It's National Eat What You Want Day!

Sorry, this is a bit late, but I just found out about it. I generally celebrate it every day, but it's nice to know there's an official designation. Here are some suggestions of yummy things to try if you need help.


Some of my favorite foods are:

Ribeye steak with mushrooms and onions.

Philly cheese steak- my favorite version is from the Philly Deli back home and comes with ham & mushrooms in addition to the cheese & onions

This is what the Formaggio Bene pizza from Incredible Gourmet Pizza in Wilmington looks like. White cheese, garlic, shredded basil, and a touch of olive oil. Bliss!

Nobody in my family can agree on the spelling or pronunciation of these (google spelled it fleischkuechle), but we all agree that they are one of the best things on Earth! How can you go wrong with what is basically a fried meat turnover?!?

Last, but not least, on my favorite foods for today:

Can I find this ANYWHERE in Kentucky?!? Hell no.

Here I Go Again- Jen Lancaster

This is Jen's second novel and quite a hoot to read. The main character is Melissa "Lissy" Ryder. Lissy was a high school homecoming queen/cheerleader/leader of the mean girls posse/snotty witch. You know the type- think Mean Girls meets Heathers. She spent her high school years running roughshod over everyone and the following years coasting on what she believed to be her past glory.

Then the proverbial rug gets yanked out from under her feet.

Suddenly Lissy finds herself broke, unemployed, single, and fat. And living with her parents. Things can't get worse, right? Wrong. She gets an invitation to her class reunion.

Thinking she can relive her glory days, and praying that her former classmates all have wretched lives, she goes. Things don't go the way she'd hoped. Most of her former victims are amazingly successful. Her ex-husband is there with a Sofia Vergara lookalike. People are lining up to take metaphorical jabs at her and her BFF has given up and walked away in disgust.

Only one person takes pity on Lissy- Deva, formerly Debbie, who has become a New Age practitioner. Deva took all the negativity heaped on her from Lissy and channeled it into something positive. She feels truly sorry for the girl who made her life hell and offers to help her by giving Liss a potion. "Only take one drop a day!"

Liss makes her way home and thinks Deva is a nut. Why be nice to someone who was so rotten to her? But it's not like she has anything to lose at this point, so she tries the potion. It doesn't taste too awful, so she has some more. And some more....and then she falls asleep...

...only to wake up in her old room. Nothing shocking there- she's had to move back in with her parents. Then she realizes that she's not just in her old room- she's in her old body! That's right...Lissy Ryder is 17 again. Now maybe she can right the wrongs of her past and have a brighter future!

Well, almost. She changes the past, and winds up with the kind of future she dreamed of. The problem is, she kind of screwed everyone else up in doing it, but is enlightened enough to care. So now she has to find Deva, get more of the potion, and try again. Does she succeed? Does she get a Happily-Ever-After without ruining it for everyone?

You'll have to read it for yourself. And if you're like me, you'll wind up digging out your old Whitesnake recordings.

"I don't know where I'm going...but I sure know where I've been..."

Etiquette & Espionage- Gail Carriger

I believe I reviewed Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series in an earlier post. This is the first book in the Divine Miss Gail's new Finishing School Series for YA readers. It's set in the same world, but earlier than the PP books and you encounter some familiar faces in their youth.

The heroine, Sophronia, is my kind of girl. More interested in how things work and the world around her than is considered proper, she is 'banished' to finishing school after an incident involving visitors, a trifle, and the family dumbwaiter. An attack by air pirates as she is on her way to school makes Soph wonder just what kind of school this is.

She finds out pretty quickly. This school isn't just about learning nice manners and gentility. The girls also learn the finer points of espionage, battle with the air pirates again, and learn how to coexist with vampires & werewolves. And Sophronia adopts the cutest mechanical dog, Bumbersnoot. Reading about him made me want one of my own.

