Snow Day

So we ended up getting between 4-5" of snow at my house. It is so very beautiful and I really enjoyed watching the snow fall last night. Roads are a bit slick this morning, but hopefully they will clear up so I can get together with my friends tonight. I know we really didn't get near as much as other areas, but we also don't have the snow removal equipment to take care of it either. Hope everyone is enjoying the snow.

Results and more testing

So my doctor finally gave me a call this morning. The test shows I have pre-cancer cells in the lump, but it has not progressed to cancer yet. However, my doctor is sending me to "the best breast man in town"(her words not mine) to have further testing and remove the lump. Really hoping there is nothing more that has to be done other than the lump being removed. Thanks for all the post and prayers, and please continue to keep me in your prayers. I'll know more on Tuesday after I see the next doctor, so I'll post another update at that point.

On a good note, we have snow falling like it is never going to stop. So I will get to spend a relaxing evening watching snow fall once I get home from work tonight. We almost never get snow in Nashville, so I'm pretty excited.

Biopsy & day watching movies

So my doctor decided since the government was possibly changing the rules on mammograms, all of her patients to go get a baseline mammogram. So I had my mammogram about two weeks ago and then had to go back on Friday to get additional pictures and an ultrasound to check for cysts. When the radiologist was doing the ultrasound, she found a lump, so I had to go in today for a biopsy. I'm pretty sore right now, and won't know any results for a couple of days. However, it wasn't too bad. The doctor used lots of numbing medicine, so I really didn't feel anything. I had planned on going back to work after the biopsy, but my boss told me to go home(so glad since I have to keep putting an ice pack in my bra over the incision spot), so I spent the day watching movies and TV shows.

I watched the movie UP for the first time today and really loved it. It was such a sweet and funny movie. I spent the rest of the day catching up on Chuck, Castle, Ugly Betty, and Make It or Break It. I like so many shows on TV right now that I have to record many of them on my dvr to be able to watch them all, especially on Monday night when I tape shows from 7-10. On a fun note, The Biggest Loser:Couples is new tonight and it looks like another episode filled with lots of drama. Bob and Jillian really keep me motivated to stay with my weight loss plan, and I love all the drama that happens between the contestants each week. Next week, my dvr will add Tuesday as another over-worked night, since Lost will be back on the air. I can't wait to finally find out all the answers to the island and everyone involved.

Weekend with Family & Friends

Friday night my friends and I were able to get together for our monthly dinner at my friend Fran's new restaurant 55 South in Franklin, TN. Fran and her husband Jason, now have 3 restaurants in Franklin, and each one is amazing in their own way. I have to say that everything I tried on Friday was fabulous and I can't wait to go back next week to try out their Sunday brunch menu. It was so much fun to spend time with my friends and just sit around and eat, talk and laugh. Luckily, we already have plans to get together on Saturday to fix dinner and watch Miss America and a few of us are meeting for brunch at 55 South on Sunday.

My sister and her 3 girls came to my house for the weekend on Friday night too. My brother has been staying with me for the last month, since he was between acting gigs. Needless to say, my little 2 bedroom home was a little bit crowded, but so much fun with almost my entire family at my house. On Saturday, my 2 youngest nieces (15 & 5) went with me and one of our aunts to see the 101 Dalmatian play at TPAC. I really hadn't heard much about this play, but we all really loved the play. Youngest loved that they had real dogs in play, while Middle just loved the entire play. When my middle niece was young, we had to watch the "dog-dogs" as she called it all the time. I pretty much could quote the movie as it was playing. So when we received our season tickets, I knew she had to go with us. My youngest niece loves anything and everything to do with Disney, so I knew she would love the play, and I was really excited to take her to her very first Broadway play ever(think it was Middle's first too). I just wish I could have taken pictures of both girls faces as they were watching the play, as they looks of joy were as great to me as the play. Then we all met my aunt and uncle, sister, brother, and oldest niece for dinner at Demo's in downtown Nashville. If you are ever here, it is a great place to eat steak and spaghetti.

My sister and her girls headed home this morning and now I'm catching up on laundry(no way to get it done while everyone was her yesterday) and watching playoff games. Plus my brother heads out tomorrow to start his next role, so I have some laundry to do for him to get him ready to go. As for the playoff games, the AFC game is an easy pick for me. I'm a Titans fan, so I don't ever cheer for the Colts. I'm really hoping the Jets pull it out today and beat the Colts. The NFC playoff game is a little harder for me. I love Brett Favre and the Vikings and I really like the Saints too, so I'll be cheering for the Vikings, but will be fine if the Saints win.

