We finally got some much needed rain yesterday - in the morning and evening hours. It was nice! Of course, then it was steamy outside. Which wasn’t nice. BUT! We got rain!

Yesterday was a super busy day. I went to an internet marketing workshop with the boss which was really informative. I’m glad she went because it was a lot of absorb and I’m not sure I could have remembered everything to tell her. It last most of the afternoon.

Got back to the office and stayed long enough to pack up and shut down and then went to get the kiddo. I had a splitting headache by the time I got home. I cooked a quick meal - dirty rice - and then we watched Star Trek IV. About half-way through, the kiddo started to whine that he wanted to watch something else but I wouldn’t cave. Besides, it’s my TV, too.

I’ve been exceptionally lazy when I get home in the evenings. I’m so tired, I just want to sit and not do anything productive. It took all my strength to clean up the kitchen tonight. I even let the kiddo stay up past 9 pm which I usually don’t do. The 9 pm bedtime is non-negotiable and I’m read for some personal time. Anyway, I haven’t been able to stay up past 10 lately which is just…lame. I need to seriously get the mojo back and flowing. Right now it’s nonexistent.

Kiddo has a dental appointment this morning. Hopefully this is the last one for a while. He gets the last of his fillings.

My life is completely uninteresting right now so I guess that’s it for me today… We’re one more day closer to Friday. WOOHOO!

It’s still hot out. Too hot to even breathe outside. BLAH! If we hit 100 today that will be 20 days this year we’ve made it to 100.

Anyhoo…

RWA Nationals gears up this week in San Francisco and while I’d love to go, funds just don’t allow for that sort of thing. It’s not in my budget, unfortunately. Besides, I’m heading for Canada next year. I’ll just have to live vicariously through others at the conference. hehe

Lately I’m all about the quick fix meal that’s inexpensive to cook AND delicious. I subscribed to a new magazine called “Simple & Delicious” - I think the title explains everything.

Anyway - I tried a new recipe last night and it was YUMMY! So I wanted to share it here. It’s ready in 30 minutes, quick and easy to fix.

(more…)

You Would Make an Okay 1930’s Wife

You have some of the attributes of an ideal 1930’s wife… but you probably didn’t intend it to be that way. You don’t buy into retro gender roles, though you do embrace your femininity at times.A 1930’s man may find you passable, but you probably wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

And for those on the flipside: Would You Have Been a Good Husband in the 1930s?

It’s supposed to be 103 today with a heat index of 105. KILL.ME.

Yesterday, it was 105 by 3 pm. UGH. We are DYING down here. And there’s no end (or rain) in sight. It’s supposed to be 101-103 all week long too. You feel like you’re going to burst into flame just walking to and from the car. It seriously makes me want to hibernate. And it zaps all energy. My AC runs from the time I walk in the door at home until about 9 pm. Sad. I hope my average billing doesn’t go up, although I shouldn’t be surprised since EVERYTHING is going up. BUT - gas is down to 3.75 a gallon. WOO!

I guess I should water my lawn - or at least the foundation of the house.

Now on to the title of the blog…

SO. Last week, Columbia House (of which I’m a member) had their box sets on sale for 50% off. So I perused them… and found the entire original cast Star Trek box set on sale for $40! How could I resist that? I gleefully clicked BUY NOW and they were finally on their way Friday. They arrived on my doorstep yesterday. WOOHOO!

I’m so totally excited about the movies! I couldn’t wait to sit down and watch STII: The Wrath of Kahn (my personal favorite) and STIV: Voyage Home (my second favorite). Yes, I am a total nerd. Next on my hit list is the entire box set of the original series (all three seasons of it). I remember the days when I went to all the conventions and collected autographs from the original crew and the Next Generation. See? I told you I was a nerd. No, I never dressed up. I never took it quite that far. And the proper word is TREKKIE not TREKKER.

My friends and I use to play Star Trek role-playing games. This was sort of the same as D&D except the ST version. Nerds. Then we’d hit the conventions. I actually found my orignal cast Star Trek Compendium and Mr. Spock’s Guide to the Enterprise. Autographed by most of the original crew! It’s in mint condition, too. Should be worth a pretty penny, should I ever decide to sell (never).

I was so excited about the box set, I couldn’t wait to tell my brother… also a Trek Fan. Yes, I suppose nerd-dom runs in the family, eh?

Live long and prosper!

My friend turned me on to this new theme for the blog and well… it fits me! So I’m going to try this one out for a while. Then when I get bored, I can switch back to the coffee thing.

