I continually sigh at my inability to think of a smarter sounding title. But seriously, I hope you are enjoying your holidays! We had a relaxing and fun filled three days of family, good food, and wonderful gifts. Too many gifts!

Actually I got tired of the kids asking if they could open MORE PRESENTS. MOAR!!

Freaking play with what you already got, kids!

Actually, I do love the week after Christmas. You barely hear from them all day. You only hear ‘I’m BORED’ once or twice compared to how it used to be every three seconds. They had huge big winners in toys that they are loving. Of course, it changes every night when I ask them what their favorite toy was. Sam is loving all her Barbie stuff and GG got knocked into Star Wars and is LOVING every single bit of it.

We got them a trampoline too. I’m really shocked at how they have been playing on it every day, and for quite a long time. We have actually been having some fights on it, which is funny since they hardly ever fight. I looked out the window to see GG get up and essentially tackle Sam and drag her across the trampoline. I laughed before I opened the door to drag him inside. They are getting SO much exercise on it though, it’s awesome!

After a great Christmas, I’m sad to say that my Grammy is coming to some of her final days. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer in late August and given about 6 months. It’s pretty much run as expected and she officially moved into hospice care the other day. She has lived a wonderful life and has never been sick before. She is such a strong woman and has taken care of all her four children and her many many grandchildren. Also, great-grand children! I’m sad I won’t be able to call her or see her very shortly. I saw her the week before she was diagnosed (when she wasn’t feeling very well) but I’m going to go up there one last time in two weeks. Just booked the tickets.

It’s hard to know what to say to someone when they are dying. She keeps yelling at me to not be sorry. I am sorry. I am very sorry she is dying but I know she doesn’t want to hear that. At this point, she keeps telling me she wants to go that being this tired is no way to live. Live is short, people.

Books

So, I’ve recommended books to three people lately so I thought I would add them on here.  All of these are super good, all five stars as in GO READ THEM NOW.

Flat Out Love by Jessica Park – It’s a Young Adult novel and is so amazingly sweet and awesome.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire – Not Young Adult but it certainly reminds me of high school. It’s set in collage and is very obsessive relationship based and just drags you kicking and screaming into the story and sighing heavily.

Love Unscripted by Tina Reber – I’m a sucker for books with Movie Stars as the main character. Sweet, loveable, ones anyway! This story is really long and doesn’t follow the expected route but takes you on a nice slow journey that is great.

Bronze Horseman – I read this earlier this year. Plus the 2nd book but I have yet to pick up the third. The books are amazing. Historical and set in the war in Russia, the love story and history is amazing. I do want to read the third, I just haven’t picked it up yet.

See ya next year

We got a dog. She is gorgeous.

My baby is 6. No longer a baby.

My shopping is not done. This might help (Clocky, Knork, and that Jambox look interesting!) and I’m being sucked in my all the Groupons going on. Oops More later.

Plus, I have to catch up on all this TV crack that is on my DVR. Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, Once Upon a Time, PanAm, Survivor, GLEEEEEEE, and Grey’s to name a few. I’m trying to watch some of these as I work out so at least that makes me feel a little better…

Somehow the gods were smiling upon me and gave me the opportunity to read two super amazing ARCs this month. The one I’m talking about today is Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh.

The 4th book in the Guild Hunter’s series changes to feature Dmitri, Archangel Raphael’s 2nd-in-command at the angel towers. While the 3 previous books were all about Elena and Raphael, I was not scared to see how this 4th book would turn out because I love the entire world and I’m happy she is continuing it.  Elena and Raphael contributed to this book in small parts and I was happy to see them.

Dmitri definitely stole the show. A very dark and dangerous vampire, his history is revealed along with the herioine, Honor who is the perfect counterpart to Dmitri. Even though I have read the previous books multiple times, I completely forgot about how Dmitri chased down Elena in the first book and how very dangerous he is.  He was not happy about Raphael and Elena and this book really dives into his history and why that is so.  It was a page-turner to see how Raphael met Dmitri and heart-clenching to see why he is the way he is.

