Cerulean Siren

My Inner Child's Been Fed and Coddled

2008-07-21T21:31:40Z

I had the joy of going to a birthday party both on Saturday and on Sunday.
The Saturday party was for my Mother-in-Law and she had it at 'Pump It Up', which is a bounce house place. I use the term bounce house loosely. There were jousting pits, boxing arenas, basketball areas, two wicked obstacle courses and the best thing on the planet.

I give you mondo slide (Not the actual name). I want one!

I had a great two hours of bouncing, running, jumping, playing, laughing, falling and amazing care-free fun. It was exhausting and I didn't go to the gym later, because I had a heckuva work out.

My kids had a blast too!

On Sunday we hit the Roller Kingdom. Me + 4yr old = a lot of falling. We had a great time but didn't really skate much.

My inner child is very happy and satiaited. It is good to feed the inner child.

Friday ~ In Liu of Actual Contact

2008-07-18T22:56:01Z

Mmmm Reading, Good.

2008-07-16T23:22:43Z

I had been feeling irrationally twitchy. My book order was supposed to be at home on Friday, but did not appear until yesterday. All weekend without a book, nothing to read. I've exhausted the TBR pile and was hoping to hit the book store as well as the ol one, but it did not happen.
I would like to say though... IT WAS WORTH THE TWITCHY WAIT.

I received several books, but first up was The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong.

This was the first in her YA Darkest Powers series. I am a fan of the written word in any form and have lowered myself to reading my child's fast food bags when the event occurs. I have to say that I can not wait to pass this book on to my teens.

The teens have received books from Mom in the past but they are never interested in the same thing.
Princess - Uglies, Rachel Caine's vampire series, Vicki Pettersson's Zodiac series, and of course the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.
Prince - Jennifer Estep's Karma Girl and Hot Mama(he has no idea these are purchased in the romance section and will never know)and Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely and a Cirque du Freak series about vampires.
I really love being able to share the written word with my kids and having discussions with them. I can thank JK Rowling for figuring that out.

Anyhow, back to The Summoning.
I received this book at 5pm yesterday and with all of the jobs being a Mom entails; dinner, dishes, laundry, bath time, clean up time, dogs, etc. I managed to finish by 10pm. Loved this book, did I mention that?

First off I love the characters. Kelley does such an amazing job of driving you toward love and hate for specific people and just screwing with you later over it. That was awesome. I have to say I was horrified and hurt at the end of the book, but Kelley soooo did this on purpose. I was begging for more as I read the last line as well.
The plot had things I expected that were well written and some surprises that were great. (Ok, one of these shouldn't have been a surprise I chalk it up to lack of chocolate and reading over the weekend).
I fell right into this book, and can not wait for the next.

If you are already a fan of Kelley Armstrong and are thinking twice about a YA, pick it up. If you have never heard of Kelley Armstrong and like urban fantasy, pick it up. If you have heard of Kelley, love her other books, pick it up. I recommend this book to everyone; young, young at heart, male and female.
You can find Kelley Armstrong's website at Kelley Armstrong

celeber @ 2008-07-15T11:16:00

2008-07-15T18:27:56Z

It is extremely hard to convey the camaraderie, friendship and family the military brings to a person. I have happily been in the military for the last 6 years and recently renewed for 6 more. In this time I have met some of the most amazing men and women in uniform, and their spouses that support them.

I am not sure what makes my military family so important, but I trust each of them with my life. The laughter, tough times, and excruciating times we have shared are hard to explain to someone who hasn’t done it. We will complain and bitch and moan some days, but all while doing exactly what we are supposed to. I am the most free in my heart when I am elbow deep in aircraft and laughing with my fellow maintenance troops. I wish it was my full time job, but not yet. I still have a civilian job that I go to 45 hours a week as well.

