Fiddlehead

2014, Books in Bed, Favorites, Steampunk, Young Adult /

I love Cherie Priest and I really like the Clockwork Century series — Fiddlehead might be my favorite in the series mostly because I love what she did with Lincoln (he doesn’t die) and with Grant (he’s awesome, even in is often inebriated state.) I love Belle and how so many of the characters from the series came together to end the war AND get to work on the saffron aka necrotic leprosy problem.

Loved Mary Todd Lincoln. Loved, loved, loved and I stayed up way to late to see how it all ended (perfectly.)

Fiddlehead Read More »

I’m Weird Or I Just Follow Different People? Or Both?

3 Comments / Daily Dose, Personality /

Rita wrote this post, I Reject You, Higher Standards, and while I found it interesting — I cannot relate. At all.

I don’t find other people’s pins or Facebook status updates/shares to be stressful. I don’t find myself or my life to be lacking just because someone else posts photos of their beautiful, tidy house or smiling, happy teens.

Sure, I felt quite a lot of jealousy when the Almighty posted about going to Oahu and got a little teary-eyed when she mentioned she was going to the Windward Mall, (which is RIGHT NEAR WHERE JMP LIVES), but it wasn’t stressful. I didn’t begrudge her the awesome trip to Hawaii. I didn’t blame her or feel extra bad because I’m not in Hawaii right now (and don’t know when I’ll be there again.)

I admit to feeling a little grouchy, on occasion, when my southern friends and family post their wonderful sunshiney photos while I’m looking at 3+ feet of snow on my front porch but it doesn’t cause me to lose sleep or feel unhappy about visiting Facebook or Instagram. I love their photos. I want to see more of their photos.

I also don’t feel any overwhelming need to like or comment or share the things in my stream. If I see something I like, I “like” it. If I see something I feel like commenting on, I comment. If I see something I want to share, I share. I don’t worry that others in my stream are getting their feelings hurt because I’m not liking, commenting or sharing their stuff. Does that make me a bad person?

See what’s happening there? Rading Rita’s post makes me wonder if I am a bad person or lacking in some gene or another because I can’t relate to her post. (It’s not just Rita’s post, hers is just the most recent in a long line of “Pinterest makes me feel bad” type posts.)

Rita’s avoiding Facebook and I guess maybe I just need to avoid reading posts like hers, lest I begin to feel badly about myself for not feeling badly about myself because you all post about your awesomely amazing lives and I do not?

I’m weird, right?

Or, maybe Rita’s following some really exceptional people and I’m not… nah, y’all are all exceptional. I’m just weird.

I’m Weird Or I Just Follow Different People? Or Both? Read More »

Productive, I Was!

1 Comment / 2014, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

Another day, another half dozen “to dos” scratched off of my Filofax list. Yay me.

I did manage to clean the house, it took FOREVER but I did it. I even managed to get a load of laundry done and put away so yay me for keeping up with the laundry for all of 2014. Hah.

I worked on JMP’s stocking for a very long time — while watching four or five episodes of Dawson’s Creek. (Oh Jack, Oh Pacey, Oh Andie. lol)

I only managed to finish one book, It’s Complicated (which I’ll blog in depth on BlogHer later this week.) I used an entire package of giraffe post-its while reading danah’s book!

And better yet, I managed to do absolutely no work, other than to answer a couple of Sassymonkey’s emails. Look at me, taking an entire holiday OFF of work. Crazy, right? Re-entry tomorrow might be a problem though — my inbox is flooded with unanswered email. Gah.

Productive, I Was! Read More »

Productive!

3 Comments / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

How come there are some days when I just can’t get anything done and then there are other days when I get EVERYTHING done? What is the secret to having more days like today and fewer days like, all the other days when I don’t manage to get anything (except work) done at all.

Oh. It’s that whole work thing, isn’t it? Darn. I need more weekends and fewer weekdays or something.

I’m kind of psyched for the holiday tomorrow and hoping for another day when I get EVERYTHING on my to do list — DONE. Even if most of what’s on my to do list is to clean the damn house. Lofty goal, I know — with three dogs and three prairie dogs and TW’s quilt-in-progress, it won’t be easy but dammit — I’m gonna do it.