Dark Knight was excellent. I’m not a Christian Bale fan, though, so that almost ruined it for me. And the changing of his voice when he was Batman just didn’t work for me. Heath Ledger was scary as hell as Joker. He deserves the Oscar for sure. And I was shocked to learn Gary Oldman was Commissioner Gordan. That man is an amazing actor.

Man and I overloaded on popcorn. The gal put way too much butter on it so we had a nice sheen on the popcorn when we got it.

It was frigging HOT this weekend. I hate July and August. It totally sucks. I stayed inside a lot but I did mow the front yard Sunday morning after grocery shopping. Then I cleaned house. After all that, I headed to the mall for some school clothes shopping. Penney’s was having a sale. They also had their housewares stuff on sale and I got a $200 knife set for half price. I couldn’t pass them up. They totally ROCK too. It’s so nice to have a decent cutlery set finally!

By the end of the day, I was ready to collapse, plus I had a massive headahe.

I have a doctor’s appointment this morning for a check up. And otnight I’ve promised the kiddo I’d take him to buy school shoes…however, I think I might wait on that since he’s got brand new sneakers.

That’s it for me… Happy Monday!

101 degrees outside. Time for me to hibernate!

…it was easier to write when you didn’t know the rules? You could sit down at the computer with reckless abandon and write until your heart was content. You could use passive voice and adverbs and no one would give a damn. You could head-hop and info dump all you wanted and it still didn’t matter.

And then you took a craft class or two and learned the do’s and don’ts and suddenly, writing got hard. Suddenly, you had to figure out a plot and make characters sound real. And if you were writing anything but contemporary, you had to do serious research (I’m not saying that contemporary stuff doesn’t involve research but there is a certain amout of it that goes into fantasy or historical. You get my drift…). And then you use up hours upon hours scouring the internet for information on your selected topic. You spend hours in Half Price Books and the library looking for books on whatever it is you’re salivating to learn about.

When you finally get back to the page, you feel almost overwhelmed with all the information floating around in your head and you’re not sure what to use and what NOT to use. So you start to write anyway, but after a word or two, frustration sets in and you sit and stare at that darn blinking cursor…

And of course I’m using the word “you” collectively here.

Maybe this doesn’t happen to all writers, but it sure as hell happens to me. I feel sort of lost sometimes and I don’t know where to begin. And when I’m away from the page for more than a day, it’s hard to get back into the swing of things. It’s hard to make myself sit at the desk and write when all I want to do is climb into bed and read my book.

But somehow, last night, I managed to eek out a few words. I sort of had a spark of an idea thanks to my good friend. She also helped me rename my hero - again! Poor guy has had three names in the last few revisions. But nothing sounded right for him. I think I’ve finally figured out his name … and it’s a totally Alpha Male name, too. Love it. It seems to be perfect for him.

Anyway, I had a character I thought I was killing off but for some reason, she’s decided she doesn’t want to be dead. Which poses an interesting question as I write this - what DOES happen to her when she “dies”? Does she fake her death? Do astral projection? What? I’ll figure that out when I get closer to that time… My protagonist is going to be VERY happy this character isn’t dead, though. And I think it’ll add a great twist to the story, too. I’ve also decided it’ll have some romance in the story, but nothing hard core. No sex for sure. It’s just sweet. Younger heroine meets older hero and because of her age, they can do nothing but make goo-goo eyes at each other…until book two when she comes of age and gets kidnapped… I just have to finish book one first. LOL!

My chosen genre is YA fantasy at the moment and I’ve discovered it’s even harder to write than adult erotica. Fantasy is definitely where my heart lies and what I’ve always wanted to write. I don’t think I was ready to write that before but now I think I’m getting closer. And the book is still going very slowly but it’s definitely coming along. I’m not too pleased with the progress, but it’s something.

After nearly two years of being in the house, I unpacked my classical music CDs and put in my lute music. I had missed it so. It was nice to have it again. It helped soothe me while I wrote.

Anyhoo…I’m glad it’s Friday. I have a movie date with Man tonight - we’re going to see The Dark Knight. YAY!

Do you ever just feel blank? Like a chalkboard someone erased and there’s nothing left but chalk dust. Gosh that’s me these last few days. Just blank.

Work has been exceptionally busy these last few days. Not that I’m complaining. I kind of like it. I feel like I’ve finally found my own niche there and it’s cool. But by the time I make it home, I’m exhausted. And then I have to cook a full meal and clean the kitchen and by the time all THAT is done, it’s nearly 8 and time for the kiddo to get into his bath and THEN the bedtime routine starts…and THEN I get to sit in front of the computer and stare at a blinking cursor.

