adventures in amberland

Waiting on Wednesday

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't done any book related memes much on here, but I HAD to do one when I saw Mindi Scott had revealed the cover of her sophomore novel, Live Through This. I adore Mindi. Not only is she an amazing author, but she is a sweetheart every time I talk to her. Her debut novel, Freefall came out in 2010, and you can read how awesome the book is (and how much I loooveee Seth) here.

Goodreads

Sometimes hiding the truth requires more than a lie . . .

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her from the annoying drama. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a stepdad and mom who would stop at nothing to keep her and her siblings happy and safe.

But Coley has a lot of secrets.

She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and as Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

I think we can all agree on one thing here - that cover is STUNNING! I love the snyposis. Someone who seems perfect? Has a lot of secrets? Sounds like this will be a layered book that I cannot wait to dive into. I want to know what relationship Coley was in, and to see if she'll overcome whatever is in her past.

Live Through This hits shelves October 2nd! I know that's forever away so do yourself a favor, go out and read Freefall until then!

Weight Loss Sucks: Truth of January

2012-01-31T16:21:00.004-06:00

I've decided to do a once-a-month sum up of how my weight loss journey is going. I'm more so documenting this for me, but if you're trying to get healthy this year then by all means leave a comment. Or if you're documenting your own weight loss, leave me a link so I can go check it out!

I've blogged about weight loss a few times. I've gone up and down my whole life. I whine about being fat, but yet I never do much about it. I have some serious stomach issues that I'm still trying to break ugly habits on. You'd think that after spending a bookoo amount of money and knowing what makes you sick, you'd stop, right? Not me. (Hey, I've never claimed to be a genius here.)

In December I talked about starting The Biggest Loser Cardio Max Challenge. It was a workout I cursed at, and dreaded having to do. I didn't do it 4-5 times a week like it said I needed to. I know exercise is important, but I'll just admit it now: I am lazy. And not even lazy as much as I am tired. I average 2 days off a month now. I work 8 hours a day on a crappy floor wearing crappy shoes. (Yes, I know go buy new shoes. I am going this weekend to get some.) When I get home, the last thing I want to do is jump around on my sore feet.

Each time I was like all wahhhhhhh I don't want to work out, I thought of this picture I had seen on Pinterest:

And I'd force myself to do a workout. Then one day as I was sitting on my couch shoving a zillion calorie hamburger into my mouth, it kinda dawned on me: I may be approaching this whole weight loss thing the wrong way. You see, I am a rebel at heart. You tell me no on something, I give you the finger and do what I want. So in my mind when I talk about dieting, exercising, and all this stuff, the rebel inside of me just wants to eat a whole bag of Reeses.

This may not make much sense to anyone else, but it does for me. I'm not the type of person who can just wake up on morning and follow a strict guideline of what they should be doing. I don't even like discussing I'm trying to loose weight to anyone because one day I may grab a soda for the first time in weeks and someone is going: Oh yeah, that's really going to help you loose weight. What do I do to this? I drink 2 of them! Show you jerks of what I can do! (<---See! I make no sense!)

Just like any other bad habits I've kicked like smoking, I decided to do a new method: Kicking Out the Crap One Step at a Time I started this in the middle of the month. My first goal was to consume more water. I know you're supposed to have eight 8-ounces a day. I've also been told to take your weight, divide it by two, and drink that much water. Either way, I know I've been drinking a heck of a lot more water. I haven't really been a big soda person in the past couple months. Unless I'm at a friend's house or about to fall asleep in class, I don't drink it. Sweet tea on the other hand is my downfall. I drink more water than I do tea so I'm okay with this.

My other goal was to stop with the fried food. This is hard. I work at a deli, and it so so much easier for me to grab something out of the case to snack on, but I'm doing really well with it. I've been sick these past couple days so I haven't done the best with the whole water and not eating fried stuff (french fries from McD's, you devil!). For the most part, I've done really well with it. By doing these two things, I can tell a difference in how I'm feeling. I'm not as bloated, and when I get off work, I don't instantly want to take a nap.

So what was my weight loss this month? Well, at the beginning of the month I weighed 195.9. I went to the doctor yesterday (thank you cold and ear infection) and I'm at..........

189.7

6.2 pounds! Back in November, I had a goal of hitting 10 pounds a month, but I'm now back to what I weighed before the holidays hit so I'm pretty happy to be back down to it.

Goals for February:

Continue on more water and cutting out fried foods
Eating smaller meal portions (I'm supposed to be doing this anyways because of my stomach issues)
More fruit/vegetable snacks
Exercising for 10-15 minutes in the morning before work 3x a week

Yep. That's all of them. Nothing big and drastic. If I exercise more or cut back more then awesome! I'm not going at this full geared. I'm taking it slow and getting myself into better habits all around.

Never have I ever....

2012-01-30T19:25:00.003-06:00

Watched

Star Wars

Gone With the Wind

American Graffiti

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Read

The Hunger Games

Harry Potter

Shakespeare

Just about every classic book out there

Cared for

Coldplay

Dave Mathews Band

Beatles

How about you? What have you never...?

Casting Your Characters

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

I'm know I'm not alone in the idea of putting a face with a character.

It's kind of the first thing I do when I start out with a new story. I blame Cheryl for this and our days of Death Sentence fanfiction. She has some awesome photoshop skills and made me pretty icons and banners for a story once. Ever since then when characters start brewing, I cast them.

When I get bored and am supposed to be writing, I have a habit of going on Youtube and trying to find videos that have "my characters" together.

Sometimes it doesn't work, and sometimes, I find creations like this:

And ones like this....

Then I get all smiley and run back to my word document and start writing some more.

When Garrett Hedlund is in a fashion show....

2012-01-17T18:24:00.000-06:00

Things get funny.

First off, if you don't know who Garrett Hedlund is then I am ordering you right now to go out and watch my three favorite films of his: Four Brothers (Cracker Jack!), Death Sentence (Billllyyyy), and Country Strong (Oh, Beau).

I am not a fashion type person which is kinda why you never see me "Daily Outfit" posts here because I doubt you all care that I am in an assorted amount of t-shirts, torn jeans, hoodie, and semi-smelly sneakers most of my life. And I just don't *get* the fashion world. Most of the models in shows scare me with the hair, crazy makeup, and how tiny a lot of them are. I don't want to see your bones, honey.

But I do break many things I'm not for when it comes to Garrett. When the lovely Laura that heads Garrett Minds said he would be in the Prada Mens' Fashion Show in Milan, I was pretty interested to see what would come about it. I couldn't watch it on live stream because I was out celebrating my Grandpa's 89th birthday and then praying to God my niece didn't kill me on a four-wheeler, but when I got home, I ran to the boards to do some catching up.

Boy, was I glad I did.

There was a nice thrown of actors into the mix of models, and then....then there was Garrett.

Priceless look, I tell you. Priceless.

If you watch the next two clips, you will see he obviously had the most fun strutting his stuff. After watching all the different videos and pictures, it has made me wonder what was going through his head as he took off. Maybe it was something like......

Hhmm I wonder if I will get kicked out if I start randomly pointing at people?
No?
Okay, what about this?
Nope.
Then let's try a little bit of ass grabbing.
That won't even do it?
Screw it. Air piano time!!!!

He's at the beginning a bit, but right around 0:47 is where he starts really busting out that air piano.

This will keep me amused for the rest of the week. You're welcome.

Now please excuse me while I go finish all the tests that are due by midnight tonight for my internship. 2 down, only 17 more to go!!

Basing your characters on real people.

2012-01-12T22:33:00.002-06:00

I think it would be impossible for someone to write a story, and not somehow have a character that wasn't influenced, even if it's just a tiny bit, by someone in their lives.

At the moment I've been working on What If. (I know!!) When my main character Gus interacts with her mother, I sat back and thought: Holy crap. I think I just wrote my relationship with my mother. To clarify, my mother and Gus's mother are really nothing alike. My mother doesn't dance naked on the first Friday of every month nor does she ride a unicycle around town when it's dumpster diving day. And my mother isn't as nutty as Gus's. She's entirely way more sarcastic too which is kinda where I got my sarcasm from.

But the conversation between my characters? Yeah, I think it may be influenced by my own life. To give you an idea of how Gus and her mother nteract with one another, here's a recent (and best by my memory) conversation between my mother and I that took place yesterday when I found out I got my externship (!!) in town at the place I wanted (!!). *high-fives self*

Me: Mom! I got the externship in town!

Mom: Oh honey, that’s great. Where is at?

Me: The Behavioral Clinic.

Mom: The what?

Me: The Behavioral Clinic.

Mom: Huh?

Me: The Be-hav-i-oral Cl-in-ic

Mom: The what clinic?

Me: THE BEHAVIORAL CLINIC!

Mom: Well I couldn’t hear you.

Me: Obviously.

Mom: Don’t get hateful!

Me: Ohmygosh.

Mom: Where is at?

Me: Up by Family Pharmacy.

Mom: Our doctor’s office?

Me: No, the other building.

Mom: Ohhh okay. Now that’s not the place you didn’t want to go to, is it?

Me: No, because I have no idea what place I didn’t want to go to is at. This was the only place I had planned on really going to.

Mom: Well what about that place your friend ended up going to and hated?

Me: The physical therapy place?

Mom: Yeah. Is that where you’re going?

Me: No, mother. I’m going to the Behavioral Clinic.

Mom: The what?

Me: *bangs head against steering wheel* The Behavioral Clinic. It’s through OMC which is out of West Plains.

Mom: Oh, you’re going to have to drive all the way down there for your externship? I thought you said they’d place you here in town.

Me: MOTHER! NO!

Mom: Why do you keep getting hateful?

Me: For the love of - Mom, just know I am doing my externship in town, and I’m happy about it!

Mom: Well you sure don’t sound that happy.

*later that night when I stop by my parents’ house to show off my snazzy new intern name badge*

Mom: Does that place have good insurance?

Me: I don’t know.

Mom: You should have asked.

Me: It’s an externship. They don’t give out insurances on those things.

Mom: Well, the lady at the office told me they didn’t have good insurance.

Me: Since when did you go to that place?

Mom: When I went to our doctor.

Me: *stares at her blankly*

Mom: You said it was by Family Pharmacy. That’s our doctor’s office.

Me: No. That isn’t where I’m going. It’s a totally separate building. *deep breath* You know what? Nevermind.

Dad: Where are you going again?

Me: Mars. I am going to Mars.

And Mom, if by some weird chance you're reading this post, just know that I love you. I hope you never change your never-listening ways. No seriously. You are the best inspiration sometimes because of it.

Are you a Supernatural fan?

2012-01-09T19:48:00.004-06:00

Because we need to talk.

If you haven't caught up with this season of Supernatural then we DON'T need to talk. I repeat: Don't talk because I'm about to ruin it for you by saying some spoilers.

Now I follow some things on tumblr and engage in conversation on Twitter here and there. Really, the only people I talk about Supernatural with is my sister and a friend of mine usually via Facebook. And then anyone I can randomly freak out with on Twitter. So I decided that if you're a follower of my blog or just randomly stumbled up on here, and you like Supernatural then we *points to self, points to you* need to start discussing this season because I need more Supernatural friends in my life.

Let me start this out by saying: I loved Cas aka Angel Food Cake. He brought a great plot line to the series even if they did get a bit too serious and kinda drag crap out entirely way too much. But Cas in this season opener was mother truckin' genius, and I was pretty sad to see him bite the dust or "supposedly" bite the dust. Since it's happened, I see all these people up on Tumblr FREAKING OUT about how the show is now ruined.

Say what?!

How? What? Really?! Out of the entire show, out of all things that have happened, Cas dying kills it? (No pun intended.) Am I the only one that thinks this season is actually turning out to be a really good one? The boys are not being so mellow dramatic anymore. I love this show like it was my own little baby, but I think everyone in the class can agree that the fifth and sixth season (especially you, sixth season) really brought it down. And yeah, it sucks Cas and his beautiful trench coat are gone, but I have to say, I freaked out way more whenever **AND THIS IS WHERE I GET SERIOUS OF SAYING WE CANNOT TALK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ALL THE EPISODES OF THIS SEASON** Bobby.....I can't even type the words. Give me a minute....Okay. When Bobby died.

I cried. I cried, good lord did I cry over Jim Beaver and his last words of igits. As much as I loved Papa Winchester, Bobby was their dad. We had him for way more seasons, and they gave us so much more on Bobby and his life that it was harder for me to part with him. Actually I still haven't parted with him because I KNOW he's not really gone. You all saw Dean's drank beer, right? That's not Dean's mind. Nope. I am for sure (and hard-headed) about that Bobby stuck around cause after all those igits are bound to screw something up. But we all know what happens to ghosts when they stick around, and I swear if they have to blow Bobby away with some salt rock, I'm going to cry harder.

So basically my point of this ridiculously rambly posts is: What do you think of the season so far? Do you think that by "killing" off Cas and Bobby they're making it a better plot? Do you think the show is tanked because Cas is bye-bye? To me, it's almost like we'll get back the ole' Yellow Eyed Demon days. The boys have such a bigger mission and reason to kick more butt because of loosing two important people. And I miss those days. I know they couldn't ride around in the Impala (gimme that car!) forever, but when they're slaying demons and taking names, I just feel more contempt with the show and my love for it.

Blog Tour: Don't Breath A Word by Holly Cupala + GIVEAWAY

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much, Amber, for inviting me to your blog forthe DBAW tour! (And readers, don’t miss the contest info below!)

In DON’T BREATHE A WORD, Joy must escape her suffocatinglife and secretly abusive boyfriend, finding herself on the streets of Seattlewhere she must learn to survive and find her own source of strength—in herselfand her street friends, who teach her about life, loyalty, and even love.

I didn’t know DBAW would be about relationship bullying—notuntil the character Asher showed up. He was powerfully attractive…andpowerfully cruel. Where did he come from? I didn’t have to look far.

I wrote about the Asher relationship from my own life inDEAR BULLY: 70 AUTHORS TELL THEIR STORIES (HarperCollins 2011), the real lifebackstory to DON’T BREATHE A WORD. Here is that story, Midsummer’s Nightmare:

*****

I’ve been a dreamer all of my life.

Monkeys at my window. Shadowswaiting to capture my hands and feet as I slept. Frantic searches, nuclearblasts, streaks across the sky.

I’ve wondered about dreaminterpretation—if my dreams will tell the future, or if they somehow interpretmy past. Sometimes they are gibberish. Other times, they have taken on aprophetic urgency that I can’t help but think disguises some deep andmysterious truth.

What I do know is that two of mynightmares saved my life.

I met Xander one blazing night at aSummer Shakespeare cast party, where pretty much anything could have happened.I fell in lust.

He was confident, in control. Thekind of guy who knew exactly what he wanted, and he walked right up to me andtook it—first a kiss, and then he took my breath away. It wasn’t long before wewere inseparable.

He liked that I was an artist and awriter, which must have given me a certain mystique in the commodity of cool girlfriends.He displayed me to his friends, who we hung out with constantly…rarely, ifever, did we hang out with mine. He gave me what I craved—direction,protection, and an intense kind of attraction that sometimes terrified me…andalways racked me with guilt. Pretty soon, I was afraid to be without him.

I should call these the lostyears—I lost myself in him and his world completely, until he was telling mewhere to go, what to wear, what to eat (or not eat), how to think. I wantedsomeone who would take control so I wouldn’t have to. I wanted him to reinforcemy fears, to punish me for never being good enough. I wanted him to make mestop hating myself.

I would do anything to win hisapproval, anything to avoid his criticisms, which had become more and morefrequent. There were the subtle put-downs, and the more obvious ones. He didn’tlike my parents or my friends or my opinions. So I changed what I could. Ididn’t know to call it bullying. It was the subtlest kind—not with fists butwith words.

In a rare moment of independence, Iwent on a trip with my best friend. That’s when the nightmare came:

Itwas night. All around me were brick walls, and people I recognized. Buteveryone was focused on one figure—a man, sitting in a chair, with a rod in hishand. As each person approached, they instantly fell to the ground with onetouch of his rod, under his control.

Ilooked around for some means of escape. There was a girl about my age, thin andstringy, almost hollow. There was a doorway behind her, but she made no move toleave—she was already beaten, already belonging to him. With a sudden, terribleclarity, I knew that girl was me.

I woke up screaming.

Maybe it was the nightmare, or theseparation. Maybe I finally listened to my friends, who had been subtly (andsometimes not so subtly) telling me to get away from him for a year. Or maybesome part of me knew the truth—that I could become that girl forever, if Ididn’t walk out that door.

Fast forward a few years—pastanother unhealthy and doomed relationship—to a guy I met through work. In oneswift moment of attraction, I graduated from painful and damaging to downrightdangerous.

Erik and I had explosive chemistryright off the bat. He took me to amazing places,complimented me (when he wasn’t criticizing), and lavished me with gifts andattention. But something about him reminded me of not one but both bad relationships I’d had in thepast. Somehow I missed the red flags and kept going out with him.

Erik became increasingly paranoidand possessive. He accused me of flirting with other people, tried to catch mein lies (we’d only known each other two weeks!), and was even talking aboutwhen we would get married. In a way, it was flattering to be the object ofsomeone’s obsession.

One night I had a dream:

Thesetting: high up in a tower condo. Everything was gray and steely, with brightlights throwing islands of brilliance and shadow. I was trapped in the kitchen,overhearing a conversation between Erik and another man in the living room. Theman pulled a packet out of his pocket with the address of our office building.Then Erik handed me a strange mirror, one with a layer of skin wrapped aroundthe edges.

WhenI looked at myself in the mirror, I saw that the skin had come from my ownface.

The nightmare shook me. Still, Ididn’t realize it had to do with my new boyfriend…until one day I heard thealarm.

We were out to lunch. I told himabout a traumatic experience I’d had, and he said, “Well, it was probably yourown fault.” With the nightmare fresh in my mind, I suddenly realized howdestructive he was—peeling away one layer of me at a time.

I got up and left him right there.He followed me, shouting, and I ducked into a store so that there were peoplearound. Instinctively, I knew he would one day become violent. That nightmareof captivity and abuse could have become my life…I’m glad I awoke in time tostop it.

