I am on such a buzz at the moment. I have gotten a ton done with my book, I have blocked out every scene and where it fits into the novel, all the scenes I have to write, and in what order. Utterly great. I have written four poems, researched several places to submit them to, and have started typing them up. I am on a serious roll.
Woo ho for me!

Check out the new sidebar addition of my goodreads.com currently reading list.

Had to share a few things.

• What if the Food Network reflected Real Life? Here.
• Wonderful article about books about writers workspace, very entertaining. Here.
• Ever wonder what happened to the princess' after the story ends? Find out Here.
• How do your favorite characters rank in the 100 list by Book Magazine. Here.
• Great compilation of pictures of old photos and the reality of the place they are showing. Here.

It is funny how all the people in my family read differently. Me and my dad are alike in how many books we read but like different subjects and styles. I love to re-read old favorites, as does my father, which my Mother can't stand. My mother loves romance and what I call fluff books (even I like fluff sometimes, every now and then it is good to read something lite that makes you laugh). My sister reads just about anything but does not re-read.

I realized just how book oriented my life is. I was planning how to spend a little extra money I had and was daydreaming about filling my upstairs bedroom with shelves, so I could organize all my books and be able to find everything, lol.

This week has been one of exhaustion. No matter how much I sleep I seem to always be tired. The weather has been hot and muggy, I have been wishing for rain to break up the days and cool the air a bit. I love when it rains. It is an excuse for me to drag out my boots and slog through the puddles, to curl up in bed with a book or watch movies on the couch with my dog all day. I also makes me want to go to the gym or go on walks were the I ramble between the scarce drops.

I have been plowing through several novels while alternating with studying for my test coming up. I am just about done with Storm Glass by Snyder. Sadly it is not a stand alone novel, with every few pages mentioning something from the Poison Study series. Still it is a good book. I finished Crown Duel a few days ago. While I love the Inda series this one left me cold. I loved the culture and place descriptions but the main character make me want to wack her upside the head. She does not think most of her actions through and the unknown love interest is blatant to the reader but the main character ignores this fact for almost two hundred pages. While a good book, I doubt I will get any other books in this series.

Homeless shelters and soup kitchens are throwing away food because it is not good enough to feed the homeless. Beyond shocking, give it a read please.

http://www.blisstree.com/bakingdelights/and-your-response-to-this-is/

Had to share this, Drift Wood Horses. Amazing art.

http://www.heatherjansch.com/

BabyCakes, the Book of Recipes: It's Here! from BabyCakes NYC on Vimeo.

Has to be great to have a cookbook out, lol. Check out how happy this bakery is.

When I grow up...

How do you ever know what you want to do with your life?

I cycled through several job ideas when I was little and have changed my major four times. I am now almost finished with my bachelors, but it is not in what I am doing at work, lol. I work in computers in a hospital, am a certified pharmacy tech, I am writing a book and poetry, and getting a bachelors of psychology.

When I was little I wanted to be first a paleontologist, then a archeologist, then a writer, then a pharmacist. Now I am planning how to open a small cafe/bakery when I retire. I have just started a new job and everyone keeps asking me what I want to be doing in a few years. I have no idea. Only one person at work seems to have the same problem, she does not know either, and seems happy learning a bit of everything, which is what I like too.

Painting Give A Way

Well I am ending the contest. Will Emily, Laima, and Maggie please send me an email! Soon your pick of a painting will be winging its way to you! (And Amanda you need to pick one to.)

A few links I have been meaning to post.

• Talent is more important then gender in a Poet Laureate. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/may/01/carol-ann-duffy-poet-laureate
• Amazing chalk amination. http://vimeo.com/4347460?pg=embed&sec=
• A notebook that works like a notebook. Great Concept, lol. Give it a look.

Noteboek from Evelien Lohbeck on Vimeo.

