<3 My friends

You never realize how fortunate "you" are to have the friends you do until they do something that really touches you. I had absolutely no idea what my Minion friends were up too.

Monday, or there abouts, one had asked me if I got anything "interesting" in my mailbox. This had me really baffled and I answered honestly "No, should I?". My curiousity grew when she told me "Forget that I asked."

I just figured that someone sent me books. * grins * Books, to me, is the most wondeful gifts anyone can get me. Why, when the hubs has extra money, and it's our anniversary, mother's day, or my birthday, he'll give me money to go to borders to spend. Family give me practical things like bakery items (which I'm sorry I get insulted because I'm not much of a baker) or clothes.. Things that you have to feign excitement over when there is none.

Yesterday the Fed Ex arrived with the hubs answering the door. Grr, he almost sent the man on his way until I came to the door. The guy asks me "Is this you?" I look down and it's a mixture of my real name and my internet alias/writer name."

I tell him that "yeah it's me". He then hands me this largish box. By this time I'm confused, wondering "What the hell?" because I knew I didn't win anything that warranted Fed-Ex. And the fact that all the contests I won was single books, nothing to be sent in a box.

I look at the return address. "Build a Bear Workshop." Which I was like "......?" Out-of-the-blue it hits me. I remember while cutting the tape that one of the Minions is really into build a bear.

It really did not hit me until I pulled him out. By then, the hubs is yelling at me for the name they used to ship the box to me, asking me if I was ashamed or embarrassed my my surname. (My rant on that is.. Luckwell is my grandmother's maiden name, I thought it was special to honor her by using it as a pen name)

To see my Dev bear, to have it in my hands, I was touched to near tears. I was just... speechless. I then remember what the one friend had asked. So I IMed her asking if she "knew" about my Dev doll.






The brat says "Define know". She tells me to "Read the letter enclosed". Here is what it read: My ass was stuffed in Minion Cave. Here is something some of us thought you would like. He is made with love and lots of caring, made just for you. Wishing you lots of Love, Happiness and Good Memories in your new home. Also to keep you company until a certain bear shows up. :D

I really wanted to cry then. Even my hubs rants did not dim the warmth, the pleasure in this gift. They thought of everything. They had a little tattoo on his arm; he even had a dog collar with his name Deveraux Peltier "Dev"

Of course the hubs had to go "Dev doesn't wear a white shirt and doesn't wear that much leather." I didn't care.. He was my Dev!!! How do we know that he doesn't like leather correct? On his day off on sanctuary who knows?

To find out, the entire Cave talked about doing this for me while I was internetless and staying with my mother until our place was ready. They were all involved in thought and stuff.


Me and Dev! Yeah I look awful.. and that's my natural hair color. Bleh I need to dye it. I wanna do dark brown or black


As Lillie said... this picture has ALL my obsessions: Dev Peltier, Dr. Pepper, Anime, my comp. She's right, but one thing she didn't know.. to the left, right and above is book shelves.

74%

Lilacs for Laura - Dianne Miley

I am going to attempt another review. Please note and bare with me because I'm not very good at doing them; however, I felt this author and her book deserving of one.

Just for a warning, I may give out "spoilers". I try not too but they often just slip out of me in my enthusiasm over a story.

I've been in a very bad reading funk, having difficulties connecting and concentrating on books and authors I generally devoured. If one looked at my "normal" monthly reading, they'd witness a dramatic drop. What is my "normal" monthly read? 15-20 books (I'm lucky now to read three books a month).

Well, "LILACS FOR LAURA" snagged my complete attention, despite having to read the ebook on my desktop (sadly one of my boys ran a magnet over my ereader's screen, and the hubs can not fix it) and risk eye-sore from the brightness of the screen but I simply could not disengage myself from reading more of the plot, storyline, and characters.

I've been eyeing Dianne's books for a while now. The beautiful cover of this one catching my attention with the gorgeous display of light lavender lilacs. Lilacs hold a very fond meaning to me for they remind me of my grandmother who was always my staunchest support and my hero.

Then there was "ROSES FOR RACHEL". Is it lame to be attracted to books where the heroine shares your birthname, along with the same spelling?

Dianne succeeded beautifully in making the reader interact with her characters. You simply can not help loving her grandmother (she made me cherish and miss mine all over again!), or cheering her mother on when she put the nasty gossiper in her place (yeah I raised my fist with the "You tell 'er"). She even made me want to take a cast iron skillet to Jake's face.

Brett was a total keeper. It was nice to see a man who held such devotion to his mother (especially with her Italian temper, I have an Italian step-father in law so I'm well aware of their tempers) and such hard worker.

Some may say Laura came off at weak but not so to me. She was not as spunky as I like in heroines but she really didn't let too much walk over her. The situations she dealt with and shouldered in the story to perserve her family made the story all more compelling and yes believable. When an author gets you that involved with the story and characters, you know you have a keeper.

Then there is the character with my namesake. Yeah, she's the side character in this story (but gets her own story which I'll have to get sometime soon if the hubby is willing and the fiances let me).

For an inspirational romance, a genre I have not read before, I would highly suggest this story to others and will be gladly be suggesting this books to my fellow book lover friends and more!

New place

The other day I had a visitor of the four-legged kind. Heh, I must have made quite the impression. I had just finished making pizza snacks for my boys and the neighbor's kid (seems like he's right at home here oh joy), the hubs just came home from working on someone's computer and had the door right open to let in the breeze, when I looked outside to see this black and white fur on the porch.

