Summer Excitement

I'm back from vacation! I fully intended to post while I was away, but barely had time to keep up with my e-mail. We had a lot of fun. White-water rafting, obviously, though class 2 rapids aren't exactly "white." Number Two begged us to go to the upper river later in the week, which had class 3 and 4 rapids, and we said maybe next time. My friend Jody Wallace came to see us, with her adorable children, and we spent a great day at the pool, evening at Dixie Stampede, and breakfast at Mama's Table or whatever it was called. In between we walked all over Gatlinburg, toured Cades Cove (and caught ONE five-second glimpse of a bear, despite the warnings everywhere of how active they've been), and played mini golf. Number Two's influence again. She's a fanatic.

As promised, here's what my knee looked like a few minutes after it happened:



I thought the pattern was pretty. The damned thing still hurts, because the skin gets pulled with every step I take, and there's no comfortable position for it when I'm not moving.

My inattentiveness didn't stop there. Thursday or Friday, I'm not sure when, I ran over my middle toe on my right foot with the bathroom door. I did some kind of damage, not sure what--nail bed, probably--because even though the toe itself doesn't hurt anymore, I can't wear a sock. I know. Weird, right? I put on my socks to go work out yesterday morning and the pressure of the sock on the toenail was too intense. I don't think Planet Fitness allows flip-flops on the treadmill. So no workouts this week.

Let's see, what else...oh. Yeah. Stupid animals have FILTHED up my house! I don't know, I think they had a party. How else could there be so much dirt and fur scattered so far and wide? We had a family obligation on Sunday, and yesterday I caught up with the checkbook and e-mail and grocery shopping and stuff, so today's been cleaning. I'm getting there, but I had something going on that kept me tethered to the computer. I kept forcing myself to go vacuum...then come back and check e-mail...then go scrub the bathroom...check e-mail...find reasons to stay at my desk--hey, I need to blog! LOL It's over for now, so I'm off to finish de-furring my floors.

I just wish it lasted for more than five minutes. :(

Smokin' Day One

First day of vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains!

Yesterday was 10 hours of travel, and though we started out in a torrential downpour, the drive was mostly really good.

Shoney's is the most ubiquitous restaurant in the world, and I get queasy thinking about eating there again. The food was fine (except for Number One's steak--J said "never order steak in a place like this!) but the faucet in the bathroom was so corroded there was a hole in it. For some reason, that really grosses me out.

Tennessee is beautiful. A lot of the time I can't tell we're not in Pennsylvania, but then the land opens up and it's a little more rolling, and of course the mountains are grander. I can't believe all the trailers/mobile homes here. Most of them are situated on huge tracts of land. Odd.

Today we woke around 6 to thunderous storms. They moved on after a while, and the weather was good enough to hike the Laurel Falls trail in the park. It was excellent. Just enough of a hike for us out-of-shape adults, with natural A/C at the falls themselves to cool us after the uphill climb.

On the way down, I hit a patch of...well, patching on the paved trail, and my food skidded out from under me and I landed hard on my knee.

Twice.

J tells me "slow down, small steps!" I told him I'm not 5. After I realized the patches and my right sneaker didn't get along, I was fine. I took a cool picture I'll post when we get home, since I failed to bring the camera cable.

It rained hard again on the way back to our sweet cabin (I think this place is bigger than my house), but when it stopped we went swimming. Then I drove the one-hour round trip to town to get pizza for dinner.

Yeah, that's a bit of a lament, that we're so far out of Gatlinburg. It's not really a full half hour to get to town or a park entrance, but it's not close, either.

Tomorrow we're tackling white water rafting, and then I think I need to do laundry already. (We had to pack light due to reduced trunk space in the hybrid--but it's worth it to get 37+ mpg!) I'll give an injury report afterward. :)

Power of Suggestion, or...

I had my annual exam last Friday. My doctor felt fullness re: my left ovary and scheduled a pelvic ultrasound.

So I did that yesterday. They asked me a few times about feeling pain, and I said nope, not at all.

Guess what I have today?

So It's Mondays

I seem to have fallen into a Monday blogging habit. Is this the only time I can get it in gear? Apparently. Monday is like the New Year's Day of the week. Or something.

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I blogged at Supernatural Sisters today, a list of things that would be worse than bad Supernatural. I couldn't come up with much, so I added ways that Supernatural could be made irredeemably bad. Check it out and weigh in!

