Four Books Which Should Have Been Mine.....

When I was 11 and writing my own stories about beautiful princesses, lonely kings, defective dragonflies, kind giants, and helpful trolls, I envisioned my own book of fairy tales one day.  Obviously hasn't happened, because a year later my mom let me read my first romance book.

I absolutely loved this book!  After devouring it several times, I tried to instruct my sister on 'how to act' as we continued the story, inserting ourselves into it.  I was the rebellious daughter of Heather and Brandon, and she was supposed to be my best friend/partner in crime, but I would ultimately get the guy (played by my giraffe coat rack....yeah, go ahead and laugh....) while she would get her own true love.  But mine was the 'bad boy'.  She disliked this game and wouldn't cooperate, so this story stayed in my imagination and is still somewhat swirling around in there.  You might say I 'updated' it from post-Civil War to the present in Wild At Heart....

This was my first Lavyrle Spencer book, read in the early 90's.  I love this one better than ones where the pregnant mama is marrying her dead fiance's best friend and vows to never love again....or there are tons of misunderstandings because of assumptions made by both adults....yes, I'll admit this keeps me turning pages, but it also makes me want to jump into the story and lock both characters in a closet until they TALK to each other!

Why do I bring this up?  While painting my bedroom in summer 1990, my imagination took off and imagined an artist commissioned to paint a mural....she brings her tiny son along....and in walks the man she thought was dead.  He'd been sent overseas and not heard from in several months; word trickled back he'd been killed in combat; and in her grief, she turned to his best friend, but the baby was his.  Actually, you know what?  This sounds an awful lot like...

...but I never got around to writing it down OR even finishing the scene I'd imagined after the initial confrontation!

And since everyone now knows I wrote my own ending to Star Wars (and got it completely wrong....), George Lucas never contacted me for my take on the prequels, ha ha ha!  And I kind of gave up on Fan Fiction after that.

So what do you think?  Was I cheated out of my chance?  Or was I simply 'in tune' with Lavyrle Spencer's muse?  I guess there's always room for my own 'spin' on these stories!

How do they DO that?

I often find that after seeing a mind-blowing movie I'll think, "How the hell did someone think of that? How did they write something that complex?" Then I'll think, "I don't think I could ever do that."

When it comes to books though, I sometimes think, "I could've written this..." and "Why didn't I write this?!" For example, I wholeheartedly believe that the Twilight series is pretty craptastic when it comes to the writing. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the series. But Meyers had a great idea and went with it. Now she probably won't ever NEED to write again because financially she's set. I wish I'd written those books, and did a better job. :)

Then of course there's JK Rowling. I know for a fact that I couldn't have written the HP series. It amazes me how she managed to weave so many things together throughout the series mostly because I'm not a planner when I write and I assume that writing like she does takes a whole lot of pre-plotting. But yep, I wish I could write like that.

Of course it's not all about the money, movies and merchandise though... I remember reading Jennifer Armintrout's first Blood Ties book years ago and totally falling in love with it. A vampire story set in Grand Rapids?! Sweet! I fell for all of the characters and ate up the series all the while thinking how cool it was that someone from Michigan wrote this awesomeness. It gave me hope that maybe one day I'd be published too. I'm still not... But I do know Jen via Facebook and The Twitter now and it's pretty damn cool to be able to chat with someone who you look up to when it comes to writing. :) <3

Another author I adore is Sarah Addison Allen. Every single time I read one of her books it gets inside of me and sets up residence for a while. I'm in awe of her writing and how she pulls her stories together. I totally wish I'd written her books because they're just so damn amazing!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tasty book by Bronywn that I'm in the middle of reading right now that wants my attention!

Have a great week!

Damn, I Wish I'd Written That

I often feel like I wish I'd written stories I've read by other authors - sometimes it's a whole story, sometimes it's just a line or two. I like to think of it as a deep and abiding love and respect for words and stories that affect me.

But the one story that I most wish I'd written is The Wild Wood by Charles deLint. Originally, I'd bought the book on eBay because I collect the artwork of the illustrator - Brian Froud. When the book arrived, I flipped through it to look at the pretty pictures. Before I knew it, I found myself sucked into the story and I had no desire to get out.

I fell in love with the magical world created by deLint. I didn't just fall in love - I wanted to crawl inside the book and live there. The writing is both haunting and poetic and the descriptions powerful. Any time I pick this book up, I fall into it again just as deeply as I did the first time I read it.

I got so much more than beautiful artwork. I discovered an author who to this day remains one of my favorites. I'd love to write a book that affects people in the way The Wild Wood affects me.

