Recently, I was on line in the car waiting to pick up my oldest from after-school tutoring and I put down the book I was reading (with a bored sigh) and glanced in the rear-view mirror. The mother in the gargantuan white SUV behinde me (on her cell phone when she first pulled) was half-hidden by her visor and working her eyebrows over with tweezers. I was struck! Is that what I’m supposed to be doing…working on my beauty regime in the ten minutes I have before dismissal? I see women putting on makeup as they drive by my house and I think, “That’s so unsafe!”

Okay, so my daughter has already informed me that I’m not very good at being a girl, so am I just clueless because I don’t wear makeup or jewelry? Is the five minute drive to school when and where I’m supposed to preen? By the way, where is this makeup being kept? Is it in the car? Is it in the purse? Count me out if it’s the purse because if one speck of powder hits the lining of my black Coach I’ll lose it…and so will the guy that bought it for me! And my car is messy enough, thank you very much! So I guess I’ll just have to stick to my books and keep on being boring me with both hands on the wheel.

My husband knows a guy that’s opening a new pizza place nearby. Tonight is the dry run when friends and family come to the new place and eat for free to try out the food and the service. This is our second one! The first was a Thai place that has the BEST cucumber sushi you will ever have. Instead of nori, it’s wrapped with cucumber. Amazing, trust me! I have got to start making restaurateur friends so we can go to more of these things. The best part of it is that we always know what to get when we go back there…and trust me we’ve been back! I’m hoping to get another place to frequent out of tonight…you can never have too many good pizza places!

I finished the last round of edits! The Coming Soon page is up and ready. I’m getting excited!

http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=88&products_id=578

I just finished watching He’s Just Not That Into You and yes, I know I’m practically a year late. I really should be up on these things considering the genre in which I write. I told my husband I wanted it and he got it for me. I’ve been promising him for months that I’d get around to watching it and now I have! I think I was too worried that it would be one of THOSE movies. The thinly veiled chick flick that comes out shiny and happy in the end and has no basis in reality. I knew the book wasn’t like that…in fact, the book is supposed to serve to write idealist women a big fat reality check. I didn’t want to witness the book handed over to Hollywood and turned into some whitewashed, some day your prince will come, happily ever after farce.

Spoiler Alert! But I gotta tell you if you’re later than me to see this movie, you probably had no intention of watching it anyway.

So, I didn’t think this would happen, but in that “ensemble cast” the character I pulled for the most was Gigi. (She is played by Ginnifer Goodwin, an actress with whom I’m not very familiar. I remember her in Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, and she did very well in the sidekick role, but she totally made this movie for me. Even with all those big names on the marquis, she killed it. I also heard that she’s going to be in Ramona and Beezus which is set to be released in 2010. My daughter and I are waiting anxiously to see that one. Definite mommy-daughter date movie!) Gigi was just a mess. She was adrift in a world of “what if” and clinging to all the wrong advice. I mean, there were so many moments that were just, “Oh, honey, no. Don’t do that.” But Gigi just kept right on doing what she was doing. She was neurotic and desperate and so overly hopeful. It was almost painful to see her put herself out there like that! Kind of like watching Pepe Le Peux chase that snooty cat, knowing he’s going to fall off the clothesline and she will sniff disdainfully in his direction and keep right on going. Gigi was tough for me to deal with at first. Then, GiGi prevailed and it was the sweetest victory. It was a moment where my heart swelled and I literally wanted to hug her until she squeaked…like we were really friends. I felt as if I’d been going through dating hell with her and for her to FINALLY get what she was looking for all along…mmmm…it was delicious!

So, if you haven’t yet and you’re at all interested, even if you’re a bit hesitant, like I was, just go ahead and watch it.

I hope he finds peace wherever he is now.

As an eighties baby, I remember back in the day when everyone loved him. (Thriller, Billy Jean, Bad, Beat It, ect.) Ten years later, he wasn’t the same person and everything snowballed out of control. After all the trials (literally and figuratively), I hope that his spirit can move on and find peace that he obviously never found in life.

