Corrections...

First, I need to make a correction to an earlier blog. I had mentioned that I have already read 73 books this year...oops! ACTUALLY, I have 73 books on my amazon list, but I didn't think about the fact that it has all the books I have downloaded this year...which does not equate to books I have read. I don't know how many of those books I had NOT read at the time of the previous post, but at this moment, there are 8 books that are still unread. So, in reality - I have read (one moment while I pull of the calculator because I can't do math to save my life)...65 books. Which is still pretty damn impressive. It is more than two books a day. It only takes me about 5 hours to read a book...unless I have other stuff to do and then I just read during all the down time I have...while I cook, going to the bathroom, while Landry naps, etc. With the kids being sick for the last week and a half...there has been NOTHING but down time.

One downfall of reading so much is that my DVR is quickly running out of space. At least once a week, I try to pick one show to catch up on...but it seems that I can only watch a couple of episodes of said show..and then I go back to reading. It's not really a bad thing, but I am starting to wonder how much of my life I am actually living and how much I spend in fantasy - be it reading or watching tv! Oh well, I am pretty content!

Logan is back in school! YAY. His last fever was on Thursday. I forgot to mention that when we went to the doctor Logan is in the 94% for height and the 63% for weight. Landry is in the 91% for height and the 48% for weight. It's so funny to see them growing up. They are such sweet kids, and I love them. Landry STILL has a fever...it's only 100.6 - which is much better than the 3 consecutive days of 103, but I am ready for her to be well again.

Here are a couple of actual reviews for the books I have read over the last few days. Most of the time I will probably just list the book and link it, but sometimes I will actually write a review of the book, so if you are interested...READ ON!

Reckless Nights in Rome by CC MacKenzie 238 pages, the first in (A Ludlow Hall story) series.
Great book - Bronte Ludlow and her brother Alexander lose their parents in a terrible car crash, but the loss doesn't stop there. Secrets are unearthed and on top of it all Alexander sells their family estate, Ludlow Hall, to his best friend and they turn it into a five star hotel. All Bronte has left is The Dower House and her own business, but Nico wants the Dower House, her last remaining ties to her heritage.

Nico Feranti is a wealthy man, who always gets what he wants. What he want's is for his best friend's sister to stop being a brat and sell him the Dower House. But meeting Bronte just might give him everything he thought he never wanted.

Two Fiery personalities clashing both in and out of the bedroom, but can either of them learn to compromise and trust each other completely?

A Stormy Spring by CC MacKenzie - 315 pages, book 2 in A Ludlow Hall Story

I am not really sure what this book has to do with the Ludlow Hall series excactly other than the fact that the main characters take a short holiday to Ludlow Hall, and the very short reappearance of Nico and Bronte...other than that, the book is completely on its own. This is good and bad. It's means that the series doesn't really need to be read in any sort of order, and that each book can stand alone. On the other hand, it would have been better if the characters would have been mentioned somewhere in the first book or even the third book (which I will get to in a sec). It's just so separate that it doesn't make a lot of sense as to why it's part of the series.

Anyway, this one is about Becca Wainwright, a choreographer, who has been riddled with tragedy after tragedy. Her story is rough, and heartbreaking. After her life falls apart she throws herself into her work. She basically stops living - all she needs is to work, and sleep, and work.

Lucas Del Garda owns a PR firm. He's front and center 90% of the time and he loves his job.

An out of character night for Becca, lands herself in the hotel room with Lucas, who can't fathom Becca walking out of his life. Can he convince her to at least give it a chance?

Run Rosie Run by CC MacKenzie 355pages, Book 3 in A Ludlow Hall Story

This one takes us back to Ludlow Hall. It has all the same characters as book one, with a couple new people thrown in..I'm guessing we will get their stories in the future with this series.

Rosie, Bronte's best friend has been in love with Alexander Ludlow just about all her life.

Alexander has always treated her like another sister.

After a phone call with her mother about Rosie's biological clock tick tocking away, Rosie decided it's time to stop pining away for Alexander and move on, but can she do it while seeing him every day? She'll have to leave everything she loves in order to start fresh, but Alexander has other plans.

This was a good book, but Rosie is a bit crazy. In some ways, she's crazy funny, and others she is crazy neurotic. If you can get past the whining and poor pitiful me crap, it's a good book.

Liar's Fire: A Cooper Brothers Novel by Dee Burks - 272 pages

Serena Finley is an editor at a small town Texas newpaper. She has big dreams, but before she can pursue those, she has to get her son off to college. After her father died when she was young, Serena became a wild child and ended up pregnant at 17...now her son is about to graduate high school, and she can go after her dream. NEW YORK. Unfortunately, her uncle (and boss), comes up with a plan to get business booming at the paper. The plan - a romantic series written by Serena. She doesn't do romance. So she comes up with an idea of faking the romance as long as she can find someone that will play the role.