• 3D chalk pavement art. http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/news/9-amazing-3d-pavement-paintings/
• Great stop action film about a wolf trying to catch a pig. Must have taken forever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmkLlVzUBn4
• Check out the great game, Scary Girl. http://scarygirl.com/
• Check out the amzazing art of Alex Andreev http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/24737
• Beatbox Harmanica

• Someone finally explains Tweeter. Hilarious.

• Check out the amazing flight attendant rap. http://www.neatorama.com/2009/03/16/flight-attendant-rap/

I saw the movie adaptation of the book The Handmaiden's Tale last week. It was a good if a bit stark movie. I have never read the book and looking at the version of the world portrayed in the movie I am not sure I want to. It showed a world where the US had been taken over my scientists trying to save the human race from extinction. Unmarried women who were fertile were made into Handmaidens for sterile women (do to toxic waste) who wish to have a child. Unmarried women also had any children taken away and the children were adopted into the homes of sterile women. Everything was set up under a strict religious code that called for hangings and attacks by mobs and banned nearly every luxury calling them morally corrupt. The current gov was under attack by others using gorilla attacks. The handmaidens had no rights and could be killed by their keepers for various infractions. 

Well. I am running out of places to buy books in town. I hate the new Barnes and Noble that has opened in the mall. Not only is it smaller than the previous store, it also has no seating or cafe only a 5 chair row of bar stools. I have been going to the other store in town, Borders, just to get out a bit and was shocked at how deserted the store was and how many empty spaces are on every shelf. They also had a huge bargain bin kind of sale going, were every book in one bin was three dollars, the next four, and so on. I hope they are not going out of business. If they do I will only have a Books a Million to go to, which I dislike because of the location and poor selection of books. I already buy most of my books online in chunks at a time so I do not have to pay shipping costs, I do not know what I am going to do if all the good stores in town go out of business. 

I have been on a bit of a soda kick since I started my new job. I stopped drinking sodas at all when I gave up caffeine because of my migraines and aura. I now have been drinking one a day so for the last week and a half and have had only two days of eye stain and aura. I think it is just stress and exhaustion. I have had a rather bad week between work and school. I have two weeks left of class and then my final exams the week after. Once all this is over again I will get back to drinking no sodas, till then I am going to enjoy it. The funny thing is I now hate the after taste and want to brush my teeth to get rid of the syrupy taste after I drink one. 

What to do for your ten year high school reunion when you really hated high school.

Blogger is resetting all my formats of how the paragraphs work...again. 

Please bear with me while I edit.

Had one hell of a shock yesterday. My teacher gave back the test I had taken, started reviewing, and then declaired that he had graded them wrong and to take four points off every test! I could not beleive it! It dropped my grade a letter grade! We argued to let the original grade stand but he refused. So now I really have to nail my final if I want to get an A in the class, or hell even a B. Next two weeks are going to suck, lol.

Have you tried those Hershey's chocolate cherry kisses? I thought I would hate it since I dislike chocolate covered cherries. I never understood the point of the creamy stuff in the center. Wasn't it supposed to be a chocolate covered cherry not a cherry wrapped in milky stuff covered in chocolate? The kisses were actually not bad but still had a mass of the creamy stuff at the center of a chocolate kiss. Not something I would buy a bag of, one was more than enough.

I am still trying to get everything back into its normal place after the almost rental. Right now, my place still has that stripped look. My potato plants are doing amazing. I cannot wait for little spuds. The rest of my plants are still tiny. I need to pick up a few tomato plants for the porch as well but I am not doing as many as I did last year. I gave tomatoes away by the handful every two weeks and still had too many for one person. I have planted zucchini and onions as well. I am not sure if I have posted about this or not. I managed to make some of the best chili I have ever had a few weeks ago. I made regular chili, using black beans, red cannelloni beans, pinto, and great northern beans. I also added diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a can of seasoned tomatoes with onions and peppers. I diced green, yellow, celery, carrots, and red bell peppers and one onion and added that. I then added a frozen mixture of veggies that I had in the freezer. With the usual seasoned ground beef, cheese, and sour cream it was amazing. The best part was the crisp veggies that added texture to the whole thing. It was great with some bread and a big glass of lemonade.

