Big Brother 11

I found out that my kids did record Fri/Sat After Dark for me.  Long story of how they did it… I don’t know how they figured that out, but set it to record one minute before midnight for three hours and one minute, so it was listed under the title of the previous show.  I had no idea you could do that, but I’m happy my kids are smarter than me sometimes.

SPOILER ALERT!

So, I watched six hours of After Dark last night.  Much to my dismay, Michelle won the POV.  She wants Jeff to stay.  I don’t know why exactly… I guess she figures he’s the one she’d have the best chance against in the final two… plus, she has a little crush on him.  She tried to make a deal and convince Kevin to keep him, but I really think Kevin wants and needs to evict Jeff.  PFOOEY!  I did have a glimpse of hope as she was planning this strategy and then talking with Kevin about it, but then when Kevin was telling Natalie everything she said, I lost that hope.

Jordan and Michelle were both pretty drunk last night.  Jordan was so funny and cute… crying because she thinks Jeff is being evicted.  Michelle was not so funny nor as cute.  She was kind of slutty, IMO.  She went inside and got into her little bikini and strutted around in front of Jeff.  If there weren’t cameras on her so that her husband could see, I’d be willing to bet she’d try something with Jeff the minute Jordan was gone… another reason she wants Jeff to stay… it would mean Jordan would go.  I hate Michelle.  I hope Jordan kicks her ass.

I’m Gettin’ There…

I finished “Twelve Sharp” last week. That’s Janet Evanovich’s twelfth book in her Stephanie Plum series.  I like these books mostly, but I have to say that this is my favorite of all of them so far.  I don’t really have a lot to say about it, but unlike the last one and a couple of the others, it was good right from the beginning.  It was suspenseful, interesting, a little funny (as they all are), and the emotions were more believable than most of the others. A lot of the time she seems to want to be so funny, that it takes away from the real reactions a person would have in the situation.  This time, she let the characters feel they way they would have.

Stephanie broke down when she got to talk to the little girl, Julie. Ranger, who always has had a great sense duty to protect and defend his loved ones was determined as any father would be.

As much as I like these books, I don’t love the slapstick humor of them.  I wish they would get on with it and make a movie or TV series based on it.  I think that would be great!  I don’t know what the hold up is. 

I’m almost caught up.  I started “Lean Mean Thirteen” on Tuesday.  This time it cost me twenty-five cents at the library because I had them reserve it for me.  Twenty-five cents!! Can you believe that? I’d have paid double.

Project Runway

Have I written about Project Runway?  I’m a little addicted to that show.  I think last season’s winner Christian is the best of all of them.  I mean overall. His final runway show was not my favorite, but he’s by far the most creative and interesting of any of the designers of any of the seasons.

As far as season 5 goes, however, I’ve liked Kenley’s designs right from the beginning.  For the last five weeks or so, it seems like everyone is against her.  She definitely has a whiney tone, is quite defensive, and a bit self-centered.  However, dontcha think a lot of them are? Think about some of the past designers in the top three.  Season two, Santino. He was a total jerk to some people. Season three, the winner Geoffrey. He was a camplete asshole most of the time. And Christian was very conceited, albeit in a cute sort of way.  I applaud the show’s judges and/or producers who looked past Kenley’s personality to be sure she was in the finals.  But, even though LeeAnn’s final collection was pretty, it was all the same.  Don’t get me wrong, I liked a lot of her work and think she definitely deserved to be in the finals, but her final collection had nothing on Kenley’s.  I thought of the three of them, hers was the least interesting.  Korto’s was very pretty, too, but not really my taste.  I think they got this one wrong.  Just my opinion.

Eleven Down. An Infinite Number to Go.

Finally done with “Eleven on Top”. It did get better, Tracy! I’ve had a busy few weeks, but the next book should go fast. I think I’ll take the next two out at the same time. I’m having surgery on Monday, so I might have a lot of down time to read.

