Friday, December 31, 2010

What a way to start the New Year!

I opened up my mailbox today to find not one, but TWO ARCs!!! The Girl Who Became A Beetle by Greg Taylor and (the one I'm looking forward to the most and will start as soon as I type the last period on this post) is Death Cloud: Young Sherlock Holmes The Legend Begins but Andrew Lane. 

I'm so excited, I can hardly contain it! (The caffeine from the two large cups of coffee I had at my local coffee shop is probably helping with that...)



--Me

Thursday, December 30, 2010

S-L-A-C-K-E-R

That's me to a "T", and a procrastinator. So, I spent four whole days counting down until Tron came to the theaters, and guess what? I haven't even gone to go see it yet! I know. I'm a sorry excuse for a human being. It's just that...I've heard so many mixed reviews about it. Now I'm not sure I want to spend $10 to go and see it. I might as well just wait until it comes to Netflix...

I still haven't seen Harry Potter yet, and that's PATHETIC. There's no excuse. I love the books and the movies. I can't believe I haven't see it yet. Maybe I'll have Hubby take me to go and see it this weekend...Try to to think too poorly of me.

--Me

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas

Well, another year has almost finished. It's amazing how fast that happens. Just a friendly reminder of what Christmas is really about. I hope you all have a wonderful time with your family on this joyous day.
--Me

Thursday, December 16, 2010

TRON!!!

At 12:01 tonight (or Friday morning for those of you who like to get technical), Tron will come and dwell among us. Let us acknowledge this with a moment of silence.

--Me

Monday, December 13, 2010

Book Report for Vixen by Jillian Larkin

See it here.

--Me

Strike a match, a flame has been rekindled

After seven LONG weeks, my love affair with Starbucks (Sbux) has been rekindled. No doubt Sbux had long ago given up hope of ever seeing me again, but I knew the day would one day revisit us. Let me recount to you our reunion (content has been edited suitable for all audiences):

I squeezed my car into a tight parking spot between a Navigator and a Lexus. Killing the engine, I waited, watching rain drops patter on my windshield. The parking lot was filled today, even the handicapped spots were taken. I delayed my entry by organizing my purse. Then I took everything out, unsatisfied, and organized it again. I filled my lungs with a deep breath. You have to go in there eventually, I scolded. If I waited any longer, I would start getting awkward stares from the exiting patrons. But it wasn’t about them. It was about me. And Sbux.

I stepped out into the rain and threw the hood of my coat over my head, tucking my purse tighter to my body. The day was cold, winter was here, and clouds covered the sky. I peeked under the brim of my hood, scrutinizing the content of the clouds—it looked like snow. I nodded at a guy who passed me by, holding out his Venti cup of hot goodness as he dashed to his car. The rain had picked up.

When I finally reached the door, I hesitated—but only for a second. Pulling it open, I stepped inside. The buzz of dozens of conversations; grinding coffee; “I’ve got a….” drink calls echoing through the air; instant warmth; and the intoxicating fumes of coffee. It all reminded me I was at home. I scanned the sitting areas and tables, and saw that ‘my’ booth. It was a pristine location—with two tables, two outlets, a window and an undisturbed view of the coffee shop itself. And it was free. I set my bag on the tabletop and walked up to the counter.

“The usual?” the barista asked when I approached.

“Yes, please.” I smiled, flattered he remembered.

“One Venti Caramel Brulee Late!”

“And a bagel—toasted,” I added.

“Of course.”

Even though I had been gone, Sbux hadn’t forgotten about me or my undying love for something so perfect. I settled down in my booth, set up my laptop and pulled out a book, already sliding back into our familiar routine. Sbux is a forgiving affair.

HA! It’s a bit romanticized, I know. But good for a chuckle. In reality it went something more like this:

I passed by the Starbucks parking lot as I drove down the main road, my eyes quickly scanning for an open spot in the already overcrowded parking lot. There! I crossed my fingers and hoped it would still be empty when I finally pulled in. I turned left on a yield only green light through heavy 4 o’clock traffic, ran the gauntlet of the national Hunting Store parking lot, and made it through a stop sign. Just as I pulled into the parking lot, a zippy little sports car with a teenage driver cut me off and stole my parking spot. I muttered some choice four—and possibly five—letter words and pulled into another, less desirable, parking spot further away from the front door (I would have to play Frogger and cross the drive-thru line and navigate a jungle of untamed landscaping to get to the door).

I killed the engine and leaned to the passenger side of my car, reaching for my overstuffed purse. The safety lock on my seatbelt jerked me back, spilling the contents of my bag all over the floor. I punched at the red button until it released me, muttering while I re-filled my bag. Once everything was in place, I opened my car door and stepped outside, into a lake of a puddle and the pelting rain. I had forgotten my umbrella—again, and had to run across the parking lot, using my purse to shield my head. Needless to say, It didn’t work very well.