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The Summer Plan so far is doing okay. Not perfect. Last week Number One and I worked out Monday-Wednesday, as planned, while Number Two was at her band lessons. But she wouldn't get out of bed today (she did her therapy and a bike ride afterward). Last week we managed to clean all the rooms, mostly on schedule. I skipped my office, which BADLY needs it, and pushed the kitchen to Friday. I also bribed the kids into cleaning out the litter boxes for extra allowance. \o/

BUT. *sigh* The "work" period of the day seems to fill up with junk, or stuff that's not junk, that needs to be done, but isn't "work." I got all my paid work done and have a little lull, but I'm trying to do a crit for a friend and things keep interfering. Like the migraine I got last night. I finally got around to starting to plan for vacation--we leave in 5 days--but not for Father's Day, because my bank just changed its name and therefore its website and will not let me in.

So have I written yet this summer?

That's a big NOPE.

Of course, at the moment, I have no reason to write, as I wait for various people to do various things. I have a bunch of books already written and in various stages, but no direction because I don't know what's going to happen next. As soon as one of six people gets back to me, I'll have a better idea, and will have a hard-core reason to structure my time in a particular way.

Right now, though, I must take my kids bowling, to assuage the guilt of leaving them alone two weekdays in a row while I combined doctor's appointments with errands.

Is your summer going according to plan?

Quote Quiz

Supernatural Sisters has a quote quiz with a prize! Head over and test your obsession level knowledge of the show!

Judgment Call

I just read something tantalizing and I need some advice from my peeps!

I admit, I loved Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles primarily because of Brian Austin Green. I was devastated when he was shot, and therefore not all that disappointed when the show was canceled.

Now he's reportedly going to be on One Tree Hill this fall. It doesn't sound like a huge role (Nathan's sports agent?) but I'm gonna watch anyway.

The question is, should I now DVD 6 seasons of the show this summer in preparation? Would I like it? Would it be necessary for watching season 7?

Any viewpoint welcome! Thank you!

BTW

My finger is fine. Once in a while, the joints feel crampy when I put pressure on them laterally, so I'm expecting "fine" to not last that long, but the trauma has healed completely.

I love my keyboard (Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 7000) and the mouse is mostly cool, just doesn't glide across the surface as smoothly as I want. I keep forgetting to take it up to rub dry soap on the little pads.

I miss Supernatural like crazy. True Blood is good so far (but only 2 episodes in) but it's not easing the pain.

Terminator: Salvation was excellent. I love the kid who plays Kyle Reese (also Chekov in Star Trek) and can't wait to see him in new stuff. I'd heard several people hated the ending, so I was prepared and therefore didn't hate it.

Can't wait to see The Proposal this week. I have a feeling Betty White steals the movie.

Starting summer schedule this week. Plan is as follows:

8:00 Drop Number Two at mallet percussion lesson
8:06 Work out with Number One at Planet Fitness
8:45 Pick up Number Two
9:00 Check e-mail and plan work for the day
10:00 Clean designated rooms
11:00 Work
2:00 Do fun plans with the kids
4:00 Write

We'll see how well that works out.

A Little Rant

One quick thing before I head off to add to my work in progress...

You can't graduate from kindergarten, or eighth grade, or whatever arbitrary break in grades moves you from one school to another.

Six-year-olds in shiny caps and gowns are adorable. They finished their first year of school, and yay, they're on to big-kid classes where they actually get to learn stuff. Sixth or eighth or even ninth graders (my junior high was 8th and 9th, high school 10th-12th, and we didn't have a ceremony that I remember in between) are transitioning to, usually, a new level of responsibility and perspective and challenge.

But they haven't completed anything. In most states, they are required by law to go on to the next grade level. You don't get a diploma until you finish all of the requirements of high school, and then you're graduating.

Someone could probably pull out a dictionary definition that proves me wrong, and I admit this is just a peevish opinion, but it's been bugging me. Being able to "graduate" from every grade kind of diminishes the final accomplishment, doesn't it? That's why I was so pleased with Step Up to High School--that's exactly what it is, with equal emphasis on the achievements to date and the goals to come. The celebration is warranted, but in the right way.

I place too much importance on word choice, I guess. But, hey, that's my job! LOL

Decisions Rewarded

Ten years ago, when we started looking to buy a house, there were two school districts we were willing to move into. I'd been listening and watching and learning over the nine years we'd lived in the area, and we were determined to move into the one that gave the best educational framework for my kids.

