Frozen's Olaf... and Joy

I bought the three foot high Olaf stuffed character which is now sitting in my office, and I have to say I smile every time I look up and see him.

Disney's gives us great side characters with which to love. Gus, the mouse, from Cinderella. Mushu, the tiny dragon, from Mulan. Archimedes, the owl, in Sword in the Stone. Timon and Pumbaa, the meercat and warthog, from The Lion King. Stitch, the alien, from Lilo and Sitch. Dory, the fish, from Finding Nemo. Runt and Abby, the pig and mallard, from Chciken Little. Mater, the tow-truck, from Cars. Baymax, the inflatable robot, from Big Hero 6.

And then there are the other brilliant makers of feature animated movies who gave us the Minions from Despicable Me. And Donkey from Shrek. Scrat, the long nosed acorn seeking wee-beastie, in Ice Age. Elliot, the deer, from Open Season.

These are just a few that I love, and I do love them all. They all make me smile. A lot. But I'm putting it out there... I really love Olaf, the snowman, from Frozen.  He is just freakin adorable on every level, and I never get tired of looking up and seeing his silly grin and big eyes looking back at me. Makes me smile every time. Every. Single. Time!

He's like a Viennese polka by Johann Strauss II. Doesn't matter what mood I'm in, these are sure cures to bring me joy and paste a stupid grin on my face.

What does it for ya'll?
 

Knee surgery

So, I'm still pretty UP from getting a book out.... finally. And I appreciate so much everyone who wished me well and/or bought a copy. THANKS

Remember how I had the knee surgery in early December to fix my torn meniscus? I'm still gimpy and in pain all the time, so we're taking the next step. Knee surgery for a partial knee replacement (unless they find something really freaky when they go in and have to do a full replacement). I'll be happy if it fixes the problem though.

So, I have surgery in a few brief weeks - three days in the hospital and then laid up for a month for sure. After that we'll see how gimpy or active I am. So my goal is, once I'm not doped up on pain meds, to be uber productive with my writing. Send the mojo, ya'll!!

Also, should have the next short out about the same time. I'll try to keep up the blog too though there may be a week of nothing - we'll see.

Anywho - that's today's update.
Have a great day and week :)

Petra Cor's first book is now available on Amazon

YAY!!!!!

It took me forever to get here, but it's official. A Mate for the Minotaur by Petra Cor (my pen name for this genre) is finally available on Amazon. It's a short beast-erotic-romance and only 99 cents.

For everyone who was encouraging and had faith in me - THANKS!

Fingers crossed now for some sales :)

Can Cleaning Give You a Cold?

All my forward progress on my office has come to a grinding halt this week as I've spent the last five days sleeping and laying around movie-binging while I felt like death with a cold. I feel human today but still tired. My nose looks like I should be leading Santa's sleigh.

I'm really close on the office and made another dent in the remaining bookshelf in the living room. The tidying project is improving things around here. I'm more motivated to work and feeling good about life - until the cold, I mean. Actually maybe my body is purging toxins as I purge the toxins weighing me down around the house. Body and home getting all simpatico. It's a theory...

So, more when I feel all the way human again. Hope everyone else is doing well in the meantime.

Me, My Office and the Tidying Up book

This story starts with my writing partner and bff, D, who recommended I read this book by Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. I read it and have to say even though there are a few things that may not apply or work with an American lifestyle (because it was written by and for those living in Japan), the underlying premise is absolutely life-changing.

So, I've been decluttering and organizing according to that premise - Only keep what brings you joy (and/or use regularly for the practical minded). If you set that as your baseline, it's actually easier and liberating to rid your home of stuff that is just taking up space. I cleared out probably 40% of the clothes in my closet and drawers, 70% of the shoes taking up space, and 30-40% of the books on one massive bookshelf (I still have another bookshelf to go), but wow!  I feel like the weights are lifting off my back and when I look at what I did keep, it's all stuff I love and that brings me joy.

As I'm progressing through the process, I started working the same life-changing magic in my office where I'm supposed to be working/writing. But my brain was as cluttered and messy as my office which was in utter chaos. My office felt like a visual representation of my brain. It's no wonder I wasn't getting anything done.