When I finally reached the door, I jerked it open, glad to be out of the cold and the rain and into a warm building. The buzz of dozens of conversations going on at once; grinding coffee; “I’ve got a….” drink calls echoing through the air; instant warmth; and the intoxicating fumes of coffee reminded me I was at home. Seven weeks had been entirely too long. I scanned the sitting areas and tables, and saw ‘my’ booth. It was a pristine location—with two tables, two outlets, a view out a window and an undisturbed view of the coffee shop itself. Which is why—of course—it was occupied by someone other than myself. The teenager in the sports car, to be exact.

I grumbled more and searched for a secondary location. The small table next to the bathrooms. It was either that, or a table in the middle of the store where everyone could stare at me, and with no outlets to boot! I walked over to the restroom table and set down my bag. Then it was up to the counter to stand in line and order my drink—the barista didn’t actually remember what I normally ordered.

Finally, drink and bagel in hand, I went back to my table to write. I pulled out my laptop and dug around for my power cord. It wasn’t there. I sighed and reached for my book, instead. Forgotten. My shoulders fell and I couldn’t help but let a little crazy laugh escape. It felt good to be back at Sbux again.

--Me

Countdown to Tron

FOUR  more days 'til Tron!!
--Me

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Yay, yay, yay!!

Just got an ARC in the mail today and I am SUPER excited about this one!!!

Vixen by Jillian Larkin. I'm going to get started on this one right away for review!

--Me

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Awww...

It's one of those weekends where I will be writing until my fingers bleed. :) So, as an added bonus, I thought I'd include an adorable picture of Sass the Machine when she was but a wee pup.

--Me

Friday, December 3, 2010

To Break Addictions or to Enable Them?

I’ve decided to try decaffeinated coffee.

I think that would technically make me certifiable, but at Hubby’s suggestion I’m giving it a shot. Why, you ask? Simple. I drink A LOT of coffee. I mean, a lot. I go through about four bottles of creamer in a month and a few pounds of ground coffee. No joke. All that caffeine can’t be good for you (long term side effects are similar to OCD). This is day three of virtually no coffee (because decaffeinated does NOT count, imo), and people, I am suffering. I’m wasting away. I sleep on the carpool ride into work and I don’t have my normal, loveable zip. I don’t talk everyone’s head off at work, and my typing speed has dramatically suffered (well, not really, but since my only real complaint is “I miss my coffee” and it isn’t that convincing, I felt a little spice was needed. Feel free to call it prose.).

Screw decaffeinated coffee. I’m going to Costco this afternoon and picking up a five pound of coffee beans and making a big ’ol cup of Joe when I get home. Then I’m going to snuggle down in the couch in my reading room and devour Mockingjay, hoping and praying to God that Peeta and Katniss both come around and stop being so gosh darn selfish! How many times do I have to tell you, it’s about me!

--Me

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The End of NaNo


NaNo was officially over yesterday. It says so on my NaNo home page which makes it official. I have mixed emotions about December starting. The 50,000 word bump to Atlantis brings it up officially to 84,000 and I'm about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through. I think that another 20,000 is a good round number to shoot for so that I have plenty of wiggle room for the editing stage (which I'm planning on beginning around the second half of December.), which is one of my favorite parts.

So, why does NaNo ending make me sad and happy at the same time? I'm glad to get a break from the non-stop tippity-tapping of pounding away on my keyboard. I have to admit that for the rest of this week I probably won't get much writing done because I'm so spent. It feels like I'm dry for ideas. Which I know is not true. I'm sad that it's over because I don't have any "official" excuse to punch out 1,700 words each day (no certificate to print, anyway). But overall, this has been one of the best NaNo experiences I've had.

I think where I need to go next with Atlantis is figure out the order in which the ending happens. I plan on this being a stand alone book, so everything needs to be answered, and quite frankly, I'm not sure what questions I've raised in writing the past couple of months to make sure I answer them. So, I'm going to go back and skim my book thus far (red pen securely locked away tight in a far away drawer) to see what I've covered and what I need to still do. Plot holes I always fill in during the editing stage. Hopefully I will be more secure by then to know how to finish my book and have it some-what polished before February turns around.

Two months. That's it. I can do it. I think.

Number of times I used the word "official": 5 (including the one in this line). Apparently, I need to invest in a thesaurus.

--Me

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

I Did Not Okay a Winter Wonderland

But apparently Mother Nature doesn't need permission. I woke up this morning to about 8" of fresh snow. Grrr. A 30 minute car ride on the freeway took Hubby and I an hour and 10 minutes. The only thing making this horrid weather bearable right now is Florence + the Machine. :-) There is always an upside to every situation. Here's the one for this one: Driving through big fluffy flakes in the dark makes me feel like I'm traveling at warp speed on the USS Enterprise instead of the snail's pace of 20 MPH that I'm actually going.

I got my first ARC in the mail yesterday! So excited. The Athena Project by Brad Thor. I'm finishing up Mockingjay now (O.M.G!!!). I'll do a Book Report on that one and then dive into Athena and let you know what I think! Enjoy the day. Hopefully it's not snowing where you are. :(

--Me