I really like...

1. Sitting in bed typing on my laptop.

2. Friday nights with nothing to do.

3. Swiss cheese on a cracker topped with a slice of kosher dill pickle. (Vlasic Stackers! *crunch*crunch*)

4. GG bringing me coffee in bed every morning.

5. To have this band aid off my nose and my procedure scheduled. I'm not known for being patient.

6. Reading. I've been missing it and plan to do lots of it this weekend.

7. My two sons. They couldn't be more different if I'd planned it that way, but they make me laugh almost every day.

8. My $5 blue denim Sketcher slip-ons with the bright pink peace symbol on them.

9. The absolutely scrumptious dark chocolate Starbucks Espresso Truffles. Yum-o!

Ain't life grand?

The Junk Drawer & An Award

I don't really have a junk drawer. My sister forbid it years ago. She pulled open the catch-all drawer in my kitchen gasped and said something like, "You can't have a messy drawer like this. You always have everything so organized." It was a call to arms hidden in an intervention.

Anyway, I told you that just so I could say, I don't have a junk drawer. BUT, if I did, this particular post is the equivalent of what my only imaginary, not real, junk drawer would look like.

See how messy things are already and I've hardly started. So FWIW, here goes.

Remember that saying, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"? My good intentions were to keep up with the posting and blogging once I returned from RWA. Apparently the universe had other ideas. I came home from RWA and promptly had the mother of all flare ups with my rheumatoid arthritis. Well, a mother of a flare up for me. Anyway one swollen & drained knee later I'm "fit as fiddle and ready for love".

(Don't you just love Singin' in the Rain?)

However, it did throw a major crimp into my good intentions seeing as how I had a leg propped up and was a sleep for at least half the week last week. For a brief moment Wednesday night I did throw myself a bit of a pity party imagining that I wouldn't be able to wear this dress...

or stand in these shoes...


What do you think? Should I go with red shoes to match the dress or stick with the silver?

Anyway, I chased those blues away because the knee is good. Mostly. New meds, good knee. I should be all kinds of awesome by August 15th when I will stand for approximately 20 minutes straight in those killer shoes to marry my niece and her fiance. Promptly following the ceremony I plan to change into something that won't cripple and disfigure my feet for life.

You know why?

Dancin' baby! Dancin'! It only takes a little coaxing and a few lurid false promises to get GG on the dance floor. What can I do but take advantage of the poor man? He just plain likes it so much.

Oh, and now that I feel better, I'm out in Romancelandia again too. Feels good. Mucho good. So, you know, HELLO EVERYBODY!

I'm lifting a glass of my favorite bar beverage to Ms. Lisabea who gave me an award in the guise of yet another call to arms disguised as an intervention.

Here's to you LB. Mwah!

Le Award

The Kreativ rules state that: Once you receive this award you are to list seven of your favorite things and then nominate seven other blogs.


1. Chocolate cake - it has to be moist and not be slathered in frosting.

2. A bright sunshiney day without wind. You have to live where I do to appreciate this.

3. Swimming. I feel so powerful and strong moving through the water.

4. Coffee. Slightly (a lot) addicted.

5. Buying presents. I love the feeling when I know I've gotten just the right thing for someone.

6. That moment every night when I lay my head on GG's shoulder and sigh. We just fit.

7. Books, of course. They've brought so much joy into my life not only in the pleasure of reading, but now with all the friends I've made.

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.

Shmoo Talk

I stole this from Angie who borrowed it from her friend Penny. Sure my sons are lots older, but it was fun asking Shmoo (age 18) these questions. Lori? I'd love to see what your guys would answer.

Before I continue, let me set the scene for this little experiment. It was Sunday morning, Shmoo's GF was over and they were fixing breakfast. Fixing breakfast that involved them cooking. French toast. Enter Mom (me) sitting at counter and asking Shmoo these questions as he is cooking turkey bacon and whisking eggs for scrambled eggs.

