Don’t forget to go to the new site!!

I have written some new book reviews, but you won’t find them here.

You have to go to the new site, Pretty in Orange!

Click here to find the book reviews!

Head over to Pretty in Orange!

That’s right!! 

Pretty in Orange is ready to go!!

What you will find there:

• Main Page (Home Page) 
  • This is where most of the entries that made up The World According to Lawgirl are.  I’m still going through all of the entries and putting them in their proper places, but you will see all of the recent entries. 
  • This is also where you will find the navigation to the other pages, which operate independent of each other.
• Reflections
  • This is where any and all product, book, movie, music, etc. reviews will go.
• Glow
  • This is where all of the posts from Fattie Fatterton are now.
• Glitter
  • Anything to do with shopping, fashion or beauty is here.
• Flavor
  • This is where you can find posts about decorating ideas.
• Goals
  • All of my updates about my 2010 Goals will be here.
• Charity of the Month
  • All posts about Charity of the Month will be here.

Subscribing

• Each page has this button in the top right-hand corner. 
• If you choose to subscribe from the Main page, you will be subscribing to the feeds for all sections of the blog.  One –stop shopping!
• I am hoping that in the future you will have the option of subscribing to the Main page only as well, but for now if you go with Main, you get it all.
• If you would rather pick and choose individual pages to which you wish to subscribe, click on the on the particular page.  You will only receive updates on that page or pages.

Twitter

• If you are not already, you can follow me on Twitter:  @purtyinorange (some miscreant already had Pretty in Orange and isn’t even USING it.  Can you believe that?!?!) 
• You will also be able to see my Twitter updates on the sidebar.

Facebook

• You can become a fan of the blog on Facebook. 

Blogroll and Links

• They’re all there together now, combined from Lawgirl and Fattie Fatterton.  But they are still in their categories.

Comments

• From now when I comment on your blogs, it will show up as angela at prettyinorange. 
• Guys, I am so sorry, but the majority of your comments didn’t make the cross over from the original two blogs to this one.  I really apologize.  But you can leave me alllll new ones on this blog!!

Sharing

• At the bottom of each post, you have the option to share that post over the known world.  There’s stuff on those buttons that I’ve never even heard of before.

Feedback

• Please feel free to give it.  I want to make this site accessible and easy for ya’ll. 

The Original Blogs

• They will no longer be updated.  All new posts will be on Pretty in Orange. 

Thank You

• To Teresa of Splendid Sparrow, who designed the what you see and the behind the scenes stuff that I would have taken a year to figure out.   You can find her information at the bottom of the page. 

There are still a couple of kinks to work out here and there, but I’m ready to move forward.  I hope you enjoy the new blog!

Product Reviews

Moving Comfort Product Review

A few weeks ago, I decided that I really should buy some sports bras.  I haven’t had any for awhile because I really felt as though my regular bras were getting the job done (and I don’t jump up and down or run or anything like that).  But, I needed a bit more coverage in Yoga, since we do bend over a lot and my shirts are a bit big on me right now.

I had read a review of Moving Comfort bras on another blog (and I am sorry to say, I can’t remember whose blog it was) so I decided to check them out. 

Of course, there are limited options for my size – because you know, people my size DON’T workout and certainly DON’T want to look good if they do.  RIIIIIIIIGHT. <end bitter rant>

So I chose the Fiona style bra. 

Always a top seller, the Fiona favors C-DD cup women who need the extra support. Molded cups encapsulate each side while stretch powermesh limits up-and-down movement. Easily adjust the straps in the front with our signature hook-and-loop system. Three plush-backed hook-and-eye rows on band. Fourth row on 40-44 bands.

Body: DriLayer® X-Support 88% polyester / 12% Lycra®
Interior Cups: 100% polyester
Back Lining: DriLayer® Powermesh Plus 79% nylon / 17% spandex
Front Yoke Lining: 90% nylon / 10% spandex

I buy as much as I can from Amazon as I feel as though they are usually the lowest price AND I am an Amazon Prime subscriber (which means I pay $78/year and then get free 2-day shipping on all qualifying orders.)  So I purchased my Fiona bra from Amazon in both black and white.  You are not going to get as many options through Amazon as you would through the Moving Comfort website, though. 

I love these bras.  I highly recommend them.  I am a D cup and the twins (what I call my boobage)  do NOT move at all in these bras, yet are still extremely comfortable. 

Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System

I love having cats; they are so easy in the care department.  But I hate the litter box.  I am so lucky, because Ophelia is so easygoing about everything and doesn’t care if her litter box is pristine.

But I am tired of having litter tracked all over – including into my bed!

 

I purchased this litter box for Ophelia:

Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System

Breeze litter system uses specially-designed, cat-friendly Breeze litter pellets that are 99.9% dust free and anti-tracking. Breeze litter pellets allow urine to pass through to an odor controlling unit. The urine is quickly absorbed leaving solid waste on top for quick, easy removal.

Basically, there is a diaper in the tray that catches the urine and you can change that out.

And I am really happy with it.

However, this is not the type of litter box that you can leave alone and not care for. 

Whilst I’ve been battling the tooth thing for what, now, 3 weeks? I’ve kind of been ignoring most of my duties.  The pad that catches all of the urine needs to be changed at least once a week, if not more (depending on your cat’s frequency of use). 

So last night, I had completed my threesome with Dr. Pepper and Captain Morgan in an effort to sleep (and I can’t wait to see what kind of hits I get from using the word threesome, tee hee) and was toddling off to bed when I looked into the spare bathroom and decided that Ophelia deserved a much cleaner litter box.  So, I disposed of the solid waste that stays on top (while the urine heads down to the pad).  And then I thought, you know, I should just go ahead and change that pad.

I opened up the drawer and there was STANDING URINE.   And because I wasn’t expecting that, I got it alllllll over the place – the floor, the rug, my BARE FEET for crying out loud!!  And it’s not like you can just leave that and say, well, I’ll deal with it in the morning. 

So I did the best that I could (keep in mind that I am a total lightweight when it come to booze and I was buzzed from the shot of Captain Morgan in the Dr. Pepper) at 1 am, trying not to wake anyone else up, screeching under my breath at how gross it all is.

So yes, keep up with it.