And, I’m going to finish two books tomorrow and I’m going to work on JMP’s stocking for at least an hour. I’m also not going to WORK at all. Not one bit. None. Nada. Zip.

See — lofty goals for President’s Day. Pray for me.

Productive! Read More »

A Lesson In Secrets

2014, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

We finished listening to Maisie Dobbs: A Lesson In Secrets last night… another excellent book.

I kept wanting to yell LISTEN TO MAISIE because the men are dumb for not worrying about that whole Hitler, Nazi, fascist thing. Gah.

Also, I’m surprised she never figured out where Sandra went… maybe because she didn’t have time to really think about it? It was obvious to me.

I’m anxious to find out what happens next but we’re taking a little Maisie break to listen to a YA novel instead… then we’ll be back to Maisie again. I think.

A Lesson In Secrets Read More »

Bad, Good, Bad, Good

1 Comment / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

That’s how my day went.

From violating Facebook’s terms of service (which I didn’t do) to an early Valentine’s Day dinner at Circa ’57 with TW. It was one of those days of bumping up and down, highs and lows. And, it was exhausting. Freaking exhausting.

I’m going to end my day by sending Sassymonkey a long “while you were out” email. She loves me (but not as much as I’m going to love having her back home and hard at work where she belongs.)

Maybe I’ll even have time to write some real blog posts about the ups and downs that happened today. Maybe.

Bad, Good, Bad, Good Read More »

The Last Original Wife

2014, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction /

Oy.

TW picked up The Last Original Wife at the same time that she picked up the Fannie Flagg novel. If we’re going to be on a novels about Charleston kick, we might as well go all out, right?

Except, I’m not really a very big fan of Dorothea Benton Frank. I don’t HATE her books but I don’t generally love them, either. She does write well about Sullivan’s Island, and I appreciate that but… no. I just don’t love her books. And, anything called The Last Original Wife should have been a clue that I was not going to be in love, right?

Right. I wasn’t in love.

I appreciated that Leslie finally figured out that her marriage was crap. Her husband was an ass. And Atlanta wasn’t where she belonged. I laughed out loud twice — once when she bought the red Benz and I can’t actually remember the other time (probably something about the damn dog or the interesting gay brother) but hell. I just didn’t love the book.

I appreciated the Josephine Pinckney story thread but that was about it. I’d have been happier with a book about the gay guy in Charleston than I was about this one. Ho hum.

The Last Original Wife Read More »

Poop. Just, Poop.

2 Comments / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

I fell asleep last night before I posted my photo challenge photo. Which is extra dumb because I already knew what I was going to take a photo of — I just needed to take 30 seconds and do it.

But. I wasn’t feeling well. And, my back hurt. And I was really tired. And also trying to figure out whether I’d be able to wake up extra early and drive into the city to meet Elisa and Melisa for breakfast (which I ended up not doing because see above…)

I hate it when I screw up a daily challenge because I just didn’t take the 30 seconds it would take to DO IT. That’s just silly lazy bullshit. Even if I’m tired or behind on work because of a 3 hour conference call or my back hurts or… really, there’s not much of a reason to miss doing something that takes 30 seconds.

Must. Stop. Procrastinating. All. The. Things. Especially. The. Little. Things.

Poop. Just, Poop. Read More »

Flesh & Bone

1 Comment / 2014, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

#3 in the Rot & Ruin series (what I often call one of the BEST zombie series ever written), Flesh & Bone, was excellent. I really want a set of trading cards. I also wish library jackets weren’t taped down to prevent me from properly seeing the darn cards. And, it turns out Texasebeth is reading another zombie series by Jonathan Mayberry for adults that has one of the characters from Flesh & Bone as the lead. I’m gonna have to read that series … once I find out what happens to Benny, Nix, Chong (OMG, CHONG!), and Lilah.

Sanctuary seems really really creepy. And also, I will never look at dog whistles the same way again. DOG WHISTLES. Jonathan Mayberry is genius.

Flesh & Bone Read More »