Well of Course....

I'm sure we ALL wish we had written these books. Not just for the ridiculous fame and fortune Ms. Rowling has experienced since producing these works. For me it is more about the fact that she was able to touch so many people's lives. These books were such a huge part of an entire generation. People became entranced with the world and it's characters. And they were really, really good books.

Even though they were written for kids she never talked down to her readers. She trusted them to work through the difficult stuff with Harry and Ron and Hermoine. She gave the reader just as much credit as they gave her. There is a level of trust between her and her audience that is not often found in the publishing world.

I know that I write, and I like to think I produce some pretty good work. But I don't know if I have the creativity in me that she has. The stories and the settings and the lessons that were in these tomes are absolutely incredible.

So yeah, I wish it had been my idea. I wish I had written these books. But I will always be glad that at least I had the chance to read them. Over and over and over again.

XoXoXo
D

Winter By The Ages

Up to age 6:  Bundle me up Mommy!  I'm c-c-c-coooooold!

Age 8:  A blizzard?  On my birthday?  But I wanted to share my cupcakes and wear the crown in school today!  That's not fair!

Age 12 (Blizzard of '78):  Whoo hoo!  Snowed in!  No school!  The snow is clear up to the roof!  (Two weeks later):  Why can't I wear pants to church?  I'm COLD!

Age 13 (Blizzard of '79):  This is exciting!  Snowstorm hit; school is cancelled....now where are the busses?  Oh...they can't get through?  How am I supposed to get home?  Hi Daddy!....What, the power is out at home? How's Mom going to fix supper?  (Later):  This is fun!  Roasting hot dogs in the fireplace and pretending we're on a camping trip!  And no school for the rest of the week!

Age 19:  I'm tired of being cooped up due to all this snow....

Age 24:  What?  You expect me to drive in this?  Surely the kids have a two hour delay....or none at all.  Why didn't I take a job in Florida?

Age 28:  Why do I have the heat kicked up so high?  Do you not see it is thirty degrees below zero?  I'm not going anywhere; if you want to go to the store, you know where it is.

Age 32:  Is this a sign we weren't supposed to move out of the city?  Been in our home for a month and an ice storm hits.  My car gets stuck in a ditch twice on the way home, plus a neighbor has to tow me up the hill, due to all the ice on the road.  Maybe we need to move farther south....

Age 33:  Now this is my kind of winter!  Snowed during Christmas Break, and melted right after New Year's!

Age 45:  Gah!  Where did all this ICE come from?  Thankful my new employer doesn't like it anymore than I do, and is letting me stay home.  Conversely, on the 'warmer' days, I go in and enjoy the solitude for five hours, knowing the spouse will be back to bring me lunch or pick me up at closing time.

Future Winter:  Please adhere to the following guidelines:
-Temps not dipping below thirty (I'd say 50, but let's be realistic...)
-Snow fall not exceeding one inch per snowstorm; otherwise, please melt within 24 hours.
-Absolutely no thick ice.
-If you must snow, please do it in time for either the schools to declare 2 hour delay or close all together.  Or on a morning where the spouse is willing to get up and do the driving.
-A light dusting of snow is always appreciated on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning....but not enough to hinder travel plans.
-Please, no temps below 50 after St. Patrick's Day?  And certainly not any time during the month of May!  I prefer Race Day (Indy 500) to be filled with sunshine and high 80's:)

I'm Winter's Bitch

I love winter.  I love the snow and being able to wear sweaters, sweatshirts and hand knit scarves.  I love to sit inside all snuggly warm writing or reading while it's snowing like mad outside.  I used to have a snow globe that sat on my desk year round that was given to me as a gift because I'd once said that when it snows I'm happy and that person wanted me to be happy all of the time.  Sadly, the person who gave me that snow globe no longer cares about my happiness and I couldn't even tell you where the snow globe ended up.  LOL  But my point is that I always loved winter.

My driveway after the first big snow in December.

Now a days though winter and I don't exactly get along.  I still love the snow and all the crap I mentioned above.  But for the past couple of years I've been dealing with this weird mystery illness of mine that pretty much makes winter a living hell for me now.  When the temps are at freezing or below (it's 10 fucking degrees where I am right now.  Ten.) every joint in my body hurts.  I find it hard to do basically anything because everything hurts.  Walking, typing, standing up, lying down... everything.  It's like the cold seeps into my joints and freezes everything so that I'm like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz when he's all rusted up. 