Bob was so sweet, he helped me (and when I say helped, I mean he did it for me) with the bleaching of the floor and all the other necessary stuff.  I love that man.

Update on 2010 Goals: Enhance

How did June get here already?  I can’t believe it!!

1.  To overhaul this blog and my other blog into one blog. 

 

• Lawgirl and Fattie Fatterton will be combined into Pretty in Orange, which will have different sections regarding daily life, health/fitness, shopping/fashion, and reviews. 
• June Update:  Well, I am LIVID that this is not done yet.  And my hands are tied for the moment.  I can’t go further until I have the “bones” of the blog in place.  So, yes, I have been paying for a website for 6 months that I can’t even use. 

2.  To participate in a 5k once every quarter this year. 

•   Miles for Smiles was to be this past Saturday.  However, the weather didn’t cooperate.  I did get out and do my own 5k.  You can read my recap of that here. 
• I have also picked out three more 5ks:
  • The Komen Race for the Cure – I’m already registered. 
  • Stirrup Hope Fund Walk and Run 5k
  • JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes (2 miles instead of a 5k)
• June Update:  Well, Bob and I registered for the Komen race, paid our dues, and all that.  But at the last minute, he decided that he would rather get away for the weekend.  So, I had planned to do my own personal 5k.  I haven’t done that yet.
• To be honest, since I found Yoga, I have NO interest in walking right now.  I get bored with it, I don’t like the way I feel after it, ….I just don’t want to. Maybe once I lose some more weight, I can start the Galloway method into running.  But yeah, I don’t like the walking right now.  So I’m putting this goal On Hold.

3.  To learn Adobe Captivate.

• Still trying to figure out how to do this.  The software is over $700.  So then I thought about trying a class on it.  Those are close to $800.  In the end, it would be cheaper for me to buy the software, but I can’t see that happening while I’m unemployed.  Not giving up, though.

4.  To learn Pivot Tables in Excel.

• No work on this yet.

 

 

5.  To create and maintain my online portfolio.

• Completed!

 

 

6.  To work out with Ashley (my trainer) at least twice per month.

• Met up with Ashley once this month to get a gameplan going.  Will meet with her the week of the 22nd.  
• June Update:  Ashley is going to be leaving to raise her impending firstborn child.  Again, since Yoga took over, I’m focusing on that.

 

 

7.  To learn about eating a raw diet. 

• Still working on this one.  I think as the weather improves, I will be able to get further with this.  When it’s cooler outside, I want a hot meal. 
• June Update:  SO excited.  Whole Foods has a Raw Chef now and Robbin and I are going to our first Raw Foods class next week. 

 

 

8.  To make time for one dinner out per week with friends. 

• This is hard.  I want to leave this one for the weekends.  It’s too hard for me to do it during the week, as it’s the time I get to spend with Future Hubby. 
• June Update:  Well, Yoga has, again, taken the time that I would be able to put toward this.  HOWEVER, I have made new friends through Yoga and am enjoying that!

 

 

9.  To answer emails in a timely manner. 

• I was doing great on this, but am sucking at it again.  My oldest email is Feb 21.  Not as bad as when I first started this goal, but I know I can do better.
• June Update:  I am doing much better on answering comments on my site, but not as well with some emails. 

 

10.  To commit to walking, then jogging 4 miles per week.

• Week of Feb 15 – 3 miles
• Week of Feb 22 – 6 miles
• Week of Mar 1 – 6.5 miles
• Week of March 8 – 5 miles
• These are all walking, so I’m going to call it In-Progress until I’m running.

11.  Financially, I am just surviving until I get a job.  So, I’ll revamp those and make financial goals after I get one.  If I ever get one. 

• Still no job.

 

 

12.  If I can swing it, I want to do some traveling this year.

• Future Hubby and I have gone away every month this year and we are going away again a the end of March.
• June Update:  Bob and I have continued to take trips here and there, but nothing significant.

 

 

13.   Start to learn Italian. 

• Nothing yet.

 

 

14.  Volunteer at a local animal rescue on a regular basis.   

• Nothing yet. 

 

 

15.  Organize a charity walk for Cozy Cat Cottage.

• Nothing yet.

 

 

16.  To join a CSA. 

• June Update:  Didn’t happen.  Money was an issue. 

 

 

17.  Learn how to can veggies and fruits.  Goes along with #16.

• This will not begin until fall.
• June Update:  I can still do this even without #16. 

 

 

 

As you can see, Yoga has really taken over my life, but in a good way.  I am working out 5 days per week, I feel really good – it’s made a huge difference in my life.  Obviously, I didn’t know I would fall in love with Yoga this way at the beginning of the year.  So, I am probably going to do some changes to my goals for the year.

Be careful what you wish for

Yes, last week while I was in horrible pain from the tooth infection, I wished that I had scheduled the extraction much closer to the beginning of the week.  However, it’s a good thing I didn’t,  as the infection didn’t really leave until Tuesday.   And yesterday was a pretty good day – no pain at all.

Well, let me tell you….

Tonight I want to die (Wait, I shouldn’t wish for that either!).  The pain is even worse than last week and again, I can’t take anything stronger than Aleve. 

Except, I’m thinking I make drink myself to sleep tonight.  Seriously.

I have to say, I didn’t feel any pain at all during the extraction.  Bob had gone to this place before, The Gentle Dentist, and I went to them last week for the infection.  They really want to make it as pain-free and fearless as possible for you.  

Today I went in and was offered nitrous oxide.  I’d never had it before and I said, Yes Please!!  I loved it so much, I asked for some to go.  They nixed that one. But it was great and I think it should be used for everything now – visits to the gynecologist, manicures, pedicures, grocery shopping, sex (when you want to jazz things up), prostate exams, you know, whatever.

They also numbed me up and that was even painless.  They had used a tasty topical numbing agent first and then shot me up three times.    That’s what hurts the most right now, I think – the injection points, as it’s in the top of my mouth and near the bone.

The actual removal of the tooth was painless as well.  He just worked my head back and forth until he could get it out.  And let me tell you, that was one ginormous tooth – and half of it was gone already!    The tooth behind it cracked a bit, too, unfortunately.  I am going to have to go back next week to have that taken care of. Oh yeah, so far this has cost $350.

