Much Ado About Nothing

Here is it, Sunday morning. I sure hate to see Daylight Savings Time end.

My web page is still acting weird, so I went back to my old one at GeoCities.

Not a lot going on here. I saw some baby tortoises at the pet store yesterday. They were selling for $100 and up. They sure are easy pets - all they eat is a little lettuce and a couple of rose petals a day. They're so darn cute!

Looking forward to going Trick or Treating with my grandkids tonight. The oldest is a princess, #2 is a pirate, and #3 is Snow White. They're almost as cute as my turtles. Just kidding!

Looking forward to seeing The Incredibles next week. It sure looks cute.

Okay, I guess I've said nothing long enough.

Don't forget to say a prayer for our troops and their families.

Mandy

Saturday in the Wee Small Hours

Well, it's almost 1 a.m. and I should be in bed. I spent most of the night working on a new webpage on geocities since gremlins seem to be playing havoc with my other webpage. I love playing with my web pages, but it sure is time consuming!

Didn't really do much of anything else besides wash my hair, go to the store and the bank and the post office and the pet shop (new bedding for the turtles, you know). All this when I should have been writing! Had to squeeze lunch and dinner in there, too.

Anyway, just wanted to stop in and say hello. Hope life is being good to you.

Mandy

Thursday's Tale

My critique group met today. A wonderful bunch of ladies. I read chapters 9 and 10 of my work-in-progress, and they had only good things to say! One of them, a dear lady named Hilda, said she thinks this is my best vamp book to date! Did I mention what a perceptive group this is???

I came home and pulled some weeds, read my mail, fixed dinner, watched Bill O'Reilly and then On the Record, and finally decided it was time to sit down and get to work. I made a few changes in my w-i-p, and some corrections to things I noted from reading it this morning.

I bought three DVDs the other day and haven't had time to watch any of them...none of them are new ~ Damn Yankees, Time After Time (how did I leave that off my list?) and The Wind and the Lion.

I suppose I should get back to work, since this book won't write itself, more's the pity!

Until next time, don't forget to tell the people you love that you love them.

Mandy
www.madelinebaker.net

How The Time Flies

Well, here it is, Wednesday already. I took Sunday off, family day, you know.

Monday, I received some sad news from my best friend and I was too bummed out to do much of anything. Her son's wife committed suicide. No one knows why, leaving behind a grief-stricken husband and six kids (3 hers, 3 his). The family is devastated. At times like this, even a published author has trouble finding the right words.

Last night, I couldn't get my blog site to open!!!! So, here it is,
Wednesday already. It rained last night, and again this morning, which is a good thing. I love the rain. When I was a little girl, I remember sitting out on our front porch, wrapped in a blanket, watching the rain and the lightening and listening to the thunder.

I'm still working on my vampire book...wondering if I'll ever get it finished! Here's a little snippet:

She shivered as she pictured his hands caressing her skin, his mouth on her bare flesh.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
She looked up at him. "What? Oh, no."
She stopped walking as his gaze met and held hers. His eyes were dark, compelling, almost hypnotic.
"Do you want to go back?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Shannah." She looked incredibly beautiful standing there looking up at him, her eyes wide and a little scared.
His hands folded over her shoulders as he drew her slowly toward him until their bodies were only a breath apart. Slowly, he lowered his head, until all she could see were his eyes and the desire that burned in their depths.
Helpless to resist, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes as his mouth covered hers.
Warmth. Heat. Pleasure.
She swayed toward him, her body drawn to his by a force she could neither understand or ignore. She forgot everything as his lips played over hers, now gentle, now demanding. Nothing mattered, nothing but this man, this moment. If he kissed her like this until the end of time, it wouldn’t be long enough. His tongue teased hers. Desire shot through her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. Lordy, but the man could kiss!
She moaned softly, her fingers delving into the thick hair at his nape.
Ronan’s hands slid down her back. Spreading his hands over her thighs, he drew her body closer to his. Too long, he thought, it had been too long since he had wanted a woman the way he wanted this one.

Well, l guess that's all the news for now. If you're so inclined, please say a prayer for my best friend and her family. I know they would appreciate it. And take a minute to tell your loved ones that you love them, while you can.

Mandy

Later That Night

Well, I couldn't stop thinking about those lists. So, off the top of my head, here's a list of my favorite movies:

My Top 8 Musicals:
1. Paint Your Wagon
2. Brigadoon
3. Camelot
4. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
5. Bye, Bye Birdie
6. The Seven Little Foys
7. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
8. Dirty Dancing (I saw this 19 times the summer it came out)

My Top 18 Dramas:
1. The Way We Were
2. Sayonara
3. Gladiator
4. Winning
5. All About Eve
6. Rob Roy
7. The Year of Living Dangerously
8. Spartacus
9. Top Gun (I think I saw this about 19 times, too)
10. The Long Hot Summer
11. Strangers When We Meet
12. Lifeguard
13. Home From the Hill
14 Shoot to Kill
15. Anne of a Thousand Days
16. Wuthering Heights (with Ralph Fiennes)
17. The Wind and the Lion
18. Swashbuckler

My Top 12 Comedy Movies:
1. Young Frankenstein
2. Ghostbusters
3. Packin' It In
4. One, Two, Three
5. Mr. Mom
6. The Money Pit
7. Murder By Death
8. City Slickers
9. The Santa Clause
10. Fun With Dick and Jane
11. Funny Farm
12. The Goodbye Girl

