R.I.P. II Autumn Reading Challenge!

Yay! Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has issued a new reading Challenge. In honor of the approaching Halloween season, Carl has open the flood gates to register for the R.I.P (Readers Imbibing Peril) Autumn Reading Challenge. I'm all kinds of excited, because my reading list has turned down a dark a spooking path (Mostly filled with Vampires) which is right in line with the challenge. Officially, the challenge starts September 1st and runs until October 31st. The rules of the game, per Carl: The Perils:

(Choose one, or more than one if you are feeling adventurous)

Peril the First:
Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

Peril the Second
(Otherwise known as the Obese Book Peril):
As you may know, some books are scary not just because of their subject matter but because of their size. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna
Clarke is 737 pages of small type, for example, and Gordon Dahlquist’s Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is 637 pages long with type so minuscule it makes Strange’s look like large print!
For this peril simply read two weighty tomes during the challenge period.

Peril the Third:
If you think you have it in you, this third choice of perils is the Scary Sandwich Peril…choose two large books like those described in Peril the Second and read a
smaller qualifying tale in between.

Peril the Fourth
(Otherwise known as Just a Bit of Peril):
Some of you wonderful readers, or would-be readers, may have a tendency to shy way from this genre, thinking it is just not your cup of poisoned tea. However, it
wouldn’t be a challenge if I wasn’t challenging you. This peril is for those of you who want to take a chance. Simply choose one book that you feel meets the criteria for Readers Imbibing Peril II and, well, imbibe it!

This Challenge couldn't come at a better time for me. I had just finished ordering library books before reading Carl's post. Just about everything I ordered falls into the Gothic horror genre. So I'm going to do Peril the First x two. That gives me a little over a week per book. Easy peasy. As long as I don't scare myself too much!

My reading list, so far:

Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Rises The Night: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher (if I like this one, I'll read the whole series)
I need to add two more to my list, but I'm going to hold off until I see what the other people doing the challenge pick. I'm sure to find a new author that I've never heard of, with a book I'm dying to read.

Catch 22

The house that we are renting is set up for DSL not cable Internet. So when we moved in, we had to get phone service or Bellsouth wouldn't sell us Internet service. What a pain in the butt. Zalebaby and I both use cell phones. We haven't had landline phone since we first moved in together in 2004. We don't even own a plug-in-the-wall phone. However, since the house is a rental and the Landlord didn't want us to run the cables to put a cable outlet in the computer alcove, we were stuck, with a extra $30 (the cheapest phone service you can get) thrown down the drain.

Then, Joy of Joys! I met the At&t Southeast VP. He came into the Airplane Sales office where I am the admin asst and bought a plane. (it was only a little plane, but it still cost more that it would cost me to buy the house I'm renting) He's a really nice man, so I plucked up my courage and said to him, "I heard a rumor that you can now get high speed Internet without having to have phone service" He hem and hawed, tried to tell me I should have a phone line for 911 calls, then asked me for my phone number and told me that he would check to see if they were set up in my area. (I had to look up the phone number since I never use it....)

A week later, I get a phone call from At&t, and they set up my new account, for just Internet service. Yay! I bootie shaked all around the living room. Yay! $30 more a month to go on my Credit cards! Paying off the CC = time to make a Baby! Yay! (I don't know if I'm going to be able to hold out on baby making until all of them are paid-off)

Ok, here's the catch 22. I do paperless billing and I've always paid thru the Bellsouth website. So, I received my notice that the bill is ready and I went and logged in to pay my bill. I could log in, but it wanted me to verify the last 4 SSN to go with the phone number. Which since that number is no longer in service for me, my SSN is no longer attached to that phone number, which means I can not finshing logging in and pay my bill.

After an hour of talking and holding, I have gotten the paperless billing turned off, so next month I'll get a paper bill. When I get that, I'll set up to Pay my bill thru my bank. Now, I just need to find my check book and pay the current bill over the phone. Why they don't take debit cards over the phone is beyond me!

Bonus picture- Babe Ella (Since I've got a severe case of baby lust)

Pay it Forward

Yay! Now that I am home from my "Visit the Family up North" trip, it's my time to play "Pay it Forward" thanks to Denise at Mormar. The way it goes is this:

PAY IT FORWARD. The first three people who leave a comment and pledge to pay it forward to three others on their blogs will receive a handmade gift from me within one year (August 2, 2008) of this posting. I will read your blog and get the essence of who you are to come up with an idea.

So, Who would like a present from me?

I'm done, sort of!

I've finished my sewing projects, mostly. I have a headless frog body to finish, but, since I didn't get it done in time for the baby shower, I have month to finish it before the baby comes.



Speaking of babies, I'd like to introduce my niece Ella. Born July 17, 2007 weighing in at 9lbs 13oz and 19 inches long. I just love those chubby cheeks!

I'll be away this week, I'm going to PA to meet her. I can hardly wait.

Tick-tock

I'm making progress, slowly but surely on my sewing projects.