Now, the problem is:  I don’t bleed.  I never need a bandaid after blood is drawn.  Which is great then.  Not great for this – they want you to bleed so that you have a blood clot ready to protect the socket.  Doesn’t happen on me.  So they had to put in some sponges and stitch me up to protect it. 

After I was done, I went to Whole Foods to get some soft foods to help me through tonight and tomorrow.  But I really haven’t felt like eating.  I haven’t eaten since 1pm and I really don’t feel like eating now.  And I’m running a fever.

Thank you to all who have checked in, who have left me encouraging comments on Facebook and on Twitter. I really appreciate it.  I am just trying to get away from the pain somehow.

Love to all.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Lawgirl Movie Reviews

Avatar

Yes, I know, Bob and I were the LAST people to see this movie.  Whatever.

We only watched it because we went to visit my mom and my brother had loaned it to her.  So it was free and I didn’t have to go get it.

First of all, let me explain why I didn’t want to see the movie:

1.  I hate James Cameron and I didn’t want to give him money.

I guess that was the main reason.

Oh, and then I heard rumors that it was very one-sided and blah blah blah.

Okay – so what were the positives?

1.  I thought that the special effects were quite amazing. 

2.  I thought that the acting by Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver was top notch.

3.  It was nice to see Giovanni Ribisi in a role that didn’t make him into a developmentally challenged person or victim of pedophilia. 

4.  The story was somewhat interesting.

What did I hate about it?

1.  The message that all military people are bad.

2.  The message that you can’t possibly reap the benefits of nature without destroying everything.

3. Zoe Saldana’s voice.

4.  The fact that we’d already seen this movie when it was released as Dance with Wolves.

5.  Michelle Rodriguez – WHY are people still hiring her?

Overall, the movie made everything appear very black and white – The Na’vi (surely a play on the word Native) are good because they are innocent and do no harm to the planet.  The humans are evil, because they need the “unobtanium” (really?  that was the BEST you could come up with, James Cameron?), which is clearly meant to represent oil.

Of course I think that we can take better care of our planet and that we need to respect living things.  I am on board with that.  But does that mean we only destroy rather than try to live harmoniously?  I don’t think so.  I think it’s wrong to imply that and only feeds ignorance on both sides

 

Day of the Dead (2008 film)

I love zombie movies.  This one was just okay.  When did the zombies get fast??  In the original Night of the Living Dead, the zombies were really slow and you could knock them over quite easily. 

Also, Nick Cannon seems like a moron.  And, as he did marry Mariah Carey, I rest my case.

It was also nice of Mena Suvari to keep her clothes on.

Very weak script.  No wonder it went straight to video.

Linking all over the place

While Bob and I are off on a Romantic Getaway Weekend, here are some other blogs for you to check out:

1. deedee9:14:  An awesome design blog by someone who loves orange as much as I do (and as much as you should.) 

2.  My First Bub:  Jess just gave birth to her first baby.  Now, I know I don’t want kids, but for some reason, I’m enjoying reading about her experience. 

3.  The Pink Orange:  First of all, how could I not love that name?!?!  Second of all, Rebecca creates the most gorgeous invitations and announcements.

4.   The Suburban Life:  Mindy cracks me up with her observations about daily life in the suburbs.

5.  Very Inviting Paper:  I know it’s silly – I mean, I don’t ever mail anything.  But I just love stationary!

6.  Foxy Blunt:  The Pioneer Woman had this on her site and I haven’t stopped laughing yet.  These are the cards you wish Hallmark had sold when you shopped there. 

Lawgirl Book Reviews

Cleaving:  A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell

Regular Amazon Price:  $15.81  Price I paid at Target:  $17.99  Kindle Price:  $9.99

Overage:  $12.17

First, let me explain.  I bought this in hardcover from Target way back in January.  And started to read it and left it at my mom’s.  And then I bought the Kindle.  And then I went to my mom’s and retrieved the book.  But after reading books on a Kindle, I found I couldn’t stand to hold this book and read it, so yes, I bought it for the Kindle.   So no savings. 

I had read Julie and Julia and enjoyed Powell’s writing.   This book is also well-written.  It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, as it does follow her quest to learn to become a butcher.  She describes in detail cutting up many different animals. 

This is not a feel-good book.  Her marriage is faltering and that is detailed as well.  Her escapades with her lover are detailed. 

Personally, I think that the majority of this book should have remained unpublished.  If I were her husband, I wouldn’t have wanted these details published. 

From Amazon:

Julie Powell tries in her second book to show the world that she has an important voice of her own–that she can do more than ride on the coat-tails of greater talents that have gone before her. So it is a far from encouraging sign that she starts by stealing a title–double entendre and all–from another memoir published not ten years earlier ("Cleaving: The Story of a Marriage," by Dennis and Vicki Covington).

Perhaps she has a better claim to the pun, as she alternates vignettes of apprenticing at a butcher shop and the near-destruction of her marriage. But what is the point of all these boudoir to abattoir smash cuts? They lose their shock value fast. If she has some spark of an idea about meat being meat, or butchery resonating with infidelity, it is nothing more than a spark: gone in an instant, yielding neither light nor heat. Nothing connects the disjointed elements of the book except that they all happened to the author. As Churchill is supposed to have said, "This pudding has no theme." The education of a butcher, the confessions of an adulterer, the bizarre lurch into travel writing late in the book…nothing binds it together into an appetizing whole. You’d think she’d have gotten the point of stews after making all that Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq au Vin in the last book.

Oh, and the recipes, randomly strewn in there because…well, why not, I guess. We had pork chops that night so here’s a recipe for them. It makes no more sense than anything else in here, but at least it makes no less. (To see this kind of thing done right, try John Lanchester’s "The Debt to Pleasure.")

The details of the craft of butchery–reducing things that are still recognizably animals into those lovely steaks and roasts and so forth–are interesting. There might have been a good magazine article in there. But it’s nothing to really ponder or ruminate on or share with a friend: no David Foster Wallace reporting from the lobster festival. (And I regret spending my time on this when more than one person has recommended to me Bill Buford’s 2006 memoir "Heat," as an example of _this_ kind of thing done right.)

