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On Sale November 4, 2008
I am Meredith, princess of faerie, wielder of the hands of Flesh and Blood, and at long last, I am with child-twins, fathered by my royal guard. Though my uncle, Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, claims that he is the true father since he abducted me from my home, betrayed, and defiled me. And now he has branded my guards as a threat to my unborn children. Bearing an heir has placed me halfway to my aunt's throne, that much closer to my reign over the Unseelie Court-and well ahead of her son, my cousin Cel, in this race. Now I must stay alive to see my children born and claim my place as queen. But not all in faerie are pleased with the news, and conspirators from every court in the realm plot against me and mine. They seek to strip my guards, my lovers, from me by poisoned word or cold steel. But I still have supporters, and even friends, among the goblins and the sluagh, who will stand by me. I am Meredith Nic Essus, and those who would defy and destroy me are destined to pay a terrible price-for I am truly my father's daughter. To protect what is mine, I will sacrifice anything-even if it means waging a great battle against my darkest enemies and making the most momentous decision ever made as princess of faerie. Click here to read an excerpt
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tightening the belt
I riding along in the car today, flipping channels when I stop on a morning show talking about a big write up in YAHOO. This was about how women are turning to prostitution/escort services to pay their bills. I guess I was astounded, maybe like a few listeners. Are you serious? Prostitution has been around since we landed/grew/placed here eons ago.
SideNOTE: I happen to support prostitution, if it is regulated. Look at Denmark, it is a remarkable trade. There is less disease and health issues because it is mandated for checkups and screening. Plus people, mostly women are protected. I don't know about the social stigma there, but if it was a "accepted" practice (which means out in the open) then we might have less issues over all. Ummm...it's a thought.
So what got me riled was the notion that people are suffering in our current economy. I realize that some people aren't working and can't find work, not really talking about them. It is the people who are working and have been.
After I stopped working and we went to a single income, DAMN, we tightened our belts. We were hit in our personal economy in a big way. So we stop going out, we revised our "necessities". We sold our cars, actually one we turned in to the dealer rather than wait for it to be repossessed. So we traded down to cars we could afford. Although we have 2 cars, they are both almost 20 years old. They get us to were we need to go and that is what counts. I know my husband suffers with the "look" of his car, but each month when he doesn't have to pay a car payment or even high gas bill...gee whiz, it looks better.
So this "decline" in the economy isn't hitting us as hard as I am hearing others. So it had me thinking why? What came to me was the fact we are stripping to bones now. We have some luxuries, who can truly go without unless you had no other choice, we are enjoying life with what we have now. If we can't afford it, we don't have it. We spend where it is needed and try to use what we have wisely. Don't get me wrong, we struggle between what we want and what we need, usually every month. But we have gotten good at either making-do or just using what we have.
So I guess we were just ahead of the rest of the nation in learning to tighten that belt. Since we are all just a little bigger, it might pinch a bit.
SideNOTE: I happen to support prostitution, if it is regulated. Look at Denmark, it is a remarkable trade. There is less disease and health issues because it is mandated for checkups and screening. Plus people, mostly women are protected. I don't know about the social stigma there, but if it was a "accepted" practice (which means out in the open) then we might have less issues over all. Ummm...it's a thought.
So what got me riled was the notion that people are suffering in our current economy. I realize that some people aren't working and can't find work, not really talking about them. It is the people who are working and have been.
After I stopped working and we went to a single income, DAMN, we tightened our belts. We were hit in our personal economy in a big way. So we stop going out, we revised our "necessities". We sold our cars, actually one we turned in to the dealer rather than wait for it to be repossessed. So we traded down to cars we could afford. Although we have 2 cars, they are both almost 20 years old. They get us to were we need to go and that is what counts. I know my husband suffers with the "look" of his car, but each month when he doesn't have to pay a car payment or even high gas bill...gee whiz, it looks better.
So this "decline" in the economy isn't hitting us as hard as I am hearing others. So it had me thinking why? What came to me was the fact we are stripping to bones now. We have some luxuries, who can truly go without unless you had no other choice, we are enjoying life with what we have now. If we can't afford it, we don't have it. We spend where it is needed and try to use what we have wisely. Don't get me wrong, we struggle between what we want and what we need, usually every month. But we have gotten good at either making-do or just using what we have.
So I guess we were just ahead of the rest of the nation in learning to tighten that belt. Since we are all just a little bigger, it might pinch a bit.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Toddler Diet
(found on the internet, author unattributed)
Americans are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet), or you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet), or you go broke (the all-meat diet). Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3 days, or go right back to stuffing their faces after it is all over. Is there nothing you can do but give up and tell your friends you have a gland problem? Or is there a slim (groan) hope?
Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet! Over the years you may have noticed, as I have, that most two-year-olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of black coffee and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After consultation with pediatricians, X-ray technicians, and distraught moms, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive, offering great variety and sufficient quantity. Before embarking on this diet, however, be sure to check with your doctor... otherwise you might have to see him afterward. Good luck!
