Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! We just moved to a new state. Our house is big, beautiful and…bare (we gave away just about everything before we left). My kids are sleeping on the floor. The puppies are running wild. My car is acting up. My son is upset because he didn’t want to move away from his friends. My daughter can’t walk (ankle surgery)…
But we’re together, we’re happy and we’re going to sit on the family room floor tomorrow and enjoy an awesome Thanksgiving dinner with joy in our hearts. We have so much to be thankful for. The bank account ain’t full (especially after just moving) but we’re not homeless. We’re healthy. We’re fed. We’re rested. I have a career. AND I HAVE BOOKS TO READ!!! Life is damned good regardless of what the media says.
Everything is relative. When compared to other places, for example, Bangladesh where the yearly average income is $1800 a YEAR, or Europe (where I was recently) where gas is consistently $6 to $8 a gallon, I think I’ll be grateful for what I have instead of complaining about what I don’t have. The best is here, and better is on the way ;D Woohoo!
I made it home safely from my trip to Switzerland and I’m happy to be home. It was a work trip so I didn’t get to see very much of the sites, but it was an excellent trip all the same. I met some really cool people and had some great discussions about ‘life type stuff’. Tried some interesting new foods, too. Did you know that they eat a lot of horse over there? So when you order “steak” be sure you specify what kind ;D
I’m blogging at the Dynamic Trio site about some of the things I heard over there regarding our current political season in the USA. Click here to check it out.
Don’t forget about the Holiday Hottie contest – first winners will be announced next week. Also, the TJ On A Tangent newsletter will have all the prizes up for grabs in the next issue!
I’m over at my author group blog (Dynamic Trio) saying what I think about balance. It’s bunk! Before you say I’m crazy, click the link and check out the post. Then tell me what you think;D
Anybody, other than me, who used to watch a young Will Smith as The Fresh Prince of Belair? And what about those good old fashioned cartoon movies based on classic books, like Rock-a-Doodle from the book Chanticleer?
Well, one of the awesome women from a group of awesome ladies called The Posse (now is that a good old nostalgic name or what?) with a rocking Yahoo group loop posted this oldie-but-goodie not too long ago. Now let me tell you, I’d just heard that my older sister has cervical cancer and the very next day learned that my ex-husband has stomach cancer. A few days after that I saw this posting on the loop, watched it, and it made my whole damned day a lot brighter!
I’d love to know if you ever have those days when you reminisce on a time long past and it just makes you smile like an idiot? Or, better yet, makes you laugh out loud until your office mates wonder what the hell you’re doing at your desk that makes work so much fun?
I’m blogging over at the Divas of the Dark and my favorite haunt, the Dynamic Three blogs today. The subject – whether sex was taboo when you were growing up. If so, I wonder if it affected you the way it did me. I’m also talking about why it is not taboo in MY HOUSE with my kids. Join us!
The fabulous Cait Miller put this out on the author loop recently. Enjoy!
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A guy calls a company and orders their 5-day, 10-lb weight loss Program. The next day, there’s a knock on the door, and there stands before him a voluptuous, athletic, 19-year-old babe dressed in nothing but a pair of Nike running shoes and a sign around her neck.
She introduces herself as a representative of the weight loss Company. The sign reads, ‘If you can catch me, you can have me.’
Without a second thought, he takes off after her. A few miles later huffing and puffing, he finally gives up. The same girl shows up for the next four days and the same thing happens.
On the fifth day, he weighs himself and is delighted to find he has lost 10 lbs as promised. He calls the company and orders their 5-day, 20-pound program.
The next day there’s a knock at the door and there stands the most stunning, beautiful, sexy woman he has ever seen in his life. She is wearing nothing but Reebok running shoes and a sign around her neck that reads, ‘If you catch me, you can have me’.
Well, he’s out the door after her like a shot. This girl is in excellent shape and he does his best, but no such luck.
So for the next four days, the same routine happens with him gradually getting in better and better shape.
Much to his delight on the fifth day when he weighs himself, he discovers that he has lost another 20 lbs as promised.
He decides to go for broke and calls the company to order the 7-day, 50-pound program.
‘Are you sure?’ asks the representative on the phone. ‘This is our most rigorous program.’
‘Absolutely,’ he replies, ‘I haven’t felt this good in years.’
The next day there’s a knock at the door; and when he opens it, he finds a huge muscular guy standing there wearing nothing but pink running shoes and a sign around his neck that reads, ‘If I catch you, your ass is mine.’
Jennifer over at Wild On Books caught up with me and invited me to guest blog over there. It was alot of fun and the topic is one that’s on everyone’s mind – The Olympics…and the upcoming release of Caramel Kisses (yummm!)
