Happy Halloween!

Got any plans for the holiday? Do you like to dress up? Party? Go out trick-or-treating with the kiddos? I don’t celebrate it all that much. If I’m home (which a lot of the time we’re not, for one reason or another), I’ll hand out candy (or rice krispie treats—which is what I bought this year), but I don’t bother to dress up. We don’t get that many “beggars” around here anyway (I’ll be surprised if we get 20).

Does your neighborhood/city call Halloween “Beggars’ Night”? They call it that around here. Apparently it’s more prominent in Ohio, but I don’t know when it happened (I’ve only lived here since 1991). I always went trick-or-treating or took the kids trick-or-treating on Halloween. Around here, you’re lucky to do that on Halloween. Guess that’s why they call it Beggars’ Night. Or maybe they call it that everywhere now. I can’t tell.

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I think I finished. The novella, that is. I sure hope I finished, anyway. I won’t celebrate until I’ve read it over again today. I’m sure I forgot something. Haha!

It came in just under 24K words, though. Not too shabby.

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Hey, would you believe I cooked last night??? Yeah, I shocked myself. I am trying to start cooking a few nights each week. Not only to save money, but hopefully to save calories. We'll see how it goes.

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Tonight is the last regular season high school football game. Wayne is playing their rivals, Centerville, for the GWOC (Greater Western Ohio Conference) Central championship. At home (yay!). Win or lose, Wayne is guaranteed to play in the playoffs. Centerville needs the win to make it (I think). I hope Wayne crushes them. I’m greedy like that! J

Have a great weekend and don’t eat too much candy!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads

Here’s what I read this week (and I just barely got this one in):

Oct 27: “Chalvaren Rising” by Paula Millhouse, a romantic fantasy at 318 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: Twenty-five years ago, Theo Ansgar abandoned the Kingdom of Chalvaren for a hiding place on another world. Some called him traitor. Some, thief. Now his fully grown daughter Mia must return to the land of her birth…and their war. It was the elf prince Kort Elias who brought her back. Theirs was an instant connection, an inescapable union of body, soul and sorcery, reminding Mia of what she truly is, and what she must become. There is also Magnus, destined to be more potent than any wyrm Chalvaren has ever seen, a three-day-old dragonlet Mia must nurture and then ride. And then there is the Dragonstone, an artifact of power nonpareil. Joined, they can tip the scales of battle against the wraith-possessed forces of darkness, of Mia’s own embittered kin. Redemption will be offered, the protected will become the protector, and an ancient prophecy will come to fruition, but only righteous love can conquer all. If you like a fantasy world, elves, and dragons, give this one a try. But start with the short story, Dragonstone, first. A fun story in itself, and it might help ease a little confusion at the beginning of this book.

I was surprised I didn’t get as much reading finished this past week as I thought I would. But the drive from Cleveland was so pretty this time of year and I wanted to see all the fall colors! Since I drove to Cleveland, dark and early, I got no reading in then, either. And then, when I did have time to read, my Nook had died on me. Wouldn’t have had that problem with a paperback. I think I’ll stick to paper for awhile. It’s not like I’m going anywhere anyway. Homebound for the rest of the year!

So…do you like to read fantasies?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Good News? Not Really.

My surgery has been cancelled indefinitely. Some people might see this as good news. I don’t, necessarily.

It’s strange that I feel a little pissed I won’t be having the surgery. I was under the impression that when they scheduled it, the doctor had looked at all the tests I had gone through back in May. And that the only reason I went through some of the same tests again was to see any differences. But no, that wasn’t the case at all.

It’s like they just looked at the tests I had done last week. And now I’m told that the surgery isn’t a slam dunk. That my mitral valve prolapse isn’t like others. Apparently I have a funky flap (doctor’s words), where the bottom flap is leaking (instead of the top flap) and that the surgery wouldn’t be easy. He didn’t even think the valve could be repaired (I’ve got some calcium thing going on in there that really baffled him), which means it would need to be replaced. A replacement valve would not do me any good now. In fact, it could make things worse (a mechanical replacement valve would put me on blood thinners for the rest of my life). So… since I’m not feeling any symptoms yet, it would be best to wait until I do.

