Wednesday Reads and Happy Birthday to my Daughter

I picked short books because I was waiting on the book I want to read (it arrived in the mail on Monday), and then when I read the first one faster than I expected, I had to find another short book. Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #19

Dates read: April 3-5
Title: Turning Thirty-Twelve
Year of publication: 2008
Author: Sandy James
Genre: Contemporary romance/women’s fiction
Series:  N/A
# of Pages: 173
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Jackie Delgado didn’t want a new man in her life until a dreaded blind date turns out to be more exciting than she’d ever imagined. When her youngest son leaves for college, Jackie is hit hard by empty nest syndrome and pours herself into her work as a teacher. Bowing to pressure from friends, Jackie agrees to a blind date. But when Mark Brennan calls, she realizes the date won’t be “blind.” He’s the father of one of her students.
    Widower Mark Brennan isn’t looking for love. After only a few dates with Jackie, he realizes he’s quickly forming deep feelings for her. Wracked with guilt that he’s “abandoning” his late wife, Mark resists the pull toward dynamic Jackie. When Mark’s daughter begins to date Jackie’s son, things become more complicated.
    Can Jackie and Mark find the courage to leave the past behind and embrace a new love? And how will a surprise pregnancy affect all their lives?
My thoughts: I have a hard time calling something a “romance” when it’s in first person, thus the slash “women’s fiction” label. I bought this book sooooo long ago, when the author spoke at my old Cincinnati RWA chapter. And it sat on my shelf because it’s first person contemporary/women’s fiction. But surprise, surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was told so well in the way I enjoy first person. And it had humor. I love humor.

Book #20

Dates read: April 6-7
Title: Free Falling
Year of publication: 2012
Author: S.E. Jakes
Genre: M/M romance
Series:  Extreme Escapes, Ltd.
# of Pages: 112
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Free from some convention
Blurb from book: Blue is a thief who lives for adrenaline and anger. And when he meets Mick, a mercenary, he’s hit with a buzz of attraction like the rush of a high-rise job without a safety rope. But after making plans to get together, Mick leaves him hanging and Blue vows never again.
    A year later, Mick watches helplessly as Blue stumbles into the middle of one of Mick’s jobs. Risking his cover and their lives, Mick saves Blue and cares for him as he recuperates, but neither man has any idea how to handle the intimacy this forces them into.
    Once blue is safe, Mick redoubles his efforts to take down the drug lord responsible—and disappears. Blue goes after him, determined to return the favor and rescue the man he loves, no matter the cost.
My thoughts: Kind of a thin story. And most of the sex (and there was quite a bit) was due to some drug. Yeah, there was attraction between the two, but I would have preferred their first “coupling” be from want, not need. Still an entertaining read, but could have been so much more.

Today this little girl (seen here with her brother) turns 34! Gosh, where have the years gone?

Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

I'm Going to Game 3!!!

The Penguins made it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs and my daughter usually gets tickets to one of their games (as long as it’s on a weekend). This year, their first home game is on Sunday and I’m going with her!!!

We have tickets to Game 3!!! Yay!

I’ve never been to a Stanley Cup playoff game. I expect the excitement level will be a lot higher than a regular season game. I know I’m more excited!

The game starts at noon, which means we’ll have to leave here early (it’s about a 4-hour drive). I’ve been doing really well writing 500+ words every day and I really don’t want to miss Sunday, so I’ll probably take my laptop and write in the car (thank goodness my daughter prefers to drive). I don’t want to mess up my continuous writing streak (today is day 22) and I really think just writing 500+ words a day helps me stay in my story (even though I know I have MAJOR problems with it—problems with how any of the conflict affects my main character—oops!). But if I stop writing, I may stop altogether (what may? I will—that’s what’s happened in the past) and hopefully just 500+ words a day will keep my brain working to figure out the solution to my problem.

I’m also meeting with a plotting group tonight and hope they’ll be able to offer some suggestions.

But I’m not letting a trip to Pittsburgh mess up my writing. I mean, it’s only 500+ words. I can do this in the car. I’m certainly going to try in any case.

So… Have you ever been to a playoff game? Doesn’t have to be hockey. High school football playoffs are pretty fun (although I don’t like sitting out in the cold), but I have a feeling I’ll be more stressed over this game than I ever was for the HS ones.

Happy Monday.

Stacy

Cool Beans!

Last night, while the Penguins were playing in Pittsburgh and not being televised here, I saw someone post on Facebook that the NHL App was showing the game for free. I have the NHL App on my phone (shocker, huh?) and since I wasn’t doing much, decided to check it out.