I've been tested for Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis and a bunch of other stuff but my doctor can't figure out why I have this pain.  It's definitely better when I'm warm and in warm weather, but even then I still deal with it.  Basically it sucks.  I have my good days and then my awful days.  Most days are somewhere in between where I'm good for a portion of the day and then it hits me and I feel like I'm about 90 years old.  Right now my back is screaming at me and my shoulders are so tensed up they feel like they're on fire.  It's ridiculous at my age to have so much pain, and yet I do.


So yeah, winter for me is a bit of a bittersweet thing.  On one hand I still love it and it still makes me smile, but on the other hand it literally hurts me.  I still get excited when I hear there's a big storm headed our way and when people who live here in the Mitten bitch about winter I roll my eyes because it annoys the fuck out of me.  I mean come on... sure it's annoying at times, but you live in Michigan!  It's going to get ass numbing cold here and you know it!  It's also going to snow here, so acting like it's the end of the freaking world because it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do in winter is just silly to me.  


I truly do love winter... I just hate what it does to my body.

This is the view from my bathroom... how can you not love that?

Brilliantly Bad Verse

Winter

Oh winter…
Your icy days beckon all summer.
You tease me with each frosty autumn morn.
Your crystalline flurries dusting the lawn.
Your lacy etchings on each glass pane.

Oh the promises you make…
Sugar-coated devilry,
Clouding our true memories:
Gray dismal skies the heavy price.
Days on end of slush and ice.
Biting cold to peel off the skin.
Drifts and slips and terror-filled spins.
Ditches, snow days,
Scraping and sneezing.
Layering clothes,
But still icy toed.
Frozen pipes.
Invasions by mice.
Boot melt-off,
Soaks our socks.
Heating bills soar.
Icicles form.
Dreaming…
Of the warm…

Is it spring, yet?

One of the things I love most about Michigan is the fact that we have four seasons. Granted, D's right, sometimes it seems more like two. Mostly, it's two super long ones and two far too short ones. But I love the transition from one season to another. There's something about the rhythm of the changes that makes me smile.

However, this post isn't about how I feel about seasons.

It's about how I feel about winter.

Huge, heaving sigh...

You know when I like winter?

From about Thanksgiving day until New Year's Day.

It can snow as much as it wants from the end of Thanksgiving to the beginning of January, then it needs to knock it the hell off.

Unfortunately, this isn't how Michigan rolls.

It's all about snow and ice and cold and more snow and ice and cold. It's about treacherous driving conditions, slipping on icy sidewalks and people that can't drive for shit.

Granted, the snow is pretty. And I wouldn't mind it so much if I could just watch it come down from the warmth and comfort of my couch.

But since that's not an option, I'm desperately hoping for spring.

An Ode To Winter

From
Up North
Comes a
Killer cold front

You're not going to school
Or work again today
Unbelievable

We Michiganders know
Its
Never going to get better
Two seasons is all we
Ever get. Hot and
Really fucking cold.

XoXoXo
D

Winter In My...

I'm pretty sure there poems, stories, odes, and epics dedicated to winter. This probably doesn't count. The first heavy snowfall of winter, where everything is layered in a white downy blanket is gorgeous and I'm itching to get my camera out and take pictures. Then I either have to walk in it or drive it, then it's not so pretty. And after the rest of the city drives in it, it's grey and slippery and just plain ick.
Like I said, there is some breathtaking scenery in the state, great for the muse and the imagination. It's just freakin' cold.



As pretty as it is, I absolutely hate driving in it. I'd rather just stay home where it's warm, look at how pretty it is through the window and let someone else drive.

Simone

"Our House Was A The Four-Legged Zoo...."

LOL....not really:)  We just keep acquiring animals....

Roxie, our 10-y/o Cocker Spaniel.  We acquired her in 2009, after euthanizing our 14-y/o German Shepherd Keisha and after the death of our 11-y/o Norwegian Elkhound Shadow.  I don't have any pics of these two on my laptop, nor of the six cats we had from 1991-2005.  RIP Smokey, Rosey, Tag-A-Long, Gizmo, Tiger, and Fluffy.

Cheyenne,  3-y/o our 'German Rott Bull Chow'....she came to live with us a year ago when the daughter saw her at the local shelter.

Amelia, the baby bunny the cat brought home in 2009.  We 'rescued' her and kept her for about two weeks, before returning her to the backyard.