The tension was delicious and those small little peeks where we were taken into his history and the way he interacts with Honor was awesome.

This book will give you happy sighs as you read through it and keep you up until 2am. I can’t say anything better about it. I also can’t wait until Bluebell’s book! I am torn between wanting more Elena and Raphael… or wanting to see more Dmitri and Honor… but I think I know where Bluebell is being taken and I can’t wait to read that story too!

This book should be on your auto-buy list, have fun reading it!

I was thrilled when I saw Pam from Avon post on Facebook asking if anyone was interested in previewing the new Stephanie Laurens book. Um, yes! She is one of my ‘Must Read’ authors and up in my special bookcase so I would love to get my grubby hands on that ebook! Especially a full month early… I did a little dance as I downloaded it!

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue is the 1st in a new trilogy yet it’s the 16th Cynster novel. If you haven’t read Laurens before, don’t fret, you can easily start with this one.

The book starts quick and captures your attention. I must admit I had to flip back to the beginning (scroll back, rather…) and read it again to try and figure out who exactly was speaking in the prologue.

Let’s give the recap on what the book is about (because I’m terrible at recapping!)

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Miss Heather Cynster . . . but not before she encounters kidnappers, danger, and a daring rescue at the hands of Viscount Breckenridge.

Determined to hunt down her very own hero, one who will sweep her off her feet and into wedded bliss, and despairing of finding him in London’s staid ballrooms, Heather Cynster steps out of her safe world and boldly attends a racy soiree.

But her promising hunt is ruined by the supremely interfering Viscount Breckenridge, who whisks her out of scandal—and straight into danger, when a mysterious enemy seizes her, bundles her into a coach, and conveys her out of London.

Now it’s up to the notorious Breckenridge to prove himself the hero she’s been searching for all along . . .

And coming next month, more unforgettable romance in the Cynster Sisters Trilogy.

The first few chapters had me hooked. Heather was taken away in a coach yet there was a maid/chaperone to watch over her so technically they were keeping it all very proper. Yet, when Heather finds out that Viscount Breckenridge has followed her to rescue her, she tells him that she can’t leave. She needs to find out who is behind this because she wasn’t sure that she was the actual target. If her cousins/sister could be harmed, well, she had to find out what was going on.  Completely sequel bait but I’m along for the ride.

The Cynster’s are a beloved family that are quite distinctive in Laurens world. My favorite Cynster novel is ‘A Secret Love’ but I really love that ‘friends become lovers’ trope.  The current novel, Breckenridge, has a little of the same vibe but most of it is tied up in the kidnapping so it has a different tension.

A few of the things I didn’t like. It was hard to believe that she wouldn’t just leave. Why in the world would you keep staying with your kidnappers? Get out of there! She gave good reasons though.  Once they did in fact escape, Laurens takes you on quite a jaunt in a few different ways. It gets a little tedious as it goes back and forth to keep the tension going in the last half of the book. It did give her an opportunities to get in quite a few sexy-times, so I guess there is that…  She also throws in a little fate/magic which seems is just done to bring us some closure with a few of the past characters. It felt a little too much which is why I didn’t completely love this novel.

Having said that, I really like how Stephanie Laurens writes. She is a solid writer and takes you deliberately through every feeling and thought.

A hard body swung around the corner and plowed into her.

She stumbled back. Hard hands grabbed her, holding her upright.

Her heart leapt to her throat. She looked up, saw only darkness. She opened her mouth -

A palm slapped over her lips. A steely arm locked around her-locked her against a large, adamantine male body; she couldn’t even squirm.

Her sense scrambled. Strength, male heat, muscled hardness engulfed her.

Then a virulent curse singed her ears.

And she realized who’d captured her.

Laurens also uses crazy language. Adamintine? My WordPress spell check doesn’t even recognize that word! She tends to do that in all her novels, so it is like an exciting learning experience.

Through the dark, he looked at her.

She couldn’t see his eyes, but his gaze was so intent, so intense that she could feel…

Her heart started thudding, beating heavier, deeper.