I can't say much more without spoilers, but suffice it to say that it's a worthy addition to my library. I'm looking forward to book 2, due out much later this year, and the sequels to the Parasol Protectorate that are also forthcoming!

5 Books Due In 2013 That I Am DYING To Read...

Jen writes fiction as well as she writes humor!



 WANT. Seriously. THIS should be EPIC.

Written by my favorite Fantasy author, illustrated by one of my favorite artists- WIN

Culinary mystery with a paranormal splash...

This one is actually out now in the UK, but probably won't be released in the US until next year.

Concert tales, part 3: Duran Duran

Christmas 2004- My mother bought me one of the best Christmas presents ever. Duran Duran announced the tour for their Astronaut album and they were coming to Louisville in 2005! Mom got me a 3rd row seat!



Oh, was I ready for this! 20+ years of fandom and I was FINALLY getting to see Simon Le Bon live and in person. 3rd Row? Whooohooooo!

Looking around the auditorium, I realized I was the only woman in the Old Queens with Young Boyfriends section. Not a problem. It might get me noticed. (it did- explanation coming up in a minute) I started chatting with some of my seatmates during the opening act and it was like we were all old friends by the time Simon & the boys hit the stage.

I shrieked, I danced, I sang, I hugged every gay man in Louisville. Then the band launched into "Save A Prayer." Simon said that in the old days, he used to look out and see a sea of cigarette lighters burning in the crowd when they did that song. "But since nobody smokes anymore, RIGHT? Just hold up your cell phones or whatever you've got that lights up." *I* was prepared & had a lighter.

The song ended and Simon was cracking up. "I saw real lighters! Not many, but there were some! Turn the lights on, I want to see the brave souls who had them!" OMG. The boys around me all screamed "Get that thing up in the air, girl!" and helped me stand on my seat so Simon would see me/us. And he did, after he'd pointed out a few on the other side and in the balcony. "BLOODY HELL, Love, are you THEIR date?!?" (seriously, I had six gay men holding me up)

Catch me lest I faint. SIMON BLOODY LeBON IS TALKING TO ME!!! The paralysis that hit when I met Rick Springfield was on vacation that night. I screamed back, "No, but I can be YOURS!" John Taylor started laughing. "Don't encourage him!" "WHY NOT?!?"

Sadly, I didn't get backstage after that show, and that was the last I got to speak to him, but that memory will live with me forever!

Personal Soundtrack

Everyone should have a personal soundtrack. Bill Cosby mentions in some of his early routines that "the monsters can't get you if you have your own music" and Keenan Ivory Wayans gets his own soundtrack at the end of "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka!"  I loved making mix-tapes (anyone else remember those or am I just old?) and still rip mix-cd's from my MP3 player. Some songs seem to make it onto nearly every tape/cd, others rotate in and out.  Here's a random list of 'my' songs for your amusement:

1. Nobody's Girl- Bonnie Raitt

2. Damn Your Eyes- Etta James

3. Tonight Is What it Means To Be Young- Fire Inc (from the Streets of Fire soundtrack)

4. Whenever I Call You Friend- Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks

5. The KKK Took My Baby Away- The Ramones (remind me to post the toll collector story someday)

6. You Never Even Called Me By My Name- David Allen Coe

7. Friends Don't Friends Dial Drunk- Plain White T's

8. Twilight Zone- Golden Earring

9. The Reflex- Duran Duran

10. Something of a Dreamer- Mary Chapin Carpenter

11. I've Done Everything For You- Rick Springfield

12. Friends in Low Places- Garth Brooks

13. I Feel Lucky- Mary Chapin Carpenter

14. Love Don't Roam- Neil Hannon (from the Doctor Who soundtrack)

15. What Makes You Beautiful- One Direction (ok, so that's a new one)

16. Enter Sandman- Metallica

17. Dragula- Rob Zombie

18. Fallen Angel- Poison

19. Headed For a Heartbreak- Winger

20. The Way That I Am- Martina McBride

21. I Drove All Night- Cyndi Lauper

22. She's In Love With the Boy- Trisha Yearwood

23. I Know Him So Well- from the original Chess soundtrack

24. Meaning of Life- Faith Hill

25. Save Up All Your Tears- Cher


This is by NO means a complete list  (obviously) and as soon as I hit publish on this I'm sure I'll think of another dozen songs that should have been included, but it gives you an idea of how eclectic my tastes are. (and how weird I am, but if you've been reading my blog, you probably already had a good idea of that) What are soem of the songs you'd include on YOUR personal soundtrack?