Oh, and one more note. He didn't even question me or balk at answering. Cooking diversion and the GF are my friends. Heh.

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
You'll succeed no matter what.

2. What makes your mom happy?
When me and my brother don't fight.

3. What makes your mom sad?
When me and my brother DO fight and when I make racist jokes.
*head desk* (Ed. Note: He knows it really, really bugs me, so of course he does it.)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When she thinks she's funny.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don't know. I wasn't alive. She bossed around my uncles.
(Ed. Note: I have sisters too, but he didn't mention them. Hmmm...)

6. How old is your mom?
54

7. How tall is your mom?
Short

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Read. No wait... Work.

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
Hell if I know. Probably work.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Diplomacy

11. What is your mom really good at?
She's good at having random conversations with people and giving advice.

GF: Your Mom is good at loving you just the way you are.

(Ed. Note: Isn't she awesome?! I'm keeping her even if he doesn't.)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Being mean to people.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
A lot of different stuff. Coordinate stuff.

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
I don't know. What is your favorite food? Spaghetti?

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
She raised me and didn't kill me.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Uh... (turns to GF) what's the name of the nice Power Puff girl? You know, the leader with the red hair?
GF: I don't know who you're talking about.
Shmoo: Her. You'd be her, the red haired one.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
I do her shredding at work. (Laughs) We talk when I come home at night.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We are the only two funny people in the family.

19. How are you and your mom different?
I'm A LOT funnier. I'm arrogant.
(Ed. Note: Amen to the arrogant comment!)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Cuz she hasn't kicked me out yet.

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
*tcha* *eye roll* The bookstore. You really going to put this on your blog?

Me: *Tcha* *Eye roll* Yes!

Nothing feels better than...

...catching up on blog hopping and clearing out ye olde google reader.

...finishing a satisfying book.

...a clean house and the laundry being caught up.

...being home alone with a good book, a perfect piece of dark chocolate, a non-fat venti latte.

...the feeling I get moving through the water.

...seeing fewer pounds on the scale.

...the realization of how many people I have to love in my life.

...hearing the perfect song at the perfect time while driving.

...being wrapped in GG's arms.

...a good night's sleep.

...knowing I have friends. Good ones.

...a SoCal blogger get together.

I just listed whatever came out my fingertips and popped in my head.

What about you? Don't think too hard, just let 'er rip. List your 'Nothing feels better than...' list in the comments.

I HEART YOUR BLOG (I do. I really really do!)

Earlier in the week Stacy from Scooper Speaks nominated me for the I heart your blog award. Thanks again scoop. You're a sweetie.

The rules for this award are that you need to:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4) Add links to those blogs on your blog

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

Limiting this to 7 blogs is killer. You can see the many and varied places I visit on my sidebar. Following in Stacy's footsteps, I'm not going to nominate anyone who I know already has been nominated.

1. Post Secret
2. Diary of an Adult Runaway
3. Argh Ink (Jennifer Crusie's site)
4. Super Librarian
5. Nose in a Book
6. Meljean Brook
7. The Boob Tube

Zapped by Zeek!

Zeek got me!

This is a meme that is pretty easy to get into and requires very little effort. It's also timely as I just finished the "nearest book".

Here are the rules:
Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions.

Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the closest. Tag five other people to do the same.

"He would have taken an army if you asked him to conquer a town. He could not take one to conquer a mulberry tree. He says he has no honor, but you can see that's not true."

~THE LION'S BRIDE by Iris Johansen

I just finished reading LION'S BRIDE. It's still good. It was originally published in 1996 and holds up well. There was an excerpt of Ms. Johansen's new historical coming out in December 2008 in the back of the re-release of TLB. It looks like THE TREASURE is Kadar and Selene's story. Finally.

I'm not tagging anyone, but I like these kinds of memes because I'm always curious about what everyone is reading. So if you likey, join us AND let me know.

