Iran??

Frickin' Bush! So now we're changing direction and focusing on Iran??

I am really pissed over this. It's like there is no end to this war in sight. I thought that our soldiers were supposed to come back once their voting took place?

Two months ago, I lost a childhood friend (who was also a very good friend of my brother's) to the war. From what I learned, he was supposed to come home to his family any day now. One of my brother's best friends is over there now. So are a couple of my cousins. This is happening every day. Yet, it has been put to the back burner in the news. Every day families are devastated by the loss of a child, a brother, a sister, a wife, a husband, a relative, a friend to this war.

You know what stays in my mind - why didn't Bush send one of his daughters over there? Oh yeah, they're too busy falling on the floor in some club, drunk and oblivious to anything else. Yep - it makes sense to me. Let's just send everyone's else loved one over there.

So much money is being spent on this war,and yet there is no money for education, for rebuilding poor towns, for feeding the poor.

Every time I open a tabloid or a paper and see one of the Bush twins dirty dancing, wasted to the core, I think about how lucky they are to not have a care in the world because they will always be protected while I pray every day for my family and the world.

I should be careful what I post, though. Now that I know we're being spied on, who knows who will come knocking on my door in the middle of the night? Heck, I may even accidentally get shot with a pellet because I was mistaken for a ....rabbit...

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

This show is driving me MAD!! Where are they??!! What is the connection??!! Who are The Others??!! Why do they keep teasing us with a good premise but then the episode leaves you with nothing??!! Where's Walt??!! Did Sun cheat on Jin with her ex and therefore he is the father of her baby??!! Who is Henry Gale??!! Did he enter the numbers or not??!!

I am slowly going maaddddd......

I need some answers!!

Chocolate Dipped Death by Sammi Carter

This is the second book in the Candy Shop series by Sammi Carter.

The plot revolves around Abby, who is still adjusting to being newly divorced and to her role as the new owner of Divinity, a candy shop that was left to her by her Aunt Grace. The problem with this is that her cousins thought that they would inherit the shop and neither Abby nor her cousins can understand why the shop was left to her. In addition, the shop is located in a small town in Colorado, where Abby grew up. It is the sort of town where everyone knows everything and there are very little secrets.

A candy contest is underway and tensions are running pretty high. When a highly disliked contestant is murdered, Abby must involve herself in finding the murderer to help her cousin Karen, who is one of the suspects, as well as give the victim the peace she feels she deserves.

I am really enjoying this series. I recently read that the author signed a 3-book deal for the series. I hope that she does go beyond that. It's a great cozy with a lot of bite to it!

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman

I have to be honest. I only bought this book for two reasons: 1. The main character's name is Emilia and 2. I really liked the cover.

Here is a brief summary of the plot from the book jacket:

For Emilia Greenleaf, life is by turns a comedy of errors and an emotional minefield. Yes, she’s a Harvard Law grad who married her soul mate. Yes, they live in elegant comfort on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. But with her one-and-only, Jack, came a stepson—a know-it-all preschooler named William who has become her number one responsibility every Wednesday afternoon. With William, Emilia encounters a number of impossible pursuits—such as the pursuit of cab drivers who speed away when they see William’s industrial-strength car seat and the pursuit of lactose-free, strawberry-flavored, patisserie-quality cupcakes, despite the fact that William’s allergy is a figment of his over-protective mother’s imagination.As much as Emilia wants to find common ground with William, she becomes completely preoccupied when she loses her newborn daughter. After this, the sight of any child brings her to tears, and Wednesdays with William are almost impossible. When his unceasing questions turn to the baby’s death, Emilia is at a total loss. Doesn’t anyone understand that self-pity is a full-time job? Ironically, it is only through her blundering attempts to bond with William that she finally heals herself and learns what family really means.

At times, you want to strangle Emilia because she is so caught up in self-pity; I also did not like her reasons for being "the other woman". Only towards the end do we learn what makes Emilia behave the way she does.

I enjoyed this book. It did not provide the fairy-tale ending that one would expect. Instead, Ms. Waldman delivers frank insight into relationships and a woman coming to terms with her expectations from life.

Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke

This book is number 7 in the series.

The storyline revolves around Hannah's love triangle, Lisa and Herb's wedding, and of course, murder. Hannah's rival, Shawna Lee Quinn, has opened Magnolia Bakery right across from The Cookie Jar. This new bakery infringes on their business. Hannah becomes increasingly worried over the loss of customers as well as Shawna Lee's possible relationship with Mike, one of Hannah's paramours.

After Lisa's wedding, Hannah finds Shawna Lee's body in the kitchen of the Magnolia Bakery; because Hannah finds the body, she becomes a suspect. Of course, Hannah decides to find out who did the dirty deed while trying to decide between Mike and Norman.

There are several twists in the plotline and a surprise that I did not see coming at the end.

The only thing I did not like about the book was Hannah's
consistent pointers on correct grammar, etc. It got to be a little
too much.

Overall, another good and cozy read. :)

A Brief & Embarrassing Encounter

Last month I had mentioned how I met Joanne Fluke and I was pretty embarrassed about how it occurred. Well, I'm ready to tell what happened.....

Joanne Fluke was scheduled to be at Poisoned Pen (which, by they way, is a pretty amazing independent bookshop. They even have gargolyes guarding the lamps on the outside of the store). That morning, I put on my Sunday best, including styling my hair and make-up. For some reason, I thought it was going to be a big hullabaloo. I guess this was because this was my first book signing.