I’m actually looking forward to finishing the next three and being caught up.  I have two John Grisham books to read, plus two classics that my sister loaned me… they’re John Steinbeck novels, but I can’t remember which ones. I also have about ten James Pattersons, five or six Nora Roberts, and a few other random novels that I’ve been wanting to read. 

Something I really like about reading books in a series is that you always know there will be more coming.  So many times when reading a good book, I get so invested in the characters that when the story is over I’m left wanting more.  A couple of the books in this series have kind of ended suspensfully.  Her writing is just good enough that I keep reading the next book.  But, if it weren’t a series, I don’t know if I would care to read all of her books.  I am glad that my sisters-in-law recommended her, though. 

At one point this summer the library didn’t have whichever Janet Evanovich book I was on and I needed something to read because I was on my way to the park with my son and wanted to read while he and his friend played.  So, I picked up Sue Grafton’s first in her series, “A is for Alibi”.  I think I could get into that series, too. I enjoyed that book and might try the next one after a few of the books I have around here.  Kinsey Millhone, Grafton’s main character, is definitely not as funny as Stephanie Plum, but she is more competant… that’s for sure.  There are at least twenty so far in that series, so that should keep me going literally (no pun intended) for years!

Peace.

VP Debate

I watched the debate last night… well, most of it last night. I fell asleep near the end and watched the rest this morning.  For the most part, I was more impressed with both of them than I thought I would be.  I, like probably many others, expected Sarah Palin to mess up a few times, based on the past two times she spoke on television.  She didn’t really mess up at all.  What was obvious, though, was that she was well rehearsed.  I don’t know if there’s anything really wrong with that.  She avoided answering several questions that she didn’t want to answer.  I don’t think that’s unusual for any candidate running for any office, though.  She had an agenda to get points across that were important to her.  She made her running mate look less stupid for choosing her.  I think people who liked her before, probably love her now.  I didn’t like her before and now I suppose I could “tolerate” her. 

A bit of a phony, though.  She came out and first thing she did was ask Senator Biden, “Hey, can I call you Joe?”  I guess if he had said, “No, I prefer you call me Senator,” she wouldn’t have been able to use her charming little quip, “Say it ain’t so, Joe.” The other thing that bugs the crap out of me about her is that she, like that bonehead currently in the White House, cannot pronounce the word, “nuclear”! There’s only one “U” in that word, Madam!

Joe Biden, on the other hand, spoke very intelligently.  I really wasn’t familiar with him at all before, but can see, in a way, why Obama would choose him.  I kinda wish that ticket was reversed now.  If it was, I think I would vote for him over John McCain.  The experience, in my opinion, should be at the top of the ticket.  I’m pretty sure that’s how it’s always been, right? But, was Biden even running for president? If not, I wonder if he supported Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama early on.

Being that they both did pretty well last night, my mind is more at ease.  They have leveled the playing field as far as Vice Presidential candidacy is concerned and now I’m not going to worry about that office again.  I can concentrate on who is running for President… finally… as it should be.

I’m looking forward to Tuesday’s debate.  I’m still not completely sure who I’ll vote for… I’ll make that decision after I hear how the two candidates pronounce the word “nuclear.”

I Hate Election Year

It never fails.  Every four years, when it’s time for the presidential election, I get a sick feeling in my stomach.  I do have to have gall bladder surgery in the next couple of weeks, but it isn’t that. I think I’ve posted about this before, so excuse me for repeating.  But, the closer we get to November 4th, the more uptight I get.  I never like any of the candidates… at least not since Clinton was re-elected in 1996. But, the last three elections and maybe a couple before that, I was always thinking I had to pick between two (or three) people I didn’t like and I get really nervous.

When I really think about it, I don’t know why I care so much.  I will end up voting and possibly won’t have made my final decision until I’m in the voting booth, but it really doesn’t matter who I choose.  I live in a state that, when the race is close, will always go Democrat.  So, I feel like in the national election, my vote really doesn’t count anyway.  I could just close my eyes and randomly pick during elections like this one. New York will choose Obama and if I don’t want Obama, there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. 