Tyler Cooper just happens to be date number three after his nosy sister places an ad in the paper. They come to an agreement to help each other out. Neither has anything to worry about...everything about Tyler is wrong for Serena, and Tyler doesn't have time to deal with women - which is why he needs her help to get his sister off his back.

Can they pull of this hoax and stay unattached?

Book 4 in the Friends with Benefits...I read the more erotic version called Second Thoughts by Ian Dalton
It was good. It closes out the series, with leaving a few things open in case he wants to go back and add more to the story...but isn't detrimental if he doesn't. I am not happy about a particular couple and the way things end. I think it's wrong - he got it wrong...but that's just my opinion. It wasn't nearly as funny as book 2 in the series - but, overall it was good. I'm still pissed about this one couple, and I can't let go of it - but my friend read the series too and she said she liked it...so I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

Sweet Water by Anny Jeffrey...not worth the time. Such a slow progressing book. Most of the time when I read a book - I fly through it...I just can't wait to turn the page...this one felt like it took FOREVER to get to the damn point. I do NOT recommend this one.

This Little Piggy went to the Liqour Store by A.K. Turner - not worth it...the reviews talked about how "funny" this book was. I didn't see it. It was dumb. Didn't like it - again...took forever to get to a plot...the book was a lot like my blogs...just incessant rambling...except that it is 202 pages book of rambles. do NOT recommend

I think that is all I've read for the last couple of days...I feel like I am missing one or two....oh, well - I'm sure I will catch them somewhere!

Just Wow

The kids are on the mend...at least I freaking hope so. We went to the doctor...which I hated doing because I am not an idiot and I already knew what was happening...but there was still that slight fear that something else MIGHT be wrong, so I took the kids...paid $60 for them to tell me to make sure they drink lots of fluids, rest, and give tylenol or motrin to keep the fever down...it's the flu! I totally should have been an effing doctor! Did I mention Logan was not happy about this visit - yeah, told me over and over that we was fine, didn't need to go...we got there, he wouldn't get out of the truck, said he would just wait in the truck. I finally got him to tell me he didn't want to get a shot! Geesh, kid, you aren't getting a shot, the doctor is just going to give you a little look, make sure everything is working well and see what we can do about the cough. As we walked into the office I found myself praying that they didn't give him a shot...I really didn't want to be a liar.

Yesterday was Lanrdry's worst...her fever got up to 104.3, and I was ready to rush to the ER, but I waited it about, and annoyingly kept asking her random questions (I admit, I was a little concerned about brain damage)..maybe the "should have been a doctor" isn't the greatest idea. Anyway, for most of the day her fever was 103...I think she was only AWAKE for about 2 total hours all day, and mostly because I kept waking her up to drink some fluids, take some medicine and ask stupid questions. For some reason I can never just be ON the line...I'm either on one side or the other..."Oh, you're fine" or "OH MY GOD, call 911".

Anyway, while the kids have been sick, we have spent almost every day laying around the house...somehow - I still haven't caught the flu - THANK YOU ANTIBODIES...my immune system must have super power, because the kids have kissed me, taken my drinks, snuggled with me...yeah, their germs have MOST definitely been all up in my grill! While lounging, I haven't done much more than READ -READ - READ. I checked my Amazon cache...I gotta say, I was a bit surprised to find out I have read 73 books already this year. I'm a bit of a freak I guess!

So, about these books...here is a good series I started...there are 4 books...or 5 depending on your taste. If you're looking for steamy but in a milder manner check out Friends with...benefits series by Luke Young there are 4 books in the series. I have to say - book 2, so far, is my favorite...it is seriously LOL funny...JR was a little worried about me at one point because I couldn't stop laughing. As I went to purchase book 4 today, I found out that this series come in a more explicit version so I bought book 4 in the (more) erotica version, If you want to start the series and you know you like things a little spicier, check out the Victoria Wilde series by Ian Dalton. This is the same author, he just uses a different pen name for his erotica books, and in this verison he even wrote a prequel to get some background info on Victoria. I haven't read the prequel, because I just found out about it 20 minutes ago...don't know if I will go back to read it, since I have already read 3 books, so I feel like I know her character pretty well...but we will see. Anyway, Great books...Hoping book 4 gets back to the amazingness of book 2...book 3 was a good, but was no where near as good as book 2.
Another good series is The Kowalskis by Shannon Stacey...so far I have only read two of them..."Undeniably Yours" and "Exclusively Yours" but I plan to read some of the others. Really good...I have no idea where the series starts, I'm thinking its just one of those things were it's about the same group of people but you can read them independently...at least I haven't found anything anywhere that shows and order to the books. Anyway - give it a shot.

Undercover Heat by Danielle LaBue is a pretty good one. It's a little crazy at times, but still good. This is just a romance novel, there aren't any steamy scenes that will cause you to chase your husband around the house, but still its a good story.

