Finished Reading “The Taken” and Recovering from Dragon Con

I came home from Dragon Con with con crud, or a cold, or maybe it’s just allergies. What I do know is it’s not COVID. I took three tests just to be sure.

My nose is a faucet. And I’m going through tissues like crazy. My oncologist prescribed Zyrtec (the prescribed version) and Flonase. I hate taking them. Zyrtec just wipes me out. I feel like a zombie when I take it. I try to remember to take Flonase, but that’s not fun, either. I hope I’m all dried up by next Friday. That’s when we leave for Italy!

I am anxious about that trip since I’ve never been to Europe before. I’ll actually get my passport stamped (that’ll be a first, too, since they don’t stamp them in the Caribbean). I also expect to be doing a lot of walking. Sure hope I survive the trip!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 26

Dates read: September 7 – 20, 2024
Title: The Taken
Year of publication: 2023
Author: Brett Battles
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: Jonathan Quinn #16
# of Pages: 320
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Book: The world thought Dmitri Melnikov was dead.
    Especially Quinn. Why would he have believed otherwise, since the bomb intended for Melnikov had nearly killed Quinn and several members of his team?
    But Melnikov is not dead. He has been taken by someone who wants to shut him up. And the former chess champion isn’t the only one who has been abducted.
    US Intelligence can’t do anything about it. Not officially, anyway. The risk of causing an international incident is too great. What the agencies can do is ask someone who’d been there when Melnikov was kidnapped to do something for them.
    It’s not a normal mission for Quinn and his friends, and the chances they’ll all survive are slim, but this one is personal. So how can they say no?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: Good story. Almost seems like the end to the series. It’s all wrapped up as if it were the end. But I’ll gladly read more if it continues. I love this series.

Sure seems like summer is fighting to stick around, doesn’t it? It’s been in the 90s the last few days. We’re going to a high school football game tonight and will probably sweat in the stands. It will be our last game of the season for us (since we’ll be out of town for the last 5 games), so no cold or rainy games to look forward to. Looks like we won’t be missing much, either. Our first string QB broke his collar bone on the first game. The back-up broke his leg on the second game. We’re down to the third string with a running back as backup. They haven’t won a game since the first game. Worst season in quite a while. I feel bad for the seniors.  

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Reading Update and Working Out Harder

I’ve been doing step aerobics 4-5 days a week (30-40 min/day) since October 4^th. All without a riser, meaning the platform is only about 4” high. Last week I added one riser, bringing the platform to 6”. You’d think I had added 6”! Was I ready for this?

Maybe not, but how else was I going to get better? Get stronger? So I’m keeping the riser and just exercising on the floor when I really run out of breath (and I tend to do that a lot right now).

I have noticed that I can walk down the stairs so much faster now (without fear my knees will give out). That tells me I am getting stronger. I just wish I wasn’t so out of breath when I exercise. I think my heart might be a little bit to blame for that. Carrying all this extra weight isn’t helping, either, but I am working on it.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book #3

Dates read: January 12-16
Title: The Dead Girls’ Dance (Morganville Vampires Vol. 1)
Year of publication: 2007
Author: Rachel Caine
Genre: YA Paranormal
Series: Morganville Vampires #2
# of Pages: 223
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Borrowed from daughter
Blurb from book: Claire Danvers has her share of challenges—like living among creatures of the night. On the upside, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend. Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls’ Dance and –surprise—Clair and her equally outcast friend have been invited. When they find out why, all hell breaks loose, because this time both the living and the dead are ready to tear up the night.

My thoughts: The title and the blurb are really not what this story is about. Oh, the dance happens, but there’s a totally different reason they attend and it’s certainly not the key plotline. But, when you’re hooked on a series, do you really read the blurb? I hadn’t…until now. This was an entertaining book and quite suspenseful, too. I look forward to seeing what comes next. And I wouldn’t have needed the cliffhanger to do that. At least it was a minor cliffhanger this go round.

Are you watching the NFL playoffs? The Steelers and Rams are out of it now (boo hoo), but I’m still watching. I like Green Bay (even though they beat my Rams) over Tampa Bay, but torn between Kansas City and Buffalo. And then there’s hockey now, too! So far we’ve been able to watch ALL of the Penguins’ games on TV! Whoo hoo! I hope that continues. And I hope they play better.

I just realized as I was getting ready to post this, that today is the 45th anniversary of the day I joined the Army. Man, am I getting old or what?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Reading Update and Meeting with Writer Friends

On Monday I was able to attend an in-person plot group meeting with some writer friends. What joy! We met at a Panera Bread that has outdoor seating (gotta be safe!). Only four of us showed, but it was wonderful. I really missed talking books with people and they helped me a lot with my own (which is a mess). Plus, they’re my friends and it had been so long since I’d seen them. It was the boost I needed to get back to work, especially since I now have some ideas of what needs fixing.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book #35