I get little updates from my AF buddies while at work, and some make me laugh, but today it was not the case. I got an email and I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

One of the amazing guys I work with out at the Air Guard collapsed at work and passed away. He was the friendliest guy in his shop (and it was his shop, he ran it really well), one of the funniest people I have ever met and had a great attitude and always a helping hand. He will be greatly missed as a friend and colleague. Engine shop will not be the same; maintenance will not be the same.

Mark, you are truly missed. Thank you for all you have done for your nation, your state, your family and your friends. May you rest in peace.

celeber @ 2008-07-14T09:44:00

2008-07-14T16:51:16Z

It is amazing how one little phone call can make it all better. Superman called on Friday and I have been in a much better place mentally since I heard his voice. Only eight or nine more days and he will be home for a month. I miss him.
This weekend was extremely busy. Between the Air National Guard, business and a going away part I am flat wiped out today. I am sore from my calfs to my shoulders from physical training this weekend and I am sooo NOT going to the gym this evening.
The week ahead is filled with the gym and hanging out with my Angel. The weekend is full of birthday parties, water slide parks and yard work.

TBR

2008-07-11T15:55:12Z

Up for weekend reading...

The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M Liu

Hotter Than Hell Anthology

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Moonshine by Rob Thurman

Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan

Tribute by Nora Roberts

Books I am looking at to purchase this weekend...

Dead to Me by Anton Strout

Staked by J.F. Lewis

Unquiet Dreams by Mark Del Franco

Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn

The Hades Project by Justin Gustainis

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

I think it's a book weekend. I have quite a few commitments but I think I can squeeze in some reading time to enjoy some of my favorite authors. Browsing is a must this weekend - I need to go check out the book store and find some fun treasures for myself.

Movie Meme

2008-07-09T20:25:52Z

The rules: Bold the movies you've seen, underline the ones you plan to, strike out the ones you HATE and refuse to watch ever again. As you can see, I watch a lot of movies :)

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler's List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001))
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
~~90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)~~
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
~~99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)~~
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

Seriously Brain Dead

2008-07-09T15:46:46Z

I have been avoiding my book. The character calls to me, but I have hit an internal wall where the book is veering into TMI and not enough action.
So last night I sat down in my room (where it is quiet at 9pm because I have put all the kids to bed) and reviewed my notes and printed pages.
I had inspiration all over the place last night. I have a lot more action on my flow chart and a lot less BS. I am really excited where the pause took me.
I had to revamp some stuff I though was law, but makes more sense the way I have rewritten it.
I am excited about my characters, my plot and I can feel my MC in the back of my head saying "Finally!"

I am going to work through my workbook tonight and write some more notes and then tomorrow I shall begin again (For the 3rd time).

I like being back on track with this book. I also had some better ideas for the short story I have been pondering and playing with.

Writings good. The house is lonely without Superman, but really clean (I clean when I am emotional - angry, sad, lonely, etc). The teens are off to the water park today and toddler has swim day at school. All in all we are doing well. I just don't have an adult conversation once I get home. I am going to the gym tonight so I can have adult contact.

celeber @ 2008-07-07T16:02:00

2008-07-07T23:05:48Z

Had a good weekend

-Watched Fireworks
-Made Dinner (Superman usually does this, so it was a big deal)
-Played at the splash park with my Angel
-Kissed Superman goodbye
-Played at the Waterpark (Do not allow a 4 year old to apply sun block to your back, you will end up with a swirl of white, pink and red)
-Cleaned, cleaned, cleaned

Nothing terribly exciting, but it was all fun (except Superman leaving, that was sad).

Sweet!

2008-07-03T19:15:40Z

I haven't been able to think about anything to enter here. I have been helping Superman get ready for his deployment and had a birthday party. The party was great. Superman leaving is something I don't want to talk about just yet.

When I am at work I mostly listen to motivational cd's to keep my attitude up and stay calm. On really hectic days (ie deadline time) I tend to rock out to my favorite local rock station. The last two days I have been inundated with rock and love it. The radio station puts on some great contests and I figured I would try my luck. Yesterday - nada. Today - I won freaking tickets to see Disturbed in Sacramento and get to ride down with a friend on the party bus. Which friend? I have no idea. I asked two (One is in Disneyland and the other has to find child care). I am pretty freaking excited.