And as to the murky reaches of the human heart, how two people can inflict such pain on each other, live in such misery, and yet be unable to just call it off, well, I sure hope you weren’t looking for any kind of insight. Stuff happens: that’s about as deep as it gets. An old flame calls up and a two year affair begins, because…well, it just does. Powell moves out for a while, and moves back in. The flame: breakup, reunion, breakup, and round we go. At one point, pork chops are cooked. Then things seem to more or less work themselves out. The trouble is that there’s far more to profundity than honesty. Powell doesn’t seem to have an idea of why she or anyone else does anything–everything takes place in a foggy land of the passive voice. Perhaps there’s no way to expect her to have a perspective to share: it’s all too fresh, too traumatic. But that leaves us with nothing much in the "affair" passages but the catharsis of unloading it all…and the primal scream therapy is just wearying long before even the halfway mark. There is one moment that comes close to something important, in what has already become an infamous scene of the author having sex with a stranger, but then the moment is gone. A paragraph or two hinting at what could have been a far more disturbing, but also profound and meaningful work. Not for the sex–for the glimpse into the author’s psyche. But a glimpse is all you get.

I would like to say that even though I don’t think "Cleaving" is a very good book, it has received a lot of unwarranted criticism, largely from people who wanted this to be a sequel to the feel-good biopic largely based on Julia Child’s "My Life in France" (which is a really _good_ memoir), but taking its title and most of its popcorn-break moments from Powell’s "Julie and Julia." These people seem to think that "Cleaving" is a bad book because Julie Powell is a bad person. I don’t think they could be any more wrong on that point. Does "Othello" fail as art because Iago is a bad person? No. "Cleaving" fails because it, ultimately, has nothing important to say.

Just sound and fury, people. Sound and fury.

 

A Passion Most Pure (Daughters of Boston, Book 1) by Julie Lessman

Regular Amazon Price:  $10.19  Kindle Price:  $0.00  Savings:  $10.19

Amazon offers the first book of a series on Kindle for free at times, hoping that you will get hooked in and want to read more.  They won that war with me and the Rachel Morgan series. 

I typically only go for the books that are rated very highly.  And so I downloaded this one.  It’s Christian Lit, which doesn’t bother me.   I was surprised, though, but the amount of sex in a Christian Lit book – not put off, just surprised.  I’m glad though, as sex is a part of any great romance. 

The characters were well-written, to the point that I wanted to smack the crap out of the antagonist.  She is evil with very little reason to be. 

I did become frustrated with the protagonist as well.  She had a hard time making up her mind and that just irritates the crap out of me sometimes.

Overall, though, I liked it and will probably read the other two books in the series.

From Amazon:

This was a wonderfully rich historical romance that kept me guessing until the last few pages about who will win Faith’s heart. I love those kinds of books! I couldn’t stop reading because I had to find out how everything turns out.

The characters are very strong Christians with strong faith. They have a mighty impact on the people around them like Collin, with his anger at God, and Mitch, with his stagnant relationship with the Almighty he grew up with.

This is a more sensual book than typical CBA historical romances, and I loved that aspect of it. It made the characters’ struggles so much more realistic and relatable.

The characters are so well drawn that I felt strongly for each of them. In fact, I hated Charity so much, I kept reading and hoping she’d die or get maimed or something in the next chapter!

If a reader is looking for sweet, perfect characters who never sin, who never give in to physical temptation, then this isn’t the book for you. Faith, who is strong in her relationship with God, nevertheless sins by responding to her sister’s suitor’s physical overtures. I could relate to this, because who hasn’t been drawn to the bad boy even though we KNOW we shouldn’t? Faith is very real as a character–in her Christlike behavior and in her sinfulness.

The novel’s theme of futile chasing after the wind–pursuing things that have no eternal value–is very deftly woven into the story, and resonated with me quite a bit.

I think this would be a fabulous novel for any teenage girl to read. The sensuality is not graphic, and the struggles of the main characters are things any single woman could relate to. There’s a great deal of realism and yet encouragement in the characters’ actions and choices.

I highly recommend this novel. Fans of Deeanne Gist will probably enjoy this one.

 

The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Original Amazon Price:  $14.50  Kindle Price:  $14.99  Overage:  $0.49

You know, I loved these books when they first started. 

But James Patterson, you suck. 

First of all, I doubt you write that much in these books.  But I am sure you get all of the credit.   Second of all, the storyline sucked.  You didn’t use the characters at all.   I think that the criminals had more pages than any of the four women in the Women’s Murder Club. 

And I think you chose the crimes for the shock value, which again means, you suck.  You tried to use that as an excuse to carry the story.  It didn’t work.

From Amazon:

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say you are cleaning up your yard and you find something that is unpleasant. Use your imagination. But instead of disposing of it as you should, you try to conceal it by spray painting it gold. Well, of course, the unpleasantness is still there, but it just looks better.

That’s how I came to view this book as I plowed through all 355 pages. There was a very unpleasant, shocking, crime that was central to this book, but it was covered with a thin veneer. This thin veneer consisted of stretches of perky writing in a series of fast-paced stories packaged in short (1-3 pages) chapters. These are author James Patterson (writing here with Maxine Paetro) trademarks.

But the wretchedness is still there. The novel’s central crime is so disgusting that I will not describe it. But this, one of the most horrendous crimes known to humanity, is described alternately with rather light-hearted chapters on wining and dining, romantic interludes involving diverse sexual escapades, and the adventures of a jewel thief known as Hello Kitty. In other words, the despicable acts of the "Lipstick Killer," it seems to me, are inserted in a callous, sensationalist manner.

And enough already with the sicko veteran. What about the brave veteran? The world of pulp fiction abounds with twisted vets. But in the real world what percentage of heinous felons are honorably discharged vets? What percent are not veterans at all?

Also, before I read this book I knew what misogyny is. It’s the degradation of women. Of course, misogyny is wrong. But this book made me wonder what the word is for the degradation of males, for there are many bits about slovenly, warped, and murderous males in this novel. The word is misandry.

 

This Time Together:  Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett

Regular Amazon Price:  $13.75  Kindle Price:  $9.99  Savings:  $3.76

My favorite childhood memories revolve around watching The Carol Burnett Show.  Sure, it was in reruns, but that didn’t bother me as a child.  I loved all of the sketches, especially the ones with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman.   I loved all of the characters – Eunice, Sis and Family, Starlett O’Hara, etc. 

If you have never watched the show, for God’s sake, find a way to do so!!