One word meme

I don't remember who tagged me. It's been that sort of week. But I found this in my edits and was in the mood so here's my one word meme:

You're feeling: cranky
To your left: scrapbooking table
On your mind: Shmoo's date
Last meal included: an apple
You sometimes find it hard to: stand firm with your children
The weather: warm, sunny, twilight
Something you have a collection of: boxes (no not the cardboard kind little jewelry, porcelain kind)
A smell that cheers you up: the crook of GG's neck
A smell that can ruin your mood: stinky sweaty boy room
How long since you last shaved: two days
The current state of your hair: do you really want to talk about my hair?
The largest item on your desk/workspace (not computer): printer
Your skill with chopsticks: decent
Which section you head for first in a bookstore: romance
Something you're craving: tacos
Your general thoughts on the presidential race: doom
How many times have you been hospitalized this year: zip-o
Favorite place to go for a quiet moment: bedroom
You've always secretly thought you'd be a good: lawyer
Something that freaks you out a little: just a little freaked? roadkill
Something you've eaten too much of lately: chicken
You have never: cheated
You never want to: stop exercising again

More Stuff About...What Else...Me!

Wendy, dear Super Librarian, tagged me for this last week. I'm barely coming down from my weekend high of visiting sisters and bloggers so I need all the help I can get for my posts this week. I'm still recovering! Let me just say, euphoria is exhausting. You heard it here first folks. We always do our part to educate the public here at Nobody Asked Me...


4 Jobs I've Had:
Doughnut maker (My first day was a bit like Lucy's at the candy factory)
Property Manager
Legal Secretary
Go-fer (first job!)

4 Movies I've Watched Over and Over
Bridget Jones Diary
Pride & Prejudice
Singin' in the Rain
The Quiet Man

4 Places I've Lived
Yokota, Japan
Sembach, Germany
Anaconda, Montana
Colorado Springs, Colorado

4 Shows I Watch
Rescue Me
Law & Order: SVU
Heroes
In Treatment

4 Places I've Been
New York, New York
Key West, FL
Paris, France
Savannah, GA

4 Things I Love To Eat
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mango
Pasta
Sweet Potatoe French Fries

4 Places I'd Rather Be
Greek Islands
Aruba
Scotland
St Simons Island

4 Things I Look Forward To
Time alone (any where, any time)with GG
A great book
A trip with my sisters
My sons graduating from college

If this looks fun. Go for it. But let me know. While I'm never all that anxious to do memes I love reading what everyone else writes.

THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Here's the answers to my earlier post. I put them in the comments too, but it's pretty long for comments.

I lived in Japan for 3 years. TRUE! I'm a military brat and we were stationed in Japan during my 6, 7, and 8th grades.

I type 85 words a minute. TRUE!

I met my husband in Colorado TRUE! I lived there he lived in Ohio and his company was doing business with my company, and the rest is history as they say.

I bit Shmoo when he was 3 years old. TRUE! He bit everyone and everything and wouldn't stop. He bit kids at his day care. One day he bit his brother and broke the skin. In desperation I picked up his arm and bit him. Not hard, but I bit him. He never bit anyone again. True story.

I stayed up for 72 hours straight to finish Beanie's scrapbook. TRUE! Sadly. I get driven to finish a project by a certain date and come hell or high water it's going to get done.

What's the lie?

I went to Catholic school for 8 years. FALSE! Nope only one year. The fourth grade. Remember I said I was a military brat? We moved around a lot. So no 8 years of nuns for me.

One of These Is Not Like The Other...or Because I Love Devonna Part Deux

I'm working on my abysmally short January reading list. Hopefully it will be put up over the weekend sometime. In the meanwhile, here's another meme I was tagged for by the Mighty Devonna. A woman who sets a goal and then beats it, bags it and stomps it to the ground. Go Devonna!

