With the end of the year comes the last book post of 2006:

102. Taking The Fifth - J.A. Jance
103. Night Shift/ Night Shadows - Nora Roberts
104. Improbable Cause - J.A. Jance
105. A More Perfect Union - J.A. Jance
106. Dismissed With Prejudice - J.A. Jance
107. Minor In Posession - J.A. Jance
108. Payment In Kind - J.A. Jance
109. Without Due Process - J.A. Jance
110. The Dirt - Motley Crue w/ Neil Strauss
111. Failure To Appear - J.A. Jance

So. My book total for 2006 was 111. Enh. I can do better, I think.

The book of the month is also going to be the Book Of The Year - drum roll, please....

......

The Dirt - Motley Crue.

This was the definitive Motley Crue biography and it was awesome! I loved that it wasn't just some author telling the stories, it was actually the guys. Each guy would write a chapter and it was fun seeing how their stories interwove with each others. You really get the feeling you know them after you read it. Tommy Lee is so funny and just a hopeless romantic underneath all his tattoos, Nikki Sixx is just a nerd in leather who had a horrible family life growing up, Mick Mars is a quiet, introspective, funny guy who you end up feeling sorry for (medical problems and women screwing him over left & right) and Vince Neil...well, he's exactly what I expected: pretty much self-involved except when it comes to his kids. It was so sad reading about when his little girl died from cancer.

Katherine by Anya Seton was in the lead for Book of the Year until a girl at work told me I had to read The Dirt. Now I'm obsessed with Motley Crue, thank you!

I hope all of you out there have a fun, safe & Motley New Year!! :-)

Labels: Books

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This is what I got for Christmas.

No, not the man himself, just his jersey. Pretty awesome. Plus, barring another freaking blizzard that's supposed to hit us tonight I will be seeing him & his Boys beat the tar out of the 49'ers on New Years Eve!

Great fun for me. Hope you all had a great Christmas!!

Labels: Christmas

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Because of the State of Emergency blizzard that our town was hindered by this past week, our mail system shut down for 2 days. When we finally got mail yesterday, there was a ton of it - including a handful of Christmas cards.

The first one I opened was from my Uncle Ray and his family. It was a picture card that had a nice photo of Ray, Mary Beth and their daughters Mandy & Amy. It was a great picture of all them. I turned it over and over once more but they hadn't signed it. I told Collin, who was opening up a card of his own, "I'm glad I know what they look like cuz they didn't sign it."

"You think that's bad, there's nothing on this card at all." Sure enough, Collin had gotten a card addressed to him with no return address on the envelope and no signature in the card. We think it might be from Charlie, the guy who helped Collin finance for the new house but we don't know. It's a mystery.

Then we got a card that wasn't even for us. It was for a couple who used to live at that address.

THEN!! Collin got a letter from Saturn saying "Thank you" for buying a car and here's a sticker to put on your windshield that will get you maintenance discounts at the service center. Guess what? There was no sticker. CRAZY!

Hope you all have a great and safe Christmas!!

Labels: Christmas

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Collin laughing to himself

Me: What?

Collin: I was just thinking that it would be cool to have an air hair band...

Me: An air hair band?

Collin: Yeah, they'd all be bald but swinging their invisible hair around while they're playing air instruments. It'd be great!

Me: laugh laugh laugh. Later: laugh laugh laugh

Collin: Are you still laughing about the air hair band?

Me: Yeah.

Collin: They would call themselves Rapunzel.

About 20 minutes later a couple sat down behind us and the lady started laughing at something her dinner partner said.

Me: Do you think what he said was funnier than Rapunzel?

Collin: No way! Rapunzel was brilliant!

Labels: Conversations

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So Collin tagged me. And no matter what anyone says, I'm not going to call him an evil bastard. He knows I like things like this. So! Here we go:

1. I can sing "My Heart Will Go On" in Italian. Yep. Sure can. When the theme to Titanic was everywhere, Sarah Brightman released a version in Italian on her Eden CD. She included the words. I learned it. So if I ever go to Italy then I can sing while I'm there but that would be about it.

2. I was almost run over by a car driven by a pro wrestler. I was in high school, I think. Derek, Ryan & I went to a WWF event at the Springs Auditorium and Ryan wanted to meet Miss Elizabeth sooooo bad. We went running across the parking lot and out of nowhere came a white sedan and it came within inches of splattering me on the pavement. I looked in the window and sitting at the wheel, looking at me sort of bemused-like, was Tito Santana!

3. I collect anything with The Little Mermaid on it. I don't care what it is. I saw a bike helmet at Toys R Us the other day and I wanted it just cuz it was Ariel. I bought a sucker ring last week and refuse to eat it cuz I like the picture of her.