Her sense expanded, alert in a wholly unfamiliar way.

He looked at her…looked at her.

Primitive instinct riffled the delicate hairs at her nape.

Abruptly he raised his head, straightened, stepped back. “Come on.”

It’s all very deliberate. So the tension is very sizzling.

I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book early, as I would have purchased it anyway. If you get the chance to read this novel, or any of Stephanie Laurens, I highly recommend it. It comes out August 30, 2011!

It’s here, it’s here! It’s the Disney D23 Expo that is starting on the 19th at the Anaheim Convention Center. Are you going? You may want to mosey on down there because I heard it’s got some amazing Disney artifacts from their Archives that you may want to check out!

Trust me, I had my own little peek

Yes, I held an Oscar!! A few weeks ago I got a tour of the Disney studios in Burbank and let me tell you… it was amazing! There are no public tours of the studios so I felt so lucky to have been invited! This post is going to be picture heavy, so I’m just warning you.

The lowdown is that D23 (named because Disney opened in 1923) is the official Fan Club of Disney and was launched in 2009.  If you enroll, you get all of the benefits and an info filled magazine all about… Disney! Duh.

The expo is coming up in August, this weekend! It’s a 3 day event in Anaheim. The highlight of the expo is the legends ceremony. We were so lucky, we got to meet Bill Farmer who is the voice of Goofy!

D23 is all about access and experiences.  The many events they put on from Magic & Merriment, intimate backstage passes and dinners, Sip and Stroll in Florida, Fabulous and 50 at the studio lot, TCM Classic Film Festival, and they are also part of the Vacation Club.

If you love everything Disney and want MORE, you should think about being a part of the Official Fan Club of Disney

What will be at the expo? Tons of things but the highlights are

• Treasures of the Disney archives is triple the size at the expo. Most of the stuff has never been seen outside of the context of the movies.
• Sneak preview of the 3D Lion King, live auction, and treasures. Carousel of projects for the park.
• The expo will have artists, authors, and animators and film makers.
• Some reveals might also be talking about some Marvel related items that people are excited about. The primary Marvel presence is the studio presentation and are very large scale. No other details about that!
• The Disney channel has a huge presense will be there and all the cast. Essentially every different show.

The expo really wants to be for the whole family from small children to adults.

Are you going? It looks like it’s going to be fun! Here are some tips if you will be showing up.

Here is my heavy overload of pictures.

The famous water tower!

I love this statute that is in their Legends pavilion. See the top windows above the dwarfs? We were eating lunch up there!

Below is our lunch table with all the accessories. Super cute!

Meeting Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy.  Below that, he was fitting his hand in his Legends hand print.

Chilling in the Legends Pavilion.  I had to get a picture of these two statues because the Studios is the only place where you can get up close and personal with them. The other statues they have of Walt at Disneyland are protected by gates and bushes so you can’t get any pictures!

We then had a tour through the Animations department and a few of the other buildings. I snapped these really quickly. I have to say that we can’t wait for Brave to come out, their next movie.

Finally, above, some of their Archive items. That wardrobe was from…. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! The dress that they are holding is the dress of Mrs Banks from the original Mary Poppins.  It was pure chance that we were there at the time someone was bringing it back to Disney. It had been floating around in a private collection for years because in Mary Poppins, that was the only movie they did their outfits from an outside company. So the company kept and then sold the outfits and Disney has been trying to track them down.

Fun trivia. It was a great day and I am still sad we don’t have our Disney passes any longer. I love that park.

Have fun at the Expo!

The other day I told Sam that if she ate the crust of her bread, her hair would grow longer. I turned around to the sink and peeked back at her.

She looked down at her bread and picked it up and ate the crust. She looked back at me and I smiled.

I feel like I should go to the chalkboard and write 100 times:

I won’t abuse my Mom Power
I won’t abuse my Mom Power
I won’t abuse my Mom Power
I won’t abuse my…

Sam came into my office to tell me something ‘very sad’.

