Signs

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I'm a big believer in signs, you know, something happens and you believe that random action is a sign for something else. Last Sunday when we got in the car to go to breakfast, the first song we heard was "Paperback Writer." (The college station does a Beatles show every Sunday.) The dh just looked at me, knowing what day it was, and shook his head.

For Christmas, JoAnn gave me a tiger's eye bracelet for luck. I wear it religiously every day, and you know, it's working. But Cindi's husband was talking about The Devil (my old principal) and I gestured to make him stop (She's a bit like Beetlejuice, if you say her name, she shows up) and my bracelet shot off my hand and shattered. I can restring it, but I've been a bit desperate this week without it ;)

Do you believe in signs?

I'm off to work. Yes, on a Saturday. Remember the ice storm the week of MLK? We're making up one of the days today and the next one the Monday after Easter. At least we only have to stay till one. I'm taking three new CDs to blare, and I'm wearing my regular Saturday clothes - yoga pants and t-shirt.

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Brothers and Sons

So Baby Brother got rejected yesterday – by Yale. I have to admit, part of me (the Gilmore Girls fan and the part who wanted to say “My brother goes to YALE”) was really rooting for him to get in, though I know it would be hard for him to make that adjustment. I called him to talk, and he was a little teary. He said he wonders what those other people have that he doesn’t and he worries that other people will think he’s a loser because he didn’t get in.

Sound familiar?

My other brother, Broken Brother, (he fell out of a tree 3 weeks ago, broke his arm and hurt his back) said that Baby Brother has never been rejected academically. He’s always been above and beyond the top of his class. BUT he’s been in small Catholic schools all his life. Not saying he isn’t smart, he’s amazingly smart, can speak Latin and knows so much about so much, especially things he’s interested in, but he hasn’t had a lot of competition. He’s already taking college classes part time because he’s fulfilled his HS requirements, has been accepted everywhere he applied.

Except Yale.

So now he has to make the decision of what to do next, where will best suit his needs. He recently found out another local college has everything he wants, but he didn’t apply, and now it’s too late (?). He thinks he put all his eggs in one basket, which isn’t true, because he was accepted at two other colleges. He just really had his heart set on Yale.

And I know just how he feels.

Broken Brother has his own AC business, and hasn’t been able to work since falling out of the tree he was trimming. So he’s got my son working for him tomorrow. He offered him a summer job, which at first excited The Boy. The dh likes the idea, too. The Boy would learn a trade, make some (likely) good money. But it’s hard, hot work. I worry that The Boy won’t like it, and it will be hard to quit because, well, it’s his uncle.

But honestly, I can’t think of a better first boss.

So we’ll see how he likes it after tomorrow – which will be cool by comparison to the summer.

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B Movies, Rain and PIctures

I almost slept till the alarm again! Yay!

Jericho was sad - I cried. Of course, the dh had seen promos and knew someone was going to die, and almost immediately realized who it was. Lost was intriguing, especially the ending, though of course the dh called it. He's not allowed to talk during TV shows anymore.

No estimate on the roof yesterday, and it's supposed to rain the next three days. Urgh.

I LOVE B-movies. I was thinking maybe it stemmed from my Mystery Science Theater mania in the 1990s (Joel, not Mike) but I realized the other night when I was watching Reign of the Gargoyles on Sci Fi it started before then. But I remembered another gargoyle movie that was made in the early 1970s that they'd show LATE late at night. It was about an archaeologist who found gargoyles in a cave or something, in the Southwestern part of the US. It was creepily terrible, but I would watch it every time it came on. Same with Devil's Rain, which had Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, Tom Skerritt and melting faces.

I have an even earlier memory of fascination with B movies. My dad was watching a Japanese horror movie (they used to show them on Saturday afternoons in the years BC - before cable). It was about a town carving a giant statue, and as they were carving it, it started to bleed. It came to live and smooshed a bunch of people. I remember Dad saying that he shouldn't have let me watch it - I guess I freaked out. And clearly it's stayed with me for years.