4. I hate Henry Rollins sooooo much, flames come out of my head....I really, really do. A few years ago I was watching VH-1 and there was an interview with him where he was discussing groupies. His quote was "It never fails...there's always some fat groupie named Heather who says 'will you sign my Care Bear?'" Oooo! Pissed me off!! Dick!

5. What stresses me out the most? Parking. Seriously. If I have to go somewhere I've never been, I will drive by a couple days before hand to scout out the parking situation. I go to pick up Justin & Jordyn from school a half hour early so I can get the best parking spot. I get all freaky about where I put my car. I'm terrified of towing companies, as well.

So there you go. Not as interesting as Derek & Collin but - - still...you probably didn't know any of that unless you were Derek or Collin. Oh! And I'm not adopted, no matter what Derek says. He said that one day when we were younger and Mom came home from work. I said, "My mom is home!" and he, of course, said that she wasn't my mom cuz I was adopted. When I told mom that and added that my reply had been that I couldn't be adopted since I looked just like her, she said, "Well, that's because I'm adopted, too." Ha!

Labels: Quiz

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What's worse that having to work on Christmas?

Getting laid off 2 weeks before Christmas. No, I wasn't, thank God! But a whole bunch of people where I work sure did. It was a huge surprise...we usually hear rumors long before a lay off takes place but this one caught everyone by surprise. I don't know the exact number - but there were quite a few. And to make matters worse - - the new CEO that came in to do the lay-offs....he came & went in a limo. Yeah. Merry Freakin' Christmas!

But!!! On a happier, more Christmasy note - - -



Mom, as part of our Christmas gift, took Collin, Derek, Squatchy & I to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert last night. Dad was supposed to go as well but he had a homeowners board meeting that he couldn't get out of so a friend of ours, Trina, went with us.

This was the 3rd time Mom & I had seen TSO. It was Derek & Squatchy's 2nd. Trina & Collin, however, were TSO Virgins. There's nothing like seeing these guys for the first time. They are truly mind-blowing. It's so fun to watch people who have never seen them before react to the music and the light show.

In case you don't know, Trans-Siberian Orchestra was formed by a couple former members of heavy metal band Savatage. The fact that these guys combine a metal sound with classical & Christmas music is awesome. It's the coolest sound ever!! They go from playing Carmina Burana to rocking out on Layla. Then, they start a Beethoven song and the guitar player smiles at the crowd before playing the intro to a Yes tune that mixes perfectly with good old Ludwig.

I can't explain how incredible this band is. You have to see them for yourselves. They will give you back your Christmas Spirit in spades!!!

Labels: Music

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When I was little, Christmas was a magical time. No school, the Christmas tree lit in front of the window, presents underneath, the one & only Christmas album we had playing on the stereo. It was fun. It was always a given that Dad would be off work because the theatre would be closed. We would either go to Grand Junction to have Christmas with our family or have friends and family over to our house. Derek & I would be up at or before daybreak to see what Santa left us. There was no Christmas music played on radio stations until after Thanksgiving - the same with the ads on TV. But now...

TELEVISION ADS: Commercials hawking their products for Christmas seem to be starting earlier every year. This year there were ads before Thanksgiving! It's hard to get in the mood for Christmas shopping before you've had your turkey. And they're all for either cars or jewelry! Or toys. Toys, toys, toys!

SHOPPING: And then there's Black Friday. I've been unlucky enough to have experienced Black Friday firsthand and I'll never do it again. Sure, the sales might be good but dealing with surly clerks who had to be there at 4am to open the store at 5am and the shoppers who don't care if they trample your ass as long as they get their Playstation 3!

CHRISTMAS MUSIC: I like Christmas music but I can only take so much of it. We have a local radio station that starts playing Christmas music 24/7 on Thanksgiving and continues to do so until January 2nd! Seriously, how many times can I hear "Feliz Navidad" before I have to beat my head against a wall? When I was little, it was a treat to hear "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" or "Jingle Bells" on the radio. When I worked at the radio station, we were only allowed to play one an hour and I thought that was perfect. The closer it got to Christmas, we'd move up to 2 an hour.

WORKING: Thanksgiving & Christmas used to be all about family. Businesses would close and people would be with their loved ones. No more. Thanksgiving is a prime shopping day for those who don't want to go out on Black Friday so more & more stores are staying open. We had our turkey dinner late this year because Mom had to work! And where I work - it's a 24/7/365 kind of business. Holiday or not, if it's your scheduled day, you will be here unless you're lucky enough to get your day-off request in early enough. This year we were informed by our new VP that the whole plant would shut down for Dec 24th & 25th. Yay!! For a month we were all happy. Then yesterday we were informed that we have so much product only our area won't close. I got the time off but that's not fair for those people who didn't. Now they're stuck here when they were promised the time off! It's all about the money.

