ack! shit! I've been constantly distracted
books - I read Ward's The Thief - could totally see why that gal would skip chapters and go back to read one story line through.
Voyeur and the Varlet - she describes what a varlet is. I liked it....but Penny Reid is pretty much spot-on my style
Too Wilde to Wed - eloisa james - yeah i liked this! misunderstandings/miscommunications and some shenanigans, no evil person/antagonist plot. a winner

Politics - yep immigration flare up that's really been building for years.
The question of "but were you protesting in 2014/2015?" repeated.
So I repeated:
nope…besides voting and the occasional email to representatives, I wasn’t protesting anything in 2014/2015….I was blithely living in my bubble of privilege. And not gonna lie…I miss my bubble.

I have always had an interest in immigration though – I was an immigrant myself when we lived in Canada for 5 years. 
Grew up in El Paso otherwise and worked for city hall in El Paso as an intern. My step-father was an immigration/border patrol agent. Immigration law is complex, Even he had a hard time explaining. There were/are a lot of gray areas.
Holistically (as I understood it) intact families were rarely separated, there are lots of cases where children arrived by themselves. In that case it gets even more complicated.

Notice I say “as I understood it” cause I’m fully aware my basic curiosity doesn’t make me a specialist or privy to what “really” was going on.

Bottom line – I’m tired of the apathy… plus in the cases of asylum attempts - I can’t possibly fault someone trying to save themselves/their children (especially when the U.S. had a hand in the chaos that’s happening in their countries)…Just can’t. So heckfire yeah I’m protesting now. 

Charley Crockett tomorrow for some music therapy.
My Sheldonita has been in a Jack Ingram mood though...so I'll go with it:
Looking at maybe Mexico city for Thanksgiving? (why not...)...

second sight

The Duke Who Knew Too Much - Grace Callaway - not gonna lie, skipped through the "dangerous/murderer" plot. Otherwise I liked the characters...chemistry was good.

Second Sight - Amanda Quick - paranormal-ish, I finished it, it was okay...

Blood Fury - JRWard - i forget how she intertwines stories. I was talking to a book club girl that literally skips chapters to read one story line through...and then starts again with the other story line. I like Novo's better...I still feel it was missing backstory for both. It's like 75%. 

Leave for California tomorrow - San Jose (Silicon Valley) and Carmel (where there's apparently a "very important" golf course) - I tried to see if I could sit in the Facebook lobby to people watch for a while

but it was confirmed that I'd need an approved access badge. Boo.

Tried blockwalking. - not a fan, but at least now I can say I tried it.
In an hour we hit 24 houses and it was freaking hot, the majority of the houses had "no soliciting", since we didn't want to piss people off we moved on. Of the 5 people that actually answered their door we got: three confirmed republicans, one confirmed Republican that's "not happy and closer to voting dem than you might think" and another independent that needs to "think about it".

I've been on a Kacey Musgraves roll the last couple weeks

not knowing

we did a random day trip adventure on Saturday - packed a cooler, the M's picked us up @ 10a, and we headed north.
Jamie and I had no idea where we were going - cause why not -  it's part of the fun.

So up we went to Clark's in Tioga, to Arbuckle Wilderness park in Oklahoma, down to (lose my ass again) at Winstar (seriously....they owe me money) and then breweries in Pilot Point.

and I just have to vent a little - my dear, sweet friend M is turning into a full fledged stick in the mud middle-aged adult. And I have no idea how to tell her to stop. She didn't used to be that way?!
It's supposed to be a relaxing/fun time but a lot of the time she was worried, or harping on her husband about something...oy.
I advised her that she needed a drink....but since she refused.  And she's so nice and sweet about it I can't even be my default "strait up bitch real" to her about being a buzzkill. I gently asked her why she's become such a worry wart - she responded sadly  "I don't know....I guess it's because I'm 40 now?..." and that was the end of that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ whadayagonnado...
so I proceeded to take my own advice and got a little tipsy. :) Besides that hiccup...the day was fun!

side note: that "wilderness park" ....i'll never understand the need to cage animals, especially exotic animals, for people's amusement. Want to know what a white tiger looks/acts like? Youtube it. I guarantee it's not normal for a newborn white tiger cub to be pacing in an enclosure like it was....ugh. On the flip side the donkeys, emu, goats, ducks and horses looked happy and were certainly well fed. 