It worked!

But it gets even better…

Hubby thought he would be able to get the NHL App on our new TV. That didn’t seem to work so well, but… He has it set up so I was able to plug my phone in.

Now the game was on the big TV! Whoo hoo!

Even better…

The Penguins won! They’re in the playoffs for the 13^th season in a row!!!

Time for some Snoopy dancing!!!

So… Got any big/fun plans this weekend? I don’t think we have anything planned. If Hubby is busy with his online game (which he usually is), maybe I’ll watch some more Doctor Who. I finished the second season on Wednesday and cried!!! Yeah, I guess you can say I’m getting into this show.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Hints of Spring

I saw my first mosquito yesterday. Man, it’s not warm enough to sit outdoors for any length of time and the mosquitoes are already out? Just doesn’t seem right.

Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #18

Dates read: March 27 – April 2
Title: Eternal Echoes
Year of publication: 2013
Author: Anastasia Virgas
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series:  Sisters of the Devine Book 1
# of Pages: 231
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Ariston Dago is a sentry, a protector for his people. He watches the waters of his territory, keeping his god and his race safe both above and below the murky depths around Venice, Italy. When he’s compelled to save a human that falls from a transport, his life is forever changed, because the human he saves, Teagan Moss, is his mate, the first human to ever mate a Dagonite.
    Teagan Moss is the kind of woman to shoot first and then question the body later. When she wakes with a Hydro bomb strapped to her body, she knows someone is going to pay for trying to kill her, and that she is going to need the help of a sexy exotic Dagonite to find out who exactly needs that bullet in their brain. What she doesn’t count on, is the scorching attraction she feels for the male who is so certain she is his.
    Thrust into solving the mystery surrounding the attempt on his mate’s life, Ari and Teagan uncover more than the answers they are looking for, and the truths they unearth could send the world into another war.
My thoughts: In case you were wondering, Ari is an octopus shifter. Pretty unique. I would have preferred the characters be a little more in depth, but otherwise it was an entertaining read. My paper copy was messed up format-wise (which the author is trying to get fixed), making it difficult to read at times, but it wasn’t available via Nook (you probably won’t have this problem if you read it on a Kindle), or I would have gotten a copy that way. If you like fated romance books and are curious about octopus shifters, give this one a try.

Now that I’m pretty much back to normal, I’ve been able to watch Doctor Who again. I’m in the middle of Season 2 reboot (w/David Tennant). Gotta say, I’m enjoying it even more on the big TV.

So… Are you getting hints of spring where you are? My grass is trying very hard to be green again.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

In Case You Didn’t Notice, It’s April Fool’s Day

Do people still pull pranks on April Fool’s Day? The local radio station I used to listen to (it no longer exists, which is too bad because I really liked it) used to play some interesting pranks. Once, they switched over to country. Good thing I knew what day it was, so I didn’t call them and give them a piece of my mind. Instead, I just turned the radio off and waited until later in the day when they went back to playing the music I enjoyed listening to (and no, it’s NOT country!). Another year they pretended to emcee a parade held on I-70. Yeah, that was bizarre. I can’t believe anyone actually fell for their pranks, but hey, you never know. Maybe that’s why they aren’t around anymore? Hmmm…

Anyway… if you see something that looks suspect today, it could end up being a prank. I thought about writing something false and then ending it in "April Fool’s!", but I procrastinated too long and never came up with anything.

On Friday, Hubby and I finally replaced our 2004 Sony 1080i HD LCD 40” TV with a Sony 4KHD LED 65” TV (and would you believe the new TV weighs LESS than the old??). While the 40” TV worked fine in our family room at the old house, it was a little farther from the seating area in the new house and just looked…small. Plus, it only had one HDMI connection, making it hard for us to connect more than one device.

I found one that was on sale at the Base Exchange and we decided to go for it. And man, what a difference. I took before and after pictures (didn’t think about turning on the TV, oh well).

This is our old set.

This is the new one. BIG!!!

It’s also a smart TV and gets Netflix and Amazon Prime and whatever other kind of streaming services are out there. One of these days we might actually check them out, too! But for now, it’s just nice to be able to see the TV from the couch and not have to squint.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t THAT bad. But watching hockey on it now is AWESOME!!

Oh, and the Penguins are TWO POINTS away from making it into the playoffs. TWO. POINTS!! They better do it in the next game.

So… how old (and big) is your television set? Are you happy with it or looking to replace it? I can’t believe how much cheaper they are now. Our 2004 model cost over $3000. The new one? $899. Crazy, huh?  

Happy Monday.

Stacy