I've finished the pillow sham. Yay! There was enough fabric left over to make a bolster pillow so, now I've got to add that to my sewing list, but hey, I get paid for doing that, so I can't complain too much.

I've got the baby quilt cut and ready to piece.

The screens are cut and ready to be sewn into the proper widths, the trim has been bought and the frog is figured out and ready to be cut.

So, just to stress myself out some more, I'm going over to my friend Heat's house to help her recover the glider for her sister's nursery. In lime green cheetah print. I think the pregger hormones are messing with Joh's brains.

Either way, I'll try to take pictures tonight .....

Oh Boy! When it rains, it pours!

I've got more sewing on my plate than I know what to do with! Even better, I'm getting paid for some of them. Now the problem is time! I am a procrastinator, just call me Last Minute Mary.

Paid jobs have a due date of July 19th:

1 king pillow sham with trim. (1-2 hour project)

3 fabric trimmed hanging patio screens (your guess is as good as mine.) I've got the screens, but they need to be cut to size and I have to go buy fabric to trim with. I love the idea of the screens, but doing the math always stresses me out.

Personal sewing:

1 baby quilt for the niece (needs to be done by the 19th for the trip home to PA to meet her) she's scheduled to be delivered on the 17th.

1 stuffed frog in a tutu (due 14th for the baby shower) I've got a doll pattern to covert into a frog. Should be too hard, but it will take some time to do it.

I so need to light a fire under my own ass. I'll see how much I can get done this weekend. Then I will start panicking.

Yippy!

Yay! I don't have pictures for you, but this weekend I took one step closer to my goal of having my own sewing business. It was only a little step, but I'm practicing my Grrl Genius-ness and recognizing my step. Now that I have you all confused, I'll tell you what I did.

I altered drapes. I know. Whoo-hoo and all. Like I said, it's a small step, but I got paid to do it and it only took me a couple of hours to do the calculations and do the deed. I hemmed them and added butterfly pleats. So I say a big thank you to my buddy Erik (who just left JC Penny's to start his own freelance installer business. Go Erik). One of the designers that he installs for needed a rush alteration. So he passed the alterations to me to do. I'm hoping he'll be able to pass more little jobs my way. Keep your fingers crossed!

My dream is to be a stay at home mom, and to earn my own money by doing alterations and custom sewing. I someday want to open an Etsy shop and sell handbags, softies and whatever else floats my fancy. It's not a big dream, lots of other people do it, but it's what I want.

Anansi Boys By Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a wonderful writer. His flexibility of style is intriguing. You never know what you are getting until you read the book. After reading American Gods, I was excited to read Anansi Boys, as it is set in the same world view of man/god combinations. In this case I was disappointed. To me, it lacked the flare and drama of American Gods. I didn't get hooked by the story. I kept waiting to be enthralled and it didn't happen. It could be because I didn't like Fat Charlie, or Spider for that matter. In fact I thought they were one note characters, no depth at all. The story line should have been exciting. Fat Charlie's father dies, he meets his unknown brother and the chaos Spider causes that changes his life. All good elements that should have given the book more life. Sigh. This won't stop me from reading more of his work, as much as I've trashed this book, it was still worth reading, just not his best work, in my humble (not!) opinion.

Scattergories Meme- fun, fun

I stole this from MamaLee at Full Plate.

Guidelines:

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following categories. They should be real places, names, things.nothing made up! If you can’t think of anything, google it.
Copy and Paste to answer in your blog - let me know if you do this one!

Your Name: Carrie
Famous singer: Carrie Underwood (hm, I sense a theme)
4 letter word: Care
Street name: Cedar Crest Lane (where I went to high school)
Color: Crimson (such a sexy color)
Gifts/presents: Chocolate(lots and lots please! Dark Chocolate is a must!)
Vehicle: Corvette (I'd love to drive one, once. Not to own!)
Things in a Souvenir Shop: Candles (I'm a little pyro)
Boy Name: Charles
Girl Name: Charissa
Movie Title: Carrie (tee hee)
Drink: Creamsicles (yum yum!)
Occupation: Cook
Flower: Crocus
Celebrity: Carrie Fisher (princess Leia!)
Magazine: Cosmo
U.S. City: Cape Cod (never been there)
Pro Sports Teams: Cowboys
Something found in a Kitchen: Crock-pot
Reason for being late for work: Constipation
Something you throw away: corn husks
Things you shout: Crack-whore!
Cartoon Character: Calvin

Anyone else wanna play?

Catching up on my book reviews

Ok, I'm a bit behind on my book reviews for the Once Upon A Time Challenge. It's not that I'm not reading my challenge books, I'm just behind in writing the reviews. One of the best things about doing this challenge is all the new Authors that I have been introduced to, which leads to more books to read, which pushes back the review process. So I babble away about writing the reviews....instead of writing them.

I'll stop that now.

My book choices:
Mythology:
1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I loved this book. It was dark, with vivid details that kept you hooked. I was such a different style from Stardust. I really enjoyed the duality of the god's natures. Fascinating.

