Reading Update and Our Pittsburgh Visit

Daughter and I enjoyed the Penguins game in Pittsburgh very much on Saturday. Got a little worried in the 2nd period, but it all turned out good (and not with any nasty overtime play, either!).

We had arrived in Pittsburgh around 4:30, parked, and headed toward a restaurant I found on Maps (on my phone) that is near the arena. It’s called Pizza Bosa (I think) and their menu is really extensive. I just didn’t expect such a small place.

We got there at the right time, though. After we placed our order for a Pierogi Pie (see picture) and sat down, a line started forming and went out the door! Yeah, that placed filled up FAST.

And our dinner? It was awesome!! When they brought the “pizza” to our table, I about fainted from the wonderful aroma. If you love pierogies, you will love this “pizza.” Crust, mashed potatoes, onions, cheese, and garlic. It was heaven! I highly recommend it!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 15

Dates read: May 2-10, 2022
Title: Immortal Rising
Year of publication: 2022
Author: Lynsay Sands
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Argeneau Series #34
# of Pages: 369
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from the book: Stephanie McGill was attacked and turned when she was just a teenager. Worse, her abilities are unlike any other immortal. Now thirteen years later, with the help of her adopted Argeneau family, Steph has carved out a new—if not lonely—life for herself. Until a new neighbor arrives…
    Thorne is also one-of-a-kind. The result of a genetic experiment, he’s not an immortal, but he’s not mortal, either. He’s looking for a place to hide, to get some peace and quiet so he can figure things out, and Stephanie’s sanctuary is perfect. In fact, Stephanie is perfect. For the first time, Thorne is free to be himself and he’s falling for her.
    But if they’re going to have a future together, they’ll first need to deal with their past…because the mad scientist who created Thorne is now after Stephanie.
My thoughts: I kind of savored this book by not reading it fast. Then I realized I had nothing to post about today unless I finished reading it. Had no trouble breezing through it, either. I can’t believe this is book #34 in the series and I am still not tired of it. I love the world and the characters so much.

So… I got my new glasses. They aren’t working so well. The reading portion starts up too high, so I went back to the eyeglass place and they’re making new lenses. It’s hard to tell if the prescription is good right now, but I’m hoping once I’m able to wear the glasses correctly, I’ll be able to see the monitor clearer. Just gotta wait another week to find out, though.

Sometimes I really hate my eyes.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Still Traveling, BBQ, and Football

Well, RomCon16 is in the books, but I’m still on the road. Expect to make it home later this afternoon. I’ll be glad to sleep in my own bed tonight. And use my own internet. It may be slow, but it’s nothing compared to hotel wi-fi. Ugh.

RomCon was fun, although I really thought it would be bigger. Kind of shocked me that Lori Foster’s Reader Author Get Together (RAGT) is larger and way cheaper (that last part mainly from the venue, I’m sure).

It was a nice intimate con and I met a lot of readers (mostly from the speed date an author event—fun, but whew!). It would have been nice if I SOLD some books at the book signing (I’m not doing so well at any con for that), but a lot of people were interested in my books and I let them know the e-books were cheaper (especially Bite Me, I’m Yours and Ghostly Liaison).

Will I go back, though? Probably not. It’s just a bit too far for me.

That marks the end of my conventions for this year. I have one more book signing/luncheon coming up on Dec 3, but I don’t have to go far for that (Newport, KY).

We stopped  in Kansas City last night (about the half-way mark). I wanted to try some KC BBQ, so we asked the hotel clerk what was good and he recommended a place (family owned, not a chain). I ordered the pulled pork, but couldn’t eat it. It was way too spicy, which shocked me. I never would have expected it to be anything other than smoky. The waitress insisted on replacing my meal (even though I told her it wasn’t necessary), so I got the brisket (which is what Hubby was eating). It was much better, but man, was there a lot of meat there. I don’t think they know what 6oz is. I swear, there must have been closer to a pound on the plate. We ended up taking most of it with us. Good thing we have a cooler to transport it home.

