time to move on

Wanna know how you know you're getting older? - we planned a day drinking day on Monday with the Ws - get to the house after a two stop hop (to keep going) -  and everybody falls asleep watching the Food Network instead - to eventually wake up to watch the Cowboy game.

smh. oh well.

Besides that my time off week is goin fast.

Finished:
Time Keeper - Mitch Albom - not as good as the others I've read of his -  but quick read, thoughtful. I forget how good he is with the one-liners.
The Last 5th Wave book - nope. didn't get me. oh well
Lingus - Mariana Zapata - I finished it but I mostly didn't like it. Funny at times but it's like stupid MTV stuff... the immaturity got old fast
#1 Chicago Stars - I liked them, I like how she turned her beauty around to work for her.
#5 Chicago Stars - this one bothered the shit out of me. She basically sexually assaults him and they live HEA? I finished the book and I think I would've liked her if that whole scene never happened. Just couldn't get passed it. Not ok.

I feel like I'm trying to get sick? maybe I just need to move around...
Think we're fixin to head to Fort Worth for an adventure? Jamie's goin a little stir crazy.

In an old school Cross Canadian Ragweed mood

Christmas spirit and all that shit

We're heading to the Galleria in a bit to meet with Jamie's family - THE FREAKING GALLERIA - to watch the ice skaters - 'cause Jamie's mom wants to have all her family together at one time.

I get it - so again I held my tongue - Christmas spirit and all that shit....

it's going to be madness ugh.

ha.

Finished - The Wall of Winnipeg and Me - Mariana Zapata - not as good as Kulti, still a little long winded again in some parts but I definitely like her depth of characters.

Again I "sampled" a slew of books and again I'm striking out - so many I'm not even taking the time to go back and write them down for here to remind me. Hopefully I'll just never pick them up again. bleh.

Yay Christmas time...
no but really...I think his mom will be really happy. So that's good. 

I'm happy

I stayed up til 1:30 this morning reading "Kulti" by Mariana Zapata and (though I slightly feel like doodoo) I don't regret it.
So relate-able for any girl who's ever played sports...and then there's Kulti *sigh* I found another winner. Maybe just a little too much "Big Girl Socks"and immature-ish at times but eh - can't say I wouldn't turn 13 in some of those same scenarios either - it got me and I'm happy.

sidenote - Jamie has an interview prep thing today with an old co-worker of his trying to get him in the door,  fingers crossed - we had a bad turn on our "roller coaster" a few days ago. It took everything I had to bite my tongue. He doesn't need my bitchy sniping, I get it... but lord it's hard sometimes...

twist and tweet and striking out

Christmas #3 of 2016 is in the books -  My aunt broke out the qvc twistboard looking thing - I thought she and Jamie's mom were going to kill themselves. heh oy

one more Christmas to go next weekend. *whew*

Last minute dinner get together with J&V Saturday - she told me she still finds it really hard to talk to some of her best friends after the election. She's in her 70's so some of those are friends of 30+ years....She asked one of her friends why she voted for Trump, the gal told her because she didn't really care and her husband wanted her to...

Unfortunately I can relate to that story with my own circle -

In that vein, I couldn't refrain from doing (my 8th tweet of all time) in response to my State representative Matt Shaheen. Thing is I actually agree with him on some things: strengthening justice system, transportation spending.
What bothers me is he posts a bucolic picture with a bible quote about being "kind and forgiving" and he then posts about disliking "lying hypocrite liberals".
I said "you are my representative. All the name calling is disturbing. Please try to be more inclusive on your platform". Not that I at all think my tweet did anything but seriously! Don't "represent" me that way. It pisses me off.

Anyway - totally struck out in trying out new authors this weekend -
Unleashing - Shelly Laurenston - started out pretty good, the Crow concept was kinda cool, like the Valkyries of the IAD but it's so much better done in IAD and interest faded.
Bossman- Vi Keeland - again, better done by Christina Lauren, the girl seemed pretty needy. 
Hope(less) - Melissa Haag - didn't grab my attention from the start
Serendipity - Janet Nissenson - again didn't grab my attention from the start
Size Matters - Alison Bliss - obvious/ridiculous/boring self image issues from the get go. Is there a story about the friend? 'cause she owned it and reminded me so much of my college roommate. Men just loved that gal.
Pucked - Helena Hunting - amusing start but the story quickly faded...

and even a couple authors that I've liked
Susan E Phillips - Heroes are My Weakness - her dolls...just...no. lame. couldn't get passed it. 
Penny Reid - Truth or Beard - I finished this one,  it wasn't the leads, although I liked him much more than I liked her, just the blackmail backstory was eh..

so I just ended up re-reading KC's Shadow's Claim - never gets old. Never lets me down. Thank you.

can't research the world but I can offer a gal a drink and wish her a happy new year....

a family member got on their Trump train and I couldn't keep quiet this time.