How long will that take? Anywhere from 1-10 years.

FYI – A replacement tissue valve only lasts about 10 years. Another reason to wait.

At least I now know my condition is NOT life threatening. That did concern me. I may get weaker and have trouble catching my breath (the symptoms I’m to expect), but I’m not at risk for a heart attack and I’m not a “ticking time bomb.”

I feel kind of stupid telling everyone about my upcoming surgery now. Makes me think I should just keep quiet about these things. But if I can’t talk about what’s going on in my life, then I might as well not blog. Because I can’t see me blogging just trying to sell my books. No one would stick around for that. I wouldn’t.

Now to change the subject, here are some pictures I took while up in Cleveland. These were taken in Westlake, Ohio, along Lake Erie. I loved seeing some fall colors.

That's Cleveland in the distance.

Wayne High School won their football game Friday night. Still undefeated. We’re playoff bound. Yay!

So… Who’s planning on watching “Supergirl” tonight? I’m really looking forward to that show. Looks fun!

Have a great Monday. J

Stacy

Now I Can Say I’ve Done THAT

Well, I had my heart catheterization procedure yesterday. The procedure itself wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was the recovery that stunk.

I was given a sedative during the procedure, so I was awake during it all, just kind of loopy. Not such a bad state to be in when you don’t want to know what’s going on around your groin area.

But then the nurse had to remove the tube from my groin. Even that was painless. It wasn’t until she had to push down with all her might (I swear it felt like it) to keep the artery from bleeding. That hurt. A lot. For 20 minutes.

Then I had to lie on my back, keep my leg straight and still, for FOUR HOURS. Okay, they lifted my head up a little (very little) so I could eat (they provided me dinner, which my husband had to feed to me). I wasn’t allowed to lift my neck or move my leg. You try doing that for four hours and see how you feel. It’s especially bad when you have an itch.

Then you have my husband, who decided to have some fun. I was told I had to drink plenty of water to flush the die out of my system. I asked him for some water. He proceeded to dip his fingers in the cup and flick the water in my face.

Now, is that the sign of a loving husband or what? Of course, I laughed (which he knew I would) and I told him if he even tried that sh*t after my surgery, I would take a baseball bat to him. I don’t know if I want to laugh after the surgery. It’ll probably hurt!

Anyway, you should have seen the way he fed me dinner. Kind of hard to eat while laughing AND lying on your back.

Oh, and by the way, the catheterization went well. I have no blockage anywhere. My arteries are AWESOME! It’s just my valve that’s broken. It was nice to hear how HEALTHY I am otherwise. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, though (allergies, knee, feet).

Today I get to see my surgeon and then get cleared for surgery. We’re hoping to get out of here in time to see the football game, but it’ll be cutting it close. My last appointment is with admitting at 2pm. We’ve got a 3+ hour drive ahead of us. Our luck, we’ll hit rush hour traffic!

Have a great weekend. I’m certainly going to try. J

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and a Busy Week

Home for a few hours yesterday, only to leave bright and early (or would that be dark and early?) this morning for Cleveland. At least I’m getting some reading done. I’m now six books ahead of schedule with only 12 left to reach my goal. I have a feeling I’ll meet it this year, no problem!

Here’s what I read this week:

Oct 14: “About a Vampire” by Lynsay Sands, #22 in the Argeneau Vampire series, a paranormal romance at 357 pages. Blurb from book: With immortal good looks and scorching charisma, Justin Bricker has yet to meet a woman he can’t win over. His potential life mate should be no different. But instead of falling into his bed, Holly Bosley runs away and ends up mortally wounded. To save her, he has to turn her. And then Bricker learns the shocking truth: Holly’s already married. Holly wakes up with a bump on her head, a craving for blood, and a sexy stranger who insists they belong together. She needs Bricker’s help to control her new abilities, even as she tries to resist his relentless seduction. Choosing between the world she knows and the eternity he offers is impossible. But Justin is fighting for his life mate—maybe even his life—and he’ll break every rule to do it… When I saw Justin was finally getting his own book, I was happy. He’s been in so many of the other books, usually the comic relief, and one of my favorite characters. But poor Justin. Even I wouldn’t have dreamed how cruel he’d be treated. He might have harassed a few dozen people, but he never sabotaged their love life. And really, I would have thought he’d realize what was happening well before he did. Still, it was a good romance and I enjoyed his story very much. This is one of my most favorite series. Always a good time reading these books.

