I mentioned I got the Mary Engelbreit magazine the other day. Every month she interviews a creative person, either a writer, a designer, someone. Always the same questions. She calls it "Inspiration Quotient." So using those questions, I'm going to interview myself. Then you - like tagging, only I'm not naming names ;) (By the way, the June/July issue also has a write up on romance novels - not big enough for you to rush out to buy, but a nice treat. Considering Entertainment Weekly NEVER has romance novels!)

1. When the well runs dry, how do you recharge your creative spark?

working in the yard, watching certain movies (I like YaYa Sisterhood, I don't know why, makes me want to write), going to museums and just letting it fill me

2. What is your motto?

See top of page ;)

3. What fictional character is most like the person you wish you were?

Any of my heroines, which is why I write them, I guess. Is that too arrogant?

4. The biggest enemy of creativity is....

either time bandits or the internal editor

5. My best ideas come to me when I'm...

About to go to sleep!

6. What is your ideal work environment?

My back patio with my Alphasmart. All the plants have been watered and deadheaded so nothing will pull me out of my chair.

7. What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Today...my son and the kids in my class who came so far this past year. I'm also pretty proud of my contest finals.

8. No one is better than I am when it comes to...

Beating myself up.

9. I still can't quite get the hang of....

sleep. And discipline.

10. The only thing I know for sure about the creative process is...

it's HARD!

11. What was your first job?

I worked at Winn's, a five and dime, in the candy department. I asked to be transfered to the fabric department, where I spent all my paycheck on fabric that was 99 cents a yard. Then I'd go home and sew an outfit for the next day.

12. Earlier in your career, how did you deal with people who tried to discourage you from pursuing your dreams?

No one ever really has, thank goodness!

Okay, now you - let me know and I'll come read!

I’ve been looking forward to reading Blue Smoke, have had it in my TBR for months. You know me – I love reading about firefighters. And I love love love Nora Roberts.



Blue Smoke, not so much. In fact, if it was another writer, I probably would have stopped reading it. The heroine is annoying, the book is depressing and the romance doesn’t start till almost half way through the book!

The heroine, Reena, wants to be a fire investigator from the time she’s eleven, when a tragic event shakes up her life. She’s like a sponge, absorbing everything, noticing every detail, and it’s kind of cute when she’s a kid, which she is in the beginning of the book. By the time she actually becomes a fire investigator, about a third of the way through the book, it’s just annoying. Plus she talks in short hand, starting most of her sentences with verbs. And she’s really really cocky.

As for the depressing, well, it’s about a pyromaniac who has it in for Reena. Only Reena. Not her family. He targets her. And La Nora describes what he does in gory detail. And the language – there are just some words I don’t want to hear Nora say. Urgh.

The romance…we meet the hero in his POV at almost page 100, but he doesn’t meet Reena, just sees her from afar. And again about 40 pages later. They don’t meet face to face for a long time. Meanwhile, Reena has three lovers. And they say I don’t write romances?

So, very disappointing book. I hate when that happens.


This should make me feel better….

Valerie Grace is a fallen angel, only she doesn’t know why she’s been kicked out of heaven. All she knows is that she’s stuck in Niagara Falls working as a maid in a seedy motel and avoiding a sexy Tempter demon while trying to find her way back to heaven.

Help comes from an unexpected source, hope is offered and snatched away. Her chance to get into heaven becomes a threat to the balance of good and evil. Now her quest to get into heaven becomes a quest to save the world.

To do this, she has to turn to the one person (being?) who threatens her chance for heaven, her sexy Tempter demon Nathaniel, who has issues of his own. Their journey takes them to the Underworld which is not what you’d expect.

That’s what I loved about this book – nothing was what it seemed, and nothing was what you expected it to be.

The quest was exciting and fun as Val and Nathaniel bumped into problem after problem. Val was a great heroine, capable of holding her own with the demon population, determined to get back into heaven, not only for herself, but for the other fallen angels she found.

I loved the secondary characters, the petulant child psychic, a talking rat, a witch who works at McDonald’s. And WAIT till you meet Lloyd! Best. Secondary Character. Ever.

