It's all about Kristie II ;-)

Holy crap, I'm posting again! The world must have ended...

But Kristie would like to see desktops, so here's my home one (since I'm off work until August). Note the lack of icons compared to Lori's, lol. I'm a TAD anal about clutter on my desktop. All that's there is the recycling bin, a Pics folder for when I move the pics from my camera (which are then transferred to the giant hard drive), and my Couch to 5k Workout Plan. That is there as a reminder to actually do it. Riiiight.
Yes, the pic is my beautiful boy who's kept me away for so long. Can you blame me? ;-)

It's all about Kristie... :)

Cause KristieJ wants to know what we all have on our desktop...

I have to say... honestly? You all know how busy I am at work, right? That's my disclaimer, LOL. It's Jeff snowboarding behind all this junk.



Maybe I'll post the one from home. It's not quite this bad, but pretty close, cause it has all Bob's working recording files on it. The man simply doesn't understand the meaning of "losing the data".

Junk About Kate

I'm stealing this from Lori while I think about my newest post--yes, I am ACTUALLY going to post. Did you all miss me? :-) You can see where she stole it from below. (Also, is anyone else seeing the horrible bandwidth tile? *shudder*)

1. What thing is nearest to you? My coffee cup and baby monitor
2. What is your ringtone? So Close from the Enchanted Soundtrack
3. What was the last message in your inbox? A new review from Romance Junkies for one of my authors!
4. Who is your best friend? My hubby
5. What is the brand of your TV? Sylvania. It's old, to hubby's displeasure.
6. What schools did you attend? Nursery School (called pre-K now), Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High, High School, College.
7. Do you own a MP4? Nope. Not yet.
8. What song are you listening to now? Promise Me by Lea Salonga. Anyone ever heard her voice? Pure and beautiful. (She was the singing voice of Jasmine in Aladdin. :-))
9. Did you kiss anybody in the past 2 days? Yes.
10. Have you ever kissed someone you met in the blogosphere? Nope.
11. What would you want to call yourself if you didn't have your current name? I like my name, but when I was younger I wanted to change to Rina, a different spin off Katherine.
12. Would you be happy if you had everything? I agree with Lori - I'd like the opportunity to find out.
13. Are you always thinking of someone special? While I love my few someone specials, there are actually times where I don't think of them. Sometimes, lol.
14. Tell us of your most desperate dream? Right now it's to become a published author. I'm working on it, I swear.
15. When did you last laugh till you cried? I haven't in a while. I think that's sad.
16. If you had a crush, would you tell them you love him/her now? I tell the hubster every day.
17. If you could be anywhere in the world now, where would you want to be? On a sunny beach, basking in the sun. ~I agree, Lori
18. When was your heart last broken? I can't remember. I think that's a good thing.
19. Whose birthday(s) is/are coming up? My baby turns one in July. WHERE did the time go?? And mine's in August.
20. How many email accounts do you have? Hmm, one personal, one for work, one for review/editing. And I had one for Yahoo group stuff, but since I don't do Yahoo groups really anymore, that's since become defunct.

Junk about me

I took this from Barbara, who took it from JenB.

1. What thing is nearest to you? Empty Cold Stone ice cream cup (guilty blush) and an empty diet coke can. What does that say about me, LOL?.
2. What is your ringtone? Eruption by Van Halen
3. What was the last message in your inbox? It's from Nikki, confirming she'll be at the next SoCal Blogger get together. Woot!
4. Who is your best friend? Bob.
5. What is the brand of your TV? Samsung
6. What schools did you attend? Elementary, Junior High, High School, College, and postgrad for my RRT.
7. Do you own a MP4? Nope. Not yet.
8. What song are you listening to now? Lullaby, by none other than the hub. It's playing on Steve's iPod while he's in bed. Plus, Bob is writing a song in our room.
9. Did you kiss anybody in the past 2 days? Yes.
10. Have you ever kissed someone you met in the blogosphere? I'm not sure. Have I, guys?
11. What would you want to call yourself if you didn't have your current name? When I was a little girl, I wanted to be called Barbara. I had a friend named Barbara with long straight black hair. (I have very curly brown hair).
12. Would you be happy if you had everything? I'd like the opportunity to find out.
13. Are you always thinking of someone special? No time.
14. Tell us of your most desperate dream? I desperately want my children to be happy all the time.
15. When did you last laugh till you cried? Tonight at dinner.
16. If you had a crush, would you tell them you love him/her now? Just did.
17. If you could be anywhere in the world now, where would you want to be? On a sunny beach, basking in the sun.
18. When was your heart last broken? 5 years ago, when my dad passed away.
19. Whose birthday(s) is/are coming up? My nephew's (20th) and my hubby's.
20. How many email accounts do you have? Two that I use all the time for personal use, plus a work one, plus about 10 that I use for work for testing. Ugh, that sounds like a lot, doesn't it?