Oct 16: “Kiss Chase” by Danica Avet, #3 in the Crushes to Cravings Tale, a contemporary erotic romance at 57 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: Falling for Hyde Parker was easy to do—Ava Boudreaux managed that feat before the second grade—but making him see her as more than a friend seems next to impossible. Desperate to start a new life somewhere Hyde-free, Ava is on the verge of accepting a job in a new city when the opportunity of a lifetime falls into her lap. It’ll mean staying in Grand Terre and using every ounce of willpower she has to keep from making a fool of herself over Hyde. Hard enough to do when they live in the same town, how’s she going to manage when they work together? Chasing and kissing Ava was a lot easier when they were in grade school. Back then all he had to do was run and tackle. Now that’s considered stalking and assault, leaving Hyde needing more subtle means of showing her how much he loves her. Being her protector, watching from afar and hoping that one day their relationship statuses would match up hasn’t worked well so far. Now Hyde knows it’s time to step up his game before he loses Ava for good. It’ll take some maneuvering, a little manipulation and lots of scorching hot kisses to bring this extended game of Kiss Chase to an end. I really enjoyed the story and the sex scenes were especially steamy, but I didn’t like how it ended on a cliffhanger. Then again I despise cliffhangers! I didn’t read the first two in this series and maybe it would have helped understand why there was a cliffhanger. I didn’t realize the title was the name of a kid’s game. I’ve never heard of it before (although, back when I was 9 or 10 I did chase some boys around and kiss them. Hmmm…).  

Oct 19: “Myth and Magic” by Mae Clair, a romantic suspense at 252 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: Veronica Kent fell in love with Caith Breckwood when they were children. As a teenager, she was certain he was the man she was destined to marry. But a traumatic event from Caith's past led him to fear a future together. He left Veronica, hoping to save her from a terrible fate. Twelve years later, Caith, now a P.I., is hired to investigate bizarre incidents at the secluded retreat Veronica manages. Returning to his hometown, Caith is forced to face his nightmares—and his feelings for the woman he’s always loved. After the callous way Caith broke her heart, Veronica isn’t thrilled to see him again. But strange occurrences have taken a dangerous toll on business at Stone Willow Lodge. Forced to work together, Veronica discovers it isn’t ghostly apparitions that frighten her, but her passion for a man she has never forgotten. Or forgiven. Can two people with a tarnished past unearth a magical future? Something made me think this was a ghost story, but it’s not and that ended up being okay because it turned out to be a romantic suspense. I love those, too! Got caught up in the story right away and had a hard time putting it down. But reading this right after Kiss Chase kind of messed up my mind. They both start with a couple who knew each other as kids, so of course, I kept getting them mixed up. Ooops.

Oct 19: “Felt Tips: Office Supply Erotica” edited by Tiffany Reisz, a collection of erotic short stories at 306 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: The World’s Greatest Charity Anthology of Office-Supply-Related Erotica! This might have been a charity book, but I got it free when I attended RT2014. I’ve been reading this book for awhile (since August). Usually whenever I just wanted to read something quick. It’s good for that. You’ll find almost any kind of erotica in this collection—m/f, m/m, f/f, f/m/f—and there are LOTS of stories. After awhile I skipped through the f/f (they just don’t interest me). There were some good ones in this collection but most of them were just okay.

I expect I’ll be getting more reading in this week. At least I’ve been warned to bring a book during one of my procedures. Fun! Not. 

So… how’s your reading coming along?

Happy Reading!

Stacy