But my opinion? I liked the Texas BBQ we got in San Antonio a whole bunch more.

Football Games this past weekend:

• Missed our Wayne Warriors (high school) play on Friday, but they won easily (58-7). Playoff bound? I hope so!!
• Hubby was able to watch the OSU game at B-dubs (not used to a 10am game, though), while I was busy with that speed date an author. He sent updates. I smiled a lot. Quite a blow-out.
• My Rams are 3-1 now. Whoo hoo!
• And the Steelers topped off another good football weekend.

So… Do you have a BBQ preference? Texas? Kansas City? Something else? Is there something else?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Walking, Eating, and Getting Sick

I was all pumped for this weekend. Thought I’d get some walking in. And I did on Saturday. Walked with Hubby after dinner and got nearly 5 miles in. It was great.

Then Sunday morning happened. Saturday’s dinner apparently did not agree with me, and I was up at least 20 times between 3:30 and 7:30 am. The sad thing is, I had eaten at Chipotle (which has been having problems of late), but I ate the same thing as Hubby and he did not get sick. Not at all! How did I get so lucky? It’s just not fair I tell you!

So my plans to walk with Hubby on Sunday were scratched. Probably just as well. Hubby got wet walking (and hit with hail, too) as storms popped up out of no where. Ha! Teach him not to get sick, huh?

I do plan on walking to the fitness center this morning (fingers crossed I’m feeling better and I have good weather). Which means I’ll have to walk back after my workout. But I’m determined to start getting more miles in (or at least 10,000 steps a day). I still want to add more cardio to my routine, but today might not be the day I want to start. Don’t want to push my luck.

And if getting sick wasn’t bad enough, I put a hole in my crown while eating a hamburger yesterday (guess there was a bone chip in it). I called the dentist and left a message. Hopefully he’ll be able to see me soon. I hate thinking what kind of food and junk will end up inside that hole. Ugh.

By the way, I got this crown 8-9 years ago when I cracked the molar eating…wait for it…a hamburger!

Sometimes I feel like I just can’t win.

Hey, did you notice? Today marks the 13th post of the month. That matches January, February, March, and April. And I haven’t even manipulated the system to do it. Yet. I think it would be cool to have 13 posts each month. Think I can do it? Well, I’m gonna certainly try now!

I’m all set to watch game one of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight. We’ll see how much of a wreck they make me tonight.

Have a great Monday. Is it a holiday for you? Hope the weather cooperates, then!

Stacy

Finally… Some GOOD News

That’s right. GOOD news.

On Friday, Hubby got the call we’ve been waiting for. His surgery has been moved up to the earliest possible date: April 4 (that’s because his surgeon is on vacation this week). That’s 21 days earlier than before. Three weeks this stupid cancer won’t have a chance to grow anymore.

Right now Hubby is enjoying all his favorite foods, because after the surgery… he’ll probably have a feeding tube down his nose for a few weeks. Doesn’t sound like fun, but if it means they got all the cancer, he doesn’t care. I guess I wouldn’t either.

So… Yay! Thanks for all the good vibes. I truly believe they helped.

In other news… We stuffed ourselves silly yesterday. Found out that fresh ham tastes a lot like pork (has the same consistency, too). Very good, though. But then, I love pork. Haha!

Did anyone here see the Batman vs. Superman movie? I haven’t heard anything good about it, so I didn’t bother. Maybe I’ll watch it when it comes out on DVD. Which reminds me, I still want to get the DVD of The Martian. Now that looks like a fun movie.

Have a great Monday!

Stacy

Bye Bye, Big Red -- For Now

Dell finally contacted me late Tuesday night. Not in the way I thought they would. They sent me a “canned” e-mail which said my “case” was over 7 days old (it was exactly 7 days old), that it was closed and archived, and that I needed to call them. It took them nearly a WEEK to tell me that? Grrr… Anyway, I called them on Wednesday.

