I'm so shallow

My daughter insisted I needed to read the Sookie Stackhouse book series by Charlaine Harris, so on my week and a half break between spring semester ending and summer semester starting I read the last seven books in the series. (I'd already read the first two.) No, I'm not a speed reader, we're not talking War and Peace here; they're very quick reads. It was nice to imbibe in a little light reading after two semesters of text books. While reading, I pictured the Eric character as looking like Vladimir Kulich who played Buliwyf in the 1999 movie The 13th Warrior. Look at him! He's 6'5" of delicious, viking hotness! And, hey, this time I'm not a dirty old lady ogling SYT's because this dude is even older than me.

The HBO series Trueblood is based on these books. I don't have HBO so I went poking around on YouTube to see who they picked to play the Eric part. Okay, so Alexander Skarsgård is nota bad, but I think they should have called me to help cast the show. (Anna Paquin wasn't how I pictured Sookie either.)

My daughter urged me to read the Twilight series too. We're suckers for vampires. nyuk nyuk nyuk. If you think about it, it's really weird how we have romanticized something that wants to suck the life out of us and leave us for dead. (reminds me of my ex-husband) I liked the Stackhouse series better than the Twilight series but not as well as I liked the first few books in Ann Rice's vampire chronicles. I also think The Twilight series author (can't remember her name) might possibly have stolen ideas from Harris. I'd recommend the Stackhouse series for its goofy campiness and I am looking forward to the release of next book in the series.

Remember those who fought and, thankfully, came back home to us, like my nephew, Brett.

Remember those that fought for our freedom and paid the ultimate price.

God bless our military and their families. Thank you isn't enough.

ohmygoshiamstillaliveandposting!

This is a gorgeous song by Colin Hay. I don't know if he still is, but he used to be a member of the Australian group Men Without Hats. You'll have to try to ignore the dj intro; he ain't no Ryan Seacrest...but then, neither is Ryan Seacrest. In fact, maybe you should just listen instead of watching unless you're into weird folk singer girl pseudo-hawaiian/east indian hand movements. If you've ever been to a bluegrass festival in Colorado you've seen a lot of that.

I love music. I should have been born with musical talent instead of such stunning beauty. (I can say anything here, you don't know what I look like.)

CHEATING BASTARD

We are NOT amused. Excuse me while I rant.

I've always kinda liked Mel Gibson, especially from his early days. I liked his cocky, jokey attitude and he was pretty cute. When he was arrested for DUI and made anti-semetic remarks I wasn't quick to condemn because I know how the media can skew a story to make it more controversial, and especially when I felt they were out to get him because of his political views.

I find him totally repugnant now for the same reason I can't stand Brad Pitt anymore. If you're not happy in your marriage, get the bloody hell out before you cheat. Why would you hurt someone you used to love, even if you are no longer in love with them, by cheating. ESPECIALLY when that person has stuck by you through so many years and numerous fuckups.

Maybe I assume too much, but old Mel didn't waste any time dragging the reason for his wife's divorce into the limelight. To me, this shows exactly what kind of character he has. So much for all the hype about what a good Catholic and family man he was. I don't care what kind of marital problems they had, there's no excuse for cheating.

Queen Mum

I found out this weekend that my lovely daughter is going to make me grandma for the second time...so say 3 over the counter pregnancy tests, anyway. I can't wait!

A usurper to the crown

I came home from my classes on Wednesday, Mar. 25, to see my dog running from the front porch to the side of the house where she was trying to get into the back yard. I never leave my dog outside when I leave the house, so I knew immediately that someone had broken in. The front door was open and on the entry-way floor there was a pile of lunch meat that the burglar had used to lure my dog outside.

On my way through the house (which was probably a stupid thing to do) to get the phone to call the police, I saw they'd gained entrance to the house by kicking in the back door. They'd had to jump a padlocked fence to do it. Ironically, it was totally unnecessary to kick the door in because if they'd broken only one pane of glass they could have reached in to unlock the door.

The police told me to wait outside so I leashed my dog and put her in the car and stood outside until they arrived. They went through the house to secure it before calling me in to ask me what was missing. One officer filled out the report, one questioned neighbors and one stayed with me as I tried to figure out what they'd taken. My desktop computer was pulled out and some of the cables were unhooked but the only piece they took was the monitor. Several other things were moved from where I kept them and stacked up, I assume they were going to be taken. After it was all said and done, we found out one of my neighbors must have scared them off before they could take all they'd planned to take. Dresser drawers were open and clothing was strewn about my bedroom. They found and took the pouch of my grandmother's costume jewelry I received as a keepsake when my grandma died. It had no real value except sentimental but out of everything they got away with, that's what bothers me the most because it can't be replaced.
Mainly, they took electronics and replacement value is probably around $2,200. I am glad I have renter's insurance but they sure do make you jump through hoops to make a claim.

When you don't have a lot, $2,200 is a lot. Quite honestly, a robbery in this neighborhood is not a surprise. I moved here last summer while in the process of ending a very long marriage. It was sort of a mid-way point between my daughter in Weatherford and the school I am attending.
You do what you gotta do to get through and with the available resources at hand. It's not a house like I was used to living in nor does it resemble any kind of neighborhood I've ever lived in, but it's what I could afford. I don't like it here and I resent like hell the reasons that put me here.

The police didn't take any finger prints. In a neighborhood like this they probably don't. I'm sure it's an everyday occurrence and they don't have the man power to try to run down every perpetrator. I'm equally as sure that if this had happened in a better neighborhood, such as the neighborhood I used to live in, more care would have been taken. Two neighbors saw a car back into my drive-way. One of them was able to give a half-assed description of the car and one suspect, but she didn't get a license plate number. Neither one called the police.

Oddly enough, I wasn't scared at first. I had too much adrenaline coursing through my veins and I may have been in shock. I didn't leave the house for 3 days while I was waiting on the landlord to replace the back door. During those 3 days I became afraid to leave, not because of my "things" but because I worried they'd come back to finish the job and this time they'd hurt my dog. The events of the last year and a half have changed my life so drastically. I have such rage. Rage at the person who went through my house, touching my things, violating my space, and rage at my ex-husband's cheating ass for putting me in this position in the first place. Seriously, how much can a person take before they break?

Apparently, a lot. I am stronger than I thought, but bloody hell, I don't want to be tried anymore.

At least my dog is okay, traumatized but okay.