So we survived the blizzard. Not that there was really any doubt, the only concern was if the wind would knock out power. It didn't. But events like this conspire to keep you from your goals. It's a regular block party on our street, with everyone out shoveling and plowing and snow-blowing. I did get a lot of laundry done, organized and put away the bulk of the Christmas presents and in general got the house together. Which it needed.
The kids enjoyed it - they played for a few hours, had snowball fights and the like, came in for soup and hot cocoa and played with their Christmas toys. Nice life, eh? lol
Overall, we were lucky. There are horror stories of people stranded in their cars, on trains, in the airport, for hours. People literally abandoned their cars, as it became clear it was the only way they'd get home. Haven't heard of any injuries or deaths in our area, thankfully, but part of me has to wonder. Some of these people admitted getting on the road at 6:00pm or later, when the storm was at one of its worst points. I mean, really? Come on, have you not listened to the radio or watched TV in the last few hours? Didn't they tell you to STAY AT HOME?
I will give some people who had no choice the benefit of the doubt. There were those that definitely had to at least try to get to work. But the others, who decided let's go see how bad it really is, or maybe we can get over to cousin Joey's house and spend the storm with them, just boggle my mind. When the state declares a State of Emergency, usually that means the roads and other travelways are impassible. Technically, you're supposed to stay off the roads so the emergency crews can clear and get through as needed. If you venture out in such conditions, you're only going to get stuck, so why not just stay where you are? It's warm, you have food, and if anything dire should happen, emergency services know how to get to you.
But it's all over, save the mountains of snow all over the place which make driving a delight. I really am not a big fan of snow, it annoys me. I'd like a few inches, enough to cause a snow day, then have it all melt completely away by the next day. Oh well, the price you pay for living in NJ, I suppose.
So for now, I'll dream of May, which leads to summer, and beach vacations, and pool parties and barbecues. It'll be here fast enough!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I both love and loathe this time of year. I love it because for the most part, people act human, and it’s such a joy to enjoy all the sights of the season. Plus my kids’ excitement is infectious, so you can’t help smiling or laughing with them. I loathe it because it also brings out the worst in people – rudeness, stupidity and a total lack of all human decency. I spent an entire day on a marathon shopping spree, and for the most part, people were nice and helpful. But there were a few I would have loved to have clocked with my armloads of shopping bags.
The other reason the season grates is that there’s so much to do. Between all the pageants and concerts and plays, I feel like I spend a huge chunk of time in churches and school auditoriums. Not to mention the shopping – though with online shopping it is much easier than it used to be. But then there’s the tree to put up, my Christmas in the City houses that need to be put out, lights to put on the house, cookies to bake, and endless presents to wrap. Another dilemma facing me is hiding the kids’ gifts. My daughter is 14, so she knows who Santa is, but my 6 year old son is still a believer, and had quite a list to present to Santa when we visited this year. And my hiding places are growing more and more limited each year.
But the tree is up (not without some drama from above-mentioned 14 year old), the houses are out (with some heart-stopping moments from the 6 year old who insists on playing with the people!), lights are bright and cheery on the house, and the cookie ingredients are ready (I’ll be bringing some to my critique group holiday gathering, so get ready ladies). So I guess I’m ahead of things this year, which is unusual. Of course, my house looks like a few dozen bombs went off since yesterday, so there’s the downside. There’s always a downside, isn’t there? Overall, though, we had a lot of fun
But the point is, I really am feeling the season this year. Definitely more love than loathe. Last year, I had foot surgery, so everything was rushed and then I was disabled and couldn’t do much of anything, making it a "loathing" year. So I’m really enjoying even the maddening moments this year. The Ipod is loaded up with holiday songs that I’ve been playing every chance I get. And walking the malls was a lot less painful too.
What about everyone else? Are you ready? Close? What fun traditions do you have for the season, that really make it feel like holiday-time? Anyone expecting any lumps of coal this year? ;) Hard to believe that a month-plus worth of prep is all over in a day!
The other reason the season grates is that there’s so much to do. Between all the pageants and concerts and plays, I feel like I spend a huge chunk of time in churches and school auditoriums. Not to mention the shopping – though with online shopping it is much easier than it used to be. But then there’s the tree to put up, my Christmas in the City houses that need to be put out, lights to put on the house, cookies to bake, and endless presents to wrap. Another dilemma facing me is hiding the kids’ gifts. My daughter is 14, so she knows who Santa is, but my 6 year old son is still a believer, and had quite a list to present to Santa when we visited this year. And my hiding places are growing more and more limited each year.