Wrote an email regarding all upcoming TX special session items to my rep.
Failed on the "non-snarky" effort with a few, like this one:
-Preventing cities from regulating what property owners do with trees on private land.-

I said:
"Really? we're paying an extra $1million+ for this to be on the same platform as pregnant Texas women dying and school teachers pay? This is a waste of money and time!!!"
(...couldn't help it) *sigh*

Finished:
The Chosen - Ward - good yes. Didn't love it. I guess she "kept it real" with the arguments but I'm not sure anyone could come back like how quinn/layla did.  It was too quick hot/cold for me. Xcor's story really took a backseat. Not sure where she's going with the re-do on the shadows story? And yeah I get the drama with V, I didn't love their match ....but (again) this is the topic is off-limits for me for redeeming. tricky tricky.....
Something Wonderful - Judith McNaught - (the fb group reco!) and  i really like what she did with this one! jaded duke falls for the innocent. I believed them. I liked her transition. I feel like I've read her before? I guess it's before I started writing it down. I'll continue here. 


And so we Eli Young band - 

enfermera, dummy!

Telemundo interviewed me from the line outside Cornyn's office last week -  totally embarrassing how quickly I'm forgetting my Spanish . Could not for the life of me remember how to say "nurse". heh *smh*

I didn't make the "cut" at news time - of which I am glad. 

Naturally everything was about the ACA. He asked me specifically how the repeal would affect me. 

I said I "wasn't sure, part of the reason why i was there was to get feedback from people actually experiencing it and knowledgeable about it".  

Don't guess that makes for good "news".

Seriously though - i'm not going to lie and say I have an definitive opinion when I'm not fully informed.  Outside of those college years when I aged out and I was "gonna live forever anyway so why need it?" -  I don't have a pre-existing condition and for the most part have had insurance through my or Jamie's job

The Parkland ER nurse I stood next to on one side felt it was a bad idea to repeal for several reasons. The librarian on my other side was worried about her grandparents losing coverage and/or her being charged outrageously for healthcare as a young woman with not a lot means. 

Looking further into it - the maternity and mental illness loss could really harm people.

on the other hand, I struggle with the thought of how we're paying for all of this. 

Here (my Canadian-ism) comes out...why not just do what they're doing - whatever it's called (Medicaid healthcare?)
I've asked all my remaining canuck pals - it works for them up there. 

or at the very least - if you ask me...put the money being garnered for that stupid wall into healthcare and help people.

Again though...admittedly I'm just not fully informed....

Oh and yes, some car passers by (all young men) shouted their own commentary "go Trump!" revving their engines and peeling out so we're covered in exhaust, and not so friendly like yelling "c you next tuesday.." at us.... *heh....smh oh well*

Moving on - 

out with Jamie Thursday and Friday we bar hopped/talked to people. Got annoyed with a gal we sat next to at a bar telling me I should get Jamie to buy me a smart phone. 
I don't "need" Jamie to get me a smart phone. 
I can get my own damn phone. I'm choosing to keep my phone.

M and J's Jewelry party Saturday - mostly partook of the sangria. Bought a $76 "statement" necklace. I mean seriously! I could buy 7 NEW books for that! gah....i better wear that shit. 

Watched Fences - totally get why she won an oscar....otherwise there was just so. much. talking....

Finished reading:

Ward's Blood Vow - the gal's got her world figured out - doesn't disappoint. 