Dates read: September 4-10
Title: My Bonny Heart
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Synclair Stafford
Genre: Historical romance
Series: Pirate’s Progeny, Book #1
# of Pages: 277
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: A treacherous past haunts ex-pirate Anne Bonny’s attempt at a fresh start. Rescued from a Port Royal jail, she’s forced to marry a prominent landowner to retain custody of her children. She vows no other man will ever dictate her life again. But the lord she is to wed is more tempting and infuriating than the devil himself.
    Addison Blackhurst agreed to wed a fellow merchant’s daughter, solidifying the expansion of his rice plantation and trading business. Not mentioned in the contract? A temperamental, out-of-control widow who is unlike any woman of his acquaintance, complete with not one, but three children. But from the beginning, he’s drawn to her wild spirit and seductive charms.
    Through Anne’s husband-repelling schemes—and Addison’s equal endeavors to ignore them—they find an exasperating, yet most fascinating attraction. When Anne’s past threatens her future, and Addision believes he’s lost her for good, only a pirate’s resolve can determine if love will prevail. 
My thoughts: This was a fun read. If you like historical romances NOT set in England, this will be a treat for you. I hadn’t realized until after reading it that Anne Bonny was a real person, and that no one knows what happened to her after giving birth in jail. This story COULD be a possibility.

In sports… The Rams and Steelers won their first games of the season. Yay! But the Vegas Golden Knights season has come to an end with their loss Monday night. My hockey watching days are now on hold until the next season starts, whenever that will be. I’m thinking there won’t be much of a break after the finals.

So… what has brought you joy lately?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Reading Update, Hockey, and Football

I’m still watching hockey. I like the Vegas Golden Knights because Marc Andre Fleury is on the team (he used to be the goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins—my favorite team). He’s not always playing goalie, but by this point I’ve just become a fan. So as long as they’re in the playoffs, I’m watching.

I think football starts up tomorrow. Hubby is looking forward to that. I may be, too. My Rams play on Sunday night. Steelers play on Monday night. So at least we’re able to watch those games at home. Not sure I want to go to a restaurant to watch games this year.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book #34

Dates read: August 28 – September 3
Title: Break the Day
Year of publication: 2019
Author: Lara Adrian
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Midnight Breed #16
# of Pages: 260
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: After a shocking betrayal nearly killed him and the people he cares about the most, what Breed warrior Rafe wants more than anything is revenge against the insidious brotherhood called Opus Nostrum. But to achieve that goal, he must turn his back on the Order and infiltrate a dangerous gang with ties to Opus. Risking everything to redeem himself and carry out his deep-cover mission, Rafe will let nothing stand in his way—least of all his desire for one of the loyalists he should despise, a mysterious, dark-haired beauty named Devony Winters.
    But Devony has secrets of her own to protect, as well as a personal duty she will do anything to fulfill. And as a daywalker passing herself off as human to the gang she’s been embedded with for months, the last thing she needs is a dangerous former member of the Order unraveling all her hard work. Her plans depend on keeping Rafe at arm’s length, but if she surrenders to the dark need he stirs within her, it will be her heart that pays the ultimate price. 
My thoughts: Been awhile since I read the last book in this series and had no problems getting caught up in the characters (or even remembering who is who!). Great romance.

So… Are you watching sports on TV this year? Do you miss going to the games? High school football has started up, but only family members are allowed to attend (and I’m not so sure I’d go anyway). They used to broadcast the games on the radio, which is what we used when we were out of town, but the announcers aren’t allowed in the booth, so no radio, either. I can pay to watch via a streaming thing, but I don’t miss it THAT much.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

The Rams are Going to the Super Bowl!!

Yes, I wish the win wasn’t tainted with a bad call, but this isn’t the first time (and probably not the last) that a bad call affected a game.

But I’m still happy the Rams are going to the Super Bowl!

The one thing I really hate about the NFL, though: Overtime. Especially in the playoffs. Make it like the NHL (hockey) in the playoffs: play the entire 15 minutes and if it’s still tied, play another 15. Or do it like college. Heck, if the Saints had scored a touchdown (instead of throwing an interception) on the first drive of OT, the Rams wouldn’t have even had a chance to touch the ball. I just don’t think that is fair. Why does the NFL’s OT have to be so different?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday we were under a winter storm warning. Supposed to get a lot of snow dumped on us (something like 9”). The forecast was so frightening, my local RWA chapter decided not to have their meeting (which I was okay with, since it’s 60 miles away for me). But what does it do instead? Rain.

Rain, rain, and rain.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I was happy for that rain. Until it started freezing. That happened around the time the sun set. Then around 6pm, we lost power, too. Actually, our whole neighborhood/development did (since our power lines are buried). Seems the transformer that fed our area blew.

And of course, I was in the bathroom when THAT happened. Man, that room got dark in a hurry! And it has a window!!

Luckily, the power was restored at 8:45pm (and our house didn’t really get all that cold—yay!). I almost thought I might have to store the contents of my refrigerator and freezer outside, though. It certainly wouldn’t have spoiled out there.

The snow did eventually arrive, but the winds were so bad, it just blew it around into drifts (I couldn’t tell how much we got, but certainly not 9” worth, more like 2”). And then the temps dropped to single digits.

On Sunday, wind chills were below zero. Both cars were covered in ice. We didn’t even leave the house. Yep, I actually had to cook! Good thing I was smart enough to have bought some food in advance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writing update! I think I figured out the ending of my WIP. Of course, I thought I had it figured out until I started writing the scene before and then another idea came to mind. I can’t wait to get back to it this week. I have a feeling I might actually finish this first draft this month after all! Whoo hoo!!