This week has been all about cleaning up and clearing out my office - making it a joyous place for me to work and be productive surrounded by the things that enhance my productivity. Having now cleared out my filing cabinet and boxes and bags of stuff (we're talking SO much paper for recycling or shredding), there is now room for me to just put stuff away immediately so I keep it clutter free. What a concept! It shouldn't be such a concept, but for me it really was - sometimes, I'm just so bad parting with stuff. Not quite hoarder, but not a foreign concept either. Now, everything has to pass the joy/love measuring stick or it doesn't even come in the house. That's that. And I LOVE IT. :)

Now that you know all of that, you have some idea why I've been a slacker with my blog. But, we'll get this train back on the tracks. Have a great weekend!!

Introducing Petra Cor

I’ve been finishing my mythic creature short stories that will be published under a pen name of Petra Cor. Why use a pen name? So, those style of stories (which are creature/human erotic romance) are not confused with my regular romance that will be under my own name. Obviously , I wouldn’t be blogging about it if I were worried about people knowing that Petra Cor is a pen name I use. Like Nora Roberts writing her Eve Dallas futuristic cop stories under the name of J.D. Robb. We all know they are both Nora Roberts, but the genres are different enough that she probably wanted to avoid confusion for her readers.

Readers can be really loyal beasties and we fear change, so if you write something different than what we’re expecting, we may come at you with pitchforks  and fire reminiscent of the mobs going after Frankenstein’s monster (or maybe that’s just me).  So looking at it from the reader’s perspective, I am using a pen name.  Coming from the writer side, it makes little difference to me.

So, I guess what I’m saying is that coming in the near future will be some Petra Cor (aka me) shorts. Yay! I’m excited that I’m finally being productive and will finally have something published to show for it.

Depression is a terrible thing that robs one of all motivation even for the things that one loves.  So, when one (aka me) finally starts feeling better and finally finds a little motivation and finally is being productive and finally feels as though the cloud smothering your brain has dissipated, then one has to celebrate. So here I am talking about myself in some weird 3^rd person fashion celebrating with you that I’m feeling more human every day. Yay and YAY!!

I’ll let ya’ll know when something is officially out and available for sell. And thank you to everyone who was encouraging or supportive in any way (past, present or future).

Part 2: I Survived the Road Trip

Day 5
We headed toward Las Vegas to visit friends but weren't in a hurry so, we stopped in Holbrook, AZ to check out the WigWam Motel.  The minute we stopped there I knew deep down in my bones that this place had to be at least part of the inspiration for Disney's Cars movie. Seriously! Sitting in front of the hotel was an old tow-truck ... totally 'Mater'.. see what I'm talking about?  Each wigwam was a hotel room and in front of each was a vintage car. It was cool. Didn't stay there - maybe next time. We did stay in Holbrook though. They aren't far from a Petrified Forest, so there were loads of rock shops and such. We got some cool things there. And I got to relax and rest before another day of driving.

Day 6
We headed toward Las Vegas again. On the way, we stopped at the Meteor Crater. It was a little

pricey to enter, but it was worth it. This is fascinating. We watched a short movie on the crater and looked through the museum. We skipped the free tour because it would take an hour, but we walked out and took loads of pictures of it. It's huge! You can see my guy there for some kind of reference. It's a mile across in diameter. At the top edge on the far left of this pic, the first little piece that juts up is actually the size of a house. Huge crater. Any way we were glad we went.

Continuing on, we had, HAD to stop when we saw a sign for The Roadkill Cafe. It's in a little town off the Old Route 66 called Seligman. It was a cute town and we drove up and down a couple times just to see the Americana. The menu was priceless. We both had No-Brake Steak (aka Chicken-fried Steak). I'll add the menu at the bottom in a larger size in case you're interested. The food was good, the waitstaff friendly and on top of things and the ambiance charming.

We got to Vegas and hung out with our friends that night. Got to meet their new baby, Jax. What a cutie-pie. And any of you who know me well know I'm not much into kids, especially babies, but Jax stole my heart. :)

Day 7
Remember the tight calve and swollen leg I mentioned (I hope) from day one?  Well it was still tight and sore and my whole right leg was so swollen up. My left was only a little swollen, but my right looked like I had elephantitus or something.  So, my guy insists I call and make an appointment with my doctor to check it. It's Friday... we have to be home by 4:00pm cuz my guy has a mission critical class he has to be at by six... I know the earliest appointment will be on Monday... and it's already been like this for six days and 3000 miles... but I acquiesce because he's worried (I'm a little worried too - cuz of the blood clot back in December). I call and make an appointment for Monday- as expected - and get busy packing to head home. Ten minutes later they call me back and say I should go to the ER and have an ultrasound on that leg. They say go now, do not leave Las Vegas, do not pass Go or collect $200. I say I will go to the ER. But I think to myself... we don't have time for this here... my guy needs to get back to SLC for said critical class... it's already been this way for a week and I haven't died yet, so what's another 420 miles? So, we get on the road, get home, unload the car in record time, and thirty minutes later my guy heads off to a shower before his class and I head straight to the ER.