It's the little things...

Ok, in the hopes of cheering myself up, I am posting a list of a few things that make me happy. I think I've done this before, but that's ok. It's my blog and I can do that. LOL

1. My grumpy little black cat being affectionate and cuddly.

2. My big fat gray cat flopping down and showing me his belly in an attempt to entice me to play with him.

3. Turkey Hill Coffee Ice Cream (one of my newer addictions)

4. Getting packages in the mail.

5. Finding DVD's I really want to watch or books I want to read on serious sale on Amazon!

6. Getting new issues of my British Cross Stitching magazines

7. Playing Bewjeweled 3 & Jewel Quest on my cellphone

8. Selling books at the used book store and getting more money for them than expected

9. BACON!!!

10. That relaxed feeling when I wake up and realize it's a day off and I don't HAVE to get up and do anything if I don't want to

11. Finding new patterns by one of my favorite cross stitch designers

12. Mentally designing/decorating my dream house & planning the extensive trip I intend to take once I win the lottery


So what makes YOU happy? Leave a comment and let me know!

Frumpy The Clown- Judd Winick

 

I didn't watch MTV's The Real World, so I had no idea who Judd Winick was. I don't even remember how I found these books, but I'm SO glad I did. Frumpy is a 6 ft, chain smoking clown with anarchist tendencies. He moves in with a quasi-typical suburban family and proceeds to make everyone's life a litle more surreal. If you liked Bloom County, the Far Side, and Calvin & Hobbes, you'll probably love Frumpy!

Another look into my psyche via a favorite song...

RITA COOLIDGE


"We're All Alone"

Outside the rain begins and it may never end

So cry no more on the shore

A dream will take us out to sea

Forever more forever more

Close your eyes and dream

And and you can be with me

'Neath the waves through the caves of hours

Long forgotten now

We're all alone

We're all alone


Close the window

Calm the light

And it will be alright

No need to bother now

Let it out

Let it all begin

Learn how to pretend


Once a story's told

It can't help but grow old

Roses do

Lovers too

So cast your seasons to the wind

And hold me dear

Oh, hold me dear


Close the window

Calm the light

And it will be alright

No need to bother now

Let it out

Let it all begin

All's forgotten now

We're all alone

oh-oh, we're all alone


Close the window

Calm the light

And it will be alright

No need to bother now

Let it out

Let it all begin

Owe it to the wind, my love

Monday Musings- One of my favorite TV shows

Something a little different today, dear readers!  I loved this show when it first aired. The relationship between Hannah & Marty as they fumbled their way into falling in love, the interaction with their friends, loved ones, & coworkers, Hannah's wardrobe...well, it WAS the end of the 80's and cool at the time. I still love it and watch the DVD's repeatedly. My favorite episode is the 2nd one- Hannah thinks she's lost Marty's story in the computer, they have to pull an all-nighter to rewrite it, and a scheming co-worker sends in "romance expert" Anthony Amore (played by an over the top Taylor Negron) to derail their progress. You can tell that the actors were all having a lot of fun with this epsiode by the barely suppressed laughter that is clearly bubbling in them. Jamie Lee & Taylor come very close to cracking in one scene and I suspect it was probably not the first take they had to shoot. Any show that gets the entire cast singing and dancing to "Come A Little Bit Closer" is worth watching!

