One Stitch At A Thyme

Toyota Music Presents: Rock the Space - Dragon Ritual Drummers link

2009-06-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

I love this Pagan Group and I'm just doing my bit to promote their music and help them win!!!

First of the Month News and Weigh-in Recap…

2009-06-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

Well as you can see from the stats map I’ve lost ground this year. I got down to 177 by the end of January and hit a brick wall plateau wise, and just couldn’t drop anymore no matter how strict I was. So at the end of February I cut back my routine from 4 miles a day down to 2 miles. In March there were 2 weeks I didn’t exercise at all. And in April when I got a month of temp work I quit all together and went back to eating what ever I wanted. And as usual my weight started to slowly creep back up on me to where I’m back up to 190 pounds as of June 1st.

My Weight Chart:

Because I haven’t had any temp work for the month of May and it doesn’t seem to be forthcoming for this month. On wed. the 3rd, I’ve begun my 1000 calorie/exercise routine again. I’ve been off my diet/exercise for 2 ½ months, and it’s amazing how quickly one can get stiff and out of shape. I’ve had to literally start over by using 1 pound hand weights, only walking 2 miles (1 mi in the morning/ 1 mi in the evening) and turning the speed down on the tread mill from 3.1 to 2.9 miles an hour. Thank goodness those 30 minutes of stretching exercises I do after each mile hasn’t changed and I can actually feel the difference when I do them now. Hopefully in 10 days or so I’ll be back up to speed at 4 miles a day with the 2 pound weights. I’m still riding my bicycle on the weekends for a 5 mile ride when the weather allows....

As for my love life…. I’ve given up on finding a boyfriend for the time being. The 2 local guys I was in contact with seem to have moved on. One e-mails me from time to time, although he’s not interested in a “relationship” but just a casual friend’s thing. I won’t even go into the crap I’ve had to deal with on-line… but just to say I almost got nailed by a scammer who took advantage of my naïve good nature. So I’m ignoring the invites from social networks like MySpace for awhile. Licking my wounds and pulling out my much neglected needlework and concentrating on that along with my Wiccan studies for the time being.

So here’s to the Goddess granting me a full time permanent job and a skinner new me.
That’s all for this blog blurb.

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-05-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK after reading the 4th book in this series I finally get it …. The author likes to write romance without sex scenes. Which really kind of irked me, cuz I was use to the writing styles of Katie Macalister and Alexander Ivy. Moving past that, I have to say I really enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of one Sarah Dearly, vampire. Yes, I’ll be quite happy when Sarah and Thierry get their HEA and the bad guys get staked; in the 5th and final book in the series…. Tall dark and fangsome.

It took the first 2 books to really get into Michelle’s version of her Toronto vampire world. Where the vamps can walk in the sun and tolerate human food and drink. Of course they do have the general vampire traits….. No reflections, fangs, and need for a pint of O negative when they get thirsty.

If you’re into sweet romance with equal amounts of humor and implied behind closed doors sex scenes then give this series a try. Like me, it just may grow on you.

View all my reviews.

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-05-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang
by Katie MacAlister

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I only have one complaint - not enough sex scenes between Pia and Kristoff. *LOL* Loved the fact Katie brought back a few old character favorites from previous Dark Ones books. Allie and Christian, Sebastian, and Esme the ghost. Just wish they had a little more page time.

View all my reviews.

Book Review: Paranormal Fantasy

2009-05-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

As always Butcher does it again with another "mystery/who done it" that left me guessing up to the last 1/4 of the book. Not as bloody and violent as his previous books, but just as entertaining. I was hoping to have more with the character of Thomas Raith (Harry’s halfbrother), but oh well…. Maybe I’ll get my wish in the next book.

View all my reviews.

First of the Month Good News…

2009-04-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

I have a job again!!! Yea !!! Manufacturing Services called me back to work – for how long? who knows. I’m just happy to be working and have money to pay off the “plastic”. I also have a car again. Yea Me!!! Well technically it’s in dad’s name so I can acquire the pink slip and cheap insurance 6 months from now. It’s so nice to have a car again after not have one of my own for more years then I care to count.

Got my new prescription replacement lens yesterday. They finally got the damn bifocals cut right on the progressives. Yea again!!! Now I can read my ever growing mountain of books and start working on my stitching again.

