March 19, 2013 - Book Review - Sometime Yesterday by Yvonne Heidt

Sometime Yesterday by Yvonne Heidt

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Genre: Romance/Fiction/Paranormal

 

Book Description from Amazon

“Successful artist Natalie Chambers impulsively buys a Victorian house overlooking the Pacific Ocean after her divorce. Immediately, her dreams are haunted by Sarah and Beth, two lovers from the past and the Dark Man who controlled their lives. When she begins to look for explanations for the things going bump in the night, the only answer she can get from the locals is that several previous owners had fled screaming into the night.

Landscaper Van Easton hasn’t had a serious relationship since her partner died. Content to let women and alcohol distract her from her pain, she is surprised at the intensity of emotion that bubbles to the surface after she meets Natalie. Contracted to restore the gardens at Natalie’s house, she refuses to believe that the mansion is haunted. Until the ghostly Dark Man follows her home.

It appears he will stop at nothing to keep the new lovers apart, and the violence continues to escalate. Can they solve the mystery that will set Beth and Sarah free and banish the evil presence in the house? Or will the evil echoes of the past destroy them as well?”
 

Book Review

3 out of 5 stars

First let me just say that I did enjoy this book and I will look to read other items by Yvonne Heidt.  I think it’s just unfortunate happenstance that just finished reading “Whispering Pines by Mavis Applewater which had an almost identical premise; Haunted house, sisters-in-law who are lovers, evil husband, death/murder… well you get the point. 

 

So although Sometime Yesterday was a good read and enjoyable, I somehow felt that it was a lite version of Whispering Pines.  I also know that if I had read them in the reverse order I’d be saying “Sometime Yesterday” was a fun beach read.  Surprisingly I didn’t find Van that interesting but I was intrigued by Natalie and her Mom and I would love to see a follow up that developed both Natalie and Mom.  I admit it, I want to know where here art work is going next.

Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 18, 2013 - Weekend Update

My sister and I ran the Hartford 5K on Sunday.  Let me just say it was freaking cold.  My goal was to finish it without walking more than 2x.  Turns out that I managed to run the entire thing and completed it in 34 mins and 11 seconds.  Just the not walking was a huge win for me.  I feel really good about the entire thing.  I will say, however, that at all the places they were handing out water I was wishing for a cup of tea.

I found a weird growth on the beastly boys tail.  With my vast veterinary skills and knowledge I'm guessing its either an infection, a fatty deposit ( a really big fatty deposit), or something else.  So yes, I made an appointment to see the vet this afternoon.

The girlie is working on earning her own beastly nickname but so far I am sticking with the Krakken.  I took her for an hour long walk this morning and she is still full of energy.  Next we're heading outside with the boy to play fetch.  The problem is that I do most of the fetching.


Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 17, 2013 Dreams and Death

Alright, let me just quickly clear up that "no I am not dead."  I have, however, been having this reoccurring dream like thing for the last several months.  It’s not every night but I would say about once a week I dream that I die.  Well it’s sort of a dream.  I’m not actually sure what happens in the dream or "how" I die.  What I do recall is just before I wake up the thought that runs through my head is “OMG I just died.” 

 

Yes, it is a little creepy to have the thought that I'm dead and it's that thought is what wakes me.  The funny thing is that it doesn’t even startle me awake. I just wake up and it takes me a minute to figure out that I’m not dead. 

 

Of course I’m not sure what is more weird, the fact that I realize I died in a dream or the fact that when I wake it takes me a minute to figure out that I’m not dead.

Then I'm left wondering what on earth is that supposed to symbolize anyway?  As far as I can tell it still stays within the parameters of that supposed rule that you’re never supposed to see yourself die in a dream.  I don’t and it’s not like that falling sensation.  I just suddenly realize… I’m dead.  Fortunately, I’m not really dead, well unless I am and this is all an illusion.  J

Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 14, 2013 - It’s a Thing

It’s not that I don’t like hugs, I do, but there are criteria.  I need to know you, I need to be comfortable with you, and I need to consider you a friend: preferably a good friend.  So yesterday my neighbor came over and we let the dogs play for awhile.  Which was great but it took a weird turn at the end because she was so over the top happy that the dogs were playing she said “Give me a hug.”  

I’m not sure that I managed to hide the twitch or the cringe on my face, but she certainly chose to ignore the signs.  I’m not entirely sure how I managed to stop my inside voice which was shouting… “Um, no I’d really prefer not to thank you.”  We’re neighbors and I didn’t want to cause an issue, so I sucked it up and gave her a hug… but hell then she kissed my cheek and said “Thank you… oh thank you so much.”   That was just creepy.  Really really creepy, get out of my personal space creepy.  Obviously since it’s the next day it’s still bothering me.  There I said it, and I have to see this woman frequently but I’m promising myself … no more hugs.  None, nada, nothing.  Ick



Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 13, 2013 - On My Mind

* The girlie just got back from the Vet.  They removed her stitches and said that she is able to resume all normal activities.  That and she's 60lbs.  I believe that fully qualifies her as a teenager.  Tomorrow she and I start jogging together.

