are off for the weekend. 

So much for all my resolve to keep current with the blog.  *sigh*  I have, however, already done my May re-read for Nath's challenge. Not telling what it is either... There's a couple more clouds with silver lining for the weekend, since GG insists on doing all the driving that means lots of reading time in the car for me. Wa-hoo! Plus I get to see my sister and The Stair Steps.  That's always a hoot.

Oh yeah, here's a nugget of news for you to chew on. I bought a recent release in a series that I said I was D-O-N-E with.  Can you guess what it is? I plan to put up a review of it next week. 

Guess what else?! I went to see the new STAR TREK movie last night with GG, Shmoo and Shmoo's GF.  Here's my review:  Fun movie!  I don't think you have to be a trekkie to enjoy it, but Trekkies will be in heaven.  On the other hand, the director JJ Abrams has sort of reinvented the wheel here too.  The movie is well cast, action packed and just plain fun to watch.

Gotta finish packing now so I better get going. I'm bringing the new laptop with me so who knows, I may end up getting in some blog-time in this weekend.

Have a great Mother's Day!

And now for the News...

Yes, it's St. Paddy's Day. Since I'm mostly Italian I didn't grow up celebrating this holiday much. No big parties. No green beer.

When we adopted Shmoo we found out he's of Irish heritage which he loves to carry on (and on) about. He thinks it's very significant. That said when I was making pasta salad for the St. Paddy's potluck at work today, Shmoo chimed in with a "It's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow?" Ain't he somethin'?

I can't remember why I was telling you all that. To wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day? Probably. Let's go with that, shall we?

In other news, you may have noticed in the comments yesterday that Wendy the Super Librarian and I have purchased our airline tickets for Washington DC. Yippy, yappy and yahooey! Now it's real. Four more months. Since we are two and a half months into 2009 already, that's not that far away. Am I crazy or does it seem like it was just Christmas?

Beanie is officially working at Disneyland. He's a submarine driver on the Finding Nemo ride. He's also registered with an agent to do extra work and maybe, just maybe possibly get some work in commercials. What can I say, the boy's a big dreamer. He's also finally found a "good artist" to draw his comic book idea. I think this makes a total of 4 people collaborating on it now. Of course, I'm constantly asking motherly questions like, "And, how's school doing?"

Like most college kids he's burning the candle at both ends but seems to be thriving. I'm happy for him. Please Lord, one more year to graduation.


Shmoo is rethinking his commitment to the fire service. The kid I had to nudge, push and shove through his senior year of high school actually likes college. He announced to us over the weekend he thinks he will go ahead and get his 4-year degree. While I'd love to send up the halleluias I know his mind and attitudes changes with the weather. OTOH, I'd be a liar if I didn't say it made me happy that he's even considering a degree. It was a brief moment of bliss to think that maybe, just maybe some of the stuff we've been drilling into his head talking to him about since he started kindergarten has stuck.

GG has had some rocky roads and tough transitions at work lately, not the least of which was a co-worker being struck and killed by a truck in the freight yard where he works. The truck driver was where he was supposed to be, the co-worker in the correct crossing area, they just didn't see each other. Horrible, horrible accident. Knocked my GG a bit off kilter. His words to me, "You just never know what a day will bring. All the guy wanted to do was go to work to take care of his family." I love my husband. I really do.

Day one of my new job? Pretty darn good. Of course the transition is nothing like being brand new at a company. I know all the people and routine. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be in my very own office. I got all kinds of keys today. That's one of those things you don't know how to feel about. Good=They trust me. Bad=Crap! They trust ME? Yes, this is my internal dialogue. It's so fun. NOT.

I didn't make my bed today. It was liberating because I didn't think about it once and got home and was surprised by the unmade bed. Okay you probably don't think it's significant, but if you've been reading my blog for awhile you know that it was b-i-g for me.

I'm walking. I'm swimming. I'm trying going to lose more weight before DC. Although I've pretty much conceded that if I want to read and blog I'll probably be sleeping less.

I told GG sleeping was overrated. He said, "Not when you aren't getting any." I hate it when he's right. And gets the last word.

All about GG

I saw this on Holly's personal blog and decided to give my man GG the spotlight and see if I know as much as much about him after all these years as Holly does about MM.