Now I indulge my B-movie love on Sci Fi Saturdays, though some will never hold up to those early movies.

Tonight's Supernatural is a rerun but it is one of my FAVORITE episodes. If you haven't seen it yet, tune in for the Black Moment-y goodness. And the brotherly love.

I was searching for new pictures of Jensen and came across some disturbing ones....plaid pants, leather pants (and not in a good way), playing with a hose. Ew. And sometimes he's just Too Pretty.

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Sleep and Movies

I slept till the alarm today! Yay! I did wake up at 4:15, looked at the clock, said, "I'll get up and wri-zzzzzz."

I was talking to our computer teacher about the leaky roof and she said that our assistant coach has a carpentry business, so I went to talk to him and he's coming to give an estimate this week. We think we're just going to do part of the roof, from the kitchen over, which should keep the cost down. Of course, we're expecting rain for the next TWO WEEKS. BAH! And the bad thing is, he's someone I work with, so I have to clean up the house ;)

I stole this from Marianne, I'm pretty sure.

Movie Meme

1. Name a movie you have seen more than 10 times.

The Mummy, The Two Towers, Speed, Princess Bride, Ferris Bueller, Ghost Busters, Tomb Raider 2, Dear Frankie, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

2. Name a movie you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.

Return of the King, Dear Frankie, Raiders of the Lost Ark

3. Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie.

Gerard Butler, Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Will Smith, Clooney

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to see a movie.

Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell

5. Name a movie you can and do quote from.

The Princess Bride, Mummy, Big Trouble in Little China, Ghostbusters

6. Name a movie musical in which you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.

Sound of Music, natch, Grease, Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, Buffy’s musical

7. Name a movie you have been known to sing along with.

All of the above ;)

8. Name a movie you would recommend everyone see.

Casino Royale!

9. Name a movie you own.

ONE???? Please.

10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.

Marky Mark – I mean, Mark Wahlberg.

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?

Yep. A LONG time ago, though, and all B movies.

12. Ever made out in a movie?

No

13. Name a movie you keep meaning to see but you just haven’t gotten around to yet.

Lost in Translation, Slither, Snakes on a Plane

14. Ever walked out of a movie?

No. I won’t even turn off one I rented.

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.

Dear Frankie, Return of the King

16. Popcorn?

Of course!!

17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?

MAYBE 6 a year. This year will be more.

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?

300

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?

Action

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?

HR Pufnstuf. Funny story. The movie came out the day my brother was born. I was staying with my grandparents and I LOVED HR Pufnstuf. The characters were going to make an appearance at the theater, so my grandfather took his truck and parked it at the theater the day before so we'd be able to see. I got so scared when we actually got to the theater, I hid. Didn't see him at all.

Found out years later, the dh was there that day, too.

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?

I can't think of one.

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?

Talladega Nights. I’m so ashamed.

23. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?

I can't think of one here, either.

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?

Ghostbusters

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Under Pressure

Yup, look at the time. 2 AM. Woke up about an hour ago, snapped awake with a knot forming in my stomach. I finally gave up on sleep, came out and finished my Merritt contest entries (I had one judge who NEVER got back to me, I had to scramble at the last minute because the finalists need their hard copies to the coordinator by next Tuesday) and caught up on my email, which was piled high.

There's nothing else I can do tonight, but the knot in my stomach won't go away.

I'm anxious about the hotel and registration.

I'm anxious about the library books that I have sitting on my ottoman for research, and the ones sitting at the library waiting to be picked up.

I'm anxious about Ghost Hunters, AKA The Book That Will Never End.

I'm anxious about the roof that leaks.

Heck, I'm anxious about having too many shows on Tivo.

All this stuff I bring on myself, but how do I stop stressing about it? Maybe just writing it down will help. I'm going to try to go back to sleep.