Save the Date (Modern Arrangements) by Sadie Grubor and Monica Black...OMG soooo sooo good. I will warn you, this book is awesome! There is SO much sexual tension, but that's just it...just the tension. Nothing graphic, but the book, the story line, characters...everything - so, so good. Something you should DEFINITELY know...I am so pissed about this book - why? Because of it's awesomeness...you get to the end, and OH SHIT! CLIFFHANGER...the second book doesn't come out until March. I CAN NOT wait for the release of book two! Usually I try not to read an anthology book, unless there are already a few out...but I didn't realize that this had a part 2...and now I am stuck waiting for the second book for this one, The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden which was HUGE cliffhanger and The Secret of Ella and Micha Damn you Jessica Sorenson! Anyway...these 3 books are HIGHLY anticipated.

Some terrible books - Hot Coco (The unbridles series) by Cindy McDonald...honestly - I shouldn't say anything about this one because I didn't even get half way through...I read about 50 pages and just couldn't keep going, so maybe it is someone else's cup of tea...it wasn't even worth trying to wait around for something good to happen to me.
Fire and Ice (an erotic novel) by Marlene Darcy, I hated it. I thought it was poorly written...couldn't really identify with the whiny protagonist. She was really annoying - I wouldn't reccommend it!

I think that about covers the last few days. Enjoy, and check out one of these books if you get a chance! Also, I am always open to book suggestions from the readers!

Recovery -

We are back from Vegas! We lost our butts off, but had such a great time. We have spent the entire weekend trying to recover for the lack of sleep, but we came home to two kids with the flu, so we are watching them try to recover too! Today is day 5 for Logan and day 4 for Landry! Poor kiddos.
At the end of our recovery....we are gearing up for another gambling trip to Coushatta for Vanessa's birthday at the end of February. I am really looking forward to it! LOL...Gamblers anonyous, anyone?

Books - First I will start with the good ones...Private Passions (Private series)by Jami Alden. All three are very good.
Unleashed by Cherrie Lynn, Leave me Breathless (leather and Lace series) also by Cherrie Lynn...very good books. Escorted by Claire Kent...very very good. Paradise Awakening (Passion in Paradise series) by Jaci Burton

blah books: (anywhere from 1 to 3 stars in rating)
Ryan's Return by Barbara Freethy **
Hardball by V.K. Sykes ***
Into the Arms of a Cowboy by Isabelle Ashe **
Kidnapped the wrong sister by Marie Kelley ***
Impact (Wild men of Alaska series) by Tiffinie Helmer -The books in this series are short probably about 120 pages or less...some are better than others, but good for a quick short read - ***
Right Moves (Playing with the Boys series) by Ava McKnight *
Candy Store by Bella Andre **


I may have mentioned some of these in a previous post...can't remember - in the last few days I have read only 1 book that was worth it's weight and that was "Unleashed" by Cherrie Lynn. I would still only give is 4 stars...but I love her writing, and the book was really good.

Cart before the horse...

JR is freaking me out...and I don't need any help in that department. Tomorrow is the big day! We leave for Vegas at noon tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. I have been trying to focus on the excitement and not the anxiety...which was going pretty well until last night.

If you don't know this about me - I am a little on the crazy side. I say this jokingly, because I am not REALLY crazy, I just have issues. I am not a great traveller. I get motion sickness VERY easily, and I have a tough of claustrophobia...I'm okay in a car - mostly, unless it's a really long trip and we dont stop for a long period of times...then everything closes in on me, it gets hard to breathe, and I start having a little panic attack. It's not pretty, and JR is usually pretty good about it. I can NOT travel in the backseat...unless I have plenty of room...sometimes laying down will help with the claustrophobia, but it increases the motion sickness. I HATE elevators with a passion...after using an elevator it usually takes at least half an hour to start breathing okay again...I try to always take the stairs. The last time I was on a plane was nearly 4 years ago, on our last trip to Vegas. Between the motion sickness, and the closed off space, it was a disaster. I spent the first leg of the trip vomitting my butt off. Then I got some dramamine at the airport in Denver, I took an extra dose, and knocked myself out for the secong leg of the flight. I repeated the process for the flight home.

Anyway, JR started telling last night that I should wear something really comfortable for the flight there and back. He said I should either wear a V-neck or a button down shirt (he knows me well, I usually start trying to tear my shirt off at the neck because I panic and feel like the shirt is actually trying to strangle me). Then he goes on to tell me how nervous HE is about travelling with me, and that maybe I should run to doctor for an anti-anxiety pill that I could use for the flights. The thing is...I don't want to me knocked out...well, for the flight - yes - I NEED to be knocked out, but once we land - I am going straight to the hotel, changing clothes, and hitting the casino, and I don't want to feel water logged! So I think I am going to just stick to the dramamine, and hopefully that will be fine, but every since he started talking about it last night, I feel like my chest is already constricting and I am getting very nervous about the flights. Grrrr! I know he was just trying to help...wanting to make sure I was as comfortable as possible, but I wish he would have waited until tomorrow morning to say anything...that way I only had a couple of hours to panic instead of 2 days! Grrr!