Re-read Blood Kiss - just because

If you were Mine - Melanie Harlow - reminiscent mesh of Higgins books? that's a compliment. it's just ....this author has that "something" that always come out with her girls that bothers me. Maybe more prevalent after reading Ward's girls where they just call things out and not be such a stereotypical girl about it. heh. Quite frankly, I'dve never taken him back.

runnin' round (hopefully not in circles)

So much running through my mind!

• making a sign for the march this weekend. seriously this was harder than I thought it was gonna be! To put in a few words all that I'm thinking/want to say. Especially since that thought changes every two minutes. And so I decided on a little bit of Jane Austen and a little bit of Macon Greyson in it. I don't think it's preachy or rage-filled. Just a lttle "me" sarcasm - I'm quite thrilled. If nothing else it'll feel good to not just sit and scoff (or nod) at any entertainment platform
• Vacation in a few weeks
• Need to start planning for Derby party 
• Then help my sister plan for my nephews graduation
• and other stuff I want to avoid right now so I'm not even gonna mention here. 

Books.Finished:
Ward's - Beast - yep she's figured herself out. And she can go on forever. So good!
Rise - Karina Bliss - so i think I've figured out that rock star stories are lower on my list of tropes. I liked the educated smart girl meets rock star though apparently. Finished this one.
SEP - #6 Wynette story - he's jilted and doesn't really care. I stayed up late to finish this one. I cracked up a few times.

think he thought I might start burning my bra...

The book club thing was interesting - 8ish gals? seems like they've known each other for a while. Friendly though and funny. Got a lot of book reco's. I'll go again. So fun to find people who know what I'm talking about when I talk books.

speaking of girls - I think I'm gonna go to the women's march in Denton next weekend?

when I told Jamie, he asked "why?" in a way that made me think he was a little worried that I might start man-hating and burning my bra or something.
Actually now that I think about it, he might be ok with burning my bra...heh

I'm not expecting my going will "change the world" or anything... Really - I'd say about 60% is just 'cause I want to see the process - the rest is a venting platform for a mix of frustration and a constant feeling like something(s) going wrong.

It helped too (in my case) that it's not about yelling...
looks like people come together, with signs if they want,  around noon and stand shoulder/shoulder to someone else that thinks things are going not ok in a circle around the courthouse for half an hour-ish and then leave.
That works for me. Hopefully the crowds aren't unbearable.

I just got Ward's The Beast in! soo excited.
Don't think we're doing much this weekend with it raining and all...a-ok by me!!

And so we Pistol Annies today -

spinnin' out of control

in a fit of rage, one of Jamie's college friends sent a long "F U/cutting ties" email to their Texas Tech group for not being good friends to him.

I'd chalk it up to midlife crisis (and this article rings true) but the email was beyond that,  it read as though he's spinning out of control.

I do know Jamie though.
He's kept friends since pre-school. Accusing him of not being a friend is blatantly false.

Seriously - I imagine that I'll have my 5 (?) friends at my funeral but
I'd need to rent out a hall to fit everyone that would want to go to his. I'd be Kramer in this scenario

Really seriously though, back to the college friend -
Don't know him all that well (they're not that close of friends), but one of the few memories I have of my wedding day is sobbing/walking down the aisle and catching a glimpse of him sobbing right along with me, on the way down.

What was he expecting I wonder?
I feel bad for him to be in that state of misery.

I doubt spewing that hateful email made him feel that much better though...

Moving on -
good weekend - Finished Ward's Immortal - one of those few times that I like the story more than the main characters? I can't make sense of it more then that. It felt rushed but I was ready for it to be finished.

We hung out with Jamie's parents Friday at the baseball game.
Then date night (6 hours flew by!) bar hopping around deep ellum (the revival!). Black Swan Saloon is definitely on-point.
Eleven Hundred Springs - my goodness these guys should be famous.
I don't understand!

you led me the wrong way

plans to visit the UK next year are dwindling - flight rates are ridiculous.
AA was advertising "cheap flights to London!"
...umm no.
I keep itineraries to what we paid for Ireland and Spain. No way are we paying double.

