Sidekick Saturday [28] Law Enforcement!!!

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic

• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

This week's challenge is LAW ENFORCEMENT! I'm so late with this post, but I'm just under the wire.

My first thought went to Burnett James from the Shadow Falls series by CC Hunter. He polices the weird and he's grumpy almost all of the time. The few moments you catch him being sweet you feel like hugging him, but it's a passing thought since he's big and vampy. But the theme of this week in my life seems to be kick ass women so I'm going with Hannah Moses from .... you guessed it or not the Morganville series by Rachel Caine. Daylighters doesn't come out until November and I want it now! 

Hannah is former military and current human cop in the scariest town ever. She's hardcore lethal to the point that if she's smiling it might be because she just killed something, thought of how she could kill something, or found a new something worthy of killing. I love Hannah and life hasn't been roses for her but this is the chick you want to stick to like glue during the apocalypse. She's that damn tough. When I think of her I imagine a younger Queen Latifah. 

“Might as well go out flipping the bird to the powers that be killing us.”
― Rachel Caine, Last Breath

My sidekicks are pooped because we just merged households. My sister threw in the Charlie Davidson series but you know how I am with series she keeps choosing that I haven't read yet (I'm on the wait list for First Grave on the something Left or Right). My mom shook her head and spaced out. Or I spaced out when she answered it. 

Think Out Loud [22] Are you a fighter?

Last week a woman ran up to my 76 year old aunt, yanked her purse free, and then bolted. How did Aunt Sherry react? With absolute fierceness, after all, nursing her cantankerous husband through cancer will give you an edge over mere mortal assholes. My aunt chased after her attacker, jotted down the license plate, and got that .... (too many cuss words are hitting me at once) criminal arrested. Just the day before, the thief roughed up the person she was robbing. 

Back in June, my mom's purse was stolen out of her car a week before going on vacation. Quick thieving bastards. If my mom had gotten the chance she would have pummeled the assholes into the ground. I am not exaggerating. 

These two women grew up on a farm with a Great Depression era mother. They've survived and triumphed over many struggles. And when pressed, they'll kick your ass. Would I have chased down that thief? Or busted the balls of the man who smashed my car window and stole my purse (though I do not own a purse)? I'm a mix of impulsive, cerebral, and sensitive. I have no freakin' clue what part of my personality would show up to the party. How about you? Are you a fighter? 

I say it every week because I mean it, Think Out Loud in one awesome meme. Want to share a picture you love? How about a quote or song? Maybe a poem or random thought that won't leave you alone? Anything. You can post anything you want. 

Rhymes and Sleepytime Sheep! robgirlbooks' Review of Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep by Julia Dweck

Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep
Written by Julia Dweck
Illustrated by the late Wilson Williams, Jr.
Published by Xist Publishing, 9/5/13
Children's eBooks

4.5 STARS Mary had a little lamb, yes, and he followed her wherever she did go, but then he quickly fell right asleep. No fun was this tired sheep, so Mary turned creative to keep her woolly friend awake. With determination only a child possesses in droves the little girl never quit until Sheppard Sheep was finally bright eyed and possibly more than she bargained for.

I read this book with my four year old son (a bunch of times). His eyes stayed glued to my computer screen. Each attempt Mary made to wake her friend was a mini-adventure. The rhyming is great fun and the illustrations brought the tale of Mary and Sheppard Sheep to life. There are even side characters like the cat, mouse, and cranky mom. At the end of the book you discover there's a mouse hidden on each page. We had so much fun looking for it. There's also a "find the differences" activity page, which had my son insisting we "do that difference thing again!" And author Julia Dweck went one step further with a favorite sites resource guide for parents and teachers.

Mary Had a Sleepy Sheep will be available for download 9/5/13. The story is a true delight. You can catch up with Julia Dweck on her Facebook page. As a side note, I recently read and reviewed another one of her wonderful children's books, Blucy. Here's my review.

(Sent to me by author for an honest review)

Feature and Follow [15] Me and My Book!