Now for the depressing news. I’ve gained 6 pounds back. I was on the treadmill for 4 miles a day and then I got burnout out doing it by the first of the year. No matter how much or little I did I couldn’t drop below 177 and make it stick. Last month I made a effort to go back to 4 miles a day and was doing well for 2 weeks and then last week I didn’t workout at all. Plus on Wednesday of last week I fell on my hip and knee roller-skating and hurt my lower back, then I started back to work on Monday. Standing all day long on cement floors is making my back hurt again to the point where I can’t use the treadmill. Hopefully I’ll get accustomed to standing for 8 hours straight. Maybe in another week or two I can start back doing 2 miles on the treadmill. I’m too tired from work to do anymore than that. Hopefully my weight won’t creep any higher then 183 pounds.

That’s all for this blog blurb….

Book Review: Paranormal Fantasy

2009-03-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love this series even if the sex is implied and behind closed doors. What can I say I live in the Tri-Cities. It's fun reading about vampires, werewolves, fae, and a shapeshifting coyote that live right outside my front door.

View all my reviews.

Other stuff: Had to get the prescription on my glasses re-ordered again!!! Man this is getting old. Hopefully the third time they'll get it right. At least it's not costing me anything more. The dieting has hit the wall big time. I haven't lost any weight since January. I keep hovering between 177 and 180 pounds, which sucks big time!!! No stitching to speak of thanks to my prescription woes. At least I can take my glasses off to read.

That's all for this blog blurb folks!!!

Monthly Weigh-In, Glasses, and Needlework

2009-01-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, my official end of the month weigh-in is here. Sad to say a very disappointing blow for me. The scales have been bouncing up and down all month, as I’ve had to deal with aching joints, fatigue, and sugar cravings (which I gave into). So as of Jan 31, 2009 I’m 177 lbs - just a 3 pound loss. This is the first time since I started last year that I’ve missed my 5 pound goal. Hopefully next month I’ll do better.

I’m still waiting on the optometrist to call about my re-maded glasses. They didn’t get the bifocals cut right the first time. So I’m have a rotten time, reading, typing, etc. and needlework is out unless I switch back to my old glasses.

Speaking of needlework, I’ve found another free french chart stitch-along. I’m going to be collecting the parts for this, as I have too many other WiPs to deal with at the moment, to even think about starting another project. It’s called “Grand Abecedaire” part 1 of 8 can be found starting at this blog entry: http://gazette94.blogspot.com/2008/11/grand-abecedaire-18.html

The second acquisition is an out-of-print chart by Heaven and Earth Designs called “Eternal Promise” the artwork is called “Arwen and Aragorn” by artist Matt Stewart. I put up a {in search of…} plea on the HAED message board and a very kind person sold me her used copy. Almost the very next day someone else was asking if I’d sell it to them after I was finished with stitching mine. She’s going to have a long wait, because I probably won’t get started on this until sometime in 2010, if I’m lucky in getting a few WiPs done this year first.

Hopefully I can get over this cold weather/depression slump I’m in and start posting more book reviews and needlework updates this next month.

That’s all for this blog blurb.

Fun Quizzes

2009-01-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me a slippery fish. Catch me if you can!

Lets101 Quizzes - Fun Quizzes

Where are you on my compatibility Chart?

Lets101 - Free Online Dating Site

Well they might fall in love with me but they dump me just as fast. {grumble}

Lets101 - Online Dating

Yep, a Rooster. It's me exactly!!! especially the controlling part. {LOL}

Lets101 - Free Dating Site

I don’t know about the soul from venus bit. But having a boyfriend would be nice. {sigh }

A soul from Venus with a sexual appeal 7.6 of 10.

Guys hold your breath...

Lets101 Quizzes - fun Myspace quiz

Book Review: Paranormal Romance

2009-01-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

First Blood by Susan Sizemore (and others)

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cave Canem By Susan Sizemore (rating 4 of 5 stars)

A story of the theft of 2 hellhound puppies and what happens to them.

I’ve been waiting almost 6 years for her to resolve the cliff hanger she left in the last Laws of the Blood book “Heroes”. I was disappointed in that of the 4 characters – the situation between Valentine, Geoff, Char and Jebel – only Valentine’s issue gets resolved.

I still have to read the other stories in this Anthology.

View all my reviews.