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Chicago North Fire and Ice

I was calling the dh after work and saw I had a message on my cell. Breaking Daylight (AKA Alex's story) is a finalist in the ST category!!!

It's BD's first contest. I'm very proud.

The Morning After

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I feel a little hungover today, and I didn't have ANYTHING to drink, not even the champagne that's been in my fridge since I signed with my agent ;) I was on the computer almost all afternoon, hoping to see other names show up on the list, but they never did.

That's one of the hardest parts about finalling, knowing there are deserving writers out there who don't final. My friend Elizabeth finished her first historical this year, and it was wonderful, but it didn't final, apparently, and she'd email me now and again to ask if I'd heard anything.

Then on the Wet Noodle Posse loop, there were several people who hoped to final but didn't.

So I've got a touch of guilt (I know, surprise). BUT I'm so happy that ALL the mss my agent has are GH finalists.

Yesterday was weird, though. The loops were so slow in bringing the news, maybe because it was Sunday. Maybe I'm on the wrong loops ;) When Trish called to tell me I'd finalled, we'd JUST gotten back from Lowe's. I told the dh I needed a project to keep me busy, so I bought blue stain for my bench. I did eventually stain it, after Trish called to tell me she'd DOUBLE finalled!!!! (COVEN! COVEN! COVEN!) It looks nice.

I need to register for conference, but need to wait for, you know, PAYDAY. And since the hotel is sold out, we need to find another place to stay. Good thing is, we'll only be going 2 days, and we'll be driving. I already have my dress and shoes (though if I see some rhinestoney ones I'll buy them) and I have my picture (though if JoAnn's photog isn't too dear, I might get professional ones). The dh does need a new suit and shoes, though.

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Golden Heart

Beneath the Surface did it!!!! It finalled in the Golden Heart, in the Single Title category!!!!!!

And Trish was the one to call me!!!!!

Electronic Contest Entries

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This was my first year to coordinate an electronic contest. I only had 12 entries in my category, should have been easy, right?

Uh.

Apparently I’m a kinesthetic person, and like the actual sorting of entries. Because sorting them electronically was a pain in the neck. You had to make copies of each entry, electronically (at least that was the only way I could think to do it) so I made folders for each judge.

Only when I sent the folders as attachments, no one could open them. Sigh.

Then you had people who didn’t save as .rtf and you had to reformat.

One person sent in her entry only it had comments from her critique partner in it! She would have seen it if she’d printed it out. I couldn’t get ahold of her to resend, so I cleaned it up myself.

I accidentally sent the same entries to 2 different people to judge. Never would have done that with paper entries ;)

The ONLY good thing is no trips to the post office.

Never again.

GOOD LUCK to everyone who entered the GH/Rita!!! Check in if you final!!!

Please help spread the word by passing this on to any relevant loops you're on:
Once again, Melynda Beth Skinner will be hosting her Unofficial List of Golden Heart® and RITA® Award Finalists at
http://www.melyndabethskinner.com/finalists.html on notification day, March 25th, 2007. She updates the list every few minutes throughout the day. There's also a bulletinboard/chat room, and great fun is had by all. If you'd like to help, send names of finalists, their entries' titles, & the category(ies) entered to melynda@melyndabethskinner.com .
Permission is hereby granted by Melynda Beth Skinner to forward this paragraph.

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Grey's , Lost and Outlander

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Grey's is seriously making me mad. George and Izzy? George and IZZY?

Izzy was always my favorite character. I loved her compassion, her sass, her background (have we ever heard anymore about her kid? NO.) I loved that she loved Denny. I cringed when she cut his LVAD wire. I cried when she mourned.

This season she's turned into a complete bitch. She can't even try to be nice to Callie, and I guess now we know why. So what does this show us? Men and women can't be friends? George is a bigger man-whore than Alex? And you know Izzy isn't going to be able to keep a secret (though why did Addison immediately jump to the conclusion Izzy was talking about adultery?) This is not going to be good, and I don't think I can watch.

