PASSING ON AWARDS

Hey there blogger buds.  I've been so busy lately I've neglected to pass on way cool awards.  Where are my manners?

Aldrea at   http://thardrandia.blogspot.com/ gave me this. Hmm, yummy, but strawberries go better with chocolate.

Thank you.



E. Arroyo at http://chandarawrites.blogspot.com/  gave me this.  And I do love blogging...to a point.  I'm happy to have met all of you.

Thank you.





Julie at http://gypsyjulesinmysoul.blogspot.com/  gave me this.  I could describe the different attributes of fire, but fire just makes me hungry...so it's only fitting I offer a recipe on this one. 

Thank you.




Alternate Recipe to Beef Stew.

1/2 lb meat
2 or 3 potatoes (depends of how much you like potatoes)
10 sliced Spanish olives
1/2 sliced onion
5 to 7 cloves of garlic
1/2 to a whole green pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup white cooking wine (taste remainder, toss in a little extra squirt for good measures)
squirt of olive oil
Cover with a layer of:
All season salt
Cumin
Parsley
Basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of 8 oz tomato sauce
Mix in large pot and let cook until meat and potatoes are tender.
Serve over white rice.  Good for seconds.  Hubs swears by it.


Tara at http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com/ tagged me.  She gave me this.  I always get a kick out of being tagged because I never know what to do with it.  So in a little bit I'll tell you more deep dark secrets about myself.





Sia McKye at http://siamckye.blogspot.com/  stopped by to let me know I won a $10.00 gift card to Amazon.com.  I've yet to get my butt over there and collect the card.

Thank you.

First, I'm mentioning 15 blogs I frequent because I have the privilege to consider these people friends.  I'm not mentioning anyone I mentioned on the blog hop.  For those of you I left off the list, please accept my apologies.  I will mention you next time.

1. Unikorna  http://unikorna.blogspot.com  I love her honesty and her ability to speak her mind.
2. Mary http://mpaxauthor.blogspot.com  Every visit to her blog makes me feel like I'm  out in space.
3. Botanist  http://thebaldpatch.blogspot.com  He's a great Sci-Fi writer and an awesome artist.
4. Lydia  http://lydiakang.blogspot.com  She offers the most fascinating interviews.
5. Shelly  http://shellysnovicewritings.blogspot.com  Her posts offer variety...not all about writing.
6. Eve   http://thedesertrocks.blogspot.com Special lady alert.  We visit each other through email.
7. Bryce  http://brycedaniels.blogspot.com  Bryce shares his body with a poet.
8. Rusty  http://rustywebb.blogspot.com  His blogs are highly informative.
9. Madeleine  http://rustywebb.blogspot.com  I love her romance.
10. Al  http://alpenwasser.blogspot.com  He has a great sense of humor.  Seriously, he cracks me up, and such a funny commenter.
11. laughinwolf  http://laughing1wolf.blogspot.com  The blog speaks for itself.  He's funny.
12. Mike  http://protecttherisen.blogspot.com  He's been absent from the blogging world for a while, but I'm sure he'll be back.  Mike's cool and a gifted writer.
13. PK http://pk-hrezo.blogspot.com  Great fun lady.  Blogs about her progress.
14. Doralynn  http://dlynnkennedy.blogspot.com  Last I heard she was a little under the weather, but she's writes a pretty awesome blog.
15. Heather  http://littleredhenry.blogspot.com  She a wonderful artist, a sweet person, and a pleasure to be around.

Now some stuff about me.

1. I've recently pondered the idea of having a baby.  Hubs vetoed my suggestion to send off to the homeworld for a specimen capsule, stating that he is more than capable of doing the deed.  He also refuses to let me have a cat.  Negotiations are in process.

2. I write because I love it.  There was a time I needed the success and the glory.  The thing that pushed me was the idea that I would one day be a published author.  Now I find myself thinking how wonderful it is that I just write and that one day others will read my stories, but also how wonderful it is that I'm surrounded by a wonderful family, that I get to see the sunrise or stare at the starts at night.  I couldn't imagine making it through a single day without smiling at the sound of a barking dog.  Life is entirely lovely.