After performing diagnostics on the machine and having them all come up okay (of course it did, it never does the bad things when someone is looking, right?), the tech said it would probably be better if I returned the machine, and would that be okay?

I did notice that every time she had to leave or do something, she would ask if that was okay. Like I’m going to say no, don’t do it? Hmmm…

She also said that they might have to delete all the files and if that would be okay. I said if I had to get a new computer, what’s the difference?

Anyway, I should be receiving an empty box from them sometime today or tomorrow so I can ship Big Red back to them. Which means I need to clean him up a bit (you know, log off on those online sites who keep me logged in all the time, delete sensitive files, oh, and do a full backup). What fun.

In the meantime, I’ve turned on TashaYar (my older HP laptop) so Windows could perform any updates that occurred since December (there were quite a few). I haven’t decided whether or not I want to upgrade TashaYar to Windows 10 yet. Hubby said if I liked it, I can do that. Thing is, I’m not so sure I like Windows 10.

I guess if TashaYar had Windows 8, I wouldn’t hesitate (heck, it would have had Windows 10 on it long before now). But I don’t mind Windows 7. Heck, I liked Vista. Yeah, I know. I’m weird.

I sure hope Big Red comes back all fixed. I do like typing on this laptop. I’m just not fond of all the weird stuff that’s happening.

So… Here’s an out of the blue question: Have you ever tried mush? Hubby tried some last weekend because he’d heard it was good (the waitresses at Bob Evans rave about it). I guess it’s something you have to grow up eating. I didn’t like it (neither did Hubby). We thought it tasted kind of bitter (I expected more of a corn flavor). Guess we’ll just stick to our waffles! Mmmmm… Waffles.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Watching Me Some Footy This Weekend

My daughter is playing in some footy games (that would be Australian Rules Football for you people not in the “know”) up in Wisconsin, so of course we’re going to drive up there and watch them. We’ll take any excuse to visit a city we’ve never been to before.

Well, that, and we like to watch her play.

I was kind of surprised to see that Racine wasn’t really all that far. Closer than Atlanta! For some reason I hear Wisconsin and think a day’s drive away. Of course, with driving THROUGH Chicago it could end up being that long—haha!

I hope the weather is nice up there and the bakeries are open. I plan on coming home with a Kringle (or two)!

My newsletter should have gone out this morning. If you got one and actually read it (some people don’t, I get that, because I tend to do that), would you please tell me how I did on my little interview? Cute? Stupid? I really want to know (FYI – I was going for cute/funny).

Writing sucked this week. I know what it is, too. I have to write this argument scene between the hero and heroine (something that will lead to the black moment—see I am almost finished). The WRITER in me knows it has to happen. The READER in me doesn’t want it to. Talk about conflict within! I think the writer-me is just going to have to stick a sock in the reader-me’s mouth and get on with it.

So…have you ever had a Kringle? Is it worth $20 (because that’s how much I see them for on-line)? In a way I hope it is. I want my money’s worth. On the other hand, if it is, I may end up ordering more (like I need to eat more sweets). Argh! More conflict! I’m cursed.

Have a great weekend. J

Stacy

I Can't Believe I Ate...Well, You Know

This is what I did on Saturday...

And all the food was gooooood.

Now I get to work it allllll off.

Have a good Monday!

Stacy

On the Road Again

I love traveling. The driving kind, that is. And today I’m headed (along with my hubby) to NJ to attend a family reunion. This is a fun reunion and one I didn’t go to last year because, well, there wasn’t one. That’s because there was a wedding (which, unfortunately, I couldn’t attend), so it’s been awhile since I’ve seen these people.

Now, they probably all think I don’t have fun at these things. But they’d be wrong. Just because I usually plant my butt in one spot and only talk with whoever sits near me, only means I’m not a social butterfly. I have a hard time flittering and fluttering.

But I am getting better. Conventions have helped a lot. Maybe it will be different this time.

Of course, I said that the last time about taking pictures and then didn’t take any. Me bad!!