On the plus side...I'm GOING TO VEGAS TOMORROW! Now if I can just concentrate on that pasrt of it instead of how we are going to get there...

So much to do...

3 more days people...3 more days! I cant wait! Vegas, here we come!

Yesterday was busy! We had a birthday party from 2-5 for one of Landry's friends. It was really cute because it was a pajamma party. All these little girls running around in pj's. So adorable...and LOUD! Very, very loud! The birthday party was for Tatum, and luckily her brother is Logan's best friend, so the boys just hung out playing video games. At one moment, I got a little freaked as I saw a brief glimpse into my future! Geez! Anyway, afterwards we went to New Braunfels to meet up with my parents and sister and as a surprise my dad brought my mom's best friends. Happy 50th brithday dinner! woohoo. I can't believe my mom is turning 50 tomorrow! The funny part is that we didn't leave the birthday party in time to get the kids changed, so they went to my mom's birthday dinner in their jammies! LOL Oh well!

Today, we are supposed to be cleaning...instead - we are watching football. Ughhh I am seriously going to have so much to do in order to get this place what we call "white glove ready". I just can't have my mom staying here with dishes in the sink and laundry everywhere! On the other hand, it's good I have so much to do...maybe then I wont be counting down the hours until I depart for the airport!

Seriously, so excited - and it turns out some good friends of ours are going to be staying across the street from us...we moved our hotel reservation after looking at some of the reviews....anyway, it will be neat to hang out with some friends while we are there - but, I don't know if we will do anything other than dinner, because I plan to sit at the roulette table or in the poker rooms the entire time! I may not even sleep - EVER! LOL

Excitement!!!

So super excited right now! 6 days from now I will be heading to VEGAS! It is getting so close, and I am so ready. At the same time - it's a little excrutiating because JR and I know how close it is, and it's like the excitement is wearing us out. We have become SO LAZY. I still haven't taken down the Christmas tree, and my house is quickly becoming over run with clutter. I need to get my arse in gear.

I've been doing this thing wear I do the laundry, but after taking the clothes out of the dryer, I just throw it all on the bed in the guest room and then start the next load. Now the bed is piled high with clean - but super wrinkled clothes. I figure I can just wash them all again...it allows me to get the wrinkles out - AND delay the folding. If you can't tell, I absolutely HATE folding clothes. It isn't so much the gathering, washing, and drying...it's not even the putting them away that bothers me...it's the folding. They seriously need to make some sort electonic folder....it should have settings for different types of folds "shirt", you just lay the shirt flat, and it automatically folds it...or better yet - it has some sort of claw, so all you have to do is lay all your shirts in maybe a large bowl shaped thingy that maybe stays heated and continuously tumbles, to prevent wrinkles - then the claw comes in grabs a shirt, moves it to a flat board, where its neatly spread out and then folded. Oh and then there could be another mechanical arm thingy that somehow scoops the shirt and transfers it to the side, and then starts stacking them. Then when your shirts are finished you just switch the setting to "pants", throw all the pants in the warming bowl, and bam - Automatically folding machine. Yeah - I've put some thought into this. I really hate folding.

Wanted to give a shout out to some pretty good books, I read 2 that are not worth mentioning, I wont even waste the time...but someone you could look out for is Lauren Dane...she's excellent. Really love her books - ANY of them, "The Chase Brothers" series was awesome...very yummy. Also, Jaci Burton - I just read a "The Kent Brothers Trilogy" - really, really good...all three of them - they aren't really books, more like novella's. Probably around 120 pages each book, so I usually count these as just one book. IN my head it has to be at least 250 pages to be considered a book. The point is that they were really, really good and because I like her writing so much I am going to read another series she has..."Play by play"...anyway, check her out. Good stuff.
And Finally, I am currently reading "On Dublin Street" by Samantha Young. I'm a little more than half way through the book, and WOW! It's a good one. I'm loving it, if your interested, check out the link, and you can read about it on Amazon and decide what to do.

Just wanted to say, the reason I link these books/authors to Amazon is because that is where I get them from. My amazon account is linked to my Kindle, but if you use a different site for purchasing books - it really shouldn't matter. All you need is the Author and name of the book and you can find it at which ever site you use for yourself...I know some people with iPad's and iPhones use soemthing different, but it really shouldn't be that big of a deal.

When should you start?

Perhaps it's because of my impending 30th birthday (6 more months), or maybe it's because of my own nueroses, or maybe even my own sudden interest in taking care of my skin, but I recently starting wondering what age you should start teaching your children (daughters especially) about skin care.