Woohoo! Nice kick off to the three day weekend for me.

My First Time

2008-07-01T02:37:24Z

I received my first rejection. The short story was out for 74 days and I am pretty excited with my rejection.

"Thank you for your patience and for giving me the opportunity to read your manuscript. This is a well-written tale but is not quite right for me. Please try me again with something else."

As far as rejections go, I think this is pretty good. Although, I have nothing to compare it too. What do you think?

I have already submitted the short story for consideration with another editor. I just can't feel down about this rejection, so I am moving immediately on.

Friday Funnies

2008-06-27T17:43:40Z

In liu of actual journaling I give you...

Two Great Reads

2008-06-25T17:45:56Z

I am a big fan of finding new authors to read. Below are two that I discovered through the author mdhenry and The League of Reluctant Adults.

While I was away on vacation I breezed through Personal Demons by Stacia Kane. Megan gets caught up in a web of demons, reporters and counseling hell. She meets up with some fabulous demons and the three guardians were by far my favorites of the demon persuasion. The story was solid and fun and Megan was someone I could identify with. I am looking forward to the next in the series and am really hoping she shares another yummy recipe in the next book.

Next up is Night Life by Caitlin Kitridge. This book had a blurb on the front from a well known author that said something to the affect of "Don't read before bed, you will be up all night". I should have listened to the author because I could not put this wonderful book down. The heroine, Luna, is a kick ass solitary werewolf who has a quick wit and a sharp tongue. The action in this book was fast paced, interesting and surprising. I love that Luna is a woman in a man's world as a detective and portrays an accurate description of how it is to be a nice looking lady (I use the term lady loosely) in a boys club setting. Her cousin and grandmother were interesting supporting characters and I quickly fell in love with her cousin, Sunny. The love interest in the book was all right, but I think I need more than body chemistry. I hope the next book will make me want this character as much as Luna seems to. The ending was unexpected and there are some threads that were left hanging in an intriguing way. Read this book!

Some Tuesday Fun

2008-06-24T18:47:41Z

My Results:

Athena

You are a wise one, my dear! Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom, disciplined war, philosophy and knowledge. She is a selective Goddess, as she only inhabits those of your high intelligence and keenness to learn great things. You’re usually not seen without a book in your hand or your eyes glued to the internet (which is, after all, the great information highway!). This should not suggest that you don’t enjoy people, as your cleverness and sharp wit are usually in full force when in a social situation, to everyone’s delight.

Hot Hot Hot

2008-06-23T21:19:42Z

This is what I looked like over the last five days.

I do not suggest going to Palm Springs during a heat wave. We still had a lot of fun, but 120 is way to hot for me. If you have ever cooked at 450 on your oven and felt that blast when you opened it that is what it felt like. All the time! The Santa Anna winds rolled through and brought no relief, only more heat. I spent a lot of time inside with the AC and we did a lot of night time swimming. I did not get a tan, but I also didn't get a burn or heat stroke. I consider those all major positives.

It was a great trip though. I loved having five glorious days with Superman. Coming home is always nice though. Seeing the kids, dogs and our home.
Glad to be back where the highs are in the 90's.

Vacation Time!

2008-06-16T16:43:30Z

I am getting ready to take a five day vacation with Superman and no children! Woohoo. We thought we needed some alone time prior to the 7 month deployment and I am so glad we decided to do thi. We will visiting the lovely Palm Springs area and enjoying the following areas.

I hope Wednesday arrives quickly.