Anyway, this book was a quick read, but a lot of fun.  Carol Burnett can do no wrong in my eyes.  It was a fun trip down memory lane.

From Amazon:

About a week ago, I read an article in the New York Times about a new book coming out this week penned by the incomparable Carol Burnett. Needless to say, being quite intrigued (having read One More Time at least twice), I decided to take the plunge on this one blind (which I do not recommend you do unless you’re a fan like me). Am I ever glad I did!

Carol Burnett is 100% class. Most people, when given the opportunity to write an anecdotal book like this, would have a mean word to say about someone. However, in this case, Carol Burnett does not seem to have a mean word to say about anyone in this book. We can all learn from her example.

Carol Burnett has the kind of class that eclipses 99.9% of Hollywood these days. In the era of 24-hour news, TMZ, and negativity of all sorts, Carol Burnett is the breath of fresh air that we desperately needed, at a time that we needed it the most.

Some of the stories in here are very sad, especially the times that Carol talks about the events leading up to the premiere of Hollywood Arms a few years back.

However, most of the stories (a lot of which I’ve never heard or seen before) have the signature razor-sharp wit that Carol and company were (and are) well-known for. Two particular items of note are the stories she shares about Lucille Ball (which were laugh-out-loud funny) and the story about how she snagged Harvey Korman to be on The Carol Burnett Show.

In summary, if you want negativity, meanness, and other such things that are oh so common these days, this book isn’t going to satisfy that in the least. However, if you want something that is all too rare these days, such as class, sweetness, humor when it’s necessary, and something 100% genuine, then this book is for you.

May 2010 Charity of the Month

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

I am walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k.  Bob is going to walk it with me.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on here before, but Bob’s late wife died from breast cancer.  He took care of her the entire time. I tear up whenever I think about how much heartbreak he endured through that.  It also made me fall even more in love with him, because I knew that if he had treated her so wonderfully, he would do the same with me. 

If you would like to donate to my walk for this cause,  

 please go here. 

Lawgirl Book Reviews

For a Few Demons More (The Hollows, Book 5) by Kim Harrison

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The Outlaw Demon Wails (The Hollows, Book 6) by Kim Harrison

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White Witch, Black Curse (The Hollows, Book 7) by Kim Harrison

• Regular Amazon Price:  $17.15  Kindle Price:  $7.99  Savings: $9.16

Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan, Book 8) by Kim Harrison

• Regular Amazon Price:  $17.15  Kindle Price:  $12.99  Savings: $4.16

See previous reviews of Kim Harrison’s book here and here. 

I am totally in love with these books. And of course, now that I’m all caught up on the series, I am missing it terribly.  I hope she continues it for quite a long time!!   Because I’ve read so many, I’m going to let Amazon do the talking.

From Amazon about For a Few Demons More:

In many ways, Rachel Morgan’s problems come full circle in this fifth installment of the Hallows series. With enemies drawing closer than they ever have before, her palette of choices is fast becoming slim to none. In one power play after the next, Rachel’s about to fall behind enemy lines, instead of the one step ahead we’ve been seeing.

It’s back to Cincinnati after her desperate attempt to save her pixie partner’s son and her ex-boyfriend, Nick. Rachel harbors a rather nasty curse trapped in a bone prison, the focus, which threatens to twist the realities of Weres and vampires alike, both of whom squabble over it like children. With Trent vying for it, someone killing for it and our favorite demon Al lusting after it, Rachel once again has to find a way to undo another problem forced upon her. As the delicate balance between her and Ivy begins to come to a roiling boil, it’s all the earth witch can do to stay this side of good, acceptable magic. With her special blood and desire to help others though, it’s near impossible for her to deflect the trouble that comes looking for her with a vengeance. Unable to unload the focus on just anyone, she’ll have to decide who’s the best choice…and none of them are looking particularly stellar.

The first of Harrison’s series to be offered in hardback, it’s a worthy installment for it, tipping the scales even further towards excellent. For a Few Demons More wraps up some of the problems that Rachel has been having over the course of the other books while of course unraveling others even further. Trent comes back into play and it’s a totally different side of him than readers have read before. Ceri, the powerful ex-demon familiar, shows Rachel just how much she respects her and Rachel’s pack mate David takes on a major role. The demon Newt is back and we get some interesting information and insights into that character too, though whether they help or hinder the outlook on Newt is the reader’s choice. Ivy’s dilemma with Piscary is excruciatingly dealt with and it was a struggle at certain points to get past the powerful emotions Harrison has written surrounding Ivy and Rachel. As always, Harrison manages to insert a shocking twist, one I never saw coming, involving Rachel and another of her closest friends. For a Few Demons More is inundated with its fair share of pain, angst and utter despair and readers most certainly may feel closer to Rachel than ever before because of it. It’s not without it’s glimmer of hope though and some very interesting new characters are introduced that I hope will continue to make appearances in the next book, most notably a mysterious organization of demon practitioners and Dr. Ford Miller, a psychiatrist for the FIB (Federal Inderlander Bureau, the human division to deal with Inderlanders). In the end, as much as Rachel has had to deal with, she’s never appeared stronger to me. As always, the once-a-year release of Harrison’s Hallows series just can’t come fast enough and I only hope that there will be many, many more to come.

 

From Amazon about The Outlaw Demon Wails:

Over the course of five Hollows novels, Harrison has teased and alluded to readers about Rachel Morgan’s true heritage. Is she really a witch? What did Trent’s father exactly do to her DNA? Why does Ceri never let on about what she knows regarding Rachel’s unusual talent in kindling demon magic? How is it related to Trent’s research for the elf race? Why do demons gravitate towards her as if they have an ulterior motive? Why? Because they do!

Finally, Harrison lets the cat out of the bag in a big way…but she doesn’t give it to us all in one big enchilada. The entire meat of the book is a lead in to what we have been waiting for but we stop a few times, glean more along the way.

Two main aspects to this latest tale that stand out significantly are: 1)there is more of a presence and focus on family ties both from Rachel’s true family and her urban Hollows one i.e., Rachel’s mom has a very dark secret related to Rachel’s father, Keasley is revealed, Quen is in dire trouble, Rynn Cormel, the charismatic new Cincy vampire master makes an appearance, Ivy and Rachel come to an agreement of sorts with their blood balance, David the Were appears more nurturing, the addition of Marshal (the witch from Mackinaw Island) provides a potential new love interest, and Ceri…well she’s got a bun in the oven from an unlikely source and 2) Rachel’s true heritage.