I keep searching online, hoping to find the later season has been released. John Ritter briefly joined the cast as a fellow journalist and rival for Hannah's affections and those episodes, along with the culmination of the love story were wonderful. Maybe I'll get lucky and find them someday...

Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development; Or, Why It's Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops Are Not for Dinner- Jen Lancaster

I LOVE me some Jen Lancaster. My first encounter with her was on MySpace, back in the days before it became internet-central for sleazy hookups & cheesy bands. She had posted a comment on a post I had copied from an email, chastising me for not giving credit to the author who turned out to be a firend of hers. I apologized for not posting information I didn't have, pointed out that I *had* put a dsiclaimer that it wasn't my work but I found it to be too funny not to share, and after verification of the author, changed the post to include that. She sent me a message apologizing if she'd come across as too harsh, but she was an author herself and that she appreciated me taking the time to A: verify the information and give credit where it was due, and B: Not send her a "GFY, B***h" message for telling me off in the first place. I asked what she had written (Bitter is the New Black) and put it on request at the library after she gave me the name of her book.

After reading Bitter in one sitting, laughing like a loon through most of it, I went out and bought a copy. Then I went to her blog www.Jennsyvania.com and read through her archives. Then I waited (impatiently) for each of her subsequent books to come out. I love her sense of humor, ability to laugh at herself, and the fact that we may not agree politically but have so many other shared loves (Rick Springfield- EEEEEEEEEE) that it doesn't matter. Also, thanks to Jen's sporadic reading lists and promotion of books by her friends, I have found and enjoyed several other authors I might not have read otherwise.

So what is this book about? More looks into Jen's sometimes chaotic but always entertaining life. From her deranged pets, to her awesome husband (Fletch rocks!), to the trials & tribulations of trying to stop acting like a college kid and become an adult, this is a hoot. Each chapter ends with a summarized 'life lesson.'

Want to see me giggle? Shriek "perimeter breach!" at me. Die-hard Jen fans will know why this is funny- if you don't, READ this book.

Sadly, I've never heard from her since those brief messages on MySpace. But, Jen, if you should happen to see this, I'm totally up for having a new addition to the ranks of my BFF's! Seriously, I think we'd have a blast!

Tea & Tea Drinking- Claire Masset

This is a small, slim volume that enterains and educates at the same time. Gail Carriger, one of my favorite authors, mentioned it as a potential stocking stuffer in a pre-Christmas blog post, so of course I had to go hunt it down and get a copy for myself. It gives the reader a basic overview of how tea became the premier drink in Britain, a brief account of how it's grown/harvested, and the way it became available to all classes, not just the rich.

Not only was it a quick and enjoyable read, I discovered that the Shire Library series has numerous other books that I think might be worth checking out. I bought the ones on Chocolate & Department Stores, as well as putting several other on request at my local library. Many thanks to Gail for leading me to these books, as well as for being an awesome writer herself!

Poetry Monday

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond



by E. E. Cummings






somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond


any experience,your eyes have their silence:


in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,


or which i cannot touch because they are too near






your slightest look easily will unclose me


though i have closed myself as fingers,


you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens


(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose






or if your wish be to close me, i and


my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,


as when the heart of this flower imagines


the snow carefully everywhere descending;






nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals


the power of your intense fragility:whose texture


compels me with the color of its countries,


rendering death and forever with each breathing






(i do not know what it is about you that closes


and opens;only something in me understands


the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)


nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands






 
 
*I loved the show Beauty & The Beast. So much that I even bought the soundtrack, mixed with music and Ron Perlman's deep melodic voice reading assorted poems. This was one of my favorite tracks!

Sunday Silliness- Happy Birthday to Me edition

5 Of My Favorite Things:

 Tye-dyed shirts

Butter Almond Ice Cream

 Books- lots of books! (and how did they get that photo of my living room? LOL)

 Lions- what? they're cool.

 London!


once again, thanks to Google Images for the assist