Random morning thoughts

Waking up to a warm furry body curled up against you is just the way to greet the day (well, outside of the obvious!). Nala snuggled up in my arms and stayed there the entire night.

Dh and I treated ourselves last night and went to TGIFridays. They have a great 3 course meal special going on. I was so chilled that I just had some onion soup, but I finally got to ampe the vanilla bean cheesecake ;) Exciting life I lead!

Oh boy...hope this isn't going to be one of *THOSE* boring blog posts.

After dinner, we trotted over to Barnes and Noble, since DH thought he could get some stamps there. BAAAAD idea. I'm TERRIBLE in bookstores! I restrained myself and only got a couple of books (thank God I still had a gift card!).

I picked up The Pleasure Slave by Gena Showalter, Portrait of a Bride by Tracy Fobes, Time Rogues by Kay Austin, Siren by Cheryl Sawyer and Divine Fire by Melanie Jackson. I tend to only get to a bookstore once a month, so I was rather pleased with how few books I got ;) No, WalMart doesn't count as a bookstore.

The DH will be working all weekend, so mine will be really quiet as well. Now that he has acquired this freelance position, he's got to produce a 'skin' for the client's hardware and that's what he plans to do tomorrow. Then Sunday he spends at a work site from 7A-7P. With the prospect of him being so busy this weekend, I plan to split my time between working and reading for fun. I picked up Divine Fire and it already pulled me in, so this is a very good sign :) I'd just LOVE to stretch out on the couch and read for an entire weekend!

Sometimes I wish work was less busy, but I truly do strive with my busy schedule!

I've been considering a professional blog. What do you think? Should I?

I could SWEAR I did a blogger post yesterday!

I've been in power work mode for the last few days, so posting hasn't been frequent, but I'm working on that!

The man is home today. He had a tough day at work and didn't get home until about 7 last night. They've completely ELIMNATED OT at his company, yet they expect him to work 55-65 or so hours a week. Previously, they'd pay 8 hours of overtime a week, because the sales department has put his department in this position by grossly overselling. He's already booked for 12 hours on a job site on Sunday, so he doesn't feel too terrible about taking today off. I hope he isn't too chatty...I have a LOT of work to do. Then again, I have 12 hours alone on Sunday so...

Speaking of the man, he got his first freelance job approved yesterday. He's working on a job in Saipan, an island in the South Pacific. No travel required, so he can make his magic happen right here! The professional confidence and money are huge plusses and if he doesn't go over, he gets to keep his vacation time.

I did something totally frivolous last night. I joined Booksfree (http://www.booksfree.com). Its a cross between a library and Netflix for books. My local library system is very light on modern urban fantasy and romance and there are quite a few books I buy instead of borrowing and I don't NEED to buy them. The price is about what I'd pay for a couple of mass market books a month and these guys are local, so this should work well.

Its funny...my library is ONLY around the corner and yet it seems like such a huge effort to get there. I may use the library for trade paperbacks and new releases and rely on Booksfree for most everything else. i have a GREAT library system and the do the best they can but romance and SF/fantasy just aren't their priority.

I know Angie is dying to know what my first shipment entails . My first four books shipping today are Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine, Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Conquistador by S.M. Stirling, and All Keyed Up by Mary Stella. I have 61 books in queue so far, a good blend between alternate history and romance.

I hope they get more small press in...must request that they do!

This week is off to a fab start!

I was super stressed last night, but today I'm sooo upbeat! Had some great work news this morning and that got the week off to a great start! I'm sipping the most amazing iced cider and I've been up since forever, so I've gotten so much accomplished today!

My cats now have a blog. You can find it in my links. They're having a great time with it and so am I. The little darlings will probably be begging for a website soon!

What is it about Walmart that makes me want to get enough stuff to outfit a small nation? We stopped in there last night to get a couple of things and walked out with a cart piled high with things that we wanted/semi needed but weren't urgent.

I indulged in buying a few books with my Christmas gift card . Got this month's Bomshells, so the trip was a success for me. Anytime I can buy books, I have a good shopping trip. Yes, it is an illness ;)

Have my standards changed?

I find that I am much less likely to be swept away by a book these days. I've always been a discering reader and reviewer, but lately, I have a terrible time being impressed with books in general.

I've read 9 books for pleasure this year. Three were average, the rest were below average. Have I just had a bad run or have my tastes changed so much?

I remember the days when I'd lose track of time and just be absolutely absorbed by an author's words. These days I pick up a book and put it down multiple times an hour. I've read romance, chick lit, science fiction and literary fiction, so I can't be burned out on one genre.

I envy those days and I desperately want them back!

Can you recommend some books that have swept you away? I read almost every fiction genre, but horror and police procedurals usually don't hold my interest.