Q: Book Selfie! Take a pic with your current read.

That's a very tired me and my tired library copy of At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost. Holy cow this is an awesome series and I'm only on book 3. Love it! Hey, if you want to follow, that's so cool. Google+ is the best place to get attention, Bloglovin' too. Oh, I'm a total Twitter girl. I promise to follow back. I'm good like that.

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - This week's feature is: Spare Time Book Blog and Read In Paris.
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Think Out Loud [21] Comfort Food

I recently indulged in major comfort food, by recently I mean yesterday. But the mini-adventure (and it was a tiny adventure) drew me to the many foods and circumstances that brought simultaneous tears and laughter in the past. First big one was right after I broke up with my high school sweetheart at the tail end of senior year. When I told my mom, she looked like she was about to cry. "But what about prom?" "Who cares about prom, Mom?" She's not proud of her first reaction, but made up for it when she sat me down at the kitchen counter and made me a crispy bacon and peanut butter sandwich. I kid you not, it's amazing! In college in Hawaii my sister and I hit our favorite Mexican restaurant, Peppers. In college in Washington state I discovered the power or root beer floats. When I came home from the hospital after having my first son and I was so lost I couldn't think, my mom brought over homemade bread and lasagna. 

Yesterday I had to hold Will down to for two shots and a finger poke for blood. I thought if I told him in advance that he had to get a shot he would be better prepared and he wouldn't say those terrible words he had last time, "How could you, Mom?" He started hyperventilating an hour after I told him. When the time came and he was bouncing around the room ready to bolt, I did my job, but there's a cost to a person's spirit when she has to hold a child down who is trying with all his might to escape pain. The cost must have been too great to hide because the nurse rubbed my arm, not Will's. I accepted the comfort because the gesture was kind, but I wanted to clear things up for her that I was fine. Even though I wasn't. 

After the appointment I drove us to the store. Found the Hershey's chocolate bars. Searched for the marshmallows only to find three sizes. I had no idea which size was better for S'mores since I'd never had them or seen anyone eat them. I chose the big ones, of course. No grill or fire at the ready, I went with the stove. This girl was going to knock an item off her dreamer list and it wasn't going to be pretty. John paced around me with white powder all over his face because he already started on his marshmallow. I waited and waited for it to get crispy over the burner on the stove. Yes, told you it wasn't going to be pretty. "What are you making, Mom?" "Not sure." "Will it be good?" "Oh yes." And it was, though I have a ways till I become a master at stove top S'mores. 

Think Out Loud is a "whatever you want" meme. Post a quote, youtube video, rant, poem. Post anything on your mind. It's a wonderful chance to step outside your blogger routine.

Chicks Who Kill It! robgirlbooks' Mini-Reviews of Halfway to the Grave and Magic Bites

You've seen these book covers around. Heck, I've never checked out such tattered paperbacks from the library before. And I am so happy my friends boasted about these two series until I just had to see for myself.

5 STARS Halfway to the Grave starts off bloody. With a murderous chip on her shoulder, Catherine Crawfield spends her evenings luring and eventually blissfully killing vampires. She's scary in a serial killer kind of way, a lovable serial killer. We meet Bones at the very beginning. He loves long necks and idiots foolish enough to get in his way. Cat (or Kitten) gets in his way and we're all the better for it. I absolutely loved reading this book. Cat has a ways to go with her prejudice against vamps (which seems reasonable enough to have, right). Bones is an island, yet he tangles his world with Cat's from the start. I love that they're both unrepentant killers. I enjoyed Cat's transformation from the girl with poor social skills to a confident woman. And I laughed. So much. No one does jealous like Cat. There's mystery and adventure. The breakneck speed never slows down, even the steamy scenes leave you breathless and dizzy. I'm on book 2, with 3 waiting for me at the top of my library stack. 