Every one is different, obviously, but I was never taught anything about skin care. This is not a slight against my mother, but it was obviously something she did not concern herself with...even though she raised 3 daughters. Perhaps it was because she was so young and it wasn't something she worried about for herself - so why worry about teaching it to her kids? Or, maybe she just didn't care about wrinkles? My mother is exactly 20.5 years older than me. Her birthday is January 14, 1963 (YUP! She's going to be 50 in just a few days), and mine is June 14, 1983. I remember growing up, I had the young mom. Her skin always seemed so flawless to me. Sure, she had the occasional pimple or what not, but her skin was so smooth. She even looked younder than her age at the time...which I think she actually hated. Over the last few years - maybe 5 or 6, I have noticed my mothers aging. I think she still looks great. She is a very pretty woman, but her pores have become larger, her wrinkles have deepened a bit, and her looks are starting to catch up to her actual age. Does she look 50? I don't really think so, maybe 45, but still I remember when she turned 40, she looked MAYBE 31 - 32. Of course, a lot has happened in those 10 years. She now has 4 grandchildren, Vanessa went off to college - graduated - became a big girl (paying that tuition was probably stressful), Randi moved home, got a divorce, then disappeared. For nearly 3 years my parents were basically raising my niece and nephew. My grandfather passed away...anyway, the point is that I am sure that the stresses of the last 10 year contributed a wrinkle here and there - which led me to the thought, Can skin care stave off wrinkles? Is it a myth, or real?

My mom never taught us about washing your face, or making sure to remove your make-up, or even how to apply make-up. I didn't start wearing make-up until the 8th grade, and I'm pretty sure the first few times it was applied horribly. I do remember seeing girls with that famous orange streak across their jaw line, and I am sure I sported it too a few times, but I knew I didn't like it, so my make-up application quickly became powder and mascara. I don't think I ever even applied blush until junior prom! Even today, when I wear make-up, it's very basic. I don't even use powder anymore, just some blush, eye shadow, and mascara. My little sister is one of those that can artfully apply make-up. The works, the base, foundation, blush, she can do the perfect tri-color eye shadow application, the eye liner (which I've NEVER really understood and always end up poking it into my eye when I try...I've given up trying)...anyway, she's a master at make-up. She even has all different colors. I have one eye shadow...it's a honey brown color, and I've had it for about 8 years now. DId you know make-up expires? I had no idea. My best friend, Dana, told me that about a year ago when I told her I still have the same powder since high school. Guess what? I still haven't replaced it. Maybe before Vegas I will go replace all my make up??? Who knows.

Sorry for the ramble....right before the holidays we had some family photos taken....upon looking at the pics, I noticed so many wrinkles on my face. For some time now, I have noticed my pores getting larger and larger (also, my face is getting harrier - really freaking me out, by the way). Then as we were driving to Houston for Christmas, I notices these terrible wrinkles...ON MY EARS! FREAKY, right? So, when we got back, I went to buy some anti-wrinke cream...well, if you've ever been to this aisle, then you understand - There are like 9 MILLION different types of face creams. I had no idea what I was doing, so I just bought several, plus a couple different types of face wash. I decided I would start washing my face every morning and evening before bed AND put the cream on my face. I started on the second (I'm really weird about starting stuff on the 1st, because then I feel like it's a resolution, and if I stop doing it for some reason then I feel like a failure and that my entire year will be bad for not keeping my own resolution..I know, I'm a freak!) It was been one week, my face still looks the same to me...I have no reduction on wrinkles, my skin is not tighter, my pores are not smaller....BUT my face is very soft! I haven't seen a reduction in pimples either...but then again, my friend IS visiting, so we will see. I know it's only been a week which isn't a long enough time to decide the validity of skin creams...also, I have to do some research and find out what THE HELL I am doing. What is the difference between a toner, a moisturizer, anti-aging cream, anti-wrinkle cream? Geez, there is so much more not to mention the different brands. Luckily, the stuff I bought was all in the little travel sizes, so I figured A) cheaper, and B)isn't such a waste if I find out it isn't the right thing to use.

So the point of this...what age should I start teaching Landry how to take care of her skin? Not just her face, but all of her skin (which I need to do too, but I'm starting with my face and neck!) I don't want her freaking out about wrinkles when she's 10, but I do want her to know the importance of taking care of herself...not because I want her to be 50 before she gets a wrinkle, but because I think you shouldn't have to be staring down the nose of 30 before you actually start thinking about these things. I mean, really, shouldn't I know all of this stuff by now?

Punching you husband...good or bad?

I love my husband, I really do, but there are moments that I have an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face. First of all, I need to say that this man puts up with me on a daily basis and that fact alone pretty much qualifies him for sainthood. He is an amazing man, a wonderful husband, and the best father I could ever choose or want for my children. I just want to be clear, I love my husband.

HOWEVER - sometimes basic humanity gets in the way. We are selfish creatures. It's a fact. Animals in the wild will kill their own family members if they have to, it happens. My little monthly friend is visiting, I know - TMI, but it's important to point this out because you need to understand that I am not a rational being and when my friend comes every month...all bets are off.