Anyway, if I don’t comment right away, you’ll at least know why. And no, I don’t plan on commenting from my iPhone. I’m sure I’ll screw something up. Heck, I still don’t have access to my voice mail on that thing. You’d think the sales rep would have TOLD me what the password was before I walked out of the store, but NOOOOO.

I noticed on Goodreads that I’m two books behind schedule. Yikes! Ahhh, but I have these two long drives ahead of me, where I should at least get ONE book finished. Still have to work on Blind Temptation, too. Not sure I’ll do it in the car though. Why is it I get car sick when I try to work on the computer but NOT when I’m reading a book? Is it all mental? Yeah, I know. I’m mental!

I did set a goal for myself, though: to finish my revisions by August 16. That averages out to a little over 5 pages a day. Since I tend to ADD words to my WIP, I have to make sure to average 6-7 a day, and so far I’ve been doing that. Of course, I haven’t tried this on a weekend yet. We’ll see how I do, since I most likely will not be doing ANY revising on Saturday (the day of the reunion). Ah heck, who am I kidding? I’ll be lucky to get any pages revised on Friday and Sunday, too! Might need to bump up that number, huh? Because I WILL finish by August 16. I will, I will, I will!

So… What’s your favorite food at a reunion? I love my potato salad and my deviled eggs, but they don’t travel well so I’m not bringing them. I’m sure I’ll find something yummy to eat, though. There will definitely be plenty of food to choose from!

Have a great weekend!

Stacy

 

Another Series Ends and New Orleans Food

Last night, my daughter, husband, and I watched the final three episodes of Angel. I enjoyed this series and I even cried a little at the end.

Then my daughter had to tell us how the story lived on in graphic novels and what has happened since the TV series ended. Kind of spoiled my image of Wesley and Fred being together again, so I'll try and forget about what she said!

Next week we begin Firefly. I'm looking forward to that.

Now, another story of our trip to New Orleans (because I can only remember them in bits and pieces and I don't wish to over-bore you!)

On our first night there, we wanted to go to a good restaurant that we wouldn't necessarily find on our own. So my husband asked the security guard at the hotel to recommend a good place (because the locals always know where the best places are). He pointed us toward Mother's.

We walked the few blocks (weather was soooo warm and luscious I could have walked farther and wouldn't have cared) and arrived at this small place where you go up to the counter and place your order, then they deliver it to your table in paper trays. Nothing elaborate, that's for sure. I almost wondered if we were steered wrong. The place was practically empty and we were second in line.

By the time we received our meal (which was excellent, by the way), the line was out the door and down the sidewalk. The place was PACKED. Talk about timing. Apparently, it's that way every night (we were there on a Thursday).

Mother's is a place I would definitely return to (they are famous for their ham, but we didn't get that – I mean, we can get ham at home!).

On Friday night we decided to eat on Bourbon Street (where all the crazies are, I swear). I decided to be adventurous and sampled some Cajun-seasoned food (Cajun shrimp Alfredo). I usually stay away from hot and spicy, but the waiter assured me it wasn't that hot. One bite and I smiled. Yum, yum, yum.

And on our last night there (Saturday), we returned to Bourbon Street for dessert. Yeah, the conference had a dinner, yeah it had dessert, yeah we ate it, but I had to have a beignet and we were leaving early Sunday. If I had known what a beignet was when we went out for breakfast on Friday, I would have gotten it then. More yums (and a very full stomach). The things are covered in powered sugar and if you're wearing dark colors (I was), be prepared to have them sprinkled white! Great pastries. Their taste & texture are very similar to funnel cakes – if you know what those are – but in a square puff.

While I did get my magnets at Hard Rock and Bubba Gump (they were across the street from one another), we didn't eat at either place (for a change). Well, I didn't eat at either. Apparently my husband did eat at Bubba Gump, but then he was on his own a lot, and he just wanted a place to eat and read.

Hope I haven't made you hungry now. Happy Thursday!