But the tree is up (not without some drama from above-mentioned 14 year old), the houses are out (with some heart-stopping moments from the 6 year old who insists on playing with the people!), lights are bright and cheery on the house, and the cookie ingredients are ready (I’ll be bringing some to my critique group holiday gathering, so get ready ladies). So I guess I’m ahead of things this year, which is unusual. Of course, my house looks like a few dozen bombs went off since yesterday, so there’s the downside. There’s always a downside, isn’t there? Overall, though, we had a lot of fun
But the point is, I really am feeling the season this year. Definitely more love than loathe. Last year, I had foot surgery, so everything was rushed and then I was disabled and couldn’t do much of anything, making it a "loathing" year. So I’m really enjoying even the maddening moments this year. The Ipod is loaded up with holiday songs that I’ve been playing every chance I get. And walking the malls was a lot less painful too.
What about everyone else? Are you ready? Close? What fun traditions do you have for the season, that really make it feel like holiday-time? Anyone expecting any lumps of coal this year? ;) Hard to believe that a month-plus worth of prep is all over in a day!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Playing Around
As I travel around the web, I’ve come to the realization that my blog is rather plain. Sure I have a pretty background design, but that’s about it. I see so many really cool blogs with animated graphics, rolling pictures, etc. I’ve tried to add a couple of pictures with links on them, but I screwed that up and still have not been able to figure out. I keep playing around, but nothing seems to be working.
I do some web work at my day job – most of it consists of adding product information to an information repository that auto feeds the data to various pages on our site. The rest of what I do web-related is provide information and articles to the web marketing group, and they do the programming and uploading.
I’m in awe of some of the sites I’ve visited and follow. I want to jazz my page up a bit, but I’m not sure where to start. I’d love any input or guidance anyone might have, and I might even be willing to pay for some design services, though, being the penny-pinching bargain hunter I am, I’d prefer to keep the costs down as much as possible.
I’m sure I’ve got some internet tech-savvy friends out there – can anyone enlighten the clueless? Because after that, I'd love to learn how to make trailers, banners and other types of graphic promo materials. Then again, maybe I've got pipe dreams
I do some web work at my day job – most of it consists of adding product information to an information repository that auto feeds the data to various pages on our site. The rest of what I do web-related is provide information and articles to the web marketing group, and they do the programming and uploading.
I’m in awe of some of the sites I’ve visited and follow. I want to jazz my page up a bit, but I’m not sure where to start. I’d love any input or guidance anyone might have, and I might even be willing to pay for some design services, though, being the penny-pinching bargain hunter I am, I’d prefer to keep the costs down as much as possible.
I’m sure I’ve got some internet tech-savvy friends out there – can anyone enlighten the clueless? Because after that, I'd love to learn how to make trailers, banners and other types of graphic promo materials. Then again, maybe I've got pipe dreams
Monday, November 29, 2010
To Menage or Not To Menage
I’ve been a terrible blogger lately, I know. November has been a killer month. Losing most of the first week for Disney, my son’s birthday, which involved two parties, my daughter getting sick, budget time at the day job and Thanksgiving really sucked up tons of time. Add to that my official participation in NaNoWriMo, and the month literally slipped through my hands at lightning speed.
It wasn’t a bad month, just busy, and I did finish the story for NaNoWriMo. Right now, the first draft comes in at about 52K words, and it is complete. It’s the shortest book I have ever written, though it will likely end up a little longer than that by the time the revision process is complete. But the plot changed a little bit from my first vision for this story.
During all the madness of the month, I managed to find myself some snippets of time in which to read. Trusty Sony Reader in hand, I took advantage of smoke breaks at work (and home), sitting in the car waiting to pick up kids, or in the doctor’s waiting room, etc. In typical fashion, I focused on a certain genre, glutting myself on it. It started a couple of months back, when I read Kari Gregg’s “Lovely Wicked” and HC Brown’s “My Purr-Fect Alphas.” Both of them featured ménage plotlines, and the emotional depth of both just blew me away. And they got me to thinking.
Now, I’ve read just about everything you can think of, and there is very little that bothers me, and a whole lot that just sucks me in and gets my mind going. For some time, I’d been toying with the idea of a ménage storyline, but haven’t really given it a go, because I honestly don’t feel I can do it justice. And there are variations, though I’ve mostly read m/f/m books. But it complicated how I wanted to go with it. Sometimes the men have a sexual relationship with each other, sometimes they don’t. I don’t have a preference as far as what I want to read, but again, don’t really think I have what it takes to write the m/m relationship the way it deserves.
