GOODBYE, EARL

My crush on Jason Lee began with my viewing of Chasing Amy, in which he played alongside Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams and followed throughout his appearances in other Kevin Smith films as well as romantic comedies such as Kissing A Fool and A Guy Thing.  Then something happened. in 2005, NBC premiered a new comedy to add to it's Thursday night "Must see TV" lineup. That show was My Name Is Earl and starred Lee as Earl J. Hickey, a man who loses a winning lottery ticket when he is hit by a car. Feeling that this was karma striking, Earl decides to make a list of all the bad things he has done and try to right them, thereby gaining positive karma. Now, I am in no way dissing the show, which ran from 2005 until 2009 and was an quite a  hit. However, I never watched it. This is because seeing Jason Lee, the Jason Lee I came to know and love, sporting a scruffy mustache and beard just, well, it just was something I couldn't watch. Shallow? Yes, I admit it,  and that is not like me at all. Part of the reason I so loved Lee was because of his ability to be so damn funny and NOT about how damn good looking he was-er-I mean is. I just can't explain it,but something about him changed. Or maybe I should saysomething about ME changed,  but sadly something just made me lose interest.

Now today I was reading the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine, and something caught my eye. It was an ad for a new TV show premiering on TNT Tuesday, June 22 at 10pm EST. It's called Memphis Beat and is about a Memphis, Tennessee police detective named Dwight Hendricks who happens to moonlight as an Elvis impersonator and live with his mother. Now that is not a show I can say sounds really all that interesting to me personally,but it wasn't the show's premise that got me. It was the photo of  it's stunningly handsome star. Yes, the one and only Jason Lee. The show also stars Alfre Woodard and Celia Weston and is executive produced by George Clooney (who is pretty easy on the eyes himself), but it's Mr. Lee, all clean-shaven with a cool new haircut that grabbed my attention. Will this show be as big a hit for him as My Name Is Earl was? I am betting not. Will I watch it? Possibly. And believe me, I am not proud of the fact that I am basing that decision on the fact the it's lead looks so good, but I guess I am only human. But I am glad Jason Lee is coming back to tv. And I'm glad he he looks the way he does. If he stays remains to be seen.

Because I Just Don't Have Enough To Do

Well, I love to read and I love to give my opinion, so given any chance to do a book review I will gladly take it. For a while I was reviewing for I heard it On The Grapevine ( http://www.ihearditonthegrapevine.com/).
 I really enjoyed it, but then I got busy at my "real" job and had to stop for a while.
 Now I have been given a chance to review once again

This time it's for Night Owl Reviews ( http://www.nightowlreviewscom/).
I am probably once again getting in over my head and will most likely be very stressed out by this time next week, but such is my life and really, without stress, I just wouldn't be me. :)

 I have received my first book to review and I hopefully will have it submitted very soon. Meanwhile, go check out the site. They have great reviews, contests, blogs, chats, and an author's store

Recent Books I Have Read

For a while I was reading everyday and finishing about a book or two a week. Now things are "heating" up at work and I don't have as much free time as I would like. But I am still reading. Here are the lastest books I have read and a few words about each one.

DEAD IN THE FAMILY by Charlaine Harris
This is the latest book in Ms. Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series. They have really taken off since the premiere of The HBO series TrueBlood, but I have been reading since before. In my opinion this series just gets better and better and this latest installment is no exception. I don't like to give away too much, but I will say that Eric Northman fans will be happy. He is very prominant in this book.

THE CARRIE DIARIES by Candace Bushnell
This was a quick, easy read that shows us Carrie before she moved to NYC and became a writer. This YA novel by Candace Bushnell follows Carrie Bradshaw (Bradley, to her friends) through her senior year of high school. Surprisingly, she is not the most popular girl in school. It also sheds light on her home life. (I had no idea she had 2 younger sisters) It was enjoyable, but not nearly as good as Sex and The City.I recommend it for anyone who loves the HBO series and wants to see who Carrie was a young girl or for any fans of YA chick-lit. P.S : the best part was the ending...

BLACK MAGIC SANCTION by Kim Harrison
This is just about my favorite Urban Fantasy/paranormal romance series. Rachel Morgan once again finds herself in a whole lot of trouble and has to relay on some unexpected people for help. (let's just say one is a former rat. And I mean that literally) We also see a lot more of Bis ,the teenaged gargoyle who shares the church with Rach and the gang. I like a lot and hope Ms Harrison includes him in more upcoming books.

NEVER TELL A LIE by Hallie Ephron
This is a great suspense novel that really had me guessing.When  8 months plus pregnant Ivy decide to have a yard sale, she never expected involved in a missing persons case and she sure never expected her husband, David to become suspected of murder. One of their former classmates stops by and is never seen leaving. soon police are investigating Ivy and her husband and Ivy's world is turned upside down. Ivy is left with lots of questions, one of which is "How well does she really know her husband?"

BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham
Very well-written YA book about 16-yr old Tessa, who has only months to live. She makes a list of "Things to Do Before I Die" and tries desperately to finish it before the end. This book was a little sad, but I really liked the way the author wrote the relationships between Tessa and her best friend, family and new boyfriend. This is a book that will stay with me a long time.


Well, that's it for now. Right now I am reading 3 books:

HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD by Tate Hallaway
SPIRIT BOUND by Richelle Mead
BITTER IS THE NEW BLACK by Jen Lancaster

I have also preordered the following new books:
INSATIABLE by Meg Cabot
LIVE TO TELL by Lisa Gardner
PRAY FOR SILENCE by Linda Castillo
CARNAL SIN by Allison Brennan
MOON SWORN by Keri Arthur
NEVER LOOK AWAY by Linwwood Barclay
as well as 2 books from authors "NEW" to me:
 STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens
and NEVER WAVE GOODBYE by Doug Magee

The Tale of The Purple Bear

When my ex (whom I will refer to from here on out as simply "X") and I started dating, he was a real sweetheart. Of course, in the beginning all relationships are pretty good. But X was one of those guys who would do the "little" things that meant  alot. You know, like bring you little token gifts just "because"??

Well, this is about one of those "just because" gifts. You see, we had not been dating more than a couple weeks, I think, when X came over to see me one night. He said he bought me a gift. "Ooh, a GIFT" I thought. "How sweet". He said that while he was out working he happened to be in a store and saw this iten and decide to get it for me. It was a purple stuffed bear. (He knew purple is my favorite color).
Oh, how excited I was. Not because of a silly cheap purple bear, but because he THOUGHT OF ME. I mean he was busy working and still took a few minutes to think of me. (yeah, I know. I was head over heels with this guy so I was easily impressed) and this was the first gift he ever gave me. (and yes, they did get better)
So fast forward several years later, and we are no longer a couple. I am getting rid of some stuff I no longer want or need and some of that "stuff" just happens to be items I had been given by X. Mostly just cards, stuffed animals and stuff like that. I had everything done and was down to this purple bear. I was ready to toss it, but I had only one little thing keeping me from doing so- my cat, Zoe. You see, Zoe LOVED this bear. She would lay on the bed with it and put her little head down on it's back. She would put her paws across it and sleep. She would lay right up against it. I just couldn't do that to her. In essence, it now was Zoe's bear-not mine anymore-and I had no right to take her toy away. So I kept the stupid bear. And that is what I call it -"THE STUPID BEAR". And it sits on my bed everyday. EVERY.DAY.And Zoe is happy. And I love her like a child, so she gets what she wants.

Moing forward with our story, last Monday I decided to go adopt another cat from the Humane Society. If you read my previous post, you know about Ella. Well, Ella is doing very well and adapting to our family very nicely. She also has apparently taken to THE STUPID BEAR. On Christmas Eve, I went into the bedroom for something and noticed the ever-present bear was gone. Now, most people probably wouldn't notice that right away, but you have to understand that this bear has been  a constant reminder of X and my relationship for many years, so for me it's always THERE. Staring up at me. To have it gone was quite noticeable. I went into the living room where my family was gathered and said "You know, it's really weird, but THE STUPID PURPLE BEAR is gone" I don't know where it could be. "Maybe one of the cats took it" my mother said. "Look under the bed". (now at this point Ella was still hiding out under my bed during the day) "That's silly, I said". Why would one of the cats take it?" But I looked under the bed and sure enough-it was there. Ok, kind of weird, but I threw it back on the bed and went back to my family. Later on that evening, I went to turn down the bed and (you guessed it) the bear was gone ,again. SO again, I went under the bed and there it was. Ok, this was getting weird.. I decided to move the bear to a basket I kept in the room for spare throw blankets.
Christmas morning was had a nice breakfast like the good ole' days. My brother nad sister had stayed over and it was just me, my mom, and the two of them. We haven't had a Christmas breakfast like that in years. Afterwards, I went into the bedroom for a book and guess what was gone? Yup, THE STUPID BEAR. Ok, so at this point I was sure I was being messed with. I went straight out to my sister and asked her. "are you guys messing with me?" She looked and me and said "no, not yet, but you never know, we may later." I told her about the MIA bear and she laughed. Of course, it was under the bed. Now since Christmas it has remained in place, so I never caught the responsible party. Until last night. I was sitting  on the bed
with Ella and Zoe. All of a sudden Ella got up and the STUPID BEAR(which is almost as big as her)  jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. I followed her to the living room, where she proceeded to run behind the love seat and then stopped behind the couch. So now I know who my little thief is. And yes, THE STUPID PURPLE BEAR is staying.