I think part of it is that, while it was time for her to move on from Denny, I loved Denny and don't think George is fit to follow his footsteps. He's been a butthead lately, too. Maybe they deserve each other, and Callie can have Alex-now-with-a-soul.

Then LOST. We finally know what happened to Locke to put him in that wheelchair. (My dh wonders if that was Locke falling past the window when Hurley was meeting with his accountant in that one episode.) But what is the deal with the box???? (The dh also thinks Locke's dad is the real Sawyer, the one our Sawyer is looking for.) And would Jack really have left his friends behind on the island? That seems completely against his character.

I'm listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, the latest (last?) Jamie and Clair book. I have the book, but would get a hernia reading it, so I checked the CDs out of the library.

58 hours.

I drive an hour a day, but only have 48 days of school left!

Anyway, this week, I was listening and it took TWO DAYS to listen to ONE SCENE, and it was with Roger and Brianna (yawn)! And now Clair is going on and on about hemorrhoids. Honestly.

My friend Elizabeth recommended this series to me years ago, when I was living at my old house (I've been here almost 8 years, so...) I remember sitting on the back porch. I finished OUTLANDER, head over heels for Jamie, and made the dh drive me to the bookstore then and there for DRAGONFLY IN AMBER. It was not my favorite. My heart was broken for the 20 years they lost. I LOVED VOYAGER, but all the rest since then have been forgettable.

However, it's surprising to me how I remember the characters so well. Not just the main ones, but the peripheral ones, including Jenny, who will likely not be in anymore books since she's back in Scotland.

What about you - are you an OUTLANDER fan?

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Supernatural and Wasn't It Just Spring Break??

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I'm thinking about taking the day off - I have all these contest entries to organize, even though they're not going back till Monday, I have stuff to read for critique (not much) and I want to WRITE. So mostly I want to write. And get through some of my library books. And sleep (which, clearly I'm not, up at 3 AGAIN!)

Supernatural last night --- not what I expected. LOVED Dean's glee at hunting werewolves, LOVED the love scene, and the emotion (does this mean Sam is stronger than Dean? And will Sam love again?) But when I think of werewolves, I think of forest and pack and isolation. I wish there had been more action, more werewolf fighting, more, well, werewolves. That would have been cool.

But did you see Sammy's arms? Could we PLEASE put him in some t-shirts now and again, y'all?

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Finding the Perfect Woman

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What do you do when you have this larger than life hero but you can't find the perfect woman for him? I usually start with the hero, though most of my books are the heroine's story. But have you ever been writing along and saying to yourself, "This one isn't the right one for him?" How do you fix it? Do you visualize her in a different way? Change her name? Or change her completely?

What does it take to be a heroine for a larger than life hero?

The field trip wasn't bad yesterday - it was interesting to see the different styles of practice for the 2 teams. And the game last night was fun, though we walked 3/4 of the way around the ATT Center to get to our seats, then decided we wanted Whataburger, so had to go back down. We were still in our seats (near heaven, somewhere) by the National Anthem. And we talked almost the whole time!

New Supernatural tonight - whoo!!!!!

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The Return

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The Return was the worst movie I've ever seen that didn't have one of my crushes in it.

What is The Return, you ask? And well you should. It came out in the fall, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (BUFFY!) and was set in La Salle and Luling, Texas. No movies are ever set there, and why this one was...who knows. Sam Shepard was in it (mighty = fallen) which was a bonus for me.

First, it was incomprehensibly told, and my dh, who has the terrible habit of asking "Now what's going on?" because he's on his laptop instead of paying attention, got dirty looks instead of answers.

Second, it was the longest 85 minute movie ever....slowwwwwwwwww. So me, being someone who doesn't try to figure things out ahead of time, started trying to figure out why it was happening.