3.  I'm remodeling my house.  It's funny but somehow when you reach a certain age there are things that need to be done.  So I'm stripping carpet, tiling, wooden floors, the works.  And I just bought the coolest sofa and love seat ever.

4.  I find comfort in the color of an eggplant.

5.  I don't eat red meat.  (The stew above can also be made with chicken.)

6.  I always wanted to get lost in the Bermuda Triangle secretly hoping it led to an alternate plane of existence.

7.  I have a hairy guy on a stick on my desk.  When you press down on him, he says, "Boy, do I feel great.  It's going to be a stress free day today."  The spite the little bastard I put makeup on him.  Now he looks like Boy George.

Well, that's it blogger buds.  Hope everyone has a wonderful week.  I will be stopping by to say hi.

...^-^... 

PAY IT FORWARD BLOG HOP.

Hey there fellow bloggeroos!  Hope everyone had a wonderful week.  Thank you all for being so patient during my critiquing period.  For those of you that left me a comment anyway, you are so sweet!  I do appreciate it.  For those of you who decided to follow me, big welcome!  If I have not followed you back yet, please leave me a comment to set me straight.

I started off the morning with a chuckle so I thought I'd share it.  I keep my cell phone on my desk.  My ringer is set to the Pink Panther theme for everybody.  I was sitting here minding my own business when the phone rang.  Hubs always calls me a few times throughout the day to get his Laila fix.  Well, I grabbed the phone and in my best hot porn star voice said, "Hello there sexy."  There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.  Then a woman giggled and said, "I'm sorry, I have the wrong number."  And we laughed.  I added two years to her life and mine.  At this rate I'll live forever.

Now to the matter at hand.

These two highly intelligent manly specimens:

Alex at http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/ and Matthew at  http://theqqqe.blogspot.com/ devised a plan that would enable us to meet other bloggers and ride up the ladder to bloggingdom.  They came up with this blog fest.





I'm supposed to list three blogs I visit and enjoy.  Well, I visit a heck of a lot more than three, so here's what I'm doing.  Today (pretend it's Friday already) I will list the three manned by the ladies who have been a great inspiration in my writerly life.  Besides, we've exchanged the occasional email and that's pretty cool.  In alphabetical order by last name I give you....

Carrie Butler from http://soyoureawriter.blogspot.com  Carrie is smarter than heck and she writes the best flowing conversations I've ever read.

Lisa Regan at http://lisalregan.blogspot.com  Lisa is a highly talented agented writer waiting to find her novel a home.  She has tons of knowledge to offer.

Apparently, these two ladies have teamed up with a third party to host the blog hop below.  Check out Carrie's blog for more info.

And last but not least, Nancy Thompson at http://nancysthompson.blogspot.com  Nancy focuses on her journey to getting published.  She gives us hope, and she is an awesome writer.  She's also responsible for the fact that I am now following people on Twitter.  I'll have to do a practice run. :)  Great Heavens!



Next week, I will possibly participate on the above blog hop and pass on a few awards.  In that way I can name a ton of other blogs that I have missed.

Have a great weekend everyone!  I'll be around following and visiting.  ...^-^...

THIS WEEK.

Fellow Bloggers Buds, I'm taking the week away from Blogger for critiquing purposes.  Please excuse my absence.  I will be back next week.  I will miss you all.  And to all my new followers, welcome.  I look forward to getting to know all of you.

 May your days be filled with magic.  ....^-^.....

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO LATELY.

Happy prelude to Friday!

I have a few things on my agenda for today.

First and foremost I'd like to take a moment and thank the three ladies who have served as my critique partners. You have made such a difference in my writing. I admire you, respect you, really like you, and am proud to share this journey with you. It's not easy to critique. Heck, it's not easy to take the time to read someone else's work when there's so much going on in life. The generosity of the writing world continues to warm my heart. Thank you all so much!

For those I have critiqued, you have amazed me with your verbiage and your imagination. I am blown away. I shudder when I visualize the world we could create if we ever put our heads together.

Next:

I won this book!

Tom has fallen for the daughter of the man who killed him, and the Non-Agency will stop at nothing to keep them apart.