It even gets more complicated and spicier as the search for Kisten’s killer ensues, Trent asks Rachel to go on a mission to the Ever-After so that she can retrieve a piece of ancient Elven DNA-that might be able to repair the damage that the demons wrought in the last war. Couple this with Al on a nightly release when some mysterious person keeps summoning him from his jail in the Ever-After-even Minias is hard pressed to catch him. All in all, it’s not just a bad day for Rachel but a bad week-Halloween week no less.

Readers get the big payoff and a glimpse into one possible direction that Harrison might be taking the series-one that is freaking irresistible! I felt like giggling and skipping around in a circle chanting a mantra: "We’re going to the Ever After- We’re going to the Ever After" like it’s a really neat school field trip. Well hell…it is! My permission slip is signed and I’m ready to go!

After staying up nearly all night to finish reading (got the book early), and a triple espresso in the shower to wake me up, it was well worth every minute. Worth savoring and re-reading!

Kudos Harrison, did it again!-Laughter in One Word: `mouse burger", and the dialogue between Jenks and Bis was so freaking funny I laffed so hard and loud, that I probably woke my neighbors!

 

From Amazon about White Witch, Black Curse:

I loved this latest installment to the Hallows series! Note to the wary: If you are not the kind of person who enjoys an involved, series-long master plot that needs to be carefully followed, you might not enjoy this book. On the other hand, if you like books that make you keep track of multiple plot lines and get very involved in gritty character development, this will be a great series. And do start with the first book first- you’ll miss most of the sub plot references if you don’t.

There’s a nice twist in the series plot with this book. At the end of "Outlaw", it looked like we were going to be taken back into the ever after to see Rachel trained as a demon with Al. In reality, we go into some very murky Interlander/human politics, with a good, up-close look at vampire politics specifically.

We also get to see Edden be a typical dad. We get to see Glenn accept his tomato fascination. And we get to see Rachel learn to love raspberry Esspresso!

***** Spoiler part coming up!! *****

That said, I like how Kim Harrison handled Kisten’s death, using it to force both Rachel and Ivy to face their true natures. This books sees Ivy being forced to accept her vampire nature and why she needed blood even though she wasn’t yet dead. Rachel was forced to acknowledge the darker side of her magic and the fact that she’s not really a witch anymore. It delves into the whole Jenks/Matalina dying side of things. And with a brief cameo, Trent is set up to maybe do some big personal growth in the next installment.

We got to meet a few characters who are a critical part to our main characters: Rachel’s brother, Ivy’s sister, and the FIB psychologist Ford. We got to see Art from Ivy’s short story and her obnoxious ex-boss Dennen die in a satisfying but gross way. We got to meet Rachel’s ghost witch again. We learn a bit more about the gargoyle, Bis, and what he’s capable of being for Rachel in future novels. We get to meet the darker side of Rymm Cormel (he’s not evil in the traditional sense, but he’s not all that different from Piscery).

Ok, I’d keep going, but there is just too much going on in this book. Read it for yourself and make sure you take your time reading it. This book had me laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time, and riveted from the first page to the last.

From Amazon about Black Magic Sanction:

I often find it difficult to review a new book from a favorite series because my feelings are pretty simple. They boil down to, "I love this series, I love this book, I wish I didn’t have to wait a year for the next one!" That’s how it is with Kim Harrison’s books anyhow. I am totally hooked on The Hollows.

I figure if you’re reading this review you’re probably not new to Kim Harrison. The Hollows is not a series that can be read out of order (for any newbies who’ve found there way here: start with Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, Book 1)). If you’ve enjoyed the direction that the series has been heading over the past few books, Black Magic Sanction will fill you with glee. If not, what’s wrong with you?

What are some little plot teasers I can throw out. Well, the villain of Black Magic Sanction is the coven of ethical and moral standards. As judge and jury to the witch population, members of the coven tend to be ruthless and power hungry…so it shouldn’t be any surprise that these ruthless, power-hungry witches have found a way to use white magic for dark purposes. I really enjoyed this aspect of the novel – seeing a witch with an aura as clean freshly windexed glass use white magic to do some pretty black deeds, for selfish reasons, really drives home the point that however ugly Rachel Morgan’s sooty aura is, she’s the one fighting the good fight. Sometimes appearances really are deceiving.

We see a lot more of Pierce, the former ghost, who serves as this book’s dangerous love interest. We don’t see enough of Trent, who makes a couple of brief yet crucial appearances. Nick turns up again, and boy, if you thought you couldn’t hate Nick any more than you already did, you will find out that you were wrong. That little snothead is just about the most despicable fictional character I’ve ever encountered. But the sexy/evil enemy/ally that really shines in this book is Algaliarept. I’ve always thought Al was a great character; when he appears in a scene, I know it’s going to be fun to read (even if I know Rachel won’t enjoy what happens very much). But until Black Magic Sanction I was never even slightly tempted by him as a romantic interest for Rachel. That’s right, I said "until," and no, I am not explaining any further.

There’s one really major thing that happens in Black Magic Sanction that all of Harrison’s devoted readers have been dreading for a while now. We know that pixies have short life spans – and Jenks and Matalina have reached the ripe old age of 20, the sunset years of their species. But just try to imagine The Hollows without Jenks. It’s impossible, right? He’s the magic ingredient. Him and his whole family. Well, we get a day of reckoning in Black Magic Sanction so keep your tissues handy. I cried big fat tears over this one.

That’s about it. Ugh, another year until the next book!

And I’m unemployed again

Well, the job is over already.  I don’t want to go into detail on my blogs, as they and future employers could find it, but let’s just say that when the HR person tells you not to trust anyone (and that was the least egregious of the issues), you know it’s not the place for  you.  If you are curious, you can email me and I will share some of the issues with you privately.

Epic FAIL

I am employed (for now, at least)!

The job is officially mine for at least the next six weeks.  I’m being hired in as a Training Consultant.  The company is Thirty-One Gifts.  They have already grown 450% growth over last year and expect to do even more by the end of the year.  However, they don’t have a training program right now, so I’m going to go in and help them figure that out.