They were a little concerned at the ER too cuz my right leg was a full inch and a half bigger than my left. Ultrasound is done. No blood clot - yay! So crisis averted. I know some of ya'll are out there shaking your heads sadly at me and you have every right. It was probably dumb to ignore what could have been a blood clot for a week, but since I didn't die or actually have a blood clot, I'm gonna say  -- No Worries :)

Road trip successfully accomplished, no blood was spilled, no people were heaved out of car at breakneck speeds, no fights occurred, no blood clot was formed and no one died (me or by me). So good job, Clancy!

And now for the promised menu.... so funny!

I Survived our 3500 mile Road-trip

So, back on April 25th, my guy and I left with a friend to help her move to Texas. Loaded the car up with two ferrets, one cat and every spare space in the car filled with friend's belongings. Two days and 1500 miles away from the greater Houston area of Texas.

The first two days were spent driving like madmen to make the 750 miles needed to get friend there in two days, but we did it.

Day 1
It was some seriously intense twelve hour drive days. States covered day one - Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Spent the night in Santa Rosa, NM. we ate a local diner that was filled with teenagers in their Prom finery. TOh to be that young again. Or not.... I've decided youth is wasted on the young. But I'm getting old so maybe I'm biased. There was a cactus by the parking lot and only my guy could manage to pretend to back into it and actually do it!  Had to pick cactus spines out of his ass. Bonding at it's finest... lol.

I kind of hosed up my leg by actively driving the entire twelve hours without the sensible use of cruise control. That night my right calf was as hard as brick and my leg was completely swollen (yes - that was the knee I recently had surgery one and the leg that recently had a blood clot). Feel free to shake your head sadly in dismay at my own stupidity. We did try to make frequent stops but could have used more I guess.

Day 2
Anywho... the second day was about the same except I was now using cruise control (thank you car industry). Day two only covered New Mexico and Texas.  We got friend to her destination and unloaded the car. Now my guy and I had more room than needed. Can I just say I had forgotten how humid it is in Houston area. I mean holy-cow, it's like trying to breath underwater. Super happy to leave that behind.

Day 3
All day in Texas. We headed over to San Antonio so my guy could see the Alamo. The grounds there are so pretty. On our way we found this creek that had a great name (see pic). Afterward we cruised on up to Midland to see a friend I haven't seen in twenty years. Good grief! Time flies when your living your life. It was so great to see her and meet her children. That night, it was so cold and windy. I was happy to leave Midland, if not my friend, the next day.

Day 4
We had planned to go to Carlsbad Caverns but changed our minds what with our knees being totally jacked up. So we just went straight to Roswell, New Mexico and stayed the night there. Roswell is such a pretty little town. We spent all our souvenir budget on Alien shirts and stuff :)

Spent several hours in the UFO Museum reading all the stuff and enjoying myself. Last time I went I only had an hour in there and it was not nearly enough. This time I took all the time I wanted and it was great. In case you were wondering, I totally believe! I wish I could stay in Roswell for a week and spend time in their research library upstairs from the museum and study like mad. How awesome would that be? After the museum we ate ate Whataburger (I miss them) and chilled out in the hotel. Our trip back was far more relaxed than the mad dash to Texas. We needed it the rest, so it was nice.

More road-trip on Friday's post.

Crocheting vs Eating

In the evenings when I like to watch TV, I have a tendency to snack (which hints at a smaller quantity than the amount of food I actually consume). I have found however that if I am doing something with my hands then I do not eat. One of my besties suggested masturbation (I just shook my head sadly) which I think is impractical anyway considering the hours I watch TV.

I have however found something to do with those hours that not only keeps me from nibbling (rolling my eyes) but also strengthens my hands and wrist so I am not having any pain when I type all day. 