Considering my five year old son sings Beat It (learned it from listening the the Fall Out Boy remake), he’ll always be remembered.

A former tennis champ has decided to share his opinion and make himself sound like a sexist jerk as the same time. Michael Stitch doesn’t like the grunting female tennis player do and thinks they’re only on the court to “sell sex.” So, what, the men are athletes, but the women are eye candy? I can’t agree.

http://tennis.fanhouse.com/2009/06/21/michael-stich-says-wimbledon-women-are-just-there-to-sell-sex/?icid=main|main|dl4|link3|http%3A%2F%2Ftennis.fanhouse.com%2F2009%2F06%2F21%2Fmichael-stich-says-wimbledon-women-are-just-there-to-sell-sex%2F

First of all, all tennis players are on the court selling something. From the Nike swoosh on their headbands to the soles of their Reeboks to the bottle of Evian they pick up between sets. Stitch says that since the women are only there to sell sex, they should stop grunting. I watch a lot of tennis, just watched Federer finally win the French Open, in fact. Let me tell you, the men grunt too. If the women must stop, then so should the men. Personally, I don’t find anything sexy about the grunts, screeches, screams, and squeals.

Maybe someone should bring up the wedgie picks and the scary faces the men make. What about jock straps to keep the jiggles to a minimum?

This guy is obviously in need of attention, but that doesn’t give him the right to downplay the athleticism and dedication of female tennis players. It doesn’t give him the right to make light of the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that it takes to get into a tournament like Wimbledon. It doesn’t give him the right to make anyone, male or female, appear to be a sex object. He should stop watching asses and start watching the damn ball! I mean, the fact that they work so hard to be good at what they do means they will have amazing bodies!

Just for the heck of it, lets see tennis players are selling!

Two of a Kind is now in print at Amazon!
I’m also looking into doing some book signings at Barnes and Noble stores, so if you live in Florida, I may be coming your way!

I got to see Star Trek on Mother’s Day and it was AWESOME. I love that movie. I was in love with all the characters and I think they did a wonderful job developing them. The story was thorough and each and every plot line was complete. I clapped at the end and I never do that. I’ve only been to a few movies that I left feeling like it was more than worth my time and money to sit through and Star Trek is now at the top of that list. I can’t wait to watch it again. Simon Pegg was just as I thought he’d be, perfect. I’m not the kind of person that spoils movies so I’ll just say that Star Trek earned first place over the weekend, fair and square. It should stay there for a long time.

Next month, Wolverine: X-Men Origins is due to come out. Don’t get me wrong, I love Wolverine…he’s dark, and tortured, brooding, and the quintessential bad boy. Yes, I have a thing for bad boys…but honestly, my favorite mutant has yet to appear in any of the X-Men movies…until now. Imagine how thrilled I was when I saw a preview that showed Gambit. He is the first bad boy I ever fell for. He’s got that Cajun accent, a smart mouth, and possibly a gambling problem (he has countless decks of cards on his person at any given moment). My knees go weak at the thought. So, I’m so hoping that this movie got the accent. I have yet to hear him speak on any of the previews or trailers and it’s so close to May first that the anticipation has practically reached nail-biting.
Gambit is being played by Taylor Kitsh. Easy on the eyes, sure, but I can’t stress enough how Gambit, at least for me, is all in the accent. Here’s hoping I get what I didn’t even know I wanted!

BTW, is anyone else anticipating the new Star Trek movie? I can’t wait to see what Simon Pegg does with Scotty. He’s so funny!

This soundtrack is sick…but they didn’t put out a CD! TGFY! (thank goodness for youtube)!

RZA: We Pop

Black Sheep: The Choice is Yours

Public Enemy: Shut Em Down

ODB: Shimmy, Shimmy, Ya

Destiny’s Child: No, No, No

NAS: Made You Look

Wu Tang: Gravel Pit

Destiny’s Child: DOT