A Little Queasy

2008-06-13T20:17:06Z

I headed home from work yesterday and got the family settled in and sat down to my shiny new laptop.
I ran through checking email and then decided to tromp through some blogs that I don't have access to while I am at work. The first up is an author I really enjoy and there it was…

A link from her blog to mine. No Joking! I almost passed out. She had linked the short review I gave of her book. I was in turmoil. I love this author, I love her books, but the last didn't evoke the feelings I have had previously while reading her work. I felt bad for not giving a grand review of the book I had read. I love this author, I recommend this author to others. She knows I didn't think the last book was her best. Aghhh.

I took some time out and thought about it. Was I honest? Will I buy the next book? Did I still recommend the book? The answer was a resounding yes to all. That is all I can do as a reader is give my humble opinion and share the books I love with others. I feel a bit queasy about the whole experience, and hope that it doesn't affect any of my future reviews.

Speaking of reviews, I finished Watcher by Jeanne Stein.

I read this book in one sitting. It was fast paced, interesting and left me hungry for the next book. The characters are interesting; they all make mistakes, all of them, which endear each of them to me in their own way. The plot was interesting and some of the twists were perfect. I knew that one guy was going to be showing up somewhere, I just knew it! And oh he did.

I recommend this book for a quick, fast paced, action packed read with a kick ass female protagonist and some great bad guys.

I can still share

2008-06-12T20:46:22Z

I discovered the world of Dinosaur Comics and had to share this one. ( You can find it at http://www.qwantz.com/ )

Downloading and Baking

2008-06-12T18:56:01Z

I am still thrilled that I have entered the 21st century and have dsl and my laptop is uber fast. The other new gizmo I picked up was an Ipod shuffle.

It is a cute little 1 inch rectangle that is sparkly green and makes me extremely happy.

I have had a blast with this tiny device. I clean the house with it, brush my teeth with it, pull weeds, etc. I never knew I could be absolutely enamored with an mp3 player, but I am. My only problem is trying to remember all the wonderful songs I love, and need and have to have on it right now.

I search the song lists and get a bit lost with the billions of songs out there. I am remembering a lot of them, but I know I am missing some key songs. I have abused youtube a ton trying to figure out which song it really is by that artist that I am trying to find. Half the time I can't remember the name of the damn song. It is a ton of fun though. I am in love with the new toy.

I also made some great dark chocolate cupcakes last night from a box which turned out pretty good. It is snack day in the office and my turn so I figured cupcakes, especially chocolate ones would shut them up. I did that in the middle of the downloading spree last night. I am waiting until after lunch to indulge and have a cupcake, mmm chocolaty goodness.

Another Book Down

2008-06-10T22:15:40Z

I started and finished reading Romancing the Dead by Tate Hallaway yesterday.
It was a quick read, and it was interesting but it lacked something the others had. Maybe the amount of running around could of been replaced with more action. I am not sure. I wasn't disapointed at it was just a missing feeling that I was looking for. The ups and downs were good and the character info was interesting. It was still a fun quick read. I liked the last one better. We'll see where it heads in the next one.

Check it out if you are up for a mellow read with some paranormal aspects.

Holy Rusted Metal Batman that's fast!

2008-06-09T18:05:03Z

I set up my DSL on Friday night. It was very easy and all the happy lights came on the first try. Being the wonderful wife I am, I set up my husbands pc first and then mine. Once I set down to mine I decided to get itunes downloaded first.

I attempted this with the exact same laptop on dial up last week.

Itunes download time
Last Week on Dial up - 16hrs (I am not kidding, this is pathetic)
Friday Night on DSL - 4 minutes (Hello! That freaking rocks)

Once me and Superman both had itunes downloaded we did a lifetime purchase through a music site I had researched and went download crazy. We spent the next couple of hours playing with our new super fast toys and playing with a lot of music.

I love the new lap top. I love DSL. I love my ipod! I am in technology heaven this week.