So… Did you watch the football games? How do you feel about OT rules? Are you going to watch the Super Bowl? And did you get caught in this storm?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Football and Pictures of my Christmas Tree

I watched the horrible, horrible Steelers game last night and failed to write today’s post. Okay, more like just forgot, period, since I could have written this while watching the game. Probably just as well I didn’t. That game put me in a pissy mood.

At least the Rams won their game, and are the NFC West champs! Yay!

I’m really happy OSU won and became the Big Ten champions on Saturday. Kind of feel like they got a slap in the face by putting a 2-loss team (a team that lost their conference champion game), ahead of them in the rankings, but oh well. They’re going to the Rose Bowl. Can’t complain too much about that. Go Bucks!!

I decorated the house and tree this weekend (so I wasn’t a total slob just watching sports). Here are some pictures.

This is the first year since 1992 that we haven't had a fireplace to hang the stockings. I think I found a suitable replacement (as long as I don't need inside the cabinet). In this pic, the tree is up, but not decorated (it's a pre-lit tree, so that part of decorating is easy).

Here's a picture of the completely decorated tree. I like how I have lots of room to walk around it! Didn't have that luxury in the old house (at least not where we could see it all the time).

Every year we purchase dated ornaments (have been doing this since our first Christmas as a married couple). In 2003, we started adding a dated Steelers ornament. This one is the ornament I bought at the local Hallmark store. It has a penguin on it!

Here's our dated Steelers ornament. We get them from the Danbury Mint. In fact, they just automatically mail it to us and I had to search for last year's order so the new one would come to the correct house! The things you don't realize when you move until it's almost too late.

So… Are you ready for Christmas? Do you buy dated ornaments? I have most of my shopping done (shocker, huh?) and now the tree is ready for presents. Guess I have to now wrap some stuff. That part I don’t like so much.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Cleaning, Nibbles, and My Teams

A cleaning we accomplished

Hubby and I actually got the garage straightened up. Was able to actually get TWO cars in there, too. Problem? You can’t walk between them (or get out of the car all that easy). This garage is a bit narrower than the one at the old house (although the driveway is wider, which is really nice). Until we get a shed, it looks like only one car (the fun car) will get parked in the garage.

But we accomplished what we set out to do, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Nibbles but no bites
Got an offer on the house. Turned it down (we want to sell it, not give it away). They came back with another offer. We countered that. That was last week. Don’t know if they’ve reconsidered or if the delay is due to the holiday. Hopefully we find out this week. No one has scheduled to see the house since then.

I’ll blame the holiday for that.

My teams and other games
Ohio State massacred that team up north. It was awesome.

The Penguins beat the Blue Jackets on Saturday. That was awesome, too. Even better, I got to watch it on TV (thanks Fox Sports Ohio!!). Not happy they lost on Friday to the Bruins, but at least it was in OT, so one point is better than none.

USC fell again. I was really hoping they’d beat Notre Dame. I’ve never liked them.

LSU and Texas A&M went into 7 overtimes! SEVEN!!! I was going to watch it after the USC game (only because it looked to be a good game), but it wasn’t telecast here. Probably just as well. I don’t know if I could  have lasted that long anyway.

The Browns actually won another game? And against the Bengals? Yeah, I had to laugh at that. I’m okay with that outcome, though. It helps the Steelers. Because…

The Steelers lost! Ugh. I really thought they were going to pull another one out of their ass. They can be so frustrating to watch. But I love them anyway.

So… Friday was movie day for the family. We went and saw Robin Hood. This is a completely different type of Robin Hood story. But I enjoyed it. Lots of action and adventure. Do you like it when people “change” the story of an iconic character? Even though I’ve seen a few Robin Hood movies, none of them are like the book (or so Hubby says). Neither is this new one, so there’s that.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Having Fun, Football, and Saturday

The fun part

Someone asked me a long time ago which part of the writing process I enjoyed the most. I had said all parts. But you know what? That’s not true. At least, it’s not true anymore.

The part I enjoy the most is the revising part. Adding meat. Fixing the story. That’s where the fun is at. And I’m having loads of fun fixing my short story. But I wouldn’t have had anything to fix if I hadn’t written the stupid thing first. That’s the thing I have to keep reminding myself as I’m writing that first draft.

And I have to remind myself A LOT!

Football
Should I just be happy my teams (okay, most of my teams) won this weekend? USC didn’t win, but OSU did. Barely. But then, they didn’t really “win” that game. Maryland kind of handed it them.

Why do teams go for 2 when they can tie it at 1? Maryland got bit in the butt for that (not that I’m complaining) and so did the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

The Steelers also played like crap but managed to come out on top against the Jaguars. I told Hubby that Ben HAD to make that touchdown to make up for all those stupid interceptions.

Sometimes I think our favorite teams just like to torment us fans every now and then. They all do it, don’t they?

Tonight the Rams play against the Chiefs. They’re both at 9-1. I’m almost afraid to watch it, especially after what my teams did on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll see if I can stay awake for the whole thing, though. I want to go bed happy.

The book signing
The author event on Saturday didn’t turn out so bad. I sold a book! I might have sold two if the girl who said she’d left her purse in the car had returned after leaving (she said she wanted one of my books). I think I gave her a magnet, so hopefully she finds me on line and buys one that way.

I guess the library does this event annually, but I doubt I go back. Just not that many romance readers attended. But I’m always willing to try new places, especially when they only cost my time and fuel to drive there.