But, inspired by the superb books I recently devoured, I did finally take the plunge and added some ménage scenes to the story I just completed. In this case, the third partner is actually the hero’s brother, and he’s invited to participate by the hero, who doesn’t have the best intentions. In fact, his intentions are pretty rotten. But the men do not have any sort of sexual contact, because incest is one of my personal squicks. The bottom line though, there was never any plan to have the three of them permanently together, and I wonder if I made the right choice including that part of the plot. Specifically, the way it came about – it will likely be viewed by some as occurring in a truly un-heroic way, to the point where the consent is dubious. Though, as my critique partners can attest, I like my heroes to be villainous in some ways.
I’d love to hear some opinions on this from those who read and write m/m or ménage books. I haven't really looked at any stats, what's popular? I realize there's no right or wrong, but what seems to be the most common variations? I've noticed that everything I've read involves BDSM as well, and I wonder why that is? Is there such a thing as a vanilla ménage? I haven't come across any yet, but would love to check some out.
And of course, I'll take any and all reading recommendations! ;)
It wasn’t a bad month, just busy, and I did finish the story for NaNoWriMo. Right now, the first draft comes in at about 52K words, and it is complete. It’s the shortest book I have ever written, though it will likely end up a little longer than that by the time the revision process is complete. But the plot changed a little bit from my first vision for this story.
During all the madness of the month, I managed to find myself some snippets of time in which to read. Trusty Sony Reader in hand, I took advantage of smoke breaks at work (and home), sitting in the car waiting to pick up kids, or in the doctor’s waiting room, etc. In typical fashion, I focused on a certain genre, glutting myself on it. It started a couple of months back, when I read Kari Gregg’s “Lovely Wicked” and HC Brown’s “My Purr-Fect Alphas.” Both of them featured ménage plotlines, and the emotional depth of both just blew me away. And they got me to thinking.
Now, I’ve read just about everything you can think of, and there is very little that bothers me, and a whole lot that just sucks me in and gets my mind going. For some time, I’d been toying with the idea of a ménage storyline, but haven’t really given it a go, because I honestly don’t feel I can do it justice. And there are variations, though I’ve mostly read m/f/m books. But it complicated how I wanted to go with it. Sometimes the men have a sexual relationship with each other, sometimes they don’t. I don’t have a preference as far as what I want to read, but again, don’t really think I have what it takes to write the m/m relationship the way it deserves.
But, inspired by the superb books I recently devoured, I did finally take the plunge and added some ménage scenes to the story I just completed. In this case, the third partner is actually the hero’s brother, and he’s invited to participate by the hero, who doesn’t have the best intentions. In fact, his intentions are pretty rotten. But the men do not have any sort of sexual contact, because incest is one of my personal squicks. The bottom line though, there was never any plan to have the three of them permanently together, and I wonder if I made the right choice including that part of the plot. Specifically, the way it came about – it will likely be viewed by some as occurring in a truly un-heroic way, to the point where the consent is dubious. Though, as my critique partners can attest, I like my heroes to be villainous in some ways.
I’d love to hear some opinions on this from those who read and write m/m or ménage books. I haven't really looked at any stats, what's popular? I realize there's no right or wrong, but what seems to be the most common variations? I've noticed that everything I've read involves BDSM as well, and I wonder why that is? Is there such a thing as a vanilla ménage? I haven't come across any yet, but would love to check some out.
And of course, I'll take any and all reading recommendations! ;)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Adventures in Cooking
Every year, on my son’s birthday, I make a very special meal. It started several years back, when my in-laws were discussing their favorite sauce, called Genovese. Now, if you’re Italian (which I am not, my husband is, and this is my MIL’s recipe. She’s about as Italian as you can get) and your family comes from the Naples area of Italy, you may have heard of it. For some reason, this sauce recipe is pretty much exclusive to the Naples area. I’ve never been, but from what I understand, if you ask for it anywhere in Italy outside Naples, most Italians haven’t even heard of it. It’s actually a rather simple sauce, it consists if browning an eye round and then removing it from the (huge) pot so you can sauté diced prosciutto in the juices. Once that’s done, you add about 15-20 lbs of sliced Spanish onions, so the pot is full. The only other ingredient is water, which you fill to the brim of the pot. The sauce then literally cooks for about two days, until the onions caramelize and break down, making a delicious, rich brown sauce. About two hours before completion, the eye round is added back in to finish cooking before serving over pasta.
Here's a visual to give an idea of how the process goes:
Because of the time involved, this is a sauce that’s usually made once a year, and usually in the colder months, because the house gets really hot when you’re cooking giant pots of sauce. As you can see, I use a giant roasting pan on two burners, plus another very large sauce pot, or Dutch oven, on a third. Since I usually end up feeding 25-30 people, I need to make a lot.