1. He’s sitting in front of the TV. What is on the screen?
The Biggest Loser. He loves that darn show. He hates to miss it and loves the machinations.

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
If he's not 'in training' for some run, honey mustard. Otherwise he might get fat free Italian...on the side of course.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
Peanut butter. Unless it's in cookies. Weird, no?

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Wine. Usually red.

5. Where did he go to high school?
Oh-hi-oh.

6. What size shoe does he wear?
10 1/2 DD. Fuh-reaky wide feet.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Maps. He loves Atlas, old maps and globes.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?!
Turkey & provolone

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Ice cream. He rarely eats it because he's always watching his weight, but he loves ice cream.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Kashi Autumn Wheat

11. What would he never wear?
He avoids color, so anything bright or colorful...not happening.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Poor sap mostly grew up in Ohio so he likes the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians. He's far from an avid fan, but he follows them.

13. Who did he vote for?
He's a republican who for the first time in his life voted for a democrat for President. He can hardly believe it himself.

14. Who is his best friend?
Me. Then, maybe, Jack Joe from college.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
I wanted to steal Holly's answer of "How much time you got?" But that's no fair and sort of boring. So I'll go with, he wishes with a burning passion that I would just leave the house when we are going somewhere and not want to do "one more thing" before we walk out the door.

16. What is his heritage?
English & Scottish

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
German chocolate.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Baseball.

19. What could he spend hours doing?
He graphs his training and has a diary. He comes up with all sorts of stuff to keep track of. It's amazing and more than a little nerdy.

20. What is one unique talent he has?
Makes me believe over and over again that we can do anything as long as we are together.

Cause a Sensation

Okay it's my Readers Gab day over at Access Romance. Some seriously smart chickies blog there and what to write each month is always a struggle.

Well, not so much today. Go read how GG helped me out this month. *eye roll*

Running, Warriors, My Baby Sister

What do these three things have in common? Well in an effort to get in shape my youngest sister started running last year. You may recall she did a half marathon with a bunch of her girlfriends and my main squeeze GG.

They all had such a great time that most of them are doing it again this year. Some of the group are new and others returning. Only this year as an incentive they are going to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

They have also set up a blog so they can let their friends, family and sponsors know what the group is up to. It's called Road Warriors. WarriorM is the leetle seesteer. Hopefully they will soon have their Wounded Warrior PayPal account set up so if you were so inclined you could stop by and sponsor them. It's a win-win. You get to contribute to a worthy cause knowing you were also inspiring people to get fit by running.

Here's Lil Miss Speedy otherwise known as WarriorM. She's gonna kill me when she sees I posted this.

Speedy WarriorM and GG at the half marathon last year.

WarriorM and the every amazing CSR, her military man. She cleans up pretty good, don't ya think?

So that's my pitch. I hope you'll stop by their blog and the Wounded Warrior sites and check it all out.

For Nath & Steadman

Here is Igor nekkid. Without the life saving and embarrassment sparing pancake makeup. It is much, much lighter in color than it was yesterday. However Operation Love Bite, or HIDE THE FREAKING HICKEY! is still on.

Steadman? Nath? Happy now?

I'm off to try and finish my tbr read for tomorrow.

Ruh-Roh Reggie...

I planned to start this with the definition of 'mortified'. Instead I will start by saying GG is in A-LOT... TREMENDOUS LOT... of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

GG is the root, the source, the very essence of my mortification. GG is the one who left a love bite, otherwise known as a hickey on my neck. The neck that is exposed in most of the clothing I wear. The neck that is exposed because it is so short that I rarely wear (or own) collared tops. The neck that has a bright purple bruise on it the size of a half dollar. Yes, mes enfants this is no 'oops I got carried away by passion' little red smudge this is a whopper of a HICKEY ON MY NECK!

So this is my S-O-S. Any ideas? Thoughts? Advice? I'm not speaking to GG. He had the nerve to laugh when I called him this morning and told him what I found on my neck. My only reprieve is that I was off today for Columbus Day, but I have to go to work tomorrow.