Christmas has become too commercial. It's been that way for years but this year it seems worse. My Christmas spirit is being drowned - I don't think many people remember what Christmas is about anymore. It should be about family, friends, caring & sharing.

And time off from work!

Labels: Christmas

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Much like Collin not wanting to post about his son taking a header into the sliding glass door, I initially wasn't going to post about this. But I have to- I have to share the laughter with everyone!

I went to breakfast with my Dad Wednesday morning and he told me a story about Mom that had me laughing throughout the meal. I couldn't stop. After we ate, we went to Mom's store and as she was walking the store with me, dispensing Christmas gift ideas, I asked her to tell me the story in her words. She looked a tinch downcast as she said, "Oh. You heard the story." She proceeded, however, to fill me in. Here it is - you'll laugh, trust me...

Mom had gotten an email the day before from her boss about some jewelry armoires that were supposed to be all cherry wood but some stores had gotten them with oak legs. He wanted all stores to check their inventory of the armoires to make sure their's didn't have mismatched legs. Now, with Christmas almost upon us, Mom's warehouse is stacked to the gills. And of course the box she needed was on the top ledge, surrounded by other boxes. But being the dilligent and dedicated manager that she is, Mom grabbed a ladder and climbed her way over the boxes to where she needed to be.

Her armoires were fine - they all matched. Crisis averted. She started climbing back towards her ladder...she only had one more box to get over but it was a big one: taller than her and wide. She stepped on it and it gave way. In she went - - and from here on, I'm telling the story in her words: "It was full of teddy bears! Full!! Bears on all sides of me. And I couldn't get out! I would try to pull myself out and the bears would suck me back in!! And then I started to lose my shoes and so I was concentrating on keeping my shoes on! I didn't want my shoes lost in a box of bears!! So I'm struggling and struggling and I'm getting sucked in deeper and deeper...finally Rebekah (who I told, 'don't forget I'm back here. If you don't see me, something might have happened. Come check on me!') came back since I'd been gone so long and when she saw me struggling she just started laughing! But she helped me out! And I'll tell you - when I got out of there, I was so shaky...just weak and wasted!!"

The picture in my head of my poor mother trapped in a box of teddy bears is too funny! I'm just glad she got out all right!

Labels: Mom

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Despite the fact that I had to train someone at work, I finally read the 100th book of the year last month! Yay! My resolution to read 200 books fell way way way by the wayside - I would have to be reading continuously to hit that mark! We'll see - maybe 2007 will be the year. Anyway, without further ado, here is the list for November:

96. Memory In Death - JD Robb
97. Katherine - Anya Seton
98. The Lives Of The Kings & Queens Of England - Edited by Antonia Fraser
99. Until Proven Guilty - JA Jance
100. Injustice For All - JA Jance
101. Trial By Fury - JA Jance

Shanon let me borrow a bag of JA Jance books a few months ago and while I read all of the Joanna Brady books she had, I hadn't yet started on the JP Beaumont series. She had been telling me how much better JP was than Joanna and I believe her. Both series are good but I really like Beau. He's pretty cool.

But! The Book of the Month goes to Katherine by Anya Seton. It was a masterpiece of romance and history woven together to make a book that completely transported me to the 14th century, based on the real-life romance between Katherine Roet Swynford and John of Gaunt (my 19th great grandparents if you believe what you find online!!). One section was about Katherine and her pilgramage and how she was forsaking everything but God - - it was so powerfully written that I cried the whole way through that part and actually felt like I was her, that I needed to repent and give up my heathen ways! :-) It was a wonderful book, one of the best I'd read since Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

Maybe next year, I'll copy Kathleen and also post the movies I watch every month!

Labels: Books

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This post is done especially for my cousin Shirley in Maryland who wanted to see some family pics! Here we go - enjoy!!


Here's my brother Derek...he usually has his mouth wide open so this is a rare shot.


This is Jordyn, Collin's 6 year old daughter after she lost her front tooth a couple months ago.


Derek's wife Heather, aka Squatchy aka Squishy


Collin's 13 year old son Justin after a hard day at school.


Here's Collin - so cute, huh? :-)


My dad - aka BigFryPapa. This is my favorite picture of him!


My mom Karen - I'm her clone.


And here's me and my boy Sam. You can't see me too good - there's a reason for that. Sam's MUCH cuter, trust me!

Have a great weekend

Labels: Pictures

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