February Reading List

So far, 2017 is off to a really bad start:  4 celebrity deaths and 5 classmates/teachers/friends.
January claimed Mary Tyler Moore, Miguel Ferrer, Barbara Hale, Mike Conners, Craig Clifton, Mr. Kendall, Mr. Prill, Mr. Skibinski, and Carla Jones. 

How'd I do last month?

-Give B partial payment for print covers (still yet-to-be-made) Check:)

-Send Kira off to editor with payment  Check:)

-Finish cover request and send off with partial payment Not yet....

-Order more copies of Hotel (currently sold out)  Not yet....

-Finish Ghost Story  Not even opened it.

-Add at least 5K words to Heart Song  Added 500 words....

-Find out where the Crossroads antho stands  Check....sort of....?

-Pack away the Christmas decorations  (check!) and begin hanging pictures and shelving units in my new house. Check:)

-Send some 'pretties' to my SIL (check!) and photograph others for family members  

-Watch SE4 (Check!) and 5 (Check!) of Game of Thrones, plus maybe even 6 (check!), then start on the Classic TV DVDs I've acquired.  Began Downton Abbey instead:)

Health:  Apparently, even though I've ping-ponged last fall, I am now the same weight I was six months ago.  Sigh....I guess that's a good thing!

Books Read:  16

             Print:  4

         E-book:  12

              DNF:  1

Songs Added To Karaoke Good List:  Only 4, due to voice taking a vacation and being gone.

So What Do I Hope To Accomplish This Month?

-Finish cover request and send partial payment  Check:)  It's beautiful!!!!

-Finish Ghost Story  I've added at leat 600 words to it:)

-Add words to Heart Song

-Buy copies of Hotel Stories

-Get more decorations up on walls still working on it:)

-Finish watching Downton Abbey Check:)

-Finish Kira edits and start early promo  1st round finished, plus cover art shared:)  2/23:  Book Released!  Now working on print version.

-Lose 5 pounds

-File taxes  Check:)

Feb Reading Schedule:
Print:
A Maverick For The Holidays-Leanne Tyler  DNF

Because It's Christmas-Kathryn Shay  Finally finished this!

The Girl w/o a Name-Sandra Block  Did NOT see that ending!  WOW....

E-Book:

Misfortune's Lady-Sandra Sookoo  Good story:)

Healing Hearts-Liz Crowe Loved this!!

Karaoke Songs:

Thurs:
Week 1: Husky voice; sang Jar of Hearts, alto part.
Week #2:  Still no voice.
Week #3:

We've Got Tonight-Bob Seeger  Fairly good....

From This Moment-Shania Twain  Gary sang it with me and we nailed it:)

Week #4:  Celebrated Release Day (Kenzie's Kira's Slice of Pizza) with an entire Miranda Lambert line up:)

Sat:

Love Story-Taylor Swift  Sounded good:)

Love The One You're With-Crosby Stills and Nash  Thought it was a bit crackly, but others liked it:)

(rotation was 90 mins)

Love Will Keep Us Together-Captain and Tenille  Did well:)

Lovin Touchin Squeezin-Journey  Rocked the bar:)

(Valentine's weekend; sang other songs also and rotation was 1 hour long.)

Week #3:  Daughter and I went to see the FSD movie, which I attempted to sleep through, and was too tired to go to 'roke afterward.

Leave The Pieces-Wreckers Did well, except for bridge.
Loverboy-Billy Ocean  Better than expected!  Had to sing 'You want a be my lover, lover, loverboy...'

Lovergirl-Teena Marie  Very surprised this turned out well, considering I didn't know the right words!

Lucky Star-Madonna  Slightly high; probably won't sing again.

Flashback Friday: Note Passing Fiasco!

Kenzie is blogging again!  To see her posts for the past month, and meet *our* BFFs, go here.

Feb 1977:
I mentioned my 5th grade teacher was rather strict?  Well, my BFF at the time found out the hard way what happens when you get caught passing notes in class.