5 STARS Magic Bites is a fantastical read like no other. Magic has eaten away the flashy modern world, leaving behind a wrecked landscape full of underworld baddies, wonky electricity, dilapidated cities, and hunters like Kate Daniels. Oh the beasts she hunts. And let me tell you, author Ilona Andrews creates vampires you never want to cuddle with! Puppets with teeth and skin-wrapped bones. They crawl up walls. They open their mouths only to have the voice of their puppet master speaking. Ack! There is so much gore and fantasy, I gave this book 4 stars originally, but really it's a 5 star read. I can't stop thinking about it. The characters are perched on my shoulder, teasing me that I don't know enough about them. I want more. More! And never once did I step out of the world Andrews created. I loved that cars were unreliable and mostly for the rich. I loved that Kate has no qualms with riding a horse or enduring intense pain. She's scared all the time and whenever that happened, the woman opened her mouth and practically made her death a certainty. There wasn't enough romance in the first book, but that's my preference. I was scared often, grossed out just as much. The monsters were terrifying. The good guys were borderline insane. How can you resist a series like that? I cannot wait to read the next book!

Sidekick Showcase [27] Not Who They Say They Are

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

This week's challenge is NOT WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE

I love surprises in characters! There are so many that spring to mind, but I decided to choose someone who is still a mystery to me since I've only read two books in the series so far. Trent Kalamack from Kim Harrison's The Hollows Series is a beautiful looking man, tall, fit, commanding, possibly...most definitely, maybe? evil to the core! I know all you vets of this series including you, Lexxie, will snicker because you know how Trent's character evolves. He's a mystery from the moment his name is first mentioned. Rachel is clueless about him. You know how people say "He hung the moon"? Think the opposite and that's how Rachel views Trent, despite her inability to overlook his appearance. 

“Come work for me, and I’ll tell you.”
My eyes went to his. “You are a thief, a cheat, a murderer, and a not-nice man,” I said calmly. “I don’t like you.”
He shrugged, the motion making him look utterly harmless. “I’m not a thief,” he said. “And I don’t mind manipulating you into working for me when I need it.” He smiled, showing me perfect teeth. “I enjoy it, actually.”
― Kim Harrison, The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

“I took a breath, seeing from across the room the rain on his eyelashes. A sudden need to brush them free filled me. I could almost feel the dampness of the rain on my fingers, how soft it would feel.”
― Kim Harrison, Dead Witch Walking (I'm pretty sure Rachel's describing Trent as she spies on him)

My sidekicks were wrapped up in talking about the big move coming and Big Brother. My sister might have mentioned Jeanne C. Stein, but heck if I remember why. 

Think Out Loud [20] Chasing Shadows

At the zoo a couple weeks back a little girl cute as anything spun around, her blond hair in a twirl that matched her dress. I looked at John ahead of me who once told me I would have another kid. "Take it back, John," was my mature response. The little girl was precious. "Mama, it won't stop chasing me!" I instinctively stopped. Her mom chuckled. "I can't believe she discovered her shadow at the zoo." A jolt of pure joy went through me. I waited to hear how the mom explained shadows. Was her approach going to be more successful than mine with John? I was practically chewing my fingernails in suspense. Why, you may ask? Shadows define an artist's world, shapes take form under the beauty of dark and light. Writers revel in the dichotomy of the two worlds as well, just differently. "That's your shadow, baby." I looked back at John who smiled his naughty smile. I knew what it meant, "See, Mom. There's an explanation a kid can appreciate."

Many months back John spun around like a cat trying to catch his tail. "John, John, that's your shadow. Oh my goodness! Okay, light bounces off an object, wait, where's the light source, ah, yes. Look, early morning sun, perfect!" "Mom." "Wait. See the sun beats down on you, but your body is blocking some of the light. You can draw a direct line-" "Mom." "You haven't heard the best part. I'm telling you this is so cool. There are colors in shadows. Colors! The color of the light will create a color opposite it on the color wheel. Yellowish light gives you violets and purples. Orange gives your cyan and aquamarine. Oh, oh, wait till Christmas time when people use those green porch lights. Magenta, John!" "Mom!" "Right, right, right." I stomped down on his long shadow (accented with hints of violet). "See, that. I just kicked your shadow's butt. Oh, look at that, stepped on your shadow again." He squealed. I laughed big and loud as we chased each other's shadows. Neither kid cares yet about colors in shadows.