It's the best feeling to have a decision like that borne out.

Honestly, determining such a thing is not easy. Without having direct experience with a system, you can't possibly know how it will play out. Things change. And one person's excellence is another person's nightmare.

Today Number One had an awards ceremony and then a Step Up to High School ceremony. The awards ceremony was only for half her class (they divide into academic teams, and keep things spread pretty even among them). And I didn't keep any quantifiable stats or anything. But it was pretty impressive.

First, they had students in orchestra, band, and chorus stand. Fully three-fourths of the students were on their feet for the applause. I think that's pretty amazing in a world where music and arts are systematically being erased from schools to accommodate all the standardized testing and reduced budgets.

At the Step Up ceremony, the guidance counselor read each student's name, then some of their self-listed achievements and interests, one word to describe themselves, and their goals for the future (I talked about the goals part on GabWagon today).

Some of the words the kids chose were pretty interesting. Gregarious? Enigmatic? How are they so self-aware? Even if they didn't pick the words themselves...my daughter said she didn't know what to choose, because she didn't want to pick something everyone else was saying, so her friend told her to say "authentic" because she's very genuine. Okay, how many eighth graders are that tuned into their friends? Maybe a lot, I don't know. I didn't have that many friends in eighth grade, and none close enough to say stuff like that. That's something I'd say to a friend now.

The counselor impressed me, too. Not all the kids were there, but he never missed a beat. He glanced at the next student, knew instantly who it was, and turned to their page--about 275 times or so. He never missed a step--even for the kids who were new this year. Sure, he's been this class's counselor for three years, but he said it was his first class, so it wasn't like he'd developed a system over decades. Plus, I tend to think of guidance counselors as concentrating on the kids with difficulties at home, or behavior or academic issues, or on the student council and stuff. He knew every. single. kid. And what's more...he knew their nicknames. Not even just Jay for Jarrell--he knew Carlie for Margaret.

That says a lot about how a school approaches its job.

Finally, the principal at the end said he was ditching the rest of his speech and talking off the cuff. He said this was the most respectful class of its peers he'd seen. An hour and a half of reading names and attributes, a lot of them the same, and there wasn't shuffling, or murmuring, or whispering or laughing or anything. They all sat quietly and paid attention. 275 teenagers.

Now, I know they're not perfect. Kids fight and ditch classes. One of the boys picked the word "godly" to describe himself. A student has been hospitalized or under treatment for depression for much of this school year. We don't escape the negatives, of course.

But I got all warm inside when a few students thanked their classmates for making it so easy to relocate from other states (especially when one boy said the kids here are much nicer than the kids in Texas! heee!). And I gave heartfelt thanks that my husband and I made the decision we did, and found the house we found, and that my kids are getting the education I'd always hoped they'd get.

I only hope other parenting decisions bear out the same way. Time will tell.

Oh, Well, Maybe Tomorrow?

I opened my WIP yesterday.

*pauses for recognition of momentousness*

Okay, okay, it's not all that momentous. But it's been two weeks, so it felt good to get into the story again. I barely had time to read through the last chapter and finish editing the parts I was editing, but I did do it. I was actually thinking I could finish by my self-imposed deadline of next Friday (it's a writer's group goals thing). 3,000 words a day is doable.

Then today happened.

And it was a good day, it just kind of...gobbled.

Had to get up at 7 for a soccer game at 9. Watched game (great game, despite the 1-0 loss, Number Two had some spectacular saves in goal). Took kids to get brunch, drove 45 minutes to game 2. Watched game. Cheered Number One when she stepped on field first time since MCL tear. Cheered again when she kicked ball. Stopped obnoxious behavior.

Wow, I must be tired. Look how I abbreviated my sentences more and more.

After 12:30 game (won 9-0), stopped to get lunch and drove to game 3, which was still Number One. We had about 15 minutes at home, enough time for her to ice her knee and declare it fine. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, but I forgot to sunscreen my arms and they burned, and I didn't spread the SPF broadly enough so burned my chest and neck a little. Serves me right for being lackadaisical. She won that game, too (5-1) and still felt fine when we got home (with gelati).

But then we had to go get my car that we'd left in the game 1 parking lot, and I was hungry (gelati's a cool dinner but not filling enough), and then I checked e-mail for the first time all day, and now it's 10:00 and maybe I'm getting old, or maybe it's just too difficult to shift my routine back to how it was 3 years ago when I know it's not strictly necessary, but I have no energy for writing.