My Top 19 Fantasy, Sci-Fi Movies:
1. STAR WARS - IV, V, VI - I took my son out of school to see them.
2.Pirates of the Carribean
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Ladyhawke
5. The Princess Bride
6. Field of Dreams
7. Men in Black
8. Independence Day
9. Capricorn One
10. Planet of the Apes (the Charlton Heston one)
11. Westworld
12. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
13. Jurassic Park
14. The Mummy
15. Somewhere in Time
16. Signs
17. Dracula (the Frank Langella one)
18. Love at First Bite
19. Raiders of the Lost Ark

My Top 13 Western Movies:
1. Legends of the Fall
2. Last of the Mohicans
3. Dances With Wolves
4. Last of the Dogmen
5. Apache
6. Silverado
7. Cat Ballou
8. Support Your Local Sheriff
9. Support Your Local Gunfighter
10. Quigley, Down Under (although it's not really a "western".
11. Hondo
12. True Grit
13. The Magnificent Seven

Top 9 Animated Movies:
1.Beauty and the Beast
2.Shrek
3.Ice Age
4. Cinderella
5. Snow White
6. Sleeping Beauty
7. Monsters, Inc.
8. Tarzan
9. Toy Story

Top 9 Comedy/Dramas
1. Charade
2. Sneakers
3. Lillies of the Field
4. Doc Hollywood
5. The American President
6. Sweet Home Alabama
7. A Knight’s Tale
8. Continental Divide
9. Romancing the Stone

Biggest Disappointment:
Van Helsing

Most Looking Forward to:
STAR WARS
Phantom of the Opera
The Incredibles

I'm sure I've left off some of my favorite movies....and I'll probably think of them as soon as I post this!

Mandy

Sunday's Child

Sunday, lazy Sunday. On a typical Sunday, I get up, fix breakfast, read the paper, and laze around in my robe until it's time to go to church, which I love.

After church, I come home, change into something comfy, read my mail, maybe work on my web page. My kids usually come over for dinner. Sometimes I cook, sometimes my daughters-in-law cook. I like those days best, since they are great cooks and I, admittedly, am not! We usually watch America's Funniest Home Videos and the Simpsons.

When the kids go home, I watch tv, or play on line, then take a long hot bubble bath. I read in the tub for half an hour or so, then watch M*A*S*H reruns and then, if I'm still not tired, I go back online and talk to Ronda or play Solitaire.

I was visitng other blogs today and one of them listed the writer's Top 3 list. I thought that might be fun, so I think I'll give it a go on my next post. Mandy

Later that Night

Well, here I sit, in front of my pute. Nothing new about that! I spend most of my life here, or so it seems. Of course, I should be writing. Instead, I procrastinate by chatting online with Ronda Thompson (who has a great blog, btw) or playing solitaire. Amazing how many things you can find to do online to keep from doing what you should be doing!

Earlier, we went out to dinner with my son and his wife at a place called, of all things, Fat Burger. Not a name to make you think, "Oh, goody, let's eat", IMO. I had a turkey burger that was really good, and a chocolate shake. And then, are you ready? we went to Target. That's twice in one day for me. You'll never guess what I bought this time! A bean bag doll. He's so cute, I couldn't resist. Did I mention that I have absolutely no will power? I have more toys now than I had when I was a kid!!!

And, miracle of miracles, I even managed to get a little writing done!
Have a peaceful, blessed Sabbath.

Mandy
www.madelinebaker.net

Saturday's Tale

Saturday ~ a day for laundry and housecleaning...and shopping at Target. I hate that store! They always have something I simply can't live without. Today it was two Star Wars figures (Han Solo and Leia), a Halloween decoration (a spooky house made of metal that holds 2 votive candles), a storage box for some of the Halloween decorations I bought earlier this monthth, and a Christmas present. I almost bought the Van Helsing DVD, even though I thought the movie was awful. Still, Hugh is really cute...

As usual, I should be working on my book, but I'm at one of those places where I just don't know what to do next, and I still have about a hundred pages to go! This has not been an easy book to write!!!

Mandy

The Next Day ~ PS

Well, I couldn't figure out how to post pictures on this silly thing, so I posted pics of my turtles here . They really are cute!

And now I must go write!

Mandy

The Next Day

Ah, Friday at last. Not that it really matters. When your kids are grown and gone, every day is pretty much like the last.

I was hoping I'd be able to think of something cute and clever to say, but, alas, I didn't really do much of anything today ~ a little shopping, a little laundry, a visit to my kids.

It's 8 p.m. now, and I should be writing. I generally run errands and clean house in the afternoon and write at night, usually from now until midnight or so. Hope your day has been more exciting than mine!

Mandy

Later that same night...

Well, it's been a busy day! I spent most of it working on my work in progress, which is a vampire book for Zebra. I wrote about 2,000 words. My usual goal is a thousand words a day, so I'm ahead!

I also took my baby tortoises outside for the first time. They are so cute. I got them from my son. His tortoise laid 7 eggs and we took two of the hatchlings. One of them is very sluggish. I sure hope he (or she) is all right. I asked my son if they were male or female. He said he didn't know, but they were all the same sex, because they had been incubated at the same temperature. Amazing! If I can figure out how to upload photos, I'll post one when I get my film developed.

We had some rain here. I love the rain, but the horse trail that runs in front of our house now has some really deep, treacherous ruts in it.

Well, I guess I'll close. I can't imagine that anyone will find any of this the least bit interesting!

Mandy

Mandy's Musings

Well, everyone seems to be blogging these days, so I thought I'd give it a try. Writing a book is one thing, trying to write something off the cuff that will interest anyone is another...

And learning how to navigate this blog is something else!!!! I can edit and create my own web page but I can't figure out how to make the changes I want here! It's very frustrating!!!!!

I think I'll head back to my work in progress before I throw my computer out the window. And since I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to find my way back here again, this may be my first and only post!