I was on the couch folding laundry when I jumped up going "Shelby's loose." Yeah, loser that I am learned the named of our one neighbor's Siberan Husky. My nickname for her is gorgeous. Next thing I knew, she was in the house heading towards me.

The neighbor said she was friendly, that the worst she'd do was knock you on your ass and lick you. Well I wasn't sure what my fearless killer Warlock (toy dachund) would do. Yeah he was use to playing with a big black lab mix...

So I get up, meet Shelby half way, and took her collar to bring her back to her masters when her mistress was at the door. She's apologizing "I'm sooo sorry about this. She just shot out the door." We assured her that it was fine.

Hell, I don't mind a gorgeous creature like that visiting me. That's where she was heading. She's always welcomed, and she ignored Warlock's yipping.

The boys started their new school yesterday. I was surprised that they took them that day. Today was day two there. Newport only had two kids of milk: white and chocolate. Emerson had four: white, chocolate, pink, and skim. I was like Holy Shite!

I was more worried about Harlen making friends.. so when he said "I sit between two friends" I was happy. So I asked Austin... He was telling me about two people. Then I asked "So any cute girls." Austin thinks a bit and goes "Nooo."

So I go "Ahh, still loyal to Trinity eh?" Trinity being a lil blonde from Newport that he said is his girlfriend. He says so blase "So far." I laughed my ass off. So I turned to my oldest who sat beside me "So any cute girls?" It took him a minute to think before going "No."

Yes, I'm a terrible mother.

The Viewing

First things first, I did NOT break down in the funeral home. There were moments, times during it all while hearing people talk about memories of my papaw that I wanted too. I swallowed the tears, put a smile on my face, and foraged through. There were so many people I never knew. Many I knew the names from conversation grandma, grandpa and Duane had around me. Now to see the faces after so many years. People my mom and uncles knew.

I kept the smile on my face despite I didn't want too. My cousin was there with her little one, my uncles, my brother and his woman was there, so wasn't my little brother James.

Yeah I was a little bit of a wallflower, plastering myself at the wall. Papaw looked like papaw though thinner and paler. They had put an afghan that grandma had crocheted with him which I thought appropriate. His medals was by his head. I finally got to see them.

He always wanted to show me those medals, but they were buried beneath so much stuff that he could never find them. Then mom found a picture of him and grandma, about months before grandma died. The picture had to be roughly over ten to even eleven years old. That was in the casket with him.

Since when grandma died (my oldest was just a baby), mom had put a picture of him in the casket with her because she was so excited about being a great grandmother. Well I wanted a picture of my three boys to go with him, he always got them neat things for Christmas. He never really got to know Gabriel but by then he was already diagnosised with Alzheimers.

He thought the world of my oldest. They always called him either Half Pint or Hard Luck because when he came back from the hospital, our area got hit with a massive tornado and for the first three weeks of his life out of the hospital was without electric. Half Pint because he was soooo tiny.

I couldn't help but think of my fond memories of him. Grandma and Grandpa practically raised me when I was a baby while mom and dad worked. I remember how I always loved going and staying the night there.Then how I always wanted to go grocery shopping with him as a child. We'd be in line, and he'd tell me to pick out a candy bar. How when my dad was a prick, refused to pick me up from work, I could always rely on him to do so. He was my staunch defender, he and grandma.

What was neat, I got to meet the woman who introduced my grandma and grandpa. * watery chuckle* I loved hearing her say "Alice was a shy country bumpkin. The two was so very shy."

It just makes me miss my grandma all over again. I know that his physical body is gone,, and that his spirit is with grandma over looking me and the boys, it's just the holidays and life in general won't be the same without him just there.

Since grandma's death, family just seemed to ravel, like the glue had gone out, Grandpa was that thread that kept things from drifting too apart. Now that he's gone, it makes me wonder how far it'll deteriate.

Immortal: The Crossing - Joy Nash

Finally, awesomely, won Nash's latest Immortal book. You'd swear when I seen the package with Joy's name on it, that it was Christmas or something. I was that excited!

What's even more funny, that I won another of her contests for the books. Since all I really need is one signed copy, not that I love Joy any less, but I really wanted someone else who loves her books and this series to win a copy, so I asked if she didn't mind drawing another name.

She told me in a chat (after complimenting my screen name visionary_druid Squee!) that the girl who won it appreciated what I did. Hopefully that'll add to the good karma. I know it made me feel immensely good.

Alright, I'm "suppose" to do a review on the book. I "suck" badly at reviews; I generally give spoilers in it. So, take this little area right here as a warning that there might be spoilers, read the rest at your own risk if you haven't read the book yet:

Manannan mac Lir, the son of a Sidhe mother and god father Lir, and the world's top musician. Then you have Artemis Black - a witch that has both death and light magic and an interesting blood lines in her ancestry.

She's really not the type of girl that he generally falls for; however, he finds that he simply can not resist her natural temptation and loses all control. Mac senses no evil in her, just this desperation that she won't gallingly confide in him.

He risks so much to help her achieve whatever it is that's compelling her... even willingly follow her into one place his life-magic is reputed to have no real effect, a place that before he'd never dream of venturing, to a place that he'd have a huge handicapp... To Hell