Saturday, October 8, 2011

Sunday Stealing: The Questions Galore Meme, Part 1

I decided to do this different today. I'm going to fabricate someone to answer the questions. Like a fictional character. And we'll see where I am when it's done.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Is there someone in your life you know you’d be better off without? Sam at work, he's a bodyguard, but he's weird, you know? He always just stares at all of us, sure he does his job I just wish he wasn't so creepy.

2. Do you get criticized because of your body? Who doesn't? It's what you make of that criticism that counts. Do you let it define you or define the person the person who says it? Trust me, it defines the person spewing that garbage.

3. Did you kiss the last person you called? Sure but not often, my ma lives 1,500 miles away.

4. When was the last time you danced? Last night, and it felt great!

5. Do you keep in mind other people’s feelings? No, I can't control other people's feelings so why bother?

6. If you have a hang nail, do you pull it or clip it? I don't get hangnails...I get a manicure and pedicure twice a week, think of it as an investment.

7. Who do you want to forget? My uncle Race.

8. Who was the last person to send you a letter? Letter, like in the mail? Who does that anymore?

9. Who did you last tell to shut up? My boss, he needs to mind his own F***in' business.

10. What’s the last thing that you smelt that smelt bad? The dumpster at work, it's always rank. But the guys sure do love all that fried food.

11. What’s your favorite cereal? Malt-o-Meal....the chocolate kind. I make it with milk on a cold night, it's comfort food.

12. How do you feel when people lead you on, but they don’t even like you? Happens every night, you learn to be careful who you let in. Never the dudes at work.

13. Could you live without sunlight? I feel like I already do.

14. What’s something you know is bad, but you want to do it anyway? LMFAO - my job...it's bad but I do do it anyway. And I think that qualifies as want to because I don't want to live without that kind of cash.

15. What was the last thing you lied about? How much I made last night, but only to the other girls. Never tell the truth there, if you do too well they'll jump you and if you don't do well enough they'll start talking about you and feeling sorry for you. Just keep it in the middle.

16. Do you regret anything you’ve done in the past week? Well, yeah. But it's really private.

17. What was the last movie you bought? Don't laugh, but The Little Mermaid. It reminds me of happier times, you know?

18. What is a sport you would like to do? Teamwork is not my thing.

19. When was the last time you felt like crying? Almost every day...

20. Have you ever wanted to kill someone (not that you actually do it)? Daily...not that creepy Sam guy...him I just wish would stop coming around. But my boss...oh now there's a mean SOB! The world would be a better place without him.

You got any other questions???


Yeah that was kind of fun. Totally fake - please don't take any of this seriously and think I'm crazy. lol Well I am crazy but that stuff still isn't true.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Zonta's Applefest 2011

Last weekend, thinking of something to do with the boys on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, we ended up at Papa's Pumpkin Patch in Mount Pleasant, MI.
We looked at the crafts, and the boys played in the pumpkin maze.
CW found a sand bucket in the parking log so we had to visit the sandbox to return it.
And then they were arrested for molesting the gourds.
After that we spent about an hour playing with the Thomas toys inside the barn. They have 3 tables FULL of Thomas the Tank Engine trains and tracks, of course it helps sell the hundreds of items they have available. (No, was not paid for this...I even had to buy my own food!)

After CW whined to the point that even Ivan was annoyed, we went back outside. Bought a bag of Doritos for each of us, and then a fresh doughnut for each of us, we headed out to the Corn Maze. On our way out looking for the way in (which was actually more difficult this year than finding out way out!), CW had to stop and see if he could find a ripe tomato.
And no, the hunt was unsuccessful, the tomatoes out there were there for a very good reason. YUCK!

So finally we got in and I let the boys choose which way we turned, hoping to stay in there longer.
After a few minutes, we were done. Although we did get some ears of corn. The boys were far more impressed with the corn than the maze and would have loaded the stroller if I had let them. We picked up 3 off the ground and that was it. In response CW ran away to the mount of Mount Pleasant.
This picture is much worse because he really was so far away. No way I'm going up a mountain after him, he'll get hungry or light headed and come back down.