And I’ve been having stomach issues. It does not like what I feed it lately. Which makes for a very uncomfortable day that’s for sure. I probably should have skipped the pizza for lunch yesterday… However, I made a nice healthy dinner. Well, okay, someone. I made lemon chicken.

Since I don’t have much else to blog about, here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

Pound 4 chicken breasts with meat mallet to a uniform 1/2 inch thickness. Dredge lightly in about 3 TB flour, reserving excess. In large sauté pan over medium high heat, melt 2 TB butter and 2 TB olive oil until it is sizzling hot. Add the chicken. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until juices run clear. Remove chicken to platter. Stir the reserved flour into the oil remaining in the pan, brown slightly and stir to pick up what is left in the pan. Pour in 1 3/4 cups chicken broth and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Boil until it thickens slightly. Return the chicken to the pan to heat through. Serve over cooked rice. 4 servings.

It’s been 100 degrees for the last few days and is supposed to be 100 again today. The heat just zaps all energy. My poor AC runs nonstop from the time I get home until the time I go to bed. I keep praying it makes it another summer or two.

Not much else to report other than it’s hot. The kiddo and I watched Wipeout last and and despite the fact I felt like crap, it still made me laugh.

Okay that’s it for me. I’m off to work.

So. This weekend went by in the blink of an eye. (Hey, I rhymed!)

Friday night, went to dinner with Man and then we did some light shopping which consisted of petting electronics at Best Buy. We looked at flat screen TVs and then I coveted the front load washers and dryers. Of course, they salesman tried very hard to get me to purchase $3000 worth of appliances. He even tried to tempt me with their no interest for two years. I resisted, though! I didn’t succumb to his wiles. Besides, I’m about this close to paying off my computer with them. I want a zero balance for a while.

Anyway, so then Man and I came back to my house and watched Casablanca. He’d never seen it and expressed an interest so we watched it. Well, I slept through most of it but he watched the whole thing.

Saturday morning…got the kiddo back home early and then we went to see Wall-E which was so cute and precious I could cry. I LOVED the movie. Very well done and quite possibly one of Pixar’s best. The animation was superb. Afterward, kiddo and I headed to Mom’s for dinner - grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. I brought an apple cobbler and Cool Whip and there wasn’t a scrap left. We watched Soylent Green with Charleton Heston and I figured out the “secret” ingredient of the food supply about halfway through. Despite that, I was still grossed out. Today is Tuesday - so it must be Soylent Green Day. Blech. I’ll pass. LOL

We headed home and I stopped at Starbucks for a treat. He wanted a cappuccino (that’s my boy!) and I got an iced tea. He, of course, promptly spilled the entire cup onto his bedroom floor. He was highly upset. But that’s what happens when you’re climbing on your bed with a cup of coffee. Thank goodness it wasn’t hot and didn’t burn him.

I calmed him down and then put him in the tub and then it was bedtime. Amazing how fast that day flew. Then on Sunday, we went to church and ran errands afterward. I took him to get his hair cut which was much needed and then we went to Penney’s where I got him some new PJs and clothes. Then it was on to B&N where I managed to find a Christmas present for Mom (yes, I’m already starting!), a replacement cappuccino for the kid, and a couple of Magic Tree House books.

I cooked a Mexican feast Sunday afternoon - Spanish rice, green chili echilada, and a pot of pinto beans all day - and it was so yummy. I also made lemon bars - successfully this time! - and Man came for dinner bearing gifts. He bought a six pack of Dos Equis, my favorite shower gel, and a 24 piece storage set. The storage set was timely since I’m about two seconds away from tossing out my old Tupperware that I’ve had for 15 years. Egads…am I that old?

Anyway… Monday was another stupid Monday where I should have stayed in bed like I originally though. Today should be more of the same and Wednesday I have the webcast. One of these afternoons I’m going to try and leave work early to get a much-needed pedicure and Friday is Movie Night. Man and I are going to see Batman or Hancock, per my request. We haven’t decided on which yet.

Oh and I have mentioned it’s been 102 for the last few days? It’s freaking hot. You can fry an egg on the sidewalk - no lie. Thank goodness I park in a garage - at work and at home - because the temperature inside the car would be hotter than Hades and it would be impossible to steer or shift (yes, I drive a stick).

I’m feeling fat lately… I guess I better lay off the lemon bars…

That’s it for me. Have a great Tuesday!

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