Every idea I came up with was better than the ultimate resolution, which was so completely random. RANDOM! Grrr.

So I was done by 8:30, started watching the Tivoed American Idol and was done with it by 9:10. That's right, that's how much padding is in that show. Really liked Jordin and Blake.

Today we have a field trip to the Aggies' basketball practice (here for March Madness) and tonight I'm going to the Spurs game with Baby Brother (he won tickets.) A sporty day!

And I'm blogging about trusting yourself at Wet Noodle Posse

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Relax???

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So after school I watched Gilmore Girls, started supper, judged a contest entry, ate, then went outside to sit in my new chair on the front porch, with my copy of EW.

Now, Saturday night I sat out there, and the dh joined me. As soon as he sat down, his chair snapped. We took it back. I inspected the replacement chair closely.

But I was sitting in the other chair.

I heard creaking, but just thought, you know, it's sliding a bit on the concrete. But alas, no. The leg snapped clean off!

Okay, we are no lightweights, but I've NEVER broken a chair.

Yes, I will try to exchange it today (I just bought it on Friday!)

We get to wear jeans today, which I have mixed feelings about, since I got out all my pretty spring clothes. And we have a field trip tomorrow (ugh.) Then my baby brother won tickets to tomorrow night's Spurs game and invited me. Which means I'm driving. To a Spurs game. Where lots of other people drive. Yick. And I'm missing SARA on top of that. Oh, well, bonding with baby brother is good, especially since he may be going away to college next year.

Skippy is doing better. He followed me all around last night, and was waiting outside the door this morning.

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And Back to Work

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Yesterday was the LEAST relaxing day. We went to breakfast, then to see 300, which I liked but didn't love. Then I came home to take a nap. My baby, Skippy, was on the bed. I knew he wasn't feeling good, and the side of his neck was swollen. The dh told me to take today off and take him to the vet. I was going to take him when I got home.

But when I was laying down, I could feel him scratching. And scratching. And scratching.

That couldn't be good.

(MAYBE SKIP THIS IF YOU'RE EATING)

I looked at him and he'd scratched himself bloody. I started hollering for the dh, who was at Lowe's (WITHOUT ME!) and so the boy watched the kitten while I got dressed and washed the quilt and afghan, then we drove him to the kitty ER. We were only there about an hour and 20 minutes, got him cleaned up (and since he was sedated, they neutered him, too). They gave him antibiotics and he spent the rest of the night groggy and unhappy and, well, they didn't stitch him up because they wanted the abcess to drain, so, oozing.

But this morning he was waiting for me when I came out of the bathroom, and it sounds like he's playing with one of his toys now, so he'll be well. Still we have to give him antibiotics. Not easy.

So I need to go to work. Hard because Cindi and her husband won't be there - they have an inservice. Nicely timed, those rats.

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25 More Hours of Spring Break

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I ended up setting foot in the car after all - added Great Clips, the library, Home Depot (one of my new chairs was cracked) and HEB. They boy's hair looks nice. But I also wrote a ton and I'm almost finished reading Flirting with Pride and Prejudice. I did go through one of my vampire books, too, which mostly listed EVERY vampire movie ever made, to that point.

I found a new band I love, Within Temptation, by listening to Supernatural videos on You Tube.

Here's how I did this week.

See 300 – MAYBE today

Paint one room – a room and the hall

Lunch with teacher friends – never came together

Get out spring clothes - yes

Take clothes to cleaners – yes

Clean office, bedroom and bathrooms – yes, and the front porch


Every day

Write 2 hours, at least. (I had how many words, but that just looked overwhelming ;) ) – I didn’t time it, but I wrote a lot.

Read! Finish Into the Storm and read the Vivi Anna Nocturne, at least! Finished another book besides, and started a BenBella Pride and Prejudice book.