Crocheting. Yes, crocheting. People who know me well may find this incongruous with their concepts of me, but there it is. I love to crochet. I never learned how to knit. And counted cross-stitch (which is my mom's choice of TV watching hobbies) takes too much attention away from my viewing attention. Crocheting does not. And it really gives my hands and wrists a workout. 

The downside is that now that I've made tons of scarves and hats and other things for friends and family, I'm now searching for projects to work on. The other downside is the dollars spent on yarn. So, I've now decided to take orders and sell some stuff so I can sustain my hobby as well as keep busy. I'm also starting to write some patterns for the stuff I make up from pictures. Sometimes it takes a few times to get it right, but I'm making progress. Thought I'd share some of the latest projects.

The top is a plaid I've made in a load of different colors. I think these are quite pretty. Next is one I based off the Leather Pride Flag. I've made it in two different widths and a variety of lengths.

I've made a bunch of stuffed animal things like My Little Ponies and Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles but I've done some other things that are.... I dunno.

A boob coozie that a friend saw in a catalog and requested. This one's bizarre to me, but no judgyness. 

And then there's the daisy for my friend Daisy. I love this one.

In the works are a few more hats. But I'm always looking for more projects to take on so I can continue to not snack. 

BTW - the chip moratorium is going well. Wasn't even craving any until the last week, so that's good. Got another week to go. Hopefully when I am off the moratorium, I won't binge. Hopefully, I can go forward with some normal type of moderation. Mind over matter, that will be my mantra.

What do ya'll do to keep busy?

Consistency and planning ahead and no internet

I know that over the next week I will not have internet connection, so the blogs for next week are being pre-written and scheduled to post. I will not be available to put up a notice on twitter or Facebook though, so if you're interested, here's the link.

Have a great week everyone!

Besties and Good Friends (Exposing Clancy's soft underbelly...lol)

I recently had coffee (or hot chocolate cuz I don't drink coffee) with a newish friend. He's been suffering through some mental and physical health issues and I could relate having recently been depressed and going through a lot of physical stuff with my ever-deteriorating body. So there we were chatting away for a few hours and at one point he said he didn't have any friends. That struck me as so sad. When I said I was his friend anyone really only needs one good one...he teared up. It was a really profound moment for me.

I'm very fortunate in that I have a lot of friends. Long time friends (20+ years) and some from my youth that I'm still in contact with. I have a circle of five who I know would drop everything to help me in any way they could and another twenty or so that I could still pretty consistently ask for help if I needed. And these are not blood family, although I have five or six people there that I can count on as well. My besties, hardcore friends and even a lot of good friends are my chosen family and I know who I can depend on and for what. That is a huge blessing. And I do not take lightly.

I'm always saying that to have good friends, you have to be a good friend. I think I am a good friend and that is why I am so fortunate in my friendships. They know they can count on me as much as I can count on them and it's a loyalty that is sacred to me.

I was at an event yesterday that was chock full of my BDSM chosen family and it was a loving, supportive, mutually respectful group celebrating our peers and their accomplishments. It was hours of hugs and conversations and toasts and laughter and tears and just everything wonderful because we were together in celebration. I would wish this kind of love and support for everyone.

Last month I was with five of my writer friends for a weekend and that too was wonderful and supportive and fun and inspiring. So, yeah, I am a truly blessed individual when it comes to this.

So, as this very sweet and sad man was opening up to me, I felt very deeply the value of friendship and chosen family. Very deeply that he was now a part of that and I told him I was a hard friend to get rid of because I don't have to be in regular contact to maintain my friendships. That I could talk to them once a year, but when we did talk, it was as though we saw each other yesterday.

To all my friends, I love you and appreciate the role you play in my life.

Any of you who are also blessed with a friend or friends, don't forget to treasure them.

I know it's the times, but still...

I like a lot of old movies. Silent, B&W, whatever. I just like a lot of the older films. Despite that, there are things that bug me. I get that it's a reflection of the times that either they were made or the period the film is set in. I think I had a mini rant about this a while back when I was talking about the opera, Madame Butterfly. Even knowing that, intellectually, there are things that bug me emotionally.