Weight-in update, Needlework projects, and On-line dating

2009-01-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well here it is the first Sunday in the new year. I kind of just squeaked in under the wire for my 5 pound weight loss goal for the month of December. At 1:30pm today I weighed in at 180.8 pounds. My water weight has been bouncing up and down by a pound or more this entire weekend. What’s worse is that during December I’ve been losing and gaining back the same damn 5 pounds all month long. That in itself has got me the most depressed. Hopefully with the holidays behind me I can leave the sweets alone and get re-motivated for this month.

I was going to pull out Camelot sampler and work on it. But I got new glasses last week and the bifocal prescription is off, everything is slightly blurred and/or ghosted. So no needlework until I can get in on Monday and have them look at it. I was very naughty today and I went to Everythingcrossstitch.com and spent $89.00us on 2 kits, 5 remnant fabric pieces ( all Zweigart 25 count lugana ), plus some kreinik braid and Mill Hill beads for the new Teresa Wentzler “Delightful Dragon Fob” that I got from patternsonline.com yesterday. I hope to put this cute little project on my quickie to-do list.

And now we come to on-line dating. It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere for me. I have several guy friends who text chat with me but none of them want to take it any further than that. I think I’m going to stop visiting my on-line message group forums and get back to concentrating on my dieting and reading my books. And if the Goddess sees fit to drop a man in my path, so mote it be. Otherwise I don’t want to deal with the emotional rollercoaster that I went through these last two months.

That’s all for this blog blurb.

Update: Weird, Strange, Yet Wonderful Holiday Season.

2008-12-28T02:27:00.000-08:00

The uber alpha, just dumped me. I guess when I didn’t jump and go “Ohhhhh” at all his over zealous praising and then dropped a list of questions for him to answer. He got impatient and left. Well, not totally left, he’s still sticking around on my PaganSpace friends list for now. Ha! 3 days - that’s got’ta be a record for me. *snicker*

Weird, Strange, Yet Wonderful Holiday Season.

2008-12-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

It’s kind of hard trying to start this post, I don’t know exactly where to begin. In the last month I have met more guys on-line, made friends and been dumped, than I have in the last 20 years of my life. Here’s a sample of what I mean.

On the 24th I get dumped by a guy I know from his LiveJournal blog. That same evening a guy on PaganSpace, sees my profile photo and proceeds to plaster messages of praise not only on my comments board but on almost every photo I have. Telling me how beautiful I am and begging me to be his friend and “much more” – to quote him. It’s like being pursued by an uber alpha and having the wee-willies scared out of me.

The very next day , 25th, roughly around 9:30pm. Some guy named Muhammad Ali, who claims to be from Pakistan, 32 and a software engineer. Pops up on my yahoo messenger saying he saw my One Stitch At A Thyme blog and wants to be my friend. I kind of worry that I might be getting scammed by this “Ali” guy. But stupid me gives him the benefit of the doubt and befriends him; and before 2 hours are up he’s got me sending him my pagan cape pictures – I am so stupid, stupid, fucking stupid. That would be the end of my future if those pictures ended up floating around the internet. Why didn’t I just say no. {shakes head in utter weariness} I think the Goddess is being way too generous in dropping guys in my lap and it’s starting to overwhelm me.

On a lighter note, mom and dad gave me $100 for christmas and now I have the choice of buying the 2009 version of Norton internet security or I can pay for 2 months of storage unit space. My sister, although not suppose to, bought me a present as well. An exercise ball and resistance band Pilates workout kit with DVD. Don’t know how much I can use the ball with my back problems – disks that slip – but the resistance band will help tone my upper arms. Speaking of which, the dieting is going slow but steady over the holidays. I’ve only been keeping up with 2 miles a day on the treadmill, so I’ll only be losing 5 pounds this month. Next month I need to start job hunting again as I haven’t been doing any for the last 3 months and I need to get back to my 4 miles a day treadmill workout as well.

One last thing before I finish this entry. I’ve made friends with a very nice older guy from PaganSpace; we’ve been text chatting for 2 and a half weeks now. He’s a barefoot hedonist and has got me interested in toe rings and walking around the house in my bare feet. For Yule I bought myself 2 sterling silver toe rings, an Ankh and Pentagram. I took a pic of them and sent him a copy, he says my feet are sexy. I say, if you're going to have a fetish I guess a foot fetish isn’t as bad as most. Anyway here’s the pic I sent, what do you think are my feet sexy? *giggles*

Well that’s it for this blog blurb.