Folklore:
1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (I'm waiting on the Library for this one)
Fairytale:
1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman (I posted a review of this one)
2. Widdershins by Charles de Lint - I substituted Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey (I posted a review)
3. Tithe by Holly Black (I posted a review of this one)
4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale I read the Princess Academy instead. It was a lovely fairytale story for younger readers. I enjoyed the simplicity of the storyline. I liked the message of believe in yourself, you can do more that you think you can. I think kids need to hear that message alot, especially girls.
5. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan (I posted a review of this one)
Fantasy:
1. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip I substituted The Strange Adventures of Ranger Girl by Tim Pratt It was a Wild West elemental god vs. Coffee Shop Girl. It was quirky and fun. I really enjoyed the wild west aspects of the book. It was so different than the current trend of Fairies, vampires and werewolves in Fantasy books. The book is not a western, it just uses the west as a back drop. I'm looking forward to more book by Tim Pratt.
2. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (I posted a review of this one)
3. Greywalker by Kat Richardson Another book I really enjoyed. I've put the 2nd book on order at the library. It sort of reminds me of the Anita Blake novels, without being "naughty". There is something about the way she struggles against her fate that interests me.
4. Something Rotten by Jasper Fford I hate to say it, but I didn't care for this one very much. I've read the others in the series, but this one lacked the fun of the other book.

Tonight I am planning on digging up my old Riverside Shakespear Book, from college and rereading A Midsummers Night's Dream. I love that play. I've always wanted to perform in that play.

....Shoot me please.

Is it possible to die from boredom? I'm not sure I can deal with much more of it. I really dislike feeling like an overpaid waste of space. It's only Tuesday and I am counting down until Friday. Hell. I'm counting the minutes until it's time to leave for the day. Sigh. I'm about ready to ask 1Peanut to pass the meds.

I have plenty to do outside of work, It's just the long, slow hours here that are driving me insane. I keep telling myself, "this too shall pass". After all, I'm in the Airplane Sales office and everyone knows that sales goes in spurts. I must say, I am glad I'm not a salesman. I get paid per hour not commission. I couldn't handle the gaps in paychecks. I love it when we are buying and selling. My job really is nessary, I'm the one that does all the paperwork, but right now all I'm doing is answering the phones. And reading blogs. Lots of blogs. I think I found the end of the internet.

Cruise trip report!

The cruise rocked. My camera broke so I don't have any pictures of my own. That so sucks. The pictures that I'm posting are from Marathon Girl.

It turned out to be a really relaxing cruise. We didn't party as much as I thought we would. I thought we'd be dancing every night, simply because Marathon Girl loves to dance. We never once hit the dance club. We gambled, watched the shows, drank like fishes and ate like pigs. I think the sunbathing took a lot out of us. It didn't help that The Hampton Girl had a 24 hour stomach bug right before we left for the cruise (She threw-up for the last time a 4:30am before getting in the car to drive down to Tampa) and Marathon Girl was getting over bronchitis. Lovely. I was the only non-sick one to start the cruise. We drove the 6 1/2 hours to get to Tampa with no problems, I was worried about the fires closing down I-75, but we were lucky. The Hampton Girl slept the whole way there, poor sick chicky.

When we got to the ship, The Hampton Girl was feeling alot better, she at least didn't look sick as we were dealing with the boarding documents. Boarding was quick and easy, there were no lines, we just breezed up to the check-in desk. Yay! I was practically jumping up and down with excitement. The girls were laughing at me. We got our sign and sail cards, avoided the boarding the ship photo moments (we did alot of avoiding of "photo moments" on this trip) and on the ship we went.

We couldn't go to our cabin until 1:30, so we went to the Lido deck for a bite to eat and to start the drinking. Poor The Hampton Girl, she wasn't up for either but Marathon Girl and I had a yummy fru-fru drink.

After that we started exploring the ship, we found the spa and booked treatments for the next day. I got a ginger and lime salt scrub with a massage and the girls both booked facials. The scrub and massage was one of my favorite parts of the trip. DH does not give massages and I sooo love them. The spa had these great multi head showers.

Some day I want to have one like that. It had sprays that were on either side of the shower stall and shot out to meet in the middle. It was heaven. The treatment left me so soft. I loved it. It was too bad DH wasn't around to enjoy the benefits!

We continued exploring the ship, is it just me or does this wooden thing look more like a cock and balls then the violin head that it is suppose to be? At least that is what the 3 of us thought. On our 3 day, we came across a female staff member polishing all the wooden sculptors. We so wished we had a camera on us. We giggled over her "technique" and "happy endings" all the way to dinner.

When it was time for sail-away, we went to the front of the ship to watch. We found our spot and were so excited. Then the ships horn went off. I damn near dropped my drink and my camera over the side. We were standing directly under the horn. Damn that thing is loud!

