Oklahoma Booklady

Short Stories (Katherine Anne Porter)

2012-01-24T04:00:00.000-06:00

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

By Katherine Anne Porter

“She flicked her wristneatly out of Doctor Harry’s pudgy careful fingers and pulled the sheet up toher chin. The brat ought to be in kneebreeches. Doctoring around the countrywith spectacles on his nose! “Get along now, take your school books and go. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

Granny Weatherall is 80 years old. She sure wishes her daughter and Doctor Harrywould quit treating her like she was deaf. She can hear just fine since she can hear all of their whispering.

Tomorrow she wants to get those letters out of the attic, letterswritten to George and John. She doesn’twant anyone to know just how silly she used to be.

“Well, she could justhear Cornelia telling her husband that Mother was getting a little childish andthey’d have to humor her. The thing thatmost annoyed her was Cornelia thought she was deaf, dumb and blind.”

Oh how she wished for the old days back again, when thechildren were young again. There was nochanging the fact they were hers.

Even though there is still much to do Granny begins torealize this is what her death is like. All her children have come to watch her die. Granny doesn’t want to go yet, she still hasthings to do.

Pain Killer Poisoning in Dogs and Cats

2012-01-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

Please take this very seriously. Stewie our youngest cat is now suffering the effects of getting a hold of an aspirin. We really have no ideal on how he got it except for the fact he may have found one that was accidentally dropped to the floor. Please be aware and check to make sure no medications have dropped to the floor after taking your meds.

Free e-book Friday

2012-01-21T06:28:00.000-06:00

For one week you can download From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns for free!

Nook Spotlight

2012-01-21T06:24:00.000-06:00

For a limited time you can download

Child 44 [NOOK Book]
by
Tom Rob Smith for 99cents.

Short Stories (Grimms Fairy Tales)

2012-01-15T04:00:00.000-06:00

The Frog Prince

“In the older time, when wishing was having, there lived aKing, whose daughters were all beautiful; but the youngest was so exceedlybeautiful that the Sun himself, although he saw her very often, was surprisedwhenever she came out into the sunshine.”

One day while the Kings youngest daughter was setting by abrook, playing catch with her golden ball, her ball rolls into the water. Thinking her ball was lost forever the Kingsdaughter began to cry. A frog settingnearby hears her cries and asks her what will she give him if he fetches herball? When she asks what he wants inreturn the frog answers:

“Dresses, or jewels, or golden crowns, are not for me; butif thou wilt love me, and let me be thy companion and playfellow, and sit atthy table, and eat from thy little golden plate, and drink out of thy cup, andsleep in thy little bed, if thou promise me all these, then will I dive downand fetch up thy golden ball.”

Of course she promises him everything but thinking at thesame time that he should remain in the water with his own kind. As soon as the frog fetches the ball for her,she grabs it up and runs off to the castle with no more thought of the frog.

When the frog shows up the next day and demands the daughterlet him in, she must explain to the King why the frog is there. The King orders his youngest daughter to liveup to her promises she made to the frog. Finally after being forced to carry the frog up to her bed chamber shebecomes angry with him and throws him against the wall. The second he hits the floor he changes backinto a handsome Prince. He explains thata witch had cursed him and only the Kings daughter could break the spell. The two marry and live happily ever after.

Short Stories (Mark Twain)

2012-01-14T04:00:00.000-06:00

The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain's Short Stories

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
by Mark Twain
“In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, whowrote me from the east, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler,and inquired after my friends friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do,and I hereunto append the results.”
Simon Wheeler was asked if he knew a Rev. Leonidas W.Smiley. Simon never smiles nor frownswhen he answers back that there used to be a Jim Smiley who lived there back in’49 or ’50. He then proceeds to tell thestory of Jim Smiley who would make a bet on anything. He would bet on a horse race, dog-fight, catfight, or a chicken fight. He had evenbeen to known to bet on how far a bug would travel. If something could be bet on, he bet on it.
One day Jim Smiley be this man that his frog could out jumpany other frog in Calaveras County. While Jim is out searching for the man a frog to use, the man doessomething that ensures this is one bet that Jim Smiley won’t be winning.