By all that's holy it's not like I've never had a hickey before. I have. You know little tiny raspberries that are gone in half a day. But nothing and I mean NOTHING like this monstrosity. I'm livid. Embarrassed doesn't begin to cover my mortification. I'm not exaggerating either. Although it occurs I sound slightly hysterical at this point.

So, you might be wondering why am I exposing this on my very public blog? Well, with the exception of Luann, no one at work reads my blog AND I need your help.

Does anyone have any cure for hickeys? Remedies to make it go away fast? Something. Anything. Well, anything other than the requisite half pound of pancake makeup that is currently smeared over my friend 'Igor the love bite'.

You have no idea, well Holly might since MM is a cop, how merciless fire fighters, et al, will be if they catch the slightest wind or sight of this thing. My life will be unbearable for the foreseeable future.

Boys suck. No pun intended.

***ETA*** I think the hot and cold treatment has helped because the bright purple bruise seems to have faded quite a bit. Keep your fingers crossed that with the spackle pancake make-up covering it I might pass muster. One can hope.

The Center of the Universe

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
~Kahlil Gibran

My life is changing. Again. Life does that. These expected and anticipated changes. You logically know they are going to happen, yet somehow when they arrive it's sort of a surprise. Beanie moving out was not a surprise. It was planned. He was ready. We were ready. It was time. Yet now it seems so odd not to have him living under the same roof. That part was a surprise.

It felt wrong that overnight all those years of care and worry, the daily watering and care of my children, was just over. Done. Don't get me wrong. The move was a good thing. Beanie is doing great. Shmoo is doing great. It's just weird not to have to be on watch. Know what I mean?

In all honesty, I am a little melancholy. It's the passing of another stage of my life. For so many years the boys have been the center of the universe for GG and I. Thank goodness we live in a time where the internet and cell phones make our loved ones so close and accessible. I'd probably be a real mess otherwise.

Anyway, lately GG and I find ourselves at home together. Without kids. This is like one of the premier best kept secrets about being an (almost) empty nester. Alone in your very own house without the kids! I have to say it's pretty freaking awesome. Hey, maybe that's why I'm not reading more??? I swear it's better than going away for the weekend because you get to be together AND sleep in your own bed.

Most fortunately we still enjoy each other's company. I'm so grateful we have so much to talk about every day. Laugh about. Complain about. We can be quiet together. We swim and walk together. It's pretty cool.

Snap!

Just like that the planets and life have realigned. We now have a new center of the universe. Each other. So, I figure, what's not to like? Change is good. Right?

And Shmoo lives just down the hall and Beanie is only 50 miles away.

1 Hour 59 minutes 47 seconds...

GG had a fantastic run on a surprisingly demanding course. He did a half marathon in central California. His goal was to do it in 2 hours and beat his previous time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. I'm here to tell you he completed his 13.1 miles in 1 hour 59 minutes and 47 seconds. Yes, 13 seconds to spare and he met his goal. That's my man. A planner AND an achiever. Gotta love that.

I did read this weekend. Two saucy books.

The first one I tried was HOT PROPERTY by Susan Johnson. Ummm... This was disappointing. I hadn't heard anything about the book. Unless, Kate is this the one you were talking about at RWA? Anyway, I'm two-thirds through it and not much interested in finishing it. I used to love her historicals. Anyone remember those Russian historicals she wrote forever ago?

Eons ago I read some Anya Bast when she was writing for Ellora's Cave. Taking a quick peak at her web site I see she still writes for EC. Anyway, I hadn't tortured myself with a vamp book in a while and picked up THE CHOSEN SIN. Interesting book. It's pretty explicit but not without a decent story and two interesting characters. I have to give props to Ms. Bast for creating a pretty complete vamp futuristic and not succumbing to campiness. It was an interesting take on vampires in the future. I was sufficiently taken in that I would read another book set in this world.

So I'm feeling pretty good that I got to read this weekend. I always feel a little more like myself when I do. Reading soothes me so much. I can't believe how relaxing it is for me.

In other news the shine has definitely worn off TRUE BLOOD. I don't know why they have to be so explicit. Am I getting old? What do you all think? You've probably been talking about it and I'm clueless.