We watched the ship ease itself into the canal and down the waterway for a bit, then Marathon Girl and The Hampton Girl gave up and decided to go take a nap. Well, I don't blame them. Marathon Girl and I went to bed a 11:30pm and were up at 3am, we picked up The Hampton Girl at 4ish and started the drive to Tampa, at 4:30pm, it's been a loooong day. I tried to last until the ship went under the channel bridge, but it didn't happen. I was too tired and I went back to the cabin shortly after they left.

We got up and went to dinner, our seating was at 8:30. After meeting our seatmates, 3 blond chics out for fun, we nicknamed them the hurricane sisters, cause they were a wild mess. They came to the table, past tipsy into drunk, chattered like chipmunks and whirled away after dinner to party some more. They were a hoot. It was like that for every dinner.

Cozumel was fun. We did a ship excursion, The Deluxe snorkel and beach party. We took a catamaran out to snorkel (the snorkeling sucked...nothing to see- Oh look at the dumb tourists looking at nothing) then they took us to a lovely beach for an hour, the beach had floats, kayaks, hammocks, you could buy food or a horseback ride. Both the beach and the catamaran had an open bar of beer and margaritas. We had a great time at the beach and on the boat. I musta had 6 margaritas. Marathon Girl and I were very tipsy. Most of the drunk girls (including Marathon Girl and I) were dancing on the boat. Lots of fun. The first thing we did after getting off the boat was go into town and get some food. We sure needed it!

The Hampton Girl and I enjoying our Margaritas. They were very different than the US margaritas, I swear they were made with cactus juice instead of lime.

Me and Marathon Girl drinking more. Shortly after this we were dancing our way around the boat in a conga line.

I loved the sweet bird we found at one of the jewelry stores!
The rest of the trip was: sun, eat, nap. repeat. Lovely!

Book Review Stardust by Neil Gaiman

It's hard to write a review for this book. Not because it wasn't a good book, because it was a wonderful, funny book that I can't wait to read to my kids. The ones that are still a twinkle in my hubby's eyes. No, I'm excite because I'm leaving for my cruise in a couple of hours. I'm sitting here at work watching the clock tic by so slowly. Sigh, back to the book.

This story completely excited me. I so enjoyed reading it and am excited that they are making it into a movie. The story line is so conductive to a movie.

Ta-ta for now!

What to pack or not to pack, that is the question....

To put it mildly, I am an over packer. Do they have a 12-step program for that? I sure need one. So far I have packed my suitcase 3 times. Rewashed half of the cloths (thanks Tater!) of course that was my fault for leaving the suitcase open on the floor. Sigh.

To combat my over packing tendencies, I am limiting myself to 1 suitcase- 26" and a small beach bag. That seems like plenty, doesn't it? It's only a 4 night cruise.... I'm having trouble fitting everything in. My current list:

4 dresses (one for each dinner)
2 swimsuits
2 cover-us (they match the 'suits of course)
2 shorts
2 Capri's
2 skirts
8 shirts
1 Shaw
5 shoes

Now, that all fits in the suitcase, but there is no room for my toiletries or the legal bottle of wine or a 6 pack of water. Plus I want to take a power strip with me. The room has only 1 outlet. 3 girls, 1 outlet = primping disaster.

I also need to figure out what to wear for boarding. I want to wear a swimsuit, so we can lay out without having to change, but what to wear over it? I don't really want to wear the cover up as we're going to be in the car for 6 hours before boarding. Sigh. mountains and molehills. Any advice?

Obsession, like totally Obsessed

I am Obsessed. Out of my head and totally off of my rocker. I'm going on a girl's trip. IN 17 DAYS!!!

WHOO-HOO! I am so excited about getting away with the girls that I have already started packing. It's too bad I made the mistake of leaving the suitcase open on the floor. Now I have to wash everything again as Tata, our Jack Russel decided that it was the perfect place to take a nap. I so wish I had gotten a picture of that.

I've been shopping too. I love me some Target. I got a new swimsuit and a cover-up. On sale of course! You can't have one without the other. I bought all kinds of fabric to make some cruise wear for myself, but that's not going so well. I'm most of the way through one dress, it was meant to be a cover-up, but I'm not liking it so much. Hopefully, I'll like the next dress better.

Anyone have any cruising advice for me? Besides taking a chill pill so I can get through the next 17 days?

Review of Mercedes Lackey's Fortune's Fool

So, I'm drifting a little away from my goals for the Once Upon A Time Challenge. Not so much in content as to my goal to read new authors. But what is a girl to do when her favorite authors release new books? I am not known for my patience. ;-)

Mercedes Lackey is hands down one of my favorite authors. She is someone I can't wait to introduce my (not yet in existence) kids to. Her writing always has a moral to it. It's not "shove it down your throat-holier than thou" obvious, but it is there, easy to see. Whether it is a message of saving the environment or animals or simply how to be a better person by showing the cause and effects of your actions, the message is there and given through character that are easy to relate to. Fortune's Fool is no different.