So… Did you know this calendar year (2018) is the same as 1979? Do you know how I know that? Because Hubby and I were married on Saturday, December 1^st and this December 1^st falls on a Saturday. And Thanksgiving came early that year, too. I had flown into Georgia (probably Atlanta) to meet up with soon-to-be Hubby and we drove down to Jacksonville for me to meet his parents. For Thanksgiving. Then we drove back to Arizona and spent the week preparing for our wedding. Ahhh… memories.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Aaack! It Snowed!

Woke up this morning and came into the sunroom—which wasn’t all that sunny—and thought at first it was foggy outside. There was this softness on the rooftops. Upon closer examination (without my coffee, even), I noticed my mistake. It wasn’t fog. There is snow on the rooftops!

It snowed last night! Aaack!

Okay, not a lot of snow, but still… snow. It’s cold enough to snow out there. I am not amused.

Frankly, I thought the snow was supposed to show up sometime tonight, mixed with rain. Which was why I was kind of glad Wayne wasn’t playing tonight. We’d be sitting in that mess.


Stayed up last night

I stayed up watching the Steelers dominate the Panthers last night. Okay, I didn’t stay up THAT late. The game went by pretty quickly. And there was lots of high-fiving. I like those kinds of games!


Please send good vibes

This morning I have the honor of being my daughter’s driver. She’s going in for some minor surgery to remove a lump from her breast that isn’t cancer, but her doctor thinks it could turn into it. Best to get rid of it now and Daughter agreed (I think our new family history had helped her make that decision). Appreciate any good vibes you can send her way.

So… Did you wake up to any surprises this morning?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

It Worked, Baby Steps, and Football

It Worked… Sort of

My short story is starting to take off. In fact, I may get that sucker finished this week! I was going to write the ending, hoping to generate something, when an idea struck me at night. One of those “What if”/“Ah-ha” moments. Yay! So while I didn’t write the ending yet, just thinking about it helped me figure out what was going on in my story. I even wrote this weekend! And when I’m actually writing on the weekend, you know it’s going well. J

Baby Steps

Hubby and I are trying to get the garage set up so that we can get both cars inside. At the same time. Very important with winter closing in on us. But thinking about everything that needs to be done can be overwhelming, so we’ve been taking baby steps.

Last weekend we moved shelving and figured out how to hang the bikes and golf clubs. Bought the materials and let it sit. This weekend we actually got the bikes hung!! And we bought one larger trashcan to replace the others we have (and will dispose of…slowly). I like tackling a problem and getting it done one problem at a time. It makes it so much easier to accomplish.

A lot of our storage problems will go away once we build a shed in the backyard, but until we sell the old house, we aren’t going to spend that kind of money on the new house. People are still seeing the house, but so far no bites. L

Football

Friday night actually stayed dry and the wind was slight. Good thing, because the temps were in the 40s. If there was any kind of wind… Well, we would have been colder than we were. Unfortunately the night didn’t end well, and it wasn’t due to the weather. The Wayne Warriors lost to the Hilliard-Davidson Wildcats, 28-21. It’s nice that the score LOOKS respectable. And if Wayne didn’t kill themselves with all the penalties, they might have come out on top. But, it wasn’t meant to be. They should be a team to reckon with next year. Most of the players will return.

Saturday was a good day for my football teams! OSU beat Nebraska, WVU beat Texas, and USC beat Oregon.

And Sunday was a mixed bag. Steelers beat those nasty Ravens (yay!), but the Rams lost their first (and toughest) game (boo!).

So… Have you ever had a what if/ah-ha moment? Didn’t you just love it?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

NaNo, Playoff Football, and Trick or Treaters

NaNoWriMo

No, I’m not doing NaNoWriMo (never have), but I went to a NaNo party/get together last night, hoping I could finish my short story. Didn’t have any luck in that department, but I did manage to get my words written (I set a goal of 500 words a day, but hope for more). Now if I can only figure out where this darn story is headed! Ugh. It’s so frustrating.

Maybe I should write the ending. I kind of have an idea about that. Think that might help me figure out the stuff in the middle? Hmmm… I’ll have to give that a try today. It certainly can’t hurt.

Are you doing NaNo? Do you enjoy it? I can’t imagine writing 50,000 words in a month. That just doesn’t sound like fun. But some of the parties can be helpful if you’re stuck on a project. Like I am. I really want this short story finished so I can go back to my WIP!! Someone kick my butt!

Football Tonight

Tonight we’re driving to Hilliard to watch Wayne play in the first round of playoffs. Hilliard-Davidson (apparently Hilliard has THREE Division I high schools!!) is the #1 seed. The last time we were the #8 seed, we made it to the finals (during my son’s senior year and daughter’s freshman year of high school). I’ll be shocked if we do it again. Heck, I was super shocked the first time! So anything is possible, I suppose.

I just hope it doesn’t rain. It rained constantly yesterday and the day before. Got a lot of soggy ground around here.

Trick or Treat

Would you believe the rain let up during the 6-8pm time slot the trick or treaters were out? We got quite a bit of kids around (although the neighbors said not as many as last year) and they were at it through 8pm (the few who came through our old neighborhood all came before 7pm). Hubby and I sat outside in the garage and handed out candy. It was fun seeing all the kids. I just wish they’d taken all the candy.