The Story of the Bad Little Boy
“Once there was a bad little boy whose name was Jim-though,if you will notice, you will find that bad little boys are nearly always calledJames in your Sunday school books. Itwas strange, but still it was true, that this one was called Jim.”
Jim really had no excuse for the way he acted. His mother wasn’t sick like a lot of badlittle boy’s mothers were. In fact Jimwas so bad that his mother didn’t care if he broke his neck. She never kissed him goodnight but insteadshe spanked him and boxed his ears.
Jim could steal apples from the neighbors orchard and neverget hurt by falling out of the trees like other bad little boys. In fact nothing bad ever happened toJim. Where other bad little boys wouldgo fishing or boating on Sunday would either drown or get hit by lightning, Jim on the other hand would enjoy a nice dayof fishing or boating.
Jim would finally grow up, marry and have a verylarge family. Jim murdered his wholefamily. Still he was respected byeveryone. This Jim lived a charmed life.

Free E-book Friday

2012-01-13T07:28:00.001-06:00

This weeks free e-book Friday is

Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned [NOOK Book]

by
Kenneth C. Davis

Nook Daily Find

2012-01-12T08:15:00.000-06:00

Today only you can download Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado for $4.99.

Nook Daily Find

2012-01-09T04:30:00.001-06:00

Today only you can download

Living Violet: The Cambion Chronicles#1 by Jamie Reed for $1.99.

The Stephen King Project

2012-01-08T07:59:00.000-06:00

This is a year long project of Reading and yes even watching Stephen King movies. Anyone who has ever read this blog knows I am a big, big fan of Mr. King. Currently I have 11/22/63 setting on my desk to read.
You can check outhttp://thestephenkingproject.blogspot.com/ for the complete instructions on how to join this fun year long project. Make sure you link your reviews each month in the appropriate place.

Autumn Purification

2012-01-08T03:30:00.000-06:00

Autumn-Purification

By DavidMoody

eISBN: 978-1-4299-8540-6

“Forty-sevendays ago, more than ninety-nine percent of the population had been killedwithin an impossibly short period of time. Right across the world, without any warning or explanation, the patternwas repeated as billions of lives were inexplicably ended-snuffed out andswitched off with neither dignity nor malice, unimaginable numbers of innocentpeople discarded and abandoned and left to rot where they’d fallen.”

37 survivorshuddle together in an underground military bunker. The soldiers stay well away fron thesurvivors, they have protective suits and air masks on anytime they are aboveground or near the survivors. Aboveground thousands and thousands of the dead converge on the area where thebunker is. Problems start to arise asthe dead start to block off the air vents. The military is forced to go above round and get rid of the dead. At first it looks like the soldiers may begaining the upper hand as the hit the dead with flame throwers and bulletsuntil the dead break through the line and start to over-run the bunker. The survivors and two of the soldiers areforced to flee in a hurry.

Thesurvivors drive in their small convoy for some time before stopping on the outskirts of a small town. They take refuge in a pub. Not long after the survivors settle down torest they get some unexpected visitors. A helicopter lands and a man and woman climb out of the helicopter. Karen and Richard explains that there areother survivors hiding out at an airfield. They tell them that they know of a small island not far off shore thatthey are in the process of clearing the dead off of. They invite the group to go with them.

Thesurvivors know they can’t stay where they are but can they trust the twostrangers? Eventually they realize theyhave no choice and follow the two strangers back to the airfield. The tip to the airfield is fraught withdanger as the dead continue to follow. Getting everyone to the island is not going to be as easy as they first hoped. The dead start amassing by the thousands outside the airfield.

This is thethird book in the Autumn series. Anotheredge of you seat nail biter that keeps the reader turning pages. Great series.

Rating 5/5

Nook Daily Find

2012-01-07T06:02:00.000-06:00

Today only you can download

The Skin Map (Bright Empires Series #1) by Stephen Lawhead for $3.40. Normal price is $16.99?! (shocking isn't it)

Free ebook Friday

2012-01-06T07:23:00.002-06:00

Today's free ebook is I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School by Caroline Taggart

Mile 81

2012-01-06T07:03:00.000-06:00

Mile 81

By StephenKing

eISBN: 978-1-4516-6560-4

Rating: 4/5

Pete Simmonswas bored. His older brother George hadleft with his homies to go play“paratroopers from Hell” at the sandpit behind the bowling alley. With nothing else to do, Pete heads off toexplore the abandoned rest area across town.

On the wayto the rest area Pete finds a half bottle of vodka, which he promptly adds tohis saddlebag on his bike. Pete hangsout for awhile at the abandoned Burger King. He throws darts at a Justin Beiber poster, looks at some dirty picturesdrinks 3 swallows of the vodka and passes out.

Not far fromwhere young Pete is passed out a dirty station wagon pulls off the highway andcoasts to a stop on the entrance ramp to the rest area. The driver’s side door comes open but no onegets out of the car.