Fortune's Fool is part of Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series. Pure fairy tales in the once upon a time but with more of a behind the scenes feel to it. The Characters in the series know that they are in a fairy tale world and what is expected of them, which gives them the chance to work with or against the 'tale. Fortune's Fool is an adaption of the Little Mermaid, sort of. If you can picture the Little mermaid with strong Russian fairy tale influence's. The Five Hundred Kingdoms series, Fortune's Fool included, fun fluffy romantic reads. So enjoyable to read on a lazy day.

Review for Eldest by Christopher Paolini

So I've finally finished reading Eldest by Christopher Paolini. It took me a little longer than I hoped, but my crafting/sewing life interfered with my reading time. But, Hey, that happens to all of us, right?

I was a bit leery of putting this one on my list. I really didn't enjoy Eragon. Sacrilege I know, but I felt that the storyline was weak and the characters plodded through it. Eldest, however, was much more enjoyable. The plot moved more quickly with a little more flaver and texture to the writing. I'm interested in seeing how the story progress in the next book.

One of these day's I'm going to learn how to write a proper review. Does anyone have guidelines on how/what to do?

Prelude to Trouble (with a capital T)

My Easter weekend was a blast. Zalebaby, Marathon Girl and I went to Tampa for the weekend. Ybor city, to be exact. Poor Zalebaby, we made him go shopping on Saturday. Lucky for him, he brought his camera. He took some really cool shots while Marathon Girl and I ransacked Urban Outfitter's.

Then trouble happened. Trouble came in 2 forms.

1. Zalebaby found the Tampa Brewery, which had a patio, so, what do you drink on a patio while sitting in the sun. Margarita's of course. Lots of them.

This started at 1pm. We were still there at 5pm, due to Marathon Girl's friend, Jewels. Jewels Lives in Tampa, and she joined us, oh, at about 2:30-3:00. I'm not sure when, as telling time was getting a little bit difficult at that point. She is a hoot! This was my first time meeting her and she had me rolling under the table I was laughing so hard.

We left the Restaurant around 5:30ish and weaved our way back to the hotel, so we could get ready for dinner. We got all glamed up and went to Samurai Blue for sushi, then to the Ybor City comedy club afterwards. Then we stumbled ourselves back to the hotel to pass out.

Even after a couple of aspirins and a bottle of water before bed, Sunday hurt.

The prelude part is I'm going on a cruise in May with Marathon Girl and most probably Jewels. The Hampton Girl, who is going on the cruise with me and MG can out party both of us. I have the feeling I'm going to need a couple of days off of work after the cruise to recover.

Review of Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

I've finished the first book for my Once Upon A Time Challenge. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan was a lovely, quick read. It definitely belongs in the juvenile/teen category. It had all the best elements of a young reader fantasy, a slightly confused hero, the old teacher, conflict at home and different world to explore and learn to grow. I'd give it 3 stars (on a 5 star scale)

One of the parts that bothers me is Henry's (our hero's) home problem. Just because it is odd (his mother is having an affair with his father's female secretary, that's a new one to me) and that it really wasn't important to the story. All of that plot line could have been edited out of the story. It didn't have any affect on Henry's actions in the story. I would have liked to see Henry have to struggle more, grow a little more character. Overall, I enjoyed the story and would encourage my 8 year old niece to read it. Herbie Brennan has written a couple of other books in the series, I'll borrow them from the Library rather than buying them. Not something I would reread.

Next Up on my reading list is Eldest by Christopher Paolini. I've already started it, so it shouldn't take too much longer.

I'm Not Pregnant...Yet

So, what is with the "Hi! I'm pregnant summer fashions? It is driving me insane. The majority of the female population are not hip-less 12 year olds. Even the models look preggers. I keep seeing the style everywhere. Grr. Hello! I have a waist! I'd like to not look pregnant. I'd like to show off my curves, isn't that why I workout everyday and deny myself all my favorite foods, just so I don't look fat? Sigh.

Maybe it is just baby lust. I feel surrounded by babies or mothers to be and I want to be one. Time goes by so slowly. Things are still in line for starting to try in January, but that seems so far away. But until then, do I want to look pregnant? NO!! Of course by the time I am pregnant, will I be able to find this type of clothing? With my luck, no. Maybe I should buy a bunch when they go on sale, so to have them next summer when (I hope) to be preggers.

I'm doing the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings has issued a reading challenge.

The Challenge as issued by Carl:

"Once Upon a Time…all the great ones begin that way, don’t they? At least in our
recollection? Hearkening back to childhood, those four words represent the
foundation upon which story is built. In that same way, these four types of
story, Mythology, Folklore, Fairytale, and Fantasy, form the very foundation of
storytelling itself. It is from the roots of these genres that our latest
challenge grows...."

He has offered up 4 Quest of varying difficulty...I am accepting Quest 1. Which is to read at least 5 books from any for the 4 genre.

