CAB's Adventures: November 2012

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

November 27, 2012 Book Review: Something So Grand by Lynn Galli

Something So Grand by Lynn Galli

Publisher: Penikila Press, LLC

Genre: Romance

Book Description from Amazon.com

As a designer for the wealthy, Vivian Yeats doesn’t have a lot of time for a relationship. Not the kind of relationships she’s had in the past, anyway. She’s always settled for compatibility or common interests or misplaced enthusiasm when it comes to partners. Despite being her favorite subject in books and on screen, romance constantly eludes her.

For Natalie Harper, romance has never been on her radar. She prefers working hard at her construction job and doing good work to guide her through her days. When she meets Vivian, she’s knocked off that focused path. They become successful colleagues and good friends. Could romance become the thing they do best together?

Review

2.5 out of 5 stars

Natalie is works in construction for a contactor named Cal. At one time Cal may have been reliable but as we are introduced to him he’s shady and running into financial issues. Vivian is a designer who over the years has used Cal and his construction company for many of her projects. Cal’s underhanded business practices are made extremely evident when he has his crew walk off Vivian’s latest project. This opens the door for Natalie to quit working for Cal and start her own contractor business.

I’ve read all of the books that Lynn Galli has published. For me they are enjoyable, easy read where I can get caught up in the story and relax. That was also true for this story, but I have to admit that for me this particular story and he characters felt somewhat one dimensional. There was no real conflict Natalie and Vivian meet, they work well together, there’s an attraction, they get together and things go along smoothly the entire way. There are a few instances where the story alludes to potential issues in Natalie’s life. There is a brief encounter with her parents, a few instances where Cal attempts to undermine Natalie’s new business but none of these things have any impact on the story or seemingly on Vivian and Natalie’s blossoming relationship.

What this story did do for me was make me go back and re-read Lynn’s story “Mending Defects”

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

November 27, 2012 - Update

I don't know where I have been but I apologize for the long delay. Here's a brief update

Reading:

I need to start reading again but the books I was attempting to read were killing me. So I have decided to put them aside and find something mindless that puts me back on track.

Puppy:

Life is full of surprises and long forgotten memories that when actually remember are surprises. Today for example, I forgot how exciting it can be when a dog goes to the back door because she needs to go outside to pee. I also had forgotten what it felt like to realize you are once again reduced to talking about pee and poop and if the dog managed to avoid any accidents, which is another way of saying that I managed to not lose track of the dog. Thank God she is still cute but getting bigger every day.

I’m also not sure how bright the puppy is, not to say she is stupid but how many times can she run under the coffee table, know she needs to duck on the 1^st end and then knock herself senseless coming out from under it on the other side? Oh wait… 6 times and counting.

Random:

I’ve been called for jury duty in January. We have a one and done deal. Serve one day and if you aren’t called you are done. The last time I was called was in the 90’s when I was working in Human Resources and responsible for the self insured Workers’ Compensation Program, as well as the Disability and Unemployment areas. The case was a bodily injury one, needless to say I was rejected. We didn’t even get to my employment background in the questions. They asked me if I knew the doctors involved in the case and I said yes. Then they asked if that might affect my judgment and I was honest and said “maybe”. Anyway, I’m kind of interested to see what happens this time around. I kind of hope I do get selected to go through the Voir Dire process again. Although if it’s a bodily injury case that could be tough since I have very strong opinions when it appears people are working the system. It pisses me off when people malinger or fraudulently claim injuries/problems because it makes it more difficult for people who truly need WC or Disability benefits to get those benefits.

My sister is an accountant and she’s been called several times, but my favorite story of hers is when she went through the Voir Dire process and they explained that it had to do with someone who borrowed money and then defaulted on the loan. The loan was sold to someone else and the person who borrowed the money felt they shouldn’t be responsible for paying it back to the people who bought the loan because they “knew” they bought bad debt. If I remember the story correctly my sister said it’s simple accounting “They borrowed the money… they OWE the money.” LMAO needless to say she was passed dismissed.

Happy Tuesday

Thursday, November 8, 2012

November 8, 2012 – NO!

As predicted by my brother my vocabulary has been reduced to “No” whenever I am interacting with the puppy. She doesn’t appear to know her name, or the word “No” although at this rate she may think her name is “No”. What she does know is biting/chewing on things is wicked fun and if she can combine that with biting/chewing on hands she is in heaven.

When she is biting my hands I think it would be easier to deal with if she would bit something else at the very least it would be less painful. Then I realize that if she was biting something else inappropriate it would still be annoying. Maybe I could just shower in bitter apple spray. I can’t believe I had forgotten all the puppy stuff that you need to try and teach them is bad. Chewing Hands.. Bad. Chewing rope toys… Good. Chewing Squeeky Toys… Good. Chewing my jeans… Bad. Furniture… Bad.

Maybe it’s the fact that she has the attention span of a gnat. She registers the No but instantly forgets. When do they start to outgrow the chewing thing? When will she start to recognize her name?

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

November 7, 2012 - Snow

I looked out my window this morning and this is what I saw:

It's pretty but I am unprepared for snow. There is supposed to be a process before it snows. It starts to get cold, then I dig out my flannel lined jeans, December rolls around.... maybe there is a flurry or two... then, then it snows. Then I am emotionally prepared for snow. Heck I don't even know where my flannel lined jeans are... in fact this snow made me question if they have been misplaced in the move. Let's hope not because if they were then I wont just be emotionally unprepared I'll be in crisis mode. You have no idea how difficult it was to find those jeans last time. Well ok, fine it wasn't that difficult. I called LL Bean, told them what I wanted and that I could not find them in their catalogue or online and the nice lady on the phone looked them up for me.

Hey I wonder what Jaime will think of her 1st snow...

Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2012, All Rights Reserved.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

November 6, 2012 - The Big Weigh In

You might think I am referring to my own weight/weight loss program but that would just be a sad blog. On the other hand the beastly boy is THRILLED to announce that he has lost 2.5 pounds since returning to the US and starting his weight loss regime.

I knew he had to have lost some weight as I found him on our bed the other day and today he hopped up into the back seat of the car with no effort. Hey you might not think 2.5 pounds is alot, but when you're a dog that means the difference between napping on the hard floor and sneaking up onto the forbidden bed. That's alot. 12 more doggie pounds to go and he'll be back to the ideal. Now if I could just lose the 12 pounds as well. Maybe I should start eating kibble.

I also discovered that if I cut the beasts hair he looks thinner... not better mind you... just thinner... well or homeless.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

November 1, 2012 - Kitchen Update

We made it through Hurricane Irene without any issues. Well that was until the electric company turned off our power on Tuesday. Fortunately, power was restored this afternoon.

The other cool thing is kitchen work continued despite our lack of electricity. The granite was installed yesterday, today the electricians and plumbers showed up and installed the appliances.

The only outstanding things are the installation of the back splash, the painter doing a little touch up, and the tile guy finishing off one edge of the floor.

Tomorrow the furniture that was shipped home from Switzerland gets delivered. Yeah, it's feeling like home again. I can not express how thrilled I am with the kitchen.

Bliss = making a cup of tea using our new stove.