You know what kind of effort it took to make all of those complete sentences?

Wrapping Up the Season

I just did my first writing since I got back from the retreat. I know! Lazy bum. Well, not really. But I finally found time to focus.

The weather isn't really helping with that. I think I've said here how annoyed I get when people claim cold weather is evidence against global warming, and I argue that the planet doesn't just uniformly get warmer, it's an average increase, and it causes instability. Well, man, have we got that this spring!

The long weekend was beautiful. Got a little hot. Ran the A/C all weekend. Tuesday dawned 30 degrees cooler. Number One complained of the cold on Wednesday morning, so I let her turn the heat back on. I wore a friggin' sweater to work yesterday, and was glad I did, because though they predicted 73 degrees, it never really got above 60. Last night and this afternoon we had thunderous storms that made me fear for my basement, as the unclogged gutters were overwhelmed by sheer volume. Thunderstorms! In May! An hour after that, Number Two and I were outside in shorts playing ladderball in the sun. Totally schizophrenic, and it makes me afraid.

Anyway. The season I'm REALLY here to talk about is the TV season, though it essentially ended two weeks ago. I can't let it pass without my thoughts.

I was really glad that Castle and Dollhouse got renewed. Castle's cliffhanger wasn't that huge as cliffhangers go, but I have to have answers. Plus, the show got better and better as it went, and I'm glad ABC is, uncharacteristically, giving it time to grow. Gladder that I get to keep watching Nathan Fillion. :)

Dollhouse didn't grab most people, but I find the intertwining elements so dang intriguing, I can't wait to see what happens next. What compels me the most is how someone like Ballard can get drawn in, when he was so against it in the beginning. And his decision to get November/Katie released instead of Caroline was heartwarming. I was happy for her, and it was good for us moralizing fans to see that she remembered nothing, was fully accepting of her decision to give them the time and her body/brain to use. You could tell, though, that she didn't get what she wanted out of it. For her, no time had passed. Therefore, there was no easing of the grief that had driven her there in the first place.

The Mentalist surprised me, that they took us so close to Red John. It will be interesting to see if they get us closer next year, or resolve it. Stuff like that dragged over more than two years gets boggy.

The Numb3rs finale was awesome. It trumps the other awesome Numb3rs finale, when Colby was revealed to be a traitor, only because of the ending, which I totally called and was soooo happy to see them follow through with.

Let's see, what else? Glad Chuck got a pickup--of sorts--because of the gamechanger with the new intersect. Chuck's decision and new skills bring a new maturity and open up a huge range of possibilities. Disappointed that we have to wait so long, even more over the few episodes it gets, but oh, well.

OH. LOST! How could I forget that one? I'm so pissed about Juliet, but I have no idea where they're going next and I can. not. wait. for next season. Of course, that's a killer wait, too.

There are a few new shows that look worth trying (Glee was awesome, looking forward to that one; Vampire Diaries I have to try for some reason) but I'll have a lot less on my slate in the fall.

In the meantime, I'll finish up Harper's Island and wait eagerly for the return of Eureka and Leverage and premiere of Royal Pains, because I like Mark Feurstein.

What will you be doing with your free time this summer?

Surfing

I blogged today at Romance University, all about applying the pirate's code to your romance career. There's a prize drawing going on, too! Check it out!

And if you're surfing, looking for interesting stuff, stop by Supernatural Sisters, where we posted an interview with Betsy Morris, screenwriter of Ten Inch Hero. She shares what it's like to be a screenwriter (very similar to being a novelist, actually) and gives us some insight into Jensen Ackles' character.

While you're at it, for huge laughs check out Jody Wallace's interviews at I Read Romance and Jess Granger's Butterfly Blog. Seriously, don't drink while you read.

Retreat Craziness

Oddly, all the craziness--or, at least, all the craziness I captured--was on Saturday.

First, we wanted to go for a post-dinner walk. But the weather wasn't quite cooperative. So Mandy suggested we use the excellent canvas bags Joyce and Kristine gifted us with:



But it cleared up for a while, so we managed to get out.

Then we hazed Elizabeth.



She was a new member on her first retreat! Had to do something! Actually, someone said something about how we should make someone lie down on a grave, and she volunteered. Said it was peaceful.

Remember the weird circle from two years ago?



It's still there.



Misty decided the weird circle demanded more weirdness, though.