Like.... movies where the men make decisions for the women because the women have no say so of their own. Grrrrr.  I was just watching an old 1950 musical, Rose Marie, with Howard Keel. Ann Blythe is living in the woods and getting along fine, but because her dad asked a friend Canadian Mountie to look after her, said Mountie (Keel) just goes and snatches her up and takes her back to town to be taken care of. He doesn't care that she doesn't want to go, he's a man and there ya go. Then when she acclimates to living with the Mounties, the boss Mountie arrives and says she can't stay, but he has a woman friend who will take her in and make her into a lady instead of the tomboy she is. Again, none of the manly men care what she wants, they just dictate her life for her. Grrrrr.

Or what about the times when people were publicly hung or flogged or tortured or whatever as punishment for some crime. I don't really have problems with that so much as the fact that it's attended by everyone including the kids. Really? Kids need to see this? I'm sure there's some really great reason like it's a learning experience so they don't go into crime because this is their future if they do. But really? Little kids need to watch public torture and executions?

All I can say is, I'm glad I don't live in either of those times. So, let's celebrate the progress we've made even if there is always more to make. That's all.

Allergies Blow: A Spring Rant!

So, the spring is supposed to be this great time of rebirth and newness. Beauty and sunshine after a long winter. It is all those things, BUT it also blows. Blows bad!!

Every spring all the nice things of spring are shrouded in a misery that lasts six to eight weeks called my spring allergies. Itchy eyes, itchy tongue, itchy ears and I can't breath through my nose. Eating and drinking take on a whole new challenge when I'm trying to breath and eat, breath and drink, breath period through my mouth which then is perpetually dried out as an extra fun bonus. So, Spring sucks and sucks bad. I'm burning through a box of Kleenex a day. Who knew one head could produce this much crap to blow out?!

What was a cold then became a cold and allergy and is now just my allergy. Grrrrrrr. So, even though I'm over the cold, I feel like crap and will probably continue to do so until some time toward the end of May. Joy.

And the worst part? The absolute worst part... is I'm taking a cocktail of medicine to keep it down to the thoroughly obnoxious state it is currently in now. Were it not, I'd be loads worse (hard to imagine). So yay for Spring. Not!

Rant over. We'll return with our previously scheduled program on Wednesday. :)

Still sick.... grrrrr

Still sick and now I'm not sure how much is cold/flu and how much is my annual spring allergies. Seeing the doctor today. Fingers crossed!

A final (maybe) update on DWTS

So, Monday nights DWTS show had a lot of the men taking off their shirts (thank you whoever got that to happen!). So, Robert Herjavec is a hottie! It's so official. He is just charming in every cell. And sexy. Can we say - holy-moly sexy!! The smile, the eyes, the hair, the body... oh yeah, the body (Don't judge. I am that shallow.) And of course the smarts and the charm. Very sexy indeed.

Still feeling a little sick still from my cold - so  a short post. Just so you know I'm not dead yet. :)

The Potato Chip Moratorium

Recently, I have been binging on potato chips and dip (cheese dip, onion dip, no dip). Binging is a nice word for what I've been doing. Anywho, I finished off some last week and just felt sick. Not sick, like I'm a bad person, but sick like - wow, I am eating way to much of this. It needs to stop.

So, I wrote it in  my journal to my counselor. And I told my guy. Now, I'm telling ya'll. This way I know I'm accountable. No more chips until after May 1. No exceptions. I'm determined to break the cycle. It's on my calendar - that's how serious I am.

Six weeks, no chips.

Then last night, I had a dream I was eating potato chips and I felt really bad about it. Weird, right? I feel like the chips have a little too much influence if I'm dreaming about them. Just made me more determined. "Take that chips! Your Machiavelli plan back-fired."

My gummy bear addiction may need to be addressed next, but moderation in all things - even moratoriums. I can hear my gummy bears crying, "That's crazy talk, Clancy! Come back from the ledge." It's okay gummy bears, I'm not doing anything drastic. Yet. (Maybe never  - my heart is kind of on board with the gummy bears. Just saying.)

Anyone else having food issues?

The Imitation Game and my geeky fan-girl moment of the week

Totally geeky moment. Last week when I wrote about Backstrom, one of the stars (Kristoffer Polaha) favorited and retweeted my tweet which was wicked cool because he played John Galt in the 3^rd Atlas Shrugged movie. And as ya’ll know, Atlas Shrugged is my favorite book of all time. So, that was my geek fan moment of the week. And by the way – if you haven’t yet – really – go watch Backstrom. So good.