Lucky, my black lab whom we rescued from the neighbor in 2000.  She survived being threatened with euthanasia by said neighbor; being run over by another neighbor's truck; and once we moved to our current home, slipped off her chain and took many runs around the neighborhood.  In 2010, she was losing bladder control, and after many treatments with medication, said a tearful goodbye to her right before my oldest son's graduation.

Mikey, the rat.  Son K insisted he wanted a couple of domesticated rats in April 2008, and they provided us with hours of entertainment!  Here they are one day when we turned them loose on the porch.  Mikey decided to try to get into the toy truck....

Pinky investigated the cat's food.....

And since I never got footage of the 'Pinky/Mikey/Oreo Comedy Hour', here is our cat Oreo tolerating Pinky trying to play with him!

And how many cats would tolerate being read to?

Youngling found Oreo in the park on New Years Eve 2008, and brought him home.  He was a tiny, barely weaned kitten who quickly won everyone over with his calm demeanor, and even let the rats 'beat up' on him.  We didn't think he knew he was a cat until a year later, when he began bringing home 'presents' for us on the front porch....various mice, birds, and even a baby bunny!

So the grand total from 1991-2012:

Dogs:  5

Cats:  7

Rats:  2

Bunny: 1

And I would be remiss in not mentioning kitty Simon, who tried to adopt us, but we ended up giving him to some friends.  Unfortunately, two days later, the most agressive of J's dogs took a dislike to the tiny kitten and he is now buried in her back yard.  The dog who instigated the senseless attack was euthanized six months later.  I still tear up whenever I think of both Simon and Lucky pup.

But on a lighter note, it's never a dull moment around here!  Roxie gets me up every morning at 6 (earlier if no one lets her outside at bedtime) and Oreo is usually ready to come inside for his breakfast.  So they have a system, and it gets me out of bed in the mornings, even on Thursdays after being at karaoke until 2am!

Down on the Farm

I literally live on a farm.  We're not farmers by any means but our house is on 99 acres of farm land that someone else owns and someone else takes care of (thankfully).  We do however have our own little furry farm inside of the house. :) 

First there's Kira... she's my baby.  She's 10 years old and a total diva.  She literally doesn't like anyone but me.  I don't blame her though, she spent the first few years of her life as an only child (the hamsters Edgar and Myrtle didn't really count since they were in a cage) so she was The One and Only for quite some time.  Then I moved home and she had to deal with other animals and she hated it. She's come around enough that she'll let my mother touch her, if and only if she's in the mood though. :) We often refer to her as The Kitteh Upstairs because she doesn't come to the first floor of the house thanks to the dogs.

She's not all that found of my nook or other items that steal my attention.

Pretending to be a Victoria's Secret model. :)

Then there's Kia... We're not sure how old she is because she belonged to someone else before we got her.  Technically she's my Grandpa's cat but now that he lives with us, she's ours now too.  We couldn't figure out why she always had her tongue hanging out when she lived with my Grandpa... turns out the poor thing doesn't have teeth!  Toothless is also a pro at opening cupboards and drawers in the kitchen, she makes her own fun. :)

She talks with a lisp.

Katie is my mom's dog.  She's a Scottie and she's 7 years old.  She's a little overweight and has only had one professional haircut so she often looks like a wookie or a warthog but she's a love muffin.  Thanks to her brother Alex (see below) who tripped her when she was on the stairs once she won't go up or down stairs on her own (unless they're the stairs to the yard).  Therefore this happy little tub of chub has to be carried like a princess upstairs for bed and downstairs in the morning. 

One of her Good Hair Days when she actually looked like a Scottie.

She's also a belly rub whore who will roll on her back as soon as ANYONE walks in the house.  Doesn't matter if she's met them before or not. :)

Alex is a special boy.  Special in the way that if he were a human he's probably have an IEP in school. He's an 8 year old Cocker Spaniel Spazoid and also belongs to my mom.  He's afraid of thunder, fireworks, wind, my camera, the vaccum, newspapers, and scissors (because he knows we use them to trim his hair LOL).  Despite all of his weirdness though, he's a sweet boy who often forgets he's a dog and likes to sit like a human or walk around on the back of the couch like a cat.
 

He was totally giving me the Stink Eye because my camera scared him. LOL dork.

Sly is my boy that I inherited from my brother's friend who no longer wanted him.  I totally wasn't planning on keeping him but he showed up (about 3 months old at the time) and I couldn't NOT love him.  He's 5 now and is by far the biggest cat in the house.  His original name was Sly Cooper after the video game (two little boys named him) but he's known around here as Sly Boy. We started calling him Meow Meow because when he talks he almost always meows twice. That somehow turned into Mr. Meow Meow and then we decided that he also has a French alter-ego named Monsiour Mew Mew. (Yes, we speak for our animals around here...).  When he's Mew Mew he speaks with a French accent and believes he's quite the lover-man.  He's pretty much afraid of anything that moves suddenly (like Kira hiding under a blanket to attack him). 