Supernatural fans know what a weird circle in a cemetery means, but the only zombie we encountered was Megan:



Vicki demonstrated how NOT to ride a playground dog:



And then we went to the other cemetery, which we haven't done before. I don't know, it's just not as creepy without the fence:



I don't think we'll be going back. I mean, how much fun is a cemetery if you can't bring coat hangers?



Saturday night we played our game. Here's Beth, posing after she won putting Johnny Depp together, defaced as he was.



We laughed harder than at any other retreat game, and that's saying something. Joyce hyperventilated and had to sit down:



Gotta love David Beckham as Spock played by @ZacharyQuinto.



We were equal opportunity defacers, of course:



But honest, among all the insanity, we did work!



Now, don't you want to have a retreat of your own?

Finally, My Thoughts on "Lucifer Rising"

Because I know you were all hanging out here with bated breath waiting. LOL

Stuff that's mostly response to other people's stuff:

I did not take Azazel's words literally. I was kind of surprised to see so many recaps state that he was Lucifer's son. But remember back in "Sin City," the demon talked about Lucifer as someone to have faith in, much like God is to humans (and angels). I took Azazel to be calling Lucifer his father in a worshipful manner, just like people refer to God.

Many people are having a hard time with the depiction of certain angels. I'm thinking Uriel's and Zachariah's performances (well, Robert's and Kurt's performances) are just so powerful, they feel bigger. But really, of all the angels we've met, two are on our side, two don't care about humanity. That's even. Plus, all the angels Uriel killed were unwilling to join his plan.

As for that plan...how is it any different from war in real life? The only difference I see is that the world leaders who engage in war pay lip service to caring about the people who actually put their lives on the line and die for the effort. Zachariah doesn't pretend to care about humans. He wants what he wants. I think it's a very deft metaphor, intentional or not.

Pop culture references... I can buy Zachariah figuring out what might appeal to a guy he wants to keep compliant, plus, he's got psychic ability, so some unimportant stuff is going to leak in there. Upper management always has time on its hands once it's done delegating--he probably tuned in to Gladiator one night when he was bored. Likewise, we know Dean soaks up late night TV, and The Suite Life of Zach and Cody seems to be on 24/7. I can totally picture Dean flipping around, pausing, and being unable to look away in horror.

The idea of God being in absentia is intriguing, and keeps drawing me back to the Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony. I read it at a crucial time in my spiritual development, and Supernatural is echoing some themes the Incarnations addresses. Megan thinks God is actually orchestrating everything, just from afar, and no one knows that he's involved, which is also a theory I can get behind.

Some people also seem to think Dean left that message that Sam heard. One write-up said he'd left it before he left the one we saw him leave, but no way Dean went that far. Plus, look at Ruby. How would she know what Sam was hearing, if she hadn't had something to do with it?

I thought Castiel was going to offer angel blood for Dean, for a moment, and in that instant, it was one of those "OMG that's perfect symmetry" moments. But of course, thinking about it, Dean would never have done it. Or, not easily. Woulda been hot, though. *stares into space*

Where was I? Oh. Right. Finale.

The "why it had to be Sam" thing seems pretty clear to me. It wasn't, like, destined that he'd be the one. He just came out on top all the way through the journey. Azazel was still setting up kids even after Sam and his "kind" were maturing and coming into their powers (remember Rosie?). Plus, he didn't have the Colt. He needed the most powerful kid AND the Colt, and that came together with Jake. Jake was the one who let Lilith out of Hell. But Sam killed him, so he couldn't go on to the end game, and Sam was the last one available. They had all the pieces lined up: Lilith out and breaking seals, and one guy with the demon-created ability to kill her and free Lucifer. That's why it had to be Sam.

The only thing I'm uncertain of is the archangel. Is he coming after Castiel because he somehow thinks Cas is a threat to Chuck? I don't know why, because they didn't threaten him. Or, did Chuck aiding and abetting the disobedient twosome render his prophet status null and void, and the archangel was coming after all who'd violated that? Whose side is the archangel on?

I can't wait to see what the aftermath of that confrontation was.