Since then, I’ve come to payattention to my dreams, to my inner voice. My dreams often tell me the answerto tangled problems, both in writing and in real life. The voice grows out ofmy faith, and I have learned to trust it.

I’ve also learned that we tend toseek out people who mirror our opinions of ourselves. One day I met a man whonot only had confidence in himself, but he believed in me tenfold. By thattime, I’d begun to believe in myself. On the day he asked me to marry him, Idreamed we would be apart forever…the devastating thought made me realize Ididn’t want to spend my life without him.

Maybe you won’t have a nightmare,but if you’re in a perilous relationship, you will have a gut feeling, aglimmer that something is not right. Listen to that inner voice, the one thatknows if you are in danger. The one that knows you have value, and you deserveto be treated with respect and love. Trust that inner voice. It may just saveyour life, too.

*****

Joy in DON’T BREATHE A WORD discovers her words have powerjust as I did—and yours have power, too. So we are having a contest to create avideo with the theme Words Have Power.You could win fabulous prizes that SHOUT OUT LOUD! how powerful you are.

Click here to enter! a copy of Don't Breath A Word!

Words Have Power! I can’t wait to hear yours.

Sister Road Trip: Hitting Up Graceland

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

The next morning we got up from our not-so-comfy beds, ate some breakfast, wished we were kinda still in Nashville, and then walked over to Graceland. I decided to make this post all about the place since I took so many pictures. I've never been a massive Elvis fan, but the fact this place is still up and running showcasing his life is pretty darn cool if you ask me. Could you imagine your life being on display? Yeah. Me either.

Wandering through all the rooms I had to remind myself of how large this was back in the time period and how expensive things were. And oddly enough a lot of Graceland smelled like my Grandparent's house.

As a dreamer when I walked into the room that had all of this going on every single wall, it gave me chills.

When I was in sixth grade I was supposed to stop at Graceland on the way to Florida with some family friends. Before I left for the trip my Uncle Ronnie said he'd pay me ten bucks to jump in the pool. And I was pretty set on doing it not thinking of how I could get arrested. On our way to Florida due to time, we weren't able to stop. So the only thing I could think about while seeing the pool was how much my Uncle Ronnie would be laughing at me if I just jumped right in. It would have been a oddball way to honor his memory, but alas, I chickened out.

The burial place of Elvis where people still send tons of flowers and gifts on the day of his death.

After we left Graceland we wandered around to see the planes, the car museum, and every other tiny little tourist trap they threw at us. Did I mention it was raining like crazy in Memphis? Because it was and my hair looked like a jungle by the end of it.

Next Up: Sun Studio is the Bomb Dot Com and How I Could Spend Hours Upon Hours in the Rock and Soul Museum

Sister Road Trip: Day Three and Four

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Our third day in Nashville was pretty low key. We slept in, booked a spa appointment where I got a massage, pedicure, and a blow out. That consists of me having to walk around this place in a bathrobe. And having to sit in a steam room with another girl while we had this awkward conversation since neither of us really had been in one before.

The pedicure was awesome - the blowout was nice. My hair was all sorts of shiny, and after that we debated on what to do next. Due to the massive population of runners still being downtown we decided to go on this show boat. We have something similar in Branson, but seeing as we've lived in Missouri all our lives and have never went, we decided a show boat would be a fun way to see Nashville. Plus it was low key, got some drinks, watched a nice show, and sat with some chatty people who all couldn't believe how "old" we were. I take it as a compliment that I still look like I'm 22 and my sister doesn't look like she's 30.

What I loved most about the entire thing was of course seeing Nashville at night. Soooo pretty!

The next morning we pakced everything up - it's amazing what kind of mess we can make - and headed out of Nasvhille.

We were very lucky to have enjoyed such pretty weather, but Memphis was not having it at all. I made my sister get us out of Nasvhille, we stopped at Denny's where HEY I FOUND OUT I WAS HAVING ANOTHER GODDAUGHTER! due to the picture of a pregnancy test my BFFF texted me. From there I took the driving while my sister read her Nook. I hit a pot hole, about peed myself at one point, stopped a few rest stops, and hey lookie! I saw a sign with two of my characters names on it!

Jackson is from "A Day Late and A Dollar Short" and Memphis from "Just Call Me Gus aka What If aka Ties That Bind Us aka I Will Never Find a Title For This Story"

Then it started getting dark. Like spooky did we just stumble into Missouri Torando Hell weather?

And we did.

You know how most exits are spaced about a mile apart? Well, not the exit we needed to take. The lovely Tom-Tom told me that I would be exiting right in like so many hundred yards so I assumed it was the exit right there in front of me, but ohhhhh no, it was the NEXT exit that was like a foot away.

Now I'm not bashing on Memphis at all, but we are small town people. And some people around us kept saying things about how dangerous Memphis was and how we better not get lost. So my sister was a bit fearful, but as we got off the exit, my panic was less because we had trusty Tom-Tom. Then Tom-Tom made me go into this area of town where my sister was on the floor board and yelling, "You better not even think of pulling this car over and making me drive!" And well I got a tad bit nervous that Tom-Tom might not know where the heck we were going. But we got out of seedy looking area very quickly, and I busted out the "Walking In Memphis" song as we turned into the Heartbreak Hotel.

When we got into the hotel, I was more calm about the storm until Crazy Lady came running in the place screaming things like, OH MY GOD WHERE IS THE BASEMENT?! WHERE IS THE BASEMENT!? WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!

Needless to say my sister refused to go anywhere for the night even when the weather cleared up because she was afraid another storm would come alone and ah be danged if we were going to be stuck downtown somewhere if it happened. Instead we spend the night hanging out in the Jungle Room, reading books, drinking, eating greasy bar food, and watching the same Elvis movie over and over and over and over.

Next Up: How We Really Did Go Walking In Memphis In the Middle of the Pouring Rain

Rock This! Thursday: Songs I Am Loving This Week

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Rock This! Thursday is a weekly feature where I discuss books that are centered around music, a new band/artist I'm listening to, songs you have to hear, a concert story, or even an interview with an author or blogger. Basically whatever happens to float my boat that week!

If you are an author or blogger who would like to do an interview, contact me at: justyourtypicalbookblog(at)hotmail.com

Villanova (Weaving The Fate) - Str8 To The Bottom

Shooting Star - Bad Company

For Christmas my sister got me Puddle of Mudd's Re(DISC)overed album which is all cover songs from some of their favorite rock songs. I couldn't find Mudd's version on Youtube, so of course the original will do.

Seether - Desire For Need

Ha Ha Tonka - Westward Bound

Rewrites: Round One

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's time.

I avoided my NaNoWriMo for most of December. This may or may not have been the brightest idea, but it happened regardless. Now that my mind is starting to wander on other projects, I know it's time to jump back into Fairy Tale.

I would say I'm editing. I would say I'm revising. But after looking through most of it, I'm saying it's time for a rewrite. I wrote some good stuff. I wrote some bad stuff. I wrote stuff that needs to go down my garbage disposal (if it actually worked).

I'm not giving up.

Nope.

One goal I have this year is to write a full draft of this. I don't care if it sucks. I know it will have crap. Crap can be fixed. If I can't fix it, then that's why God invented the man who invented the computer to contain a delete option.

*deep breath*

*cracks knuckles*

No looking back now.

Things I've Learned From Lifetime Movies: Part One

2012-01-03T22:29:00.000-06:00

During my nice winter break, I have been watching a lot of Lifetime. I know going into a LMN movie that it is going to contain a mixture of over dramatized antics and a whole lot of cheese. But ever since I could remember, I can't help but love them.

It's an odd relationship I have with LMN movies. If I rent a movie that sucks, I just turn it off. With a LMN one, nope, I just keep on watching. No matter how badly it sucks. I just cannot turn my eyes away from it. I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of things to learn from these movies, but sine I've watched too many of them on break, I decided to give my share starting with The Boy She Met Online. Warning: I do give spoilers.

If you meet him online, he will lie to you.

Here I thought everyone always told the truth.

My first reaction to the title was there would be some creepy pedophile lurking around, snatching girls up and throwing them in his van. Or better yet a stalker thriller kind of like Fear. Except there would be no hot Mark Wahlberg beating his chest in a mirror and carving Nicole 4 Eva in his chest. (I love that movie, btw.) I was surprised to see that "The Boy" aka Jake was just a convicted criminal who said he was in college. (Penn State aka State Penn, ha ha get it!) But hey - it's not like his new found love, Cami, is all innocent in this. She did say she was 18 when really she's 17. Bunch of lying lovers.

If you meet him online, he's gonna be a bit possessive.

Or for some split second show this possessive side so everyone else thinks he's obviously at some point going to kidnap you, lock you in the basement, or take you to Mexico. But in fact, he just really loves you and doesn't want you to go to New York because he can't leave the state for another year. Ya know the whole parole thing you suddenly forgot about. But boy does he look scary when he gets all jealous you have an actual future waiting for you.

If you meet him online, no one will understand your love.

Not your mother. Not your best friend. Certainly not your best friend's boyfriend. Nobody understands how this convict who staged himself as a college student from some other state for a month that you only freaked out about for about a whole five seconds truly does love you and wants to build a future even though he cannot stop lying about what he's doing.

If you meet him online, he's going to have some massive baggage including a psycho roommate.

If he doesn't live alone and is fresh out of the pen then you can guarantee his roommate is not the type to be chummy with. In fact this roommate looks at your boyfriend as his way to make some more money. After all, your boyfriend is a criminal who cannot make it in today's society with a felony on his record. So he will use him, try to shove you out of the picture, and before you know it, you're gonna witness a murder. This roommate is not having it at all so you better run while you can cause he wants you dead before you rat him out.

Wait. I'm missing something....

If you meet him online, his cell buddy will get out of prison and suddenly be in your life too.

Make sure your mother's friend doesn't see his gang tattoo on his fingers because she will look him up, tell your mother you are obviously dating an ex-con, and the shit-eth with hit-eth the fan-eth. BUT the thing is, this cell buddy is kinda adorable and you like him (in the friendly way - can't have that kind of drama, have you seen the scary psycho look your boyfriend can have sometimes?!), BUT don't be too attached because that criminal activity your new boyfriend failed to mention will get his cell buddy killed. And that's how you witness your boyfriend and his psycho roommate going after the guy who did it, and the psycho roommate murdering him. You really should have listened when your boyfriend said to stay at the house because he was going out the door to get revenge. No, he did not stutter when he said this, but ohhhh nooo you just had to chase him, didn't you?!

If you meet him online, he somehow has access to a remote cabin in the woods.

You know from the moment you get into a car and see the cabin all by itself in the middle of the woods that things are not going to end well. Especially when you decide to call your mother to come pick you up and the psycho roommate just so happens to know exactly where you two are and is on his way as well. I hope you're happy with the decisions you made to lead you up to this point of your life, young lady!

If you meet him online, he may be a lying ex-con with a psychotic roommate that gets you wrapped up in a murder who now has you both on the run but HEY! he's actually a pretty nice guy who will save your life!

I know, right? I sure as hell didn't see that one coming.

This is where I get conflicted on how I should feel about lying criminals who are somewhat cute/somewhat crazy looking that go on these online dating sites, get a girl, get out of prison, tell the truth, try to start a new life but can't because of their psycho criminal roommate that has magical peer pressure skills, and ends up getting the girl in all sorts of craziness. *sighs* All that boy wanted to do was love his girlfriend who was still in high school, and make a new life for them once she graduated and he was off parole. Is that too much to ask?!

But sometimes you just can't shake your past, and even if you slightly show you're a bit possessive, you still are a nice guy who ends up saving the girl's life. Even if you get thrown back in jail because of the this whole drug deal that turned into murder that your girlfriend had to witness, you still tell her to follow her dreams to New York and to just forget about you. And dammit did you make me feel all sad when you gave such a pitiful small wave from when she visited you in the big house.

So thank you, Jake, for showing me that even if I do sign up on eHarmony this month and meet a guy who has been locked up, he will still somehow turn out to be nice.

Want to see it all unravel for yourself? You can either watch this trailer (cause it basically is the whole movie)

Or you can catch it on the following times:
January 15th at 8 PM
January 16th at 12 AM

And because this just made me giggle like a little girl, I end this post with one last look at our boy Jake.

Book Talk: In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

2012-01-03T14:41:00.000-06:00

In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

Release Date: February 2012
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Flux
Pages: 240
Source: Around the World Tours
Buy: Amazon
Challenge: YA Contemporary Challenge

What Amanda Grace did was throw you right into Sam's life before graduation. Having a big thing for her best guy friend, Nick, Sam goes to a party thinking that by throwing herself at the golden boy, Carter, it might make him jealous enough. Sam's nerves are shot so by chugging a few beers she thinks she has enough courage to go for it. What Sam gets instead is a harsh shut down. When she is seen stumbling out of his room with her shirt torn and crying, one girl asks a simple question: "Did he just...." Sam's answer: Yes.

But Sam had no idea what she was saying yes to. By the next couple days, the rumors are in full gear that Carter raped Sam. Carter, as we find out later, isn't exactly the nicest guy in the world. He has made many people, especially girls, lives a living hell by taunting them or making up lies of his own. So when Sam finally comes clean to a bunch of girls who are suddenly at her aid because of the supposed rape, they tell her to let the rumor ride out. After all, they're graduating soon, Carter will be on his way out of town. No big harm, right?

In Too Deep is the perfect example of what happens when people make assumptions, and a better example of what happens when someone doesn't correct them. What I found the most interesting was the sudden sides everyone in the school was taking. Sam isn't a popular person, but yet a lot of people believed her in a second. People who didn't even know her. Why other people couldn't believe even with Carter's past that he'd so something like that, and had no problems of making threats towards Sam, keying her car, etc.

Carter isn't going quietly in this. He lashes out, and obviously has a right due to the rape allegations being thrown at him. The more things people speak up and tell what Carter has done in the past made me go: HA! TAKE THAT YOU FREAKING JERKFACE! But then another part was like: Okay, he's a jerk, but he's NOT the bad guy this time. Rape is a serious, serious thing you just don't throw at someone.

Which leads me to Sam. I liked her, but I didn't like her. She doesn't have the best home life which chalks up the sympathy level. Her dad is a massive control freak. The girl has a strong opinion but has a very hard time finding her voice. Nick is the love of her life, and their relationship does progress throughout the story so you're happy for her yet you're not happy because she's a liar. I understood why she didn't say anything in the beginning because Sam really didn't know what everyone was whispering about, yet when she found out what was going on, it was hard to sympathize with her not speaking out. But yet, I still in a way did. You would think going into a story like this, it would be black and white. Sam would be the bad guy for not setting the rumor straight. Amanda Grace did a great job of portraying a character who was innocent yet guilty. Only an excellent writer with fleshed out characters is able to achieve something like.

This book was definitely fast paced, and some things I felt may have been a bit rushed like the relationship between Nick and Sam, but for what the main plot was, it definitely lived up to my expectations. For those that don't know, Amanda Grace is a pen name for Mandy Hubbard. If you haven't read any of her books, I'll link up a few of my past reviews. Mandy is a very talented writer, and as always I look forward to her next novel.

Other Books by Author:
Prada and Prejudice
You Wish
Ripple

Blog Tour: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

What isthe first thing that comes to mind for each word/phrase for Josh?

Book:Skate like hell to the goal zone.

Batman:Heath Ledger’s Joker. Best version yet.

Cactus:Yosemite Sam.

Guitar:That solo in Undead Wedding’s Freaktown thatHudson and I always talk about.

Morning:Dark, cold, and peaceful.

Silence:The ice at Fillmore, far away from the world.

Turkey:Will Harper.

Mouse:Disney World, which I always think of when I’m skating outside, wishing we gota little sunshine in this town.

Road: Icy.

Music:Hudson Avery. She loves it as much as I do.

Teeth:Chattering.

Black:Hockey pucks.

Text:Abby. She’s always texting or calling me, freaking out if I don’t text backright away. It’s… she’s hard to explain.

Midnight:Cowboy. Yeah, I have no idea why I just said that. Blame it on the fact that mybrain is frozen from all this wind.

Vampire: The thing every single girl in my class is obsessedwith. Personally I don’t think Cullen and his crew would last very long here inWatonka. I mean, yeah, we get even less sun than Forks, but it’s about ahundred below zero here.

Next stop for Bittersweet: Frenzy of Noise

Hudson can't wait to get out of Watonka, her working-class town outside of Buffalo. Once upon a time, her talent as a skater was going to be her ticket out... but when her parents' marriage unraveled three years ago, so did her dreams. Now, she buries herself in making cupcakes for her mom's diner and imagining her parallel life where she went on to skate to glory. But when she gets a letter inviting her to audition for a skating scholarship *and* the hockey team asks for her help with their technique (read: free ice time for Hudson), it's impossible to ignore the signs.

Is she ready to get back on the ice? Could this be her ticket out? Hudson's determined not to let anything stand in her way. But between baking and waitressing at the diner, the love triangle that's developing with two outrageously cute hockey boys, and the simmering drama with her best friend, her future is anything but certain...

Amazon| Goodreads

What will 2012 bring?

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

All right kiddos. We've all got them. Goals we want to achieve for the bright shiny year. A new year is kinda like that big idea you get. You always start out with this big jump into it. Pumped up and ready to kick its butt, but then life - in its good and bad ways - sneaks in, steals your thunder, and jacks you up.

That's okay.

No seriously. Those jacked up parts test how serious you are. They give you lessons. They make you stronger, they make you weaker, they're nothing but bittersweet. Use them to see how far you can push yourself.

For 2012, I've got some things I want to accomplish. Things I've pushed off for another day. 2011 taught me hose precious life really is. Taught me to get back to myself, and now I'm ready to do this!

Writing. Oh yes, it's up there again. It'll always be my number one goal no matter how many years past me by. Being a writer, you can only get better. New ideas. Better plots. Better writing. It all meshes together. This year I REALLY REALLY WANT TO FINISH A NOVEL! I DON'T EVEN CARE WHICH NOVEL! Okay yes I do. I want to finish Fairy Tale. I want it to be sent out to critique partners and queried before the year ends. I've never had more confidence in a story than I do now. After that sucker is done, you better look out Augustus Brooks and the town of Yellow Falls, Mama is coming to you. You may take four freaking years to finish, but you will be finished.