This year will be a little different though. My daughter has requested I make the Genovese for her birthday, which is in January. So we are merely postponing it, but now I’ve had to come up with another idea to feed 30 people next week. And it’s not easy planning such a meal – my family has issues with what they’ll eat or not eat, and while just about everyone else doesn’t have such issues, the two or three people who do make it complicated. But I think I’ve come up with just the right recipe, which should make everyone happy.
Chicken Cacciatore
What could be easier? Chicken stew, Italian style, basically. The worst part is probably the chopping that’s involved. And to make it easier for everyone, I will be making the chicken off the bone. Easier for me to prepare and cook, easier for my guests to eat. I will probably also make a pan of sausage and peppers, since that’s always popular. And of course, 10 pounds of pasta! But the trick now is what to serve for appetizers. Other than cookies, appys happen to be my specialty, I usually bring one to every function I go to, they’re fun to eat, and my favorite parties have always been the ones where I made nothing but appys. Normally, with the Genovese sauce, I put out a traditional antipasto platter, with sausages, cheeses, olives, roasted peppers and the like. But I think I need to do something different with the Cacciatore. I am going through lists and trying to select a few faves that always go over well. But so many of my favorites, while technically easy to make, are time consuming to prepare. So I’ve that dilemma to solve – I have a week before I must shop, so that helps. A little.
Anybody have any easy faves that are crowd-pleasers? I enjoy the cooking, but my time is limited, since I like to put out at least three or four dishes for my guests to nosh on. Of course, the real benefit to making so much food is the leftovers we’ll enjoy for a few more days. :D
Here's a visual to give an idea of how the process goes:
Because of the time involved, this is a sauce that’s usually made once a year, and usually in the colder months, because the house gets really hot when you’re cooking giant pots of sauce. As you can see, I use a giant roasting pan on two burners, plus another very large sauce pot, or Dutch oven, on a third. Since I usually end up feeding 25-30 people, I need to make a lot.
This year will be a little different though. My daughter has requested I make the Genovese for her birthday, which is in January. So we are merely postponing it, but now I’ve had to come up with another idea to feed 30 people next week. And it’s not easy planning such a meal – my family has issues with what they’ll eat or not eat, and while just about everyone else doesn’t have such issues, the two or three people who do make it complicated. But I think I’ve come up with just the right recipe, which should make everyone happy.
Chicken Cacciatore
What could be easier? Chicken stew, Italian style, basically. The worst part is probably the chopping that’s involved. And to make it easier for everyone, I will be making the chicken off the bone. Easier for me to prepare and cook, easier for my guests to eat. I will probably also make a pan of sausage and peppers, since that’s always popular. And of course, 10 pounds of pasta! But the trick now is what to serve for appetizers. Other than cookies, appys happen to be my specialty, I usually bring one to every function I go to, they’re fun to eat, and my favorite parties have always been the ones where I made nothing but appys. Normally, with the Genovese sauce, I put out a traditional antipasto platter, with sausages, cheeses, olives, roasted peppers and the like. But I think I need to do something different with the Cacciatore. I am going through lists and trying to select a few faves that always go over well. But so many of my favorites, while technically easy to make, are time consuming to prepare. So I’ve that dilemma to solve – I have a week before I must shop, so that helps. A little.
Anybody have any easy faves that are crowd-pleasers? I enjoy the cooking, but my time is limited, since I like to put out at least three or four dishes for my guests to nosh on. Of course, the real benefit to making so much food is the leftovers we’ll enjoy for a few more days. :D
Friday, October 29, 2010
Men In Uniform
Today I am in between trips to Orlando. I got back Wednesday from a business trip for my day job - it was a tradeshow for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. It was actually a really cool show - there were all kinds of things related to law enforcement, like guns, body armor, police cars with flashing lights (which got REAL annoying after a few days), SWAT vehicles and helicopters. Not to mention all the men in various uniforms - not only police officers, but military as well. and FBI and DEA agencies. It was quite enjoyable, all those men (and many women too) walking around, looking official and damn sexy! I do love men in uniform, not to mention a good many of them were carrying handcuffs! ;) LOL!