Who are you? (who, who... who, who?)

I saw this over at Kristie's, and thought it would be fun. I loved Star Trek, both TOS and the movie (the first one and the last one, LOL).

Your results:
You are Beverly Crusher

Beverly Crusher 75% Geordi LaForge 60% Deanna Troi 55% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 50% Chekov 50% Uhura 50% Jean-Luc Picard 50% Will Riker 50% Data 48% Mr. Scott 45% James T. Kirk (Captain) 40% Worf 40% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 40% Spock 39% Mr. Sulu 20%

A good physician and a caring parent. You are devoted to your children and to your occupation.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character am I?" quiz...

All About Me by the Man to Die For

So there's a Meme going around where we ask our kids questions about ourselves, and have them answer them. Holly decided to turn it around and have MM answer them. I thought I'd have the Man to Die For do the same. So here's his take on me.

1. What is something I always say to you? I love you.

2. What makes me happy? Being covered in warm laundry.
(I'm a serious freak. He dumps all the laundry fresh out of the dryer onto me. I love it!)

3. What makes me sad? Hmmmm. You're not often sad. When you are, it's the big stuff, like your dad passing, or the loss of a pet.

4. How do I make you laugh? Snorting when you laugh. Walking into walls. Rambling away on a caffeine induced high.

5. What was I like as a child? Well, I didn't know you then, but you look pretty cute in pictures.

6. How old am I? Younger than me.

7. How tall am I? Depends who you ask and how much hair is included. Officially, I think its 5' 2 and 3/4"

8. What is my favorite thing to do? Can't say that here. Your 2nd favorite thing to do is read romance novels.

9. What do I do when you’re not around? Read romance novels. Didn't you read #8?

10. If I becomes famous, what will it be for? If you becomes famous, it will be for making the world's best lasagna!

11. What am I really good at? Again, I can't really say that here. But you're also an awesome mom to our kids, and you are the best wife ever. You are apparently pretty damn good at your job, since they kind of ask you to do everything. And even though you only play once a year, you're still the best flute player I know.

12. What am I not very good at? Folding my laundry the way I like it or loading the dishwasher efficiently.
(He's just a little anal-retentive, huh? I fold the laundry and load the dishwasher perfectly fine. This is how he ended up being the one to do the laundry for the last 20-odd years)

13. What do I do for my job? Everything web and email.

14. What is my favorite food? Chocolate. Oh, and also chocolate.

15. What makes you proud of me? You are the anchor of our family. You hold it all together. (sniff)

16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be? Tweety Bird

17.What do we do together? Speak in unison, go to concerts, and an occasional movie.

18. How are we the same? Our dads were both physicists, and our moms both nurses, and all lived in Chicago in the late 60's. We have nearly identical socio-political views. We have similar tastes in music, though you lean toward 70's love songs more than I.
(they call me 70s woman!!)

19. How are we different? I'm a boy, you're a girl. Lucky for us!
(Oh so lucky!!)

20. How do you know I love you? I belong to you. I don't know how I know it, but I belong to you. Sometimes I don't show it. But I know I do. Baby, I belong to you.
(sigh. isn't he just the sweetest? listen to the whole song here.)

21. Where is my favorite place to go? Anywhere that's sunny.

What kind of reader are you?

What Kind of Reader Are You?

Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

How true is that description of the dedicated reader? Wow...

Bookworm award/meme

So, Holly tagged me with a Bookworm award (thanks, Holls!), and here's how it works.