I wasn't condescending (that doesn't ever help anything)...I really thought though, that given his viewpoint he'd have thoughtful/informative feedback on these two subjects especially when I asked the questions...
1)Puerto Rico and how he thinks it'll fare under Trump presidency (given that he's (passionately) from Puerto Rico)
and 2)tax $ in regards to veterans (given that he is a veteran)

and all I really got out of it is that Puerto Rico needs to figure out a way to retain it's entrepreneurs and Obama played too much golf and ruined everything. Trump will bring the jobs back and make this country great again.

So I asked if there was anything good he could say about Obama (healthy lunch options in schools, ending stop-loss, the concept of not denying insurance coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, incentives to farmers/ranchers to open their land for hunting/fishing...Osama Bin Laden?)
nothing....
all I said was "well that's disappointing" and then let it go.

Then I asked myself that question...what about Trump do I like?
so I thought....hmm tax cuts for big companies for more jobs. That makes sense right...
But then I thought ...has this been tried before? what happened when this last was tried?
Interesting! *fox ears lifted*
lets check!!!
so far (with my admittedly homegrown not wholly informed research skills)  I'm finding this statement to be true....
 "in 2004, U.S.-based multinationals corporations claimed they’d use their bonanza to create jobs in the U.S. In reality they actually cut jobs, as well as spending on research and development. The gusher of money was instead used for stock buybacks and to increase executive salaries. Compensation for the top officials at the biggest affected companies increased about 60 percent."

and so... here I'm exhausted. So... yeah...exhausted....maybe I'll pick the enthusiasm back up later. There's got to be some good stories somewhere...

Moving on - I reached out to the gal I used to play tennis with on linked in -  originally from Syria (with family still there) and a Muslim. She got off facebook a while ago for obvious reasons. I invited her to our new years day open house thing. I can't research the world but I can offer a gal (who's likely had a shittier year than me) a drink and wish her a happy new year....

also finished Dumplin' by Julie Murphy...it was a teenager story with teenager angst that can translate in someways to adulthood. Not bad.

And so we Great Divide - Lets Get Out of Here Tonight - (no pun intended heh) cause I feel like it.
I've been sitting here just watching smoke circle 
Around empty bottles of beer 
Lately all I've been talking about's getting out of here 
Let's get out of here tonight 
Throw our hearts to the wind 
Let's fill that highway up with our headlights 
Tonight there's a full moon shining down 
And I'm so tired of watching from this one-horse town 
And we can talk about it all later in the morning light 
Let's get out of here tonight

how the heckfire are we supposed to tell stories?!

a little disillusioned by conversations I've had recently with random people. examples of conversations: guy/girl: I don't like Amsterdam / sushi / Muslims me: oh yeah? what don't you like about it / it / them? guy/girl: I've not been / eaten / met one - but I've heard bad things so I'm not going / eating /talking to one. and so... Here ends my interest. The entertainment value is lost to me. How the heckfire are we supposed to tell stories if you really don't have a story to talk about? NEXT.
I HATED Amsterdam at first. It was pure chaos - I fell TWICE from being distracted - I can relate to the dislike. I apparently turned green with my first try at sushi (actually sashimi as I came to find out) - no one will ever know close I came to being the leader of a "Stand By Me" moment. I haven't known many Muslims - the last one I knew was a beautiful blond hair, blue eyed gal who kicked my ass in tennis. I didn't like her those times. I told her so. Otherwise she was a pretty cool gal. Only reason I even knew she was Muslim is she couldn't play during (Ramadan) fasting and she had to cover her arms and legs. And so? so what? Moral of the story - if I can't get a story, I'm bored. To me, being bored by you is so much worse than merely disagreeing with you. So anyway...moving on!.... anyone I've met who says they read, immediately changes my perception to "awesome! they're not boring. We can find something to talk about!". It's a huge character tell and already a level up for me...

so (since I'm striking out on conversation with new people lately) I found and joined a "book club" group on the meetup site... ... this "group" is specific to my preferred genre ...double awesome cause it's freakin hard to find people who even read...much less read what I like to read.

Can't go to a "meeting" till next month though - we'll see! Finished reading this weekend: Maiden Lane #1 - Elizabeth Hoyt - I feel I've read another of hers, even in this series, but to lazy to look back in my files. Regardless. Not bad, character chemistry was there...I guess just the story wasn't all that engaging. Womanizer by Katy Evans - I think I'm good with a one and done here? No pun intended ha. Actually with this title you'd think it'd have lots of background her but nope. It just started out a little shallow and characters remained a little shallow and hard to believe.

need some ice and an extension cord

crazy work week....i'm beat.

We had a good weekend -  I put christmas stuff up. Jamie conveniently made himself scarce....it took me 5 hours....oy.
Half the time I was like "F this shit!" and the other half was like "ooo pretty sparkles!"
....i'm really not sure why? We gals are weird sometimes.

At least I put it up though...I came close to letting 2016 win. 