One highlight was an exhibitor's booth for a company that makes a license plate recognition system for things like remote ticketing. It so happens that we've been trying to sell our cameras into this company for some time, as we market the component cameras for many other companies with similar systems. This company though had a celebrity on hand to promote their products:
Anybody remember him? Yep, it's Erik Estrada, the star of CHiPs, from the 1970's. I think he looks pretty good, doesn't he? I look like hell, long days on the floor and being a little nervous will do that to you. It was a delight to meet him, sadly, he ran out of pictures to autograph, so I grabbed the first thing I could find in my bag - the pad I had made with the cover of In The Devil's Arms! He was quite interested in that, so we talked about it for a few minutes before I got my hug and picture. He really was quite charming. And I also left him with a page from the pad and urged him to buy the book! LOL! Definitely the highlight of the trip.
But now I am frantic, as I am heading back to Orlando, this time for a well-deserved Disney vacation. Traveling alone is much easier, I have one checked bag, my carry-on and my purse. This will be an interesting test of my organization skills. I think we're in good shape, though I could use another day or so to prepare. The only other issue is I am losing the first three days of NaNoWritMo, so I'll have to work extra hard next weekend to catch up.
One highlight was an exhibitor's booth for a company that makes a license plate recognition system for things like remote ticketing. It so happens that we've been trying to sell our cameras into this company for some time, as we market the component cameras for many other companies with similar systems. This company though had a celebrity on hand to promote their products:
Anybody remember him? Yep, it's Erik Estrada, the star of CHiPs, from the 1970's. I think he looks pretty good, doesn't he? I look like hell, long days on the floor and being a little nervous will do that to you. It was a delight to meet him, sadly, he ran out of pictures to autograph, so I grabbed the first thing I could find in my bag - the pad I had made with the cover of In The Devil's Arms! He was quite interested in that, so we talked about it for a few minutes before I got my hug and picture. He really was quite charming. And I also left him with a page from the pad and urged him to buy the book! LOL! Definitely the highlight of the trip.
But now I am frantic, as I am heading back to Orlando, this time for a well-deserved Disney vacation. Traveling alone is much easier, I have one checked bag, my carry-on and my purse. This will be an interesting test of my organization skills. I think we're in good shape, though I could use another day or so to prepare. The only other issue is I am losing the first three days of NaNoWritMo, so I'll have to work extra hard next weekend to catch up.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
(Too Many) Characters Welcome
So as I plan for NaNoWriMo, I’ve been tossing around a few ideas. I really wanted to work on my sci-fi themed story, but technically, I’m not supposed to as I have already started it. I only have 8K words so far, but I wouldn’t count them in my totals written for the month, if I went with this story.
One in particular keeps coming to the forefront as I jot down brief notes for characters I may want to write about (their names, their appearance and the like). These characters are part of my medieval family I created when I wrote The Heart of The Panther. My critique partners may remember Gillian and Royce, and Gillian’s brother Simon and his “from-another-time-but-really-from-his-time” woman, Caroline. I know, that was confusing. But years ago, I started a story involving Gillian and Royce’s daughter, Marisa. I got about seven chapters into that one and it kind of withered and died on the vine. The plot was illogical, as were some of Marisa’s actions. But I’ve got a new slant on her now, and her nemesis Iain, the Scottish warrior who wants vengeance against Marisa’s father. So I’m leaning toward writing that this month – I have an opening already in mind, and I think I can reasonably tie in a bunch of kink to really spice the story up. It should work well, considering that opening scene does place her in a captive role.
The catch? I have a really great (IMO) idea for Helene and Devlin’s daughter as well. Since the Marchand men are happily and proudly Dominants, I wondered what a Marchand woman would be like. I tend to prefer to write my stories with a male Dom and a female sub, though I do enjoy reading a good ménage where there are both female and male subs in the relationship. But I cannot get into the mindset of a female Domme, or a male sub to be able to do a story like that justice. I guess I’m wired to prefer a male Dom and female sub. But being that Regine Marchand is a headstrong, independent woman, it should follow, that as a Marchand, she would be natural in the Dominant role. But I couldn’t help thinking what if she was truly a submissive, and didn’t recognize the fact? And I have just the guy to show her how to face the reality she isn’t a Domme. The setting for this book worked out pretty well, as I used my love of horses and riding and the equestrian world in general to make her a professional three-day eventer who gets caught up in a scandal. Who suspends her from competition? None other than the man who showed her what it means to accept submission at the hands of a strong yet loving Dom. And you know those equestrians, they have all sorts of gear that lends itself to a BDSM relationship.
Then I decide I’d like to travel back in time again and want to write Marisa and Iain. As usual, I can’t make up my mind – it’s like trying to decide between the Brownie Sundae cake and the Italian pastries for dessert. Can’t I have them all?
So the debate continues – I may just have to flip a coin. I’d love your opinions. What do you think? Which would you rather read?
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