McCain has screwed himself.  I think he had an excellent chance before he chose his running mate.  I will not base my vote on the vice-presidential candidate, but some will and she is not his only problem.  I watched a portion of the debate and was much more impressed by Obama than McCain in how they handled themselves.  Bill Clinton won two elections because he has charisma.  He knows how to speak. I thought John McCain had enough brains and class to win a debate, but he seemed like he’s giving up or something.  Maybe that’s it. Maybe he’s giving up.  He’s got cold feet. This country is in deep shit and he doesn’t want to deal with it.  That’s hard to believe because he’s not the cowardly type, but I can’t figure out why he couldn’t look Obama in the eye, speak directly to him, and act like he had the self-confidence he’s had up to this point.

So, to say I’m undecided would be an understatement.  There’s still time and I hope McCain get’s back on track.  I don’t think I would be happy voting for Obama, but it’s still a possibility, at this point.  I know he’d try to make a few changes that I would be happy with, but how successful he is might not be too likely.  I don’t have a lot of confidence in nationwide changes.  Things never get better.  They either get worse or stay the same. 

I know I’m pessimistic, but I can’t help it with the way things are going.  Gas prices, 700 BILLION dollar bailout, healthcare in the toilet, my bank account dwindling. I’m not only pessimistic, I’m a bit depressed.  AND I’ve got to have my freaking gall bladder out! It will be all over by November 5 and I won’t have to worry about it anymore… until 2012, that is.

Palin

OK… I’ve had a few days to think about this and I’ve been a little… no, a lot… torn.  The first thing I heard was that John McCain chose a woman as his running mate.  This made me very happy and excited.  Shortly, within minutes, actually, I read that she was the mother of a new baby with Down’s Syndrome, plus four other children.  I was quite concerned at that point.  In my extended family, there are two special needs children, technically adults now, one with Down’s Syndrome.  As adults, they need to be supervised by their mothers or another adult.  I know that their mothers would never have had the time to run a government of any size and still given the attention needed to their special needs child and other children.  My step-brother with Down’s Syndrome is one of five children and my sister-in-law is the oldest of six.  Both of their mothers held full-time jobs when they got to a certain age because the kids were in school, but I know that they spent every minute taking care of the children when they weren’t at work.

I don’t know how much time the job of Vice President takes.  Maybe they don’t have a whole lot to do and can take a lot of time to care for an infant, let alone one with Down’s Syndrome.  Maybe Palin hasn’t gotten to the hard part yet and still doesn’t realize how different her new son will be in comparison to her other children.  Maybe she and her husband have enough money to hire a couple of nannies to care for him and she can see him from time to time and chooses not to be a hands-on parent. 

Then about a day later I found out about Palin’s sixteen year old daughter’s pregnancy.  They say that McCain’s people knew about this ahead of time.  I wonder if that’s true.  I find it a little hard to believe that he would take such a risk.  But, on the other hand, I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t have found out something so important before choosing her.  Regardless, this showed me that Palin and her husband might not be the most diligent parents.  I also don’t think that the fact that they’re planning to get married lessens the seriousness of the problem.  Every sixteen year old girl who’s having sex with her eighteen year old boyfriend is “in love” and wants to marry him.  That doesn’t mean it’s ok to be careless with birth control.  But, you know, this happens to thousands of teenaged girls in all types of families, so this young lady is not to be considered an outcast, I hope.  People say that the candidates’ children are off limits.  I agree with that, but I’m not trying to attack the children.  I’m attacking the parents’ values.

I wasn’t happy with McCain’s decision anymore.  How can I vote for McCain when he could die and we’d end up with this woman as our president? Then, I thought, well, maybe I should vote for Obama after all.  I would have voted for Hillary Clinton if she was the nominee. But, I still don’t know about Obama.  I guess I don’t feel he’s quite right.  So, I still don’t know what to do, but I’ve still got a little time left, some debates to watch, I’m sure, and try to let it all sink in.