Now for today’s topic – The Imitation Game. I have no idea how accurate the movie is as far as giving credit to those due for creating the machine that allowed Britain to break the code of the German’s Enigma machine. No clue at all.

What I do know is how great the film was in my humble opinion. It was even better than that if you ask my guy because he’s British and all the stuff that was taking place in the film was reminiscent of his childhood. The film resonated with him on far more levels than it might for an American. But, I thought it was a really good movie. Benedict Cumberbatch was great (as always) and Keira Knightly did a very good job as well. Actually, it was pretty much a stellar cast from start to finish. I’d name all the actors, but it’s a fair list, so I’ll just suggest you see the film instead.  

It’s about a team of British smarty-pants trying to come up with a way to break the Enigma machine  codes so they can win the war. (And please try to imagine if they’d failed and WWII was lost. Actually, Amazon has one episode of an original series they may greenlight called The Man in the High Castle which is based on a Philip K Dick novel and is an alternate history imagining if the Allied powers had lost WWII. It’s disturbing.) So, anywho, the movie is about the trials, triumphs and relationships of this team as they struggle with the problem and even what direction they should invest their time. Very worth the watch.

And now we’re at the part where I have a SPOILER ALERT.

The thing that struck me most was how hard it must have been for this group of people to know all of Germany’s movements and have to make hard choices about which ones they could or could not stop without giving away the fact that they’d broken the code.

Think about that for a moment. Really. We’re at war and the opposing country thinks their coded messages are all secret-like, but we don’t want them to know we know, so we let them blow up a ship that will kill hundreds or thousands so that we can act as though we just got lucky when we stop them in another attack that will save thousands or more or just a really strategic location. So, daily we have to make the decision of who lives and who dies so that we can end a war sooner than later. Tough stuff.

I don’t know how I would live with that kind of burden and responsibility pressing down on me.  I think it would take incredibly strong people with a big picture view to handle that. Which makes me think of that Jack Nicholson scene in A Few Good Men where he shouts , “You can’t handle the truth!” Could the majority of us handle the truth of what is done in the name of our freedom? Something to think about.

The other thing that stayed with me was how horrible homosexuals were treated back then. How awful that we ever came up with chemical castration – just for being gay. Like slavery, sexism and racism (and more), I find the past a hard pill to swallow sometimes. Hard indeed to take how inhumane we can be to one other.  Cruel and sad.  Just saying.

My Hair and more Game of Thrones

So, I told you about my trip to Nashville. The humidity out there is crazy and kept putting this heinous wave into my hair, so then I got a bug up my butt about hating my current hairstyle, so I came home with that in my head and decided to get it cut.

My usual girl was scheduled for when I went in but then was sick so she wasn't in when I went in but I was hating my hair, so I let someone else cut it. I'm a dumbass.

First, I shouldn't have been hating my hair just cuz humidity was screwing with it. Also, I should have come back when my regular girl was healthy cuz now I'm in permanent hat wearing mode for a few months cuz the non-regular girl hosed it up - Bad (yes... Capital B Bad). It's already been several weeks and it still looks like shit. So, my poor man has to look at me looking like I stuck my finger in a light socket 24/7 and I have to try to figure out how to dress up while wearing a ballcap (I look dumb in any other hat styles - don't go there) at the hand-fasting I'm attending tomorrow. Sigh....

Fortunately, hair grows so I'm not completely crushed by this turn of events but I do have to wait for it to get long enough to let my regular gal fix it. I'm having a wicked bad hair day every day for way too long. Go ahead and laugh... it's ok. I'd be laughing it it were you. :)

And update (SPOILER ALERT on Game of Thrones Season 4):

I started watching season four the minute it arrived. Yes, yes..I'm totally gonna run out of episodes before April. I think I'll go back to Season one and start watching all the bonus feature stuff while I'm waiting. Anywho... I started watching season four and Yay! Joffrey dies a painful death in episode 2. He could have suffered more but at least he's gone.

I had other stuff here but now that I've finished the fourth season, I have to change even that.  The Hound and Arya are a great pair and I love all their scenes, so you can imagine how sad I was with the Hound's death. Arya is turning into a real badass.  Breanne and Jamie are another great pair so I'm glad he sends her off to protect Sansa but I'm sad I won't see them together any more.  But Breanne and Pod work well too. Jamie is definitely redeeming himself and I'm liking him a ton. But he really needs to get over his sister (what a bitch!).