Only about 5 inches of snow here

My husband is SO disappointed. I keep telling him that he doesn't want 30 inches of snow in a weekend but he doesn't listen. Men!

Very strange night yesterday. The man I married has been trying to get a freelance job for about a month now. The pay is wonderful and the experience would elevate him to the next level in this very elite field. He's already one of only two hundred people with certification in the world and this would bring the field down to about one of fifty in the entire world.

Well, the job came through last night. Actually, the job came through with some strings. The job is in the south Pacific and the company doesn't want to send him on site. I can't blame them! The plane ticket, plus travel time...it is a huge financial commitment!

Well, when the job info came through, he started immediately panicking. He's only been in this career two years and he often feels that he's not worthy. He wants to refuse the offer. I want to sit down with him and draft a letter explaining his misgivings about some of the options and then see what the company decides to do. Wish me luck!

The wind is absolutely TERRIBLE here! My house was shaking all night! And the temperature is a balmy 12 degrees, with wind chills in the negative numbers. Welcome to winter!

I have a confession to make

Okay, ya ready?

I love snowstorms!

There! I said it!

I gew up in New England where snow was a part of life. When I relocated to the Dc area. I moved to an area that didn't have a 'real' winter. We've only had about four significant (1.5 foot plus) snowstorms in the last fifteen years.

My husband grew up in Australia. He never even SAW snow until about ten years ago. It just doesn't snow much down under ;)

We've only had one real snowstorm since he's lived in America. He LOVED it...he was as excited as a ten year old! It was truly wonderful to watch his enthusiasm.

He's similarly excited now. And yes, I admit it, so am I. 1 foot plus snowstorms are a rarity here.

Plus, we're finally out of apartment living! Seeing snow fall from 7 floors up was okay, but actually seeing it drift onto our deck is something ELSE entirely!

We're totally ready for it. We have enough groceries to feed a small nation. He's absolutely entranced by a 13 book series and I have a boatload of work to do and a couple of good books that I'm dying to read, plus a fully loaded Ebook reader.

And to add insult to injury!

Look Mel, ANOTHER post!

Mr. Breezy got home an hour or so ago and loved my bluster about his evening.

He did impart an interesting tidbit. He was sitting in his car on the side of the road, shivering despite the two blankets he had on and someone pulled to a stop beside him and asked him if he was stuck and could they help. Mr. Breezy was touched by their kindness and said thanks but no, he was waiting for the tow truck to arrive.

The person asked if he had anything to read and Mr. Breezy happily pointed to his Palm Pilot, which still had a BIT of a charge left. The person then handed him some printed material and drove off.

Mr. Breezy was shocked to find out that he was accosted by a drive by Mormon! Needless to say, he kept on reading his Palm Pilot.

The printed material? If he had become desperate, it would have made for good toilet paper. Wiping with the Palm Pilot would have gotten QUITE messy!

Come visit Breezyland! Life is insane but we greet it with smiles and good humor!

What a night!

Look, Mel! Third post today? I HOPE you're happy!

Two hours ago, hubby calls. He's finally leaving the worksite...YAY! Asks me to call the roommie. No problemo. she's at the mall looking for a part time job and is chilling there since no busses run to our 'burb on Inauguration Day.

Call her and YAY she has a job interview booked this weekend. At Godiva (darn it,where are the emoticons...I need a drooling one!). No problem, YAY, hubs will be there to get her in an hour.

Twenty minutes later he calls. I always worry when he says 'Oh sex goddess of mine, we have big problems.' And we DO!

The car up and quit on him in the nastiest 'hood in DC. Apparently the distributor cap fell off. So hubs called the friendly people at Triple A (THANK GOD WE HAVE TRIPLE A WITH TOWING). They'll be delighted to rescue him from the 'hood...in THREE TO FIVE HOURS!

Um..hello! My husband is a diabetic. Surrounded by razor wire. In the 'hood! On Inauguration night!

With bloody nasty phone reception, I might add! He called three times and every time good ole Cingular resulted in choppy connections. PLUS his cell phone battery is dying.

Imagine this convo ...Screwed royally......he.....wifey....c....hearmenow...

Imagine it THREE times.

He walked god knows how far to a 7-11 populated with the next generation of criminals who were all either eyeing him as potential dinner, a potential mugging suspect, or a potential sex toy (Yeah, I know, he could give his all to be the research dummy of Bubba)

He bought a hot dog (Yeah, smart idea, I know. I'm loving the subtext here too!) and finally managed to whine...errr...I mean...REACH me by phone.

Yes dear. I can hear you now. I can hear every last angry growl. I can hear every last disgusted sigh but stop snarling dear...you know what that does to me!