Two new boys joined our class.  RU, a kid with cerebral palsey and used a crutch; and WB, on whom my BFF developed a HUGE crush!  So much, she wrote him a love letter.  And tried to pass it to him during class.

Mr. M intercepted it, however, and instead of simply dropping it into the trash, decided to read it out loud, embarrassing both parties and causing laughter for the rest of the class.  I had actually forgotten this incident until last year, when A and I got together and she had asked me if I remembered poor WB.  We had a good laugh over it, and A told me how humiliated she'd felt that day.

In the meantime, my creative mind was still being unlocked.  In English class, we were leaning how to create paragraphs, use quotation marks, and to write fairy tales and legends.  My 2nd story explained my theory of how people began to use streetlights.  It's a funny little story about how a firefly who couldn't fly managed to have a family, then be brought inside by a curious little boy.

The entire two-sided story is one paragraph, conversation and all!  My mother enjoyed it, and had mentioned sending it in to Jack and Jill magazine, a children's magazine that I read.  I was thrilled by the prospect, but Mom either forgot about it, or they rejected the story.  I'll never know, because my mother doesn't remember this conversation at all.

I think it was about this time we saw the movie Freaky Friday:)

Next Month:  Going To Chicago!

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Present Day:
Edits have arrived for Kenzie's Kira:)  As soon as MS Word can be reinstalled on my laptop, I'll get to work on them.  I was complimented; several pages of the MS had nothing wrong, which editor says is very rare for her to find:)  There's only two places where I disagree with her, and it's mainly a misunderstanding and easy to fix.  Now I really need to get that cover art request sent off!

Voice is still gone, but getting better!

****WARNING:  Rant ahead*******

Politically speaking, half of our nation has lost its mind.  For the past 8 years, the right held its tongue and endured the PC culture, in case of being accused of racism if we spoke out against our president.  But now DJT is in charge, and hopefully restoring some common sense back into our lives, the left is in an uproar, rioting, causing damage, and doing a 180 against a supreme court nominee.  Both parties had no issue with him when it came to the lower courts, but now he's nominated for SCOTUS and suddenly the left has found him less than desirable?  WTH people??

As for our Secretary of Ed.....I have mixed feelings.  I do see both sides of the issue, and can only hope and pray the correct choice will be made.

I've also heard the words 'fascist' and 'nazi' thrown around.....if the right had tossed around the 'n' word or even mentioned the 11th letter of the alphabet three times 8 years ago.....holy hell, watch out.

Can we return to common decency people?  Common courtesy?  The man's only been in office for TWO WEEKS!  Give him a chance and revisit this in six months.

Oh, and for the record, yes, I am a woman, but no, the idiots who marched two weeks and screamed 'torch the place' do not speak for me.  I just want them to stay the hell out of my reproductive tract.  Women should have the right to choose when it comes to their bodies....provided it is within the 1st twelve weeks, which usually gives us four weeks to decide yea or nay.  After that 12th week, though, there are really only two viable options:  Accept your actions or make someone else very happy.

*****rant over*******

Thankfully, no tragic celebrity deaths this week, however, at the end of SE3 of Downton Abbey, a series regular is killed off.  *blinks back tears*

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!  I hope to spend it watching SE4:)

Flashback Friday: Shaking The House!

Jan 2007:
Did I mention we were huge Colts fans?  For years we'd watched season after season, joking 1st that Jeff George needed to be traded, since he 'always' seemed to get injured and Jack Trudeou doing all the work, followed by the need to tape Erik Dickerson's paycheck to the ball so he'd hold onto it, then finally, things looked bright for the Ted Marchibroda/Jim Harbaugh years, but once we had our best season, for whatever reason both were let go, and the whining Jim Mora year happened.  "We had so many injuries..."

Finally, the Colts drafted Peyton Manning, and things began to look up.  Yeah, the first few seasons were rough, but we kept getting closer to that elusive championship, esp against the NE Patriots.  But in 2007, our year arrived.

Let me back up a moment and state that our new house we were living in had bouncy floors.  I'd spent a great deal of time packing up all of Mom H's breakables, but I apparently forgot about the ones on the piano.