Getting healthy. I'm not talking about loosing weight. I'm barely 5'2 and considered obsessed. I'm a thicker person. Always have been so getting down to a tiny size isn't my goal really. To start making healthier eating habits and being more active is my goal. If I loose 30 pounds this year, I'll be quite happy. If I don't yet I feel a lot better then I'll be happy.

Finding a new job. I graduate in April (!!) this year. I'm still not for sure what I want to do. As I write this I'm not even a 100% sure where I'll be spending my externship at. I want full-time and I want benefits. 2011 brought me some scary health issues and some high bills that I never want to have to do again. Don't get me wrong. I've worked at the same place for the past 5 years. Wow. It amazes me to even say that. I've had my ups and downs there, but I am thankful for the job because it supplies this roof over my head. It'll be bittersweet leaving especially my co-workers. I've developed great friendships and a second family there.

Reading. Last year I said I would read 100. I read like 35. This year I'm shooting for at least 50 books. I want to go all wild and say 100, but 50 seems to be a good middle area for me. Plus I really, really miss the love of reading!

Must. Road. Trip. When I get my diploma, I am taking off for a week and a half. I don't care where I'm going. I don't even know where I'm going. I have ideas, but I'm not for sure if I'll have the funds. Either way, I am going somewhere.

Secret Sister Project. I already got conformation from a higher power on this one. It's going to happen. It may take time, but we're going to do it.

Etsy Shop. Coming soon in...... (some month) 2012! Hope you're ready to buy some cute party supplies from me :)

Learning to Stay Calm. This is one I always strive to work on. I'm especially going to have to find some sort of balance from February until I graduate. With one day of class, two days of externship, and working 3 days one week and 4 days the next well that leaves me with 2 days off a month. 2 days people! I'm ready for it though because I really don't have much choice in the matter.

Building Confidence. Whether in my image, in my mind, or in my job performance. I have the worst self-esteem, but I've realized when you think positive, that image you see staring back at you stops looking so hideous. There's absolutely no reason to be your worst enemy.

Living life. More concerts, tattoos, loud music, silly nights with friends, tons of faith, love for family, quality time with niece, nephew, and goddaughters, dancing like a fool, going to hockey games, opening up to people, doing something crazy, running a marathon, and loving every minute of it.

Yep. 2012 may be the year that everyone fears, but I am welcoming it with open arms.

Bring. It. On.

Favorite Books of 2011

2011-12-28T19:09:00.000-06:00

Let me start out this post by saying I have read more this month since I decided to quit "officially" running a book blog then I have since June. I find that a bit ironic.

My goal was to read 100 books this year, and while technically there are a few more days until 2011 ends, I have accomplished reading 34 books. I obviously slacked hardcore as a reader.

Favorite Reads Published in 2011

Favorite Series

Other Favorites

Favorite Book Read in 2011 But Doesn't Come Out Until 2012

What was YOUR favorite books this year??

2011 Goals - How did I do?

2011-12-23T20:01:00.001-06:00

At the beginning of the year I made a post about all the things I wanted to do in 2011. (Read it here) The only other time I looked at this list was when I did a 6-month check up. It was kinda funny reading over it now and what I wanted to accomplish and knowing all the things that weren't on this list that I DID accomplish. And I know it's still technically 2011, but I plan on being pretty MIA until next year with Christmas coming up (2 days people!!) and then my nephew (!!) flying in next week! So let's type out my goals and see how well I did!

Write. I didn't finish a novel, BUT I did write a very crappy rough draft of one in NaNoWriMo. And because of that really crappy rough draft-not-even-finished-draft I have a better view of my story. A better plot line. And the drive to get my dream back. I wouldn't trade that struggle for what I'm feeling now.

Get healthy. Around June of this year I started having some massive stomach problems. So massive in fact that I ended up spending way too much money at the doctor's office, a trip to the ER, and missed class and work because of it. I may not have dropped 50 pounds, but I did loose 15. I started a work out routine, and I like it. But mainly, I learned that even if you are bigger, you can still live a life. You can still love yourself. And I think having a healthy mind frame is equally important.

Try new things. Did it. Got out way more this year. Stopped being such a hermit. Stopped shutting everyone out. Took some risks. Laughed at myself. Go mad at myself. Cooked new foods. Acted like a fool, and have no apologies for it.

Get another tattoo. This didn't happen. Dang it.

Keep up my GPA. I didn't strive as well as I could have, but I still did pretty good. In some ways I'm disappointed in myself, but in other ways, I'm okay with the choices I made.

Go to concerts. I DID THIS! I didn't get to see Seether. I HAD TICKETS TO SEE SEETHER! But they cancelled :( I did go see:

Halestorm

Skillet

Theory of a Deadman

Stone Sour

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Adelita's Way

Drive A

P.O.D

Crossfade

RED

Puddle of Mudd

Papa Roach

Buckcherry

OH the Fire

Sent By Ravens

Nine Lashes

......and I "kinda" saw Ha Ha Tonka. Didn't get to stay for the show, but I did talk to some of the band members so that "kinda" counts, right?

Dress more girly. I never busted out a skirt, but I did wear cuter clothes. By cuter I mean a non-band shirt.

Don't let it get me. I still have those moments like anyone does. I noticed more than ever the heaviness I feel when I let things weigh me down. When I just don't brush things off. I know how sick I've made myself because I get upset over things I have absolutely no control over. Sometimes I can even stop myself and say: Hey. Wait a minute. Why are you upset? It's not worth it. This situation is not worth it. This person is not worth it. It's a process and I'm okay to work with it.

Enjoy life and be more productive with it! I may not have done a lot of things I wanted to do in 2011, but I think my family and friends can agree one thing I did do in 2011 was get back to me. For the past couple years I've let things drag me down to this deep hole that I thought I never was going to get out of. Depression, in whatever form it comes in, is a dark and scary place that can eat you alive if you let it.

I'm not letting it anymore.

I look back at so much time wasted and I regret it. I regret shutting myself out from others. For feeling like I'm starting all over at the age of 26.

But I'm not regretting things anymore.

This was my year of growth. My year that I got back to me, got back to the things that matter. What I learned most importantly about life is pretty simple: Faith, Friends, and Family. Life is a sad, sad place with out those three things. Glad I know I have it in mine.

Sister Road Trip: Day Two Part Two

2011-12-20T11:38:00.002-06:00

Remember that time I started doing a series of posts about my road trip back in April/May then I slacked off severely because I kinda forgot about it then I didn't blog for like ever? If you missed it, you can catch up with this:

Day One
The Best Hotel You'll Ever Stay At
Day Two: Part One

All caught up? Good. Here we go!

Soooo after leaving the Music Hall we headed down to the Ryman Audtioriam. The inside of the place was simple but yet beautiful. We sat down in the pews to watch a short movie, and I found it really interesting that the Ryman was first built as a church. The pews we were sitting in were the original ones from all that time ago. After it was turned into an entertainment place, they still respected it as a church so no liquor was or is allowed to be served there. Back in the day when artists did show up to preform they would sneak out the back door, cross the alley, and drink over there before they took stage. There were tons of country music artists in the video talking about the Ryman, and one said something on the lines, "Yeah and even Pasty Cline played here." Which if you watched Country Strong you would know why my sister and I nudged each other with a snicker.

We could roam around freely, which the place wasn't that big, but they had little displays set up that we browsed. Then we went up front to get our picture taken on stage. They encourage people to sing into the microphone and even play the guitars. My sister and I, while we pretty much use music as oxygen, don't have a musical talent in our body. (Very sad if you ask me, you think we may have been blessed but no.) The photographer told me that I was the spitting image of his granddaughter. He just kept shaking his head saying he couldn't believe how much we looked alike. So I guess I have a twin somewhere in Tennessee!

After we left The Ryman, we headed downtown. Because of the marathon race, every single bar, shop, and restaurant was packed full of people. So we didn't get to go inside to a lot of places due to full capacity. We did stop at a Charlie Daniels museum.

Our lunch consisted of Margaritaville and then more shopping until we decided to go back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and get ready for the night for MY BIRTHDAY!!

We had a new shuttle driver on the way downtown and the guy pretty much told us girls to be careful because we could get raped and murdered down there. Yeah, that made us feel real safe.

Wildhorse was a lot of fun! Great live music, FRIED PICKLES, and an amazing drink called: Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. They also had line dancing lessons, but my sister wouldn't get out there with me and I wasn't drinking enough to go out and do it myself. We hung out there for a good portion of the night then decided to roam around a bit more before we caught the shuttle back to the hotel.

I'm not for sure if it was a full moon or what in Nashville that night, but all the crazies had came out to play. We ventured back down towards The Stage and other bars because I really wanted to hear some more bands, but there were lines everywhere and people getting into fights. They were totally ruining my birthday buzz so we bypassed a crazy man with balloons then headed back up to the shuttle area where we met 2 girls who were staying at the hotel. They also thought Nashville was full of crazies because one was chased by a woman screaming nasty things at her that I won't repeat.

Our next shuttle driver looked a lot like my brother-in-law's dad, and he was a riot to ride with! We stopped a couple times to pick up people from our hotel then all chatted it up back on the way. By the time midnight rolled around, I announced it was sadly no longer my birthday, and we got back into the hotel where we decided to end our night with the best pizza my mouth as ever encountered.

And that concludes Day Two of the Sister Road Trip. Stay tuned because my goal before this year ends is to finish this post!

Next Up: What Happened on the Way to Memphis and How I Got Drunk in the Jungle Room

Book Talk: The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

2011-12-18T21:11:00.002-06:00

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
(Seven Realms Series - Book One)

Release Date: September 2009
Publisher: Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult - Fantasy - Series
Pages: 506
Source: Library
Sites: Amazon| Goodreads

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for himself, his mother, and his sister Mari. Ironically, the only thing of value he has is something he can’t sell. For as long as Han can remember, he’s worn thick silver cuffs engraved with runes. They’re clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he’s never been able to get them off.

While out hunting one day, Han and his Clan friend, Dancer catch three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. After a confrontation, Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won't use it against them. Han soon learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana’Marianna, Princess Heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She’s just returned to court after three years of relative freedom with her father’s family at Demonai camp – riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Although Raisa will become eligible for marriage after her sixteenth name-day, she isn't looking forward to trading in her common sense and new skills for etiquette tutors and stuffy parties. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems like her mother has other plans for her--plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.

---
Since my newest story consists of a lot of fantasy type elements, I thought it was probably a good time to ya know...read a fantasy novel. Now I've read a few of them, but it's never been my go-to genre. And if you're like me then this book is definitely a great place to start your love for it!

What I love so much about the start of this series is how well written it is, and how I really never got confused. Everything is played out so nicely and the world is richly done with so many characters and events intertwining with one another.

Let's start with my favorite character: Han aka Cuffs. THIS BOY y'all! *dies over the computer and swoons* Han is in retrospect a bad boy. He has a very tough exterior, and he used to be the leader of the Raggers. But Han has heart. He has so much love for his younger sister and doesn't want her ending up in that life. So he does what he has to do to help provide for his family, but trouble just seems to follow him wherever he goes. That trouble leads to a very interesting plot along with those cuffs on his wrists.

Then there is Princess Raisa who is about to approach her sixteenth name day (I love that wordage by the way). This princess heir is not your average oh let me put on my dress on and prance around cause I'm a princess type of character. Raisa is smart. She is very curious and she doesn't want to just marry some prince and sit on a throne for the rest of her life. She wants to learn. She wants to travel. She wants to swamp some more spit with boys. She has no problem speaking her mind or finding out what is really going on in Fells. That's when Han and Raisa come together.

Since I am apparently on a character kick here, I have to mention how much I adored Amon, Raisa's best child-hood friend who has now turned into a hunky solider who is all about protecting Raisa and Fells. He is quite possibly the only one who can talk some sense into this stubborn princess, but doesn't always succeed. Then there is Micah, son of a very powerful wizard. He's hot in that I-know-you're-a-bastard-and-you're- really-gonna-tick-me-off way. And he does succeed nicely into ticking me off, but he is such a great "villain" along with his father I cannot not like them. Other side characters like Dancer, Raisa's father, Willo - there are just so many great side characters that richly add to the process the book starts to take.

What really brings this whole series into a nice start is the world the author has created. There is A LOT going on in this book, and it does start off slow, but it's one of those things where you need all that information. The writing is so vivid and detailed, I couldn't get enough of it. And it has magic folks. Who doesn't enjoy some magic?!

Basically you need to read this book. You'll thank me later.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas?

2011-12-13T14:28:00.001-06:00

A few years back I ditched most of my Christmas decorations and/or lost them in a couple moves. So when I moved into my new place back in August, I was all sorts of excited to buy new stuff for Christmas. Then ya know bills happened, and I really wish I didn't ditch/lost most of those decorations. I went cheap this year for my Christmas tree ($20 on the Blitz AND I got it before the sale happened *evil snicker here*), and as my BFFF liked to point out via Facebook when I posted the picture: It's a Charlie Brown Christmas!

Yes. The tree is standing on a box. It's a 5 foot tall one, but I felt weird being taller than the tree. (I am NEVER taller than anything besides small children.)

Oh lookie! I also got some cupcake ornaments!

*whispers* I am so hitting up the after Christmas sales this year for a bigger tree. I'm just not letting this little guy know about that.

Weight Loss Sucks: Let's Kick This Sucka Into Cardio Drive

2011-12-05T15:58:00.001-06:00

After months of going to the doctor, an ER visit, and one trip to a specialist who didn't tell me jack squat - I'm FINALLY starting to find some sort of happy medium with DIMB (Demon In Mah Belly) Syndrome. I had to quit a lot of things including: COFFEE (!!!), red meats (this really wasn't too hard though some days I wish I could stop at a drive-thru), chewing gum (yep, you heard me right), and fried foods.

I haven't done the best job of kicking most of these things out completely yet. I do work in a deli so sometimes it's a bit hard not to snack on something fried. Since I've been way more strict on myself, I ended up loosing about 10 pounds in November. Another thing that has helped a lot, besides the handful of natural medicine pills I take every day, drinking a gazillion things of water or hot tea, is working out.

I'm horribly lazy even on my most energetic days so I started The Biggest Loser Cardio Max Weight-Loss DVD just here and there last month. I've stayed on the first basic one that is only supposed to go for 2 weeks. Didn't add in the weights or anything - mainly just weening myself into it. Now? I'm pulling out the big guns, busting out the weights, and doing it full force.

Even on days where I just want to sit on my couch or hit the snooze button, I will be getting up, I will be plugging the ear buds in (because who can stand work out music on these things?!), and moving my butt 5 days a week. It's gonna suck. It's gonna take a lot, but I know in the end getting myself healthy will be worth it not just for all my stomach problems but for my mind set as well.

Welcome first week of doing this sucka right!!

What about you? Do you have any workout systems that you really like? Feel free to tell them to me because at some point after I get through this one, I'll need something new to torture myself with.

Welcome to the merging of Just Your Typical Book Blog

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

It was almost three years ago on a nice little winter night (it was Janurary so I doubt it was nice & I was more in likely freezing) that I was talking to Cheryl on MSN (because we lived there those days) when the following conversation happened:

Cheryl: I'm going to start a book blog
Moi: Sweet!
Cheryl: Yeah and you're going to help me
Moi: Sweet!

Needless to say, it obviously doesn't take much to convince me of things.

Over the course of almost three years, a lot of awesome things happened. I got to interview authors (!! WHO ARE ROCK STARS IN MY HUMBLE OPINION !!), make new friends, make great blogging buddies (haiii Sab and Erica), participate in great things (whaddup Contemps!), and of course read a lot of GOOD books!! Also in that time Cheryl left the blog, I took many upon many "breaks" from getting what I like to call the "book bloggers blues". Sometimes I felt like having to review books took the fun out of it. Having to write authors telling them I didn't care for their novel was pretty freaking difficult. I dumped way more books than I read them in the past year. I've created memes, I've failed at meme's, but all in all I'm very glad that Cheryl and I started book blogging because I know there would be a lot of books I would have never came across. And a lot of discussions and people I would have never got to "meet".

This year I've really sucked at blogging, both here and at JYTBB. I went in the new year thinking I would stick with it and do all these awesome new things, but school, work, and real life took up A LOT of time. From someone who used to be a huge hermit, it was different but in a very good way. (And I think my friends are happy I am no longer one.) The decision to merge Just Your Typical Book Blog into my this blog had been on my mind for the past few months. And today, I finally decided it's going to happen.

So up above you'll soon be seeing stuff that I used to have on JYTBB. I plan on bringing my Rock This! Thursday meme here too where I interview authors and bloggers about books and music. (Shoot me an email: justyourtypicalbookblog@hotmail.com if you wanna do one!) I also decided for the time being I wouldn't change my Twitter name: @JYTBB or the e-mail address.

You'll be seeing posts about books because I plan on reading a CRAP TON over winter break. And if you were a follower of JYTBB, I hope you'll be one here too, and I hope you enjoy my other posts :) If you're already a follower, I hope you'll enjoy my upcoming Book Talk.

How badly do you want that dream?

2011-11-28T17:10:00.001-06:00

Reading and writing have always been a big part of my life.

At school when the teacher passed around Book Orders, I would start circling like crazy, take it home to my dad so he could decide how much money he wanted to shell out that month on my reading. I joined book order clubs like Babysitter's Club and Girl Talk. Every month I'd get two fresh new books, read them within the week, and be begging my mom to drive me to the library. I have to say my parents were quite awesome in supporting my book nerd habit.

When I couldn't find the story I wanted to read that's when I started writing. Which I assume is how a lot of people started writing as well. I don't remember what my first story ever was. The earliest one I can remember is one I made in Girl Scouts called: Susie Is Lost. All about a girl who looses her doll, only to find the thing shoved under a couch cushion.

I've always known that writing was a massive part of my life. Even in moments where I didn't write, I was creating a story in my head. My dad used to play his record player growing up, and there I would be in the living room, walking circles around the coffee table just thinking of adventures. Honestly, if I didn't have crazy scenarios, what if's, and characters constantly chattering away in my head - I think life would be massively boring.