So why do I want to punch my husband?

JR has this irritating thing where he offers to do something as if it would be some great help to me, when really, it's for him.

This morning (and this isn't the first time he's done this), JR's alarm goes off, and goes off again, and then again, and after the 4th time, I tell him to either turn the damn thing off or go somewhere else. Just as I start to drift off...MY alarm goes off! Ughhhh.

It's kind of like that feeling where you wake up 30 minutes before you have to and you're irritated because you know you can't get back to sleep, but you would do just about anything to get that 30 extra minutes of sleep.

Anyway, so JR, oh so sweetly (sarcasm) offers to stay with Landry while I get Logan ready and take him to school. But really this is his way of staying in bed and getting an extra 45 minutes of sleep

To be fair - this actually is a big help because I don't have to worry about waking Landry up and getting her dressed and fed. Instead of dealing with 2 kids, I only have 1, which is easier, and faster.

But I wasn't in a thankful mood this morning, so instead, I pretty much growled at him and told him if he really wanted to help, he could get HIS butt out of bed and take Logan to school, and I could stay with Landry. (Yes, basically, I am saying the same thing - you go take care of Logan and I will go back to sleep!) It's only fair since I haven't gotten any sleep and had to listen to your DAMN alarm going of all morning!

Let me explain...my monthly visitor has two personalities...she's kind of psychotic that way - one is where she comes, does her thing, and then goes - the other is where she comes, zaps me of all my strength, tires me out completely and wages an unholy war on my insides, squeezes the shit out of nerves in my back so that I get lovely shooting pains down my legs for DAYS...yeah, my friend...she can be a real bitch sometimes. Let's just say it's her sadistic side that's visiting this month.
On top of that - oh yeah, there's more - because of my cramps, and the leg situation, I didn't get to sleep until nearly 2 last night.
Then, Logan apparently crawled in bed with us, and JR took it upon himself to try to suffocate me with his big bear arms, when he threw them over my face. And THEN...the whole alarm thing. Obviously, I didn't get a lot of sleep.
JR on the other hand, came home from work early yesterday and took a 3 hour nap before parking himself in from of the tv to watch the National Chapionship Game. I told him I couldn't cook because my legs hurt too much to stand for that long and my stomach felt like it was being ripped to shreds. He said he would take care of it, so I went back to my fetal position in the guest room. At 9, I hear the kids still playing, so I go to take care of THAT situation...they are supposed to be in bed by 8:30. Logan says he's hungry..."JR, where's dinner?"
"Oh, I gave them some cereal." He's still watching football! ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I make Logan some more cereal, and make myself a bowl too...seriously...so pissed, which was probably also an attributing factor to my attitude this morning.

Anyway - so I get up this morning, get Logan awake, get him dressed, fed, and teeth brushed. I'm packing up his snack, when JR strolls into the room and says HE will take Logan to school. OH MY GOD...I'm going to punch him in the FACE!!!! So he laid in bed for an extra 20 minutes while I was dragging my ass around getting Logan ready, and then he stolls down like some sort of hero for taking Logan to school. I call BULLSHIT! Logan was crying because he wanted me to take him, so I tell him not to worry. I get him in the car....there is no reason for my baby to start his day off badly just because mommy and daddy are...so I tell him it's okay, and I will gladly take him. I slide the gear into reverse and look up to see Jr walking out to his truck. I ask what he's doing and he says he has to get to work.
ME "Ummm, I thought you were staying with Landry until I could get back."
JR "Well, that's just great, now I'm going to be late to work."
I can't really express the level of rage I felt at that moment, but instead of saying something snarky, or blowing up, I just shrugged and backed out the driveway. Took Logan to school, and came home.

Seriously, I know my hormones are all out of whack, and that I'm a highly irrational person, but sometimes I just don't understand that man....and sometimes I have an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.

BTW- I do not, in any way, condone violence. You should always use your words and not fists, and be careful with your words because sometimes they can be more harmful than fists. I do however have occasional violent thoughts...I just try like hell not to act on them!

BOOKS...

I have been thinking about the amount of reading I do. I decided not to set a goal for myself this year and just see where it takes me. I also thought about listing some of the books I've read and maybe a mini-review...I guess we will see how that goes throughout the year, but for now - here we go.

Over the weekend I read The Worth Series by Mara Jacobs, so far there are three books in the series with another scheduled to come out in the spring. It was my first time to read her work, but I'm glad I did...I've become a fan.

Book 1 - Worth the Weight (The nice one) - Lizzie, ultra successful in her professional life, but not in her personal life decided three years ago to get her life in order. For twelve years she's used food to block having to feel any real emotions. Obviously, she became obese. Then has an epiphany and spends the next three years working hard to lose the weight. The problem is, she's pretty emotionally scarred, but still refuses to acknowlege those scars. She sets up a plan to go back to the "Yoop" or the U.P.(the upper penninsula in Michigan, and with a little help from her two best friends from childhood, she's going to "Find, Fuck, and Forget Finn Robbins." Her old flame.