The dealio here is to share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. The twist here is, one of the statements is a lie! You have to guess which one and let me know in comments. I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to do this one, go for it.

Here we go:

I went to Catholic school for 8 years

I lived in Japan for 3 years

I type 85 words a minute

I met my husband in Colorado

I bit Shmoo when he was 3 years old

I stayed up for 72 hours straight to finish Beanie's scrapbook

So what do you think?

7 Things Meme...Because I love Devonna

Haven't I blathered about all my weirdness already? I don't know if I can think of 7 things you don't already know.

1. I like stuff put away. I like every single thing in my home having it's own spot and place to be "put away". I've always been this way. OTOH, I have had a scrap booking table up (it's organized, but still) in my office for a year now. What tha'?

2. I hate my hair. I used to have thick hair. Now I have thin straight hair. It doesn't do anything I want it to do. It takes too much time for too little results. I. Hate. My. Hair. I want SL Wendy's hair. It's bouncy, shiny and thick. Gorgeous hair. I probably want YOUR hair. I just don't want mine. At all. In any color or any length. I. Hate. My. Hair.

3. Did I say this one before? I'm a cradle Catholic. I went faithfully for 45 years of my life to the Catholic Church. Then there was a personal incident with one of my family members. As incidents go it was a small thing. Before you begin to think it's altar boy related...it was my sister and she was a choir director. Anyway, it was sort of a straw and camel thing. I was so disgusted by that incident I just couldn't bring myself to go to Mass any more. I've turned into one of those people that shudders at the mention of organized religion. I used to be one of the people espousing that change can only come from the good people working within the Church. No more. All gone and all done.

4. My name is Rosie and I cry. I weep. I bawl my eyes out. Hallmark commercial? I cry. Poignant moment in a book. I joyously weep. Someone dies in a movie? I bawl my eyes out. You get the idea. Just about anything (and everything) can bring a tear to my eye. I used to struggle valiantly to hide my affliction. But now, well, it's just who I am. So I cry. So what?

5. Oatmeal is a comfort food. I adore that there is instant oatmeal that I can cook and have ready to eat in approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds. Who can argue with that? Love it.

6. My husband drives me crazy. Okay so I'm not the first woman to mention this. And, since I may have mentioned what a swell guy he is a time or two or seven, it probably won't seem too random or much of a surprise when I tell you this next thing too. I really, really like him. I enjoy his company and he makes me laugh. Who knew? I mean you get married and dream and believe, but after a few of life's curve balls, a couple of kids, the loss of some dear ones you realize you've weathered some storms together and that you done good in this one big thing in life. Some how I managed to pick up the yoke and harness of life with the right person. So, yay me? See how I brought that full circle back to me?

7. I get a pedicure every two weeks. It's in our budget. It's in our budget as long as I'm working. When I'm not working I'm probably NOT getting a pedicure every two weeks. You catching a trend here? I work so that I can buy books and get pedicures and my nails done and my hair done. I guess that makes me...spoiled? Loved? One damn lucky chickadee? Whatever you want to call it, I have me some shiny tootsies every two weeks.

I wasn't planning to add this, but right now Shmoo is playing SWING SWING by the All American Rejects on acoustic guitar. It's just sublime to have beautiful live music in the house.

Happy Holidays from Book Binge

So those magnificent wenches at BOOK BINGE, Holly, Rowena, Isabel and Casee are having a wang-doodle of a contest this month. Go check it out. All you have to do is answer a few Christmas-y questions.

Then on January 5th they'll draw a name from all the participants to win an Ebookwise. Now I've been talking about buying one of these babies for the past three months and been hinting for one from Santa. However, since GG and I bought the new TV for ourselves getting one as a surprise from Santa is out of the question. So woo-hoo for this contest and a chance to win one!

Christmas Meme:

1. What is your favorite Christmas romance to re-read each year? I don't re-read it each year, but by far my favorite Christmas romance is by Marilyn Pappano called, A Season for Miracles. There's a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie by the same name too.