NEW "GIRL" IN TOWN

So it was a typical Monday afternoon. I was working from home , as usual, and I was relaxing on the couch (ok, so not working very hard) and from out of nowhere came the urge to go visit the local Humane Society. They are right around the corner from my house and I thought I would go look at the kittens. Now I have had my cat, Zoe, for 15 years and never really considered getting another one ,except for one time. I went there a year or so ago, picked out a little cutie ,but something stopped me mid-way through the paperwork. It just didn't feel right. I was worried that Zoe might be jealous or feel like I was "replacing" her. I guess the time wasn't right.
This day, though, I just felt something pulling me, and as I believe that things DO happen for a reason, I knew it was the time to go. SO I dragged my mother out with me to go look at kittens, not really knowing what the outcome would be.
When we arrived at the HS, I asked if they had any kittens, and one of the directors pointed me to the new outdoor cage that housed all the younger ones. Only problem, most of them were close to a year old and I was really looking for a newborn. (selfish, I know-they ALL need homes) I took a look and most were black or black and white. Now Zoe, is all black and I do happen to be partial to black cats-always have been.
I went in the cage and started to take peeks at the girls. I have nothing against male cats, but I have always had girls and I was looking for a little sister for Zoe. I just figured she might be more accepting of a girl. There were quite a few lovely ones, but at that point, none were very interested in getting to know me. They all wanted to be lazy and sleep (kind of like me on a Monday afternoon!)

I came across one very small black kitten and went to read up on her "story" . It seems that "Kudos" had a very rough life (so far). She was rescued from a revine and moved around to a few other shelters befoer being settled at The Humane Society of Pinellas County. I picked her up and looked at her. Very sweet, but VERY skittish. I certainly could understand. She was scared! But I really needed a cat that would be outgoing. One that would fit with another cat easily. The "SHE" came out of the corner: a pretty little "tuxedo cat" . She was not very big, but I could tell she was not very young, either. I looked at her makeshift collar to read the ID number, so I could read her papers. The name on the tag said "Ella". Now I said previously I do believe things happen for a reason and Ella was not the first name I had in mind for a new cat (in fact, I decided before leaving the house that I would most likely choose Samantha / "Sam", after Elizabeth Montomery's character on Bewitched.) but Ella was definitely a name I had considered. I tend to pick names after TV shows, books, movies, etc. Zoe, is named after Elmo from Sesame Streets's little sister. And the name Ella?  Anthony Edward's "Dr Mark Greene" of ER had a baby girl named "Ella". I had liked it since then. Ok, so I thought that would easy enough. She already had a name I liked, now it was just to find out if we were compatible. I picked her up ,but she was a little squirmy. She was swatting me with the little paws.   I put her down and watched her runa round. And run around, she did! She climbed all over ,even up the side of the cage! I even thought maybe she would eb too wild for our home. After looking at several others, I kept getting drawn back to Ella. I found out she was 7 months old. Now that was good because she was all up to date on her shots and I really didn't want a cat older than a year. She was essentially still a "baby" in my eyes.
I went out to tell one of the attendents that I had made my choice. We did all the paperwork and soon I was on my way home with my new little girl.
When I first brought her in, I put her down and she ran right over to the Christmas tree. Of course, she didn't see Zoe was already underneath. Zoe hissed at her and then Ella ran straight to my bedroom and under the bed where she remained for the rest of the day. "Great" I thought. This was NOT the cat I saw running and jumpng all over the HS cage. Was she going to hide all day and night? Did I make a mistake?
Later that evening, Ella did come out. To eat and use her litter box. She stayed out for a bit to toss a tiny mouse around. Then it was back under the bed. The next day she progessed  slowly. Coming out more and more, but still returning to under the bed eventually.
Wednesday seemed to be the magic day. It was nice and cool outside ,so I had the patio door open so the cats could roam in and out and I could get some fresh air in the house.  Suddenly I saw Ella going out back. I followed her and had the first "real " chance to pick her up and show some "motherly love". We sat on the swing and she settled comfortably on my lap. Suddenly, she was so relaxed, closing her little eyes as I scratched and pet her head and back. She was putting her little paws on my shoulder and nuzzling against my neck. I knew at that moment there was no question-Ella was meant to be with me. ♥

Rachel Vincent's new contest

Rachel Vincent, author of The Shifter series and The new YA Soul Screamers series is having an awesome giveway on her blog. It's easy to enter.  Just fill out the form!  Plus you can get extra entires for joining her newsletter, posting about the contest on another forum, and adding her widget to a forum. So stop by  and check it out!!

http://urbanfantasy.blogspot.com/

Enter to win a Kindle!

I just entered to win a new Kindle  from Noobie (value $259.00)and wanted to share this contest with my friends.
It's so easy to enter: just click on the link below, or cut and paste into your browser. Then enter your name and email. That's it!

Then you will get an email with your own link, so you can spread the word to your friends and get even more entries!

http://www.noobie.com/kindle-giveaway?ref=1005590291


Good luck!!!