Jamie made yummy comfort food (chicken/dumplings AND chili) stews -  from his generations of hand me down recipes -  and we invited the m's and the w's.
Game night/football watching night. They pretty much wiped us out on the food...it was pretty good stuff though.

my Dad texted saying he's getting married in 2 weeks (on a Monday) if we wanted to go...all I can do is shake my head.

Mom's coming in this weekend.

Finished:
Ugly Love: Colleen Hoover - it's. just. so. heavy. I get it but I guess I just like things a little more levity to offset just a little more.
Brown Eyed Girl - Lisa Kleypas: eh. Love her historicals sooo much more.
Amy Andrews - rugby story - just have a hard time with "i ruined you for your own good when we were younger but never forgot you and now that we're older what a coincidence we're together again lets have sexy times".
Wild Embrace - Nalini Singh - I always wondered about Gem! I liked the other stories ok too.

Also I hung on to finish watching Westworld - eh...I mean I guess?
And before I forget - we watched 3 episodes of House of Cards - acting is fantastic but it's just so mean. Like vicious/selfish/narcissistic mean. Pretty sure we're done....already get to see that in real life news today don't need more....

to goad - provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction.

Whereas usually I stay in the "safe" territory on FB (especially all through these election years) I'm in a goading mood a lot recently and just posted the below on my facebook page.

...highly doubt anybody will take the "debate" up with me. Most of them just want to live their lives and don't care either way. Case it point: one of my fb girl friends posted this, this morning "Hey dummies, the election is over. Quit buying in to all the nonsense and just put the chin strap on and roll with it. Time to focus on family, friends and the holidays! #overit"

but to me...the thing is... I'm tired of putting the chin strap on and keeping quiet in my bubble while doing it....anybody that reads or travels can see there are so many ways to do things and things to question....if I can't start by bringing it up to my family/friends to maybe see beyond their bubbles, then I feel a hypocrite having an opinion at all.

Posted to my FB:
I'm not always about HEA books and food ya know...

(although waiting for the next Sarah MacLean is torture and right now I'd love a stroopwafel)

here's my research and thoughts process on two subjects I find of interest.

(I welcome feedback - not so much on FB though...I'd be THRILLED to discuss - like the olden days - Honestly! I'm not the overly emotional type *only Jamie really has the magical ability to really piss me off* - you won't hurt my "feelings".

If you think I'm wrong, I'll listen to your rationale - (but better believe I'll follow up and research on what you're saying if it has any chance of changing my mind...)

1) Guantanamo Bay - did you know, every year, for the last 55ish years, the US sends a check of $4000 to lease Guantanamo Bay. Cuba, apparently, has not cashed those checks...as of yet. I wonder why? Anyone know? 

*I deviate...on to my point* 

We (tax payers) are paying roughly 10 million a year in taxes to house and maintain the deteriorating facility For EACH detainee. There are 60 detainees remaining. That's an estimated 600 million dollars a year. 

I read up on Alcatraz, I took the tour (I'm still a little upset they wouldn't let us see down in solitary confinement) - 

is GB not a magnified version of Alcatraz? this is the reason Alcatraz was closed...correct?

I'm confused as to what is wrong with hearing cost effective alternatives?

2) Building a Mexican Border "Wall" - costs could be into the billions. 

I've really only personally seen the border from El Paso, (otherwise just tv for the almost 2,000 miles of the rest of it) but I'm thinking that what's there now is sufficient - NOT secure, no, but sufficient-

According to records on cbp.gov - technology and the almost 60,000 border patrol agents are doing their jobs. 

If it is the the will of the people - allocating funding into more jobs, for more agents, for more security might make more logical sense than building a wall. No?

In the long run, costs to employ border patrol agents will supersede costs to build a wall though...would it be worth it?

The processing dilemma remains for the apprehended regardless....and leads to other questions on moral, humanitarian and international security issues etc.....I'll stop here though.

Lastly, my husband advised me to not post my thought processes on my facebook page for various reasons. I usually refrain - really though, while I value his opinion greatly - his tone of voice and the way he chose to convey his opinion to me prompted me to go ahead and post this at the first opportunity.

Moving on - it's supposed to rain all weekend - great Christmas decorating and reading weather. I'm all for that. 

where we are now in the world

had dinner with the in-laws last night - our server complimented us on talking to each other through the meal with no phones in sight.

Yep this is where we are now in the world ...people talking to each other over a meal is something unique to remark upon.

Other good news - our nephews have been accepted into good colleges next year - the stress of our siblings over the costs of said colleges will be for another time....

Joining the wagon to watch the Cowboys game tonight at a bar with some friends. I told Jamie I'd dig up my Cowboys shirt but he forbade me, as to "not jinx them" - so I got my Stars shirt on.
Beat those Penguins! Representing. 'Cause Hockey is still way better than football....

Finished Victoria Alexander's - Scandalous Adventures Brides Sister - not gonna lie, skipped a little and repetitive bickering "perfect" "rude" got a little old. Overall not bad though.