Which he did - because he wanted to play on the fallen tree. Ivan was not that impressed and had me take him off IMMEDIATELY after I shot his picture.
I attempted one last photo shoot, but no one would cooperate:

so we gave up and went to Sam's club for pop and free samples.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

We Interrupt This Date

by: L.C. Evans

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and Smashwords.

Synopsis:
Since her divorce a year ago, Susan Caraway has gone through the motions of life. Now she is finally coming out of her shell. Just when she decides on a makeover and a new career, her family members decide she's crisis central. First there’s her sister DeLorean who has come back from California with a baby, a designer dog, and no prospects for child support or a job. As soon as DeLorean settles in at Susan’s home, Susan’s son Christian returns from college trailing what Susan’s mama refers to as “an androgynous little tart.” Then there’s Mama herself, a southern lady who wrote the book on bossy. A secret from Mama’s past threatens to unravel her own peace. But not before Mama hurts her ankle and has to move into Susan’s home with her babies—two Chihuahuas with attitude. Susan would like to start her new job as a ghost tour operator. She would like to renew her relationship with Jack Maxwell, a man from her past. But Jack isn’t going to stand in line behind her needy family.

Goodreads had a different cover, actually pretty bland, a large white house. I like this cover, with the 2 chihuahuas. The dogs are actually very annoying, and are her Mama's babies. Her sister shows up with a Golden-Doodle, completely untrained and full of fleas and matted fur. Poor guy, the sister doesn't take care of him and Susan or "Nic" is not attached to any of the dogs moving through her house.

The story starts off with Susan, living alone after her divorce now a year gone by. She hates her job, but after being a stay at home mom for the last 20 years, doesn't have a great skill set to offer in this competitive market. That's one thing I like in this story, maybe it will date it but L.C. Evans didn't sugar coat what our economy is like. In fact, the character realizes that considering her options, the miserable job at the pawn shop is better than some alternatives.

Then her friend Victoria shows up and offers her a job running her new Ghost Tours operation. And sweetened the deal saying Susan could live in her Bed & Breakfast and either sell or rent the house that is just too big and expensive for 1 person. Susan wasn't about to gamble and lose the only steady paycheck she has. But her boss finds out and uses it as the excuse he's been looking for to fire her and hire his niece. This part bothered me because she really should have stopped taking his abuse right then. After all, he'd already fired her.

Then her sister shows up with a baby, a huge dog and no money. Moves in with Susan. Then Mama falls and sprains her ankle...and moves in with Susan. Then her son comes home for the weekend with a girl-who-is-a-friend from school. The girl is all piercings, purple hair, grunge but proves to Susan that there's a responsible person underneath it all. So when Jack shows up, he is frustrated to discover the same old "drop anything for her family" Nic he used to know. Susan is in tears because she can't figure out what is wrong with Jack until FINALLY she blows.

So, will the Ghost Hunting job be a success? Who knows, but you'll see what offers Victoria gives her to keep her interested. Will she smooth things over with Jack? Maybe...you'll have to read and see.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to shake sense into Susan. lol

Monday, October 3, 2011

The Terminal Diner

by: MaryPat Hyland

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

Synopsis:
"Men like pie." Who would know the truth behind those words better than Elaina Brady's mother Maria? Months after she showed her teenage daughter how to bake perfect pie and hours after offering that culinary wisdom, Maria abandons Elaina, her sister Dee Dee and their father Walt. All it took was a lingering, lusty look from a Missoula trucker who stopped by their family's diner and ordered a slice of lemon meringue. Maria hitches a ride west with him, and with that impulsive decision, sixteen-year-old Elaina loses her mother and gains a job baking pies at the diner.

A decade after Maria's departure, Elaina is still working at The Terminal Diner, just around the bend from an upstate New York airport. Her humdrum life is defined by pie-baking routine. Elaina realizes painfully that all she still knows about the opposite sex is summed up in the three last words her mother spoke to her. Then one deceivingly beautiful morning in September 2001, horrifying acts committed by terrorists a hundred miles away upset her world, bringing new influences into her life and inspiring her to be like her mother-impulsive. Will Elaina survive the consequences of her actions?