Now, after the RNC tonight (I only watched a little of it) I was thinking about this family values issue that I’ve been having a problem with.  I thought about the arguments I had with people who were so upset about Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal.  My argument was that it was none of anyone’s business and it had nothing to do with the way he ran this country.  So, now I’m thinking the same about Sarah Palin.  So what if she’s a bad parent?  So what if she’s more concerned about her job than her family?  I feel bad for her kids… all of them… like I felt bad for Hillary (I only felt a little sorry for Hillary because I guessed she stayed with Bill for her own agenda. Was I right?)  But if she can help the country as Vice President (and God forbid President), then why should I care? 

I could totally change my mind on this at any time and it doesn’t mean that I’ll be voting for McCain for sure, but I feel a little less torn about the issue.  I just wish I could be sure about someone.  This happens every time.  Why does it have to be so difficult?  If Hillary was the nominee, I wouldn’t have this problem.  And if Obama had picked her, I’d vote for him.  And if Giuliani was the Repulican candidate, even if he picked Palin, I’m pretty sure I’d vote for him.  But the way it stands, it’s a difficult decision for me.

Peace.

Bernie, Dotty, and bedtime.

I’ve been thinking about a lot of things to write about lately so this post might turn out to be a big jumble of unrelated topics… or I might just start with one and go to bed. After all, it is 3:30 AM.

Bernie Mac died.  This was a complete shock, of course, to everyone who was a fan, not to mention his family, no doubt.  I feel sad and I feel selfishly cheated, as well.  I was looking forward to the possibility of another Ocean’s movie, but now I hope they don’t make one without him.  I had written earlier that I wished those movies would go on forever, but just thinking how Carl Reiner might be getting to the point where he wouldn’t be around to act much longer, being that he’s nearly 90. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that a fifty year old man would predecease him.  Eliot Gould will be 70 this month, so that wouldn’t have been shocking, but 50 is so young!  I’ll be 50 in less than seven years… YIKES!!!  Anyway, I hate when things like this happen.  My heart goes out to Bernie’s family and friends.  He will be dearly missed by many.

On a completely unrelated subject, I’m trying to decide how I feel about a certain situation with someone I’m close to.  This person, we’ll call her Dotty, is splitting with her husband.  Dotty is around 40 years old and has an eight year old daughter.  She has started seeing a guy who is only 25.  Now, normally I would say that age doesn’t matter and I really believe that for the most part, but if the 25 year old acts like a 25 year old kid instead of a 25 year old man, then I’m a bit bothered.  Dotty acts a bit immature herself, especially when she’s around him and I’m thinking that is what bothers me more.  When I’m with them together I cringe.  But, when I’m not with them and just thinking about the relationship, I think, “Why not?  Go for it while you can, Dotty.”  Just keep him away from your daughter… I hope she does.  I think she’s fooling herself thinking that her daughter likes him and that he likes her daughter.  Not that he doesn’t like her daughter, but I’m sure he prefers things when she isn’t around.  As long as I never hear her say she loves him and she never let’s him sleep in her house when her daughter is home, I will just keep to myself (except for the occassional talking behind her back with my husband or a couple other people, that is.)

I know I was going to add more.  This post has become boring already and I can’t keep my eyes open much longer.  I’m going to leave it like this for the night and maybe add more tomorrow.  I wanted to talk about Big Brother, maybe the Olympics, and school vacations, but you’ll just have to wait.  Sorry   (Like you really care). 

Peace.

Stephanie Plum

Stephanie Plum is novelist Janet Evanovich’s bounty hunter heroine.  I started reading this series a few months ago, waiting for John Grisham’s latest to come out in paperback.  I have about two dozen books sitting on my shelves that I took from my mother’s collection that I’ve wanted to read, but since starting the Plum series, they will have to wait.