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie/show? This is a toughie. Ummm...White Christmas, it's a musical and I'm a sucker for that. Oh, and also Sleepless in Seattle. I know it's not a traditional Christmas movie, but since it starts out at Christmas time I always associate it with Christmas. I have to give an honorable mention to It's a Wonderful Life, The Muppet Christmas Carol and more recently Elf because my boys love them and watch them every year.





3. What is your favorite Christmas cookie? It's an Italian cookie we make on a pizzelle iron. Americans call the cookie pizzelle. My Italian grandmother called them congelati.

4. When do you start Christmas shopping? Lordy, whenever the mood strikes. If I see something in June that I know will make a stellar Christmas gift I'll buy it and put it away. Mostly about mid-November though.

5. Do you re-gift? Never.

6. What is your favorite Christmas song? Like SL Wendy we love the Chipmunk song too. I have several Christmas CDs I love and most of them are mixes of new and old artists singing Christmas classics. But my family has a tradition of singing The Twelve Days of Christmas each year, so that's a fave too.



7. When do you get your Christmas tree? We put our tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. You only get about a month of Christmas decorations so you might as well enjoy them as much as you can.

8. Wrapping presents: Love it or hate it? Mostly love it. Especially when I have time to plan the wrapping. Some years my wrapping is an event. Some years not.

9. Who is the hardest person to buy for? Used to be my Mom hands down. Now...probably my Dad.

10. Christmas tree: Real or artificial? Artificial. The 'real' trees in SoCal leave a lot to be desired. I think they're cut in Oregon and Washington (state of) in early November and trucked down here. We've done a living tree a couple of times, but usually want something a bit bigger so have been happy with our current artificial for a few years now.

So what are you waiting for?! Go do yours now and link back to Book Binge for your chance to win.



Pssst...*whispers* it's sooo much fun to do!

TOP TEN HEROES

This started out as someone's meme. Sort of. Whose, I'm sorry to say I don't remember. Then I saw it pop up on several other blogs but shied away from doing it myself because I didn't feel like I could remember ten favorite heroes let alone ten who fit this original premise...

"Ten Literary Characters I Would Totally Make Out With If I Were Single and They Were Real But I’m Not, Single I Mean; I Am Real–But I'm Also Happily Married and Want to Stay That Way, So Maybe We Should Forget This…"

I smiled when I read that and while I find many of the heroes I read about sexy and attractive, I never see myself making out with them. They all belong to their individual heroines. So instead I just decided to list ten heroes I can't forget and who have left a lasting impression. Here's my who and why. No way I could rank one above the other, so these are in no particular order.

1. Wolf Mackenzie (Mackenzie's Mountain by Linda Howard). Wolf's main goal in life is to protect his son and this crazy teacher literally comes storming into their lives and changes everything. There's no waffling. He's sure Mary Elizabeth is a good thing for him and his son and has no intention of letting her get away.

2. Webb Tallant (Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard). It was tough sticking to two of my favorite Howard heroes, but these two I remember and think about most. Webb is a complicated guy. Family and tradition are important aspects of his life and he wears the coat as scion and heir with the confidence he was born with to carry them. The fact that he finally sees more in Roann and treasures her above everything else is just awesome. Being sure that Roann knows how important she is to him and her family was a worthy goal and his true reason for returning to the family. Love him. Love the book.

3. Creede Forrester (A Reason to Live by Maureen McKade). To find joy, hope and love after suffering deep loss is so moving and incredible. This book is just so great. Creede's quiet understanding and acceptance is so needed and so freely given. Damaged himself by the loss of his son he is able to dig deep and find love again. A truly worthy man who finds a very worthy woman in Laurel.