Play With Me

Play With Me is the newest Blaze novel by Leslie Kelly. From the back cover.~

Pilot Amanda Bauer has always craved a life of adventure…sexual adventure, that is. Lucky for her, she’s currently getting her thrills by indulging in naughty games with hunky Reese Campbell! After their first explosive encounter, they arrange to get together every couple of months for days filled with fantasy and wild, no-strings sex.

And the best part of it? Nobody else knows about it. Nobody!

It’s the perfect private indulgence…until they find themselves on YouTube!

I loved Play With Me! Leslie Kelly always gives the reader a red hot read and she delivers again with her latest book. Amanda never really fit in with her family, with the exception of her Uncle Frank, who gave her the wings she always wanted by teaching her how to fly. She was also a little wilder than anyone in her family other than Frank. Reese was given control of his family’s business when his father suddenly passed away two years ago. Between keeping the family business running and taking care of his mother, younger brother and 3 sisters, he no longer has time to have any fun. All of that changes when he has a sudden business trip to Chicago and charters one of Amanda’s planes on Halloween. They are instantly attracted to one another, but figure they can have one night together and be done. Luckily, Reese keeps in contact with Amanda and they end up meeting at least once a month to celebrate the holiday of the month with super hot sex. It was also fun to watch two such independent people fall for one another.

Leslie Kelly delivers another winner with Play With Me! I look forward to a new story about Reese and Amanda this fall in Leslie’s October 2010 Blaze release of Another Wild Wedding Night.

The Phoenix Charm

The Phoenix Charm is the second book in Helen Scott Taylor’s Magic Knot Fairies series. From the back cover.~

He’s Pure Temptation.

Cordelia has sworn she’ll abstain from looking into Michael’s future-particularly when the image in the gilded smoke of her divination mirror shows him half naked. Yet she can’t resist watching the sexy rascal slowly running his hand down his ribs, over his abdomen, flicking open the button on his jeans with a little flourish like a magician performing a trick.

She’s Trying To Resist

Respectable wise woman Cordelia restrains her secret water nymph sensuality with the Celtic symbols painted on her skin. But Michael’s powerful fairy glamour leaves her breathless, off balance, struggling for control. When Gwyn ap Nudd, the Welsh King of the Underworld, steals away Michael’s infant nephew, Cordelia must work with him to save the child. But how can she trust her instincts with Michael tempting her to explore the hidden elemental depths of her nature and insisting that she believe in the power of…The Phoenix Charm.

I liked The Phoenix Charm. I was really excited to get Michael’s story after reading about him in The Magic Knot. He is such a fun character and I couldn’t wait to see who he would end up with. Cordelia is such a strong woman, even though she doesn’t seem to realize it in the beginning. I really like Cordelia and Michael together, and enjoyed their journey and watching each of them come into their own. I did feel the book moved a little slow in places, but did enjoy it overall. I do look forward to more books in this series and I like Helen Scott Taylor’s writing style.

Elliptical Machine and NFL Playoff Weekend

So I canceled my membership to my gym effective January 1, because I really hated going to the gym. I would always make excuses not to go and really didn't care that I had paid for the use of the gym each month. My company is trying to help our employees to get healthier, so we hopefully save a little money on our health insurance premiums this year. One of the goals set for our company is for each person to participate in a 5K this year. Now we don't actually have to necessarily run the 5K, but my long-term goal is to be able to run a 5K by late spring or early summer. Joining Weight Watchers online has really helped me be more accountable in what I'm eating and so far I've lost 31 pounds. To keep the weight loss going and the getting healthier plan in the works, I purchased an elliptical machine for my home. I was on the edge between and elliptical machine or a treadmill, but went with the elliptical due to the fact it isn't quite as tough on your joints(no repeated pounding like on the treadmill). I figure working out on the elliptical each day will get me ready to start running in the spring. BTW, I had help getting the elliptical machine to my house and even into my house. However, I had to put the entire thing together by myself and not only did it, but it will totally kick your butt when using it. Woohoo for me!

NFL football is my favorite sport all year (especially my TN Titans). So, since my Titans didn't make it to the playoffs this year, I had to pick other teams to cheer for in the playoffs. My friend Dawn has been a die-hard Saints fan for years, so that was an easy team to pick, and her husband Kevin is about the biggest Vikings fan on the planet. I'm really hoping the Vikings can take down the Cowboys tomorrow, like the Saints slaughtered the Cardinals today(never been a Cowboys fan ever!!!). It the NFC Championship is between the Saints and Vikings, I'll have to go with the Vikings since they have Brett Farve. Now the AFC is a little harder for me. Being a Titans fan, there is no way I can actually cheer for the Colts ever, but I've never been a Ravens fan either. However, I will cheer for the Ravens tonight over the Colts and really hope the Jets take the game tomorrow. So for now I'm going to say Go Ravens, Go Vikings, and Go Jets!!!