During the AFC Championship, the Colts finally beat the Pats for the win, and my oldest son, 16 at the time, was so excited at the nail-biting ender (final score:  Colts 38, Pats 34), he jumped up and down yelling, 'Yes!  Yes!  Yes!', and a few things fell off the piano, nearly breaking!

Colts were headed to the Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears!!!

I also worked up the nerve to call or email T and let him know we'd moved.  He seemed delighted by the news, and we met for coffee on our 'anniversary'.  I was thrilled he wasn't upset, since we'd been using the '50 mile rule', and now we'd only be 22 miles apart.

Next Month:  Super Bowl Party!

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Present Day:
I'm losing my voice, which doesn't bode well for the weekend.  I'm supposed to sing Sunday first at church, then during a special community choir event.  Plus, our Writer's group is having an impromptu party at my house tomorrow.  Nancy's making Chicago-style pizza; Ben's bringing chips; I'm providing dip and salsa; Dan is (I think!) providing cupcakes.

Plus, I'm finally watching Downton Abbey on DVD!!!!

RIP:  Mary Tyler Moore (Dick Van Dyke Show, MTM Show)
          Mike Connors (Mannix)
          Barbara Hale (Perry Mason; I confess I thought she'd already passed!)

Flashback Friday: Surprise Announcement, A Broken Arm, and A Shared Anniversary....

Jan 1997:
Brief Recap:   My sister came home from Ota, Japan for Christmas, and I had given her a copy of the movie Better Off Dead. When she unwrapped it, she stated that was Chris's favorite movie, prompting the question, "Who's Chris?"

Turns out she worked with his brother, who had introduced her to him via computer, and they chatted regularly.  Chris decided to fly to Indiana to meet my sister in person.

Chris popped the question to my sister on New Year's Eve, and she accepted!  A few days later, my dad, mom, and sister were due to fly to Florida, when my dad slipped on the ice and broke his arm.  He offered his ticket to Chris, who then flew to St. Pete, Fla with my sister and mom.  On Jan 3rd, the decided to go ahead and get married, but Chris's wallet had been stolen, and he had no ID.  So they used her old Florida address for his; secured him a temporary ID for the marriage license; and on Jan 5th after church, Grandma's pastor married them.

While all this was going on, I was spending the 4th with friend T, as well as introducing friend B to my ex AF officer. On the 5th, we went to my SIL's for Christmas with her family.  When we arrived home later that night, my sister called me to tell me their good news, and could we meet them at the airport the next day?

We did, and it turned out my new BIL shared my sense of humor, and we've gotten along quite well ever since.  They've now been married for 20 years, and we still joke about the 'legality' of their unconventional marriage!

On Tuesday, W appeared on our doorstep with breakfast, announcing she'd just come from the airport where she'd put her new hubby on a plane back to Canada; he would start the process to join her in Japan.  We had another lovely visit with her until it was time to return back to Lafayette and get ready for her return to Ota!

I've never told her about the fact we now share an anniversary; Jan 5th 1997 being my 1st anniversary being reunited with T; her wedding day. 

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Present Day:
I've spent this past week in Lafayette, since Carla's funeral was on Sunday.  On Monday, Mom and I went to the Retired Teachers Luncheon, and I was able to reconnect with Mrs. Hart, who taught PE, and Mrs. Norman, who was my 11th grade English teacher.  Tuesday, I took Mom to her hair appointment, then to lunch at Steak-n-Shake.  Wed, I had my hair appointment, plus met friend RRW for lunch at McCallister's.  I also went to Hobby Lobby and to Kirkland's, for a new journal and two small cross stitch projects.  Dad's taking me back home today, so I've preposted this.  I also finished watching SE6 of Game of Thrones.

Have a wonderful weekend!  

Flashback Friday: New Job and Reunion!