When I got to the bookstore, I was so nervous. Again, please keep in mind that this was my first book signing and by an author whose series I really enjoyed. When I got inside, I was bouncing all over the walls. I picked up my copy of the book, oohed and aahed over the new cover, and proceeded to pay. That's when my verbal skills went kaput. I had a huge smile on my face and then told the cashier that Joanne Fluke was my favorite author. I said this while having a huge grin on my face. She looked at me like, "Oh, you're one of those...." I guess she didn't share my enthusiasm.

Fast forward........I take a seat towards the back. There were probably 12-15 other people there, tops. Finally, Joanne Fluke enters. She talked about her series, life in small towns and Minnesota, etc. I just stared at her with a smile on my face. My husband at one point whispered to me if I wanted to ask her a question. I ssshhhed him....with a smile on my face. When she starting talking about the new book, I took it out of the bag and help it up, as if to show her that I had purchased it. With a smile on my face. A couple of times I saw her eyes go in my direction. I smiled even harder. Inside, I wanted her to know I was her biggest fan. Yes, I was star-struck. Literally. I also smiled hard at the cashier, who was helping to facilitate the discussion.

I think I scared her with my smile, though.

At the end, everyone got up to get their book signed. My heart was beating so fast. I got on line. My husband stood to the side, staring at me (I think he was a bit freaked out over my freaking out. And the smile). Inside, I was practising what I was going to say to her. With a smile on my face. Finally, I'm almost there. I signal my husband to prep the camera - around 10 times. He is the only person there with a camera. Everyone in line keeps turning to look at him, then me, then him, and then back to me. It must've been because I was sweating. With a smile. So finally it's my turn. I hand her the book. She looks at me. Do you remember A Christmas Story? At one point, Ralphy is on line waiting to meet Santa. There's a weird kid behind him wearing an old-fashioned flight hat (leather, flaps on either side, really tight on his head) and goggles. He turns to Ralphy and says "I like Santa" all weird and stalkerish. I always thought that kid was weird.

I turned into that kid.

First I tell her, "I'm sooo excited to meet you". With a little bounce on "excited". (I am so embarrassed). I stare at her. With a smile on my face. She laughs a little and tell's me that's good. I stare at her. She looks at me. So then she grabs the book and gets ready to sign it. I stare at her some more. And then I say "Amelia.................................That's Me!" When I say "That's Me!", I place both hands on my chest to emphasize my point. I wanted to die. I don't know what was happening to me. It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Then I tell her "You're my favorite author". Please keep in mind I sounded EXACTLY like the kid in the movie - all slow, slurry, weird, and kind of stalkerish. With a smile on my face. (Even when the words were coming out, another part of my was slowly dying). At this point, I am showing all my teeth (my husband can attest to this). The lady behind me giggles. Then my husband whispers to me to get my attention. He's waving the camera and mouthing me to ask her if I could take a picture. So I do. She's tells me okay. I run behind the table, put my hand on her shoulder, and my husband takes the shot. Everyone is staring at us. I am the only person dressed for the occasion. I am the only person freaking out. I am the only person who has her own personal photographer in the room. Unbeknownst to me, my husband had also taken a picture of me talking to her.

I skip over to my husband. The woman behind me gets to Joanne Fluke and I hear them both giggle. I skip to the front of the store. My husband is laughing. At the time, I did not even notice. When I got to the front of the store, the cashier was there with another employee. They are both staring at me. I turn to them, with a HUUUGEEE grin, I yelled, that's right, yelled, "THANKS!" As I'm leaving, I hear them giggle. When I step outside, it's as if the body snatcher has left and Amelia is back. I am mortified. I am aware of how retarded I acted. My husband is laughing sooooo hard, he's crying. I start laughing. And literally crying. I was soooooooooo embarrassed. I mean, what the heck came over me??!!!!! What??!!!! Of course, my husband tells me that he thought I was cute. I am still crying. In shock. He recounts my display of behavior from his perspective. It's much worse. Basically, I was the only person in the room who had an eerie smile on her face from start to finish. My husband finds it especially funny that I told her my name and then said "That's Me!" while pointng myself out.

Uuuggghhh.......

I'm over it now.

Catching up...

Okay....I'm going to catch up with my favorite blogs. I will be back tomorrow to post my reviews of Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke as well as Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayalet Waldman. I will also post my brief and embarrsing encouter with Joanne Fluke.

Hmmm...what else? Oh! - I have decided to try my hand at needlework. I am truly inspired by Danielle's awesome stitching. I have also decided that I must finish Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by two weeks. I have been procrastinating way too long. Don't get me wrong, I really like the book. I think Ms. Clarke is a great writer. But in order to enjoy it, I need to dedicate several hours (in one sitting) at a time to read it. I have definitely enjoyed what I have read so far. It's very meaty, lengthwise, and you definitely need to have a dictionary at hand.

I hope that everyone is well!!!!!

Thanks!!

Thanks, Matt, for your kind post! ;) All is well over here. I will stop by your blog as soon as I get a chance. By the way, so should everyone else. Matt's blog, A Guy's Moleskine Notebook, is awesome. His book reviews are on par and his insights do just that - make you think. So head on over there if you haven't done so already!!

Bad Blogger

I'm sorry. I have been a very bad blogger. I have just been so busy that every time I want to update this blog, something comes up. Never fails.

I am very tired. Very, very tired. But no matter what, I am still alive, I have a bed to sleep in, love, and food to eat. For that, I am blessed. There are a lot of people out there who don't have anything and never complain. I always keep this in mind whenever I start to whine over a spoiled dinner, too much work, etc.....

And sooo.......................I am happy!!!!! :)