John Grisham, I may have already mentioned, is my favorite writer.  But, since I’ve already titled this post, “Stephanie Plum,” I’ll write about his books later (I don’t think I have, yet, have I?)  But, I’ve read all but the latest because I buy them and don’t want to pay for the hard cover… paperbacks fit nicely in my purse, too.

The Stephanie Plum series was recommended to me by my sisters-in-law several months ago.  The two of them also got me watching “Sex and the City” so I trust their recommendations   These books are funny.  It took me a while to get used to reading a funny novel… John Grisham books are usually on the dramatic side… with the exception of “Skipping Christmas” which I didn’t like… maybe now that I’ve been reading funny novels, I should re-read that one.

This series starts out with “One for the Money” which of course introduces all the characters that will be throughout all the books.  Stephanie, the bounty hunter, gets herself into a lot of sticky situations.  Almost like Lucy Ricardo might if she were a bounty hunter… although Stephanie’s “Ethel” is a plus-sized, black ex-hooker named Lula.  Stephanie also has a love interest (or two).  The man who she’s bounty-hunting turns out to be one of them.  The other is another bounty hunter and her mentor, sort of.  She lives near her parents in Trenton, New Jersey.  Her father is not-quite Archie Bunker, her mother is not-quite Marion Cunnningham, and her grandmother (who lives with Stephanie’s parents) is nowhere near a typical eighty-year old (actually, if her age has been mentioned, I don’t remember, but I imagine she’s between 75 and 80). She also has other recurring characters: her boss (and cousin) Vinnie, Connie the receptionist, a couple of cops, neighbors, her best friend, and her archenemy.

I went to the author’s web page the other day for the first time.  You can go there and put in your suggestion for the name of her next book.  They go in order by number… One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score, etc.  She just published Fearless Fourteen.  If you suggest the name of her next one and she chooses it, you get a free signed copy of the book and she thanks you on the acknowledgement page.  I won’t tell you my suggestion, and I’ll probably be one of many who suggest it, but I think I have a good chance! 

I’m only on Seven Up.  I’ve been getting them out of the library.  I’ve been reading a lot more frequently… in the summer I tend to do that because there’s not so much on TV.  The library has most of them in paperback and my library card is good for all the libraries in the four surrounding counties, so I have two places to go within three miles of my house and many others not too much farther.  

As I’ve been reading, of course I try to picture the characters.  I found a web page where people posted suggestions for casting the movie (I don’t think there’s a movie in the works currently, but if there was…)  The first suggestion for Stephanie was Sandra Bullock.  She is who I imagined Stephanie to be right from the start, but in reality, if they made a movie at this point, I think the actress is a little too old for the character, unfortunately, because about ten years ago she’d be perfect.  Other suggestions I saw that I agreed would be very good were Rachel McAdams, Amanda Peet (I LOVE her!), Debra Messing, Evangeline Lilly,  and Drew Barrymore. 

These are the actors I would pick for some of the other main characters in casting this series in the movies:

Joe Morelli:  Mark Wahlberg

Grandma Mazur: Cloris Leachman

Ranger: The Rock (I thought definitely Vin Diesel, but he’s too old), or Adrian Paul (I don’t know this actor, but someone suggested him and his look is right for it, I think)

 

Lula: Sherri Shepherd (this is exactly who I picture Lula to be) Not Queen Latifa… she is way too cool to be this character, unfortunately.

 

Vinnie: Jon Lovitz or Steve Buscemi

 

Joyce: Jennifer Esposito or Alyssa Milano (but Joyce is supposed to be blonde)

 

That’s enough.  They had suggestions for the roles of Mr and Mrs Plum, Mooner, and some other characters, but these are the ones I care about being just right.  Lots of suggestions for Joe Morelli, but when I think of Amanda Peet and Mark Wahlberg, my heart races…LOL!