Jan 1987:
I spent the first half of the month job-hunting, then finally got a call from Manpower, to go temp at a craft factory.  I enjoyed it; after being trained on the project we would be packing, my brain decided to go 'creative'.  I had taken a notebook with me to leave in the break room, so during the two 15-minute breaks and my half hour lunch time, I would write down the scenes I'd created in my head, and 'Love On The Rocks' began coming together.

The weather at this time was horrible.  Snow, ice, and I had to leave the house at 6 am in order to make it on time.  When JF's birthday rolled around the 4th week, the roads were so bad on Friday, my dad actually forbade me to go.  Fortunately, by noon the next day, the temperature rose, and my parents allowed me to drive down.

I arrived just as he and one of his friends pulled up with a carry out pizza.  I silently laughed as JF tried to get rid of his friend ASAP, nearly shoving him out the door with the pizza after putting his half on a platter!  I'd never seen a guy so anxious to be alone with me before.....it reaffirmed we were still going strong!

Finally, after his buddy got the message and drove off, JF pulled me into his arms and kissed me....then got confused.  My shirt had buttons in both front and back, but the back ones only went up to the shoulder!  After a wonderful reunion, and his pizza forgotten, he took me to dinner, then to a local bar, The Railroad Inn, and introduced me to rum and coke.  We then went across the street to The Roundup and danced before going back to his place.

I didn't want to leave the next morning, but knew I had to, since I'd spent most of my money on gassing up the car.  I was only getting paid $4 an hour, and already owed Dad at least $20 for the phone bill.  It felt good to be back in JF's arms again after a 5 week absence; we made plans for me to return at the end of February.

Next Month:  Heartache

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Present Day:
2017 is off to a bad start.  Last year, I was reeling from the fact we'd lost both David Bowie and Alan Rickman; this year I've lost fellow classmate Craig Clifton, elementary school principal Mr. Kendall, drama coach Tom Prill, math teacher Mr. Skibinski, and now our #1 Band Mom, Carla Jones.

I've known Carla since I was a teenager.  She and Mom became good friends when Carla's husband Al was hired by JHS, and they chaperoned many band and orchestra trips.  Carla had a wonderful sense of humor, and she and my mom's birthdays were only a week apart, so they would often celebrate together.  Carla's son Andy and I were the same age, but really couldn't stand each other; I got along better with his younger sister Anna.

Carla taught me the basics when I tried out for the Flag Corps, and she picked me up from summer school when I'd have to be back at school two hours later, and my mom was busy.

Everyone loved her VW bus, Wolfgang von Bus aka 'Wolfie'.

I think I irritated her once when I didn't listen to her warnings about a certain classmate.....but I managed to prove her wrong.

She also helped manage my wedding reception nearly 26 years ago.

At any rate, I'm headed up to Lafayette for Carla's funeral, and to lend my mom some support, since this makes the 3rd friend she will have buried this week.

RIP.

Flashback Friday:

Jan 1977:
Really don't remember much; I THINK this is when my mom was working on her Master's Thesis, so weekends with Dad became a huge part of our lives.  Dad took us out to eat; roller skating; and best of all, to the movies.  I think we might have seen The Pink Panther Strikes Again and The Shaggy D.A.

I think it was around this same time we found 'Captain Kool and the Kongs' at 11am every Saturday.  We all wanted to SuperChick, and we also acted out Electro Woman and Dyna Girl:)

We were also glued to the TV every night for Roots:)

Next Month:  My BFF's Most Embarrassing Moment!

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Present Day:
My laptop has been fixed (again!), and sometime today, MS Word will be reinstalled, after a year's absence!  Turns out daughter knows the guy, and we had a great time talking while he ran scans and showed me how to clean it up every weekend.

Grandkids will be returning home on Sunday; we've actually had a good week with them.  Will also start taking down our Christmas decorations (finally!).

Temps have dropped into the teens, and we finally got snow yesterday morning.  I did NOT go to karaoke last night, opting instead to stay home and watch the 1st two episodes of SE 4 Game of Thrones.

Today, I'm making the final two batches of chocolate chip cookies (finally tally was about 7 doz each of M&M, Choc. Chip, Winter Chip, and Oatmeal Raisin), which should come to about 6-7 dozen.