Which creature of the night are you? Quiz

2008-12-14T04:04:00.000-08:00

Found this on another message board I visit. Glad to know my suspicions have been confirmed. HA!!

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Vampire You are a social pragmatist, as likely to kiss as to bite. Your sensuality and social pragmatism is the counter-balance to your existential angst and your tendency toward depression.
Sorceror
Ghost
Incubus/Succubus
Demon
Werewolf
Cthulu Spawn
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Short Lived Friendships

2008-12-10T00:11:00.000-08:00

Well it’s seems I spoke too soon about finding someone special on-line. And being too pushy I fucked up big time and chased him away. Yep, did a jim-dandy job of it too, he even pulled his profile down from PaganSpace.

David, If you ever see this please forgive me…for everything. {sigh}

I have come to the inevitable conclusion that no one is out there for me. Oh sure there’ll be on-line male friends to chat with and drive each other crazy with frustration. But in the end I’ll be going to bed alone. I’m simply too old and fat, and no one younger then me is interested. I hear by give up on ever feeling the arms of a man around me or the touch of his lips on mine.

Just too depressed to care anymore.....

What do I find attractive in a partner:

2008-12-03T23:03:00.000-08:00

His eyes. Which are the windows to his soul.
His mouth. With which a simple smile can speak volumes.
His voice. Which whispers words of love to fill my soul with joy.
His hair. Long soft tresses that need to be caressed.
His arms. Strong and confidant to hold me warm in their embrace.

Feeling suddenly poetic tonight…

End of the month weight-in, friendships, & other stuff

2008-12-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays everyone!

Once again it’s time for the end of the month weight-in – well a few days late that is. Anyway I kind of dropped the ball this last month. What with being depressed and then the temptation of Halloween candy and fast on it’s heels Thanksgiving {Hummm… pumpkin pie with real whip cream!} I just decided to let the month of November slide and only did 2 miles on the treadmill once a day or sometimes not at all. I figure I’ve been a good girl for 7 months I deserved a break. So the bottom line is I only lost 7 pounds this month. But because I always fluctuate by 2 pounds I’m officially stating a 5 pound loss for this month. Not bad, but not good either as I want to be down to 150 pounds by the 1st of March.

Why in such a hurry you ask? It’s simple. I’ve hook-up with someone special on-line from PaganSpace. We’re in the tentative get-to-know each other friendship stage but we’ve clicked on everything we’ve talked about so far. And if I don’t fuck this up by being too pushy in the mean time, we’ve made a tentative date to meet in March. Now it really is imperative I find a new job, as I’m going to need plane fare because he lives in North Carolina and I live in Washington.

On the other stuff front: Money being as tight as it is I’ve had to start going through my storage unit, to basically pick which bare bones things I can keep and store them in my parents basement and the rest I’ll have to sell. When I think of all the star trek collectable stuff I have, trading cards, school text, art, & general readings books, and knitting yarn stash I just want to cry. But as needs must it has to go and I readily admit I’m one hell of a pack rat. Like mother like daughter as they say. *LOL*

Happy Yule!

That’s all for this blog blurb….

No Job, Seasonal Depression, and a Hopeful Outlook

2008-11-20T02:15:00.000-08:00

Well it’s been 7 months now since my last employer sent me my “W-2 forms” in the mail. Which was an “in your face” hint for me to stop calling them about if they had any work. So I’ve been formally laid-off and haven’t been able to find a new job so far.

Which on the up side has given me all the leisure time I need to keep up with my diet and exercise plan. So far I’ve managed to lose 75 pounds and am down to a 190 pounds. I’ve still got 40 more pounds to go, and if I still can’t get a boyfriend I may try losing another 20 to get me down to a skinny 130 pounds.

I’ve kind of hit a plateau in the weight loss this month. I only managed 4 pounds and then gain 2 pounds back, and now I’m struggling to keep off just the 2 pounds I’ve lost. I think it has a lot to do with the seasonal holiday depression I’m going through right now, not having any motivation to get on the treadmill and walk my 4 miles a day. That and temptations like – halloween candy, thanksgiving dinner, christmas bake goodies, and the like, that are starting to show up around my parents house {where I’m living because of no job}.