She got a ‘Play of the Day’ certificate!! She is such a trickster (she tries to be), I wonder who she got that from? (Anyone who knows my husband is groaning right now.)

The only one to get the certificate out of her group of 12. She was so proud! Apparently it was not because of some killer soccer play, but just that she did good the whole day, was really helpful, and cheered on her teammates. That’s my girl

It’s an AYSO Soccer camp and it’s taught by ridiculously cute young Brittish guys who apparently are housed over here for the summer to do these.  I actually don’t know if they are that cute or not, but I was just dreamily listening to their voice shout out soccer instruction.  I love listening to accents.  (Yes, I’m one of those people.)

I’m very pleased that we kept doing soccer for Sam over the years. It took her a few times but after so many soccer games, she is really starting to love it.

Even though it’s early August, it feels like the summer is over. I’m excited for both kids to start school in September, it’s going to be fun!

So, I work in Internet Marketing. Therefore, I know what is right and what is wrong. Always.

ha Okay, half the time. I know when you are doing it WRONG or when it PISSES ME OFF. I also have the awful habit of giving unsolicited advice. I’m trying to be better.  However, I was with some other awesome professionals the other day and we were gossiping a little (I love to gossip) and someone was snarking about the fact some other woman was complaining about how something was wrong.  Just complaining. When she probably knew better. I know, not much details here.

So I laughed and said… you know, girlfriend, I pretty much introduced myself to you by telling you that you had some crazy problems on your website. So, don’t hate me too!

She made the point that I handed the advice out along with my services to fix it. I do that a lot. I like to help people. It makes me feel… helpful. It’s also always a good way to chat with people.

Really though? When something is wrong and is not obviously correct… with something regarding search engines or marketing yourself on the Internet it drives. me. crazy. Many times the fixes are so small and simple and I want to tell them so that they can do better on their website! Usually, it is silly small stuff.

• The permalinks in your WordPress setup are not the best. Go here, select this, and save it and you will be happier.
• One of your plugins are not working. Try updating it.
• Your title tags are all the same, make them unique for each page. (Okay, this one was asked advice, see below)

This is how I ended up giving search engine advice to one of my favorite romance authors the other day on her Facebook page. She asked for website advice though. It wasn’t solicited. I probably didn’t have to spend thirty minutes writing up advice. I should have made it into a blog post. However, that good karma will probably come back to me in books. Or, not. It was fun and hopefully it was helpful. She’s made me happy writing awesome books, hopefully I helped her make some changes to bring her more readers.

This latest one made me irritated though. Since I’ve been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, I’ve been enjoying finding other people who are going through the same things as I am. I’ve usually been following them on Twitter.

This person, while seemingly a nice person, started posting on their blog. I actually like reading new blog posts off of Twitter. 80% of the time, I’m reading on my iPhone so I click on the post to scan through it very quickly.

Have you ever read Twitter an iPhone? The ap I use, you can’t ‘copy’ and paste other people’s tweets. So if they post a link, you can’t copy it and pasted it into your browser. That is also an awful lot of steps to take to find a site. If the domain has a lot of vowels, it might be really hard to remember to spell correctly too. Just sayin’.

Many people use an RSS feed to automatically push their new blog post to their Twitter or Facebook feed. Or, they might just be posting the link in with a quick comment manually. Either way, if someone is telling you that they posted something, giving you the link is usually the best way to read the damn post.

In this case, the person was simply posting the blog address without the ‘http://’ which made the link not active. I should say that for awhile Twitter was making these links active. It wasn’t for him though. So you couldn’t click on it.

New pictures at www.MyBlogPost.com of my [redacted] for the #Crohns and #Colitis Foundation of America. Click [redacted]

This happened four or five times. Finally I sent him a quick tweet that let him know I couldn’t click on his link but next time he may want to put the full address in. Especially as how Twitter would actually shorten the full URL for him so it would keep characters low so he can get in a full 140 tweet.  OR (see, I was giving options here!), he could use a URL shortener.

I give him credit, he responded quickly with a smiley face and said that he wanted to keep characters down but he would think about doing that in the future.