I also read a book this weekend. Which was a feat in and itself. (It was drill weekend, with our annual get together til 11pm on Saturday, and family day yesterday evening.)
The book was LKH's Blood Noire. I keep reading this series in hopes that the characters I know and love will return or we can move past the ardeur. I think in this book I saw a glimpse of good events to come, not necessarily good events but more ass kicking and less sex. That is a good event for me, the ass kicking.
I am hoping that it continues down the road of less sex, more plot and a U-turn toward some serious shit hitting the fan would be nice. This book was better than the last six. The previous book had Edward in it and was still off. This one felt more along the lines of the Anitaverse for me. So in my humble opinion we may be headed back to happy land with Anita for me. It is a step in the right direction and that is what I wanted more than anything.

Favorite Author Switch

2008-06-06T21:23:25Z

The most bizarre thing occurred this week and without me realizing it my favorite author has changed. I have slowly been letting go of the favorite author for some time, but it really came about this week.

I arrived home and had a huge order of books from Barnes and Noble awaiting me on my front patio. I knew it would be there, but I still got the little rush of Christmas morning adrenaline that I get to open a box full of goodies for myself. I asked my son to carry in the box and set it in the living room. I merrily opened my large package of books (Ok they weren't all for me, everyone got at least one) and started making piles and ensuring they were all there.

Now that I had made initial piles I rearranged a bit and placed which ones I would read first near the top. The two hard backs were placed precariously upon a large stack of paperbacks and I snatched From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris from the stack and dove right in.

I have known for a while that I adore her characters, the flow and ebb of her writing and her descriptions are glorious. I had no idea that somewhere in my heart of hearts she had pushed forward through the pack of authors that lie in my heart to surpass my all time favorite LKH.

Charlaine Harris is now officially my favorite author. I mourn the loss of LKH at the front of the pack but I also cherish the fact that an amazing author has stepped forward and replaced a floundering world with one that I can not imagine being without.

It has been a decade since I have questioned who is truly number one in the author world, and I questioned if Kelley Armstrong and Charlaine Harris were truly second and third anymore. Apparently not!

I hope that I don't receive a Kelley Armstrong novel and Charlaine Harris novel in the same box because my world may very well explode if I must choose between the two.

Anyhow, From Dead to Worse was extremely insightful. I love watching Sookie change as a person and grow into her skin all while trying to stay true to her morals and values as her world grows more strange and paranormal. The revelations in this book were phenomenal. Mrs. Harris absolutely keeps me guessing and I relish that. I can't predict what Sookie will do, ever. The secondary characters are also grand and I love them. I can honestly not think of a character I haven't really liked, even the dead ones. I will be looking forward to the fall season on HBO to get some additional Sookie before the next book is released. I would highly recommend this book.

Kicking it Old School

2008-06-03T16:43:43Z

Wave of the Future
I have this wonderful new high powered laptop with bells and whistles and wonderful gizmos. I love it. It is slick, gorgeous and high powered. If it was a car it would be a sports car.

Back to the 90's baby
My problem lies in my internet access. I am still on dial up. This does not make the new shiny laptop function well. I was going to download Itunes but a 16 hour wait was the response for it to download. I realized I need something that can work with the new laptop and run faster than a snail on valume.

Mildly embarrassing now
I have no idea where to begin, what the hell half these dsl, wifi and other bs sites are talking about.
Is there an internet wizard out there that can possibly clear away some of the connection cobwebs and help a girl out?

I have it!

2008-05-30T21:52:28Z

I actually have it in a box waiting for me. I will report back once I have the gorgeous laptop fired up and working.
(Rubs hands together in anticipation)

I have to get out of work first. 1 hour and 40 minutes to go.

Do you think if I explained to my boss I have a new laptop at home and need to go play with it I could get an early out?

Laptop Eve!

2008-05-29T17:56:40Z

I get my new lap top tomorrow. I am absolutely thrilled. Just look at my shiney new baby. It is a monster baby at 16", but oh am I in love. With it's gorgeous memory, superfast run time and built in wireless I can contain all my madness in one area (Currently it is spread between two archaic lap tops and a desk top).

And the sweet little controls on the side.