Awesome story...from Alannah's blog

I totally copied this blog from Alannah Lynne's blog from today. Much like Alannah, I didn't check to see if this is a true story, I choose to believe it is true because our troops are so AWESOME!!!

I didn't bother to verify this story on Snopes because, well, I decided it didn't really matter if the story was true or not. The picture pretty much says it all for me and I wanted to give a shout out to the men and women who are working to make the world a better place. For everyone!


John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.

He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do.

This, my friends, is worth sharing. Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't, but the American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference.. Even if it is just one little girl at a time.

Soul Magic

Soul Magic is the second book in the Wing Slayer Hunters series by Jennifer Lyon. From the back cover.~

Kiss or Kill

When an ancient pact is broken, powerful witches who once used their magic to help humanity become the twisted playthings of demons, and the mortal men who once protected the sorceresses become witch hunters, cursed with the longing to spill the witches’ blood: an irresistible craving that will cost witches their lives and witch hunters their souls.

The Wing Slayer Hunters fight this curse, guarding innocent witches until the urge to harm them grows too strong-then they must kill their own. Wing Slayer Sutton West has always honored that vow. His own father killed himself rather than go rogue. But now Sutton is tempted as never before by Carla Fisk, a brilliant psychologist and dynamic witch whose twin sister, Keri, was murdered by rogues.

Bound by blood and passion, Carla and Sutton dare not succumb to their deadly attraction. Yet when a mysterious rogue named Styx joins forces with the demon Asmodeus, witch and hunter have no choice but to work together. For Keri’s immortal soul is at stake-and with it, balanced on a knife-edge, is the fate of humanity itself.

I really enjoyed Soul Magic. It picked up right where Blood Magic ended, focusing on Sutton West, one of the Wing Slayer Hunters, and Carla Fisk, Darcy’s best friend, who is also a witch. Carla’s twin sister Keri was murdered 2 years before by rogues. Carla has just figured out that Keri’s soul is trapped in a silver knife being used to kill other witches. Carla and Sutton are also drawn to one another. Sutton had touched Carla’s blood when he saved her months ago and Carla touched Sutton’s blood when she had to help heal him. The way witches and Wing Slayer Hunters begin to bond is to touch each other’s blood and the bond is completed when they have sex. Sutton is certain Carla is his soul mirror while Carla feels certain he is Keri’s soul mirror, since Keri and Carla still feel their twin bond since Keri’s soul is trapped in the knife.

There were a few twists and turns I really didn’t see coming with Soul Magic, and I liked that about it. I really think this is another winner for Jennifer Lyon and look forward to more books in the Wing Slayer Hunters series. I especially can’t wait for Key and Phoenix to get their own books.

TGIF!!!

I'm so glad today is Friday! It has been a really crazy week and I'm ready for a break. Of course, my weekend is going to be spent re-organizing my bookshelves, but that will be fun. I have so many books in my house I haven't read yet, I would like to get them all in a central location to make it easier to find when searching for my next book to read. I just started reading The Phoenix Charm by Helen Scott Taylor, and I'm really liking it so far. I will also be updating my blog at least once over the weekend, as I still need to post my thoughts about Soul Magic.

I know my post from the other day was about the weather, but I just have to say a little bit more about snow and Tennessee. On Wednesday night all the local counties did end up calling off school for Thursday, since it really looked like we would get major snow. Of course, we ended up barely getting any snow. However, whatever snow we did get turned into ice on the roads as of late yesterday, so there is no school again today. Not that this really does me any good; I still had to drive on the ice to get to work this morning. The whole reason I live in Tennessee is to avoid weather like we are having right now. Today the high is only going to be 17*, with the lows getting down into single digits. So, once I get home tonight, I don't really plan on leaving my house until Monday, if at all possible.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Biggest Loser Season 9 and snow...maybe

So I had been waiting for The Biggest Loser:Couples to start back since the finale of season 8 in mid-December. I love that they are going back to the couples format: 2 family members working together to lose weight. The first twist of the night would be making all the new contestants do their first weigh-in in front of most of the people in their hometowns. Not like it was a big surprise that the contestants are over-weight, but it seemed really a bit too much to make the contestants step on the scales for the first time in front of all their friends and family. The second twist of the night came as soon as the contestants arrived on campus. They were told that each team must ride a marathon on exercise bikes, with the first team to finish earning immunity for the week and the 2 teams to finish last being sent home immediately. The green team kicked butt and finished first, while the blue team and the yellow team were the teams to get sent home. I kinda liked this twist, but figured there had to be more to it, and I was right. Bob and Jillian stopped the limos as they were leaving the campus to tell each team they would be going home for a month and then would be back to compete with each other to see who had the highest percentage of weight loss. The team with the highest percentage of weight loss would be allowed to compete against the rest of the teams on campus. Jillian & Bob promised both the Blue and the Yellow teams they would help them both in any way.