 

I would love to hear other suggestions.

 

 

Another Venture

I can’t believe I’m doing this again.  Long ago, before I was married, when I first moved back home to be with my then fiance, I had three jobs. One was full time at JC Penney, one was part time at a hotel in the evenings, and the other was part time in direct sales for Jewels by Park Lane.  My sister-in-law had just started selling it and roped me in.  I only stuck with it a few months, but I liked the jewelry.

Then, a few years later, I tried AVON.  I gave that up even more quickly.  I never tried very hard.  I worked in an office with about twenty women, so I figured just leaving the book in the break room was enough effort to make some kind of money.  The problem I had was that you had to have a certain dollar amount ordered to get the 50% discount for your own stuff, so when I didn’t, I would buy some things at regular price to get up to that level and then I would order more with my discount.  I ended up spending too much. I still love AVON though.

Next was PartyLite.  I had a show for Pam when she first got into the business.  I year later I had another and decided I’d try it myself.  It was really fun.  I made a lot of friends and enjoyed going to the meetings and conferences.  It could have been really good money if I was better at it though.  I got sick of asking people to book shows.  I’d have a few periods where I had shows one after another but  mostly it was slow going for me.  I found out that my brother was dead the same day as I had the worst show of my four years.  The hostess invited tons of people and they all showed up! She lived on the second floor of her building and I took tons of stuff, lugged it up the stairs, set it all up, did my demonstration, gave the hostess a really nice thank you gift, and got zero orders.  Everyone loved the candles! Nobody bought a single thing.  I had to pack everything up with a smile, lug it all back down the stairs to my car, go home, and find out my brother was dead.  I tried to stay with it for another six months or so, but never got back in the groove.

That was nine years ago… WOW! It doesn’t seem that long.  Pam’s been trying all this time to get me to come back.  For a while she would ask, then she stopped for a while, knowing I was not interested.  I think she knew that if I was, I would let her know.  Every once in a blue moon, when I’d complain about my job, she’d mention PartyLite. I always had a show in January… every year for the past six (I think) years.  I even went to a couple of the unit meetings and regionals, but I never got that itch back.

A few weeks ago Pam called to let me know that she was looking into Jewels by Park Lane.  A few of the higher ups in PartyLite were jumping ship to go with Park Lane.  I guess PartyLite changed over the past few years.  They’ve had a couple new presidents and although there have been improvements in some areas, probably some things either went downhill or just got old.  At any rate, Pam’s interest was sparked when she heard people close to her in PartyLite were selling Park Lane.  Some are selling both, some tried to sell both and were fired from PartyLite, and some just decided Park Lane was the one to do.   When Pam called me, she asked me to join her on a trip to Long Island to go to a Park Lane meeting.  I told her I would be happy to go, but I don’t want to sell anything.  We ended up not going to the meeting due to a schedule confliction, but Pam decided to try it out anyway.  I told her I would do a show for her, of course.  She had her starter show, which I went to and helped her set up a little and stuff.  When I saw the little tote bag that had her entire kit in it, I got thinking.  I could make 30% of anything I sell, I don’t have to invest anything because I’m having a show anyway and if that is $500, it pays for my kit.  If I fail, I’m not out anything.  So, I asked her a couple questions and went home and talked to my husband.  The next day I asked her, “How do I get my kit?”

I’m really excited, but at the same time afraid that I won’t like it.  I had my starter show and everyone likes the jewelry, especially me.  But, it wasn’t $500, so I did end up putting money into it.  I told myself that I will at least stick with it until I make that investment back.  That shouldn’t take long and in the meantime, I may just love it!  I did love PartyLite for about three of the four years I sold it.  I remember saying that if we won Lotto, I would quit my full time job and just sell PartyLite for fun.  After that feeling went away and for the years since then, I would cringe when I thought about selling PartyLite again.  Why am I getting back into this type of business again?  It was that little black bag.