Think Out Loud is crazy awesome. A meme like no other. Post a picture, poem, favorite word. Honest, Think did that one time. Come and hang out with us. We promise to pay attention!

(By Philippe Alès (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

(By Sakurambo at en.wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons)

My First Children's Books Mini-Review Marathon! Blucy, Ugly Fish, & The Sniffles for Bear

My 4 year old son and I have had the best time this summer with the most creative, playful, and lovable children's books! I thought I'd share a few of our most recent reads.

5 STARS!! Blucy: The Blue Cat written by Julia Dweck and illustrated by Erika LeBarre is a wonderful rhyming story about a peculiar and particular newly adopted cat named Lucy. Mandy loves Lucy, who turns blue, who won't eat typical cat food, who camouflages herself in all things blue. Blucy is no easy cat, but Mandy stays true and never quits looking for a way cat and girl can live happily ever after. My son told me before demanding I read it again, "This is a wonderful book!" I agree. The vibrant illustrations are a true delight and work perfectly to push the story forward. The rhymes are a treat for the reader. The message is touching; no matter how difficult, naughty, or fussy Blucy proves to be, Mandy loves her. To top off a great read, author Julia Dweck includes a cat trivia page and an activity hidden picture page. That's plain cool! (Please note: I received Blucy by the author for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity!)

4 STARS!! Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau and Scott Magoon is a surprising read. I'll start there because Ugly Fish is mean and ugly and happy with his solitary existence. Drop in Teensy Fish. If you think this is a heartwarming tale of two opposites coming together you're only right if you mean Ugly Fish chases Teeensy Fish and eats him in one bite. We meet a few more fish for a second before grumpy Ugly Fish chomps them too. This is a total fish snuff book and I laughed the whole time I read it. My son did too. Ugly Fish gets his when bigger and meaner Shiny Fish drops in and finds his new digs a little crowded. This is a kid-specific book. I'm sure there's a lesson here, Karma and all that, but the first couple reads are still a little startling to convey the bigger picture to my son.

5 STARS! The Sniffles for Bear written by Bonny Becker and illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton is a funny and heartwarming story about a melodramatic bear getting a cold and his friend mouse coming to his aid. Bear thinks no one has ever been as sick as he is. Mouse thinks a little cheer and company will do the trick. There are a few laugh out loud moments when Bear reacts to Mouse singing and mouse a little too eager to help him with his last will and testament. Poor Bear. Mouse sticks with him and continues to care for him all the way to the next morning when it's mouse's turn to need care. The two are an Odd Couple type duo and the read may be disturbing because of the "I may not be long for this world" talk, but I loved it. My 4 year old loved it.

Butterflies At Rest

My son bounces in his seat, on his toes, in his body. I watch him. Study every cause and effect. My mind fires off theories, bright shooting stars of hope. He quotes his shows and computer games. He laughs at the funniest jokes only he hears. He smiles so big my heart swells and breaks at the same time. He struggles with noise, but is a generator of tremendous sound, high-pitched, rising and falling volumes so quick those around him shake their heads and peddle their feet in the opposite direction. He'd like to put his brother in a padded room with a lock on the door only he has the key to. He has a vision of his world with heroes, weapons, weather gods, his mom. I'm so important to him when you ask, "Will, what do you want to do when you grow up?" He says every time "Help my mom." I try to reach him always. I fail often. He's struggling with the change I'm bringing to his world and I think he's pissed. I told him he can be as mad at me as he wants. "Oh yeah. Okay, Mom."





(By Nieminen Gene, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Sidekick Showcase [26] One Third of a Love Triangle

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

This week's challenge is ONE THIRD OF A LOVE TRIANGLE! Goodness me. 