4. Cal Bonner (Nobody's Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips). Family is another theme. I love that here we have a handsome, popular and successful NFL quarterback who has a family. He understands that if there is going to be a baby he's not going to just 'man up' he's going to be a part of his child's life. I love that he likes Lucky Stars cereal. I mostly love that he is finally brave enough to change and allows himself be who he really is which is a whole lot more than a jock.

5. Ramiel Devington (My Lady's Tutor by Robin Schone). Loyal, kind, and emotionally tortured. Even with the loss and rejection he has known Ramiel is able to see, admire and understand a woman who digs deep for her own courage to try and change her life. A man who can put a woman before himself. Their arrangement begins as one of curiosity for him but ends with him taking a risk on her and on love. Not only does he admire Elizabeth, he also accepts her. More importantly, at least to her, he embraces and protects her children.

6. Duncan Swift (High Noon by Nora Roberts). He knows love. He not only welcomes this new woman into his life but all of her family too. Love me. Love my family. Duncan isn't satisfied to just accept her family without trying to be a part of them too. What woman could walk away from a man like that?

7. Thomas Mitternich (The Crossroads Cafe by Deborah Smith). Acceptance, giving, family, love. These are all the recurring themes in my favorite heroes. Thomas also has suffered incredible loss and yet without thinking too much about it is able to reach out to a wounded Cathryn Deen. What courage it takes to risk after suffering excruciating loss!

8. Clint McKinley (Promises Prevail by Sarah McCarty) This was a toss up with Asa McIntyre in Promises Linger. Your average saddle tramp or gun for hire didn't really ever consider that he was going to have a home and family of his own. Sarah McCarty captures this western truth with both of these characters, but Clint's story has just a tad bit more to it and that's why I chose it. Clint loves from afar not believing he is worthy to be a part of Jenna's life. He wants a wife, family and a home he just doesn't believe he can have that with Jenna until she decides to adopt an abandoned half Indian baby. Then he knows he can offer her something more important than just himself. He can offer protection and security. Again, two wounded souls who find each other. A man who sees a chance for the brass ring and grabs it with both hands.

9. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen). When you read the book I think you understand more clearly how much a product of his times Darcy is. That he recognizes and loves Elizabeth in spite of social strictures of the times is amazing. That he helps her family with no expectation that they will be together is so selfless, but then a gentleman can do no less Darcy would say.

10. Richard Tiernan (Nightfall by Anne Stuart). This is a complicated one. This man and story stick with me and yet for most of the book, while fascinating, Richard Tiernan is not very likable. For quite a while we don't know why Cassidy would or could love someone who supposedly murdered his children and his pregnant wife. It's a betrayal of the worst sort. I think one of the best things Anne Stuart does in this book is not change Richard from who he has become even at the end of the book. He will always be difficult and complicated, but what woman who understands his motives could walk away? Imagine all that love, intensity and devotion focused on you? Even though he chose Cassidy from a photograph, he chose a woman who could love him despite everything.

Desktop Free View Meme

Here's how you play:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key). Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).

If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

My desktop photo is courtesy of author Louisa Trent. I first started reading Ms. Trent's books back when she was with Ellora's Cave some four years ago. Currently she writes for Loose-Id. Anyway LT is a magnificent gardener and posts pictures of her garden each year. This past spring when I spied this photo on her site I emailed her and asked if I could use it for my desk top. I love it. Although I guess I should think about something more autumn-y don't you think?




I rarely tag anyone, but I enjoyed checking out all these desktop views so I'm going to tag:

Jenster
Becky
Nath
Alcoment
Wendy

The list of Free Viewers so far is:

iRonnie - I Set No Corner
Thess - Thesserie
Rebecca - Skippy Heart
Knoizki - A Dialogue With K
Beng - Kauderwelch
Tina- My Good Finds
Rachel - Heart of Rachel
Alice - Hello, My Name Is Alice
Julia - Julia's Books Corner!
Darla - Nichtszusagen
Marg - Reading Adventures
Holly - What Were you Expecting?
ames - Thrifty Reader
Dev - Good Reads
Rosie - Nobody asked me...