Open the book closest to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following there.

The book closest to me happens to be A Rake's Guide to Seduction (Zebra Historical Romance) by Caroline Linden. I absolutely loved this book. I'm struggling to write up a review. I've read about 10 really awesome books in the last few weeks, and I got nothin' other than "Wow, great book. Loved it." If inspiration comes to me, you'll get a whole shitload of reviews of really great books spewing forth. Anyway, on to the meme.

This section comes from the journal of the heroine, Celia, as she details the demise of her marriage. Sad stuff.

May 1820
Bertie has not returned from the Meltons' these four days. He sent word that a party of guests from Oxfordshire was also detained, and as they were excellent company he found it gratifying to stay.
It is rather disappointing that my company is not so desirable to him.

This book is perhaps the best of the Reece sibling trilogy, IMO. Great heroine, great great, great hero. Loved Anthony to death. I love that the heroine goes into her marriage in love, and sticks it out to the end. And that she doesn't take up with our hero immediately, but mourns her idjut husband, or at least the loss of the life she had or felt like she might have had (or at least she feels like she should mourn, and does so in all honesty). And my heart broke for our hero from the get-go. When he went to ask for her hand from her brother, and was told that he had just that day given permission to someone else. Ouch, what a heartbreaker. I was so happy to see these two come together, finally.

OK, I'm getting a bit of a twinge... maybe I'll write up a full review. Thanks for the inspiration, Holly!

I believe I now have to tag 5 other folks for this award/meme (review not necessary, LOL!). So....

Rosie
Wendy
JenniferB
Jessica
Stacy~

What kind of guy turns you on?

Got this over at Dev's...

Your result for The What type of MAN turns you on Test...

Tough guy

You love men, you love testosterone and you know it. You like a bad-ass man who knows what he wants. He isn't what you might bring home to mom but I don't think it really matters - he's hot! Someone like.....Vin Diesel. But let's face it, the whole point of this was to look at a bunch of hot guys. If you liked what you saw, please rate my test!

Interesting, no? Considering my own guy is very much a betaman... must be all the hunka hunka men in uniform alpha types I love to read.

Take The What type of MAN turns you on Test.

Sigh... Anne's bug bit me

It's all Anne's fault!

What kind of smart are you? Someone pass this on to the development team at my job, please. The last few days, they seem to not understand that I know what I'm talking about, and that my boss highly prizes my intelligence. *headdesk*

All-Around Smart You are all-around smart. Essentially, that means that you are a good combination of your own knowledge and experience, along with having learned through instruction - and you are equally as good with theoretical things as you are with real-world, applied things. You have a well-rounded brain. 20% theoretical intelligence 20% natural intelligence

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Reading Quiz... What Type of Reader are You?

I saw this over at The Book Binge, and thought I'd try it...

My results:

Your Personality: All-Rounder!

Your responses showed you fitting equally into all four reading personalities:

Involved Reader: You don't just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase - discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others.

Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.

Serial Reader: Once you discover a favorite writer you tend to stick with him/her through thick and thin.

Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.
And ya know what? All that is true. Veddy Interestink.

You take it, too. Let us know what kind of reader you are :)

Book Meme

OK, I'll bite. I was about to review this book, so it was already in my hands. Here's how it works: Get yourself to the nearest book, flip to page 123, and copy the 5th sentence out here...

He turned abruptly and strode into the sunlight, promptly disappearing.

From Spirited Away by Cindy Miles

Read my review here.

Meme

I haven't been tagged, but I saw this and liked it, so here goes.

Here's how it works: Get yourself to the nearest book, flip to page 123, and copy the 5th sentence out here...

They'd always hoped she'd come back home to live after graduation as many Sensor demon offspring did after they'd been mated off by their parents.

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione.

It's lookin' good!

46 Things

46 ODD Things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 46
things about your friends, and let them learn 46 things about you!
Remember send it back to the person who sent it to you.

1. Do you like blue cheese? NO! Ewww.

2 Have you ever smoked? Socially but not really.

3. Do you own a gun? Nope.

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? Never been but I suspect I'd add cherry or grape

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes. Don't like them.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? They're okay. Eat them occasionally.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? I don't have one.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee with French vanilla creamer.