Ruby, ah, Ruby. I always like the characters who defy the "rules," even the self-imposed rules of a contained world like in Supernatural. So I'd hoped Ruby was at least partly good. That she somehow cared about the boys, or at least Sam, even though I was pretty sure her end goal was very self-serving. By the end of LR, though, I wanted her gone. Stabbed in the gut by Dean while Sam held her in place. Well how about that! That's what I got! LOL

In just a few seconds, they made it right. It's not right, of course. Dean broke the first seal, Sam broke the second, they've got a lot to atone for, even if just in their own minds. They fought, and meant it. It can't be glossed over, so the journey "back" (I put that in quotes because it's really a journey to better, not back, they can never go back) will be a long, hard one. But they had one important moment of working together, of apology and acceptance, of being side by side, touching, bridging the chasm, and facing the evil together. It was perfect.

I'll save speculation about next season for another post. But man, I can't wait.

Release Day!

It's been a while since I had a release! But for all you paperback lovers who, like me, prefer to hold a real book in your hands over reading digital ink, Indulgence II is here!

I know, lame title. I'm a lame titler, what can I say? But I've always claimed my work is indulgent fiction, designed for pleasure reading, escapism, fantasizing over possible...shall we say...alternate realities. :) Indulgence is more appropriate than ever with these stories:

Indulge yourself once again in scorching fantasy. Fall in love with a younger man, a rock star, a superhero, or an emotionally tortured savior of abducted children.

Previously available only in electronic format, these four novellas of pure escapism have now been combined for a paperback edition! Included are the titles...

Letting Go
Inspired a little by all the talk amongst my friends and online acquaintances about the wrongness of attraction to a man young enough to be your son. :)

Rebuilding Forever
This one's a sequel to Lost Our Forever (e-book and also found in Indulgence, but you don't really have to have read that one to enjoy this one. This is the closest I've ever come to male/male erotica. Seth and Julian are just so delicious!

Renegade
For my Supernatural friends out there, Jake and Dan are not Dean and Sam, but are definitely inspired by them.

Under Control
Reluctant superhero. Nuff said?

(Full descriptions and excerpts for each story
are available by clicking on the above links!)

The paperback is available at the publisher's site here, or directly from Amazon here. If you are local to me, I've ordered a few to sell, so let me know if you're interested in a signed copy at a slight discount. I know! Bargain! :)

Have a lovely holiday weekend!

Book Fair for Boys

Agent Awesome has been talking about the Book Fair for Boys by Guys Lit Wire. They're doing a drive to obtain books for kids who really need them. I know you're bombarded with worthy causes, but encourage anyone who believes in:

1. The importance of books in life, in any shape or form
2. The importance of giving at-risk kids (or worse) choices and chances

to check it out and see if you can help.

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Stay tuned for posts with:

--Photos from the retreat craziness
--My thoughts on the Supernatural finale
--Comments on the Upfronts and other finales
--Lament about the spoiling I might have just done to myself re: Prison Break, which I have not yet watched and won't for a while due to the NBA Playoffs
--Some other stuff

Romance University Launches Today

Romance University’s three weekly topics include:

Monday – Crafting Your Career
NJD note: I have an interview in this category next week! It focuses on my "A Pirate's Guide to a Successful Publishing Career" workshop.

Wednesday – Anatomy of the Male Mind

Friday – Chaos Theory of Writing

RU’s purpose is to:

Empower Writers. Entertain Readers. Understand Men.

Don’t miss our upcoming visiting professors: Lori Foster, Jessica Inclán, Donald Maass, Brenda Novak, Alicia Rasley, Christie Ridgway, Loucinda McGary, Natalie J. Damschroder, Blake Snyder, Theresa Stevens, Leslie Wainger, and several men who will share the male perspective on romance, love and sex.

Stop by Monday (TODAY) to chat with Brenda Novak, who will head the class with details about her road to becoming a New York Times bestselling author. Leave a comment and your name will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate and a tote full of goodies.

WAIT! We have more good news.

Would you like to win a nifty new iPod Nano? Leave a comment during our launch week, May 18 - 22, and your name will be entered in a separate drawing. Courtesy of RU’s faculty members (Adrienne Giordano, Kelsey Browning and Tracey Devlyn).

Romance University – A place where friends are made and dreams are realized
www.RomanceUniversity.org

Problems?

Someone just told me they were having problems with my blog. Is anyone else? Like, having a whole bunch of windows opening unexpectedly? If you are, let me know! I want to fix it, if I can.

Thanks!

Bye-Bye!

We have this corner cupboard in the kitchen. It's above the countertop, and you know how they are--wedge-shaped, very deep, and very difficult to get into. So last weekend were were collecting things for the Post Office's canned food drive, and I said there might be some things in there. Sure enough, we found some things.