A few years ago I decided that I needed to be published. I needed to fulfill this dream of writing. Somewhere from there and around the time summer ended, I lost something. I gripe about writer's block and failure a lot.. I am probably the best at griping about writing instead of actually sitting on my butt and doing it. The thing is, I know I haven't lost the ability to write. If anything, I have gotten better. I am not being self-centered about that either. I can look at a story from seven years ago to a story now and I can proudly say: I am a good writer. I may not be the best writer, but I'm still a good one.

But what I lost was my drive for it. I didn't come across this until about August. I was at work, talking to a lady who said she wanted to read an expert of The Unexpected Clash of Strangers. I started laughing saying: "Oh you know me, I dropped the story again!" She was trying to tell me: "Hey, it's okay. Writers do that all the time." Seriously this lady is like the best at encouraging me and has always supported my writing. While she was trying to give me a pep up speech, I realized something and blurted it out:

I don't think I want it bad enough.

And I didn't. I had no desire at all to write when it came down to it. If I wanted it bad enough, I would have been going for it. I would have just done it. I wouldn't care like I used to NOT care of what was wrong here and there. I would just keep going and writing and getting these characters are were so alive in my head out onto paper. I would tell their story. Life hadn't exactly been my best friend around that time or for the past few years, and I let all those bad things take control of me. And somehow without knowing it, I let it take control of my dream. I let it tear it and me down to a point where I felt like I just didn't care anymore. It's weird knowing that I didn't care about writing.

Then October rolled around. I started thinking about past stories, one in particular Fairy Tale. I decided that I would use it for NaNoWriMo. I had no high hopes. I've done NaNoWriMo, and even Camp NaNoWriMo (around the same time I claimed defeat of my dream), and I've never really "won". I plotted and I changed things. When November 1st rolled around, I sat in my chair, and I just started typing. Some days I didn't write anything. Other days I went crazy and wrote 7K or more. I did word races on Twitter. I texted Cheryl many times at all hours of different ideas and ways things could go. Then last night, I reached the 50K line.

And it felt amazing. Beyond amazing.

The story isn't finished. The first few chapters are going to have to be completely scraped and rewritten. I'm missing huge chunks of the story, and I even decided to rename my main character from Gabby (short for Gabriella) to Ari (short for Arianna). I know this is a very rough skeleton of a story, but it felt amazing because I wrote. I dove in head first, typed furiously, and kept going and going and I'm still going.

Every day on Facebook I have been putting something I am thankful for. When I woke up this morning, there was really only one thing to be thankful for: NaNoWriMo. For giving me back that drive. For giving me the kick in the butt I desperately needed, and making me realize what I've always wanted out of life was what I've always had. It's writing. It will always be writing no matter what I'm in school for or what I'm doing. I'm glad it's back. I'm glad that I can look at all 122 pages of complete crap and smile that it's there.

Things in life are going to suck. Sometimes they're going to tear you down and make you doubt yourself in ways you'd never thought could happen. But the trick of it is, get back up. Don't let it win. No matter how long it takes you - a week, a month, or even almost three years - get your dream back. Fight for it, and dont' stop until you know it's fully yours. You'll be glad you did.

Live Blogging Part Duex - NaNoWriMo Crunch Time!

2011-11-27T09:14:00.001-06:00

Decided to dedicate another Sunday to live blogging so I can reach 50K today!

Goal: 7,000 words

6:30 AM: Woke up. Told my body is was nukin futs if it thinks this is considered sleeping in.

8:00 AM: Alarm goes off. Must get up to do work out.

8:05 AM: Must get up to do work out.

8:10-15 AM: I am not getting up to do the work out. Hit snooze again, and "daydream" about my next scene that I need to write. I seriously come up with the BEST scenes when halfway asleep.

8:40 AM: Alarm goes off again. Must. Get. Up.

9:17 AM: Showered, toast crammed in my mouth, jamming out to Walkin' On Sunshine! Yes, it's the morning dance routine. And yes, it's still as hideous as it was two weeks ago. Decide to do a live blogging post and remember what all happened this morning.

9:18 AM: Stepping away from the computer to go get ready for church! When I get back my writing game is ON!

10:17 AM: Squeeze in some words:

353/7,000 words

Now off to church!

1:27 PM: Back home from church and a not-so-quick drop at Wal-Mart. Going to make yummy chicken tacos and then novel: You're goin' down!!

3:01 PM: Ohkkay so my break might have taken longer than expected. I did watch the last new episode of Once Upon a Time, but I think that qualifies as "research", don't you? Glad to know you agree with me. I also took down my pumpkins outside since I do have my Christmas tree up. I'm not gonna lie, sad to see those goes:

3:04 PM: WRITING TIME!!!

3:54 PM: Ugh. My belly still feels ridicously full from my lunch. I want a nap.

1,237/7,000 words

5:16 PM: Sweet mother of pearl! I am tiirreedd!! But I did just "officially" bring Prince Easton into my story. He's evil. Like really evil, and I notice I keep having him threaten to kill people over and over again when he first meets Gabby. Could be why my word count skyrocketed there in the past hour. Hhmm, probably need to edit some of that part out, but alas, I must charge forward. All right muse, together now: Onward, march!

3,614/7,000 words

6:02 PM: So my MC who is named Gabby, but I don't like that name anymore and need to change it, has been kidnapped. To show her kidnapper aka Hot Evil Prince Easton that she will be quite the pain in the butt, she has started to sing 99 Bottles of Beer on the wall. I think she might be getting herself gagged soon. Speaking of songs, I have somehow became obsessed with replaying this particular one by Puddle of Mudd. I think it's his voice. I mean LISTEN TO THAT INTRO! *melts into a puddle of goo* <--I really didn't mean to do a halfway pun there.

....I also have been spending entirely way too much time on Twitter and not really focusing on writing. Bad Amber! But I'm just gonna replay this song one.more.time.....

4,682/7,000 words

8:01 PM: Umm so in all my excitement I kind of forgot to update this but at exactly 7:40 PM.......

I JUST WON NANOWRIMO!!!!!

THAT'S RIGHT, I WON IT!

6,331/7,000 WORDS AND I STILL FINISHED IT!

THOSE OTHER WORDS ARE GOING TO WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW BECAUSE I CANNOT STOP DANCING AROUND THE HOUSE TO THIS SONG:

Until next time kittens............

NaNoWriMo Check-In! Who's still alive?

2011-11-16T17:53:00.001-06:00

All day today I kept thinking it was the 15th, but silly me, it's the 16th which means everyone should be up to 26,666 words!!

So, where does that leave me?

Right here.

Or at 29,024 words.

Before you go thinking on Day 6 I was some sort of amazing crazy writer - don't. While I would like you all to believe that I pumped out that much wordage in a day, I actually pumped out extra wordage leading up to Day 6 in different scenes that I had saved on another file. (Like at school during my lunch break.) So when I added what I hadn't put in the first 5 days, well it made it go way UP!

I had a good few days where ideas were flowing and I was typing like mad! I even did word races with Canada (her word count is up in the 30K mark), which made me bust out about 5K in a 2.5 hour race. It was insanley awesome. Last Thursday the dreadful DIMB kicked in. What's DIMB you ask? It stands for Demon In Mah Belly. And no, that doesn't mean I'm with child. (But if I ever were to ever get pregnant I'm sure it would be a demon.) DIMB is a stomach disorder that I have that I obviously renamed. It has made me want to be on the couch, curled up, and watching all the lovely shows on my DVR all day and night.

But today DIMB and I had a little chatty-chat. It's going to calm It's butt down before I shank it so I can get some more writing done tonight.

If you happen to be on Twitter and would like to do some word races, feel free to send me a message!

Writing advice from Roseanne.

2011-11-14T16:28:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning, around 3:25 AM to be exact, this lovely framed poster that hangs above my head decided it was time to come crashing down. Luckily, for my head's sake at least, it did not hit me. But it did jolt me awake, and make me believe I was living in Amytville Horror for about a minute. I wasn't able to go back to sleep for a long time so I turned on the TV, flipped through a million infomercials when I saw Roseanne was on.

I grew up on Roseanne. Loved it back then and still love it today. This episode was the series finale that always makes me cry (and yes, I got teary eyed at 4:30 something AM over it). Now if you never saw the series finale I don't feel that bad "spoiling" it for you cause if you haven't seen it yet, I doubt you ever will.

Basically the series ended with Roseanne in her basement finishing the book she had been writing about her life aka the show. A lot of things she switched in the book like did you know Mark and Becky weren't actually together?! It was really Darlene and Mark. Becky was with David, but like any good mother she always thought that was strange so she switched their lives around. Oh, and also Dan really did die when he had his heart attack which made me bawl.

Re-watching that episode, the last few minutes where Roseanne is narrating, the following passage really stuck out to me:

....In choosing life, I realized that my dreams of being a writer wouldn't just come true; I had to do the work. And as I wrote about my life, I relived it, and whatever I didn't like, I rearranged. I made a commitment to finish my story even if I had to write in the basement in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep. But the more I wrote, the more I understood myself and why I had made the choices I made, and that was the real jackpot. I learned that dreams don't work without action; I learned that no one could stop me but me. I learned that love is stronger than hate. And most important, I learned that God does exist. He and/or She is right inside you, underneath the pain, the sorrow, and the shame. I think I'll be a lot better now that this book is done.

For the past couple years I've lost a lot of things, and one of them was my drive for my dream. It's good to have that back, and that little passage above will be my push throughout this entire month as I charge through NaNoWriMo.

If your characters had Facebook....

2011-11-08T19:10:00.003-06:00

What would their status say?

I saw this on Twitter last month, and for the life of me I cannot remember what site did this. (Sorry un-credited site!)

It got me thinking (in class, of course) what would my characters say? So I picked four of my main characters from "Fairy Tale", jotted them down (aka saved the texts I sent to Cheryl), and wha-lah I'm making a post on it.

It was a fun little exercise, and if anyone decides to do it, put your link in the comments so I can go read!

Jesse: Stuck in a fairy tale realm. Please send clean underwear.

Mason: Went to the tavern last night, and woke up face down in a field missing my pants. Gingers. They get me every time.

Gabby: Just got kidnapped by the Prince of freaking Darkness. No, I'm not talking about Ozzy. Although, that would be pretty cool.

Easton: Idiots. I am constantly surrounded by idiots.

Live Blogging! A Day in the Life of NaNoWriMo....

2011-11-06T09:57:00.003-06:00

I saw something on Let the Words Flow on how they did a live blogging day. Since Sunday's are the only days I have off, I thought it would be the best time to do it. My goal today is to write *drumroll* 7K to catch up on the last two days I've slacked!

7:10 AM - Wake up from drooling on one self. Stupid allergies. Look at clock (it says 8:10), curse my body for thinking this is sleeping in, and then remember it's day lights savings time so I can be lazy for a bit.

7:35 AM - Decide to eat breakfast and then go write before I need to start getting ready for church.

7:45 AM - 2 gluten-free waffles, turkey bacon, and a nice cup of coffee mixed with the tale end of various coffee creamers later I am back in bed watching Grey's Anatomy from Netflix.

8:15 AM - Could totally go write, but ya know it's Grey's.....

Word Count: 0/7000

9:00 AM - Pour second cup of coffee, jump in shower, start getting ready for church, and shake my bootay around to dance music. Glance in mirror realizing I am the whitest girl alive.

10:00 AM - Heading out to pick up sister for church, run by ATM, stop by gas station to get Sunday paper cause I am poor and coupons are amazing. MUST MUST write when I get out of church.

12:33 PM - Back home from church (awesome sermon, btw). Got Red Diamond tea poured and some lovely pineapple to much on AND NOW I AM GOING TO WRITE!!

12:43 PM - Okay, fine. Now I'm really writing. *turns off Facebook and Twitter*

1:29 PM - Did the ultimate NaNoWriMo sin and spent the past 40 minutes or more going over chapter one and editing things. WHAT?! I had to change things, dang it! My MC does boxing now. It needed to be added.

1:31 PM - Check e-mail to see Cheryl has sent me pictures of her characters. Swooning over her bad guy. Seriously people her story is going to be awesome.

1:32 PM - Diving back into story with All! New! Words!

2:41 PM - Ermmm may have done some laundry, texted a few friends, and read more e-mails from Cheryl in between writing. Heading to Sister's house to eat lunch and wondering why I ever thought live blogging for a 7K word count was a fun idea.

Word Count: 936/7000

4:16 PM - Back from Sister's. Food was yummy up in my tummy. Now to kick some major word count butt. *puts on warrior helmet*

5:02 PM - Realized my novel playlist is quite lame. Must add a few new songs to get my groove going.

Word Count: 2094/7000

5:38 PM - Downloaded most of the Enchanted soundtrack and "Sail". Now must write my MC about to get mugged in a fairy tale realm and then introduce Mason. *sighs* Oh, Mason.

6:20 PM - Holy sweet mother my eyes are going boggers. Need to take munchie break and stare at something else for 30 minutes.

Word Count: 4123/7000

7:18 PM - Oohhhkaaay so my break was a bit longer. Dang you, Grey's for sucking me in! And just ignore my little out cries on Twitter about knowing nothing of boxing (which my MC knows how to do), and how all my words are crap. Turning on The Princess and the Frog soundtrack via DisneyParkAudio on Youtube and I will finish this baby!

7:43 PM - Dudes. Soundtracks are quite possibly the best thing for me to EVER write along with. Seriously I am loving DisneyParkAudio like whoa. Right now it's Pirates of the Carribean soundtrack and I am amazed how it just seems to go along with what I'm doing. Must download many more soundtracks in the future. Oh and Mason totally just clocked out some bandits that were trying to kidnap my MC Gabby and sell her off. Mason is the bomb dot com even if he is a thief himself.

8:11 PM - Been talking to Cheryl and Laura on Twitter. Probably shouldn't. #Distractions But ya know, we're writing talking so it's very important.

8:14 PM - My butt is asleep. My butt is asleep. I repeat my butt is asleep.

Word Count: 5789/7000

8:19 PM - The light at the end of the tunnel is close. SO VERY, VERY CLOSE! I see you, you beautiful thing!

Word Count: 6325/7000

9:13 PM - *smacks her NaNoWriMo novel* Who's your Mommy now!? (Okay, I will never make that horrible remark ever again, but I am done.) DONE I TELL YOU, DONE!! Please bust our your drums as you read........

Total Word Count: 7256/7000

And only about 5K of it ISN'T crap! Boo-yah!!

NaNoWriMo. Are you down for the cause?

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've never exactly "won" NaNoWriMo. The first time I did it, I think I made it to about 35K then said screw it. The 2nd time I went over the 50K mark with The Unexpected Clash of Strangers, made a ton of progress on it, but then crashed miserably in the end.

Each time I've done NaNoWriMo, I've never had a fresh new idea. I know that's the jist of things, but really who the heck is going to kick me out for NOT having a fresh new idea? Exactly. Last year while having the flu I read some of The Iron Fey series and watched an ABC Family movie about a princess and it struck me that I wanted to write my own world. I've never been a big fantasy reader, but I absolutely loved fairy tales as a kid. My favorite show? Grimm's Classic Fairy Tales. I would come a runnin' full force into the living room when I heard the theme song.

The idea, like most of my ideas, kind of deflated after a month or so. Who was I kidding? ME write a fantasy book? I've only read contemporary novels forever. I had no business trying to come up with kingdom names. So I moved on to other stories then to a few months of not really giving a crap if I ever wrote again (that's for another post). Last month, my characters were tugging at my mind. I went back over what I had written (about 80 pages of stuff), and I picked it apart. Took the good out and left the bad in another file and started tackling the sucker.

I have a new plot.

A few new characters.

A whole lot of bloodshed.

And some awesome creatures lurking through my fairy tale realm.

And most of all, I have a kick butt MC who is about to go on a ride of her life.

Oh, and I have boys. Hot boys.

For my NaNoWriMo, I am working on what I've always nicknamed: Fairy Tale. I suck completely at writing a synopsis, but here's the jist:

Gabby stopped believing in fairy tales the night her father was brutally killed before her eyes. What she saw was a creature in a red hood, but that's not what the cameras caught. Nearly 10 years later, Gabby cannot help but notice how things are starting to get strange. She's seeing things she saw as a child. Like a fairy in her locker, trolls tripping the basketball players, and then the biggest nightmare of all: the creature who killed her father.

The moment Gabby thinks she's safe, a realm opens up, and suddenly her and her best friend, Jesse, are sucked in to it.Determined to get back home, Gabby takes on the help of a guy named Mason and his band of not-so-merry men. But Mason seems to have his own agenda, and when they're found by a dark prince, Gabby is starting to realize that her father had failed to ever tell her the truth of who he really was. Who her mother was, and who Gabby is destined to be.

Hey. Don't say I didn't warn you I suck at writing summaries.

What about you? Are you doing NaNoWriMo? Find me: sammyjones57 and let's cheer each other on!

Oh October, how I loved you.

2011-10-30T20:20:00.000-05:00

I am a big Fall girl.

I know there are a ton of people who love Summer, but me and Missouri humidity heat do not see eye to eye. So when October rolled up with its lower tempatures, my grouchiness seemed to fade away. Not to mention the amazing colors that follow Fall. The 30 minute drive to school which is now turning into a 45 minute one due to construction has never looked prettier. (The picture is a bit scrambly due to my lovely dumb phone.)

Then there is anything pumpkin. Pumpkin coffee creamer, pumpkin snack cakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin shakes, pumpkin Mexican chip dip - basically I am like the Bubba Gump of Pumpkin. Since I got my new place, I knew I wanted to decorate my porch. There were a few other craft ideas I had planned on doing, but I'm kind of a procrastinator so that didn't happen. I am quite proud of my quest of spray painting pumpkins this year!

Note to self: Never ever again spray paint pumpkins inside the house. You will be high as a kite and wonder why you ever thought drugs were fun as a teenager.

The white one with the swirls is my favorite. It was a bit inspired by watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.

What do you love about Fall?

A soda/candy shoppe type of birthday.

2011-10-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

I don't know what the deal is, but since the beginning of this year, I love to bake. Early twenties me wouldn't even know what to do with myself if she saw me in the kitchen, wearing an apron, and mixing up ingredients.