Or maybe I don’t wish that so much. Haha!

So… I’d ask if you have leftover candy, but I think you all said you didn’t have any trick or treaters. Ahhh, no temptations for any of you, right?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Where Have I Been?/A Little Rant/Football

Facebook Overload

I was a bad blogger last week. But I had a good excuse. I was hosting the Sizzle and Sass page on Facebook which kind of takes over my brain (and time). Although, that doesn’t usually stop me from blogging. But hey, what can I say? I got lazy.

But… Even when I’m lazy I blog on Wednesday because READING. But I hadn’t finished reading the book yet (also due to FB).

I only host the page once every quarter, so it’s not a hardship otherwise. I know where my time will be spent and I do enjoy trying to figure out how to get people to comment. I don’t spend near that amount of time on my own page, and for good reason. It takes too much time!

But FB is over (for now) and life is almost back to normal. Of course, what is normal nowadays?

Loyalty vs. Rewards

Being on FB most of the week (doing other FB stuff besides S&S, of course), I ended up reading a lot of posts. One post in particular kind of irked me and it had to do with the loyalty program with Carnival Cruise Lines, pretty much hinting that things might change (perk-wise). Because why mention it at all, right?

Hubby and I belong with a lot of reward programs: Marriott, Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays, Fazzolis, Kroger, and Visa (to name the ones off the top of my head). We are rewarded for spending money at these places and receive goodies in return. That’s what I see as a rewards program. I’m not rewarded for my visit, but the amount of money I spend.

Loyalty programs are different, though. At least we think so. Carnival Cruise Lines calls their program a loyalty program (not a reward program). Each level (Gold, Platinum, Diamond) has perks (i.e. separate line for boarding, free laundry, free or reduced upgrades) and your level is based on number of days sailed (FYI – we’re Platinum). The levels used to be based on number of cruises, but those people who cruised a 3-day cruise got the same credit as someone who cruised a 7-day cruise. I guess CCL realized that wasn’t treating their customers fairly (or maybe they were getting too many Platinum and Diamond members that way) and they changed it. And while it hurt us in the beginning, we now see it as being the best and fairest way to reward loyalty.

So no matter what type of room we book, or how many excursions we go on, or how much money we spend, we get credit for 1 day sailed for each day of the cruise.

This one guy on FB, though, thinks these levels are classes (because Platinum and Diamond are treated differently). Then went on to say that CCL should award more points if more money is spent on a room (balcony vs inside cabin sort of thing). What? How is THAT not a class system? How is that fair to everyone? How is that rewarding LOYALTY? CCL does not have a REWARD program. They have a LOYALTY program. And there’s NOTHING stopping that guy from reaching those levels but him. But there was no getting through to him (some people are just plain pig-headed).

Anyway, I just wanted to rant about that. Do you see a difference between a reward program and a loyalty program?

So…Football (and baseball)

Remember when I said that Wayne didn’t have any chance for the playoffs? Yeah, I was wrong. Last Friday’s game was a wet, freezing mess (don’t ask me why we went to this rain-fest when we don’t have kids playing—the last one graduated in 2003) and went into overtime no less, but we came out the winners (yes, it was an exciting game and I might have enjoyed it more if I weren’t so wet and cold). And that win, combined with a couple of losses by other schools, put us in at seed 8 of 8. I’m hoping this Friday is not raining. It has rained during the last three games. We could use some dry games! I also hope Wayne plays better than they have or they aren’t getting past round 1.

Ohio State was on a bye week (meant we could work in our garage—haha!), but USC Trojans lost. L

The Steelers won handily against Cleveland (finally!). Although, what was with that free kick fiasco? Are they high school students? Yikes! At least it seems they don’t need Le’veon Bell. I hope he never returns.

And the Rams are now 8-0! Whoo hoo!! They scared me there at first, but so glad the team decided to show up toward the end of the 2^nd quarter.  Whew!

As for baseball…  Since I write and post this the night before, I hope I haven’t watched my last World Series game this year. And yes, I probably stayed up late watching it. I have for most of the others (could only make it through the 15^th inning (of an 18 inning game) on Friday’s game—it was after 2:30am!). So if the game didn’t go the way I wanted, please don’t blame me for being grumpy.

So… How’d your week go?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

From Disbelief to Happy Happy Joy Joy

My Rams are 7-0!! And the Dodgers are in the World Series!!

Those are about the only good things that happened sports-wise this weekend.

Our high school football game went into overtime and we lost. Probably lost all chance of post season games, too. Oh well… not so sure I would have enjoyed sitting in the cold. Heck it was raining during Friday’s game. Luckily, everyone voted to leave at half-time!

Ohio State’s game… well, gosh. I don’t know where our team went. They certainly weren’t playing! They finally get ranked at #2 and then they BLOW IT!! Ugh.

Even the USC Trojans lost. I know, they aren’t ranked. Still makes me sad.

The Steelers were on a bye this weekend, so no game for them. And the Penguins are on a 4-day break (again!), so no game there, either. I’m thinking maybe that was a good thing.

But the Rams are 7-0! And the Dodgers are in the World Series!! Yeah, I’m super stoked about that.

By the way… our house is now on the market. It’s even been seen by a few people. No offers yet, but we got one good review. They even mentioned they thought it was priced fairly!!! And man, that sure made us feel better.