Last but not least is Lola.  She's actually not ours and doesn't live with us, but she belongs to my best friend who lives next door.  I call my best friend my wife, so technically Lola's my step daughter. She looks so much like Kira that we joke that they're somehow related but honestly they're not.  Her full name is Princess Lola Jasmine Bombay (lol) and she looooves when I come over with yarn. :)

I have many a photoshoot with Lola, she's a great subject and doesn't move too much!

And that's it!

I can haz kittehs?

It should surprise no one here, that I'm a cat person. I like dogs just fine, but there are very few I'd ever want to live with. The only dog I'd consider living with is Brynn's. I do love that puppy-girl. :) I'm lucky because hubby's a cat person, too.

We currently have five cats. Yeah, I know...it's a lot, but they're all rescues and I wouldn't trade any of them.This is Willow challenging Corwin to a game of chess shortly after we got her. She and her sister Morrighan are two and a half now. We'd gone to the Humane Society to adopt one kitten, but they were doing a two for one deal and Matt pointed out that splitting up the girls would be like splitting up me and Cait. Have I mentioned that I love that man?

Morrighan curled up in the kitty catcher.

Willow and Morrighan lounging on the table.
This is Angus. He's 12. A neighbor kid brought him over when he was a terrified kitten and asked me to take care of him because some other kids were swinging them around by his tail. I made almost 20 calls trying to find a place for him, but by the time I'd exhausted my options with no takers, he was curled up sleeping on Matt's chest and Matt told me he thought the kitty had already found his home.
The arm of the couch is Angus' favorite place to lay.

This is Rowan. He's 16 and a half. As a five week old kitten he was rescued from the middle of horribly busy four lane road (28th street for the locals) and we adopted him shortly after. Unfortunately, we just found out that he's got kidney cancer with metastatic spots in his lungs. It's not a painful cancer and he's still the happy, loving cat he's always been, so we're just enjoying this time with him while he's comfortable, and when he's not...we'll deal with that then.
Rowan and Herne.
This is Herne. He'll be 19 on May 11th. He's nearly blind, I'm pretty sure he's deaf. He finds his way through the house yowling - we're convinced it's Kitty Sonar. But he's loving and happy and ridiculously healthy. He's got his grumpy old man moments when he discovers someone's sitting in "his" chair, but he's still the ultimate lap kitty.

In fact, this is how I do most of my work - with Herne draped over my keyboard.

While I'm not a fan of cat hair in my keyboard, or stepping in cat puke, I wouldn't trade this kind of unconditional love for anything.

*Pout

I don't have furrys. :(

My husband is allergic to cats so we can't have any. And I'm not that big of a fan of dogs. Yeah, I said it. I mean, I don't hate them. But I'm a cat girl. I like their attitudes and their aloofness and their tendency to take care of themselves for the most part. Dogs are so damn needy. I already have a husband and two kids, I don't need more neediness in my life, thanks.

So for now I'll just amuse myself by looking at pictures of the kind of furry I would like to have in my life.

Four-Legged Fur Babies!!!

In August of 2010 a friend of mine posted pictures of the most adorable kittens - foundlings - some idiot had the nerve to drop them off in a box in the middle of the railroad tracks - they were maybe 3 weeks old. I fell in love with one of them immediately and much to my family's dismay, I brought one home.

Tuarwen - Her name is Elvish for Noble Strength


Here she is looking at the camera - it was love at first sight.



She took over my sewing basket - well one of them.

This past August a friend of mine said asked if I wanted her brandy-new kitten because there were unforseen complications. I agreed. She came pre-named Cleo, otherwise we would have named her Castiel (Gentle) or Sidhiel (Peace) - because well, I like Elves (although Faeries and Dragons are pretty cool too) and she has a gentle heart and soul except when it comes to her food bowl.



I think this was about month after we brought her home.


I'm pretty sure she had help climbing up into the basket, she's not much of a climber, she prefers warm spots like blankets and quilts. :)

I need more pictures of my furbabies. They chase each other through the house at about 6am at warp 10, but then they do cute things like cuddle together. :)

Simone

Over Indulging....And Paying For It!

There's an upside and a downside to the month of December.