I love throwing parties together, and I am lucky my sister pretty much lets me take over my niece's for a while now. Last year we did an Alice in Wonderland theme (back before everything came out for it - I'll do a post on that some other time), and this July she was turning 12 (!!). I wanted something kind of fun to do and not exactly movie/character themed like her past parties. I bought a cupcake magazine which is pretty much the bomb dot com. Inside of it has a Soda Shoppe themed list of cupcakes so after a few brainstorms we put together a Soda/Candy Shoppe Birthday!

For decorations, I kept things a bit simple. Just bought some lanterns and I made some pin wheels. My dad had a crate of old soda bottles so I used those to prop them up with.

All the candy jars were displayed with ribbon wrapped around with a tag. And we had candy. Good lord, did we have candy. We had clear goodie bags and dished out candy to all the kids when they left.

The best part (at least in my humble opinion) was of course the cupcakes!

Root Beer Floats

Orange Cream Pops

Hot Fudge Sundaes

(These were the biggest hit!)

I stress out a lot when trying to put things like this together. I learned that I am not a pro at making icing at all which may have resulted in a tossed bag across the kitchen knocking over a glass and busting it. After it was all said and done I think it went great!

And then I came back from the dead.

2011-09-27T22:02:00.000-05:00

Well, not exactly like that even if I am super white.

I'm halfway settled into my new house. I've been here for a month now. There are still boxes. There is still A LOT to do, but seeing as I am the QUEEN BEE of procrastination, I am actually semi-impressed with how much of my house is done. AND I've been getting super freaking crafty up in hurrr. (Don't ask why I just said it like that. I've switched to 6 AM work shifts on top of my getting up at 5:30 AM for class, and I am freaking TIRED. I also have no idea why I keep randomly writing in CAPS in about every sentence.)

I hope you all are doing smashingly well! I'm writing this post from my office. Yes, office where the walls are kind of a pale pink, slightly dirty, random wood stars, and now have a blotch of Surf's Up blue by the light switch cause that's what color is going to be when I paint it this week.

Right after I paint the living room....or maybe this room. I can't decide which one needs to be done first. Back to the office here. I HAVE MY OWN WRITING OFFICE! It has bookshelves (mismatched ones - holla!), my desk, two big cork boards (for plotting stories), and a dry erase board up! I don't know why I feel it necessary to type all of this out to you but I AM SO EXCITED I HAVE MY OWN WRITING SPACE!!

Basically what this post is all about is another:

Hi, I'm still alive.

And:

I will be back to blogging soon! I have posts to make, writing things to share, and rants! Lord, do I have me some rants (writing rants, duh.)

And also:

It's Fall and I have cute decorations on my porch!

And then there is:

I'm going to bed now.

Niiight!

A letter to Summer.

2011-08-17T18:28:00.000-05:00

Dear Summer,

While some people anticipate you coming along and soaking up all your sunshine and vacations, this extremely white girl did not enjoy you at all.

I may have enjoyed you a lot more if I didn't live in Missouri, where the second you walk out your door you're instantly covered in sweat. It doesn't help matters that I am in fact a bigger girl. Before you get all defensive on me Summer and tell me it's not YOUR fault I'm fat and sweaty, I'll tell you this: If you weren't so mother truckin' blazing hot this entire season maybe my fat butt could have gone for walks. Maybe my fat butt could have gone for runs. And maybe, JUST MAYBE my fat butt could have definitely worked out a lot more, but seeing as this attic is like 20 degrees hotter than the sun itself, it didn't happen.

~~Okay. Fine. I probably wouldn't have worked out the entire summer, but the thought is still there!~~

Anyways.

I also blame you for this ridiculously stressful semester I was put through. I was so excited to go through classes that actually would better my future in the medical program, but sadly, one class was absolutely pointless. I'm not saying that because my halfway dyslexic brain couldn't learn anything. I'm saying that because I kept falling asleep in the class (cause 1. it was freaking hot and 2. it was freaking boring). I'm saying this because I spent the entire summer in a classroom NOT learning how to medical transcribe. Don't even get me started on Medical Terminology. Ya know, the crazy medical language that I think is harder than Mandarin, and not to mention extremely crucial to my medical career. That entire experience reminds me of the four years I spent in Spanish class and can still only count to 13.

So you mix together you're menopausal weather, a horrible semester, and what do you get in the martini glass? A sick Amber. I've never given birth before (nor do I ever plan on it), but I'm pretty sure I know exactly what it feels like. So much that I took a little trip to the ER where I learned two things:

1. I'm allergic to medicine that makes my tummy feel all stoned and happy.
2. Cat scans cost around $5,000.

And if you're wondering if I about sharted myself when my uninsured self got the ER bill, you would be correct. I cannot wait until I get to see the specialist at the end of the month and see how much that dude wants to charge me.

While I was busy sweating, stressing, and dying - my face decided it was going through puberty again. I have never been so badly broken out in my life. There are villages and villages creeping all over my skin. So much so that I basically use concealer like an underlying foundation for my foundation.

Then there's work. I won't go into details about how that place gave me a freaking ulcer and less hair. What I will tell you is that I did not appreciate being stuck behind an oven that blasts out about 400 degrees. I'm sure you were laughing it up with all your death rays of sunshine blazing. I was not. I was slathering deodorant on and making trips into the freezer because I was constantly sweating like a whore in church.

Basically Summer, what I'm trying to say here is that I know you and I have never really gotten along that well, but I think after this horrible experience you have put me through, you owe me a vacation. A real vacation. One that involves a beach, NICE weather, an endless supply of fruity drinks with umbrellas, and a hot shirtless surfer boy. Or a Cabana boy. I'm really not that picky as long as he has nice arms and can strut it.

I'll have my passport ready June 1, 2012. I also expect to be put in first class.

Sincerely,

Amber aka The girl who is anticipating Fall like no other.

I found a house!

2011-08-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

*does crazy happy dance all over this blog*

If I hadn't been MIA before I know I will be very soon because come Monday I will have a shiny key in my hand to my new place! You have no idea how anxious, happy, and andaljflaksjflkdsfljkasdlfja I am about this.

That is all.

Have a good month.

Camp NaNoWriMo

2011-08-03T19:53:00.000-05:00

All last month I was excited for August to get here so I could jump in and join Camp NaNoWriMo. The plan was to have The Unexpected Clash of Strangers completely finished. But things happened - good and bad - and sadly no Gracie was finished. I'm kind of teetering on what exactly I'm writing for camp. It's Day 3, I probably should pick a story already especially since I have already been assigned camp buddies and everything. At least I'm still sticking to my main genre: Women's Fiction which falls under Chick Lit at camp. I think by the end of the week I'll know for sure what is going to be written.

And yah know, actually write something too.

I know I've pretty much sucked at blogging lately. Like I said, things happened in July and I've been a bit of a busy woman. (Not all fun stuff. Some stuff really sucked butt.) This month I plan on writing as much as my fingers can possibly pound out. Maybe it will be back and forth on stories instead of focusing on just one. Who knows! I have never been a rule follower so I'm cool with that.

Hhmm...this post is kind of pointless really. Mainly I'm saying: I'm still alive! Even though it's one hot beast outside, and I'm seriously thinking of inventing a bra that holds ice cubes in them. I am still here kicking it.

If you're doing Camp NaNoWriMo, let's be friends! Click here for my profile :) Also, every time I say Camp NaNoWriMo out loud the theme song from Salute Your Shorts comes into my head.

Every. Time.

Where have you traveled to?

2011-07-12T13:06:00.000-05:00

visited 18 states (36%)

Create your own visited map of The United States

Kelsey over at Eat, Drink, and be a Tourist posted today of all the places she had been in the US. I had no idea a site could make a handy dandy map like this so I knew I had to do a post of my own. I love road trips. I think I get it from my Grandma and Grandpa. My Grandpa was a truck driver for years and years so if my Grandma wasn't hitting the road with him, they were taking their own little trips. I think the only state she never got to was maybe Hawaii.

I've mainly traveled through the Midwest and Southern states. A lot of states I've been to were merely ones driven through like to Florida or to Michigan (pretty sure I puked in the backseat on that one - hey I was 6!).

One of my favorite trips which actually wasn't even a favorite at the time was when my aunt and I took a train from Oakland, California to Eugene, Oregon. I'd love to do that again because I was only 14 at the time, and well, I didn't really appreciate all the things I got to see back then. Of course the recent road trip (which at some point I'll finish doing my posts on that) with my sister to Tennessee was pretty freaking awesome! The best state I've been to? I love California, and have been blessed to have parents send me there 3 times during school to visit my aunt, but a few years back my sister's family, some friends, and I all drove to South Carolina to go on a cruise. I feel in love with Charleston, the place we had to port out of. Downtown Charleston was absolutely beautiful. Cobblestone walkways, big huge Victorian houses, and the walkway right next to the beach. Sadly, that's all I got to see before we had to board ship. I'm hoping next year I'll be going there again.

So what about you? Where have you traveled to?

Wannabe Writers #57

2011-07-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

Wannabe Writers is my Internet writing group. Anyone is welcome to join! It's a place to meet other writers, ask questions, and get feedback. Find out more information and where to link up this week's post HERE!

Where I am at in the writing process: Unpublished. Currently have been working on The Unexpected Clash of Strangers. Some days I write a lot. Some days I don't write squat, and for once, I'm perfectly fine with either one.

My current problem(s): Not being near a computer when the writing bug bites me. I know this isn't a problem that can be fixed. I'm sitting in class, usually during Anatomy and Physiology, and while I should be taking all these massive notes, I find myself brainstorming on what I should do next with Gracie and Ethan-Dean. BUT then I get so anxious about the idea, I just wanna write right then!! And I can't because I'm stuck in class. Of course by the time I get home, the writing bug is gone.

This is also probably the reason why I pretty much bombed this week's tests too.

Birthday Party: Pinwheels

2011-07-05T21:55:00.001-05:00

About a month or so I got a new cupcake magazine, and in it there was a whole section on soda shoppe cupcakes. That sparked the idea for my niece's 12th birthday party this month. My sister lets me take control of all the decorating and things because I love doing this kind of stuff. (Last year I did Alice in Wonderland theme.)

So with the cupcake idea, I came up with a soda/candy shoppe party! I'm already doing a head start on all party supplies because I'm such a procrastionator at it. Last night I made the pinwheels which will be going on the table in soda bottles.

I learned how to make them from this link here.

Next up: Banner, lollipops, labels for candy jars, and a few other things! Since I still have until the 23rd, I'm opened to any ideas anyone has to add to the candy/soda shoppe theme :)

It's Just Another Music Monday - Novel Playlist

2011-07-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks back the lovely Cheryl was sending me graphic links of all the old banners she had done in past stories. (Yes, we make graphic art for our stories. Okay, well Cheryl makes awesome graphic art. I made like two banners and they kind of sucked so I just bug her if I want something.)

One of the links was to my story: The Unexpected Clash of Strangers with the tweet of something on the lines of telling me she wanted to read more from the story. So me being all nostalgic opened up my file and what do you know? I've been writing on it some more! I forget sometimes that I actually like my own writing, and how much fun Gracie really is. I've been brainstorming like crazy (mainly during class - who needs all those medical transcription notes anyways?) and have been writing on it some more. My hopes are for it to be done by the end of the month so I can do Camp NaNo. We'll see how it goes.

Any novel playlist I have is ridiculously long, but here are a few songs that remind me of my main character, Gracie.

Liz Phair - Extraordinary

Yeah, I drive naked through the park
And run the stop sign in the dark
Stand in the street, yell out my heart
To make, to make you love me

I am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me
I am extraordinary, I am just your ordinary
Average every day sane psycho
Supergoddess
Average every day sane psycho

Sugar Town by Zooey Deschanel
I got some troubles but they won't last
I'm gonna lay right down here in the grass
And pretty soon all my troubles will pass
'cause I'm in shoo-shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo-shoo
Shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo, shoo-shoo Sugar Town

King of Anything by Sarah Bareilles

You’ve got opinions, man

We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked

So let me thank you for your time, and try not to waste anymore of mine

And get out of here fast

I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning

There’s no one here to save

Whose Life Am I Living by Kristyn Osborn

Feel like an android

Living in a Polaroid

Just another reject

Who gets a little seasick

Whose life am I in?

Feels like deja vu

Don't know how or what to do

I point my finger to the sky

Finally ask the question why

Whose life am I in?

You can probably see a trend on the song base I'm shooting for this novel playlist. So if you think of any songs that might fit, leave me a comment! I'm always up for new songs :)

Huh.

2011-07-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

This popped up in my e-mail earlier.

I don't know why people make fake accounts and pretend to be someone else.

It's quite creepy.

And more so if you pretend to be Robert Patinsen and start following me.

Things I Loved in June

2011-06-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

June wasn't exactly a favorite month of mine. It was a bit overwhelming, I was sick through most of it, Seether broke my heart, and I've been extremely stressed due to some issues at work and life itself. But no one likes to read all of those things which is why I haven't been posting lately or commenting on many other blogs. So let's just jump into the positive things, shall we?

Favorite Things In June by sammyjones57 featuring printed bags

Ryka shoes
$56 - dsw.com

Hollister Co. beach shoes
$9.30 - hollisterco.com

Cooperative printed bag
$28 - urbanoutfitters.com

Going to church and reading more of my Bible.

Short road trips.

Summertime starting and craft making.

Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!....I think I may have an addiction to wanting to make them.

New running shoes! So I can ya know, get off my butt and loose weight.

READING some awesome books:

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young
Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern
Dead Rules by Randy Russell
Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman

Jotting down writing ideas.

Wearing flip flops.

Chine Glaze Crackle Nail Polish. ♥ Loooveee this ♥

Catching up with Pretty Little Liars and apparently becoming a bit obsessive with it.
(Have y'all seen this show?! I love Caleb, and Toby has became less creepy to me.)

Going to the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma with my mama and sister. Bonus: Got to hang out with one of my best guy buddies who I hadn't seen in MONTHS!
~~(We won't discuss how much money I lost.)~~

Seeing Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Adeiltas Way in concert for $5 - holla!

Falling in love with an old story, The Unexpected Clash of Strangers, and having the itch to really write on it.

Annnnnd.....the most important thing which I don't have a picture of: MY NEPHEW IS IN FOR THE SUMMER!! YAH!!!

Mid-Year Goals Check-In

2011-06-28T18:47:00.000-05:00

I saw this just a bit ago on Busy Bee Lauren's blog, and I thought: Hey! What about all those goals you made in January, Amber? Are you holding them up any?

*squirms in seat, checks old blog posts, and chews on pen*

Write: My writing has slacked, slacked, slacked, and then slacked some more. I started one more new story idea, wrote a bunch on Fairy Tale, redid some of Gus, and have currently been working on The Unexpected Clash of Strangers. While sure, that does seem like a lot, I think I may have written under 50K in the last 5 months. That is sad, y'all.

Get healthy: My healthy train has been a roller coaster and I'm starting to get sick. No seriously. Because of all this back and forth of doing really well then eating crap, I have screwed up my stomach majorly (more so than it already was). I've still got the bruised arm and hand where they had to draw blood to make sure nothing else was wrong with my stomach last week. Good news: My labs are normal. And now it's up to me to start taking the right meds and eating healthy if I ever want to not wake up with cramps, bloating, or on the verge of throwing up. Good times.

Try new things: Hey, I've done this! I've tried new recipes. I've gone out to places I normally wouldn't go out to. I've opened up to more people, and have spent less time cooped up in the house like a hermit. I may not still be as outgoing as I used to be, but dang it, I've improved!

Get another tattoo: Not yet. I'm still debating on what to get. Thinking of Jeremiah 3:19 on the wrist, but then again, not so sure. Maybe Forever Young on the back of the neck. Then again I think I want to redo my foot - see! This is why I haven't gotten one yet.

Keep up my GPA: Yeah.......we won't touch that subject.

Go to more concerts: I'VE DONE THIS!! And I plan on hitting up a few more before fall gets here :)

Dress more girly: Church counts, right? I'm trying....kind of.

Don't let it get to me: *deep breath* This has been a back and forth deal. Some days I remember when things get worse, don't get worse with them. Other times, I flip a witch and freak the crap out.

Enjoy life and be more productive with it! I haz! I haz! More time with friends and family: loving every minute of it.

So how about you? How are you doing six months into the year?

Concert Edition: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Adelitas Way

2011-06-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

If you didn't read my sadden blog post last Monday, I didn't get to see Seether. While I'm still kind of bummed out, it really doesn't surprise me. No seriously. There is just some curse when it comes to them. Somehow I always manage not to be able to make their show. And even though I had those VIP tickets, this time the boys cancelled out on me.

And sure I may have boycotted them for a full week, but maybe, just maybe some day I will be able to see them live. Even though they cancelled on everyone, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Adelitas Way was still in the area and wanted to put on a show for fans. BONUS: Only $5 at the door!

Shell, Me, and Ash

Last Tuesday night, Shell, Ash, and I headed up to the Outland Ballroom to get our rock on. (Did I mention that the lead singer of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus added me and Shell to Facebook just to tell us that the show was still going on? Yeah, true freaking story right there!)

Anyhoo, we get to the place, get some H2O going on and wait as this local band that completely slips my mind takes the stage. They weren't that great, and the bassist was freaking me out with this weird intense look he was trying to give the crowd. After they exited the stage, Red Jumpsuit came on. They were fantastic! I've always liked the band, but never really gotten into them, but they had the best crowd interaction I've ever seen! The lead singer, Ronnie, always had these quirky looks on his face. Since the guys didn't even know they were still doing a show, Ronnie announced to the crowd: "So uh, what do you guys want to hear?" There were tons of shouts and he announced, "Okay besides Face Down because we're gonna play that."

I mainly got shots of Ronnie because TALL people kept standing in front of me so I would just stick my camera up in the air and snap. Here are some shots:

This was during the request moments which ended up with him saying "What song did you say?"

After they left the stage, we made a B-line to the bathroom. The only thing I hate about concerts is the fact you get so freaking hot you practically have to peel your pants off to pee. What? Is that too much TMI? Since there was a nice little mosh pit going on during RJA, us girls decided to take the side stage for when Adelitas Way came on. I have really only heard a handful of songs, mainly ones that Shell has suggested I listen to back when we first found out they were opening. I may not have been a fan before the show, but I am definitely one now! Those guys KILLED it! So, so, so good live.