Michelle Rowen’s dialogue snaps with wit and she brings terrific visuals to the page – a purple WalMart robe over a McDonald’s uniform, a sign that says “Welcome to the Underworld,” a “demony-bachelor pad.” Her imagination runs rampant with the monsters, villains and other demons.

Maybe it was just me, and that I read her blog and know she loves Buffy, but I got a Buffy-esque vibe from this book. I saw Nathaniel as Angel and Julian as Spike and Lisa as Faith….

The ending was terrific, weaving all the threads together in a clever and satisfying way.

This is my second Michelle Rowen book (coincidentally, hers as well ;) ) and it will not be my last!

I went shopping with Mom last night after dinner – something we NEVER do during the school year, so it was kind of a treat. When I was gone, I MISSED my new book! I didn’t feel guilty for not writing, but I missed my book!

I’m giving a workshop in September with another SARA on contesting, and I’m wondering what I can say that hasn’t been said. There’s the reason why people enter, how to prepare an entry, what to do about the comments, right? And I can offer more insight as a judge and coordinator. But I’m not sure what to offer that hasn’t been done, especially since Jessica Trapp came and spoke to us just last year on contesting.

I’ve never done a workshop before, though Trish and I are doing one at National on how to be a successful unpublished writer (we’d hoped that would be a misnomer by July…) so I’m not sure what to do to stand out.

Any thoughts?

When I was a tween, all my allowance and then some went to teen magazines - 16, Teen Beat, Tiger Beat, remember those? I devoured them. They were everywhere. I would get so excited when I'd see a new one on the shelf, and my grandmother fed my indulgence. When I'd get tired of the magazines, I'd cut out the pictures of my latest crush and tape them to the wall. Robby Benson, Shaun Cassidy and John Schneider have all been up there.

Then I was into fashion magazines. Seventeen (remember the back to school issues? It was like a BIBLE!) Glamour, Madamoiselle, Marie Claire, Elle. Fortunately, I worked at a drug store so I could try before I bought. I usually bought anyway.

Then I got married, and it was decorating magazines, usually with a country theme - Country Living, Country Home, Country Marketplace. This trend lasted the longest, encompassing Martha Stewart Living, Romantic Home, Country Sampler, Country Gardens....I still have a ton of them, because frankly, decorating stuff doesn't go out of style like clothes. I only subscribe to 2, and buy the others only very rarely.

Now I've kind of come back to the people...I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly. It was free with my Blockbuster Reward card, but it's still something I look forward to every week. (This week's was bleh, though it did have a TEENY picture of Justin Chambers.)

What magazines do you get?

I never did tell y'all about X Men 3, so I thought I'd do a movie post.

First, this is the movie I showed the last two days of school:



It is SO FUNNY! I've seen it probably a couple of HUNDRED times, know most of the lines by heart. It's the Tiny Toons, and it starts off with them waiting for the clock to strike three to dismiss them on the last day of school. My class and I sang this one over and over. The funny bits - the road trip from hell with Hampton and his family, to Happy World Land. Elmira's quest for a kitty that leads her to Wild Animal Safari Zoo. Fowl Mouth at the movies. Hilarious. A bit dated - I think I first saw it when I was teachjing second grade about 15 years ago. But still so funny.

This is what I watched when I got home the last day of school.



Something New with Simon Baker. Structured very like a Temptation, I would say. African American woman who's had the best of everything, lived in high society, who falls for her white landscape architect. Hello, who wouldn't? He was hot. And he wore this necklace, and when he was making love to her, the necklace swung down between them and....I never realized how sexy that could be.

I don't know if I mentioned watching Munich.



It was a terrific character study about a man seeking justice for his country, the things he has to do and the toll it takes on him. Just incredibly done. (And yes, Eric Bana has the butt polyester pants were made for. OMG.)

This was a cute movie.



I thought it was probably too slow moving for my class to see, but I enjoyed it, the character growth of each person. The little boy looks like my dh did as a kid. My dh was probably more of a stinker, too.

This movie was too frantic for me.



I'm not a Mel Brooks fan, though. I didn't really get why they didn't want the play to be a smash, but dang, Matthew Broderick can dance! Watch it for the dancing alone. Though the Will Farrell bits were funny. I can't believe I just said that.

