Happy Thanksgiving

And On A Lighter Note

Enjoy your holiday to the max, blogster buds. Wishing you good food and warm fellowship. I'll probably be back Tuesday. See you then.

Ninety-One Year Old World War II Veteran

This is a nearly ten minute trailer and you may not have the time to watch it. But if you do, it's both humbling and inspiring. This gentleman has such a verbal gift. He is amazing to listen to. Whether you or for or against national health care, his story is very moving.

Look See and The Martian

Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

For all my animal loving friends out there, this is definitely worth a look see.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/donkey-and-wold-best-friends/?utm_source=Green+Monster+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=e35e44c98c-NEWSLETTER_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbf62ddf34-e35e44c98c-106683461



The hh and I went to see The Martian. I had low expectations because this isn't the type of movie I normally enjoy. Whether it was low expectations or Matt Damon, I loved it. Believed dead,  Astronaut Mark Watney is left on Mars by his crew. His intelligence and strong sense of humor help him survive.Though not fast paced, it's a gripping story.
A definite thumbs up.

It's The Weekend

lovethispic.com

 

Happy Birthday to our blog buddy, Shady.

A Love Triangle

This would have been a tough call.

Crimson Earth

Our good friend, and blogging buddy, Anna Soliveres  is having a cover release for her sequel to Violet Storm. Don't you love this cover and doesn't it sound like an exciting read?

CRIMSON EARTH: 

Aeva Storm finally has the answers she’s been looking for since the night she was struck by lightning. She knows who she is—and more importantly, what she is. But her secret isn’t hers alone to keep, and some of those who know the truth will do anything to control her.

In the sequel to the acclaimed Violet Storm, Aeva must decide how far she’ll go to protect her identity and to find her missing sister in a world she hardly recognizes. She must embrace her new life—and her strange new body—if she hopes to save the only place she and her family have left to call home.

Filled with action, mystery, and heartbreak, Crimson Earth finds Aeva, Ruven, and Karth on opposing sides as the war between The False Alliance and the Monarchy draws near.

Can they band together to fight against the evil threatening the City? Or will they destroy each other before the war has even begun?

---

Folks can add it to their Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27254534-crimson-earth

And sign up for the newsletter to get the first 3 chapters free: http://www.annasoliveres.com

Friday The Thirteenth

Yes it was.  Mine was spot on crazy.
We were on a wait list for an appliance to be delivered when we received a phone call asking if we were pleased with our installation.  We received this message twice.  And we found out, one of the appliances we'd ordered, picked up and installed, was still sitting in the warehouse with our name on it. (Okay, it wasn't the exact same appliance, but the appliance's clone. Anyway, you get my drift....I hope. If not it's on me.)

I received a recorded voice message that said this was the second attempt to contact me about the initial appearance in front of a magistrate judge or  grand jury for a federal criminal defense. When I called back it was for the former owner of my phone number. There was telemarket chatter in the background but when I asked what it was about, they told me it didn't concern me. Spooky and frustrating.

On the way to my hairstylist, I passed a bad accident. Big tree. Little car.  Man being loaded into the ambulance.


And back on the education front........
Remember the one percent wages mentioned last week? To add insult to injury, it was announced in a departmental meeting Friday that the CC is considering putting the faculty on time clocks. I'm sure you can imagine how well that's going over.

 

I survived my Friday and overall the weekend was a good one. I trust you survived yours. 

Oh, and coincidentally....the blogster buds left 13 comments. grin. 

Happy BDay

Happy Birthday, Mikey.....

And Many More

Solidarity

lovethispic.com

Friday The 13th

Unions. Pro or con?

Thinking about becoming an educator? You may want to think again, at least if you live in North Carolina.
Over the past five years community college instructors in NC have averaged two.five percent in  raises. That's not per year, that's over a five-year period. This year there was excess money in the state coffers.So it would make sense that the faculty, and staff, would at least get a raise to offset cost of living, right? The faculty and staff at the cc I worked at are getting a one percent raise and a seven hundred and fifty dollar one-time bonus, while the chancellors at the four-year institutes who are already in the six figures are getting nine to eighteen percent pay increases.
WalletHub ranked North Carolina fiftieth on the best and worst states for teachers chart.
I never expected to be saying this in my lifetime but I think its time for the schools to unionize. At one point in America's history unions were necessary for the middle class and the poor to survive, and then they weren't (necessary). But I believe the pendulum has swung.I think if the middle class is going to survive, it's time to bring them back.
What's your take on unions? Pro or con? And are you in a job where your raises keep up with the cost of living?