I'm gonna hang on a bit but I can't wait much longer before we have to make the decision to change plans. Such a  bummer...I have it all planned out.

And so...we saw "Spotlight" and like Jamie said..it's like we got through watching a movie on the holocaust or a world war.

I remember hearing about this story when it broke - still...I had no idea the magnitude of abuse.
I'm disgusted and, not that I've considered myself Catholic in a very long while, but I remember some good things about being raised Catholic. It makes me sad.

and really though...it's one thing those that do horrific/contradictory things in the "name of their religion" for whatever selfish reason.
It's another when those that are ordained to represent a religion, corrupt it insidiously like that
and then are internally repetitively assisted in doing it!
oy..i'm depressed just thinking about it.

Finished reading Ward's Blood Kiss - I liked it!! loved that it was just two story lines with all the other characters appearing peripherally. It read much better.
I've started on a sci-fi one...slow going but not because it's bad -  think it's just cause i'm still stuck in Ward's book.

In a Micky&the Motorcars mood

FOOD (love, wars and awkwardness)

read an article about "michelin star wars".  it was interesting.

made me think of us trying the 3 star Berasategui in San Sebastian.
honestly?...it didn't really do much for me...yeah I tasted things I never had before...like squid ink. And it certainly was an experience...very formal and sterile. The servers were on point.

But would I recommend it over say...Juanito Kojua in old town? No.

That's just me though - what do I know...I never said I was a food connoisseur.
I just like food.
(and Spain definitely = food = LoveLoveLOVE for me)

but back to Berasategui...
another thing was, I asked to go back into their kitchen so I could thank the chefs...

We got in there and those poor cooks looked terrified and totally exhausted.
I went in with my camera all like "hey guys! lets hug for food happiness!!"

and instead we backed out awkwardly (and as soon as possible) to help them not be so terrified instead.
That's def a memory in the awkward column for sure....

Finished The Shadows - so wow... yeah aside from getting a little story line/character convoluted, what she did was hard to do. I think she did it well. I'm still hangin on for sure. I saw that the Beast is next. I had doubts on her going back for the King so this time we'll see how she re-covers ground.

Also read Emma Chase's Sustained - maybe not the most believable to go so opposite but a good one!

maybe not going Rogue...booo

got a Rogue costume  - gloves and red hair w/ white strip and everything - but I'm just kinda eh....
my favorite holiday and i'm not feelin' the halloween spirit.

Thinking I might hold off on wearing rogue til next year.
I'm so boring.
..i hate boring.

maybe it's just the weather.
Friends invited us to dinner and my book sounds more interesting to me right now.
Bout halfway through reading The Shadows - oy there's like 8 story lines - and the mains of this one are def not my favorite of hers.

It's not getting on my nerves just yet,  but seriously though,
 if ever there was an author to keep me just barely on the good side of the cusp to boredom it's J.R. Ward. She stretches a story like I've never seen before.

And so if it's not still raining we might head to the horse track to bet on the breeders cup tomorrow. Then maybe a birthday halloween party and maybe i'll be in a better mood..but as i said...eh. yawn. i suck.

a Muse, Bird Hunters, a chance and Catfish.

quit the Bourbon Kings. I'm on to Cora Carmack's 1st Muse Book - it's a little "woe is me" but I like it so far - much MUCH better character chemistry.

Another good story -  The Bird Hunters.
It didn't catch my attention at first, but then I listened the story in it...and now it's on replay.
That dark haired gal did a number on him, it's all over his music.

Rangers playoffs, a chance at the Fall Classic (i'm worried. oy)

and also headed down Houston way this weekend for visiting and a catfish festival. 