And finally:



I loved it. I cried. Not many laughing bits, like in the others. Logan was forced to be the leader. Not enough Rogue. I liked Magneto - I like how you can ALMOST root for the bad guys. McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy had a few bit parts ;) Now, my dh hated it. He said it went against the comics, that that wasn't how it all happened. IF YOU GO, make sure you stay all the way through the credits. There's an extra scene at the end.

What movies have you seen lately? What are you looking forward to?

I thought I'd give you guys a short review on the book No Plot, No Problem. I really liked the tone of the book, very humorous. He talks about the birth of NaNoWriMo. Not much new information, especially if you've ever done a book in a week session - plan meals ahead of time, clear your schedule, etc, etc. The second half of the book you read as the weeks progress - a chapter for week one and what to expect, another for week 2, and so on. So I'm not actually finished reading it, but I am enjoying it.

Went to a party last night, going to another this afternoon. Tomorrow, shopping at the outlet malls!

Before:



After:



I cried. Fantastic Sams was fantastic - they will package the hair and mail it to Locks of Love.

I get to start a new book!!! It's been a year. I have the first scene in my head, just ready to get down on paper. I know my hero pretty well, and I kinda know my heroine, though I'm holding back on the revelation of her true external goal. I have about the first third of the book synopsized. I don't have a title, and I don't know how happy I am with her name....Sara. May have to change it to something a little more exotic, because she is. But I won't need her name for a few pages - it starts in his POV. So, off I go.

I'm not 100% happy with 30 of the last pages of DLB, but I'm waiting till my critique meeting. Haven't heard about the revisions on Hot Shot.

The dh woke up late for work - he should have been there ten minutes ago and he left five minutes ago.

And today is the day of The Haircut. I'm going to cry, y'all. And I will post pictures.

First of all - look! I slept till 6:15! Okay, not entirely true - I woke up at 4, but went back to bed and fell asleep.

Today is my favorite day of the year. Right now, every minute of summer vacation is in front of me. I haven't wasted any of it.

I'm a big believer in goals, and I was planning to list my goals for the summer, as well as the schedule I want to have every day. Only I started, well, kind of getting anxious about it. I mean, it's my VACATION. Do I really want to put myself under that kind of stress? Yes, I want to try to write a book in a month as a challenge, just to see if I can do it. But do I want to add my house cleaning and exercising and all that and write it down? Will I be setting myself up for failure?

I do know I write more and better if I have a schedule.

What about you guys who are writing full time? Do you have a set schedule? Do you feel guilty if you don't follow it?

And yes, I'm a little teary. These children made me want to come to work every day. They made me laugh, they made me proud, they are going to make me miss them.

I'm so glad I'll be having them again next year. I'm ready.

What I'm NOT ready for is ending this year. I woke at three, thinking of what I need to do the next two days (we get out at noon tomorrow, if we're done. Which I plan to be.)

I need to:

Put copies of the report cards in the PRCs and the stickers on the front.

Have a meeting with my principal about one of my students whose mom never came for the parent conference.

Get more boxes to pack my desk.

Put my room number on all the furniture, so when they take it out to wax the floors, I get the same furniture.

Cover my bookshelves with butcher paper.

Get my check from the office - both my paycheck and a check to reimburse me for $$ I spent in the classroom.

Defrost my fridge so I can bring it home.

Bring home my microwave and rocking chair and bookshelf (I would leave them there, but we're having summer school at our campus, and I don't trust other people with my personal stuff.) And my one closet has a file cabinet in there. I don't know why. And I can't get it out. The problem is, I drive a Scion. The dh won't let me take my Land Cruiser because it's overheating. Maybe Baby Brother can follow me in his truck tomorrow.

Okay, well, written down, that seems doable. Too bad it's too late to go back to bed!

Remember earlier this month I wanted to revisit times in my life when I was more connected to my son? I got my wish yesterday.

The boy came with me to school because I needed an extra pair of hands (we had Game Day, a Faculty/Fifth Grade kickball game and a Sundae Party). I figured the boy would be handy, AND could help me pack my room.