Check out the blog post and a sweet (and oh-so-naughty) excerpt from my first contemporary, older woman – younger man story. It’s smokin’! And as always, the plot is interesting and solid.
We made it safely to Florida and we are having a ball! The Marriott Grand Vista is a pretty nice place. The surrounding area is also pretty neat. Nothing spectacular, as it’s a typical city, but the weather is really something. I love the rain and humidity, now if it was just a bit cooler I’d be in heaven!
We’ve been eating like crazy! Lord, I just know I’m going to have to spend more time at the gym when I get back to keep my butt from heading too far South without the rest of me. Geesh!
TJ On A Tangent went out right before I left so hopefully you’re enjoying it – if you aren’t a subscriber to the newsletter, you can sign up any time. This issue contains an excerpt from my new book, CARAMEL KISSES, that was just sold to EC. ToT subscribers get to see it first, but I’ll put it up on the Sneak Peek page after I get back from vacation.
I’ve been known to be more of a guy than a girl. Why? Because women have gotten a bad wrap, damn it! And some figure that if you’re not the stereotypical female you’re either too good to be true, or you are a ‘knuckle dragger’ like them. And I did NOT give them that name. It’s what they believe their women see them as. So, the term has become one that men (and some women) unite around and are proud to be called. At least I am.
Women, we’re seen as these fickle, complicated, emotional wrecks (especially on TV). We supposedly want to be pampered one minute only to flip the ‘spastic switch’ and become Miss Independent I-Don’t-Need-Nobody the next minute. Total bull if you ask me, but then again, I’ve seen my share of female goofballs and tend to wonder…
Part of the problem is that as women, we tend to try to get men to ask like us, communicate like us, and understand us. But I read a book a long time ago called “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” and it saved my sanity. I learned not to nag my mate, nor chase him around trying to get him to talk to me when what he needed was to work things out in his own head. The way women help each other is to talk it out. But men don’t do that. Men disappear into their ‘man cave’ and think. Yet we run in there after them trying to get them to talk it out. And sometimes we get burned, not realizing that it’s just the way they are. So let ‘em be.
Anyway, back to the guy thing where I’m concerned. If a knuckle dragger is a person who enjoys peace and quiet, content to let the emotional wrecks get bent out of shape without us, then I guess I’m a knuckle dragger. Hell, even my ex had to admit that he was the complainer/nagger in our relationship, which to me, was a big compliment.
So…Knuckle Draggers unite!
Here’s a joke for those women, like me, who enjoy NOT nagging. Enjoy emotional stability instead of half the month PMS’ing and the other half of the month on her period. Find pleasure in NOT adding a million things to the honey-do list. Enjoy equal parts affection and raunch. Think highly of our men (well, when we have one ;D). And who do love being on the receiving end of chivalry and pampering while still maintaining our sense of self at the expense of no one.
(IF YOU’RE EASILY OFFENDED, READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK – ROFL!!)
A man was riding his Harley along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, “Because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.”
The biker pulled over and said, “Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want.”
The Lord said, “Your request is materialistic, think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required reaching the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for such a thing. Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind.”
The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, “Lord, I wish that I and all men could understand women; I want to know how she feels inside, what she’s thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing’s wrong, and how I can make a Woman truly happy.”
The Lord replied, “You want that Bridge two lanes or four?”
The weather here has been absolutely scorching. Now I’m SO not the girl who enjoys being baked alive, but I do enjoy getting outside. I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like anymore (somehow those danged responsibilities sometimes get in the way ;D) but I like to walk at lunch time with some of the ladies at the office. The other day when I took this pic it was cloudy out with a bit of a cool breeze as a storm blew in. And it was STILL almost 80 degrees outside! Even with my hair pulled up my poor neck was all sweaty – wasn’t even cute!
(Click the pic for a larger image)
Warning: Entering the ‘No Makeup’ Zone!
Forget New Year’s resolutions (I don’t bother to make them), it’s all about taking care of yourself all year long. Last year was one of the most stressful years of my life, mostly due to my job. And I made a commitment to myself that I would SO not go there again, being worked up and worked over to the point of affecting my health.
I’ve always been a health goofball – I love the outdoors, I like going to the gym, and like taking walks. Not to the point of being a fanatic, but it is important to take care of yourself. Especially if you have kids. Your kids need you to be around for a good long time.
So what are you doing to keep yourself in good health? And if you’re not doing anything, maybe I can help you with that?
First, a good way to work off stress is to play! Do something fun. My game of choice right now is World of WarCraft. Another good way is to get physical. You don’t have to lift a ridiculous amount of weights, or do aerobics until you faint. Just a little stroll about the neighborhood, enjoying the evening breeze is good, too. And it’s even better if you can grab the hand of someone you care about and drag them along ;D