Finn Robbins never really got over Elizabeth Hampton, but life goes on. So when she shows up nearly 18 years later, he can't believe he might have a chance to finally be with Liz. He's not looking for longterm, but maybe he can finally mark "Screw Liz Hampton" off his bucket list. Lucky for him she suggests the no strings, summer fling.

Unfortunately, the plan is flawed. For one, Finn has two kids, one who is a wheel chair and in need of a very expensive operation. Liz steps in and does what she does best to organize a fundraiser. The problem is they are spending far too much time together...surrounded by others and NOT in the horizontal postition they both want to be in. Can Finn and Liz stay emotionally detached from each other, or will sex cause their feelings to blossom...and if it does - then what? He's a Yooper and she owns her own PR company in Detroit.

This was a really good book, if it wasn't, I wouldn't have moved on to book 2 -

Worth the Drive (The pretty one) - This story moves to Liz's best friend Katie. After 17 years with her husband - he packs up and moves out to be with a 20 year old ex-student, who is pregnant with his child. Not only does she lose the love of her life...but he's finally having a baby, just not with her, because she can't have one. Even though the doctors never could find anything physically wrong...after 10 years of trying to conceive, and still no baby - well, it's pretty obvious - she is lacking a woman. She heads to Texas with Lizzie. Liz is going for business - to try to sign on a pro golfer for her PR firm, Katie is going because she needs to get away from the Yoop since Ron (her ex) published the birth announcement of his baby girl two months ago.

She meets Dario Luna, a three time Majors winner, who's career she's followed for nearly 20 years. On her first night she has a little too much to drink and ends up telling Dario about her marriage and her inability to have a baby of her own. On the second (and last night in Texas), as she's getting ready for dinner with Dario, Liz drops a bomb on her. Still reeling from the direction her life for the last 7 months - she decides to seduce Dario.

2 months later...yup, miracle of miracles - Katie is pregnant. She tells Dario and they make a plan to get to know each other...Dario has his own issues from being raised without a father, and there is no way he wont be part of his child's life...now they just have to see if they can connect other than in the bedroom.

This was my least favorite book in the series - mostly because their was too much angst - I spent too much time being irritated with both Katie and Dario - It was still good, I just spent a lot of time wanting to bash their heads together and scream "COMMUNICATE"! Even though it was my least favorite, there was no way I was going to miss Alison's story!

Book 3 - Worth the Fall (The Smart One) - Waking up with a throbbing head - and body - and some delicious scenes floating in and out of her mind, Alison realizes she's in bed- with Petey Ryan....AGAIN! For someone so smart...she sure is dumb.

This book takes you back and forth from present day to 18 years ago, when the real story of Pete and Alison began. Pete is Lizzie's best friend, and her first client when she started her own business. He's been playing in the NHL for 15 years, and it's time to call and end to his hockey career. Unfortunately, a slip on the ice while visiting his parents, pushes the end date up several months.

Alison is struggling - she took the semester off from teaching Psychology at State in order to help more with her elderly parents and deal with her patients. Her dad is suffering from severe Alzheimer's and her mom is just diagnosed with dementia. Between her patients and her parents, she doesn't really have time to focus on her. Somehow (well really, because they caught her when she was too exhausted to argue), Liz decided Pete will stay with Alison, until his knee heals enough to manage the stairs.

There are 18 years of memories to contend with and some extreme sexual attraction...Will they work out the issues stemmed from so long ago. Can they mend the broken hearts and make a go of it?

Really good book! Loved this one...probably my favorite because of the witty remarks of Alison. I really liked her personality from the first book, so reading her story was a no brainer for me.

Another really great book is The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen...really- really great book...there is a sequel coming....hopefully VERY soon. This is a young adult book and deals with really heavy issues for both characters, especially at such young ages. You heart just kind of breaks for these to kids, who are both escaping some terrible situations at home to start a new life in college. They both come together to overcome their own personal tragedies, but when they go home for the holiday break - another tragedy, may just tear them apart forever...Honestly, I can't tell you if it does or not - because that's literally how the book ends - CLIFFHANGER much? I assume things will work out since there is a second book coming - but I can't imagine the challenges that they will face! Ohmigosh - so good, getting excited just writing this.

Also by Jessica Sorensen, The Secret of Ella and Micha. Again, young adult, with really heavy issues, but still very good. Best friends all their lives - one night sends Ella running. After 8 months of no contact, she comes back home and has to face the music...and Micha. Micha is scared to push too hard, too soon in fear that Ella will run off again, so he has to be careful. Ella has spent the last eight months becoming a different person, but every moment she spends with Micha uncovers just a little of her former self inch by inch. She has to be careful or she just might lose that control she's worked so hard to contain!