Sadly, he went on for another week to repeat tweeting about new blog posts without the link in place. Finally on Friday I said again, it’s too bad that I can’t click on the link! I’m going to have to stop harassing you, or unfollow. My OCD with non-clickable links is uncontrollable.

I had to make it a little funny but I couldn’t handle this person ‘talking’ to me (via Twitter but still, I was a follower) yet making it incredibly hard for me to see his content!

I also probably couldn’t handle giving advice and him not taking it. Let’s be real here.

He ended up private messaging me saying that he  wanted his URL to become a recognized name, he didn’t want a shortener, and that room was just so precious.

The funny thing? (One of many many!) Was that he had at least 10 more characters to fit in that http:// to make the link live.

I told him the marketing decision he was making was hurting my head and good luck with that. Except when I tried to direct message him back, I realized he wasn’t following me. Fail.  Then, I decided to go to his site and subscribe via RSS and his auto-play video blared out at me because I had my speakers on loud. FAIL. Then, he replied to me via public Twitter and asked me to subscribe to his site and sent me the link, except he put three slashes in, instead of two. FAIL FAIL FAIL.

I unfollowed him. I still feel slightly bad about it because he’s not a sleazy marketer. He’s just a person who doesn’t understand some of the smaller but important details of Internet Marketing. He then followed me from both of his accounts. I was thinking about following him back today but when I checked his profile he sent out another tweet with an unclickable link.

LESSON: If you want people to read your writing, make it easy for them. Period.

Oh god, I got brave today and marched to my favorite nail shop where I have known the owner for years and asked if they did bikini waxes.  They did (I knew it) and I asked if my favorite girl who does (really, used to do) my eyebrows and no she doesn’t, the owner does the bikini ones.  I like the owner so I said yes before I could chicken out.

Ouch!! Ouch, ouch and ouch! It actually didn’t hurt much. Tears didn’t come to my eyes (like they sometimes do with the eyebrows) but I had to cringe a few times. A few spots were worse than others. Three hours later it is still stinging and she told me to put Neosporin on it a few more times. Maybe I’m more sensitive than others? Is that normal?

Maybe next time I will be brave enough to do Brazilion, we shall see. I’m really just cursing myself that I was too lazy to continue with my electrolysis when I was in my early twenties. I had a lot more money and time back then!

I can’t decide if I will spring for one of those Groupon’s for laser hair removal next time or continue on with the waxing.  1st world problems, I know.

I started Pentasa yesterday and I am feeling a little hopeful. Yesterday was fraught with severe stomach pains (more than normal) and I am still super amazingly tired all day.  Yesterday I wanted to go to sleep at 8pm and was yawning through the afternoon.

Last month I started having problems, I feel like it happened because I kept having sweets. In the last six months I would have them once a week, have some problems, and then go back to normal. Sadly, I did not go back to normal. It just got worse, and worse, and worse. So I went back on the Entocort, which are steroids. You are supposed to take them for about 6 weeks and that is is. After a month I did not get better. I even tried my crazy diet again of only eating rice and sweet potatoes except that made me MUCH worse, go figure.

So Pentasa.  I am feeling mildly hopeful. I have to take 8 pills a day, two pills four times a day which everyone complains about. I will complain as well. I’m sure you know that. But honestly, if I can stay on this and not have to move to Humira or something worse, that would be fantastic. If I could also eat regular foods and not have to worry or stress about what I am eating, that is amazing.

In other news, I got the Spotify invite from Klout (and everyone is talking about it, sheesh) and I am entertained. The first day it was like, eh. Pandora will just play and not make me think about what I want to listen next but Spotify lets me listen to ANY ALBUM I WANT.

I am currently trying to hunt down acoustic or live versions of my favorite singers. Any thoughts? I’ve played Tori Amos, Maroon 5, John Mayer, and now am on the Cranberries.  I was trying desperately to find the Counting Crows live version they did with the Philharmonic orchestra but they never made it public. That was such an amazing concert.