I woke him at 5:45 - WAY early for him, and we left the house by 6:30. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up lunch and the ice cream for the Sundae Party, then went to Starbucks so he could try the new Banana Frappacino. On the drive to school, we talked. I found out he's more committed to donating his hair to Locks of Love because one of his very good friends (he had a crush on her earlier in the year but now he says he loves her like a sister) was diagnosed with cancer. I don't know what kind, and he said he hasn't known very long, but she's on the medication and is losing her hair. So this weekend, we're going to get his hair cut.

He talked about music, and school, and being on the newspaper next year. He talked about maybe being a high school teacher so he could connect with the kids like his favorite teacher does.

We got to school, and everyone oohed and ahhed over how tall he was and how long his hair was. My little girl from New Orleans was scared of him (he is pretty big - I think he's past 6'2 now) but once we got back into the classroom and set up the games and the boy sat with her and played, she got over it.

He watched the kids while I played kickball with the teachers - we won!! 15-6! I had a sacrifice RBI. Then we went back in, played more games. I loved watching my boy with my kids. He explained things so patiently, and let them hang on him (my student who is his name twin wouldn't leave him alone ;) ). My boy moved from game to game, playing, and the kids were so thrilled when he sat with them. They wanted him to eat lunch with them, but he ate with the teachers. One of the kids brough Scrabble and we both got hooked. I said we'd get the game (though we have a closetful of games we rarely play.)

After school, I'd promised we'd go to the Witte Museum because it's free on Tuesdays and he wanted to see a special exhibit they had there called In the Dark. The commercial had said it would be there through June 4, but when we got to the Witte, the exhibit was gone - Monday was the last day. So we went to the Science Treehouse.

Let me tell you, the Treehouse is cool, but mostly full of little kids. But my big, tall boy had the best time playing on the green screen weather wall, banging on the Stomp-like percussion, playing with air pressure. I actually ran into one of my students and her dad and brothers there. The dad thought my boy was 17! He's only 14!

We went through the whole museum, talking and he was joking around. We watched the prarie dogs play (who knew?) and went to the log cabins out back and went BACK to the Treehouse (did I mention I was exhausted? But I didn't say a word because this was the day I'd been wishing for.) And on the way to the car, he saw the Texas Rangers museum and wondered if anyone went there, and said he'd like to go someday.

We stopped at Panda Express for dinner, came home and watched LOST and I could barely hold my head up. I was in bed before 9!!! (Of course, I woke up at 2 AM and couldn't go back to sleep.) But it was a wonderful, wonderful day.

It was the gel souffle that did it. Gel souffle! For your skin!

I've never been much of a girly girl. I mean, I wear make up and dresses and sandals and earrings and bracelets, but Bath and Body Works used to flummox me. Those counters at the departments stores? I didn't even glance over. And manicures and pedicures? Heck, I can barely sit still for a haircut!

Three things happened this year that shifted my way of thinking. First, Colleen sent me a goody bag with sugar scrub, bath oil, cuticle cream and nail polish. It was just such a fun surprise! And smelled soooo good (it was orange-y. I don't remember. I used it up pretty quick.) I got addicted to sugar scrub - a very nice exfoliant. I've made two batches of my own, though I can't make it smell as good as that batch.

Then, my friend Sarah at school is ALWAYS talking about girly stuff. She's very girly, and used to work at one of those counters in the mall. She's talking about lotions and salt scrubs and pedicures, and did I mention I adore her? You know how when you adore someone, some of the things she likes rubs off on you?

And then, JoAnn gave me a Bath and Body Works gift card for my birthday. I was going to be absolutely practical. I got my foot scrub. But I also got this sea silt or something for the bathtub. Uh, addicted.

My uncle gave me a gift card to Walmart for my birthday, and when I went, they didn't have any of the blouses I liked anymore. What did I buy? CDs? DVDs? Plants? Nope - nail polish and eyeshadow. And foot cream.

My brother and sister in law gave me a gift card to Target. I saved it till yesterday (can you believe it?) I wanted the resin Adirondak chairs they had on sale. They were out. (I TOLD my dh we needed to go Sunday - did he listen??) What did I buy? Scented candles, the summer scented ones (note to anyone interested - they are NOT very scented, not for $6.50 apiece!)