So, the god among juvenile delinquents decided he didn't want to be mistaken for dessert and decided he'd fix the darn thing himself, but the problem is that the cap isn't just cracked, its worse. Something about the engine block. Don't ask me...I'm the helpless goddess.

In any event, he can't fix it so he HAS to wait for a tow truck which will be there sometime this evening or early morning. Poor dear has no electricity in the car, so he can't even read his Palm Pilot and let's not mention that after he stops being so bloody angry, he'll be a c-c-c-cold boy!

Pity me when he arrives home!

In the meantime, the roommate is calling wanting to know where he is. OOPS! I seriously dropped the ball on that one. It must have been the distracting sound of hubby's snarls! I had to inform the roommie that she WASN'T getting a ride home. Guess who didn't have enough money for a cab . My evening gets better and better.

She finally found a cab to bring her home and I charged it on my credit card. Of course she had to wait over an hour and it was double the price because of the goings on in DC (Ripoff artists, no??) but she's tucked happily in looking at her email.

So only the sex god is still out huddled somewhere in the 'hood staring at the razor wire.

Welcome to the drama that is my life!

Scary news!

Sometimes I wonder about this world of ours!

News article #1 Mr. Potato Head Goes to the Dark Side http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=499&e=16&u=/ap/darth_tater
Darth TATER? LOL! Oh Hasbro what have you done? Where is the proud company that my grandfather worked for!

News article #2
Brazilian woman has a 17 pound baby
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6847721/
Oh
MY
GOD!

Ouch! . This child is the size of a six month old! Whatever mommy ate, I won't be having any when and if I become pregnant.

News article #3
from www.theage.com.au
The Odd Spot

Wednesday January 19, 2005

A new reality TV show in Germany aims to find the man with the fastest sperm. The sperm will be attracted by a chemical lure identical to that emitted by the female egg in the womb in a bid to find Germany's most virile man.

EXCUSE Me?? Um...okay! How do the auditions go for this? Men, line up and...um...start your engines? The sperm would really fly! Does the production staff get hazard pay and body condoms?

Inauguration Thoughts

Today I can't help but remember a night 8 years ago, the one and only time I went to a presidential inauguration.

I had been friends with some musicians and one IMed me saying that he'd just heard that the guy he played with was signed up for one of the Inaugural balls. He asked me to attend, which was really neat! The very next day I did a bit of research and...

Tickets for the ball were only 100.00. In an era when concert tickets normally double this, I was pretty shocked!

My roommate, a friend and I bought tickets and my roommate and I scurried off to Macy's to find appropriate dresses. To my utter shock, I found a gorgeous irridecent blue dress for under 20.00 (normal retail price was over 500!) Even more shocking was that it looked great!

So, that evening we trundled off to the WORST area of DC to the White House Staff and Dc Government Ball. We spent a bit of time with the musicians who were all so handsome in their suits (I have some pictures that maybe I'll scan in someday!) . We mingled, I even flirted with some of the single men there.

Then, the musical acts started playing. I settled right against the barrier and got my camera ready. The acts were phenomenal...great entertainment!

Then my friends came onstage and it was just wonderful to see them playing such a high-profile event! Al and Tipper Gore came in when their set was about half done. The feeling was electric...beyond electric actually! I loved Tipper's red dress and Al cut quite a handsome figure in his tux. They danced briefly and spoke for maybe five minutes.

When they departed, the building was almost humming with excitement and anticipation. I was shocked to realize that I was trembling.

Then the first notes of Hail to the Chief began playing and a roar from the crowd shook the rafters. Bill entered looking amazing in his tux. Hilary didn't score a fashion plus with me...she had on a gold dress that made her look rather hippy.

Bill really played up to the crowd and he was amazing. Charisma rolled off him in waves. I could barely look away. When he caught my eye and posed for a photo from the stage, I felt the same deep pull inside that I felt when I inadvertently flashed Paul McCartney and he grinned at me. If you want that one told, drop me an email...I'm NOT posting that here!

I was shocked when I heard someone calling my name from the stage. One of the band members was frantically gesturing to us and calling our names. They wanted us to take pics of them shaking hands with the Clintons. I managed to get a few pics snapped, thankfully.

It was just an incredible night! I've vowed that I would try to get to every Inauguration, but I won't be making it this year, since my DH is working IN DC (poor guy!) until late this evening.

I am SO weak!

Blog, blog, BLOG! It is all I hear anymore ;)

So, here I am with my daily rambles. Hmm...maybe I should have named it daily rambles instead of trying to do a play on words.

You may know me but then again, you may not . I'm in my thirties and married. I have four fur-children and I spend entirely too much time online.

I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say real soon, but work awaits!