I tossed characters around in my head, saying no to all of them until Bookworm Brandee referenced our favorite hero in a duster, Dimitri. Then my sister mentioned the Adrian, Rose, Dimitri drama, but decided to stick with Darynda Jones and the Charley Davidson series. I forgot the names again, but I blame how hard and how many times I hit my head yesterday on a carnival ride gone wrong. But back to Richelle Mead who can't help herself with these tortured romances. I'm choosing Kiyo, Dorian, and Eugenie from the Dark Swan Series. This four book series should have been at least five because the wrap up chapped a lot of hides. Eugenie is a romantic train wreck. She's the friend you can't give advice to because the girl is going to screw up no matter what you say or don't say. And yet I love her. I love the series. It's re-readable for me.

“Dorian used to watch you like a starving man who wants meat. Now he looks at you like he wants seconds.”
― Richelle Mead, Thorn Queen

“I looked around at us all: me in my nightgown, Kiyo bare-chested, Dorian in his extravagant robes, and Tim in his Native getup. God, I muttered, standing up, we all look like the village people.”
― Richelle Mead, Storm Born

“He stepped forward and punched Dorian in the face, hard enough that I heard a thwack.
"Ow," moaned Dorian, wincing from the pain. "My greatest asset.”
― Richelle Mead, Shadow Heir

Cowboys, Cross-Dressing Whips, and Young Love! Marathon Review Time!

4 STARS! Stagecoach drivers, or whips, were heroes of the old west, and Charlie Parkhurst was one of the best. The world knew Charlie as a man until her obituary announced the truth. The Whip throws us into this amazing woman's life from the moment her infant body was left at church door steps in 1812 all the way to her death in 1879. With tenacity and a gentle heart, she survives childhood, falls in love with horses, hides away in the doldrums of life as an unmarried woman in that day, and finally ventures into uncharted territory with no map. Author Karen Kondazian somehow created an epic in 302 pages because my heart soared and tore to pieces. I cheered and cried and boy did I blush. I wanted so badly to know Charlie. The Whip is a striking tale of a girl who always went the way of her heart. She's a new hero of mine that's for sure.

4 STARS! Sheriff Walt Longmire is always my hero. Whether he's struggling with flashbacks of his time in Vietnam or clumsily dating someone he shouldn't, he's always on the side of right. And he's not just my hero either. In The Dark Horse (book 5 in the Longmire Series) a woman who's repeatedly confessed to unloading a rifle into her husband seems an unlikely candidate for Walt to choose to save, but there he goes riding off with his badge, gun, and dog ready to rescue the damsel. I love that Walt travels to a rundown town where even cars prefer not to tread. I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of cowboy Walt Longmire, and at the same time I struggled with all that cowboy stuff, especially the horse talk. But I'll tell you, the last third spun me around and led me by the nose all the way to the end. Craig Johnson continues to be one of my favorite authors and Walt one of my favorite characters.

MOVIE TIME!

4 STARS The First Time is not your typical teen chick flick. The depth and easy dialogue reminded me of YA contemporary romance novels. I loved the flow and authenticity of the characters' emotions and reactions. The girl has an older boyfriend (a relationship that totally bothered me) and the boy has an insane crush on the girl next door who is more interested in washboard abs than her super cute and sweet guy friend. Not original, but no one turned into a raging anything. There was no backstabbing or cattiness, just teens figuring things out and not all that gracefully. The parents weren't evil pod people. They were part clueless, part helpless, and part wonderful. The boy was respectful with just a dash of stupid. The girl was the same. I'd watch it again for sure!

3 STARS for The Oranges. We have two families who live across from each other. The girls grew up best friends until high school. The socialite in the duo moved up the social ladder and then moved out of her house as soon as legally possible. The one left behind stayed behind. The husbands are best friends. They're kindhearted and unhappy. The wives appear to be close. They're controlling and bitchy. Of course. Social/party girl returns home with a broken stupid heart. She thinks her former best friend's dad is the hottest thing since the last guy she dated. They throw caution to the wind and make out. This movie pissed me off. There's no way around it. The reason I'm giving it 3 stars and not 1 is because the left behind daughter gets just as pissed as me and calls her former friend such vile things, I cheered. The insults were ripped right out of my head I tell you. I loved the swear combinations and that alone is why I'm awarding the 3 stars. Clever swearing! 