So… How’d your weekend go? We were able to clean up/organize the garage a little. Still can only get one car in there, but we’re making progress!

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Footy Nationals was Fun…But Cold!!

I don’t remember ever being at a colder Nationals. Not even when they were in Cincinnati during some kind of wind storm (those were some wild games!). I like Racine and all, but not so much in October.

Woke up Saturday to frost on the ground (and the car). Brrr! But Hubby and I were prepared. We dressed in layers. Not enough, it turns out, but we survived.

Mainly because there was such a long time between Daughter’s footy games, we got to sit in the car and listen to the Ohio State Game, where it was much warmer.

The Columbus Cats (women) lost their first game (which was at 9am!!), but it was a close one and they played really well. Their second game (at 3pm) was a close one and we wondered what would happen if it stayed tied (like it had during most of the game). Then the Cats came alive and scored two more goals, winning their first game (and their first game at Nationals since 4 or 5 years ago).

In fact, they played so well, they still had a shot at first place!

The Columbus Cats (men) won both of their games on Saturday and everyone was hopeful for Sunday.

And Sunday was much warmer. No frost on the ground. Still cold (highs reached 54?), but this time Hubby and I were able to buy some Culvers frozen custard with TimTams!

TimTams are cookies made in Australia and they’re super good (sometimes you can find them in WalMart or Kroger, too).

The women played at 8am (Ugh!) against a team that was pretty equal to them. But they managed to squeak out a win (9-8). Their last game (at 2pm) was against an undefeated team (Sacramento Suns). The Suns only allowed something like 9 points total against all the teams they played. It was going to be a tough one.

But before the women’s last game, we watched the men play. If they won, they were in the finals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Philadelphia was a stronger team (and went on to win Div III finals).

The Cats (women), though, kind of scared the Suns. They fought back and came within a goal of winning. And they were sooo close to getting it, too. But the Suns were able to turn it around and score just as the horn blew.

But were the Cats sad? Heck no! They came in 2^nd place. Daughter had NEVER in the nine years of playing, received any kind of award. She got a medal this year. And it was well deserved.

This Footy Nationals might have been the coldest we’d ever been to, but it sure was the most fun.

And this weekend was fun in the other football sport, too! Wayne managed a win on Friday (how, I have no idea). Ohio State won ugly, but hey, a win is a win. Woke up on Sunday to see even USC won (yay!). Steelers squeaked out a win against the Bengals (got to watch the first half at B-dubs, but listened—sort of—to the rest during/after Daughter’s last game). I kind of like it when we shock the Bengals at their home (heck, I was shocked we won!). And my Rams are now 6-0! Whoo hoo!

Today we head on home with our stash of Kringles (cannot visit Racine without stocking up the freezer!). We bought a pumpkin caramel Kringle during our stay here and WOW! That one was awesome (we made sure to buy another for the trip home).

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Driving on Toll Roads

I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!

I enjoyed my vacation, don’t get me wrong, but it really feels good to be home. The hot weather was getting to me and I missed my bed.

Unfortunately, I haven’t left the hot weather behind. It’s just as warm in Dayton as it is in Florida. This is October, right?

Temperatures are due to drop this weekend. But we’ll be up in Racine, WI to watch Daughter play in US Australian Rules Football Nationals (yeah, we aren’t home for long before we have to drive up there). I believe the highs in Racine will be in the mid 50s.

Brrrrr!

Okay, that’s a little too chilly. I just hope it doesn’t rain.

As we drive up to Chicago, we’ll have to take some toll roads, but we have the I-Pass, so it makes it easier (and cheaper). I hate toll roads, but I do like the transponders. Makes driving on them a little bit cheaper (and a lot faster).

I think Florida’s toll roads have kind of gotten out of hand, though. I don’t remember there being so many ten years ago.  Now? If you want to drive to the Kennedy Space Center from Orlando it’ll cost you $7.00 one way. Oh sure, you can find a non-toll route. It’s only three miles longer, but 30 minutes are added to your trip (and you’d probably need a GPS to tell you when to turn on what road). Ridiculous!

The Florida Turnpike system also can’t decide what toll transponder they’ll take, either. Some roads are strictly the Sun Pass (like the Florida Turnpike). Other toll roads take the E-Pass, which SOMETIMES takes the EZ-Pass (which our friends have). Thing is, we never knew when those roads would take the EZ-Pass, so we had to drive through the pay lines just in case (and yes, they would take them at one toll booth but not the next one and we’d be on the same road). What a pain!

I really wish all toll roads would accept any toll transponder. It can’t be that hard to program. I-Pass and EZ-Pass seem to do it without a problem. Better yet…do away with toll roads!! I really don’t see why Florida needs them.

Today would have been a good day to post pictures, but I am not that organized. Pictures are on my phone (and some are on Hubby’s phone). So hopefully I get organized later on this week. I’m certainly going to try. I so much want to get back into a routine, which means writing daily goals to hit. I’ll make sure to add “download pictures” to my list!

Remember when wrote hoping my footballs teams would do better while I was away? Well… they have! Wayne HS actually won the last three games. Don’t know if they still have a shot at the playoffs, but at least they’re playing better now. The Steelers seem to be getting their act in gear now. Wish they could have beat the Ravens, but I’ll take the Tampa Bay and Atlanta wins (and maybe it helped we were in those cities on the day of those games???). And my Rams are still playing AWESOME! 5-0!!! They’re going to the Super Bowl this year. I just know it!!