* Speaking of jogging.  I'm running a 5K with my sister on Sunday.  That should be fun and my goal is to run it without walking.  We shall see.

* I also got a pamphlet in the mail about a 5K race or 1/2 Marathon April 28th.  That's 6 weeks from now.  I'm seriously considering registering for it.  I can use it as a goal and wait to register until mid April.  The major question:  Can I get to the point where I can run 13 miles in 6 weeks?

* L and I have a vacation planned for early April.  We're heading to Saint Maarten and I am soooooo excited.  This one is a rest and relaxtion vacation which means:  Sitting on the beach reading and napping.  I'm stocking up on books now.

* Just a random aside... all these Lawyer TV commercials "Have you been denied for Social Security... contact..."  They bug the crap out of me, because the implication is that you need a lawyer to get Social Security Disability benefits when you are legitimately disabled after you have been denied.  Listen people, you don't need a lawyer stealing your money.  It's been my experience that people who are initially denied benefits is because they were missing medical documentation.  Call your doctor and get the medical reports and then refile.  Social Security tells you WHY you were denied.  I'll admit that there are probably instances where you do need a lawyer but most of the time you just need to fill out the forms and make sure your doctors provide the information requested.


Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 11, 2013 – Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Fairytale

Description from Amazon.com:

“Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.”

 

Book Review

4 out of 5 stars

Cinder is loosely based on the story of Cinderella.  There is the evil step mother, the step sisters, and a prince but don’t think for a moment that this is like any other Cinderella story you’ve read before because then you would be missing out on something really interesting. 

Cinder is well developed and interesting.  As the reader I was quickly sucked into the story and found myself thinking of the characters as if they were real.  It was easy to understand Cinder’s feelings of being an outcast and how she reacts in certain situations.  Even the supporting characters are written in a manner that makes them interesting, including the ones that you end up disliking.

This was an excellent read and I was relieved to find out that the second book in the series “Scarlet” was released in early February.  By the way Scarlet is based on Little Red Riding Hood   

and somehow get connected to Cinder.  I can’t wait to see what happens next, I just hope the author writes quickly.

Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 8, 2013 – A Banner Day

Hey so far it’s been a banner day and it’s only 9am.  I got up, shoveled the deck and the driveway.  Took L to the train station.  Went to the gym and ran for 45 minutes.  Then  went to stop and shop and the nice Häaggen-Dazs delivery man helped me find a container of Ben&Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.  Now I took that as an act of kindness on his part but I can’t completely discount that the slightly distressed PMS groan and subsequent mumbling about really needing the ice cream might have been a factor.

I anticipate needing to shovel the driveway at least one more time if for no other reason than I need to burn off the ice cream calories.  This is no way makes me regret the ice cream.  It’s going to be a good day

Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 6, 2013 - It's A Dog's Life

Seriously could their lives be any more difficult?  All the decisions that need to be made, who gets to sleep on which side of the couch.  Is it time to eat yet?  No?  Maybe we should roll over.



Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.

March 1, 2013 - Random Thoughts

The girlie is recovering well from her surgery.  She’s stopped asking what had to be fixed, however, she is showing her displeasure by chewing on everything in sight; rugs, floor mats, my hands.  I finally got a clue and stuffed a cookie into one of those weird kong doohickeys.  It keeps her from paying attention to her stitches and other inappropriate chew things for a whopping 15 mins.  I’ll take what I can get.

 

I’ve been good about my diet and exercise this week.  Unfortunately, I discovered today that when I stumble on the whole diet thing, I just plummet off the cliff.  My next goal: stumbling in moderation.  Maybe next time I’ll just plummet into a ditch instead.

 

I’m reading a book that I am supposed to review and I’m struggling to get through it.  It started out a struggle because it’s in PDF format and my kindle makes that font teeny tiny. Then I hit a stage when it’s reminding me of those books you read in Junior High or High School where the language is supposed to be titillating and it is… when you are 13. But as a 48 year old I’m actually rolling my eyes at the book.  Do you know how difficult it is to read and roll your eyes at the same time?  I don’t think this book was written for the young adult audience, I’ll have to check, but that’s the audience I think would like it.

 

So, because I’m reading this one book to get through it I’m reading another as well.  I just finished “Whispering Pines” and now I’ve started “Cinder”

Copyright © C.A. Bailey 2010 - 2013, All Rights Reserved.