Think Out Loud [19] Birthdays

My mom's birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. I asked her what she wanted. "Nothing, really." (Mom, if you're reading this, stop and come back after your big day). 

What makes a birthday special? I figure thoughtfulness is a huge component. A couple years ago I wrote her a short novella. It went over so well I decided to do it again this year. I'm tackling Billy from my Anna books. I'm not sure if giving someone a story for her birthday is super lame or not. My all time favorite birthday memory has nothing to do with presents. Actually, most of the day was total shit. 

My fifteenth birthday started out with everyone forgetting my big day. We rushed out of the house to catch the bus. My friends forgot. I got in an argument with my best friend. In the middle of it, I lost my balance on the curb and ended up getting grazed by a car. I wasn't hurt, just scared. But that's how the day went. Everyone forgetting and then getting bumped by a car. When my mom walked through the front door from work, she didn't sing "I'm home!" I'm pretty sure it went something like this, "I'm such an asshole. I'm so sorry I forgot. How about Double Rainbow ice cream?" How easy am I? That easy. We piled into her car while my stepdad grumbled. We had an apathetic teen/Goddammit Robyn kind of relationship. 

Double Rainbow is straight from San Francisco. On the islands everything is shipped in, but shipped in from the states adds a whole 'nother level of awesomeness. No one was there because it was expensive as hell. I ordered It's A Goody. Oh my goodness. I still think about this ice cream. I sat down in the uncomfortable chair at the wobbly table. My mom and sister quickly joined me. There was no talking, just enjoying. Somewhere pacing around was my stepdad, grumble, grumble, grumble. I took one lick. Heaven. Another and I swear it felt unstable. The third lick sent the scoop falling into my glass of water. "Goddammit, Robyn," I heard in the background. "Just scoop it out," my mom said, but this was the last straw. I started to cry. "Go on, get another one. Go, honey." I hopped up and ordered another while my mom with her devilish grin scooped out my ice cream and happily ate it. I sat back down. Amazing, sooo freaking good, shit, it's going to fall! I could tell the damn scoop was going to tumble into my water again! "Oh, oh, oh," and bam. I slammed the cone into my forehead. My mom and sister froze. Until they broke out in roars. "What-" hahahaha "What were-" hahaha "I mean what-" No one could say anything because we were laughing so hard we were falling out of our chairs. More grumble, grumble, grumble from you know who, but us girls were crying in the very best way. "It was going to fall again," I said tumbling us into another episode of "I can't breathe," and "My face hurts," and "I'm dying here." It is my very favorite birthday memory.

I want to thank my friend Think. This is such a neat meme. I look forward to posting what's on my mind. I find myself paying more attention to the world around me. Come and join Think Out Loud and see what I'm talking about.

Are you a people watcher?

I've always been a cross between an observer and a space cadet. Three scenes play over in my mind at random times, I'm guessing because each one was emotionally charged and each one was riveting to me.

Years ago while I was washing dishes, screams outside my kitchen window yanked me out of my head. Three women ran out of the unkempt yellow house two doors down. The husband/father was a drinker and I stayed clear of him as a rule. He came charging after them. He caught one of them by the arm and hit her across the face so hard she flew back into the recycle container.