I'm an avid reader of that type of book anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard. I've been looking at the other player's choices for suggestions and books I haven't read before. I'm having a tough time choosing, so...

My book choices:

Mythology:

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Folklore:

1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Fairytale:

1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

2. Widdershins by Charles de Lint (I love Charles de Lint, this one is already on my library request list.)

3. Tithe by Holly Black

4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

5. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

Fanatsy:

1. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip

2. Eldest by Christopher Paolini

3. Greywalker by Kat Richardson

4. Something Rotten by Jasper Fford (I've read the others and love the cheekiness of them)

I think I've chosen enough books for now. This should last me until June. If not, I'll be sure to add more!

I Am the Empress

You are The Empress
Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.
The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents, beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.
The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Yea! the Monkey Shower was a hit!

I am so, so glad the Sewing marathon for the baby shower is over. My sewing room is trashed (and the rest of my house), I haven's cooked dinner for my Zalebaby in two weeks. So tonight is dinner of his choice. But I digress, I want to show you what I've been doing. Heat's Shower had a jungle theme and she is doing the baby's room around a monkey picture. So, as part of the shower committee, I was delegated to making the favors. Which I never did get a picture of. Sorry. I made animal print pocket tissue covers, I put trim on the edges of mine, but they basically looked like these. Thank you Stardust Shoes!

So, one day I was hanging out with the father to be, and he started talking about the barrel of Monkeys game. Then I got the bright idea to make a foam barrel and some monkey's for the baby's room. It was a great idea, but the making of it, oh dear, somebody shoot me please! I hand sewed the whole dang thing. Now that I've finished it, if I had to make another I think I could manage to sew it on the machine. I think. But I am not making another. Not anytime soon.

Here is my barrel with a store bought monkey. I finished the barrel at midnight the night before the shower. I did make a monkey for the barrel, but at midnight, he was still in several pieces in my sewing room. I never want to work with that fabric again. I wound up making the monkey twice....I had to hand baste everything, the fabric was that fluid. Grr! Here is my Monkey at 2am. I think he is really cute. Annoying to make, but cute and cuddly.Now I have to show you what my friend Elliwati made. Too funny! Heat laughed her head off. Way to go Elli! My friend Michele also made a monkey. She borrowed her 8 year old daughter's bratz sewing machine to do the job. Heat promptly named him Floyd the Lesson Monkey (don't drink and sew) what you can't tell by the picture is Floyd has no stuffing in his neck, so his head flops around when you carry him.

I also was in charge of making a diaper cake. That was a first for me. I used 250 or so diapers, size 2, 6 yards of ribbon (I had just enough- which is why the top bow is so small) and an extra set of arms to help hold the diapers in place while I adjusted and tied the ribbon. Thanks Joh and Amy!
My next project is to rearrange my sewing room and make something to wear during my cruise in May. What to make....hmm. I don't know what, but it will be fun! (I'll take suggestions! What should I wear on the cruise?)

My 1st Swap

When it rains, it pours. I'm not talking about the weather, I'm talking about my time management skills, which are poor. I've been wanting to do a swap, I kept seeing the cool things others do in the craft blogger world and I wanted to join them. So...I found Swap-bot and signed up for a swap. The Handmade Bookmark Swap. I signed up in early February, then had to wait until the end of the month to see who my partners were. It seemed to take forever. Then in the first week of March I got my partners. That is when it started raining. I looked at the calendar. The bookmarks need to be Mailed by the 10th and on the 17th is Heats baby shower (for which I had/have huge amounts of sewing to do) Ack! Alas and alack. So I kicked my butt in gear and got the bookmarks finished and mailed out on the 9th. I had two partners and each one got a sewn paper bookmark and a quilted bookmark. For a little something extra I included a handmade note pad to each lady. I got the idea for the notepads at my house is cuter than yours! Mine are a variation on the theme, but I really hope they like them. (and my bookmarks!) I had fun making them.







This is what I received from crochetoholic debb a lovely crocheted pink rosette bookmark and a fun pink bookmark that has a sweet poem on the other side. Also a Leprechaun Pin (I'm going to wear it to the baby shower) some green tea (long gone now! yum!) and a really cool card. It is going to be cut out and go on my Christmas tree this winter.

From my other partner, Denise I received 4, count them 4 bookmarks. Each one a treasure. I really liked her metal stamping. Way cool. She also included a neat multi media handmade card. I shouldn't forget the dum-dum. (also long gone!) She sent her bookmarks in a cool sleeve to protect them.

I am so pleased with everything I got in my swap. I can't wait to do it again. I just need to get past this weekend, then clean up my sewing room before I can sign up for another. Nothing has been more annoying that look for all of my supplies. I hadn't unpacked them from the move, so I don't know where everything is. This will be remedied next week!

I read, do you?

I love to read, so I thought I'd give this a go:

A fun, literary-themed meme, courtesy of Rancid Raves.