The good things:
-I spend the entire month baking homemade cookies
-There are three birthdays and two major holidays, so food is plenty:)
-This year, I also had a book release, and was anticipating a second.
- I also decided to make my own candy this year.

The bad things:
-See above.

In all fairness, I only dip into the cookie dough during the first batch or the second (did I mention I LOVE raw chocolate-chip cookie dough?) and I bake while the kids are in school, so the cooled ones can be stored away from their hungry little mouths. And keeping the spouse out of the them is a chore also...which is another reason I have to make so many.  I give them away to teachers, crossing guards, special friends, etc.  And after the first two batches, the dough loses its appeal (shocking, I know!  Seriously, sugar overload?  Can it really exist?)

So I expect to put on a few pounds.

But knowing the cookies weren't going to be as plentiful as in years past, I decided to dip my finger into the homemade candies.  We had bricks of almond bark, and I love chocolate covered pretzels, so seriously, how hard would it be to try making peanut butter cups and cute chocolate shapes?

A lot more labor-intensive than it sounds!  And of course, who can resist melted chocolate?  After all, I had to TASTE it to see if it was the right temperature; I had to TASTE my final product, to make sure people would like it; and oh yes...I just couldn't scrape the last of the chocolate into the trash, because....well, you just DON'T!  If there's a spoonful left in the bowl, and you've filled your molds, you can't just put one character in the freezer; you eat the chocolate because one lonely chocolate character all by himself in the mold is too much like being the last person standing after the school yard pick.  Get my meaning?

And yes, it was a shock two days after Christmas when I realized I could not fasten my good jeans and expect to breathe while sitting down.  Thankfully, we were just lounging around Grandma's house, and no one cared if Kenzie walked around with her jeans unzipped and a large sweater covering it all up.

I've never been one of those 'lose weight' people, but I think it's finally happened:  Metabolism shutdown at age 46.  I shall HAVE to get off my butt and exercise more.  And stop eating what's left of my white and milk chocolate dinosaurs!






"I, Kenzie Michaels, do solemnly swear to lay off the sweets, cut down on the pasta, and watch my total carb intake.  I do go to the doctor next week for my physical, and I'm not looking forward to seeing how much weight I've gained since that 7 lb loss back in October...."

Again, in all fairness, injury kept me from my walking routine in October, and I could go out and resume my route, but temps are going to dip into the 30's again later this week, and why start something you know is only going to last 3 days?

And isn't it against the law to let good chocolate go to waste?  That will be my Lent goal:  To only eat half of the bad-for-my-hips chocolate and pasta, plus the temps should be rising again....now if the rain stays away so I can walk at least four days a week....

So in the meantime...(reaching for a chocolate Santa)...I'm an adult; I admit I'm a chocoholic and a carboholic and in six weeks, I'll make every effort to counteract my holiday indulgences!

This doesn't mean I have to give up my chocolate wine every month, does it?

Indulgences... I have a lot.

I don't know... maybe I have the wrong idea about indulgences. I don't just have a few things that I indulge in every so often, I have lots of little things that I indulge in all of the time. I think it probably has to do with the fact that I live with clinical depression.  But I like to have things around me that make me happy and I like to have them around at all times so that when I'm having a bad day or bad moment I can look around and see something that gives me warm fuzzies.

If you were to look at my desk at work you’d find things like a Kermit Pez dispenser, a frog dressed up as a fairy, a Buckingham palace guard who is also a frog, Smurf figurines, tons of pictures, fun pens, and quotes or silly sayings I’ve posted on my wall.  I don’t need any of those things in order to do my job each day, but they make me happy so I want them there.  When I grab a pen out of the cup that I got at the Bad Ass Coffee Shop in Orlando, I think of being there in my Happy Place.  When I use a pen that has a great big Kermit face on the end of it, I smile because he’s my little green boyfriend and I love him longtime.

Other indulgences I have include Starbucks, Biggby (when there isn’t a Starbucks around), good hand lotion, body butter ,awesome pens (don’t steal my pens!), fun coffee mugs,  McDonald’s Coke (I like to call it Liquid Crack), yarn (so much yarn!), art supplies, office supplies, planners, and books… so many, many books!

Indulgences of the Eye Candy sort include Joe Manganeillo who is currently playing the starring role in just about everything I write because he’s just so damn delicious.  Then there’s Rooney Mara because she was freaking brilliant in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I have a serious crush on her.

I could go on for days talking about my indulgences, really.  Instead, I give you pictures of Joe and Rooney.

 

Have a great week!