Years ago again I was at the grocery store waiting in the self-checker line. I couldn't stop watching the couple in front of me, young, beautiful, and more subdued than I'd ever witnessed in people actually walking around. They didn't talk to each other when the computer wouldn't cooperate, instead they had this strange nonverbal back and forth that had me tilting my head in confusion and curiosity. Eventually it was my turn to check my groceries, so I left the puzzling duo in favor of my own business. Just as I was climbing into my car, there they were at their car. She waited at the passenger door as he walked around to open her door. I had my belt clicked, keys in the ignition before he finished closing her door. Goodness, they were on a different plane of existence. I leaned over the wheel to watch more because what was happening in their universe? How could they look so calm and move as if walking through mud? He finally finished loading the two bags of groceries and climbed in. He looked at her. She looked at him. Then with a sudden move of total claiming he slipped his hand behind her head and pulled her into a kiss.

A few months ago on the last day of elementary school for my oldest boy I checked myself for any wayward emotions that would have me hugging unsuspecting teachers and parents and possibly even crying. Nothing. With the coast clear, I found Will and hurried to the car because I could feel the sneaky emotion rising to the surface. I made it to the car. Will was elated to be done with school. Just as I shifted into reverse I saw a father of one of the kids walking down the front steps. His face was twisted in agony, compelling my foot to step off the gas. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and folded over slightly. Again the look on his face compelled me to stay put. I had my hand on the door. He looked like he's dying. And then I saw what I can't stop seeing in my mind because I've never witnessed it in my life, tears streamed down his face. The man was crying his heart out and I realized for the first time no man has ever cried in front of me.

So I people watch. How about you?

(By Singer Ron, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Sidekick Saturday [25] Leather Clad

Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday, is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on my page. Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fit's in the week's topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their's throughout the week as well

This week's challenge is LEATHER CLAD! Yikes! 

I'm a total paranormal romance girl and I can't think of any of those hunky reckless men in leather. I checked my Goodreads shelf but it went like this, "Surely he wore leather. He's a total leather kind of guy. Or him, no wait, is a duster a leather coat or just a coat?" So I went with duster and Dimitri from Vampire Academy. I bet in the movie the coat will be made of leather for sure. I also thought of Kist from The Hollows Series because he rides a bike and because I can just see his ass in leather pants. Okay, sidetracked there. I thought of Ivy because it seems vamps in Kim Harrison's dark world love their supple leather. Rachel constantly mentions her "vamp boots." I'll do better next week. Promise!

I asked my mom and sister, but my mom has her thoughts focused where mine should be, the big move coming in three weeks. Shan's been on a Darynda Jones kick and she chose Donovan who doesn't show up until the third book. She told me he's the leader of a biker gang. Her eyes lit up when she talked about him, so I'm guessing he's a hottie, a mix of good and bad, and a potential love interest for the main character. I haven't started this series yet, but it's on the never ending list.

That's all I have. Next week is 1/3 of a love triangle. I got that one. I'm sure of it.

I'm moving. Ack!

Goodness, I'm moving in three weeks. I haven't started packing, mostly because I just decided to switch things up in my life. I'll be a busy girl, and I will need to find the strength to resist hopping online constantly. I'm also finally writing again. We'll see if I can write a first draft this summer like I planned.

To help me pack and think my way through the big change coming, I'm preparing a media blitz. 

Each week I'll be checking out a handful of movies from the library that don't require my full attention, but will help me keep things light and fun. 

This week I have...

I haven't seen this one...

Gotta love earth-invasion movies!

One of my favorite action movies where there is no bad guy.

I haven't seen this one, but it looks sweet.


That's it for movies. I need ideas for next week. I like romantic comedies and action. Suspense requires too much focus, so it wouldn't serve me well here.

Now for books...
I'm finishing up

I have this one waiting...

I have no idea what I'm in the mood for reading-wise. I've been starting and stopping a lot of reads lately. I'm past the frustrated stage. Grrh. Fire away if you have a good escapism suggestion!

Wish me luck, I suck at packing. I suck at change. But that's okay.

UPDATE: 8/4/13 My movie plan is a bust so far. Halfway through Battleship and 4 boxes packed the DVD stopped working. Ack! I put in Unstoppable. Guess what happened. I stopped all work. I love that movie so much I sat back and watched the whole thing without doing any work at all! I'm trying romantic comedies next.