I’ve tried to get my mind off the depression by getting out on the on-line community. An on-line friend of mine says if I want to start dating again I’ve got to get *out there*. So with that in mind she suggested I join www.paganspace.com I’ve been an agnostic since the age of 13 when I got fed up with the Catholic religion my mom kept forcing me to adhere to. I’ve always been fascinated about the Pagan/Wiccan religion since my early 20’s and in the last couple of months I’ve decided to gather up all the books I’ve bought over the years on the subject and start formally studying.

I’ve had my ego boosted a couple of times by guys who have seen my profile picture ( www.paganspace.net/profile/Janiece ) and thought I looked *hot* and messaged me to be on my paganspace friends list.

Well my face and my lower legs might look OK, but my upper arms, stomach, and hips are still really fat. But the really loose t-shirt I’m wearing covers that up very nicely {snickers}. It’s still going to be kind of hard for me to get back in the dating scene. It’s been 15 years since any guy has taken notice of me and I’ve never done the flirting thing, since I’ve been fat all my life, I’ve never learned how to. Anyway, moving on to something different…

I’ve put all of my stitchery projects away until after the new year begins. I’m just not in the mood to stitch now-a-days. I still read the occasional romance novel, but not like I use to. The depression just makes me tired and I sleep a lot. The rest of the time I’m on the internet checking my e-mail, several dozen blogs, and two on-line communities. Well that’s it, for what’s been happening in my life up to this point.

That’s all for this blog blurb….

Book Review: Paranormal Fantasy

2008-11-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

Backup by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Backup” is a novelette (70 pages) written in a first person perspective not from Harry but his older half-brother Thomas Raith, a White Court Vampire.

Thomas faces a problem. Harry is investigating a child's kidnapping, but, what Harry doesn't know is that the purported mother is actually a centuries old demon. Thomas knows all about the demon but is unable to tell Harry of the demon due to an even older pact amongst the demon-hunters that he's apart of. Thus, Thomas has to find a way to help Harry without letting Harry in on what he's doing.

Thomas does an awful lot of "I'm a monster" agonizing and he's really very whiny, more so than when written from Harry's POV. Still, it was really interesting to see things from Thomas' POV. His admiration for his brother comes through quite clearly and that's the real pleasure in the read. As Harry doesn't usually portray himself as one of the most powerful living wizards, good, but not on that level, so Thomas' view of him shines a whole new light on just how powerful Harry really is.

The story comes across as a “day in the life” kind of scenario. Way too short for an avid Butcher fan like myself. I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on a copy; and as this was a limited print run by Subterranean Press costing $20 you'll be lucky to find it new, let alone used.

View all my reviews.

Book Review: Paranormal Erotica

2008-11-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

I read this book a week and a half ago and only now have gotten off my ass for it's write up. I've been really distracted the last two weeks and been kind of depressed because my weight loss has had a setback.

Lyon: The Lords Of Satyr (Book #3)
by Elizabeth Amber

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

The date, November, 1823, Paris, France, and Lord Lyon Satyr youngest of the Satyr brothers searches for his FaerieBlend bride as his two elder brothers, Nicholas and Raine, did before him.

Because King Feydon had sown his seed where he should not have, Lyon would soon find himself yoked with a bride not of his own choosing. One whose name and face are unknown to him, but whom he nevertheless has journeyed from Tuscany, Italy to find.

Lyon not only finds one, but two potential brides – sisters. One has the outward appearance of a Nereid, a sea nymph or mermaid, named Sibela. The other a courtesan who has a unique talent for haute cuisine, named Juliette. Trouble in the form of a nights enchanted sleep not only robs Lyon of almost a weeks worth of memories but nearly his life as well.

The story was well paced, but for me drug at times simply because I was impatient for the sex scenes, which I must also complain about because there wasn’t enough of them either. {grin}

This time the story was more a straight to the point scenario and had little to no side twists or turns. The author seemed to be treating it as a horse race impatient for it to be over. Even her writing style was somewhat subdued this time around as her very vibrant and descriptive visualizations of the sex scenes were somewhat lacking. Which was not the case in the first two books, Nicholas & Raine. The book in and of itself was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it as a continuation of a multi-story arc. But if you are looking for something strictly for arousal purposes I would give it a pass, or find it in the used section of a book store and save yourself the cost of a new book.

View all my reviews.

Halloween, Stitchery Update, and more….

