Tag Archives: must buys

back to me

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Okay, I’m fully recovered. No more headaches. No more snot-filled sneezes. No more sleeping 20 out of 24 hours. I spent 2 hours and Sam’s Club yesterday buying the shit out of some bulk items and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also took the boys shopping and that lasted about an hour. As Ian said, “Mom, we’re boys. Boys and shopping don’t mix.”

Whatever.

Ian had a $100 gift cert at Hollister and he spent $60. He’s totally right, boys and shopping don’t mix. Sigh. I would’ve spent $150 and assumed Mom would catch my overage. But hey, I’m a girl. That’s what we do.

Ruby has just found her place as Supreme Ruler of the Francis Household. Well, almost. The cats pity her because she believes she is the Supreme Ruler, but they know they are far superior. Poor misguided Pug.

I’m getting to know my MacBook and I like it for the most part. It has a couple of annoying little things to it, like it just stops connecting to the internet whenever it feels like it and I can’t just ‘reconnect’ it, I have to restart it. I’m sure there’s a setting somewhere that we haven’t found yet. But the good news is, the restart time is so much quicker than my PC. I never wanted to turn that damn thing off because it would be a good ten minutes before I could do anything. And that was a huge frustration.

Oh, I bought Fishdog the hardcover (I was 286 out of the 300 sold!) version of Wil Wheaton’s latest book, The Happiest Days of our Lives. I am trying to let Fishdog read it first, but I finally caved and read a story. Now I know my husband is going to totally dig this book. But I’m afraid he’s going to have to conquer Legends of Rock III before he’ll sit down and read it. Sigh. I’m beginning to think getting Rock Band might not be such a great idea…we’re all way too addicted already.

Happy Sunday, y’all. I’m about to grab my 2nd cuppa and pull up Love Sux and write a little. Gotta get the first chapter to editor by 1/15 (along with my acknowledgments, which I’m afraid might be a chapter by itself) Then I think I’m going to start plotting out (I use “plotting” in the loosest way possible)Back to Blue which is going to be a lot of fun.

clearing fog

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I’m getting there. Not 100% yet, but I’m getting better. My head hurts when I sneeze and cough (which, incidentally, is a whole damn lot) and it hurts when I move too fast (which thankfully, I am not doing much of at all right now).

But it’s better.

I actually ate something today and I TASTED it. Whoot! I didn’t really eat because I was hungry, I ate because I was so lightheaded and dizzy. I’ve been living on medication and water alone. Not. Good.

I literally slept the majority of yesterday away. When I wasn’t sleeping, I was vegging out to soaps, Law and Order reruns, and reading Twilight.

I finished Twilight this morning. Wow. Someone, somewhere called this book ‘seductive’ and you know what, she was right. It is technically a YA but I was totally drawn into the world Stephenie Meyer built. Very engaging…and seductive. I highly recommend this read–even if you think you’re ‘so over’ the vampire thing. You’re not over this.

Y’all got any big plans for the weekend? I’m going to start working on chapter one of Love Sux! (the sequel to Bite Me!) I also have a new women’s fiction story that has been brewing non-stop lately that I need to jot down. I’m tentatively calling it Back to Blue but I’m not sure if that’s the real title. We’ll see.

hi! i’m a mac and I’m a PIECE, er PC.

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Well, I did it. I took the plunge and switched from my laptop to a MacBook.

I have always considered myself to be “bicomputeral.” I have always enjoyed different aspects of both Macs and PCs. Fishdog is a Mac guy all the way. I’ve always purchased PC laptops for myself because I was most familiar with them since that’s what I’d always worked on when I worked 8-5.

So last year when my old Dell gave me the blue screen of death, I decided to buy a new Dell. I mean, why shouldn’t I? My old one last me 5 years and I never had a problem. Actually, we had it rebuilt and it’s still going strong. (Okay, it’s a little janky, being held together with duct tape, but it is the little PC that could…)

I thought I loved my new Dell. It was pretty. And Vista had it’s pretty little moments…(it really was trying very hard to be a Mac) but I just couldn’t get it to work for me. After a few months, I was ready to chuck it. Seriously. I contemplated going back to XP but honestly, I wasn’t even sure it was worth it because I loathed my computer so much. It would freeze up when I closed it. It would just restart when it felt like it. The 4 hour battery lasted 4 hours ONCE. Then it went to 1 and a half hours. I hated that computer. I can say one thing about the “Mac vs PC” commercials…they are dead on. Apple’s marketing dept deserves a big fat raise. This sums it up perfectly for me:

Today I am typing to you from my brand new refurbed MacBook. It’s a cute little thing. It will take me a little time to learn the ins and outs of it but thankfully I have a Mac Guy in the house with me who has offered personal tutoring sessions.