The people with whom I interviewed seemed very nice.  I think it’s a company with a lot of potential.  The job could be a great career move for me, if we can see eye to eye on benefits and pay. 

The downside is that it’s 26.5 miles each way to work.  I probably won’t make it back in time for my Yoga classes during the week.  We’ll see though.  Maybe I can go in early and leave at an earlier time. 

I’m okay with the job possibly only lasting six weeks, as it gives me a chance to try out the company without having to worry about the usual commitments.  I still have an iron in the fire with another company that is just down the road from me. 

I start Monday, ending  476 days of unemployment.  Wow.

Aesthetically Etsy

 

1.  Ornamelle

Fabric baskets for decor and organization.

2.  hindsvik

Vintage home decor and furniture. 

 

3.  Hilaria Galleries

Original paintings, drawings and prints.

4.  Designs by Derilyn

Handcrafted pillows.

5.  Honeytree Photography

6. ToonDesign

Purses. 

7.   17thletter Photography

8.  Photography and Cupcake Toppers by Lauri

9.  Nick and Nessies Vintage

Five Years Ago Today

My nephew, Daniel, committed suicide.  And I wanted to share my knowledge of living with suicide with you:

 

1.  If someone is determined to commit suicide, s/he will. 

2.  That last time will be a different tactic than they’ve tried before.

3.  It’s not your fault.

4.  There is really nothing you can say or do when they reach that point.

5.  It has nothing to do with how you raised him or her.

6.  It’s the chemistry in that person’s brain.

7.  It will leave a hole in your family that will never heal.

8.  It may tear your family apart.

9.  You may think s/he was selfish, but at that point, s/he thinks they’re doing everyone a favor.

10.  And even when you understand that, you may never forgive that person for what’s left behind.

Dealing with what’s already there

 

 

 

The person who owned this bathroom could have been stymied by the existing tile, but instead embraced it by pulling the lilac shade out of the tile and using it to tone down the yellow. 

 

Gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No shelving or storage?  Make your own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here they toned down the color of the tub and the pedestal sink by using neutral accessories.  Also, the mirrors and the mirrored cabinet give the illusion of a larger space. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can make any bathroom feel luxurious by adding some accessories, such as dramatic lighting and gilt mirrors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And you can always fake a window with mirrors, which make it seem light and airy.

GIVEAWAY: Aurorae Yoga Mat

Hi all.  The folks at Aurorae Yoga were so happy about my review of them here that they are willing to give all of you a chance to win one of their Yoga mats.     Woot woot!

 

Go here for more details and to enter to win.

 

Good luck!!

Lawgirl Product Reviews

Aurorae Yoga Mat

If you haven’t been reading my other blog or if you aren’t friends with me on Crackbook, then you may not know that I am in love with Yoga.  I’ve now attended 6 classes in about a two week period and I think that Yoga is my new passion.

I’m lucky, because my gym offers many classes and all are included in my membership.  They also have all of the stuff that you need to do Yoga, but I knew going in that I wanted to twist myself into a pretzel on my own mat. 

I’d seen the Aurorae mats on other blogs and decided to order my own.  Of course, I ordered the orange one. 

I love this mat.  Granted, I don’t have a ton of others to compare it to, but I have been really happy with it.  Aurorae has great customer service as well, as they send you an email to let you know how to care for your mat. 

I get a lot of compliments on the mat and Robbin even asked me to order her one just like it.

I also purchased the Yoga Slip Free Rosin Bag.  Since I’m doing hot Yoga, I’m sweating all over the place and I need some help not slipping and sliding.  This has helped out a great deal and the rest of my class seems to enjoy it too. 

Finally, because the mat is longer than regular-sized mats, I also ordered the Natural Hemp Yoga Mat Sling. It works perfectly.

All in all, I’m very happy with all of these purchases and am loving my new passion for Yoga. 

April 2010 Charity of the Month

Team in Training – The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Lincoln National Guard Half Marathon

Julie is a friend of mine from college.  She has a personal interest in this particular cancer, as you will find out. 

This is the email I received from her:

I believe most of you know that Travis’ sister, Tiffanie, was diagnosed with lymphoma last fall at age 20. Since then she has been through six chemotherapy treatments and is now in remission! She returned to college in January, recently celebrated her 21^st birthday and is awaiting news of radiation, her final course of treatment.

With cancer hitting so close to home, I wanted to do something for the cause. So I joined Team in Training (www.teamintraining.org/ne), in honor of Tiffanie- A SURVIVOR!!

I am now training to walk/run my very first endurance event:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Lincoln National Guard Half Marathon

in Lincoln, Nebraska, on May 2, 2010!!

To complete this event, I am fundraising for donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). It is my goal to raise $1,800 for LLS, which will go toward blood cancer research, education and patient services.

I am asking for your generosity to help me reach my financial goal and to give some much-needed hope to cancer patients. All donations will directly support LLS and are 100% tax deductible.

You can donate easily and securely on my personal fundraising website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ne/lincoln10/jborkosky.

Every single dollar helps in the fight against cancer, so please consider a donation to a great cause. You can check my site any time to see how I’m doing.

THANK YOU in advance for your support and prayers during my journey!!

God’s blessings,

Julie

Lawgirl Book Reviews

The Good , The Bad, and the Undead (The Hollows, Book 2) by Kim Harrison

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Every Which Way But Dead (The Hollows, Book 3) by Kim Harrison

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A Fistful of Charms (The Hollows, Book 4) by Kim Harrison

• Regular Amazon Price:  $7.99  Kindle Price:  $7.99  Savings: $0.00

I’m doing all of these together, as they are all by the same author.    I reviewed the first book of the series here.

I have to tell you, I love these books.  The writing is great, the characters are interesting, and the humor is great against the action.  They’re quick and easy reads that you won’t want to put down. 

Each book takes place within a month or two of the last one, so you get a great continuing storyline. 

From Amazon about The Good, The Bad and The Undead:

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead is Kim Harrison’s follow-up to Dead Witch Walking. The world of this duo is a future Cincinnati which has survived a genetically engineered tomato plague that has exposed `supernaturals’ to the world. The supernaturals have staked out a community called the Hallows. To humans, the Hollows is like Vegas or New Orleans during Mardi Gras – a definite walk on the wild side and tourist trap.