2008-11-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Halloween Day:

Not much happened around here today. I was planning on dressing up like a swashbuckling vampire complete with my red and black floor length (6ft.) hooded cape, taking my niece and nephew out trick or treating again this year. But due to my massive weight loss (75 lbs.) my old SCA costume didn't fit me anymore. So I ended up asking my nephew what I should dress up as, and with out batting an eye he said Witch. Well thank goodness that wasn't a problem. I simply put my floor length hooded cape on and hung my silver sabbath pentacle around my neck and I was good to go.

Trick or treating with my nephew lasted all of 2 houses and that was it. My niece on the other hand had her poor mother going around several blocks in the neighborhood.

Here’s a couple of pics. Jesse is a pokemon named meril and Sarah is a dementor from Harry Potter.

Stitchery Update:

Well this is my end of the month update for Musical Bell Pull ( by Donna Vermillion Giampa ). This is the banjo and the bottom picture of the 4 instruments. This month I just couldn’t seem to get any sort of stitching enthusiasm jump started with this project. I think it has to do with that time of the year and my seasonal depression is rearing it’s head for the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.). So with that in mind I think I’ll put away all my stitching until well after the beginning of the new year. Here’s the latest picture.

SURPRISE!!!!!:

Well the biggest and most unexpected surprise came in the mail on Thursday the 30th. A personally autographed ARC (advanced reader copy) of Katie MacAlister’s Zen and the Art of Vampires. I had entered a random drawing contest hardly thinking I would win – and what’da ya know miracles really do happen. Because this is my very first ARC. {grins} The dedication page was for all the loyal minions that virtually live at her message board and of course I’m a card carrying member. I don’t know if this is coincident or not but my name was used as one of the fodder characters for two pages near the end of the book. It was however used as a male name, so ( Jan ) was pronounced like Yan ( as in yawn ). What’s really going to drive me crazy is the fact that I’m sworn to secrecy about what’s in the book and I have to keep my mouth shut until December 2nd when the book is officially released. I managed to read, or I should say rip, through it in an 11 ½ hour marathon read. From midnight Friday Halloween to 11:30 am Saturday. I still as yet haven’t had any sleep and I have this over whelming urge to read it all over again tonight. Yea, I know I has it bad addiction wise. {chuckle} Anyway here’s a pic of it in my hot little hands. My precious, My own, Bawhahahahha……

Weigh-In Update:

Wahoo!! I made double my weight loss goal again with another spectacular 10 pounds shed. That puts me 40 pounds closer to my tentative goal of 150 pounds. If I can keep up with this 10 pound loss consistently I think I may lower my final goal to 130 pounds!!!

Man one of these days I’m gonna have to get my hair cut and have a new {skinner} picture taken of me for the blog. {Grin}

For the next few months I’ll be catching up on my authors and writing book reviews.

That’s all for this blog blurb………..

Template Changes Again

2008-10-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone. After much debate I have decided to go back to my old “Harbor” blogger template. Even though the graphics looked really nice with the White Passion template, I just couldn't cope with the narrow column look. That and certain HTML text code attributes were over written which really irked me. So I'm much happier now.

On the stitching front I really haven't done much on Musical Bell Pull this month. I just haven't had any enthusiasm to work on this project. So I'm seriously thinking about just putting everything away until after the first of the year. At the end of this month I'll be posting a picture update along with my weight loss update which is going really well.

That's all for this blog blurb.

Book Review: Contemporary Erotica-Romantica

2008-10-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Wild Wild West by Charlene Teglia

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

As the back page blurb says… 3 girls from Seattle, 3 cowboys from Montana. All pair up at a coffeehouse called Lemon Espresso. Each story is told as a separate novella.

First I want to say that the stories in and of themselves are readable, but I find that I’m just not into cowboy erotica. Guess I like my stories with more of a paranormal plot. That and the fact I’ve been to Missoula and the only thing populating coffeehouses are the college students from Univ. of Montana where the campus just happens to be. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been around real ranchers and I just can’t wrap my imagination around the fantasy cowboys in this book. Shrug… who knows for sure, anyway.

A man’s word is his bondage, Gabe and Willow’s story. Willow’s a (Sub) and wanna be book author. He’s a (Dom) an english teacher and into bondage. Gabe is very quite spoken and sweet. He always tells Willow exactly what he going to do to her and then politely asks for permission. The story itself was OK, but really I'm really not into bondage. So meh, I'm giving it a 2.8 out of 5 stars.