Catch up on Tivo and DVDs (we stopped at Blockbuster on the way home and I got 3 movies!) – 2 movies still sitting here, but I watched everything on Tivo and Casino Royale, Man of the Year, Holiday and The Guardian. Watched about 9 episodes of Gilmore Girls, too.

Sit in my yard (where I will read/write – see, multitasking!) Too wet till Thursday!

Nap – you know it

Walk – up and down the ladder!

Open windows every day – except Saturday – I was cold!

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

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Man, it's chilly this AM! 52! I won't be sitting outside on my new chairs!

Here's a rundown of my running around this week. I really want to stay home today, but The Boy decides he would like a hairstyly instead of just, you know, hair.

Saturday - Home Depot, HEB, Payless, Sunset nursery

Sunday - breakfast, Lowe's

Monday - Lowe's, UPS, cleaners, another nursery, Target, Kohl's, a Greek restaurant, library

Tuesday - Lowe's, McDonald's

Wednesday - library, Wendy's

Thursday - HEB, Blockbuster, Lowe's, library

Friday - Home Depot, HEB, Kohl's, cleaners

I don't even want to set foot in my car, even though I have a book on CD waiting at the library. Maybe I'll send the dh!

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What I Learned From Painting

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1) You get what you pay for. I bought cheap brushes for the hallway and they were horrible!

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2) No matter how much help you recruit, no one wants to do the cutting – everyone wants to use the roller!

3) Have plenty of Diet Coke on hand.

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4) Kittens are not good helpers.

5) If you go up 2 steps, come down two steps.

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6) Painting a hallway is much harder than painting a room, by virtue of its narrowness. I was cocky because I hadn’t gotten paint on my clothes the past 2 days, but I got paint on my shirt and my butt in the hall.

7) Don’t let a 3 year old mistake linger.

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8) Use the Scotch brand tape! ARGH! I went to peel it off after the paint had dried and it took off the paint in some areas!

This is what I did this AM - I want to stain the bench blue, but I'm out of time ;)

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Supernatural was awesome last night, though I figured it out from the beginning. I liked how we only saw the boys' POV the last 15 minutes or so.

This is so Mal in my book, y'all.

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5 Minutes, Weird Looks, Movies and Sunshine

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I'm down to my last Diet Coke. Sometimes I wish the boy could drive already!

I stayed up till 12:30 last night to see Jensen Ackles on Jimmy Kimmel (why does this man have his own show? Seriously.) Rosie Perez had 2 segments, then there were about 20 commercials, then Jensen had 5 minutes. Evanesence was on, so I did finally get to hear them.

I checked out 5 vampire books from the library yesterday for research on my next book. I'd put a hold on them Saturday and they were all at my library by yesterday. How cool is that? But lemme tell you, checking out 5 vampire books earns you some weird looks from the librarian.

Speaking of writing, I know what's going to happen in my ghost hunter book now, and I wrote a scene last night. Feels good to know, even if I might not get it done by Sunday, which was my goal.

We watched Casino Royale Tuesday night and it was awesome! I watched The Holiday yesterday, and it took me all day because I was restless, but I really liked the Jack Black/Kate Winslet story. I admit to not paying as much attention to the Jude Law/Cameron Diaz story.

Okay, off to paint the hall. Looks like sun today, FINALLY!

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My Yellow Room

It's done. And the hallway is taped for painting tomorrow.

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Story or Writing?

Happy Pi Day!!

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You know, 3/14? 3.14? The dh is a geek about it, so that's what made me think about it.

It's also my friend Trish J's birthday! Happy birthday, T!!

I painted MOST of the sunroom yesterday. It's....yellow. Will post pics when I'm done. I have to get the ladder in (it was soaked from all the rain) and do the high ceilings.

Okay, I've been looking at my book list for the year. I tend to pick books by new-to-me-authors because of the story. And I tend to put them down because of the writing. Clunky writing will make me put down a compelling story, while lyrical writing will carry me through a less compelling one.