Can we talk about books?

Books in Winter by Jessie Wilcox Smith

I've been tagged for a book meme by KristieJ and I decided what the heck I'll give it a whirl. Although I have to confess I did some estimating with my book count because I didn't take them all off the shelves to count. There are just too damn many to move. K? But if I erred it was on the conservative side I didn't round up.

1. Total number of books I own: Just me? Uh, 2302. Guess I don't have to worry about having something to read when I'm old...right?


2. Last book I bought: COMING UNDONE by Susan Andersen


3. Last book I read: AGNES AND THE HITMAN by Bob Mayer and Jennifer Crusie


4. Five books that mean a lot to me: This one is hard. The most I can say is that just for today these are the five books I'd choose. Tomorrow I might choose a different five books.

a. FAREWELL THE STRANGER by Saliee O'Brien. My first romance. A book found in my grandparents basement. I talked all about it here.

b. OVER THE EDGE by Suzanne Brockmann. This is special for a weird reason. In the book terrorists take over a plane. I finished this book the night of September 10, 2001. Just two weeks before we'd seen a repeat on 60 minutes about this guy Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. When 9/11 happened the first thing I said to GG was it was terrorists and I bet it was that Bin Laden guy. The primary love story isn't what resonated with me it was that Suzanne Brockmann had probably written the book a year (or more) earlier and captured the political times of the world we live in and the men and women who fight against terrorism.

c. SHADES OF TWILIGHT by Linda Howard. I just love the characters Roanna Davenport and Webb Tallant. It's about family, betrayal, dynastys. It's one of the few books I own that I've re-read more than once. I could name a couple of other of Howard's books, but I picked this one to represent them all.

d. JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte. I remember reading this and thinking that everyone deserves to be loved.

e. EXODUS and MILA 18 by Leon Uris. I mentioned MILA 18 before in a meme because this book was very powerful when I read it. These books were written about Jews after the WWII when they were trying to establish a home and country in Israel (Exodus) and about the Polish Jews resistance in the Warsaw ghetto (MILA 18). The books gave history a human face and made it real to me. I cried my eyes out.


5. Tag 5 people. I hate tagging people. I never know who to pick...but I always like reading what other people write. So if you read this and want to do it...please do. How's that?

Blogging Tips

This is making its way around our neck of cyber space and Holly tagged me. So being the good internet citizen that I am I'm doing my part for truth, justice and the Romancelandia way.

BLOGGING TIPS

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!


1. Look, read, and learn. *****
-http://www.neonscent.com

2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. **
-http://www.bushmackel.com

3. Don’t let money change ya! *
-http://www.therandomforest.info

4. Always reply to your comments. ******
-http://chattiekat.com

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. ***
-http://chipsquips.com

6. Don’t give up - persistance is fertile. *
-http://www.velcro-city.co.uk

7. Give link credit where credit is due. ****
-http://www.sfsignal.com

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.**
-http://scifichick.com

9. Be Brave, some of the best posts are when you step out of your comfort zone.*
-http://twisted-kingdom.blogspot.com

10. Follow the links in posts and comments. You never know what blog gems you will find!** - http://readingadventures.blogspot.com/

11. If you're visiting a new blog for the first time, comment. You never know what kind of blogger buddy you might make because of it.*
- http://cranberrytarts.blogspot.com

12. Post it and they will come. Be yourself, let your own personality shine through and people will respond to that.
-http://rosemont1217.blogspot.com

I'm supposed to tag 10 people for this, but I think Holly hit most of the people in our crowd last time out. If you're reading this and haven't done it. Go for it.

Uh-Oh Loooo-seee!

Anne over at Let's Gab was having a squeeing fan girl moment today and talking about a couple of her favorite authors. Naturally it got me thinking about some favorites of mine.