Ready to play, Chet and Jolie’s story. Jolie is a recent graduate from law school. Chet is an ex rodeo rider turned horse breed rancher. The story basically involves a budding (but accelerated) relationship with straight vanilla sex (mission style) with a little voyeurism thrown in. A sweet simple story and an easy read on the comfort scale. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. I would have given it a higher rating, if it hadn’t been for the annoying fact that the author kept letting Chet call Jolie “baby” most of the time. I’m sure she thought of it as an enduring term from Chet’s P.O.V. but to me it just came off as sounding condescending. It would have sounded much better if he had used a special pet name instead.

Reuben’s Rules, Reuben and Laura’s story. Laura is the owner of Lemon Espresso the coffeehouse that is the focal point of the three stories. Reuben is an ex army ranger turned sheep rancher. Laura’s fantasy is BDSM with her as sex slave to Reuben’s master. There was no bondage, pain, or rough discipline involved. Just a fun fantasy of slave/master sex with a couple of first-timer sex toys and a little voyeurism thrown in. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I liked it the best for the sheer enthusiasm the author put into writing this story. This novella was obviously written first and her forte is clearly this sub-type of erotic/fantasy writing.

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Book Review - Paranormal Romance: Dragons

2008-10-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

Up In Smoke (Silver Dragons, Bk. 2) by Katie MacAlister

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

As always Katie you were brilliant !!! I did a 13 hour cover to cover read.

HEADS-UP THIS POST HAS SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD..... BEWARNED!!!!!

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The scenes that made me snort with laughter…

Aisling in the kitchen after getting a muscle cramp. Gabriel prodding her belly convinced she’s going into labor. Drake roaring at him to keep his damn hands off his mate. The whole house in a uproar with Istvàn wanting to boil water and Pàl bolting out of the house to get the midwife. All the while Aisling trying to tell them without much success that they’re over reacting. It was funny thinking of Jim as the squeamish type wanting to leave the scene to avoid the “baby juice, blood and guck”. Considering he’s a centuries old demon, he’s must of seen it all at some point. {snicker}

In the clothing shop in Paris with May on the mobile phone with Cyrene. Who informs her twin that because May is a mate to Gabriel, she must be mate to Kostya. And she being very attentive looking after this very needy dragon for the 6 weeks Mays been gone.

Thank you so much for hooking these two ( an airhead & control freak ) up. It’s so much fun seeing Kostya tortured like this. I dare say it won’t last for long as Cy will probably get distracted by some other needy/insane dragon.

Sally, Sally, Sally… for some reason I got it in my head that she was the 20 something version of Dolores Umbridge of Harry Potter ilk, puke pink pepto bismal outfit - attitude and all. Ha!

I loved Katie's knowledge of surfer speak 101. I snorted with laughter and lost my place so often I had to read that passage in the book twice. It was just so gnarly dude!!

Katie's really got me shaking my head over Magoth buck naked in a church fountain getting randy with a statue. I guess if he doesn’t have powers to create havoc, then the next best thing would be to cause wide spread disgust (ie thumbing your nose at the court of divine blood). Either that, or he’s up to something and Katie's going to spring it on us in book 3.

I loved all the dragon sex scenes between Gabriel and May. Especially that one with the gold dust and Gab trying, but without much success, at foreplay. As for May, I think she should just give into the shard and become a dragon for the time being. Who knows the key to her being freed from Magoth might be in turning into a dragon and braking the bond he has over her. I’ve heard Katie state several times dragons cannot be minions of demon lords.

Now what's up with this white dragon that’s also an archmage…. Hummmm interesting…. Or being white and therefore ouroboros without a sept? Even more interesting….. So who can he be? Baltic, Constantine Norka, some other ancient dragon or Dr. Kostich. And why is he helping Fiat trying to kill off all the other wyverns?

Oh man, I’m going to burst from curiosity/frustration before November 2009 gets here!!!

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Over Half Gone!!!!

2008-10-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Happy Joy Joy !!!!

I had to post a special blurb today and say WAHOO!!! This last month I managed to double my weight loss goal to 10 pounds. Which put me well past the halfway mark for the goal I've set and I've got the picture to prove it. Only 50 more pounds to go. YEA!!!!