CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins

I have only one word to describe this book:

Perfection.


Run. Buy it. Enjoy.

I'm riding in my seat, waiting for the next book. O.M.G.

I Love Me Some Christmas Music!

If I'm completely honest, I could listen to it all year long. I can never understand why people say they get sick and tired of it...*shrug* LOL.

It's become a tradition for me to add to my Christmas music collection every year...one or two CD's. I like listening to the different takes on old favorites. This year I've added The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Rock-a-billy Christmas, anyone?) and MoTown Favorites. Fantastic, both.

That said, here's one of my favorite versions of Merry Christmas, Baby by Bonnie Raitt and Charles Brown. Hope the video turned out okay. This is really my first time fiddling with Movie Maker. (Not sure the random pics are the right size/pixels/whatnot...OH WELL. (g)) It's aaaaallll about the song, anyway. :)

Hehehe!!

I totally ripped this off from Between Fact and Fiction, but it's so good, I have to share! :)

A Dramatic Reading of a Break-Up Letter

New Moon Parody

HERE.

--Thanks to Tara for sending me this link!

And yes, I still enjoy the books, yada yada yada. This parody is just really funny. :)

*Smacks Forehead*

My adventures continued into yesterday morning. I came outside, carrying my borrowed shovel along with a smaller one for my car. There's this rather attractive fellow standing across the street, car parked in front of the alley entrance that is blocked by a snow drift. I assume he was waiting for someone...a snow plow...someone with shovels perhaps?

Well, I'm sure he noticed the two shovels I was carrying...and well, he tracked me down the walk... Okay...

I get to the curb, step off....and POOOMPH! The snow is a lot deeper than I expected...or perhaps the curb moved overnite.. Either way, my foot found nothing but powdery snow and DOWN Jen went.

O.M.G.

ROFL! Needless to say I turned tail quick and got the hell out of there. If he thought I was his shovel savior, he was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Phew!

What a night!

Remember that snow I was gushing about? Well, it's wreaking havoc in this town. I just spent the funniest/most tiring evening I've ever had here. First, I had NO problems getting to work this morning. Snow drifts? HA! No match for Jen and her Explorer. I bulldozed my way through them.. and once I was on the main roads, TOTAL cinch getting to work. I wasn't even late, and due to some extra ZZZZ's this morning, I left at right about the usual time. Go figure. But with people afraid to brave the roads, it was smooth sailing for me and my snow wrecker.

Got to work which was running at about 1/4 of a tank -- meaning almost the entire work force stayed home. I thought to myself...what's the big deal? I had no problem getting here. Of course, *ahem* I didn't have a driveway I had to shovel out... and I live pretty close to a main road. (Pretty close being one house away. LOL!) Plus, yanno...my Explorer spells doom to all snow drifts. Again -- what's the big deal??

Management was so dang gobsmacked by the employees who DID make it in, they bought us lunch. Whoot whoo for free lunch.

After work, off to my aunt's house to visit with my cousin and her hubby and her newborn babe, who is a DOLL. She loves her Auntie Jen -- a lot. While she'd fuss for everyone else, she was an absolute angel for me. I have the touch. *shrug* Kids love me at that age. Now when they get older...and yanno, can run away...*cough* That's another story. But no, kids like me. I'm the aunt that gets them in trouble because I let them play all the games their parents tell them not to. Yes, I'm THAT aunt. :)

Nice evening...everything is going great until it's time to go home. My aunt (a different one) takes off in her big ass Ford and decides to go offroading through the snowdrifts. Okay, maybe not...but she did seem to think she was in an all terrain vehicle. She basically high-centered herself on a VERY large snowdrift. You'd think if she saw it coming she would've stopped and turned around. Not MY aunt. LOL. Anyway, took four of us to dig her out and push. Fun times.

Then...then I came home (with borrowed snow shovel) and shoveled my very first sidewalk. LMAO. Yeah, it's suprising I've never done this, eh? Remember, I'm a California girl and a renter to boot. Usually I have a landlord to do this for me. (g) That said...I'm SO embarrassed by my efforts.

I couldn't find the sidewalk. ROFL!

There's a rather large patch of grass that's getting a big gulp of the chilly air, tho..... Heh. Oops. I just know the neighbors--the ones I can't stand--were at their windows watching, laughing at the stupid Cali girl who felt the need to shovel the grass. But hey... there's a path where there wasn't one before. Maybe tomorrow they'll be just this *pinches her fingers together* nicer to me when they don't have to trudge through a foot of snow to get to their car. Maybe.

I'm spent! Time for something hot to drink. Schnapps, anyone?