Friends

They come in all shapes and sizes.

Love is blind. Friendship closes its eyes.  ~*~ Friedrich Nietzsche

The Land Mine

How was your weekend, blogster buds?
We spent ours playing with the grands Friday night and Saturday then Sunday I did what I've been putting off forever--all because I didn't want to move my shoes out of the closet--started shampooing the carpet. Woo hoo. Note I say started. I might have to call a halt to the wild excitement for a day or two. Yup, the fun never stops at our house. What about you? I trust you've got something more titillating to share than carpet cleaning.

Friday

Fireman Saves Kitten

Thanks, Rye.

IWSG Wednesday

It's that time again. When we as writers express our doubts and concerns, share our experiences and encourage others.
Besides our awesome IW support group, I'd like to talk briefly about family support. My family is great and completely support my writing, of course, most of them don't support it enough to actually read it. Grin.  I periodically collar the hh, who is an English Instructor and writes poetry. When he does make a suggestion on a manuscript I've written it's usually spot on and something I've totally overlooked. My sister picks up nearly everything that comes out on Kindle and shoots for being the first purchaser and is tied for first place with the hh in leading the rah rah support section. I couldn't do without them. But the family member whose support blows me away is my eighty-seven year old uncle who reads everything that comes out in paper. Romance, fantasy, historical, it doesn't matter, he reads it. Is that not the coolest thing?
And speaking of come outs, i.e. releases, Vampire Island has been re-released.

http://tinyurl.com/nkjfqmc

I really like my cover. I purchased it from The Cover Collection.  The price was fair, but my math skills have never been my strong suit and you know those math questions about buying two dozen loaves of bread for twenty some people, etc, etc? Well, I obviously failed because when I had to factor in the pounds versus dollars, I thought I was saving thirty dollars when I was actually paying an extra thirty. grin.


Blurb:
My name is Zoe Tempest. Just let me say, I had no intention of becoming a vampire hunter. My world revolved around the trendiest clothes, the boy of the week, shopping, and texting.
I always tried to play down the fact that I’m really quite intelligent. I’d much rather be considered blonde and clueless. It’s so much easier to get dates.
My parents were well-off and indulgent. I was the center of their universe. I’m afraid I took that for granted.
One odd thing, my mother insisted I take self-defense training. I just figured she wanted to keep her little princess safe. But looking back, perhaps she had a premonition. To my surprise, I took to it like a kid to Pop Tarts and ended up with a black belt in karate.
My life was as close to perfect as a seventeen year old can get. I had everything. Then my parents were murdered and my world came crashing down.
After their funeral, I went to live with my uncle Julian Kilmer. That’s when everything changed. In a manner more terrifying than anything I could have imagined.

~*~

Free Download Through Nov 6

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016RFAIPS

 

Weekend at the Movies...Even Though It's Tuesday

We did the movie thing this weekend.  Something new and different.  Our weekends seem to revolve around grocery shopping at Walmart and movies. Friday we re-watched San Andreas. And even though I'd seen it before by the end of the movie I was on the edge of my seat.



Saturday we went to see Bridge of Spies.  It was an interesting look at history. Tom Hanks is superb in the role of James Donovan, the American lawyer who negotiated the exchange of an American pilot  and an American student for a Russian spy.  (Later Donovan was beneficial in obtaining the release of 9700 prisoners in Cuba.) This isn't a fast-paced, nail-biting movie, but its certainly worth a look see, especially if you're interested in history. A friend of ours liked it so well, she saw it twice.

Monday

Wow. Didn't we just mention a few posts back it was the first of October? And  now its November? Yikes! I'm not even going to mention that next month is December. grin. At  least we got an extra hour's sleep.
Any trick or treaters? We had  about a dozen. Which means we had this leftover:

And this:

Oops. The calorie side is showing.

~*~

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card and copy of Vampire Bay 
(from the Spooktacular Blog Hop Giveaway) is.....

Drumroll........

Ashley M.

Congrats, Ashley. 
Thanks to all who liked and added me to twitter.