DAY ONE
Breakfast
One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly.
Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor.
Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.
Lunch
Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).
Dinner
A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel.
Bedtime Snack
Toast piece of bread and toss it on the kitchen floor.
DAY TWO
Breakfast
Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.
Lunch
Half a tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of Purina Dog Chow (any flavor).
One ice cube, if desired.
Afternoon Snack
Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt.
Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again.
Then bring inside and drop on the rug.
Dinner
A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril.
Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes; eat with a spoon.
DAY THREE
Breakfast
Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat with fingers, rub in hair.
Glass of milk: drink half, stuff pancakes in glass.
After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, and put it on the cushion of your best chair.
Lunch
Three matches, peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor.
Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.
Dinner
Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips.
FINAL DAY
Breakfast
A quarter-tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive.
Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add a half-cup of sugar.
Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.
Lunch
Eat crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.
Dinner
A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate.
Stick of mascara for dessert.
Americans are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet), or you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet), or you go broke (the all-meat diet). Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3 days, or go right back to stuffing their faces after it is all over. Is there nothing you can do but give up and tell your friends you have a gland problem? Or is there a slim (groan) hope?
Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet! Over the years you may have noticed, as I have, that most two-year-olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of black coffee and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After consultation with pediatricians, X-ray technicians, and distraught moms, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive, offering great variety and sufficient quantity. Before embarking on this diet, however, be sure to check with your doctor... otherwise you might have to see him afterward. Good luck!
DAY ONE
Breakfast
One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly.
Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor.
Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.
Lunch
Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).
Dinner
A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel.
Bedtime Snack
Toast piece of bread and toss it on the kitchen floor.
DAY TWO
Breakfast
Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.
Lunch
Half a tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of Purina Dog Chow (any flavor).
One ice cube, if desired.
Afternoon Snack
Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt.
Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again.
Then bring inside and drop on the rug.
Dinner
A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril.
Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes; eat with a spoon.
DAY THREE
Breakfast
Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat with fingers, rub in hair.
Glass of milk: drink half, stuff pancakes in glass.
After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, and put it on the cushion of your best chair.
Lunch
Three matches, peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor.
Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.
Dinner
Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips.
FINAL DAY
Breakfast
A quarter-tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive.
Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add a half-cup of sugar.
Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.
Lunch
Eat crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.
Dinner
A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate.
Stick of mascara for dessert.
My 14 year:
Wikipedia: Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes.
****************
The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another. ~Quentin Crisp
Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. ~Erma Bombeck
As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you. ~Fran Lebowitz, Social Studies
My toddlers:
Wikipedia: Toddler is a common term for a young child who is learning to walk or "toddle".
This age is sometimes referred to as 'the terrible twos/threes', because of the temper tantrums for which they are famous. This stage can begin as early as nine months old depending on the child and environment. The toddler is discovering that they are a separate being from their mother or caregiver and are testing their boundaries in learning the way the world around them works. This time between the ages of two and five when they are reaching for independence repeats itself during adolescence.
***************
A toddler believes that if you love a person, you stay with that person 100 percent of the time. Lawrence Balter
The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe.
Lawrence Kutner
Wikipedia: Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes.
****************
The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another. ~Quentin Crisp
Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. ~Erma Bombeck
As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you. ~Fran Lebowitz, Social Studies
My toddlers:
Wikipedia: Toddler is a common term for a young child who is learning to walk or "toddle".
This age is sometimes referred to as 'the terrible twos/threes', because of the temper tantrums for which they are famous. This stage can begin as early as nine months old depending on the child and environment. The toddler is discovering that they are a separate being from their mother or caregiver and are testing their boundaries in learning the way the world around them works. This time between the ages of two and five when they are reaching for independence repeats itself during adolescence.
***************
A toddler believes that if you love a person, you stay with that person 100 percent of the time. Lawrence Balter
The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe.
Lawrence Kutner
Saturday, October 04, 2008
JUST DO IT!
"So should I let the chicken defrost or go ahead and use it now?"
"How do I get this plug out of the bouncing ball for the kids?"
"Where do we keep cleaner for the carpet? Do we have cleaner?"
"Oh, did you want me to clean that up for you?"
"I guess I'll make dinner...errrr...what do you want me to make?"
"So how do I cook chicken? Do I use oil?"
These are some of the questions I've have fielded from my wonderful spouse today. Ummm...we've have been married for 7+ years, lived in this house for 2.5 years and have 5 kids. And it's like I start everyday with Groundhog Man. The routine is ALWAYS the same, get up, clean, feed everyone, send people away, clean, people come back, feed them, shuttle people, clean up, feed everyone, bath, clean, sleep. Do it again. So since even the more moronic idiot can do it (I've seen them at Wal-Mart) you'd think that I might have married a man who despite his underwear changing issue, seems rather intelligent. But it has begun to dawn on me...maybe not.