The cover is so bright, that's what caught my attention in the Facebook group, Review Seekers when author MaryPat Hyland asked for reviews for her book. I looked it over, but for some reason I was expecting something different from this tale. Right away it goes into the tragedy of 9/11 and I admit that my eyes rolled and I nearly put the book down. Honestly I can't take the rabid patriot behavior surrounding that day, and was afraid this book would be full of it. Pleasantly surprised that she dealt with it in a way that it was a fact of life, and was honest about the way that so many people became paranoid and even more racist against people of Arab decent than ever before.

Elaina, even though she has lived a VERY sheltered life, was upset and horrified by the events, but refused to judge all people by that one day. In fact, across the street 3 cousins opened a car dealership/repair shop. Elaina became good friends with Zahir, the young man who ran the repair business. One day when Elaina was stuck by the side of the road, Zahir was the only one who stopped by to help her. They became fast friends and Elaina and her father defended and recommended Zahir to all their customers.

Elaina also befriends Rhey, a homosexual (yes this is an important characteristic because it's the only thing keeping them from being a couple - lol) artist from New York, who has returned home after a recent break-up to open a gallery at the old drive-in theater. Rhey is a lively character, and brings out the best in Elaina. He is constantly pushing her to be more spontaneous. When he goes on a month long cruise with his aunt, Elaina meets a sailor and elopes. Oh, poor Elaina has no idea who she just married. Part of her decision was based on her sister eloping with a friend and fellow cellist from Germany. It gets bad really fast, and the guy uses the "I'm a vet" line far too often that people start wondering if he really is.

I could not like Elaina's mother. She ran off without a word to anyone with the first nice guy to walk in the diner because she felt trapped. Did she bother discussing that with Walt - seems like he only bought the diner because it was in her family. That really annoyed me because she ditched not only him but her 2 girls. And while she said it was just because of feeling trapped, did she write the girls, call them, send them cards and gifts? Nope, not a thing until DeeDee (the sister) calls her to invite her to the marriage party Walt is throwing. And even then she was reluctant about returning, it just came off as so selfish. And I'm not sure if that was intentional or not.

The Terminal Diner has a great pace and while it is only 162 pages, it all fits in perfectly. Although I would have liked more romance between Walt (Elaina's father) and Angie - a long-time waitress in the diner.

I enjoyed the story, one of those coming of age tales that we all love so much.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Sunday Stealing: The Lucky 33 Meme

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Can you cook? Yes, not fantastic but good enough.

2. What was your dream growing up? I don't know, I know I wanted my own family so I guess I achieved that one.

3. What talent do you wish you had? singing...I love to sing, I wish I were talented in it.

4. Favorite place? In the woods

5. Favorite vegetable green onion, although it doesn't love me so much

6. What was the last book you read. We Interrupt this Date by L.C. Evans

7. What zodiac sign are you? Virgo

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? no tatoos, just regular single set of ear piercings.

9. Worst Habit? Making excuses for people who treat me badly.

10. Do you personally know anybody on Blog? Yes I do.

11. What is your favorite sport? I love to play raquetball, but I don't know the rules.

12. Negative or Optimistic attitude? Negative but I wish I were optomistic

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an lift with someone of the opposite sex? I'd be friendly but nothing sexual would happen...unless it was my husband. ;)

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you? Something that I'm not going to discuss here.

15. Tell me one weird fact about you: I don't have any weird facts that I can think of.

16. Do you have any pets? one golden retriever.

17. Do you know how to do the macarena? Yup

18. Is the sun shining where you are now? yes, it's gorgeous out.

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary? neither...not a fan but not scared either.

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? I'd be much thinner.

21. Would you be my good angel or bad angel? Who are you???

22. What color eyes do you have? Blue

23. Ever been married? Twice, that's enough.

24. Bottle or Draft? I don't like beer...root beer, bottle.

25. If you won £10,000 today, what would you do with it? Cry because I live in the US and I don't know where I'd have to go to exchange it. ;)

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew? I'm not a big fan of gum.

27. What's your favorite bar to hang at? I don't really go to the bar.

28. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes I do.

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? read or crochet while watching tv

30. Do you swear a lot? No, not in front of the kids...well I try not to.

31. Biggest pet peeve? self centered behavior...really that's encompasses everything else that bothers me. People who think they are more important than anyone or anything else.

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself? Bitchy

33. In two words, how would you describe yourself? Moody bitch
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