After they were done, the lead singer jumped off stage and said hi to us and shook all of our hands. It was after midnight so we decided to go ahead and head out because we had an hour long drive ahead of us. I'm sure if we would have stayed we probably could have talked to the guys. The Outland was so laid back and small (there was maybe 150 when we first got there), you'd randomly see band members just throughout the place. It was a really great show, and even though I didn't get to see my boys play, it was still a great night!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T21:34:00.002-05:00

My dad is my hero.

Thank you, Padre, for always being there for Brandie and I.

For your "words of wisdom".
Never letting us give up.
Never letting us get away.
Long drives.
"High-signs".
Crazy nicknames.
And of course, for your excellent taste in music.

Most importantly, thank you for reminding us that no matter what life gives us, you can always come out on top of it with strength, love, and the support of family.

That time I was supposed to Seether but then they cancelled their show.

2011-06-13T15:16:00.001-05:00

Yeah.

Found out at work today that my show got cancelled. THE DAY BEFORE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!

They said it was because there wasn't enough ticket sales. I know it's a small venue. And I do know that a certain amount of tickets need to be sold because putting on a show is expensive. But ya know what? As much as I love my Seether, I can't help but feel like they just crapped on their fans. And really, there couldn't have been a better notice than the day before?

Now excuse me while I go kick a wall or something.

It's Just Another Music Monday

2011-06-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is a huge day guys because tomorrow I'm going to go see FREAKING SEETHER!! I would go into my big spill of why I love this band so much, but I'll just save all of that after the concert after I MEET THEM!! That's right. VIP passes, baby!

(And when I say tell you the big spill, I'm pretending here that y'all care so deeply about why I love them.)

To celebrate my anti-ci-pation (saying it like Dr. Frank N' Furter) of FINALLY being able to see them in concert (I've only been trying to do this for the past three stinkin' years), here are my Top 10 Seether songs that I've been jammin' out to for the past few days:

10. Jessie's Song
(Cover - Full Throttle Garage Show):

From a phone booth in Vegas, Jessie calls at 5 A.M.
To tell me how she's tired of all of them
She says, "Baby I've been thinking about a trailer by the sea
We could go to Mexico, you, the cat, and me
We'll drink Tequila and look for sea shells,
Now doesn't that sound sweet?"
Ah Jessie you always do this every time I get back on my feet

9. Pass Slowly
(Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray)
I think it’s time for a change
Cause things feel out of touch
And I watch you walk away, again
Well this feels like too much
(Can you take it away?)
And things won’t go my way
Now I’ll have to fade away, my friend

8. Walk Away From the Sun
(Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces)

Walk away from the sun, come slowly undone

I can see in your eyes I've already won

I could bleed for a smile, I could cry for some fun

Walk away from the sun, and tell everyone

7. Gasoline
(Disclaimer II and One Cold Night)
Last night I saw that beauty queen
Watched her paint her face on
I wanna be that magazine
That she bases life on
I wanna waste her monthly blood
Wanna get some on my love
Wanna get some gasoline
And burn the house down

6. Dead Seeds
(Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray)

Hey I wish I could find a way to turn this around
But if I play God than everything just goes to seed
And as I say this I hope that you can hear me bleeding out
Oh God I hate this I'm all alone and beaten down
So turn that focus back off me now
And go get your broken mirror

5. Fine Again

(Disclaimer II and my favorite: iTunes Session)
I feel the dream in me expire
and there’s no one left to blame it on
I hear you label me a liar
‘cause I can’t seem to get this through
You say it’s over, I can sigh again, yeah
Why try to stay sober when I’m dying here

4. Yeah
(Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray)

Don’t go gently into the night

But keep on fighting as the light dies

A wise man knows that the dark’s right

But will keep on coming, keep on coming on

Some will tell you that it’s all right

The sun is burning in a dead sky

But you can’t keep living in a broke mind

So keep on running, keep on coming on

3. Cigarettes
(Disclaimer II)
They suck you in like cigarettes
While hanging you out to dry, yeah
Making you feel like a hypocrite
because you cannot lie, yeah
You are the reason we will never be set free
We wanna be like you- we wanna be so cool
Just like you

2. The Gift
(Karma and Effect)

And I'm out of reason to believe in me
I'm out of trying to get by
I'm so afraid of the gift you give me
I don't belong here and I'm not well
I'm so ashamed of the lie I'm living
right on the wrong side of it all

1. Sympathetic
(Disclaimer II and One Cold Night)

The same old feelings are taking over

and I can’t seem to make them go away
And I can’t take all the pressure sober,
but I can’t seem to make it go away
The same old feelings are taking over
and I can’t seem to make them go away
And I can’t take all the pressure sober
(I can’t make it go away. I can’t make it go away)

Wannabe Writers #53

2011-06-09T17:05:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've done Wannabe Writers! I've been trying and trying to get back into the groove of writing. One thing I was scared was that school and work were going to get in the way of writing, and it has. I shouldn't let it be my excuse, but I am straight up exhausted most of the days to figure out how to form a sentence.

I've pretty much dropped Fairy Tale and The Unexpected Clash of Strangers for now. I'm not for sure what it is about Gus's story that makes me so hell bent on finishing (almost 3 years now!), but it's taken over my brain so I've been plotting it out once again. I think I may have a solution for a big part of why the story wasn't flowing right. There is so much back story that is essential so I'm really, really wanting this idea to work so it doesn't lag the entire novel down. But when I talk about Gus, she gets stubborn on me so mum is the word or however that saying goes for a while until things start to move along.

Then there is the other story that came to me last month that involves a cult. It's totally different from my normal type of writing. I blame it on the hype of the crazy guy who said the world was going to end May 21st and watching Criminal Minds (when the episode wasn't even about a cult, btw.) I'm kind of bouncing back and forth between the two. I dunno how anyone can stick to one story at a time though I kind of wish my brain worked that way.

And on top of all of this *waves hands around* I am contemplating taking an online writing course through Gotham next month, but I'm scared that it may just be too much on my plate. Some of the girls at work told me to wait until this semester is over since I'm having a hard time balancing things. (Hai there Pharmacology, A&P, Medical Transcription, and Medical Terminology.) I know that would be the smart move, but at the same time, I just have this itch that maybe this will help me big time in writing and I miss writing so freaking much!!

So yeah. That's my update on writing. My question this week for everyone is:

How's your writing going?

26 Things To Do Before I Turn 27

2011-06-07T21:20:00.002-05:00

I like making goals. I like making lists. I'll sometimes even jot things down on a piece of a paper of what I want done. Sure I make New Years Resolutions, and a lot of them are huge. I don't always complete them. I don't even sometimes come close to completing them. But after thinking of many goals I've given myself, and seeing this on various blogs, I thought why not?

I've been 26 for a month and every day I think of new things I want done. They might not be life-changing or exotic, but they are still things I want done before I turn another year older which if you're wanting the countdown will be April 29th, 2012.

1. Add to my foot tattoo.

2. Finish Gus's story.

3. Decorate a two-stacked cake.

4. Spend more time with friends.

5. Loose 30 pounds.

6. See Seether in concert.

7. Get a new tattoo.

8. Put together a recipe book.

9. Make 12 different types of cupcakes from scratch.

10. Get my palm read.

11. Be able to run 1 mile without wanting to die.

12. Learn Medical Terminology like the back of my hand.

13. Buy a guitar.

14. Learn how to play said guitar.

15. Go hiking.

16. Read my Bible each day.

17. Take more pictures.

18. Scrapbook more.

19. Go on a mini road trip.

20. Crotchet a beanie.

21. Get into a better study habit.

22. Get a house.

23. Have aunt/niece days and aunt/nephew days and godmother/goddaughter days.

24. Host a dinner part at new house.

25. Less time on the internet, more time in real life.

26. To always remember: When things get worse, don't let yourself get worse with them

Things I Loved in May

2011-06-01T20:48:00.003-05:00

Finding out I'm going to be a godmother again!
Oh how I wish I would have saved the picture message my best friend Shell sent me as her way of informing me she was pregnant. I ♥ this chick!

Road trip with my sister to Tennessee.

If you would have told us when we were kids that we would grow up to be best friends, we would have laughed then probably punched one another to prove you wrong. I'm still working on this series of posts but you can check out this one and this one and even this one to see what went down so far.

Buying mah Seether VIP tickets! 14 more days, baby!

Getting back into church ♥

This place is a way different atmosphere in the churches I used to attend as a kid, but I really like it there. The pastor is very down-to-earth and he's real. He doesn't hold back. He doesn't sugar coat the mistakes he's made. He's just him. The people there are all super sweet, and I love the music!

Cake decorating

Posting more.
I know that might seem silly, but I do enjoy blogging. It's another form of writing so even though I haven't been 100% focused on my novel(s), I'm still writing. And that's what matters, right?

Spending less time doing things that don't matter.

Knowing I only have 2 more semesters to go before I graduate!

New Novel Idea.
If you know my writing style at all, you may think this is a horrible idea. But with starting this new story, I have come to the conclusion that some stories aren't meant to be told. Not every character is going to have their ending, and it's time I stop beating those that cannot be finished into the ground.

Discovering new recipes

I call this:

What happens you try to make black-bean brownies and realize you lost the top for your blender, and the can of black beans is already opened so you've got to make something!

1 can of black beans

A good amount of organic brown rice

A can of Rotelle

Throw together in a pan

Cook until it's good to go

Spread out some chips

Dump all the good stuff on top

Sprinkle with cheese

and Wah-la, you got yummy in you tummy!

What about you? What are some things you loved in May?

It's Just Another Music Monday

2011-05-30T15:51:00.002-05:00

A few songs I am loving at the moment.....

Hands - JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers

I have trouble I wish wasn't there

And I have asked a thousand ways

That You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand

How to walk this weary land

Make straight the paths that crookedly lie

Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

Side Note: I discovered this beautiful song yesterday which was perfect since I had missed going to church that morning. I hadn't heard of this artist before, but I'm going to check more of her stuff out ASAP

Tonight - Seether

I’m not gonna waste this

This opportunity’s mine

I’m sick of complaining

About a beautiful life

How did we get here?

Did we forget all the things inside?

And how do we stay here?

Do we embrace all the things denied?

Side Note: When the album first came out, this was my least favorite song. Now? I can't stop listening to it! Only 15 more days until I see the in concert - whooty whoot!

Sweet Dream - Greg Laswell

If I could write out my own dream

For the next time that I sleep

You'd be the first one that I see

And I the last one that you keep

And the dream would go on and on

While we sway against all things thrown our way

And the morning would be so cruel

When it came with sunshine and warmth to blame

For announcing the end of my sweet dream

Side Note: I love the melody to this. It makes me want to write. It's really short, but so so good.

Sister Road Trip: Day Two Part One

2011-05-28T19:31:00.001-05:00

After the first night of landing face down into a pillow, waking up to the heat blasting through the room, not being able to find my pants, meeting the mainatance man at 1:00 AM who looked just like my cousin, Jamie, we got up the next morning, got ready, and headed down to the front desk to see about tickets to places and tour guides throughout Nashville.

Wow, that was a long sentence.

Anyhoo. We found out that if we did this book package deal thing down there for the day, we would have a shuttle all day up until 1:45 AM and we got tickets to go to a few places so we were game. Oh. And did I mention that the second day in Nashville was MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Because it was.

And I kind of forgot it was my birthday off and on all day. Except at 8:00 AM when I shouted to my sister: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! She told me to shut my face and I told her: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! YOU CAN TELL ME TO SHUT MY FACE ON MY BIRTHDAY! And then she threw a pillow at my head.

Our first stop off the shuttle was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I am not a huge country fan, but I am a music lover so I was actually pretty excited to see a lot of it even if I didn't know who the heck half the people were. We spent almost two hours wandering around, listening to music, watching videos, and learning more and more about so many artists.

All hail, the Man in Black.

I was really surprised of how little Cash stuff they had there. But that's okay, I found him in Memphis.

OMG! It's a bear....and a blurry one at that.

Oh, no the circle won't be broken

By and by, Lord, by and by

Sister Road Trip: The Best Hotel You'll Ever Stay At

2011-05-25T13:24:00.001-05:00

I decided to make a separate post about the awesome and amazing Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville that we stayed at. I've stayed at some nice hotels before, and I was pretty sure the Disneyland Hotel with all it's awesome Disney-ways would always be my favorite, but the Gaylord was so freaking gorgeous and had a bed made of Heaven that it's totally bumped Disney out of running place.

BUT we did have a slight problem with the heat kicking on in the middle of the night. The first night it happened, I couldn't find my pants (the cleaning lady found them for me the next morning) so I stayed under the covers when the maintenance guy showed up. Strangely enough, he looked just like our cousin Jamie. My sister was all whispering it to me (she had pants on) and I peeked my head out from the covers to confirm it. If I had a camera handy, I would have taken a picture. The next night, the heat kicked on sometimes towards the morning. We called maintenance again, they fixed it while we were at the Spa (having a Swedish massage, pedicure, and a hair blow out) (!!). When we checked out they did knock money off of our bill for the inconvenience.

The hotel itself is like a little village. I didn't take pictures of every area, but I did take a ton of the main floor.

We didn't stay in the balcony rooms. I felt like a total peeper walking by when guests had their doors open, but I had to see what the difference was in rooms! From what I saw, they were basically the same except they had the cool balcony.

At night, the whole place was lit up in white lights.

And it was super pretty, but none of the pictures came out that great.

While walking around the hotel, I sometimes felt like I was in the movie Bi-Dome, and almost expected Bud and Doyle to be busting a jig out in the middle of the walkway.

Sadly, it never happened.

Sister Road Trip: Day One

2011-05-24T20:04:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to do this series of posts of the road trip my sister and I took, but ya know.....I didn't.

So here it is!

Last year, my sister and I decided before her and her husband tried to have a baby, we wanted to go on a road trip together. After much debate and many upon many changes of plans *ahem*, we decided to take a week off, hit the road and our destination stops would be: Nashville, Memphis, and Tunica. Two days before we were supposed to take off, the massive flood hit in Mississippi and the levy was about to break so Tunica got cancelled out, but we were okay with it (for the most part) and decided if we wanted to gamble, we'd head to Tulsa or something.

On April 28th we planned to hit the road at 8 AM. Of course we didn't leave on time because that would mean the Apolocolpsye was happening. After gasing up and grabbing some drinks, we blasted the music up (departure song: Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant), and we were ready to go!

Driving was pretty smooth except for the fact our lovely Tom-Tom didn't realize we were on highways, and I may have almost took a wrong exit only to jerk us back into traffic, almost making my sister wet herself and even the people behind us probably about peed themselves too.

While we knew there was a lot of flooding down south, we didn't expect so much flooding to be in Missouri. Besides seeing a few creek get high, we don't see flooding often, so you can imagine our faces when we soon were surrounded by this:

Because of all of that *waves hands around like a maniac* a few exits we were supposed to get on were no longer available. We were technically only supposed to be in Illinois for 4 miles, but a lot of exits were closed and closed and closed. Thankfully my sister brought an Atlas with us because Tom-Tom just wasn't having this re-routing thing AT ALL. Here's the thing. My sister is a nervous driver/rider. When she starts getting nervous as a rider, I, the driver, start to get nervous. When you add in a lot of traffic surrounding me, I sometimes...well....freak out.

SO I may or may not have whipped the car over onto a country road, spewing gravel everywhere, while my sister screamed, "WHO THE HELL TAUGHT YOU TO DRIVE?!?!" And I may have screamed back: "I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO DRIVE THREE EXITS AGO SO HERE YA GO, SUCKA!" And then she drove.

Even though I was cursing Illoinois and it's po-dunk backroad highway we got stuck on (I really, really had to pee for 30 freaking miles), the most glorious thing ever appeared on a billboard:

A Life-Sized Statue of Superman!!

Our little atlas route had taken us right into Metropolis, Illionis. I didn't even know there was such a thing! I yelled out: STOP! STOP! Gave my sister another heart attack, and we pulled into the place, following the lovely pointy arrows and did a bit of Superman sightseeing:

Oh, did I mention we kidnapped Cheryl and carried her around with us?!

Then we saw the saddest thing, a Harrah's Casino underwater.

A moment of silence, please.

After that we piled back into the car, hit the highway, went through Kentucky for a brief moment

And whaddup! No more detours and soon we saw the glorious sign of Tennessee!

By the time we finally hit Nashville, we were beat. Traffic was NUTS! When we found our hotel, Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, it took us about 10 minutes just to figure out where we were supposed to go. That place was HUGE and was like its own little village.

Being stuck in a car for almost 9 and a half hours, (when our car ride was only supposed to take about 6), we unpacked everything, and went exploring in the hotel. We ate this Mexican restaurant that had the best salsa ever. Drank some drinks, wandered around a bit more, ate some ice cream, and decided that since it was already after 9 PM, we would just hang out in our room for the night. I suffer from insomnia. I have never been one of those people who put their heads on their pillow and conk out. I crawled into that Heaven of a bed (seriously best bed ever) and within 20 minutes this scene happened:

Brandie: Look Amber! Sex & the City is on!
Me: .......
Brandie: Amber? *looks over*
Me: *out like a light with a little bit of drool*

And that concludes the first day of the Sister Road Trip.

Weight Loss Sucks: Me and the HCG Diet

2011-05-22T11:05:00.001-05:00

So I started doing the HCG Diet. I was all pumped to do it. Had my veggies, fruits, and lean meats all piled up in the fridge. Then I started it......and I was starving. After four days on it, I was thinking there was no way I could last the full 21 days. My blood sugar was going crazy and I felt like a complete fat freak that was obsessed with wanting to stuff food in her mouth.

But then my lovely mama who had gotten the stuff from a girl at work called me to inform me: Oh Amber, you're supposed to take 15 drops 3 times a day, not 5 drops. Might be why you've been feeling so hungry.

I didn't know whether to jump for joy that I wasn't some fat freak obsessed or call her evil so I did both.