Please visit Rik Davball at It's the future stupid

I absolutely love winning! Now I just have to claim it...still working on that.  First I dragged my feet because I don't have an e-reader yet and it hurts my eyes to read on the laptop.  Then I misplaced the darn code and had to email the fabulous author.  I have a huge list of books waiting to be downloaded...most of them from you guys. (Here's the time to suggest a good e-reader.)

Also:

I have been liebsterized again. Bloody hell, but much appreciated.  For a while there it felt like an epidemic of awards. I considered the possibility that the rumor about my alien powers had leaked out. Caution: You'll never take me alive! Anyway, I'm not forcing anyone to pass this award on. What I'm doing instead is mentioning a few blogs I have thoroughly enjoyed reading lately and slipping in a few random facts about me.

Blogs of note:

Why I wake up every day.  Pay unikorna a visit.  She is a unique exceptional fairy.

The Eagles Aerial Perspective  Visit Eagle.  I've never known anyone who reads so much.  She's a guru.

Mark Noce Stories Visit mark.  He's a great writer who just spent two weeks in Hawaii.

Wistful Nebulae  Go say hi to M Pax.  This sci-fi lady rocks.

Abstract Pictures  Go check out Leovi.  His pictures take my breath away. (Yes I translated and shortened the name of his blog.)

Some brief facts about me:

1. I almost drowned when I was 2, lifted my hands up, saw the light at my fingertips and was pulled out of the water by my father just in time.

2. I have a thing for older men, result of spending years reading historical romances...hence the 10 year age difference between my husband and myself.  I still don't get cougars. 

3. I like walking barefoot, so much in fact I've developed a few callouses.  My wedding video included an unwarranted closeup of my feet.

4.  When I was 10 my father was mugged and left for dead.  He's alive, but I haven't been comfortable with going out on my own since then.

5. I have the tendency of being too honest.  And sometimes people don't want to hear the truth.

This liebster was brought to you by:

Kathy at http://imagine-today1.blogspot.com/   

Finally:

Next week I will be posting only on Wednesday...because that is "Insecure Writer's Day."

  Hosted by the great Alex J Cavanaugh.  (Funny fact: Alex's is the only guy's blog my husband ever remembers me visiting.)

I wasn't able to participate in the session due to the partying week I took off on my birthday. Not only am I looking forward to my own "begging for empathy session", I'm real eager to read what's bugging every other writer out there. Alex, I hope you have the links posted on your site...I might not be following everyone yet.

Oh, and if anyone isn't following Alex yet, please do. I'm dying to know if he'll keel over once he reaches 1000 followers. :)

See you all Wednesday. Have a great weekend! Keep living the dream!

...^-^....

I wish you all tons of inspiration.  Here's a lovely picture to send you on your way.

DOGGIE DILEMMA

PROFILE: DeeDee. Golden Sheltie. AKA: Princess Deedra, Flower Pot, Butterscotch Cutie, Buttercup, and the occasional poop head. Loves to lay out in the yard. Kisses have been known to taste like poop and candy. Guilty of: Ripping up tissue, eating receipts, and pooping on the carpet right in front of Pet-human and Man-servant for failure to decipher canine dialect. Averted punishment by accurate usage of puppy-dog-eye technique. Alpha dog, but I won't hike my leg.

PROFILE: Stryker. By-black Sheltie. AKA: Nasty little crotch sniffer, indecent leg licker, little poop head, Spud, Hairy little turd butt, and others. Loves to be cuddled at all times. Has been known to try and tongue-bathe Pet-human. Guilty of: Stealing chicken bones out of the garbage. Licking the wooden floor. Emitting loud hacking noises that have caused Pet-human to shoot out of bed to preserves what's left of the carpet. Averted punishment by accurate usage of rub-belly technique. Beta dog, and proud of it.

DOGGIE DILEMMA: Enter Dogs.

DEEDRA: Attention Bloggers, our pet-human is SOL.

STRYKER: You mean MIA.

DEEDRA: I mean SOL. You used your body to trip her. She nearly fell down the stairs.

STRYKER: Don't say that out loud! Besides, it was the only way I could keep her away from the computer.