I am in the middle of re-reading Twilight. I wanted to read the parts concerning Wuthering Heights but I wound up just re-reading the entire book. I enjoy the series but I keep wanting to smack Bella upside the head. She is so wound up in Edward that she does not exist without him, until the final book, only when she is a vampire can she seem to stand up for herself and her decisions. Even then, it is only to protect the others. She seems to have no concept of self worth or self-esteem. I know I had little self-esteem when I was in high school but it seems to be part of her innate personality to be utterly selfless. It is a bit disturbing.

I am also reading Gladiatrix, a mediocre novel about a Spartan priestess that is sold into slavery and made into a female gladiator. So far, she had everyone loving her and has the personality of tofu. I am still waiting to see if the book gets to any real plot twists or angst.

I am stuck on Cello music at the moment the Haydn concerto for cello #1 is wonderful. I am also hooked on the new modern cello ensembles that are popping up. I posted a video earlier about this amazing women who plays cello and uses looping technology to play multiple parts all at once, layer the sound of her cello. It is wonderful so I thought I would post it again.

I have a rather massive list of books I am saving for the end of next month to order. I really am looking forward to getting the next book in several series I am reading right now. The one I really want is the third book in the Inda series. Wonderful characters. I am also reading the twilight series and I may have to buy the books for myself eventually since mine must wing there was back to my sister in Charleston soon. I am really looking forward to Midnight Sun, the fifth book in the twilight series. It is the first book in the series as told from Edwards perspective. The first few chapters have been posted on the author's website and it is enthralling. It makes you realize exactly what Bella was observing and explains the random mysterious comments that fill the first book. Should be good. I am also looking to get some clothes for work and some new shoes again for work. It will all have to wait two months but should be fun to see how much money I can manage to save and pay off my credit card.

I really want to save up and do a nice vacation now that I will be able to. I am not one to get extravagant clothes or things. I am generally happy with what I have but a few new things are always nice. I would really love to get a chance to travel though. There are so many places I would love to go. I have a friend who is going to Paris again next year and if I am very frugal I may get to tag along, or maybe go somewhere in the states. I really want to see Seattle, a few of the national parks, the grand canyon, New York, there are simply too many places to name. Will have to save up and see what catches my eye. And if I can drag someone along with me. Every time I try to go somewhere alone the fates try to rain toads on my head. On the last attempt my car died, I limped intocharleston, made it to my sis's work only to not be able to start the engine at all. My money for the week vacation went to towing and fixing my car. I then had to get a new car soon after that, losing my favorite blazer, they now do not even make them any more. Well will have to try again someday, just not for a few years, LOL.

My professors have finally seemed to realize that we have three weeks of class. For my statistics class that is only 6 classes and myfinal exam. I have had so much to do the last week and am all but bleeding statistics. I am off to school after work today (on a day I don't have class much less) to use the one room of computers that have our statistics software. I am praying that there is not a class there. The work should only take me 20 minutes I hope, wish me luck.

I had a wonderful Easter weekend and end of Master's Week. It was a very strange Master's week. There was never any traffic except right next to the golf course and on the interstate. The restaurants were never full or even really busy at any time or day. Normally the whole town is wall to wall cars and people with most people who work that week, living at home and driving as little as possible. Normally everyone that can leaves town for the week (college and all other schools in town are out). Everyone I spoke to was generally staying in town this year or just going on vacation for half the week and never far away at that. I guess the bad economy had everyone staying near home and the golf attendees seemed to just be coming for a day and leaving, or maybe they stayed out of town as well.

Oh well, it is all over and it is back to the daily grind of school, work, and home.

On a side note, do not ever use red wine vinegar to dye eggs. The dye peels off in patches and flakes all over the place. We managed to have eggs that looked like they had the plague.