There I was standing in the morning mist this past Saturday as GG took off on his run. While I waited I decided to fire up my phone check email and the news. Even knowing he had been ill recently I was stunned to read that Paul Newman had died. It made me very sad. I adored his work in movies like THE LONG HOT SUMMER and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. Lordy. Wonderful. I admired his charitable work and success in keeping his private life...private. He never made an "easy" movie. They were all character driven and intense. It feels like the end of an era to me. My sympathy and sorrow for their loss go out to his friends and family.

If you have a few minutes you should really check this out.

This just in...

I going walkabout with GG. He has a half marathon event out of town tomorrow morning and we are leaving this afternoon. Is it wrong that I'm ecstatic to be in a car for 4 hours while he drives so I can read??? Oh well, too late, cuz I can't wait!

I'm moody because I'm out of the loop and behind on my blog hopping again. I just know you all are having fun without me. That's just more of my FOMO (fear of missing out) showing. I never claimed to be one of the cool kids. Avid, aware, observant and yes, a bit nosy. But cool? Not so much. So do me a favor and don't do anything important while I'm gone. Okey dokey?

I murdered my computer at work yesterday. I was doing a search (for work people!) and clicked a link and windows started opening everywhere and, well, it got sick and now the doctor took it away and I don't know what's going to happen. I'm hoping for some quick out-patient surgery and not a prolonged hospital stay. I'll know more later today.

So that's it. No time gotta get off to work a half day before we head out. Shmoo is guarding the fort and babysitting Emily. That's so any burglers reading this know my house is NOT empty.

More later...

A rose by any other name...

I just have to say it one more time. Sha-zaaaam but I'm feeling so much better. It's touching every part of my life too, because I'm quite perky and happy. GG is getting a kick out of it because he hasn't seen me like this for a while and he likes it when I'm "feisty".

Now I don't particularly like being referred to as "feisty". It reminds me of a poorly written book blurb telling me a heroine is kick-ass or a fire brand or a wildcat, or any of those other things word that are supposed to be telling us that this is a woman to be reckoned with. The words I've used here make me think of a heedless selfish bitch-y sort of person. Not a strong one.

My favorite heroine of late is Sirantha Jax. She's strong, tough, self-contained and hell on wheels when she's ticked off. Feisty? Wildcat? Not so much. At least not in my opinion.

So what's a word or words that is used to describe a character that you just can't stand? Is there something in a book blurb that will send you running in another direction? Tell me. Tell me.

To Sum Up

We went to Solvang on Friday. That's where the half marathon was held. My baby sister also ran in the event. It's always fun and so inspiring to go to these athletic events, but I got a tear or two watching my lee-tul seees-ter running. She was just awesome. She had hoped to finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes but surprised herself by finishing in 2 hours and 12 minutes instead. Rock on baby sis! She looks and feels great.

GG had a good run also and finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes. That was a personal best for him. So that was a very good day.

Beanie stayed home with the girlfriend to cook dinner for their anniversary. I'd left him marinara sauce and romano and parmesan cheese, a bag of salad, and whole grain pasta. It was all stuff I had in the house anyway, so he was all set. Turns out they had mac n'cheese and salad. What. Ever. I don't get it, but they apparently were very happy with their movie night and meal.

Shmoo was a little pissy about Prom. It wasn't a total disaster, but two of his friends didn't show. They came to the buses (no one is allowed to drive to the venue) but weren't dressed or ready to go. Now he thinks they probably never got tickets. I'm miffed because Shmoo was staying with my brother and no one took his picture. Yes, you read that right. NO ONE TOOK MY BABY'S PROM PICTURE! Shmoo says he doesn't care, which is fine, but I care, darn it! His prom was one of the reasons I was not going to go to the running event with GG and my sister. I thought I had everything covered. I only asked about 4 different people to take his picture figuring at least one of them would have done it for me. Nope. Not even his knucklehead brother that I threatened at least six times.

Boys! The same stuff just isnt' important to them.

So, I'm hoping this week I can get organized for graduation. I'm sort of there. We have to get the announcements out this week and I need to start the list of all the stuff I have to get done around the house for the party. Life around here the next month is going to be very interesting.

I see I have 233 posts in my Google Reader. I had whittled it down to under a 100 before I left town. What in heck is going on out there?

Do I have to mention that very little reading has been going on this past week? Yeah, didn't think so.