Rachel is back with a vengeance along with Jenks, her pixie sidekick, and Ivy, the living vamp. The story begins about a month after the conclusion of Dead Witch Walking. Rachel is still struggling to earn her half of expenses at the church with Ivy. Rachel’s new association with FIB – the Federal Inderlander Bureau, police force for humans, finally pans out. On the surface the case appears simple – Sara Jane’s warlock boyfriend has disappeared. Normally IS, police force for supernaturals, would handle the case, but they have a 72 hour waiting period. Rachel jumps at the chance to be involved for the money and Sara Jane is Trent Kalamack’s secretary.

As normal, nothing is as it seems. Dan, Sara Jane’s boyfriend, may be one in a string of grisly murders of ley line witches. Ley line witches tap into the Ever-After using ley lines for their power. Rachel is at a disadvantage as she failed the ley line witch class she took in college. She is also very leery of the Ever-After due to the demon attack in Dead Witch Walking and the death of her father. Rachel finds many links to Trent, but is unable to find hard proof to satisfy Detective Edden of the FIB.

The Hallows is the incredible world created by Kim Harrison. The alternate world of the Ever-After with a demon city is very interesting. Rachel finally takes us to Pizza Piscary and we get to meet the master vampire Piscary himself. Kist and his motorcycle are back to torment Rachel. During the course of the novel, we finally get a much clearer picture of what Trent Kalamack is and what his motives are.

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead far exceeded my expectations after Dead Witch Walking. The storyline branches out in many directions that are unexpected and thrilling to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and am anxiously awaiting the third installment, Every Which Way But Dead due out in July of 2005.

  From Amazon about Every Which Way But Dead:

This was another breathtaking entry in the complex and colorful world of Miss Rachel Morgan, sort of a supernatural bounty hunter if you may, who always manages to get into immense trouble and who longs for drinking coffee on Ivy’s couch while trying to figure a way to save her life. This is the third installment of this delicious series and I cannot stress enough to read it in order, this story line has so many twists and turns that’s it’s easier than I can say to spoil things and ruin those great surprises, I don’t even read reviews for next entries because it’s never safe with the amount of ingenuity Kim Harrison puts into each one of her books.

I adore the subtle mix of humor thrown in, the main heroine has the audacity to make fun of the demon that keeps trying to pull her into the ever after, calling him big Al and stealing his familiar, and she enrages him to the point where their battles become hairy. Her relationship with Ivy is back on track although an old flame shows up, a vampire that I am sure Ivy is not going to be done with yet and whose job stands in Rachel’s way. Kisten is back, the bad boy has some heart and really grows on the reader, I am starting to adore his role in the books, and he always smells like silk and leather, interesting combo…There is also more Trent drama but better than ever, I didn’t know whether to sit or stand when reading, some parts were so ingenious and wonderful that I giggled or made noises while reading, making my boyfriend look at my strangely, books rarely have this effect on my hard to please reading palate but his one was superb. Nick is here somewhere, he needs to have a great excuse for his deplorable acting or he’s out of my fan club, Jenks is fresh as always but with some changes, and new characters are subtly added, it’s hard to tell who’s bad and who’s just pretending – but that’s just part of the fun.

Currently being in the middle of the series I have to force myself and not read the remaining three books in the next three days, because then I think depression would set in, so hopefully I can stretch out the time between each because they are true jewels in the fun, wicked world of witchcraft, vampires, werewolves and all things magical. Although these books are very much part of the fantasy world of writing they are realistic, insurance, jails and lawyers are always breathing down everyone’s back, some things can’t be avoided even in other worlds…

From Amazon about A Fistful of Charms:

I love this series. No, I mean I REALLY love this series! A quick rundown of its finer points: It’s got action, though not over the top. It has a smidgeon of romance that lends a slight sensitive air to an often dangerous and suspenseful atmosphere. It has amazingly strong characters, from villain to heroine, that make you feel and know who they really are. And finally, though never least, it has a solid plot that advances satisfactorily with each progressive installment.

Rachel Morgan has had some tough issues to deal with in less than one year. She’s been marked for death by the organization that she once worked for and survived. She’s been marked and almost claimed by a rather nasty demon, yet managed to best even that complex being. And so achingly close to home, she’s still coming to terms with her scattered love life, confusingly twisted around her roommate Ivy, her lover Kisten and former boyfriend Nick. It’s not a love triangle, but it comes durn close! When her estranged partner, Jenks, comes on board for one last run, they’re off to Michigan to pull Nick and one of Jenks’ sons out of trouble. As always with our dear, flawed Rachel, she gets way more than she bargained for and soon they’re fending off the unwanted attentions of some disturbingly unified Were packs. Why are the Weres uniting and what will it bring as the normally submissive species climbs its way towards top of the supernatural food chain? Nothing good for the vamps, which have much to lose if the packs do unite. With ultra aggressive Weres sniping from every direction, and more undead looking on her with not so subtle lust, what’s a poor earth witch to do? With Rachel, it’s an open book and fans may be surprised at the lengths she’s willing to go to in this one.

If Harrison’s new book is on the shelves, every other book I’ve got waiting to be read will just have to wait longer. Harrison pulls readers right in once again with this excruciatingly enticing installment, which I am completely convinced is the best of the series to date. Told in the first person, we’re allowed a depth of Rachel’s character that seems so much more personal than with books told in third person. Readers will feel every punch, every wound and recovery effort Rachel takes on throughout the story, as well as every emotion. This is an emotional wringer, with Rachel, Jenks and Ivy’s problems laid barer than they’ve ever been before. There are two levels of betrayal that raised the bar in this one, one towards Rachel, the other towards Jenks that helped set this one apart from the previous books. And of course, the ever suspenseful situation of Rachel and Ivy… Kim Harrison is an amazing author, one I am so happy to see continuing with this thrilling rollercoaster ride we’re on with her. Waiting with not much patience here for the next one!

Sad news today

As most of you know, my cousin lost her battle with brain cancer in mid-January.  She left behind her parents and her son, Andrew, who is 21.  My cousin was divorced, but had a great relationship with her ex-husband.  Unfortunately, he committed suicide today. I am so sad for Andrew, as he has now lost both parents in less than 3 months.  My cousin’s parents were also very close to their former son-in-law.  If you could spare some good thoughts and/or prayers for that family, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.