Year of books!

I listened to my first audiobook in January and fell in love! Listening to books while driving all over town made traffic a non-issue (unless I was hungry or stressed or late, okay traffic is always an issue).

I started with Storm Front by Jim Butcher read by the best narrator ever! James Marsters was Harry Dresdren all the way. There is no one like Harry. He's good to the core except for his arrogance that can run amuck and his bad attitude that often quadruples his enemy tally every time he hunts bad guys.

Darynda Jones' Charlie Davidson also starred in my audiobook addiction this year. Narrator Lorelei King rocks the planet. She can do any voice in any genre. Despite the steam factor in this series, and oh boy, the best of the best has to be the friendship between Charlie and Cookie. I love those girls.

There was a bit of indie author love with Jana Aston, Katie Mettner, Michelle Mankin, and Dannika Dark. I reconnected with forever favorites, Kristen Ashley, team Ilona Andrews, Katie McGarry, and Patricia Briggs. And found a new favorite, Julie Garwood (historical romance with awesomely hilarious heroines). 

There were a couple nonfiction reads in there to add a little legitimacy to my book fervor. I loved loved loved Stephen King's On Writing memoir. He narrates the audio version and it feels like a weekend long seminar on writing, life, passion, you name it. Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing made the favorites list because the woman made me laugh about grammar.

Here are a few top favorites:

Pinterest Quote Time! December Pep

"This is the beginning of anything you want."

"radiate love" (illustrated in a big flaming sun, how cool is that?)

"celebrate every tiny victory"

"TRIAL AND ERROR, BUT MOSTLY ERROR. LIKE, A SHITLOAD OF ERROR."

"thou shall not take shit"

"you're pretty special. just saying."

Take it easy during this last push to visit with everyone you're supposed to visit with and to shop for everyone you're supposed to lavish with gifts. A smile goes a long way and that includes the ones you give to yourself. This advice is for me too. I'll try to growl less on the road. Really try. I mean it. That's like my very last 2016 New Year's Resolution. You can make them anytime. There's no rule on that. I'm sure of it.

Moms don't have cartoon stretch arms

Last week after marveling that I got my oldest to his dentist appointment on time, my son flew out of the car. My first instinct was to check for cars. He zipped across the parking lot so fast I was still smiling when he slipped on the wet sidewalk. I stopped breathing when he went airborne. My body suddenly moved through rubbery air, the kind that pushes you back in heavy bounces, adding weight to your limbs, keeping you from any superhero rescue. My arms weren't going to stretch across the street to catch him. This wasn't a cartoon. The colors were all wrong to be one of the many animated shows I loved when I was a kid. Dusk with wet concrete everywhere I looked turned most surfaces black except where the street lamps created golden sparkles. I see this scene when I close my eyes because right after this snapshot before he landed I became human. Moms aren't human in their minds. Even the ones who downplay it. We're something more because we have to be. So my big guy always ready with a joke landed with the worst scream. Somehow I was there with rain drenched jeans and him writhing in my arms seconds later. It all took seconds. Racing me across the parking lot, beating me, slipping and falling on the slick sidewalk, breaking his femur and wrist, and changing the landscape of our future.

By the next day I discovered he has an insanely high pain threshold, he has soft bones, and a kid scared out of his mind who was just informed he'd have to have emergency surgery by an ER doc who did not think Will had anything more than a bruised bone could tell a disbelieving ER doctor a knock knock joke.

It's been mind blowing, a little heart breaking, and a lot soul affirming. Happy Holidays people.

Pinterest quote time!

"Stay positive."

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow stronger." W.B. Yeats

"I tripped and fell into some feelings...I'm okay now. I brushed that shit off." Instagram photo by Todd Chrisley

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? Gilmore Girls Mania!!!

I just found out we're getting 4 new 90 minute episodes of Gilmore Girls November 25th (on Netflix). I know, total awesomeness! So this month's theme song is the trailer. Man oh man. We're sure to laugh and cry and we dang well better swoon. By the way, you can watch all the episodes on Netflix or you can probably get the DVD's from your public library.

Hey, don't have Netflix? Have you tried their 30 day free trial preview? Time it just right to catch the shows you want to catch up on and don't forget to consider when you actually have time to binge watch. I have to wait until Christmas break usually.

My "What would Russell Wilson say?" mantra is in peril.

A qualifying, blah, depressing saying has taken over the planet. "It is what it is." You can't get away from it. The moment someone rants, complains, or explains something displeasing, that saying tops them off. At first I just logged who around me said it the most because that's how my brain works. Then I realized I might start saying it if I don't have a saying to combat it. Since I'm a total Seahawks girl, 12th man all the way, I came up with "What would Russell Wilson say?" How can you not feel amped with a silent retort like that? If you've ever seen a game Seattle was going to lose with only seconds left, the man can't even consider giving up. The other team is taking a knee and he still thinks there's a way to get the ball! So the saying worked enough the words stopped being a silent response to a suckie saying. I shared the awesomeness. 