In the list of books below:
- blue the ones you’ve read
- purple the ones that are your personal favorites
- italicize the ones you want to read
- red the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole (I didn't do do this - never say never, right?)
- put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf
- and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

If you decide to join the fun and play along, let me know in the comments!

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)--
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. +Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. +Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. +Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. *The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. +Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. *Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. +Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. *The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. *The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. *The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. *Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. +Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. +The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) -
62. +The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. +Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)-
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbecck)
83. *Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)--
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)--
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)--
87. *Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. *The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)--
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)--

Slutbomb

When I grow-up, I want to be a slutbomb.

Thank you to Erin at A Dress A Day for the word. Slutbomb, it is my new favorite word. Not just a slut, but a slutbomb, the Marilyn Monroe, the Jennifer Lopez, the Charo of the slut world. I’d love to be one of those. Not a husband/boyfriend stealing woman. But to be a woman hot enough to turn heads when I walk by, to make other woman froth at the mouth with envy. That is what I want to be. Sigh, what a lovely fantasy! It is going to stay a fantasy because I don’t have the drive/willpower do make it a reality, I don’t want to spend all my free time in the gym and I don’t have the willpower to give up fresh bread. Not to mention the money to get a boob job.

I am willing to take some steps in the slutbomb direction. I’ve been reading The Grrl Genius Guide to Life by Cathryn Michon. Which is a super funny book about realizing your own greatness as a female. So, if I want to be a slutbomb, if I believe I am a slutbomb, I will be a slutbomb. All I need to do is stop worrying about the extra 10 lbs I am caring and act as if I am the hottest thing in the room, I will start getting the reaction I want, which will cause me to feel like I am a slutbomb, without the perfect hard body and size D cups. It’s the old confidence makes a sexy woman routine, and I am willing to give it a try. I AM going to give it a try. No, make it, I AM going to do it! I am a grrl genius! Here me purr sexily!

lucy lou

Sorry I haven't posted lately. Zdalebaby came down with the Flu, I've been fighing it off and working on a contract sewing job. It's done, Zdalebaby and I are both well enough to funtion, now I have to get back to working on the Baby Shower stuff. Oh, I don't mean to sound as if it is a hardship to work on the party favors, 'cause its not. I'm really enjoying it! I just can't post too much about it until after the party. I don't think Heat reads my blog, but just incase, I don't want to say too much.

This is my darling Lucy Lou. She is the apple of my eye, but I am having some problems with her. She has starting chewing on the garage door frame. How can I get her to stop? When Zdalebaby and I are going to be gone all day, we put her (and potato head our jack russel) in the garage. They have their beds and water and we never use to have problems with them. Now she is chewing the door frame. WTF? The only new thing is we are in a new house, but she didn't do this for the first month in this house, so why now? And I hate to crate her. She hate the crate. With a hugh firey passion does she hate the crate. I don't know what to do. Sigh.

come sail away with me

I’m obsessed. Over the moon, crazier than a 6 year old going to Disney World! I'm going on a GIRL'S TRIP! My friend, Marathon Girl, got a promotion Tuesday, then signed her divorce papers on Wednesday. She mentioned she wanted to go on a Girl’s Trip, to celebrate her promotion. Due to the promotion and her Air Force Reserves duties were scheduling it for May. I am so ficken excited I am beside myself. I’ve never taken a girl’s trip. Zdalebaby has a standing guys trip, they go the second weekend in June. Now it’s my turn!

Marathon Girl wants to go on a cruise or to an all-inclusive resort. I’m kinda leaning toward a cruise. I’ve never been to an all-inclusive resort, but I haven’t found deals to one the way I have for cruises. It is the airfare that makes it so expensive. Either way, I want to go party with the girls in the worst way. I want to spend a long weekend lying in the sun (on a boat or in sand, I don’t care, I’m not that picky!) eating myself silly and drinking the night away.

I think we should all have a girl’s trip and cruise together. We could take over the ship and have a good women bonding time. If we take a cruise, we're leaving out of Tampa, so East Coast girls, ROAR! Who's comming with me?

Mushroom anyone?

So, this is the last pincushion I will bore you with (for a while, 'cus I'm having fun making them). Tee-hee. I need to start working on baby shower favors.

I did it!

I broke my sewing slump. I finshed a project! Yea!!! Of course, this one took me half an hour in front of the tv, but I like it. It's a bit crude, but for a first try it passes muster. It's about 2 inches tall, really it should only be about 1 inch tall. I found this project at blog that I surfed yesterday. The Pincushion Challenge She has a really cool Flikr tutorial. I'm going to make another tonight, but this time I'm going to make a mushroom. Which will probably be 2 inches tall too.

Scared Silly

I am fricken terrified of having kids. Truly scared spit less. To make matters worse, I’m not really sure why. Zdalebaby and I were talking about it last night. He’s ready, and half of me agrees with him. The other half is running away, as fast as possible, screaming NOOOOOOOO!!!