9. Can you do push ups? One or two maybe.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? A heart necklace with an A in it I got from my BFF Cindy.

11. Favorite hobby? Reading or writing.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? I think so, yes.

13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? My toes

14. Middle name? Lori

15. Name 3 thoughts at this emailing
1. I wonder who will respond.
2. Are there any questions on here that I haven't answered before?
3. Sinus headaches suck.

16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday:
Pizza for the grad party

17. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
1. Coffee with French vanilla creamer
2. Soda
3. Favored Dasani

18. Current worry? Family health issues, finances.

19. Current hate right now? Feeling unappreciated.

20. Favorite place to be? Anywhere NOT working.

21. Where would you like to go? Hawaii, California, or New York.

22. Name three people who will complete this?
Not sure.

24. What shirt are you wearing? White ribbed shirt

25. What year would you go back in time to? 1984

26. Can you whistle? Sort of.

27. Favorite color? Carnation pink.

28. Would you be a pirate? Only if Orlando Bloom were my captain... Aye matie. *eyebrow wiggle* .

29. Favorite girl's name? Marissa

31. Favorite boy's name? Hmm. I have a lot but I'd say Gabe or Rafe

33. Last thing that made you laugh? The conversation at my son's graduation party yesterday

34.Favorite Halloween costume? Witch

35. Worst injury you've ever had? twisted ankle and tore ligaments and tendons.

36. Do you like where you live? No.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 7

38. Who is your loudest friend? My sister is the loudest, Sarah is the most outspoken.

39. How many dogs do you have? Two, Grace and Chance

40. Does someone have a crush on you? Nah.

41. What is your favorite book(s)? The Heart of Devin MacKade by Nora Roberts, Promises Linger by Sarah McCarty, Mirror Image by Sandra Brown, The Sheik and the Runaway Princess by Susan Mallery, Midnight Rose and Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed, Her Best Friend's Lover and Beautiful Girl by Shiloh Walker.

42. What is your favorite candy? Haribo gummy bears and Werther's chewy caramels. YUM!

43. Favorite sports team? NASCAR- Jeff Gordon, Team 24
44. Your favorite meal? Deep fried jumbo shrimp and steak and fries

45. What were you doing @12 AM last night? sleeping

46. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Ugh, Monday. I could use more sleep and the week has just begun.

TAGGED! Six-Things Meme

I was tagged by the lovely Lauren Dane. Now I have to come up with six original things you all don't know about me.

Okie dokie... let's see here:

1. I love gummy bears... but they have to be Haribo brand... and if I have them, I eat them and eat them until they are gone. I also eat them by color- white first, my fave. Heh.
2. I don't own a gazillion pair of shoes as most women do. I was very girly in high school but now I tend to go for practicality. I prefer my leather Keds(used to wear the canvas but they got dirty too fast) over all others.
3. I have to wear socks all the time. It's weird, yes I know. But when I was a child I had very severe allergies including skin allergies. If I walked in grass barefoot, walked on nylon carpet, or just went barefoot, I would get a skin-peeling-and-cracking rash that was horribly painful and would only resolve with a prescription salve. It was lovely. This is why I don't wear sandals. My mother used to make me wear socks with my sandals. I looked like a dork. Sigh.
4. I love coffee with Coffee-Mate French vanilla creamer. I absolutely LOVE it. But the coffee has to be strong. I hate weak-ass coffee.
5. I'm a dessert whore... as you can tell by the size of my ass and.. well, the rest of me. LOL I love it. Cake, tortes, some pies, ice cream, but my favorite is cheesecake and since I don't get it very often, it's a real treat when I do.
6. I had a hysterectomy four years ago and they ended up having to remove one ovary but you know what? I'm just as hormonal during PMS time as I was back then. Seriously, I can't tell by my body when I'd be getting my period, but I can tell by my emotional response when it's PMS time... as I'm sure you can as well. Heh

I don't think I'll tag anyone, but if you want to do the meme, feel free to link back here and let me know about it so I can read all about you! :-)

New Four Things Meme

Devon started this meme this morning. Love it!