DEEDRA: Quiet. I have to tell them about the "C" word.

STRYKER: You mean the cat?

DEEDRA: We don't have a cat.

STRYKER: Well we should. The scent of feline anus is a delicacy.

DEEDRA: Cat-ass-sniffer. No wonder we found you at the pound.

STRYKER: You eat poop. Ow!

DEEDRA: Cholesterol. The word is cholesterol.

STRYKER: I still don't know what it is.

DEEDRA: Me neither, but apparently it happens when you consume too much pizza and wine. Pet-human had a test done because she's obsessed with being healthy. And hers is up by four points.

STRYKER: I don't know what the deal is. The man-servant's is much higher and he doesn't complain.

DEEDRA: Of course not, he's male. Anyway, pet-human needs to eat healthier.

STRYKER: But she gives us the crust...

DEEDRA: And we have forced her to move her regular Friday post to Thursdays so she can resume her rigorous exercise regiment...with the exception of Insecure Writer's day on October 5th. There, I've said it all. Now for a few words from out sponsor. Pet-human wrote this for the campaign challenge. She didn't enter the contest but wrote it just for fun. And they made her use some weird words. (imago, miasma, lacuna, oscitate, synchronicity, and mirror.) 200 WORDS.  Check it out.

                                                                            ***

FURRY IMAGO

　

Knee deep in swamp water, Troy boded his time. The miasma cleared forming a mirror in the chilling stream. He didn’t dare look down and face the reflection of his furry imago. Saliva spilled from the corner of his mouth. The swing moved, hypnotizing him with the sight of the lithe girl kicking up her toes. He licked his lips. An unnatural whine oozed from his throat. He swallowed it. It was happening again. He was losing control of his human side. As leader of the pack he was expected to show restraint when it came to eating humans, but the hunger lured him like the harvest moon. All sense of guilt or propriety laid buried deep within a minuscule lacuna in his brain.

The girl leaped off the swing, making him oscitate. He darted toward her, landing at her feet—sparing a moment of adoration before trapping her in his embrace. Teeth sunk into flesh, muffling a scream. The fierce synchronicity became a type of music. Once again he gorged on human elixir, denying his upbringing, favoring the wolf. No matter, the others would never find out. He shook the dew from his fur and returned to his pack.

　                                                ***

DEEDRA: Hope you liked it.  She wrote if with us in mind.

STRYKER: Tell them the trivia.

DEEDRA: Fun facts.  It has been scientifically proven that all dogs evolved from wolves.  Selective breeding provided the physical variety.

STRYKER: Uh-oh, here she comes!

DEEDRA: Run!

Exit dogs, tails curled behind them in a wagging frenzy as they proceed to run the fence line.

Have a great week everyone! ...^-^... See you Thursday.  Love your poochies.

　

　

FABULOUS FAKE FRIDAY

You are not trapped in time loop. This is Friday's post. 

You guys should know by now that I get tired of following my own rules.  Besides, it's kinda fun to create confusion.  Did you ever have something stuck in your head and you couldn't stop thinking about it until you wrote it down? Well, here you have it.  Welcome to my brain.  Ooh, and check out my cartoon self.  Yup, that is definitely what I look like in my otherworldly state.

My husband called me "short" the other day. At his 6'5 stature the comment didn't come as a surprise. As a matter of fact, the sweet, cradle-robbing darling calls me that often, even though I've explained to him countless times that God crams us into small packages to hide the brilliance of our souls. (Hear that fun-sized people?) Of course he's in denial. Still, his remark brought to mind the memory of my trouble adapting to symbiosis. ( The interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both. AKA: Adapting to life as an Earthling.)

I once looked like this: Fabulous alien self.



Then I hopped into something that looked kinda like this: Couldn't find picture of baby Earthling self.

During the long, arduous adjustment period I looked a little something like this: Ugly duckling, which is actually remarkable cute.



I was the kid that got picked on, the loner, the one that didn't open her mouth from fear of being ridiculed. I had no sense of fashion, doubted myself beyond reason, and always did what I was told up to the point where I didn't do anything I wanted to do. Merging with a host is tricky business. I can clearly remember living in my head. And in there life was rich...so much in fact that it developed into a great Fantasy. And that Fantasy poured into books.