Then the Seahawks tied their game against the Cardinals Sunday night. A tie is nothingness. They played until they needed medical care and didn't get real closure. And Russell showed for the first time in any press conference I've ever seen actual annoyed dissatisfaction. Oh, he's been unhappy in the past. He's claimed this and that were his fault and listed things that needed improving, but a tie was not okay to him and not anything he could work on. So he said, "It is what it is." I gasped. I couldn't very well use my counter saying then. 

Now you might think I need to lighten up. Sure. Always. But the truth of the matter is words matter. The ones you say out loud to top off trademark comments you make cement ideas and feelings into the way you view the world. You say "It is what it is," a total surrender comment and not in the Zen, life is suffering way, you're saying, what are you going to do? I can't do anything to change it." Even saying "Monkey poo" at the end of a rant is better than "It is what it is." So the next time those words slip out of your mouth, think if you said that as a kid. I had a saying when I was a kid because I was a bit angry. It was along the lines of "F*$@ 'em." That works too. What mantras do you say without realizing they're mantras?

Of course, Richard Sherman just said the crap line in his Harry Potter costume press conference and I didn't gasp or counter the words. He was dressed as Harry Potter with a wand and glasses and everything. Come on. I might just use that visual as my new mantra. Go 3-D.

Pinterest Quotes

Here's a bit of inspiration, sass, kick in the pants from my "neat stuff" board on Pinterest.

"These mountains you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb." Najwa Zebian 

I looked up Najwa and discovered she has a book of poems called Mind Platter. Looks wonderful!

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill 

This quote is written a few different ways as its made its celebrity cruise through social media, but the meaning is all the same. Keep going, people. 

"It's Monday. Time to take over the world." SHOPRIFFRAFF.COM

Who doesn't need a Monday ra-ra cheer.

"be badass"

"Virgo Today's Facts

All #Virgos speak at least five languages: English, Profanity, Sarcasm, Truth and Love." HoroscopesCafe.com

If you haven't checked out your Zodiac sign on Pinterest, kick your feet up and spend a little time on yourself. The quotes are spot on or they at least have my number.

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso 

Whatever your art form, indulge because it's plain good for you.

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? October goodness.

Pumpkin spice, colorful leaves, crisp winds. It's October baby! I added the pumpkin spice for Bookworm Brandee. The girl loves the stuff! Fall also means football, spiders, and premature Christmas products in stores. I'm choosing a couple songs from my birthday mixed CD my sister made for me. Thanks Shann.

Hard to be grumpy listening to this song.

Fresh Eyes by Andy Grammer

Here's one for all those looking for a bit of inspiration because it's so pretty.

Lost Boy by Ruth B

Big love for Kristen Ashley

Yesterday I met Kristen Ashley. This is my first fangirl picture. In the last few years, I've met Patricia Briggs (sort of-I took a writer's workshop she gave), chatted (very briefly) with Elizabeth Hoyt, Sabrina Jeffries, Ann Aguirre, JA Huss, the list goes on, and attended as many author talks I could manage. But I've never asked for a picture. And after this photo I awkwardly hurried away. Seriously, why is it so hard to talk to your favorite authors? The event was held in Seattle, a big to-do with a banquet room full of women dressed up ready to celebrate our love of KA and her stories (uh, I wasn't dressed up because I'm a jeans girl). I danced, laughed, and made some new friends, all this through total book love. Gotta say, book girls rock. 

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? Sunshine and Reese's Pieces

Two huge things happened this summer. Okay, just one, I tried Reese's Pieces for the first time. Oh my goodness, they rock! I love them. I wish I could go back in time and watch E.T. for the first time and at least appreciate the Reese's aspect of the movie instead of want to beat the movie into the ground for making me cry my eyes out in front of everyone. It has been a kid/pool/sunshine/travel summer. In other words, busy as heck. Through it, one song popped into my head and out my mouth. Just so you know, I have terrible music memory so I only sing small bits. That means my family has had to hear "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day..." over and over again with flair but with not much else. I hope you all had a wonderful summer. I'm not quite ready for the school year to start, but I'll just sing my way there. Any Reese's Pieces lovers out there? And how much of a song do you sing when it won't stop running through your head?

Have a bad ass September!

My Girl by The Temptations

p.s. I have to give credit to my youngest for sharing his candy with me and broadening my horizons. That was real sweet of him. Ha! Sweet.

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? July audiobook love!

Let's switch things up and talk audiobooks because I freaking love them! Rather, I love the narrators. So here are a couple of my absolute-I'll-follow-you-through-any-story-favorites starting with ...