What is if for you? Writing or story?

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TV

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Clearly Spring Break means I don't get the computer. Ever. Whenever I walk toward it, the boy slides ahead of me! I wasn't on at all after dinner last night. So here I am up at 5 after another bad night of storms.

I have all my project stuff ready - I bought the 4 light fixtures, the light switch plates (only 4 of my light switches are so close to the molding I can't use them!) and paint for two rooms and the hall. I'm still debating over the bedroom. I don't think I can paint today because it's raining and you're not supposed to paint when it's raining or something.

So let's talk TV.

GILMORE GIRLS

Last week I didn't like the Dean/Rory story. This past week, I loved it. I was ready to buy the DVD, since Luke and Lorelei were together, Rory and Dean were together, oh the happiness! But I saw yesterday's episode and I predict bad things. Very bad things ahead. (Okay, I know none of them STAY together, but more than 5 episodes, 'kay?)

BSG

Starbuck is really dead, leaving two men to mourn her --- why? She's the biggest whiner!

DRESDEN FILES

I so wanted to love this show. But as soon as I see it, I forget what it was about. Kind of like MONK.

PRISON BREAK

Well, ya knew the prez wasn't going to pardon them. The now what factor will have me back for the last three episodes. I could give less than a hoot about C Note and Sucre anymore, though.

24

Go, Janosz! (Remember? Peter McNichol was in Ghostbusters 2?) Be honest! Only, uh-oh, Jim Jones has other ideas. Bad Jim Jones. And Martha, he's the president! Okay, he was the president! So do you think Martha and Aaron are, like, together together?

Was Jack even in this episode?

HEROES:

We have to wait SIX MORE WEEKS? Are they CRAZY? Did they see what that did to JERICHO'S numbers? Shapeshifter woman is seriously creepy, glad Mohinder found out it was Sylar.

JERICHO

Okay, dudes, if you're going hunting in the winter in Kansas, wear more than a flannel shirt and a hoodie! Jake, I expected more of you! Criminey.

LOST

Why did they reintroduce the lady only to kill her? Was Russian dude there waiting for the plane folk to find him? Does he know Danielle? Did you see how he reacted when he heard her voice? Does she really know these people or has she suffered some kind of memory loss?

And most importantly, what will happen to the kitty, all alone in the jungle?

LAS VEGAS

Yes, you didn't know I watched that one, did you? That ending was pretty riveting. Talk about being pulled in a million directions! But seriously, holler out, "Mary, don't kill your dad," or something instead of just waiting for her to pull the trigger. And if Sam never comes back, I'd be happy. Also, if Delinda got blown up. And if Mary went to prison for life.

Seriously, why do I watch this show?

BLOOD TIES

I could love this show. I mean it. Wow. Strong chick, scary bad guys, hot vamp AND hot cop. Cool.

I watched, kinda, A GOOD YEAR. I got restless (typical of the beginning of Spring Break) and kept getting up. Beautiful scenery, the romance didn't kick in till an hour into the movie (up till then it was mostly Russell Crowe on his own or yelling at someone on the phone). It did help me pick my paint colors, and I bought some beautiful urns at Home Depot.

We also watched MAN OF THE YEAR. Not what I expected at all, a lot more cloak and dagger than comedy. You can kind of get the same comedy by watching Jon Stewart or Bill Maher.

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SAVE SUPERNATURAL

JoAnn sent me this from her friend's blog. Help!

I just read an interview TV Guide with the series creator of Supernatural. He’s asking people to make sure they let CW know they like the show because it’s not getting the exposure it needs and that means there’s a chance it won’t get renewed.

Here’s the channel site: The CW I clicked on the CONTACT US link which gave me this email addy: Feedback at CW and wrote a very strong plea for them to keep the show. I really suggest doing the same, and I’m going to post the whole thing in my blog too.

Did You Miss Me?