I've often been asked why I write Fantasy and not another genre that might allegedly make me more money. Oh, I could go into great detail, but the answer is real simple. A great story told in a fantastical way is the signature of my soul. And we all have our own unique signatures. We are as varying as the stars.

So now that I'm most comfortable in my wonderful self, I'm going to cut this Friday post short and invite you all to celebrate being you. And in doing that, I'm leaving you one question to take with you and ponder.

What's the number one reason why you love being you?

Now shine like a star.

Happy Friday everyone and an even better weekend. ...^-^...

WORST MOVIES EVER BLOGFEST

This awesome blogfest is being hosted by Alex over at Alex J Cavanaugh

I like to be entertained, and movies are a great way to achieve that goal.  Still, some movies really suck.  Here are a few that made me curse in several languages.

1. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE.

Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space to terrorize a small town.  Are you freakin kidding me?  This was the most God-awful movie I've ever watched. 

2. MARS ATTACKS.

The Earth is invaded my Martians.  They torture and kill.  Okay, I know a lot of people liked this movie, but I have to disagree.  (My husband still makes me do the alien voices.)  I don't care how many top paid actors or good-looking Pierce Brosnans you stick in there, I really hated this movie.

3. WORLD'S GREATEST DAD.

A comedy about a man who learns that the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.  This is not a comedy.  It is a depressing movie.  I love Robin Williams in everything else except this.  His son is obnoxious.  The best part of the movie was the end because it's all about a writer who wants to be published.  Seriously, if you're going to watch it, fastforward to the end.

4. Bewitched

Everyone knows the show, right?  The cute witch marries the human.  I loved the show.  Then they went and made this movie with Will Ferrell acting like an idiot.  The witch wasn't even called Samantha.  Pisses me off when they mess with a good thing.  The only plus of this movie was Shirley MacLain as Andora, but I like her in all her movies.

5. INDECENT PROPOSAL.

A woman cheats on her husband for a million dollars.  Seriously, this is supposed to be a cool movie?  Granted there's a lot of money involved.  And Robert Redford is hot, but come on.  Then at the end she goes back to her husband and they start over like if nothing happened.  The whore cheated on you and you agreed to it for money.  You pimped her out you schmuck.  Yeah, I did't care for this movie.

6. KINGPIN.

A star bowler whose career was prematurely "cut off" hopes to ride a new prodigy to success and riches.  All with me now.  "Stupid.  Stupid."  I used to like Woody Harrelson until I was coersced into watching this movie.  It was plain disgusting.  How do writers come up with this crap?  (Man, I'm a harsh critic.)

7. THE CABLE GUY



A lonely and disturbed cable guy raised on television just wants a new friend, but his target, a designer, rejects him, with bad consequences.  Let me start by saying that Jim Carrey usually makes me laugh, but I thought he was the biggest jackass in this movie, which probably means he played the part well.  Still, the movie made my crap list.

8.  THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET.







A mute alien is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem in this thought-provoking cult classic.  (Thought-provoking my ass.)  Yeah, I was wondering why he couldn't talk, why an alien would be an idiot, and why the heck he snorted coke?  As a sworn Sci-Fi lover, I felt betrayed.

9. FREDDY GOT FINGERED.

An unemployed cartoonist moves back in with his parents and younger brother Freddy. When his parents demand he leave, he begins to spread rumors that his father is sexually abusing Freddy.  This is just plain sick, and I value myself as having an open mind.  I lasted five minutes with this movie and counted it as a not worthy of anything.  I apologize for even mentioning it.

10. VAMPIRES SUCK.



A spoof of vampire-themed movies, where teenager Becca finds herself torn between two boys. As she and her friends wrestle with a number of different dramas, everything comes to a head at their prom.  I normally like spoofs.  This one sucked, literally.  Of course, without Leslie Nielsen, no spoof will ever be the same again.


Well, that's all folks.  Hope everyone enjoyed my picks.  Hate on.

Have a Happy Monday.  ...^-^...