Madison's Christmas Carol, The Grand Finale!

Thanks for coming along with me on this walk down memory lane. Umm, is anyone still here?? :)

Where we left off:

“I’m guessing you wanted company that couldn’t run away. Look at that hair! Scary.”

I flipped him off at that and booked it out of the room. “Take me back!”

**

Grumpy grimaced. “Just look at you. What a loser.”

I’d like to say I was offended, and deep down, I guess I was. But even I had to admit he was right.

We stood at the foot of my couch, looking down at my sleeping self. Resigned to spending Christmas alone, I hadn’t bothered to get dressed. I wore old sweats and a t-shirt with an ice cream stain over my right boob. My hair was plastered to my forehead, and with a grunt, I turned onto my side and began to snore.

“You got two men looking like that?” Grumpy gave me a critical survey and shook his head in disbelief. “It’s a fucking Christmas miracle.”

“Stuff it,” I said, smacking him on the back of the head.

“Ouch. Should’ve known you’d be violent, too.”

I ignored him and studied my sleeping form again. What the hell was I doing? Gabe and Drew were both alone that night, and if I weren’t so stubborn, I could be with one of them. But of course, there was the rub. Which one would I choose?

Panic rippled through me. If I didn’t choose, would I end up the poker hound of the retirement world? Bad hair and all?

“You’re right,” I said, sliding to the floor. “I’m a loser. I know I need to choose between them, but I don’t know how to do it.”

I sat there, legs crossed, waiting for the elf to say something. After a few minutes, I stole a peek up at him. He rolled his eyes at my expectant face.

“If you think I’m gonna get all Dr. Phil on your ass, you’re out of your mind. Solve your own damn problems.”

With that, he snagged a couple more beers from the fridge and made for the door. “Later.”

“I thought you were supposed to help me!” I yelled after him.

“Help this,” he said, flipping me off. “They don’t pay me enough to deal with this shit. You’ve seen it all, figure things out for yourself.” The door slammed in his wake and I blinked after him, dumbfounded.

“Jesus. What a grump.”

I stopped. A slight fizzy sensation started at the top of my head and spread down into my body. Then I was falling.

**

I sat up with a start, blinking into the dark room. I flicked on the lamp beside me and let my eyes adjust to the sudden light. I was back in my living room—the sweats, the stained T-shirt, the sad tree in the corner —everything was back to normal. Hand clapped to my forehead, I lay back and closed my eyes, willing the memory of all I had seen to go away. But it wouldn’t.

I knew what I had to do.

I threw back the covers and got dressed.

**

It took a while to find him, but I did. At a corner pub around the corner from his home.

He sat at the bar, his broad back to me. He had changed into jeans and a T-shirt, an untucked flannel shirt finishing the look. He was nursing a beer, and had a couple of empties in front of him.

A pang of guilt hit me in the chest. Would he even want me here? I nearly turned around then, but forced my feet to keep moving forward.

The bar was mostly empty, but there were a few people around the pool tables at his back. One of the women kept throwing him sidelong glances, and I felt a surge of relief that her attentions went unnoticed.

I could do this.

Without a word, I slid onto the stool beside him. He glanced at me, surprise and something else warring for control of his features. But then he smiled, and I took that as a good sign.

“Hey,” he said, motioning to the bartender to bring me a beer. A bottle landed in front of me with a clink, and I took a tentative sip, my throat having gone dry.

He watched me for a long moment, finally breaking the silence with a jerk of his chin toward the item in my other hand. “What’s that?”

I twirled the sprig in my fingers and met his eyes. “Mistletoe.”

His brow quirked up at that, but he said nothing. Waiting.

“It’s for you,” I blurted out, feeling as foolish as a school girl on her first date.

The corner of his mouth turned up, but his eyes were serious on mine. “That’s a serious flower you’ve got there.”

So many things went unspoken in that moment.

Was this what I really wanted? Yes.

What about Him? I’m here with you.

For how long? For as long as you want me.

And just like that, the moment passed. He dropped his eyes and took a long pull from his beer. I felt my heart sink a little and prepared to beat a hasty retreat.

I was such a fool.

“Well, then…” he said smoothly, straightening the collar of his shirt and swiveling our seats so that we faced one another. “I accept.”

I met his eyes and felt some of the pressure in my chest loosen. Hands at my waist, he pulled me toward him as I lifted the sprig above our heads.

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered, a moment before our lips met.

His mouth curled against mine. “It is now.”

Then he kissed me again.




Umm, you didn't really think I'd tell you WHO the guy is, did you? :)

Merry Christmas, everyone!