I am very tired this week. I am freaking out because the first two weeks of my new job have went by and I have gained four pounds! I am flat out sitting at a desk and not moving compared to my last job where I spent every second running all over the hospital. I have started going to the gym again, luckily my membership still has a few months on it. I am trying to not over do it but I did an hour on the treadmill (walking) and felt fine the next day. Will have to try getting on the elliptical machine again and see how that goes. That was the machine that always kicked my butt. It is a great work out and you burn tons of calories but god does it kill your legs. I am thinking I will try and go on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If I do fine this month I may add more days. 

Frankly I am hating going home and watching TV (sigh...day shift). I want to be doing something and it is too dark to do much outside, or it requires spending money I don't have right now. I am trying to not aggravate my hip with exercising like I did two months ago. I have finally got it back to where it does not hurt except when it rains and would like it to stay that way. I tend to throw a movie in and watch that (or leave it running as background noise). But I have seen all the movies I own way too much (I could probably quote them). I have a bunch saved that I would like to buy but again the no money thing is not going my way. I will be doing good once I get paid at the end of the month but I want to get all my bills down before I spend on myself. I am also dying for a few new books to read. I have dug through several partial series and really want to pick up the next book but and trying to be good. To stay me over I am re-reading several of my favorites and trying to drag myself through the dregs of my to-be-read stack. The four books I have on the bottom have been there for almost two years. I cannot summon enough enthusiasm to read the things. 

Plus I still cannot sleep at any normal time, going to bed at two am every night makes for a rough end of the week. So far I am not having any problems getting up but I lay there at night waiting for my head to turn off. I usually have a barrage of things running through my head but have learned how to deal after years of it, lying in bed at 4 am writing down everything running through my head is the last straw. I have not hit that yet but I have started writing a journal again, working on my book, on poems, and random notes just trying to tone it down a bit so I can sleep. Hopefully the exercise will help with this too.

Just to show you cannot judge by appearances. At all.

Susan Boyle Sings on Britain's Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 @ Yahoo! Video

And just to lighten things up....

Well, I have had one of the worst days ever yesterday. I have been trying to rent my house through the Master's Housing Bureau. I have went through three potential renters and did not think I was going to rent at all when I got called on Tuesday to rent Wednesday through Sunday. I thought it was rented, no problems, then the MHB person renting my place began calling saying to renter thought the condo was not clean enough. I said then get a maid in to clean. Several phone call later, she goes to see my place and says the house is not clean enough to even be listed and the renter had canceled the contract. I had one day notice that I was renting my house and had spent all night cleaning. To say I was hurt and offended would be an understatement. The renter even had the nerve to leave a note saying that it was nothing against me personally but she could not stay in a place like this. Considering this is a condo I, a student who works full time and spends every penny I have just to own said place, live in and do the best to keep up, I was very upset. Once I had a day to calm down I realized it simply was not an affluent neighborhood to say the least and since I place little value in expense displays the condo is not appointed in that manner. Plus my neighbors are not the best house mates. Will just have to ignore it and go on.

Well, the weather is out to get me. I burned the last of my firewood yesterday while I was off, just to enjoy having a fire and the next two days are going to be in the 50s all day and 30s or lower at night. Will just have to bundle up and sleep with the puppies the rest of the week. Trying to decide if I should cook or pick something up for tonight. I am seriously leaning toward crashing with a book and a big bowl of popcorn. Fingers crossed I do not get stuck in traffic with the crazy master's week tourists this week leaving work. So far I have missed the bad traffic but it does not really pick up until after the practice rounds. Will have to light my prayer candles and hope the rest of the week goes well.

Well I have started my new job and am really liking it so far. Will have to see how next week goes. I have been in a bit of a slump with cooking. I don't want to trash my kitchen if I do manage to rent out, thou I kind of doubt it now. I have a ton of homework for my week off of school in statistics and still a mountain of books in my to be read pile, so I know what I will be doing at night when I get off work.