The Bird Hunters - Turnpike Troubadours
The covey took wing Shotguns a singing 
A pointing dog down in the old logging road 

Danny got three And looked back a grinning
I fumbled around and I tried to reload

The country was cold With the sun westward sinking
It's good to be back in this place

With my hands around A Belgian made Browning
My mind on the lines of her face

Well now Danny's my buddy We grew up like family
Hunted this timber before we could drive
The old English pointer He once belonged to me But I gave him up when I moved in '05

Off to the girl Off to the cityOff on a wing and a chance
Hell I thought it'd play out Just like some story
We fell in love at a rodeo dance

She said go on back to Cherokee County
Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb
Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home

Dan says, "Look at old Jim A dozen Decembers Behind him no worse for the wear
And your time spent in Tulsa Did not help your shooting
And look at the gray in your hair

How good does it feel? You belong in these hills 
It's best that you let it all end
If you'd have married that girl You'd have married her family
You dodged a bullet my friend"

She said go on back to Cherokee County
Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb
Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home

I was beginning To deal with it ending
The old dog had pointed while part of me died

And a flutter of feathers Then a shotgun to shoulder
I thought of the Fourth of July
She'll be home on the Fourth of July
I bet we'll dance on the Fourth of July

Dan says, "Hell of a shot Looks like you've still got it That's what we came here to do
It's light enough still At the foot of the hill We could kick up a single or two

She said go on back to Cherokee County
Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb
Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home
Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home

shout! at the (decorators, devil and the dull)

if 34's your median age, you're missing your market Pier 1.
I came in looking for halloween stuff and you're already on to Christmas...ugh

There are very few people I know that make time (or have interest) to even decorate -
and so if they do, they're like me and want to decorate for the month of the event - they're not buying for Christmas right now. I protest!  Your loss though...

Jamie and I thought about going to see Motley Crue tomorrow night...oy on a Wednesday though...not sure I can hang. And we've been spending way too much on fun times lately, I'm thinking we're gonna pass.

Reading JR Ward's Bourbon Kings right now - I think it had potential but it's so soap opera and I'm not all that invested. I'll see how long I can hang on.
I'm gettin' a little pissy at how disappointing my books are lately.

book bored and moon struck

hyped as similar to Gone Girl i had to force myself to finish reading The Girl on the Train - weak characters, predictable plot. Just didn't do it for me.... ugh.

I heard Emily Blunt is cast as the lead in the movie they're making though. This may be one of the few times the movie is better than the book. I like her. 

I also read L. Ione's Hades - again i like her play on good/evil. In this case, the book itself was not great but not bad. She's losing me though...such a bummer...i love her demonica series.

Then re-read Ward's Lover Avenged thinking that maybe I'd like it better - but no I still think she could've done so much better with his story. His was one I was looking forward to and it was just eh.

And so I guess that's the theme here - i was book underwhelmed this weekend. boooo.

We did manage to do a whole lotta nothing otherwise though. It was nice.

The blood moon - looking at it...it's just amazing, and yeah a little creepy cause it really did look bloody. You just have to think and wonder how that would've freaked people out in history. I mean just imagine! So awesome.

maybe we're just weird

Impromptu happy hour and nice weather made some in our group this happy last night.

Notice I just took the picture...
I think I'd hurt myself attempting to do this - conditions have to be perfect.

I signed this petition for uber (cause it's a no-brainer)

I've also facebook-liked my local and state representatives (regardless if I voted for them) - just so I can see what they're doing.

I would think it's just a part of getting older that I'm caring more about how "I'm" being represented and where my tax dollars are being spent.

Guess I'm just weird though...cause very few people I know around my age don't care. I'm surprised if they even vote the presidential election.

I bought the new Eloisa James.
Holding off on the new Ward book. I mean I get that the author spent hours/months to tell the story. But $12 is freakin expensive!! I think the hours I take reading it should count for something....
 It's a digital book for cryin out loud! You didn't have to cut the tree down and produce it. I'm not even getting the book feel/smell that makes it doubly worth it.
I'm not paying $12!!!

walk out now

Heading to see this awesome band tonight!

This is one of my favorite Reckless Kelly songs.

It's like Tohr and No'One's story in Lover Reborn! oh the conflict. oh the misery. LOVED that book....