James Marsters reading as Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. If you're thinking the name James Marsters sounds familiar, it sure does! He's Spike from Buffy! Harry looks and acts nothing like Spike and the narration is so spectacular that I never confuse the two. Harry doesn't suddenly appear in my head as a platinum blond with an accent, fangs, and a near dying need for self-preservation. Harry Dresden is a wizard who works as a P.I. On the side he saves humankind over and over from some seriously scary supernatural baddies. If you haven't given this series a shot yet, get on it.

Kirsten Porter reading as a number of awesome heroines from back in the fictional day. I first heard her narrating for Maya Banks in Never Seduce a Scot. I followed her through all of Banks's historical romances and then discovered Joanna Bourne and her Spymaster series. If Porter is reading, you are sure to fall deep into the story and wish everyone understood if the earbuds are in, do not talk to me.

Happy July people. I hope it's filled with summer respite and ice cream.

Big America's Got Talent love for Grace!

Here's a feel good video going into the weekend. Oh the beauty of this girl!

Grace VanderWaal

Movie Love Then and Now

I lived on movies when I was a kid. It was the 80's. Michael J. Fox ruled the teen scene and I could not tell the difference between Helen Hunt and Jodie Foster. John Candy made me laugh and a little Bill Murray went a long way. That's still true.

Recently I started digging up those old movies and attempting to watch them with my youngest. Just the PG ones so why not? Holy cow! It's hard to believe it, but I really am from a different generation. Oh the swearing! Back to the Future, that wonderful, funny, exciting time travel movie with Marty McFly skipped the f-word but that's about it. That doesn't even touch on the  big high school bully being far worse than a jerk. Biff, no means no. 

So where are we now with family-geared movies? I recently read The Martian and loved the hell out of it. The first line of the book hooked me, the line with the f-bomb so perfectly placed it cracked me up right there in the book section of the grocery store. I couldn't wait for Matt Damon to give me a whole new take on the story because that's how I feel about books to movies. It was good, great even, but it felt watered down. The tempered language annoyed me and stood out as blatant rating chasing. I imagined a school of persnickety old looking ladies who aren't old sitting around a table pointing their fingers at each scene that needs to be cut in order to keep a PG-13 rating. At the same time, I want something my son can watch that won't give him nightmares or rob even a minute of his childhood. 

I'm thinking we're fighting the deluge of information we can't control that pummels the kids of today with cherry picked hardships...or we're just holding onto their childhood by our fingernails. I love visiting the movies I couldn't get enough of when I was a kid, but the old line "You can't go home again," sneaks into my thoughts now and again. 

When life's kicking your butt, how about a theme song? Favorites from The Voice!

Summer! It's almost summer! I think it will go by in a speedy blur of so much play and so many battles. Bet on both because we are a loud emotional bunch. Music will be more important than ever. Here are a few of my favorites from the latest season of The Voice. My apologies to those who don't get the show or watch it, but the songs are neato anyway. Here are just a few that I loved.

Alisan Porter, Let Him Fly

Ryan Quinn "Can't Find My Way Home"

Bryan Bautista "Pillow Talk"

Mary Sarah "Johnny and June"

Working mom, dreams, and little kid basketball

Hi, how are you all doing? 

I thought I'd start with that since I've been out of touch for months. My writing dream took a hit this winter when I got a new job. Not just because I was too dang tired after work to be creative, but because the new job came with the discovery of a new dream, one that will actually pay me (after a bit of schooling). I kept at the writing (and editing) because I realized writing isn't just a dream, it's part of my soul to see the world and recreate it, retell it, sometimes just keep it for myself until I'm ready to share it. You can have more than one dream, maybe you'll move slower, and success will have to be measured in happiness and not accomplishments, but there is no finish line I'm thinking. 

In the meantime, I've been doing the mom gig. Meaning figuring out how to motivate a teenage boy with autism who is in the grips of puberty and sullenness that it is in his best interest to do his school work, not beat up his brother, and lend a kind word to his mother once in a while. Oh he drives me crazy. I asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up and he said, "Live with you." I told him I'd annoy him and he needed to live on his own. "No Mom. You only annoy me some of the time." The kid makes me laugh. He's also a Special Olympics Gold Medal athlete in swimming! He swam his butt off this spring and gets to go to State.

My youngest is on a basketball team and there is nothing cuter than watching a bunch of little kids running around playing basketball. He doesn't race off the court to give me a hug anymore, but he did give me a "What the heck?" look when a kid was defending him by way of holding him in place and then throwing him. The parents next to me were shouting, "Give it back to em!" while I was shouting "Good sportsmanship!" I'm thinking I don't have the sports mom role down. And maybe during practice while I was listening to Mercy Thompson be an awesome coyote on my audiobook and I noticed the coach teaching the kids to fight back when the defense plays street ball, I jumped off the bleachers and told him sportsmanship is primary, it's basketball creedo man! No one rallied behind the creedo bit. 

I'm still here folks. I'm working on Anna 4 and a novella from Eric's POV, both beyond the second draft stage. I'll try to hop around blogs and visit with you all. I miss you guys.