Four Jobs People Only Seem To Have In Romance Novels:

1) Elite military and/or government agency position (Ranger, SEAL, Special Forces, DEA, CIA, and all the fictional agencies conceived and operated on the downlow)
2) Highly successful business owner Type I: guys who take their experience—see item 1—and turn them into contracted services (detective agencies, security services, pilots)
3) Highly successful business owners Type II: underdogs who turn out to be far more successful than established corporations
4) Pack leaders or reigning vampires


Four Movie Stars I Wish Characters Would Not Be Compared To:

1) Brad Pitt
2) Tom Cruise
3) Gerard Butler
4) And all the rest of them

I agree with Devon, this is a personal pet peeve for me. Let me envision the characters for myself.

Four Places That Corner The Real Estate Market:

1) Remote wilds of the Pacific Northwest
2) California
3) The Bayou
4) Dallas

Four Places That Would Really Probably Not Be A Fun Spot For Sex:

Hmmmmm, two things. First, I'm no good at remembering the location of sex in my reads, LOL. And two, sex pretty much anywhere works for me. If it’s good sex.

Four Types Of Heroes That Would Be Crappy Husband Material In Real Life:

1) Elite military and/or government agency position (Ranger, SEAL, Special Forces, DEA, CIA, and all the fictional agencies conceived and operated on the downlow); like Devon said—too dangerous
2) Shapeshifters – inconvenient I’ll bet and hell on the wardrobe
3) Vampires – not enough Neosporin in the world for all those bites
4) DOMs – occasional kink might be fun but marriage has to be an equal partnership

What's in a name?

Blatantly stolen from Holly, who stole it from Rosie, who stole it from Megan Hart, and so on, and so on, and so on...

And can I say? I apparently ROCK! It even says so in the dictionary.

My name's meanings on Urban Dictionary... Lori

Meme

You're feeling: Anxious.

To your left: Desk and books for work.

On your mind: Money/finances.

Last meal included: Homemade Rice Krispies treats and coffee (is that a meal?)

You sometimes find it hard to: get up in the morning (I'm so not a morning person).

The weather: Sunny, around 45 degrees.

Something you have a collection of: Nora Roberts Books.

A smell that cheers you up: Roses.

A smell that can ruin your mood: Burnt toast.

How long since you last shaved: Three, maybe four days.

The current state of your hair: Long, washed, put up in a clippy thing.

The largest item on your desk/workspace (not computer): TV (heh, work from home).

Your skill with chopsticks: Just give me a fork.

Which section you head for first in a bookstore: Romance.

Something you're craving: cheesecake.

Your general thoughts on the presidential race: Democrat and anyone is better than the flake in there now.

How many times have you been hospitalized this year: None.

Favorite place to go for a quiet moment: My office.

You've always secretly thought you'd be a good: Psychologist.

Something that freaks you out a little: Bugs! GAH!

Something you've eaten too much of lately: Not too much of one thing really.

You have never: lived alone.

You never want to: marry again.

Silliness

Blatantly stolen from Jenster's blog. It looked fun so I did it.

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Okay, Lori did this last week (she still hasn't revealed the one thing that doesn't fit), and I feel compelled to contribute to this as well. I'm going to try to make it tricky, so we'll see...

Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag six people and at the end of your post, link to their blogs. The twist here is, one of the statements is a lie! You have to guess which one and let me know in comments.

1. I type over 100 word/minute.
   
2. I totally love 80's music... rock, pop, metal, alternative. Love. It. Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Metallica, Prince, The Cure, Cult, The Tubes, and Van Halen to name a few.
3. I love fruit. I eat it every day-- apples, peaches, oranges, pineapple, grapes, watermelon, etc. I love it.
4. At the risk of getting tomatoes thrown at me, I must confess that I do not find Gerard Butler, Christian Bale, or Russell Crowe attractive at all. Just not my type.
5. I love, love, love getting pedicures and foot massages. Ahhhh.
   
6. My dream is to become a published author.

So, let's see if you can figure out which one of the above is not true. It'll be interesting to see if you figure out the real one because some of the things above I've not revealed before, at least I don't think so. :-)