Then I had a coupon for a free lotion at Bath and Body Works. You had to spend $10 and you got a free $8 bottle of lotion, and Sarah was talking about the pomegranate martini lotion. What Sarah has, Mary has to have. Did Mary get the antibacterial soap, 5 for $10? No, but she wishes she had! I got the sample pack of all those sea silt products, including the gel souffle, which smells really good and also makes your skin feel soooo smooth.

So. I turned into a girly girl when I wasn't even looking!

Are you a girly girl? What do you indulge in?

Yeah, I don't know what that title's about. I know all I want to do is go back to bed. My sister in law and I are the only ones in the family working today. I know, I shouldn't complain- in a week I get 10 weeks off. But I'm tired and cranky NOW!

So, I kind of started this last week, asking about what ideas you have and how they're different from what you usually write. Sooo...here's what I have written:

A three-heroine/three hero story (600 pages!)
Two sports hero stories
A military hero story and a former military hero story
A single mom story
Two single dad stories (one is a sports hero)
Two reunion stories
One bad boy comes back to town story
One best friend story
Two firefighter stories (one is the best friend)
One amateur sleuth story
One futuristic (surprised me, too)
Two cop stories (one is a reunion story)

Here's what I've started:

A hostage story where a hostage falls in love with the hostage negotiator. It finalled in a contest - I don't remember which. I never finished it.
A Sex and the City type story.
A romance bringing Moulin Rouge into the present day
A story about a man whose father killed his mother. I tried to put romance into it and killed the magic. Stupidly didn't save the original.
An adventure story on a cruise

Here's what I want to write:

A Bermuda Triangle story - I just don't want to rip off Lost
A tornado chaser story - I know who he is, but not who she is.
A spy story with three potential heroes - including the villain.
A story about a mom who gives up everything for her kids, until she has a chance to make her dreams come true.

I've never written:

A story where the hero and heroine have a sexual relationship that turns to romance
A historical
A medical/office romance
A comedy
A secret baby/amnesia/marriageof convenience (though I have an idea for the latter). I did write a cowboy story when I was in middle school, though ;)

What have you written/never written?

Two milestones today....500 posts and my one year anniversary of blogging. Wow, it seems like NO time sinc eI was picking out my look, and my name. I'm recconected with some friends, made new friends, hopefully didn't make any enemies - at least that I know of ;) I've talked about writing - my own journey and craft and the importance of chapters. You've met my dh and ds and Cindi and my mom. You've mourned my grandmother with me. You've celebrated with me.

Here's a special thank you

Here are some more!













You want to know something weird? I was only awake ELEVEN hours yesterday! Even with two naps, I was falling asleep on the couch last night. Then we had a bad storm and looks like more rain on the way. We sure need it. Off to X Men and then a barbecue today!

Are there kinds of stories you wish you could write? Characters you wish you could write?

When I was watching The DaVinci Code, they were talking about the Knights Templar and October 13 and my writer's brain just perked up. Wow, wouldn't THAT be a great story? (My dear friend Elizabeth said Linda Howard already wrote the ultimate book on the subject, but still.)

Then I was reading Mr. Impossible, which ended up on my keeper shelf. The hero was just so irreverent. I LOVED him. I would love to be able to write a hero like that. My heroes are usually so serious, though they can have a wry sense of humor. This next one will be more serious.

I have so many ideas popping in my head - hopefully I can settle down soon write them.

What kind of stories would you love to write? What's stopping you?

Negativity has been coming at me from many sides lately. For one, I’ve been riding with my mom this last month since our schools are across the highway from each other. Thing is, she does most of the talking, and much of it is complaining, from school to being broke to my youngest brother not needing her anymore, to how they never get to go to their land. It’s exhausting. I hurt for unhappy she must be, but at the same time, I kind of rise up in kind, complaining myself. Now, I love my job (which she clearly doesn’t) and I hate that I get there in a bad mood because she is. I’m going to try to find the courage to talk to her about it today. If you don’t hear from me, it may be that she left me on the side of the road.