Fast forward to Day 12. I'll admit - I cheated. A few days. A few times. With really unhealthy stuff, but so far I've lost 10 pounds. I can feel it in my sides and the fact I was able to go down a notch on my belt. I should have 9 more days left, but the drops I have aren't a 21-Day supply. I probably have enough for 3 more days. So even though I have cheated (like last night OMG steak!) I'm going to finish them up. I may have not have lost the 20 pounds I was shooting for, but I'm quite happy with 10 pounds in 12 days. This was the jump start I wanted. And it has gotten me more motivated to want to start exercising again. Plus with all the water I've been chugging and no more drinking Diet Coke (which I learned in Anatomy class has like some crazy chemical in it when it gets too hot that can kill you so Diet Coke is no longer allowed to enter my freaking body ever again), I feel great!

Do I suggest the HCG Diet? I do if you can hack it. One of the girls I work with did the full 42 days and lost 30 pounds on it. She's been able to keep it off, and it really helped her in eating healthy. Even my 12 days with some unhealthy foods, I have been craving more fruits rather than sugar. And a lot of fried food just looks gross to me (except for fried pickles). I know a lot of people rant about how you're starving yourself. In a way, yes you are. You can only have 500 calories, but your body doesn't go into starvation mode due to the drops. Just if you do decide to do the HCG Diet, make sure you double check how many drops you're supposed to take. Trust me, that was fat girl Hell.

Oh, and just so you know, if you took a pregnancy test while you're doing this diet, it will more in likely come out positive. So if you're trying to have a baby OR not have a baby, you might want to wait until the drops are out of your system before you pee on a stick. Though I have thought about scaring the crap out of my mother by peeing on one....

And one more thing: If you feel sick or weak or your blood sugar drops STOP DOING THIS DIET! I had read up on it before I did it, and I saw many people say something on the lines of: On Day 7 I felt dizzy. On Day 13 I could barely make it up the stairs. WHY WOULD YOU KEEP DOING THIS TO YOURSELF IF YOU ARE FEELING THAT BAD?! I knew by the morning of Day 4 something wasn't right and was about to quit it. When I got the proper dosage, I felt completely fine. Even if I didn't feel fine by the proper dosage, I would have stopped this diet. So if your body isn't responding right, there's a reason for it. Don't be an idiot.

Unbreakable Bonds: Help For My Friend Chris

2011-05-06T19:37:00.001-05:00

Chris with his family
Janet, Chris (black shirt up front), Ty, and Brandon

I know this has nothing to do with books, but I am reaching out to the blogging community in hopes for a friend of mine. Chris Mooney, 26, has went through more than most will ever have to face in a life time. When he was 2 1/2 years old his mother, Janet Thompson, provided a kidney for his first transplant. That kidney held strong until he was bit by a tick and it almost caused him to die due to a disease it was carrying called Ehrlichiosis. He lost the transplant kidney his mother gave him and had severe seizures. He suffered temporary blindness and memory loss. Chris still has no memory of certain times in his life prior to the seizures. Chris went on hemo dialysis as soon as he was stable, and was treated for 3 years until he received his second kidney transplant from his father, Mike Mooney, when he was 13.

Now 13 years later, his kidney is going bad due to his spleen rupturing last year and an infection has set in. It has just taken its toll on him these past 7 months. He is extremely ill and in stage 4 renal failure. Brandon Winfrey, his older brother, is going in to be tested to see if he is a match for a kidney donation. If not, Chris will have to go on the donor list, which means he may not make it that long. His doctor said he is not a good candidate for dialysis this time around. So we hope and pray that Brandon will be a match.

Due to the extreme circumstances of Chris's health, his mother and his younger brother, Ty, are moving back to the states from their home in New Zealand to help take care of him. This is where I'm asking for YOUR help. I've known Chris since I was four years old. His mom used to babysit me, and I'm extremely close with a lot of his family. The funds will help in the cost of assisting the family in taking care of him.

Janet says, "I know we will make it work some how, heck we did it when he was a baby, we may not have had much, but we still had Chris with us to share life with." If you can't afford to help financially, prayers are always needed and appreciated! If you have any questions, you can email my friend Cathryn at tcbeggs@yahoo.com.

DONATE HERE

Spring Into Summer: 50K in 50 Days

2011-05-04T11:59:00.001-05:00

Author Karen Mahoney is hosting a 50K in 50 Days challenge. I have been struggling with my own writing lately due to school eating my soul and the craziness that I call work. Even though my road trip I took last week (I will be posting about that soon) was a nice break from all things reality, I'm ready to "spring" into action and tackle some stories. So when I saw this just a few minutes ago, I thought PERFECT!

Clicky-click on this link right here and go read what Spring Into Summer is all about. Did I mention there are going to be prizes?

What I like about this challenge is that you don't necessarily have to work on just ONE story. I currently have four different WIPs now. One of these beasts will be tackled.

Is it May 17th yet?

2011-04-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

Seether's new single "Country Song" came out back in March, and just last week (I do believe) the record label released another single "Roses". I love both songs. They're definitely different, but it makes me even more anxious for the new album to come out so I can see what other 'new sounds' they explored.

The video for Country Song (I keep wanting to type in Country STRong - gah!) came out today. It is hilarious! I love how random the guys always are. And oddly enough, my Rock Star Husband looks kind of hot as a cowboy.

This would make the second time this year I've said a guy dressed as a cowboy was hot. I never in my life thought those words would come out of my mouth.

I may not have lost 30 pounds yet...

2011-04-17T22:09:00.002-05:00

But I went shopping today, and I went down a size in my pants.

IN. MY. PANTS.

I only have 2 more weeks of classes left for this semester. You know what that means? That ME AND MY SMALLER SIZE OF PANTS ARE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP!

Nashville, Memphis, and Tunica, I hope you're ready for me because I am sooo ready for you.

Why you never want to be one of my characters.

2011-04-05T23:49:00.002-05:00

Because there's a good chance I might kill you.

The idea of dying literally scares the crap out of me. I believe in Heaven and Hell and all that stuff, but the fact that one day I will not be here on this Earth freaks me out. I know there are some people out there that are totally cool with dying. For that, I say hats off! But for me, it send me into this crazy panic attack.

So you would think that maybe I wouldn't write about death as much as I do, but that's not the case. I honestly didn't really notice this until I started brainstorming for Fairy Tale a while back, and my sister pointed out how I have the habit of killing people. It got me thinking: Do I really kill characters that often? I started going through all my stories and sure enough whether it was a short story, fanfiction, or wannabe novel attempt they all have something in common: Someone is going to die.

I've read a few blog posts via book blog that talked about how not everyone has experienced death in their lives and they wondered why it was such a common thing to have dead friends/relatives/etc in a book. I guess I honestly don't have an answer to it. I have no idea why I like to kill characters! I'm not even for sure if I enjoy it (unless it's an evil character) but because I find it semi-normal to have death in life. Growing up, I've lost a lot of grandparents at a pretty young age. Not just grandparents but other relatives, a couple classmates, and here recently an old friend. Am I just used to knowing that I've lost people and it lingers its way into all of my stories?

So to my dear characters, I'm sorry for killing you. I'm sorry that I make you up in my imagination, give you a life then when you're least expecting it, I slaughter you. Sometimes you die nicely, like in your sleep or of old age. Other times you die in car accidents, freak floods, or just get stabbed, shot, or trapped in a burning building.

I know I'll never write a friend or relative into one of my stories. They have a very good chance of having to bite the bullet, and quite frankly, I don't want them to die.

What about you? Do you have some trends you keep noticing you do while writing? Do share!

What's a going on with the writing.

2011-04-04T17:05:00.001-05:00

That was a lame Brett Michaels attempt. I can get by with this because I'm on pain pills.

Moving on.

So my buddy Cheryl and I decided we would venture into the world of writing 1K a day a while back. We slacked off for the first month or so, but now it seems if we're not writing at least 1K a day, we're thinking about our stories, texting one another about ideas, or IMing each other. Which is awesome because back when Cheryl and I first started talking (over 3 years ago - so weird it's been that long!), we were OBSESSED with our Death Sentence fanfiction stories and the yumminess of Billy Darley.

That obsessed feeling is quite awesome. If you're a writer, you know what I'm talking about here. I haven't had that feeling in a long time. My plan this year was to finish up The Unexpected Clash of Strangers since I reconstructed the beginning, and knew exactly the direction I should be going with it. On the days I didn't feel like messing with Gracie and her shenanigans, I would put myself through Hell and start working with Gus (What If). Sure, I had other stories on my mind, but these two are the ones that NEEDED to get finished.

So with all this determination it makes perfect sense that I haven't touched either story, and have been working on Fairy Tale. I'm writing it in third person, which is very foreign to me so I keep sending Cheryl stuff like:

Does this make sense?

Can I do this in third person?

OMG THIS SUCKS!!

For whatever reason it's all working. I am obsessed with my own story. I'm even having dreams about my characters!! In the past two days, I've busted out over 10K. It would be more, but I can't sit in a computer chair that long due to pains in my back hence me being stoned off pain pills as I type this. (Which I found out today the pains have nothing to do with my kidneys. I am very grateful for that, but at the same time my doctor had no idea why I'm hurting. I swear, the moment my body knows I have extra money it just jacks itself up so I can go waste it all on doctor's visits.)

So that's where I'm at in writing. Fairy Tale is my new baby and she's very pretty one at that. What are you working on?

The 346 Writing Prompt Challenge

2011-03-23T21:08:00.002-05:00

My awesome English teacher sent me this pdf file of 101 Best Websites for Writers. Obviously there are a lot of sites on there, and I feel a bit overwhelmed looking through them. While killing time during class today, I found this one: Creative Writing Prompts.

I've been wanting to do more writing, and not just writing within my current novels. (Though all those characters might disagree that I need to work on other things cause they want an ending. Demanding people those characters are.) So since they seem pretty short and simple, I'm going to challenge myself to doing a writing prompt every day. Of course this isn't going to happen every day. Let's get real here - it's me, the slackiest of the slackers. I don't plan on posting every single one them because you'd probably find that incredibly boring. But since I did the first one - I'll share it.

Writing Prompt #1: Basically you're supposed to briefly close your eyes, think of an item in the room for 3 minutes then without looking at it write as much as you can about it.

I chose my stapler and somehow turned it into a suicidal one.

The stapler is purple. A vibrant purple that stands out against the oak wood desk it sits on. The end of it slightly hangs off the edge, almost like it’s daring itself to jump off. A good portion of it is still backed away. If staplers had brains, maybe that’s where they would be at. The far end is like the anchor of it all while the front end is the quick punch of the staple that slices through the paper.

There’s a slight layer of dust gathered on the top. It hasn’t been used in a while because there isn't any staples inside of it. Maybe that’s why it’s so close to the edge – it feels ignored and unloved. It’s there for a purpose. To organize all my loose ends, yet I don’t bother refilling it. So it just sits there, collecting more dust, and debating on whether or not one day it’ll take the plunge right off my desk.

This was quick, easy, and painless! My kind of writing. If you check out the site - tell me what you think. If you decide to post a few of the prompts up, leave a link so I can go read :)

Weight Loss Sucks: Shoes, start walkin'.

2011-03-21T08:00:00.004-05:00

Starting today, I will be getting up at 6 AM (yes, it still exists), and heading over to the walking park where those shoes will be walking 2 or more miles. Might even jog depending on if anyone is around to see me. I don't like running when people are around. My yabos are ginormous, and they go all sorts of crazy when I take off running. One of these days I'm going to knock myself out with them.

When I get back from that 2+ mile walk or slight jog, I will ~~hopefully~~ dive into my Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred Workout where I still haven't gotten over the fear of her eyebrows. (Seriously. Have you seen them? Fierce!)

By the time I get to work, I'll probably be dead.

How my novel cherry got popped.

2011-03-19T16:23:00.002-05:00

I've said countless times that I've never really written a full length novel. I've written a fanfiction story that was crazy long and could have been a novel, but I never felt that I've ever really conquered something to call a novel.

Then I started going through my writing stuff. I found my old story, the one that I considered my baby for a couple years called Always a Day Late and a Dollar Short.

It's a novel.

A finished novel.

How could I forget that I've actually written a novel? Okay, sure, there is maybe a couple chapters missing towards the end that really tie the whole thing up, but whatever - it's a novel. Flipping through this extremely long hot mess, I remembered exactly how I felt the night I started this story. I was 19, chain smoking, and pissed off at the people above me who wouldn't stop stomping around my head. My story even opens up with my hatred for those jerkfaces:

It amazed me how big of assholes the people above me were.

I dove in a little more about this girl having this horribly massive chaotic morning (much like the ones I usually had back then). After I wrote a couple pages, I remember feeling so interested in what this girl was all about. What was her name? What was she like? Why was she important? While typing away and listening to my favorite rock station: Q102, "Serenity" by Godsmack came on and I knew that was her name. What she was all about, I found out as I wrote her.

I even gave this novel so nice little chapter titles which I don't think anyone does anymore, but here are a few samples:

Beer and Waffles

That One Perfect Coffee Mug

It's Just Eww!

Oh, Those Awkward Moments

Break-Ups & Banana Ice Cream

It Wasn't a Love Song, Was It?

Tis' the Season to be Crappy

The story goes on about how Serenity has this hot new neighbor named Jackson, who is in a rock band because who doesn't want to run smack dab into a hot rocker named Jackson in their hallway? Serenity has five awesome friends - Jillian (the bitch), Hannah (the mother hen), Candy (the stripper), Chalice (the hopeless romantic), and Paige (the best guy friend who is total pothead and claim to fame was lighting his own arse on fire - what? I never said this was a mature book).

Serenity was much like me when I developed her just a bit more outgoing. She had no clue what to do with her life, she was kind of bitchy, she chain-smoked, and ate banana ice cream by the tub fulls. (She never gained weight though because that's so realistic and all.) She worked at a crappy job, and devoted most of her life to friends. One day she catches a break after getting fired and lands this nice little gig at a crappy television station where things kind of take off.

She also develops a relationship with an old fling, Gabe aka Mr. Wham-Bam-Thank-Ya-Ma'am, while still having a big thing for hot rocker Jackson who always has a big thing for her but just got out of this crummy relationship, blah, blah, blah. They also get into a fist fight once over her because those things just HAVE to happen when you have a love triangle. There's a lot of ~~immature~~ humor in this book with lots of nights where someone is getting drunk. Jillian, who may curse worse than a sailor, informs her she can never have a real relationship with Mr. Wham-Bam-Thank-Ya-Ma'am, but also thinks Jackson is a straight up douche for never making a move. But what does Jillian really know? She ends up getting knocked up by Paige, who she pretty much hates and still hates throughout the whole novel.

The whole thing ends with Serenity about to marry Gabe, but hears Johnny Cash singing about going back to Jackson, she takes it as a sign, jumps out the church window, runs home to tell Jackson he was right all along when he told her she shouldn't get married only to find out he already left for California to pursue his rock star career. So what does she have left? Herself and finding out who she really is.

What? I never said this was a love story.

Anyways, back to my point of this post. I wrote a novel once. Looking back over it, it really is kind of horrible. It has more dialogue than description. I'm not really for sure what the plot is most of the time. There is no such thing as correction grammar in this thing. I could always go back through it, shape it up, but I don't want to. I like it just the way it is. This reminder that this is why I love to write. I spent so many nights in my little one-bedroom apartment, chain-smoking, drinking too much Pepsi into the wee hours of the morning, and pounding away at my keyboard. (And sometimes threatening to throw my computer through the window if it performed another illegal operation because every time it did that most of what I had written would vanish.)

So basically my name is Amber. I love to write. I usually don't finish most of the stories that I start, but I have written a novel. It may be complete suckage, but I wrote it. And I plan on writing many more in the near future. Hopefully with not a lot of suckage, but we'll see what happens.

Weight Loss Sucks: New bet has been placed.

2011-03-18T17:29:00.005-05:00

My sister and I decided to switch up our weight loss bet. As of the week before last, she's currently kicking my fat butt by being 5 pounds ahead of me. (But hey! I just got back from Springfield where I had stuffed my guilty mouth full of yummy carbs and bloated up on soda, but no, I'm not bitter at all that she hadn't ate a single thing before we weighed in....)

We were all still going to plan on the winner getting a free massage then one of my friends posted this image on tumblr, and that pretty much kicked off the new bet.

The winner gets a free tattoo on our road trip. Or maybe when we get back. Unless of course I can find a shop that I know someone has been to, seen some work they've done type of thing. So if you live in Tennessee, Texas, or Oklahoma and can recommend a shop around Memphis, Nashville, Houston, or Tulsa, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Here is what my sister will be buying me because I am SO GOING TO KICK HER BUTT AT THIS! (Using all caps to show you how serious I am about kicking her bootay!)

I love it.

Like really, really want this on the back of my neck as of yesterday love it.

In memory of a friend.

2011-03-15T15:43:00.003-05:00

Over the past couple years, I've really distanced myself from a lot of things and a lot of people. I haven't truly felt like 'me' in a long time.

Then yesterday happened.

News that an old friend had passed away. She was only 26. She was a mother. A daughter. A sister. And once upon a time one of my best friends. We never had a falling out. We simply just grew apart. It sucks. It really, really does, but those things happen. It doesn't make the shocking fact she's gone hurt any less.

I don't know really know the type of person Jamie became, but I can tell you the girl she was. She hilarious. Quite possibly the most hilarious person I'll ever have the pleasure of knowing. She made up poems and songs that would make you laugh so hard you'd almost pee your pants. She was a kick ass friend who was always there to back you up or listen to you if needed someone to talk to. We did a lot of things together. We partied a lot. Made stupid decisions and had a blast doing most of them. There was nothing fake about her. She never apologized for who she was. She spoke her mind. And I remember sometimes even envying how brave she could be.

Growing up sucks. Not being friends with someone you were sure you'd be friends with for a lifetime sucks. But I want to thank Jamie for being such a wonderful and true friend in the years we hung out together. For leaving me with crazy memories of back roading and car wars. For making me laugh and laugh. For nights at Taco Bell, rummy, movies, and even all those times she made me listen to Creed even when I swore if she didn't turn the song my ears were going to bleed out.

And thank you, Jamie, for reminding me just like you did back then that all I ever really need to be is me.

You were nothing short of amazing friend, and I miss the hell out of you. I'm sorry it took this to make me realize that.

What's Your Writing Style?

2011-03-10T16:40:00.001-06:00

I stole this from the lovely Cheryl.