On a happier note, my momma bought me a new desk for Christmas so now I have a place to work. It’s been pretty damn difficult doing revisions while not having a workspace. (please take note of who has made herself at home in the lower part of the desk)

Oh, and Happy Birthday Party, Feisty! I hope tonight rocks!

the house hunting diaries…

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Yesterday, Fishdog and I spent several hours with our real estate agent (whom I love, love, love) house hunting. I had seen one of the houses a couple of times and we kept coming back to it. So I needed to look at it once more to see if it was gonna stay on our list or be voted off.

I think we voted it off. We could make it work, but this being a buyer’s market, we have too many options.

The next house we went to see was technically perfect. It was totally remodeled and nicely done at that. All we would’ve had to do would be replace the ugly ass front door, fence in the backyard and build a deck. I liked the house a lot but for some reason, it left me cold. I kept thinking as we were looking at it, “I should love this house.” But I didn’t love it. I liked it. We kept it on the list but I knew this wasn’t going to be our house. We moved on.

The third house we went to see was very typical of us. We like the 50s-70s style ranch homes (my God, they are so sturdy) and this house was built in 1955. I actually expected not to like it. I had seen the pics and it just didn’t look like a place I wanted to live.

I was wrong. It was such a funky, fun little place. It needs quite a bit of work. (new countertops, remove cabinets from over the bar to open up the kitchen, refinishing floors and new lights) But the house has personality and character. It moved to the top of the list.

Then we went to see the Love Shack. This house is everything I’ve ever wanted. It’s in a neighborhood that was built around several lakes, it has a pool, hot tub, awesome alien looking dome pool house, decking all around that is in mint condition…and it still has the original 70s wall paper in the house. Totally cool. It needed a LOT of work (imagine that) but I loved it. And i wanted it. Bad.

But, I had to be practical. (That is so hard for me) And in the end, after I listed out the pros and the cons, we decided it was not the house for us. (I’m still a little in mourning, but honestly it really wasn’t the right house for us.)

We’ve made an offer on House #3 (but it’s #1 in our hearts) We’re taking the boys there today to look at it with them, sign the paperwork and hope that in a few weeks, we’ll have our own home in Little Rock, AR.

Now, if there’s anyone out there wanting a great deal on a beautiful home in Oxford, MS…let me know.

breaking up is hard to do…

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Since we’re relocating, we have to sell the house. So, we’re trying the FSBO route first. I know that a Realtor can get us an mls and get us listed on multiple sites, but frankly, I don’t care. FSBO is the way to go for us. At least right now.

Last night we popped our “First Showing” cherry. Great couple. We had met them both before (Oxford is a very incestuous town. We all know each other. It’s like 6 degrees from Kevin Bacon) They are definitely a couple I would like to sell our house to. I think they liked it. They stayed for a pretty good while, looked around, asked questions. They left us feeling optimistic. Maybe they’ll wanna come back? Maybe they’ll call with an offer? Maybe I’m getting my hopes up…

Yeah. This is the part of FSBO that nobody talks about. The fear of rejection. When a Realtor shows your house, you only know it because they leave a card. You don’t get face time with the people who might end up rejecting your home. But with FSBO, you meet your potential rejectors. And that’s a bitter pill to swallow. What is wrong with our house? Did we talk too much? Was it clean enough? Is it overpriced? What is wrong with them that they didn’t make an offer on the spot? Can’t they see how fucking awesome our house is? All the hard work we put into it? The bamboo flooring, the new lighting throughout, the open floorplan, the 8×10 Master Closet!?!?!?! Can’t they see this is the house for them?

Yeah, see, maybe FSBO isn’t the way to go…whether we mean to be attached to the house or not, we are. I’ve been trying to break-up with my house for a few weeks. It hasn’t been easy. I’m thinking an offer will make things much easier, though. I never said my love and loyalty couldn’t be bought…

i command thee…

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While I’m at home trying to heal myself, I thought I’d order you guys to buy my friend’s book. We call her Naughty Kate for a reason, you know…. Buy it now:

Where Have all the Cowboys Gone? (Cheek) (Paperback) by Kate Pearce (Author)

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless you’re Lauren
Redstone. In her case, a little klutziness at a hotel bar turns into an unexpected opportunity to indulge in her most erotic fantasy – sex with a real, honest-to-goodness cowboy. When Lauren wakes up the next morning, she discovers she’s gotten more than a night of incredible passion – she’s also sporting a brand new, sparkling gold wedding band.

Grayson Turner never expected a woman like Lauren to literally fall into his lap. He may have only recently traded his pinstriped suits for a dusty Stetson, but if the lady wanted a cowboy, he figured he fit the bill well enough. This was Vegas, after all, and marriage to this sexy woman fits his goals even better than a single hot night in the desert.

But Lauren’s plans don’t include a lifetime commitment to one man. Not when she has a nice safe life with her retro props business and a firm desire to stay far away from controlling men like her father. Love isn’t even a factor in her game plan. But her sexy cowboy isn’t ready to fold his hand just yet. Can he convince her that true love always wins the game in the end?