So this is the mindset I went into watching The Family Stone. I’d heard others say it wasn’t the rom/com they marketed as. It was quite simply, a family of jerks. JERKS. Okay, Sarah Jessica Parker wasn’t the nicest person, and she was kind of stupid (which made you wonder how she interacted in the business world, where she was clearly successful) but the family prejudged her based on one bitchy sister, and then her support system – her REASON FOR BEING THERE – dropped out from beneath her. I guess the mistakes the writers made was making her too sympathetic, to me, anyway. But I really wanted to throttle Diane Keaton’s character (and I LOVE Diane Keaton). She raised a bunch of JERKS. I went to bed with such an ugly feeling.

Then I read a friend’s email that there’s a big brouhaha going on at AAR. I resisted going. I did. I knew that kind of negativity isn’t good for me. I took a bunch of blogs off my blogroll last year because they were so negative. All that happens when I read that stuff is that I get madder and madder. I’m afraid to post, because people jump on your case, and I am not very good at defending myself. But I went to see what it was all about, finally stopped myself from reading more. (Though I honestly want to know why everyone thinks RWA is the devil. It’s an organization run by volunteers who give up a lot of their own personal time, and then get attacked in public forums. I’m not saying they’re perfect, but nothing, not even the ill-advised surveys last summer, make them deserve this.)

I’ve long ago quit email loops with negative people, or I skip their posts. I align myself with positive people at work. That’s not to say we never complain, but we also try to work out solutions. Isn’t that the only way to combat negativity? What do you do?

Also related, what would you say the difference between negativity and sadness is? I want to see the last Grey’s Anatomy again, and while it was sad, I felt it was also positive (except for Meredith!).

So, here's something positive.



Sigh.

Ya think, Locke? Sheesh. What an episode to end the season, though! I couldn't tear my eyes away (except about 5 till 9 when I clicked over to see Taylor win AI! SOUL PATROL!!!) So, many questions answered, so many more raised. What happened to Locke and Eko? What happened to Sun, Jin and Sayid? What's going to happen to Sawyer, Kate and Jack, and WHY those three? What about Walt and Michael? Will they make it home? Poor Desmond tried for weeks. And who were those guys in the mountains who saw the alert about the magnetic anomaly on their computer screen? Also, I thought they were going to show the plane crash.

I spent the last two days rewriting my sucknopsis, with help from Trish. Hopefully it's all good now, and I can get back to DLB, which was done, but the distance I've had from it makes me want to add something else, then send THAT. THEN I can start on something new.

Today is the boy's last day of school - no more lunches to make!!!! No more dresses for me - I'm going to capris every day. And I need to start packing - have to stop at the HEB for boxes.

Tonight, I'll finally watch The Family Stone, I guess.

Came home from the field trip, then the doctor, and collapsed on the couch. Did I go to bed after 24? NOOO. I stayed up to watch the Spurs lose in overtime. Why-oh-why did they have to foul Shaggy, the best free throw shooter on the Mavericks?

So I'll be a lazy blogger today. TrishJ sent this to me.

HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good !

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And yes, this is mostly just an excuse to post this.

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. No, not that it’s the week before the last week of school. It’s season finale week!

Tonight, I thank heaven for VCRs (yes, still in the 20th century there). 24 first – What will the terrorists do to the nuclear submarine? What will the first lady do about Aaron? What will Jack do to the president?

Alias – What will become of Sloane? What is in the vial? (My suspicion is some kind of elixir to make you live forever.) Will Sark be in it? Surely Irina will be. What about Weiss? Will Sydney and Michael try for a normal life with Isabel?

Tuesday night – American Idol. I love Taylor, have since he auditioned. NEVER did I figure he’d get this far, though, But I’ll be cheering him on. Ruben’s been the only male American Idol, right?

Wednesday – LOST! So many questions and only 2 hours. Who’s on the boat? Who’s the guy with the beard? Why do they want THOSE 4? Where was Locke going?

So while my days will be long, with a field trip and 5 parent conferences and an after school meeting and awards and a doctor’s appointment, I will be looking forward to my evenings.

Munich report – GREAT character study about what living a life of violence can do to a man. You could just see him becoming more and more haunted, wondering when it would end. I woke up thinking about it first thing this morning. Ended a bit abruptly (after 2 hours and 45 minutes) and may I say – Eric Bana has the finest butt in the world. He made 70s clothes look good.

I know, serious movie, but I never claimed to be deep ;)

I finished and forwarded Hot Shot and the synopsis. Hopefully will get to look at DLB soon.