One More, and I'm done for the day - Someone to Love by Addison Moore. Another young adult book - but a little older than the other two, and not nearly as dark. The premise of this book - 20 year old virgin Kendall Jordan looks to and older (24 or 25 year old) Cruise Elton to teach her the ways of sex. She doesn't believe in love - her mother's 5 divorces have taken care of that. And Cruise is nothing more than a campus manwhore...well, he recently became one when he got his heart crushed. If neither of them believe in love anymore - having a purely sexual relationship shouldn't be a problem, right?

Sad Desk Salad

It's time for me to write my book review. I should have done this weeks ago, but I was so busy reading and trying to meet my yearly goal! I not only met my goal, I exceeded it. I read a whopping 476 books for the year 2012. Now it's time to clean out the cache in my Amazon account so I can keep count of how many I read for 2013.

LIke I said, I read this book a few weeks ago. I was really excited about the prospect of reviewing a book online. When I came across the well-read wife blog, I was thrilled to find out I had been chosen as part as her book club. She chose 20 people and sent us each a copy of the book. The anticipation of the book arriving in my mailbox was a little on the crazy side. Finally, my book arrived and reality set in. I am not a great writer. My sentences are sometimes fragments, sometimes run-ons. I rarely make a point because my mind is constantly going and half the time I forget the point I am trying to make and just ramble on and on. So, I was afraid to read the book, because that meant I would have to write the review. I finally read it, mainly because curiosity outweighed my fear. Now I have thought of what I could write for two weeks that would make me sound smart and witty - I got nothing! I woke up this morning and decided I would just write what I write. This is just a warning that it may not make sense to you, the punctuation will be bad, and the content will most likely be dreadful. I am not a professional writer. I should be a professional reader, because I am super addicted. The only way for me to do this review is to write as if I was talking to a friend about the book...so, hear goes!

Sad Desk Salad by Jessica Grose

It was a little hard to get in to. In fact, it took me nearly 50 pages to actually become interested. The book is set over a one week span of time in which Alex Lyons (the main character) battles her job, friends, boyfriend, herself, and a psycho blogger determined to bring down Chick Habit (the celebrity website Alex works for), but more specifically, Alex.
It was really hard to relate to Alex. She is a 25 year old with writing ambitions of granduer. She takes a job writing for Chick Habit, a celebrity gossip site, because she figures that writing is writing. The problem is that it is basically sucking the life out of her. I understand the ambitious 25 year old, but her neuroses is off the chart. Half the time I thought she was going to have a mental break at any moment. Alex works from home, she rarely showers, she wears the same outfit over and over - and it's a muumuu...not even an attractive outfit, she works non-stop...it's honestly a little horrifying. She has a live in boyfriend, Peter, and all I could think was why he was still with her. She treats him like crap, she smells, sleeps in sandy clothes, works constantly, she whines. Yuck! After reading through most of the book I reminded myself that it takes place over the course of one week. Alex is actually a very typical girl. It's hard to believe that the shenanigans she got herself into happened over the course of one week. She's just young...in some aspects she seems more like 20 than 25, but she's just a girl trying so hard to please her mom and not really knowing what she wants for herself. It's one of those things where you tell yourself you want to be a doctor for so long you dont have a clue what else you could possibly do. In her case it's a writer.
When a tip comes in with a video of a half-naked daughter of a politician doing drugs in her Ivy league dorm room, Alex faces some hard choices. 1) Post the video, and secure her place at her job, but most likely ruin someone's life. Or 2) Ignore the tip, and possibly lose her job - which to Alex equates to basically losing her life and disappointing her mother. Her choice causes an implosion of her life, including the start up of a hate blog BTCH (Breaking the Chick Habit) which starts sending Alex threats. Luckily, she has that one person that we all need, Jane, her very best friend. The type of friend that calls you on your crap, encourages you, pushes you, and loves you unconditionally.
While trying to comes to terms with her decisions, Peter, her boyfriend of 3 years leaves her, Jane lays it all on the line in terms that Alex might actually understand, and her mom gives her the kind of advice a lot of moms do...the whole, "Only you know what's right for you." Grrr. Alex sets out to right some wrongs. She has to find the person responsible for BTCH, find the politician's daughter who is suddenly missing, figure out what to do about Peter, and decide what she really wants from life and the kind of person she wants to be.

All in all, it was a pretty good book. I would give it 3 stars. There were some really slow parts, I felt like there were way to many mentionings of pop culture - one or two...even 5 is okay, but this book was boombarded with it. It was a fun, fast paced read, but I am not a big fan of books where I spend the majority of the book being mad at the protagonist. It's a little annoying at times, but it was still entertaining, and I read it in one sitting, so it couldn't have been too bad!

Check out Mandy's Blogger Book Club #MBBCWRW for discussions and the reviews of the other 19 people, you can go get the book and join in the fun!