Some awesome ideas found during my coffee break today:


I love this idea for a perpetual calendar. I too long to journal, but don't find the time. This is super cool and totally me!



I absolutely NEED one of these donut baking contraptions! There are only so many exciting things to do with Sunday morning pancakes. However, for Christmas, our tradition is Cinnamon Rolls from Jeri. And that tradition isn't going away!


Love this yummy little craft idea with ice cream cones and frosting.

Networking scares me too... I can do social networking on facebook all day, but to actually go out and TALK to people scares me to death.

Candy Cane Martini

While searching for the candy cane martini recipe I fell in love with last year, I came across this video. I could watch this lady all day!



Now, back to the search!

This year's Benefit X will be held on Sunday, February 20th
(President's Day weekend)

Everyone knows how I feel about vampires. I'm also extremely fond of Weres. And some fairies, an elf or two... But my dear friend Elizabeth loves the pirates. What's not to love about Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom? ....ummmm, yummy! Yeah, ok, Pirates are hot. So when Liz pitched this year's Benefit X Pirate theme idea to me, I was all in! I can't wait to begin the brainstorming around this theme! Today I designed the Holiday Thank You cards and had to include a little skull and cross bones teaser here and there. I hear she already has a burlesque show planned and someone will be coming to hand out sexy citations. Surely someone will walk the plank... and a signature drink with Rum, obviously. I LOVE THIS EVENT! And did I mention it's all in support of great local charities? Party for a Cause. Can't wait!

I can not wait for the next Sookie book. Come on Charlaine.... hurry!

The title listed is Dead Reckoning and the synopsis is as follows …

With her knack for being in trouble’s way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte’s, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit – and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can’t ‘read’ vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his ‘child’ Pam well – and she realizes that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human – and that there is a new Queen on the board . . .

Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 3)by J.R. Ward
My rating: 5 Stars
This series is what I call VamPorn. The sex scenes are quite graphic.
*note to self: keep this series locked away from any kids! This is exactly the kind of book I would have hunted down as a teenage babysitter in the home of some unsuspecting neighborhood mom.

They also include more violence than I normally go for, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the characters and their relationships. The only criticism I have for this one is that the ending wrapped up at a pace quicker than the rest of the book, but I loved how it all came together and I'm intrigued by the teasers regarding where the next book will take me.

I see that there is a novella available on Amazon, but it appears it is only available in Kindle. I'm not a huge fan of reading on the computer screen, but I might do it to get a little more of Bella and Zsadist.

On to book 4 - these are great summer reads with plenty of heat, regardless of our Northwest summer weather.

_________________________________________________________

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another captivating story that swept me away. I adore Sookie.

View all my reviews >>

A bit of inspiration that spoke to me today.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams.
Who looks inside, awakens.”
~ Car Jung

“If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.”
~ J.M. Power

Joining the masses of Mommy Bloggers

Blogging has been on my list of things to do for a long long time. So has "Get Organized" and "Lose 10 pounds" among other things. I believe that blogging has value for me both professionally and personally. I've always benefited from the process of getting my thoughts out of my head and onto paper. Whether or not anyone else wants to read my thoughts is another story entirely. I'm sure it is very validating to have a million followers, but that is surely not my goal. Afterall, the more fans you have, the more critics you have too. I do not deal well with critics. Negative comments stay with me, eat at me, take over a portion of my brain waves and sometimes linger there for years and years. I can still see the critical faces of the older couple who sat in front of me on an airplane trip home from Disneyland that included my 1 year old daughter and 4 year old son. I still have imaginary conversations with them explaining all that I attempted to quiet my crying daughter and to keep my son's feet from touching their seat back. *sigh* This happened nearly 5 years ago, but it lingers and erupts unexpectedly.

I've read and learned from the amazing book, The Four Agreements. But I should read it regularly to be reminded of the 4 lessons. I should, but I won't. I rarely have spare time. What little spare time I have has to be shared by all my interests. The list of books I simply MUST read for the first time is longer than will ever be completed. It would help if I were a fast reader. But I'm not.

So, here's my very first blog entry on my first real blog. While I write this, the dishes, the children's baths, the piles of clean laundry all call to me. I wonder how the Mommy Bloggers I follow find the time for their thoughtful, witty and helpful posts.....