I’m 34, if I’m going to have any kids, it’s time to start. On the plus side, all my friends are doing it. No, I don’t mean I am a lemming; it is a bonus that my kids will have friends to grow up with. My family is far away, so I love the fact that I have a great support group in my friends, that my kids will have “Aunts & Uncles” here in town. My father was the youngest of 14. When I was growing up, my life was filled with extended family. Family functions were always filled with kids and grown-up have fun. Good times. So having my friends in the same time of life as I am, well, I consider it to be a good thing.

On the negative side, kids are a big responsibility. BIG RESPONSIBILITY!!!! HUGE! TERRIFING! To have and raise a child, to take on them for the rest of your life, to make sure they become happy, productive people. I am so afraid I’m going mess them up. I’m afraid of having to raise them on my own. I’m not afraid that Zdalebaby will leave me, but I am horribly afraid of something happening to him and me being left alone to care for them. I can take care of myself, financially, barely, but taking care of children and myself? My mouth is dry, I’m so scared of the idea. Shudder!

What kind of book are you?

I think they were uber correct for me!

You're The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

by Douglas Adams

Considered by many to be one of the funniest people around, you are
quite an entertainer. You've also traveled to the far reaches of what you deem possible,
often confused and unsure of yourself. Life continues to jostle you around like a marble,
but it's shown you so much of the world that you don't care. Wacky adventures continue to
lie ahead. Your favorite number is 42.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

What do you all think?

I’ll accept that tag….

I think Meme’s are cool, so since Dress a Day has tagged everyone who reads her blog, I thought I’d take her up on it.

Post 5 things about yourself that you have never posted

1) Yesterday I made bread for the first time. Whoo Hoo! I made it for a Low country boil dinner, and it went over really well. Zdalebaby liked it so much he asked me to make it again this weekend. Hopefully, I will remember to take pictures so I can do a proper post about making it.
2) My sisters are identical twins and the youngest of the two is preggers with her second. She is due the middle of July and I’ve put in a request for girl birth on the 15th.
3) My birthday is July 15th and Zdalebaby’s is July 16th. He’s a couple of years older though! It’s kind of weird having our birthday’s so close, I like birthday parties, he doesn’t. All he ever wants to do is play golf for his birthday. At least I always know what to get him for his birthday!
4) I hate to clean with a white-hot passion. To make things worse, I hate the idea of a dirty house. I don’t mind clutter, but it has to be clean clutter! Needless to say, I beat myself up about my house and whine to my hubby that he doesn’t help around the house enough. Just because I don’t want to do it. To be fair, I cook dinner-he cleans it up, most of the time.
5) I was a wench. No really, I spent 8 years working for the PA Renaissance Faire. 6 years I was a wench; 2 years I played a lady-in-waiting. Both had their good points. It was fun to make the lower class grovel and to be all prissy and such. What wasn’t fun, was 50 lbs of velvet on my back in 90 degree weather. When I was a wench, it was just as much fun to grovel as it was to make someone grovel. Plus you could do fun stuff, like get into a catfight and role around in the mud, or make a noble mad at you so you would get dunked at the stocks (very nice to do when the weather was in the 90’s!)

I’d like to tag 1peanut to keep the Meme going.

Pack of Wild Shih Tzus loose in Cobb county!

A laugh for today. Evidently there is a pack of Shih Tzus running wild in a condo complex in Cobb County. It's actually kinda sad. It hurts my heart to think of them having been abandoned, but still, a pack of wild Shih Tzus. Tee hee!

Here is the article.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2007/01/18/0119metstraydogs.html?cxntnid=amn011907e

I’ve got no juice.

I only made one New Year’s resolution. It was to be more crafty. To do at least one project a month. So far I am failing miserably, but I still have time to fix that.

I’ve started setting up my sewing room, and lining up projects I want to do, but that is as far as I’ve got. I so envy my friend Elliwatti. She whips up the best stuff. She made the cutest stuffed wiener dog for her wiener dog, Nick. She inspires me to do more. The question is will I do more. Will I get up off my lazy butt and make the time to sew and craft. The women who’s blogs I read wow me with their ability to work all day, post on their blogs and go home, cook something fabulous or sew something wonderful (or at least sew something) and then take pictures to post for the next day. They so blow me away. I want to be them when I grow up.

Bricker? Sheeley?

I’m having issues. I’m 34, just married and now I have to change my name. Well, I want to change my name, I do, but it’s weird. What do I do about my email and all of my web handles? I’ve been brickergirl since the start of the Internet. No, really, I used brickergirl on bbc way back in college, dang, that was in '92 when I started using that name. Don’t ask me what bbc stands for, I don’t remember…I had a geek of a boyfriend that set me up on them…

Back to the problem. What do I do? Change all of my sign-ins? And change them to what? Dalesgirl? Sheeleywife? Both of those choices make me feel less of me, they are only a fraction of who I am. I'm proud to be Dale's wife, but that is not all that I am. Isn’t your screen name suppose to reflect who you are, you interests? Grrr! I guess every new bride goes through such issues, but still!!