Sad news for our Class of 1984:  Mr. Skibinski, who taught Math, passed away last week (I had World History with his son Joe, who was a year behind me), and Craig Clifton, whom I last saw at a mini-reunion in 2012, passed away last night.  Apparently, he'd had heart issues the past few years.  Craig was a wonderful guy to be around; full of fun and a great singing voice.  I will always remember him carrying Debbie Fritton's purse at the bar after the reunion, proving that Real Men CAN carry purses!

RIP Craig.

January Reading Schedule

2017 is already off to a good start; last month the editor of a local magazine was at our monthly writers meeting, and when I found out he was looking for article ideas, I was cheeky enough to pitch an idea.

My 1st attempt (seen here) was deemed 'too self-promotional', so I sucked up my startled, wounded pride and tried again, this time successful.  It went live yesterday, so check it out here:) 

So what are my monthly goals?

-Give B partial payment for print covers (still yet-to-be-made) Check:)

-Send Kira off to editor with payment  Check:)

-Finish cover request and send off with partial payment

-Order more copies of Hotel (currently sold out)

-Finish Ghost Story

-Add at least 5K words to Heart Song

-Find out where the Crossroads antho stands  Check....sort of....?

-Pack away the Christmas decorations  (check!) and begin hanging pictures and shelving units in my new house. Check:)

-Send some 'pretties' to my SIL (check!) and photograph others for family members  

-Watch SE4 (Check!) and 5 (Check!) of Game of Thrones, plus maybe even 6 (check!), then start on the Classic TV DVDs I've acquired.

Health:

Lose another 5 pounds and weather permitting, get out and walk at least 2-3 times per week.

Reading Schedule:

Print:

Guilty As Sin:  Edward Klein  Wonderful!!!!

Nurturing That Sparkl by Sandra Sookoo  Very good!  Love the pop culture references!

Martian Chronicles-Ray Bradbury  Good; some were a little scary.

Calmity Jane Goes To College (trying this again)  Finally made it through....bleh.

E-book:

All That Remains-SM Shade (Book #3)  Finally made it through book #3!  I enjoyed #1 the most.

Betrayal-Aleatha Romig  Wonderful!  Now I need the next one in the series!!!!!

Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus-Lydia Sherrer  Not too bad; I might enjoy the print version better.

Rattled-Jane Charles  Apparently I've already read this, and enjoyed it!

Lost Pleasures Found-Vicki Vaught  Very good!

My King-Mary Martel  DNF

Cameron's Shocking Christmas Revelation-Vicki McCombie  Cute story!  RR

Unwrapped-Amber Skyze  Turns out I'd already read this one, lol!

Tied Up In Tinsel-Amber Skyze  Good

Once More From The Top-Nan Reinhardt  DRR! OMG....loved this story!!!

Sex and the Widow Miles-NR  RR  Story was in 1st person, but enjoyed it, esp the twist:)

The Summer of Second Chances-NR  DRR  Loved this one!!!

Anything You Want-Madison Sevier  Good story, but left me hanging.

Climbing Her Tower-Elizabeth Black  Wonderful twist on this favorite fairy tale!

Karaoke Songs:

Thurs:

1st week:  Too cold
2nd week:  Sinusitis
3rd week:  Out of town
4th week:  Losing voice/sinusitis
5th week:  Still no voice

Sat:
Week #1:
Love Potion #9-The Clovers  Not too bad:)
Love Runs Out-One Republic Attempt #1:  Did well until bridge.... #2:  Sang it and posted:)  Moving on....
Love Shack-B-52s  Sang this with Mark and did well!
Love Somebody-Rick Springfield  Nailed it, but ran out of room on phone.  Will redo:)
Week #2:  Out of town
Week #3:  Re-sang Love Runs Out and Love Somebody
Love Stinks-J. Geils Band  Eh, so-so....might sing this again Valentine's Day!
Week #4:  No voice


Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year, and best wishes for 2017!