So… Do you have toll roads in your neck of the woods? How do you feel about them?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Old House (and Football) Blues

Sometimes I think we’ll never get rid of the old house.

We’re still waiting on the basement guy to fix the leaks. He was supposed to go over to the house on Saturday, but apparently, he ran out of supplies. Whatever. I’m tired of the excuses and just want it done. Heck, I wanted it done before we left on Friday, but now I can see that probably will NOT be the case.

And what’s even worse, it’s expected to rain today (most likely from the remnants of Florence). If the basement gets wet again (and it will if it rains a lot), he has to wait for it to dry to fix.

Arrrgggghhh!!!

Guess he’ll also have to wait until we’re back from our vacation to get paid, then.

Just makes me happier and happier that he failed to show on the day I was willing to pay him. Gotta find those silver linings somewhere.

That’s my old house blues. As for the football…

Our high school football team has lost two games in a row. They haven’t done that in… well, longer than I can remember. I have a feeling we won’t need to worry about playing in the playoffs this year, because we don’t expect them to win this Friday, either. People say we can’t expect to win all the time. I say, “Why not?” Their losses won’t stop me from going to the games. My vacation will, but their record won’t.

At least Ohio State has been playing well, but the USC Trojans haven’t (boo hoo). And then there’s the Steelers… Ugh! I thought when they came back to tie it up yesterday that maybe we had a chance. I know, the season is early. I can’t doom them this early. But I sure hope they get their stuff together soon! At least I have the Rams to root for. 2-0. Yay! I liked that the Fox pre-game show last week predicted they’d win the Super Bowl this year. Boy, wouldn’t THAT be nice?

Guess my football blues aren’t all blue, huh? Maybe when we get back from vacation the records will have improved. Well, I can hope!

So far it doesn’t look like any hurricanes will spoil our next cruise, but stranger things have happened. We’ll just keep our fingers crossed that all goes well.

Hope Florence hasn’t harmed any of you or yours. The flooding is the worst, I’m sure. And she’s still out there causing problems. I’m hoping by the time she ends up our way she’s weakened considerably. I don’t want a wet basement.

So… How’d your weekend go?

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Other Stuff

I went to bed Monday night when the Rams/Raiders game was at half-time. The Rams were losing 10-13 in a back and forth type of game. Would have stayed up if I didn’t have a doctor appointment the next morning. So happy to wake up Tuesday and saw the Rams WON! 33-13. They shut those Raiders down in the second half. Whoo hoo!

As for that doctor appointment… it was a follow-up from my skin cancer “surgery” back in February. There were some spots I’ve noticed on my face and arm which I brought to their attention. The spots I found were okay (whew), but… Yeah, she saw something else on my face and it’s pre-cancerous. Now I have to put cream on the spot to kill the skin cells. Basically it burns the skin off after 3 weeks (2x a day) of treatment. That won’t be fun. Hubby had to do that to his whole face before and he was miserable! At least I can wait until I get back from vacation to start and then I can moan and groan like he did. Okay, maybe not like he did. I don’t have to put it all over my face. Just on the spot on my cheek. Still… pre-cancerous. Ugh!!!

One of these days I’m going to go to the doctor and leave without a follow up appointment!

Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #34

Dates read: September 5-11
Title: Don’t Tell
Year of publication: 2003
Author: Karen Rose
Genre: Romantic suspense
Series: Romantic Suspense #1/Chicago #1
# of Pages: 482
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: It was a desperate plan. But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child form her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of their former life is at the bottom of a lake…
    Armed with a new identity in a new town, she and her son have found refuge hundreds of miles away. As Caroline Stewart, she has almost forgotten the night-mare she left behind nine years ago. She is even taking a chance of love with Max Hunter, a man with wounds of his own. But her past is about to collide with the present when her husband uncovers her trail and threatens her hard-won peace. Step by step, he’s closing in on her—and everything and everyone she loves.
My thoughts: Man, what a page turner! I hated putting this one down. I had started reading some of Ms. Rose’s books further on in the series after I had met her at a convention and got her to sign the few books she had on hand (which I bought after someone had said they stayed up all night reading them—when I hear words like that, I gotta check them out). Then after reading those books, realized I wanted (WANTED, not needed) to read them from the beginning. You don’t have to if you don’t want (they can be read as stand alones), but man, if you love romantic suspense, you’ll want to start these from the beginning, too, if only because some of the characters will show up in future books. I have found myself another author where she’ll be an auto buy, but first I gotta get through the series (which is up to #22). I look forward to reading them all.

So… Do you prefer to binge read a series or spread them out? I’ve done both and I think I prefer binge-reading. I remember more when I’m reading them back-to-back.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I know I wanted some rain to water our newly sodded yard, but this is ridiculous! It’s been raining and raining and raining.

Then again, it’s probably a good thing it’s been raining so much. We were just about to pay the basement guy for the work he’s done at the old house when the rain hit and we discovered his fixes did not fix the leaks.

***heavy sigh***

The painters are angry, they were ready to fix the drywall and paint the basement. We were ready to tell the flooring people to come and install the carpet and tile. Now we don’t know how much longer we’re going to have to wait.