I have shown him the cookbooks, even where we keep them. I have shown him the place where we keep the cleaners, the toddlers can find it, so it's not like it's hiding in the Lord of the Ring Trilogy. I've actually seen him make a bed, so I know he can do it. I have shown him where clothes are traditionally put when they are waiting to be worn, I must say he was surprised to discover that the drawers pulled out and everything.
Apparently with the release of a human from my vaginal walls, my husband has come to the conclusion I know everything. While you must think that amazing the exalted position my husband to put me on, it sucks.
Just make the damn chicken. I don't care, as long as I don't have to cook it myself and it's edible, just do it. Just fix the damn door or put away the damn clothes or clean the damn floor! Just do it without consulting me. Just do it. Save me the hassle of babysitting you while I am babysitting my toddlers. JUST DO IT!
"How do I get this plug out of the bouncing ball for the kids?"
"Where do we keep cleaner for the carpet? Do we have cleaner?"
"Oh, did you want me to clean that up for you?"
"I guess I'll make dinner...errrr...what do you want me to make?"
"So how do I cook chicken? Do I use oil?"
These are some of the questions I've have fielded from my wonderful spouse today. Ummm...we've have been married for 7+ years, lived in this house for 2.5 years and have 5 kids. And it's like I start everyday with Groundhog Man. The routine is ALWAYS the same, get up, clean, feed everyone, send people away, clean, people come back, feed them, shuttle people, clean up, feed everyone, bath, clean, sleep. Do it again. So since even the more moronic idiot can do it (I've seen them at Wal-Mart) you'd think that I might have married a man who despite his underwear changing issue, seems rather intelligent. But it has begun to dawn on me...maybe not.
I have shown him the cookbooks, even where we keep them. I have shown him the place where we keep the cleaners, the toddlers can find it, so it's not like it's hiding in the Lord of the Ring Trilogy. I've actually seen him make a bed, so I know he can do it. I have shown him where clothes are traditionally put when they are waiting to be worn, I must say he was surprised to discover that the drawers pulled out and everything.
Apparently with the release of a human from my vaginal walls, my husband has come to the conclusion I know everything. While you must think that amazing the exalted position my husband to put me on, it sucks.
Just make the damn chicken. I don't care, as long as I don't have to cook it myself and it's edible, just do it. Just fix the damn door or put away the damn clothes or clean the damn floor! Just do it without consulting me. Just do it. Save me the hassle of babysitting you while I am babysitting my toddlers. JUST DO IT!
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
New Technology
I have come to the conclusion nothing makes you feel more stupid than new technology. Don't get me wrong, I love fiddling with some new techy toy (I had to go look that up and see if I spell that correctly) it's like working on a new 1000 piece puzzle, double sided with the same picture on both sides. Boy those are a hoot, who thought THAT was a good idea?
Anyway, I now have a new computer with all the bells and whistles or at least compared to my old system. So I am fiddling for hours trying to figure out where they put the damn print icon, I still haven't figured out where to save my favorites and the explorer view is giving me a headache. But damn, the thing is fast! LOVE THAT! I don't have to wait for an hour to update my web programming and I can even open more than one window at a time. OOOOOhhhhh...I am giddy.
This should keep me busy for at least 2-3 years, just in time for the new, latest and greatest to be released. Then I get to do this again.
Side note: Since I have a new computer, of course I have Vista. It's the new operating system out there so that is what came with set-up. I watched this commercial from Microsoft on TV yesterday about this new software called "Mojave" that they had real people try out. I felt my stomach drop, shit! I just bought this PC and they have a new operating systems I am going to have to upgrade to...and I am not even close to mastering this one. But then they revealed the ploy, it was Vista. It was to show people not to be afraid of Vista, try it out. I shuddered in relief. Wow, dodged that bullet.
Anyway, I now have a new computer with all the bells and whistles or at least compared to my old system. So I am fiddling for hours trying to figure out where they put the damn print icon, I still haven't figured out where to save my favorites and the explorer view is giving me a headache. But damn, the thing is fast! LOVE THAT! I don't have to wait for an hour to update my web programming and I can even open more than one window at a time. OOOOOhhhhh...I am giddy.
This should keep me busy for at least 2-3 years, just in time for the new, latest and greatest to be released. Then I get to do this again.
Side note: Since I have a new computer, of course I have Vista. It's the new operating system out there so that is what came with set-up. I watched this commercial from Microsoft on TV yesterday about this new software called "Mojave" that they had real people try out. I felt my stomach drop, shit! I just bought this PC and they have a new operating systems I am going to have to upgrade to...and I am not even close to mastering this one. But then they revealed the ploy, it was Vista. It was to show people not to be afraid of Vista, try it out. I shuddered in relief. Wow, dodged that bullet.
Pretty sexy...I put my pic and the professional one up. I have the "real" look to it. :D
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