1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”
I'm really both. Any story I start, I always have a general idea of what the book is supposed to be about. Usually after a chapter or so in, my mind is already racing with different ideas. Take Gus' story for example. If I would have stuck to my main idea from way-way back in the day, there would have been 8 kids in her family and it would have been a YA novel with no guy named Memphis in it. That my friends would be a crying shame.

2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?
I've tried doing a full-on character sketch before, but I don't always do them. I think the fun of writing is discovering who this person is you're writing about.

3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?
Sometimes. Usually with my general idea of what I want the story to be about, I kind of have a good feel of how my character is, but not all the time. Like with my first ever wannabe novel, I thought Serenity would be kind of a more snobby attention seeking girl, but it just wasn't here halfway through the story.

4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?
I really haven't read any so I can't answer this question truthfully. Most of the time when I read what people say 'works' for writing, I end up getting ticked off. It's like who made you the Writing God? Write what comes to you. Not what someone says is the right way.

5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
Once upon when I was heavy into fanfiction, I would ditch out on my friends to stay home and write, write, write. Now it's like I try to put it off as much as possible which is stupid considering how much I love it. I always welcome the writing itch with open arms when it comes a creepin'.

6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
Now a days it seems like it's more in short bursts. I'm trying to stick hard on the concept of writing at least 1K a day. The other night, I flew out of a bed a little after midnight and busted out almost 3.5K.

7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
I'm 'whenever the mood strikes' type of writer it seems. I tried waking up early to write in the mornings before work, but it's so hard to drag myself out of bed. I just stick to whenever I can get something in.

8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
I have to have music. It's also part of the process I do when I first start writing a story - I have to make a soundtrack. I never really thought writing while music was playing was a big deal until one day at school I decided to work on a story, and I couldn't handle the room being so quiet. Music inspires me and motivates me, and without it I'd be so screwed.

9. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
Computer. I can barely take notes during class anymore, my hand cramps up so bad. When I was little, I used to fill notebooks full of stories. Kind of funny how that changed.

10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?
Only a couple times has that happened.

11. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
Nope. My brain doesn't function like that.

12. Editing – love it or hate it?
Editing is a curse because I catch myself CONSTANTLY EDITING! It's never a bad thing to catch yourself, but sometimes I can't even get past three chapters or writing because I keep going back and changing this and making sure this flows or that flows.

Weight Loss Sucks: The best has been set.

2011-03-06T11:36:00.003-06:00

My sister and I both have been battling with our weight for years. The downfall is that well, we never seem to have enough motivation to stick with it. Since we're taking an epic road trip at the end of April, I decided since we both have barely lost any weight, we needed to make a bet with one another.

Whoever looses the most weight by April 27th gets a free massage at a spa while we're on a road trip. I plan on kicking her fat ass. (And if by chance my sister is reading this: I LOVE YOU!) We both weighed in almost two weeks ago, and plan on checking back in with one another every two weeks to see who's in the winning place.

I told myself back in January that I was going to start kicking it up a notch. But you know what sucks about trying to loose weight in January? IT'S COLD OUT! It's nasty out and there is snow. Same thing pretty much happened in February. Sure I joined the Weight Loss Challenge at the YMCA and hardly did a thing due to the crazy move too, but I cannot get motivated in crappy weather. Now that the weather is getting better, I've been walking and even RUNNING! I never thought I'd say this, but I actually enjoy running. I've been doing a combo of running/walking and it's pretty awesome. The first time around running always makes me want to die, but after that I'm pretty much golden.

Today I mixed in Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD. This woman is fierce. She kind of scares me, but I did the first phase of the workout, didn't die and plan to do it again tomorrow.

I don't plan on updating this blog every week, whining about how fat I am because I do that enough in my own head, or anything like that. But I know there are a few bloggers out there that have been documenting their weight loss, and I thought why not!

I haven't gotten on a scale since almost two weeks ago, but I'm putting my weight out there so I can show how much I've lost.

Weight: 204 pounds

Jean Size: 15/16

Goal for April 27th: 20-25 pounds

Overall goal: 50-60 pounds or until I get down to a size 8

Writing MeMe: First Lines

2011-02-24T17:19:00.001-06:00

I saw this a while back on someone's LJ. Her post was basically to write the first line of your last 25 fics you wrote and try to find a pattern.

I don't have many fanfics, but I like the idea so I'm making it my own and including all 24 stories I found on my computer which add up to mostly a lot of different versions of the same story. (I apparently love to torture myself by re-writing all my stories at least twice.) There are also many stories I obviously haven' finished. Some only have a page or two. Some have nicknames instead of actual titles so bare with me if you see a dumb one.

1. Brayden had always been the hero. (My Brother Brayden)
2. Charlie leaned over her vanity, placing the cigarette she was puffing on into the ash tray. (Downward Spiral - Death Sentence Fanfic)
3. “What is that?!” My future sister-in-law, Kate, shriek from the other room. (Bride Story - Short Story)
4. My father used to read me fairy tales as a child. (Fairy Tale - Current WIP)
5. My family is insane. (Just Call Me Gus Young Adult Version)
6. Staring down at the black specs, I decided that they had slowly formed into the shape of a seahorse. (Hospital Story)
7. I had never been the type of person that believed in signs. (Just Call Me Gus Adult Fiction Verison - Current WIP)
8. Since the age of sixteen, I have tried to kill myself exactly thirty-seven times. (Marty's Story)
9. It was too late to know what had really happened back there. (More Than Meets the Eye - Vampire Story)
10. I know it may be a bit clichéd to say my parents have been embarrassing me since birth, but it was true. (Just Call Me Gus YA - 2nd Version)
11. There is nothing worse than getting caught in a random winter storm. (The Unexpected Clash of Strangers - Current WIP)
12. My grandma cursed me when I was born. (Orphan Annie)
13. A wise man once said that music is the glue of the world. (Rock Star Story - One day Cheryl and I WILL write this together!)
14. Savannah couldn’t help but smile when she felt his hand curve around her back. (If I Gave You the Truth - Sequel to What Isn't Killing Us Death Sentence Fanfic)
15. The cold air whipped around Detective Wallis as she stood on the bank of the river. (If I Gave You the Truth - 2nd Version to WIKU DS fic)
16. I am so dead. (Serenity YA)
17. It was mocking me. (When It Rains, It Pours)
18. When I called Wasco Country Correctional, they said there were only two times on Friday when visitors were allowed in. (Summer Story)
19. Billy Darley sat in the back booth at Big Mike’s Diner, sipping on a cup of coffee while trying to nurse his hangover from the night before. (What Isn't Killing Us - Death Sentence Fanfic)
20. It amazed me how big of assholes my neighbors were. (Always a Day Late & A Dollar Short Original Version)
21. There are many words that could describe the person that I am. (Always a Date Late & a Dollar Short Revised Version)
22. I, Callie Johnsom, am a stalker. (If I'm Lyin', I'm Dyin')
23. The first day of every month, she would stand outside her blue two-story house watching as the mailman made his way down the sidewalk of the Lakeside gated community. (If I Gave You the Truth - 3rd Version)
24. When someone asked me about my childhood, there was only one memory that would automatically come to mind. (The Ties That Bind Us - Four Brothers Fanfic)

So what pattern(s) do I see? I make a lot of 'I' and 'Me' statements. A couple of times it's cold wherever my character is at which is odd since I hate the cold. My main pattern? I really need to STOP re-writing every story I think of, and just give it a freaking middle and an ending!

Do you see any patterns? If you do this writing meme, leave me a comment so I can go look at yours!

When writing fails, music prevails.

2011-02-21T08:52:00.001-06:00

Due to the crazy move, work, and school, I've been ignoring all of my stories like they did something horrible to me. I'm not for sure if I'm experiencing writer's block or more like the umph to get back into the groove of writing.

Even when I get into these little frets, one thing that never changes is listening to music. Over the past week and a half I have stumbled on songs that have put me into the motion of HEY! I NEED TO WRITE! Here are a few songs I'm adding to all three of my current WIP's soundtracks.

Fairy Tale
This song fits the mold of Mason Sherwood, and his gang of not so merry men to a tee. I can also see a very cool fight scene going with this song. Possibly with the dark S.O.B who still doesn't have a name?

The Unexpected Clash of Strangers
I was watching one of my new favorite movies, Life As We Know It, and noticed the awesome soundtrack. Right out at the beginning it clicked that this song could sum up the relationship between Derk and Vicki.

Maybe it's the overall vibe of the song that just makes you kind of bop your head, but this song just seems like something Gracie would be jamming to.

Just Call Me Gus
This is also from the Life As We Know It soundtrack. Death is a big issue in this story with not only Gus, but for her friends she left behind. It also gives me a major Memphis vibe. (Plus it's Pearl Jam and Eddie could read me the phone book and I'd swoon.)

Moving!

2011-02-13T09:17:00.000-06:00

Yep. I'm moving again. The new apartment just wasn't working out for me. It's sad when I can still hear the people above me walking even with ear plugs in. Hopefully by the end of next week I will be all moved out and things settle down enough where I CAN WRITE AGAIN!!

I should be unpacking.

2011-02-03T11:29:00.000-06:00

But I'm not.

Why?

Because my internet is hooked up, and I am instead surfing youtube with a space heater next to me.

I do like my apartment, but it's weird. Very, very weird to be living on my own again with no roommates or anything. (This hasn't happened in four years.) It's also weird hearing people above my head. I shouldn't gripe too much. I used to live in an apartment complex where I had a drunken 500 pound moron living above me. (Okay, so maybe he wasn't 500 pounds, but he sure as heck walked like he weighed that much.)

This place is so old you can just hear them walking ALL. THE. TIME. Like right now, one of them is running down the steps and out the door. My computer desk is set up right by the staircase on the other side of the wall so that's why I know. Have I mentioned my apartment is old? It's also why I have towels shoved under the closet door that is connected to the staircase where I think a drain for the people above me's bathroom or laundry room is at. Or maybe they're just taking one massive pee because I hear water running sometimes.

Besides all of that - I do like this place even if it does get a tad bit boring and I have no furniture in my living room or my cable aka the 5 free channels you get with a converter box set up yet. This results to me sitting on my bed watching season one of Las Vegas that I borrowed from my sister.

Okay, back to youtube. And next time I post, I promise it'll be something more entertaining like writing news because my characters are way more interesting than I am.

I'm still alive.

2011-01-28T21:52:00.000-06:00

School is burying me.

And I just found a new place to live on Tuesday.

The plan is to move this weekend.

And study for 3 tests.

And write a short paper for English.

Oh and read about 5 books for JYTBB.

Let's not forget my goal to write at least 1K a day on whatever story is currently on my mind.

But first, I need to finish packing.

I would say I need to exercise too, but I consider moving boxes up and down 20 steps a really good workout.

So yeah, I'm still alive.....barely.

The cutest thing ever.

2011-01-14T17:16:00.002-06:00

Someone posted this on twitter and I HAD to share it. Seriously, it's so freaking cute!

The gym killed me.

2011-01-12T22:27:00.000-06:00

And I'm pretty sure I pulled that muscle in my butt....again.

I made up this post with my BEFORE pictures, but I'm not going to lie - I'm too chicken to post them. At least today, but just know this: I started the YMCA Weight Loss Challenge on Monday. Weighed in and apparently have gained back that lovely 5 pounds I lost a few weeks back. That's okay. I've been to the gym every night so far and plan to keep it up.

Maybe tomorrow I'll grow a pair and post my before pictures. Until then I'm going to put an ice pack on my butt.

Teaser Tuesday #2

2011-01-11T15:23:00.001-06:00

I'm still working on The Unexpected Clash of Strangers. I haven't done much new writing to the story, but I am combing through it, revising a few things, and getting myself back into the Gracie mode. (By the way, is one fantastic mode to be in.) If you would like to read my first Teaser Tuesday and learn what the story is about, click here.

Banner made by Cheryl.

Ethan-Dean perches his elbows up on the table and stares at me for a moment. I bet he’s thinking what a loser Stephen is, and wondering why I didn’t leave in the first place. It’s everyone's natural reaction when I tell them the story.

Okay, maybe not everyone, seeing as I’ve only told about five people, not including my family what happened between us. It’s not like I’m this huge movie star yet where everyone cares about my every move.

“But now you’re over him?” I let out a mockingly laugh like he’s crazy for even asking me such an absurd question. “Because for someone who is over their ex, you’re going to some extreme lengths to show that you don’t care.”

“What are you trying to say here, dude?” I demand.

“I’m saying you’re clearly not over your ex-husband.”

My hands curl into fist and I glare at him. “Oh, like you’re clearly over your ex, Mr. Storage Space.”

“But I am over her.”

“Then why is her toothbrush still in your bathroom drawer?”

His face drops. “You went through my stuff?”

I shrug. “Yeah, don’t you look at other’s people’s stuff when you use their bathroom?”

“No,” he snaps. “That’s an invasion of privacy!”

“Oh, sorry. I'll make it up to you. When you come to my place, feel free to roam through my drawers. Just don't look in my top drawer because my panties are there, and that would just be creepy.”

Sunday Love

2011-01-09T19:23:00.000-06:00

The lovely Kelsey from Eat, Drink, Be a Tourist sent me an award. This is my first award for my blog! When I first started my book blog people used to pass around awards, and they always made me feel extra special, and this one had the exact same effect! So thank you, Kelsey!

There are 4 duties to perform to accept this award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

1. I have several nicknames: Amber Dawn, Amber D, Amber Bamber, Sister, Annie, Granny Gray, Am, Amb, Sammy Jones or Jones. I love nicknames - if you have one for me, give it to me! But one nickname I absolutely HATE is Ambular. There are only three people on this Earth who are allowed to call me by that and you are not one of them.

2. I used to hate reality TV back in the day except for The Osbournes. Now? I watch that crap all the freaking time! It's ridiculous really. I blame Bravo, MTV, E!, and the Style network for having marathons on Sundays.

3. I love to drive. If I'm listening to the radio and a good song comes on I will usually keep driving until it's over. This had made me late to work and other things before, but I can't help it. If I had a nice trust fund set up, I'd buy a van, throw a mattress in the back, and just take off on the road for a month.

4. I can easily become obsessed with things. I don't know where this fangirl type gene came from, but it's here to stay.

5. Seether is my main band. Like my sister says, the day we're able to go to a concert there's a good chance I'll get myself arrested if I run into Shaun Morgan.

6. I come up with a new story idea at least once a week if not more. I wish I could be one of those authors (Stephen King you crazy man, you!) who can bang out a book in under a month because I have a million characters I'd like the world to meet.

7. I will always be a dreamer and a kid at heart. I don't see a point of growing up.

Now I'm supposed to tag 15 people, but guys, I'm kind of new to the whole personal blog community so I'm just going to tag 5 people. But if you stumbled upon my blog, leave me a comment so I can go check out yours. Or tell me a blog that's your favorite so I expand my reader :)

1. Cheryl from a mother; a writer; a dreamer
2. Sara from Babbling Flow
3. Rochelle from Mascara Envy
4. Delilah from Delilah S. Dawson
5. Helen at Helen Kiaya Pemberton

Teaser Tuesday

2011-01-04T22:53:00.000-06:00

Since I pretty much failed at writing a novel last year, I told myself this year I will just go with it. Whatever my muse is trying to feed me, I'll bite. Lately, it's been my unfinished story: The Unexpected Clash of Strangers. I dove back into it, re-read all 120 pages I had, and forgot how much I loved this story.

Below you can read a quick summary plus a teaser from it.

There is nothing worse than getting caught in a random winter storm. Especially if by some weird coincidence you’re wearing a red sequin flapper dress and reeking of tequila. How I get myself in these situations is beyond me.

Grace didn't think her day could get any worse until she bumped into her ex-husband, Stephen, and his size-two fiancée. Determined not to look like a loser, Grace does what she has to do: Lie.

Grabbing a complete stranger off the street, she introduces him as Ethan, her big-time corporate lawyer boyfriend. To explain her ridiculous outfit, she adds on another one: She's starring in a movie based in the 20's. What should have been a one-time lie spirals out of control. Now she has to try and keep her fake relationship, and somehow put a movie together. Will this struggling actress pull it off or will she fall flat on her face?

Here is a little taste of it:

“Damn thing!” my father yells then starts beating it against his side table.

“George, honestly, your daughter is here with her boyfriend.” The beating stops against the side table and my father slowly turns his head towards us. His eyes squint then he pulls his glasses out of his shirt pocket and slips them on.

“You a schmuck?” my father asks Ethan-Dean.

“No, sir,” Ethan-Dean replies.

“That’s what the last one said.” I cringe. I forgot to inform Ethan-Dean that while my mother loved Stephen, my father thought he was the prime example of what would happen if two apes got together and had a human child.

To make up for my father’s lack of hospitality, my mother offers Ethan-Dean something to drink. When he replies with the common curosty of Mrs. Holloway, she insists he calls her Ruth. This is a good sign. It means she likes him.

Donnie sits down on the sofa with his arms crossed and stares at the two of us. He doesn’t say anything, just tries too hard to give his ‘I’m a badass’ look so it’s making his eyes cross. I think Ethan-Dean notices this too because he quickly turns and starts to cough a little, but he’s smiling.

My mother comes back in with her hands full of beer, Sprite, apple juice, water, and tea. Thankfully they’re all in bottles with caps or she would be spilling them everywhere. She approaches Ethan-Dean first, and I nudge my head towards the beer. I have no clue if he’s a beer drinker, but if he takes it, Donnie will think he’s more of a man this way. Johnny on the other hand will not be pleased, but I’m taking on one uncle at a time here.

Ethan-Dean follows my command and starts reaching for the beer. “Hey muttonhead,” my father says, jabbing his finger in our direction, “you thinkin’ about drinking my beer?”

Ethan-Dean snatches his hand back. “N-No, sir. I was reaching for the apple juice.”

“Apple juice,” Donnie snorts. “You plan on wanting a nap afterwards there sissy boy?”

“Donnie, please act your age,” Johnny says sternly.

“Good choice,” my father says, wiggling his chubby fingers for my mother to stick the beer in his hand. “That other boob she was married to always took the first beer. I told Gracie next time he did that, I’d punch him in his snot clocker.” My father starts shaking his fist for dramatic effect, and I bury my face into my hands.