And now I’m afraid we STILL won’t have the house on the market by the time we leave for our vacation. We had such high hopes, too.

In other news… I’ve registered for the Literary Love, Authors Rock Savannah convention (held in Savannah, of course, in July 2019). One of the things they do is offer a print anthology book featuring short stories from some of the authors available only at the convention. There will be two books: suit porn and paranormal. I’m thinking suit porn has to do with billionaires or men who wear suits, but I asked about the paranormal one and guess what? I got selected (she was only taking 8 authors).

So now I’m to write a short story (8-12K) featuring the hotel we’re staying at and it has to have paranormal stuff going on. I’m thinking a ghost story would work best, but some of my readers think a mish-mash of vampire and ghost would be fun. We’ll see if I can do that in a short story. Good thing they don’t need it until April.

Still have to get off my duff and write it, though. But I am getting back into my WIP and the writing bug is hitting me. Yay!

Football season has started! High school started a few weeks ago, and college last week, but the pros started this past weekend and what the heck, Steelers? Tied with the Brownies? You don’t know how awful it was to watch that game at B-dubs (since it wasn’t on TV locally) with all the Browns fans. They are a noisy bunch. If they’re not barking, they’re booming or booing (I haven’t quite figured out what they were saying, except they were saying it LOUDLY).

So… Have you been living in soggy territory lately? Hope your house is staying dry. At least our new house is, so there’s that! I love NOT having a basement anymore.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Happy Birthday to my Son!

First off… Whoo hoo! The patriots LOST! I’m so damn happy. Okay, now on to today’s post.

It’s been awhile since my son’s birthday has fallen on a post day, so of course I can’t let the day go by without wishing him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Would you believe this fella is now 36 years old?

And would you believe he picked the Melt Bar and Grilled for his birthday dinner because the February special he’d been waiting for since he saw a picture of it (and was thrilled it was for his birthday month) was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Cowabunga Melt?

I mean, is this a sandwich YOU would crave? Not me.

We did have a nice dinner there last Thursday (it was the only day everyone could get together and celebrate—we can never seem to celebrate birthdays ON the actual birthday!). Hubby and I split a meatball and mozzarella sticks sandwich (it was HUGE but very yummy), where most everyone else just ordered a half sandwich. And that TMNT sandwich that my son got? Yeah, he couldn’t finish it. Besides the fact he couldn’t order only a half-size (not on monthly specials), I think the green pesto sauce got to him (it certainly smelled strong!). At least he no longer craves it, because he doesn’t plan on getting it again.

Tomorrow my daughter, her friend, and I will be going to Pittsburgh to see a Penguins game. Yay! Actually, we’re going to see Fleury. He’s returning via the Vegas Golden Knights. This will probably be the only time I won’t root for the Knights, though (I have my priorities!). I’m really looking forward to the game and I’ll be wearing Hubby’s Fleury Penguins jersey. The Penguins are planning on doing some kind of welcome back thing and my daughter is sure there will be a lot of wet eyes around (hers included).

So… Do you ever get to celebrate birthdays on the actual birthday? It seems to get harder and harder to do. Especially as the family grows.

Happy Monday! And Happy Giving Birth Day to me! :)

Stacy

Well, That Was Awful

Neither football team I rooted for yesterday won. Ugh. And I bet that when the Eagles play the horrible patriots in the SuperBowl, they’ll get skunked. Because that’s how it always seems to go. I have hopes someone, ANYONE will beat those horrible patriots and they never do.

I posted on Facebook and will repeat here: I don’t think I’ve hated the Cowboys as much as I hate the patriots.

And I really, really hate the Cowboys.

And yes, I’m intentionally not capitalizing the team name. That shows you how much MORE I hate them.

I suppose that’s how some people feel about the Penguins, although I don’t think the Penguins have ever been caught cheating. And maybe the patriots didn’t cheat THIS year, but they have before, so I’ll never EVER like them. Never. Ever.

As if the football games didn’t make yesterday crappy enough, I remembered (too late!) that I started hosting duties for the Sizzle and Sass page (Facebook). Oops! But when I went to post on my PC, I discovered I couldn’t. I could do it from my phone, but it’s kind of hard to post the pictures I have on my laptop from my phone. Plus, I type better on my laptop than I do on the phone (why can’t Apple have a BACK SPACE key anywhere??).

I tried everything, checked everything, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I finally contacted Facebook (with a screen shot, even).

And while I was going through all that, we were constantly losing the internet (an issue we’ve been experiencing lately). Last weekend Spectrum came out to check our router and we were told the signal was too high, causing it to short out. They supposedly fixed that problem and left the router alone.

When the internet/wifi went out yesterday (after having gone out a few times on Friday), Hubby called them again. They sent someone out again. Seems the router was going bad (no, really?). Technician replaced it, and after Hubby got the wifi up and running, guess what? I could post to the Sizzle and Sass page.

I can’t imagine our router was the cause, and I’ve never known Facebook to react so quickly, but hey, whatever. I almost thought I wasn’t going to be able to host this week.

I certainly hope the week goes better than yesterday did. I don’t like feeling grumpy!

So… What sports team (any sport) do you hate the most? Or are you the type of sports fan that just likes watching the game with no emotion whatsoever? I can’t imagine ever doing that. Why watch if you’re not going to get emotional?

Happy Monday!

Stacy