Bob and Jillian again are training together this year and both were a bit shocked at how big the contestants were this year. This year has the heaviest group of contestants ever. So Bob and Jillian decide to totally kick some butt from the very first day. At the weigh in the brown team falls below the yellow line and so one of the team members, who happen to be twin brothers, will be sent home. After an emotional meeting with twins John and James, James is sent home. This season already is set to be one of the most emotional. Since this show keeps me motivated to keep my weight loss going, I'll continue to watch each week.

So in the morning, we are suppose to start our day with snow. Now in Tennessee, we really don't have many snow plows and pretty much depend on salt trucks to melt any snow/ice we get. However, since our temps haven't been above freezing in the last several days, the salt really won't melt anything that hits the streets. As of now, with no snow in the area yet, most of the counties surrounding Nashville, have already canceled school for tomorrow. There also has been a run on all the bread and milk in the grocery stores(any call for snow puts people in a panic about not having bread and milk) and the gas stations suddenly decided to raise gas prices by over 30 cents a gallon today to gouge all the local residents(no way every gas station in town received gas deliveries today). Since so many of the schools have already called off school for tomorrow, I'm pretty sure we won't get any snow. Except it has been several years since we really had any snow, so I'm thinking this is our year for a really snowy winter. So I guess only time will tell, but I can only hope if we do have snow, all the schools cancel before morning.

Blood Magic

Blood Magic by Jennifer Lyon is the first book in her Wing Slayer Hunters series. From the back cover.~

THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED

In the days when powerful witches used their magic to shield humanity from demons, their allies and guardians were a group of men gifted with preternatural abilities of their own-the witch guardians. But when a band of witches traded their humanity for demonic powers, the ancient bond was broken and the guardians became the hunters.

Darcy MacAlister knows nothing of demons or magic. But this beautiful young woman is about to discover the truth about her past…and her future. For she is a witch-not just any witch, but the key to breaking the curse that has plagued witches and the men who hunt them. For if a hunter kills an innocent witch by mistake, the price is no less than a piece of his soul.

Axel Locke, gorgeous leader of the Wing Slayer Hunters, has sworn never to shed the blood of the earth witches who have resisted the temptation of demonic power. But when his sister is cursed by a demon witch, he discovers that Darcy MacAlister may hold the cure-if she can master her newfound powers in time. When the chase begins and Axel and Darcy come face-to-face, this hunter must weigh his soul against his honor-and against his heart.

Blood Magic was wonderful! I’ve really gotten into all types of paranormal books over the last few years and after reading many fabulous reviews on blogs I visit on a regular basis, I decided to move Blood Magic up in my TBR pile. And I’m so glad I did! I loved Blood Magic so much that as soon as I finished reading it I immediately started reading the 2^nd book in the series, Soul Magic.

I really liked the chemistry between Axel and Darcy and enjoy watching them grow together as the book progressed. However, many of my favorite characters were the supporting characters. I especially can’t wait to read Key’s book (hopefully) in the future. Lyon blends a bit of magic, action and adventure, and super hot romance to keep the reader totally engrossed. I highly recommend Blood Magic to anyone who enjoys reading amazing stories. I've already read Soul Magic, and hope to get my post up about it this week.

***Disclaimer*** I purchased this book myself.

2010 Blogging Goals

So I had planned on posting about at least one of the two books I finished in the last week, but my internet is acting up, so I thought I would post my blogging goals for the year tonight and update the two books tomorrow(Blood Magic & Soul Magic).

1. To read a minimum of 1 book per week and post my thoughts on any book read within 24 hours.

2. To post at least 2 personal thoughts/updates each week.

3. To run at least 1 contest per month and give away books.

4. If I win any ARCs this year, to post my thoughts on them before the books are released and then give a reminder post on the release date.

5. Post a list of any books being released I'm really excited about each month.

Doesn't seem like a huge list, but I've really been very lazy about my blogging lately and I want to do better in 2010.