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Yesterday was a crazy day - woke up late, went to breakfast with my MIL, took her to Lowe's for MORE paint chips (I have made 2 of three decisions), went to look at model homes with the dh (for his job). THAT was a trip. These are brand new houses north of the city, in an area of incredible growth. They were 5 bedroom houses, limestone and brick (not an attractive combination in these instances), with an upstairs living room and a downstairs living room. I was a bit envious of the big bathrooms and the outside fireplace, but otherwise....I love my house, and will even more after the cosmetic improvements we're making this week. Then my mom called to tell me Dumb Brother fell out of a tree (he was trimming it) and broke his arm. He's just started his own AC business, so this is NOT a good development. My ds might go work for him this week, adter DB goes to a hand specialist today.

Then it rained like hell last night! It's supposed to rain till Wednesday, but it's clear right now. And Mom, the boy and Baby Brother are going shopping, then to lunch.

I reached my goal on BIAW, actually beat it by 24 words last night, just after midnight. Then I went to bed without finishing watching Blood Ties. Did anyone see it? I Tivoed it, thank goodness!

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Summer Preview

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Whee!!!! Spring Break!!! No alarms!! That doesn’t mean I won’t wake up early, but I don’t HAVE to wake up early! Mom and I call this our summer preview, because we try out our summer routine, get our house in order, mess up our sleep schedule ;)

This week I am going to:

See 300

Paint one room

Lunch with teacher friends

Get out spring clothes

Take clothes to cleaners.

Clean office, bedroom and bathrooms


Every day

Write 2 hours, at least. (I had how many words, but that just looked overwhelming ;) )

Read! Finishe Into the Storm and read the Vivi Anna Nocturne, at least!

Catch up on Tivo and DVDs (we stopped at Blockbuster on the way home and I got 3 movies!)

Sit in my yard (where I will read/write – see, multitasking!)

Nap

Walk

Open windows every day

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10 Hours Till Spring Break

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One of my troublesome students is suspended today. I NEVER send kids to the office, but he was there at 8:30 yesterday AM because he screamed at me for not letting him have his way. So, barring attitudes from the other kids, today should be mostly peaceful.

Realize, before you read this post, that next week I will be wearing either jeans or yoga pants. But as I was driving home yesterday, I realized I'm very very picky about 2 things.

Cars and purses.

Think about it. You use both nearly every day. I think your car and your purse both say something about you.

There are so many cars on the road that look the same. When we were shopping for our last new car, we test drove all these cars that were just - interchangeable. The Scion, when we saw it, stood out. Before that, I wanted a classic SUV. There are not many 1987 FJ-60 Land Cruisers on the road. And this one has a custom paint job ;)

Cookie cutter cars are deal breakers for me. Certain aspects of a car - color, tail lights, head lights - are deal breakers. Rims. (Aren't I the superficial girl?)

I'm also very picky about purses. Again, the color has to be RIGHT. Usually, it's got to be solid. It has to be the right size - if it's too big, I overstuff it. If it's too small, I can't get into it. But being able to get into it is secondary to how it LOOKS. It can't have large buckles or those studs. It has to have the right straps. Designer names help ;) I will go with the same purse for AGES if I can't find just what I want?

What are you picky about?

GHOST HUNTERS BIAW

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
40,143 / 80,000
(50.2%)


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Goodreads

M.J. Fredrick's books on Goodreads
Breaking DaylightBreaking Daylight
ratings: 11 (avg rating 3.33)

Beneath the SurfaceBeneath the Surface
ratings: 11 (avg rating 4.00)

Hot ShotHot Shot (Samhain)
reviews: 2
ratings: 10 (avg rating 4.00)

Where There's SmokeWhere There's Smoke
ratings: 6 (avg rating 4.00)

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MJFredrick
I'm a mom, a wife, a teacher and a writer. I have five cats and a dog to keep me company. I love bookstores and libraries and Netflix - movies are my greatest weakness.
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