And Bron/Tyrion and Shae/Tyrion are more pairs I like so much so wow was I disappointed in Shae by the end of the season and not feeling so sad at her tragic end or Tywin's. Although I am feeling really bad for Tyrion. But I think I can look forward to a Tyrion/Varys pair to like. And I can't blame Bron, and neither did Tyrion, with his change of events.

And Sansa and Baelish are shaping up to be a strange pair but I can't mourn that crazy-ass Lysa Arryn and I can only hope something happens to her creepy son. Robin.

So I'm sad about some stuff in season four, but overall there were some excellent moments when loads of shitty people got killed most gruesome and there was much cheering from my couch. I think my guy thinks I'm a little blood-thirsty. Could be....

"The Get Yourself Organized Project" by Kathi Lipp

Ok – so, once again I agreed to read a book and review it (so I got the book free – FYI).  I've done it before for this author, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect.  Disclaimer (and the author was forwarned):  I am still an atheist, so the God and Jesus stuff is lost on me and actually a turn-off. 

With all that said, once again – I enjoyed Kathi Lipp's humorous and relatable writing style and I found the information very helpful.  She makes no bones that she is not a clean freak and her advice is for like types.  It isn’t to make your house perfect but rather to make it functional and productive.  And the God and Jesus stuff was even less prevalent in this book than in the "The Marriage Project", so that was good for me.

I am not only not a clean freak, I am actually a slob.  Sometimes my house even grosses me out.  So, I've read the book cover to cover and now plan to tackle the house chapter by chapter, project by project.  I had already started cleaning my place, but got stuck some where along the way.  This seems like a do-able plan to me.  Not like the million other books that have unrealistic expectations for the end result or unrealistic expectations of my ability to maintain their standard.  "The Get Yourself Organized Project" is for average shmoes like me who just want more functionality in their environs and some easy way to get there - in bite size steps.  Very do-able, indeed.  If cleaning and organizing your home and your life is not a forte, I'm going to suggest giving this book a try.

Here is more info…

Author Bio

Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker and the of The Husband Project: 21 Days to Loving Your Man—on Purpose and with a Plan, The Marriage Project: 21 Days to More Love and Laughter, and The Me Project: 21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted and The “What’s for Dinner?” Solution. She is a frequent guest on Focus on the Family and dozens of other radio programs.

Church leaders and women’s ministry directors rely on Kathi to help women move from living out of obligation to enjoying godly passion. She speaks to thousands of women across the US and Canada every year.

Kathi and her husband, Roger, are the parents of four young adults and live in San Jose, California. Find out more about Kathi at www.kathilipp.com

Purchase Links

Christianbooks.com “The Get Yourself Organized Project”

BN.com “The Get Yourself Organized Project”

Link To Kathi’s Reader’s Freebies
Reader's Freebies

Kathi’s author page on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/kathilipp.author

Me, a book festival, "Zombieland" and a gadget

Wow, back to my slacker ways, I see. What to talk about.... hmmmm...

I went to Tucson, AZ for their Festival of Books. That was terrific. It was free and had a ton of authors there signing books and doing informative panel discussions. So two thumbs up. If you get a chance to go next year, I say do it.

I'm reading a bunch of books right now, but nothing especially noteworthy at the moment.

On the movie front - I saw Zombieland. Can't say I'm a fan of zombies in any form, but I did like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland had a similar irreverent feel to it that was amusing. There were some definite logic flaws you had to sort of overlook, but still, I enjoyed it for the most part.

I got a new gadget for my computer. It's a fan that sits underneath the laptop and keeps it cool. It plugs into an USB port and sends out a blue glow from under my laptop reminiscent of the cars that are all pimped out... kind of cool. Plus it's keeping my laptop cool (Duh - that's its purpose) which is total plus, since that last time I had computer problems, they were heat related. My mom got it for me for Christmas, but didn't find it until yesterday when she was moving her furniture around - funny huh?

Do I seem tired and not my usual perky self to ya'll? I feel tired and not my usual perky self. Sorry. We're having construction work done in the house and it's distracting and disruptive. It will be done soon I guess, but not soon enough :)
'Nuff for now. More soon.