That expired in 2003.

But that's nothing. We have Vicks Vap-o-Rub that expired in 1999 in the medicine chest. Don't ask why it's still there.

Okay, so, I'm off. Not quite yet. I'm about done with my computer stuff and packing my work items (laptop, Neo, updated iPod, etc.), so I'm going upstairs to pack and then I'll be offline (kind of) until Monday morning!

I'm so excited!

Where the H*** Have I Been?

I was thinking, "How did I keep up with blogging when I had a full-time day job?" Then I looked and...I didn't.

Speaking of blogs, go check out Romance University. They soft-launched today and start out next week with Brenda Novak. I'm a guest professor on 5/26.

My days seem unendingly busy. I finish an editing job, feel relief for about 3.2 seconds, and another one pops in. Which is great--everything is great, I really can't complain. But I'm exhausted.

Luckily, it's T-minus 33 hours and counting until the retreat! At which I won't be blogging, probably. But the break is most definitely needed.

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I'm tired of negativity. Especially about something as unimportant as TV. Yes, entertainment is vital, and yes, it's not unimportant to those who make their living creating it. But srsly, I just want to watch and enjoy, and not feel icky because other people I don't really know are whining about stuff I love.

Which is not a rant against them, they are entitled to say what they want. I just need to avoid it.

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Here's the post I wrote yesterday but didn't get to upload until today:

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day, despite pet problems and in-law invasions. No one deserves crap on the one day a year they get celebrated. Whether that crap is doggie diarrhea or passive-aggressive attacks on your character.

I had a fabulous day. I got breakfast made for me. It was funny--Saturday, on the way to the City Islanders soccer game, we saw that our very favorite bagel place is now open on Sunday. So I requested Bob's Bagels, and they drove over early...and found a sign on the door, "closed for Mother's Day."

I got a gift card for Amazon (hopefully--the store didn't activate it, so J's taking it back today) and the keyboard that shipped last night (hopefully it arrives before I leave for the retreat, but it's not looking good), and we had dinner at Passage to India after a gorgeous hike at the environmental site near the schools.

I also got to see Star Trek, which was so good I'm sorry I already saw it.

But let me back up. Friday night I dragged J to see Wolverine. It was great. Very well acted and structured, though I wanted a lot more Bradley, Wade, and Remy. I definitely want more Remy. I hope they do a Gambit movie next. Anyway, it was well done for a film that was basically rehashing everything we already knew, and the bit after the credits was shiver-worthy, well worth hanging around for.

Saturday we had soccer all day. The Islanders won again, which was cool. Even cooler was the Pittsburgh goalie getting red-carded. The goalie got a red card!!!!

I caught up slightly on TV this weekend, though I'm still way behind. It's okay, because the finale season makes me sad. Pretty much everything is over already, over this week, or ending next week/soon. The longer it takes me to watch, the longer I can stretch the season.

The Scrubs finale was perfectly done, though I'd have liked to see Cox's friend played by Brendan Fraser. I was very misty-eyed through most of it.

Alan Tudyk? Evil? Never thought he would make me so scared. Gah! But I love him more than ever.

So, back to Star Trek. I've never been much of a Trekkie. Casual fan. Never really saw the original, but absorbed enough to "get" the jokes/tropes/commonalities, etc. I did watch some TNG and all the movies. This one is by far the best of them.

First, I want to give kudos to the casting director and anyone else involved in that. It could not be more perfect. The only actor who didn't completely emulate a young version of his predecessor was Chris Pine as Kirk, and I can't say that a true fan wouldn't find him lacking, but I didn't. I didn't expect Karl Urban to do McCoy so well, nor did I think I could divorce Quinto from Sylar. It helped that I haven't watched Heroes for a couple of years, but even my husband, who still watches it, said he was perfect.

The plot made me squee. It connected the franchise with its past/future, grounded the characters and us in a new present, and set up a completely blank slate so they can do anything they want with additional movies.

The details were delightful. Accents and lines and mannerisms and the vastness of space, the relationships they established, the motivations...I don't know how they managed to do it all, but they did. And I have to admit, I never saw the red shirt coming. That's completely on me, because it's not like they didn't throw hints at us like darts. But the action was so very much modern adventure, all I could do was stare in exhilaration.

Anyway, go watch it. If this is at all your kind of movie, you won't be disappointed.