I know we are always doing memes and answering questions, but I wondered what I would say if I was interviewed on the spot and asked about my three most favorite authors? Whose names would pop into my head? How would I answer? What would I say?

You know what's coming, right? I thought I'd pose three questions here and ask anyone who's interested to post their answers in the COMMENTS because (all together now) I'm such a Nosy Nora AND having you post them here is ever so convenient for me. :)


1. List the first three books that pop into your head by title (and author if you know it).

2. List three authors you'd like to have dinner with.

3. List three of your favorite authors.


Okay, that's it. Easy as pie. I'm going to list my answers in the comments too. That way, if you are also a Nosy Nora you'll already be there and...you know...tell me what you came up with.

Remember, don't think about it too much. Just list whatever comes into your head first.

All About Me by The Guy I Live With

A. Each player gets a loved one to list 8 facts/habits about the player from the loved ones point of view.

B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. (I won't tag anyone because I want ALL of you to do this. (If you want to.) Nosy Nora wants to see what your loved ones think about you.)


So with a pained look on his face and lots of eye rolling here's what my beloved gave me.

1. You like to be reassured about decisions and choices we make about our boys.

2. You like to know what's going on in your brothers and sisters lives and being a part of it.

3. You are deadly with a 'To Do' list.

4. You are a very sexual being but you don't like most of the world to know that. (This falls under TMI and I really wanted to tell him to delete it and write something else, but I stuck with the @#$% rules, so too late now!!)

5. You like social settings and being involved with what's happening.

6. You love all things electronic at least when you can get your hands on them.

7. No matter how much he aggravates or annoys you, you are very much in love with your dorky husband.

8. You still wish for the white picket fence. (I actually have my white picket fence, this is my Pollyanna wish for everyone to have a HEA.)

There you go Zeek! So what are you all waiting for? Go, go on now, have that loved one do your list.

Where to begin...

The trip to my sister's was great. I love seeing her kids. They are so entertaining. The 4th BBQ was great. Lots of good food. That's code for I ate too much. Lots of good left overs too though. OTOH, reading is going slow, not because I'm in a funk but because we are just summer time busy. Vacation has been nice and relaxing. GG still makes me laugh and that's good because he equally drives me nuts. Good thing I like him.

It's taken me the better part of a day, off and on, to catch up with everything. As marvey as Google Reader is it doesn't help me read and comment any quicker on all your blogs. I've come to the conclusion that you all are some pretty amazing and wonderful people. Really.

Good news I received that I won a drawing at Marjorie Liu's Web Petals site. New cool stuff is always awesome. So are her books, btw.

Ummm...Steadman called me this afternoon. I have to work on a post for her about Germany. She's going on a business trip to Hambourg, Germany and wants me to dredge up from my memory banks stuff I know about Germany. So hey, you people out there in the world. Any info you can add or help out please make it known in the comments. Steadman and I will both be forever grateful.

The place that didn't hire me for the full time job called and asked if I wanted a part time job. They offered it to me today and I said yes. Sure it's half the hourly pay and half the hours, but it's the place I want to work, so there you have it. Besides they seem fairly certain it will be full time within a year, so who knows. New windows are open and all that. I start next Tuesday.

Zeek, I haven't forgotten about your tag. It's just that getting a "loved one" to list 8 traits or habits turned out to be problematic for the combined grey matter of the men I live with. Oy! You would not believe the conversation that ensued.

Beanie: Trait? What exactly do you mean by a trait?

Me: You're in college. Do you really not know what a trait is?

Beanie: You mean like how you have an eagle eye when it comes to cleaning?

Me: *sigh* Yeah.

Beanie: What? That's not a trait?

Me: Yes, but ...never mind. It's supposed to be in your words, so just never mind.

Beanie: That was in my own words.

Me: I know

GG: Can't you say something nice about your Mother?

Me: Babe...

GG: She likes to read books.

::head desk::

Me: Thanks babe. We'll just do this later.