Doug Claytonis the first unlucky person to stop and see if someone in the muddy stationwagon needs help. It’s a gesture heregrets instantly. Several others willalso stop to help and all of them wishing they had not.

This was a fun short story to read. As far as I know I believe this is onlyavailable on ebook.

This is my first book for The Stephen King Project.

Nook Daily Find

2012-01-06T04:27:00.002-06:00

Today only you can download To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick for only $1.99.

Autumn The City

2012-01-03T04:59:00.001-06:00

Autumn The City

by David Moody

e-isbn 978-1-4299-9524-5

Book 2 in the Autumn series

"There were no warnings and no explanations."

When the alarm sounded the soldiers did what they had trained many times for, they loaded up their gear and moved out in large transports. No one knew exactly what was going on but everyone feared the world as they knew it would never be the same.

Donna Yorke was already at work that Tuesday morning when the nightmare began. She watched 4 of her co-workers suddenly start choking and falls dead within minutes. As she looks out of her 10Th floor office window at the city below she sees hundreds falling dead on the street. Donna at first goes out to look for survivors. Not finding any she returns to the office building and locks herself in and waits. It was on the third day that she discovered that some of the dead were now on their feet moving about the office.

Jack Baxter was on his way home from work that Tuesday morning when it all happened. His bus ride home was normal until each of the passengers including he bus driver suddenly die. As Jack stumbles home and seeing total devastation around him, fears that he may be the only one to survive. After a few days Jack heads into the city to look around. After hollering for someone to answer him one lone young school girl comes out of the shadow.

Paul Castle had also been at work when customers and co-workers died. After a few days he was running out of food so he is also forced deeper into the city. Finally after finding some food and taking a rest he happens to look up and sees light on the 10th floor of a tall office building.

"And where there was light, he quickly decided, there had to be people."

Donna, Paul, Jack and Clare will eventually converge on the college campus in the center of the city. Thinking that finally they have found safety, all the survivors soon realize that they may not be safe anywhere.

The reader is kept on the edge of their seat. I found myself holding my breath through much of the novel. The story is creepy and yet heartbreaking when everyone has lost everything but their will to survive is strong. You have to wonder is surviving really worth it in the end?

Rating 5/5

Nook Daily Find

2012-01-02T10:34:00.003-06:00

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley is $1.99 today only.

Spotlight Author of the Month

2012-01-01T05:03:00.002-06:00

James Patterson

You can download Witch and Wizard this month for $0.99. This is the first book in the series.

Nook Daily Find

2012-01-01T04:58:00.003-06:00

Storm Born by Richelle Mead is being offered today only for $1.99.

Autumn

2012-01-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

Autumn

by David Moody

ISBN 9780312569983

"Billions died in less than twenty-four hours. William Price was one of the first."

William Price and his wife die in 4 minutes after becoming infected with an unknown virus. One minute after that the whole street is dead.

Carl Henshawe was on his way home from work when he realized something was horribly wrong. One moment he was listening to music on the radio and then total silence. Cars start running off the road right in front of him. He tries to call the police but no one answers. In fact he is unable to call anyone. Fearing the worst for his family he hurries home. On the way he watches as people just suddenly fall over dead. As he arrives home his worst fears are confirmed when he finds his wife and daughter dead.

Michael Collins watches a classroom of 16 year olds suddenly fall over dead. Before he can even get out of the school everyone is dead.

Emma Mitchell is at the drugstore when the virus hits. Everyone in the store suddenly falls ill and dies in less than a minute. Scared and not knowing what else to do she returns to her apartment.

"She went into her room, drew the curtains on the nightmare outside, got back into her bed and pulled the covers over her head."

As the day draws on, the few remaining survivors are all huddled together at the Whitchurch Community Center. At first no one speaks, they are still shell-shocked. Gradually as the hours pass the small group realize that the worse is still to come as some of the dead start to rise.

Three of the survivors decide they need to leave the safety of the community center. They believe it will be safer if they are outside of the city.

The small group spends the day traveling as far away from the city as they can get. They take refuge at a farm where the owners are now dead. The trio realize too late that they may have been better off staying in the city.

This is a great story. This is the first book in a series of 5. Mr. Moody does an excellent job of creating horror and fear without the usual "gross out and gore" you find in most novels such as this.

Rating 5/5

Format: e-book

Nook Daily Find

2011-12-31T08:40:00.003-06:00

Today only The devil in the kitchen is being offered for $3.99.

Free e-book Friday

2011-12-30T07:24:00.002-06:00

The last free e-book of 2011 is The Inside Ring by Mike Lawson. Those of you who enjoy thrillers are sure to enjoy this one.

Nook Daily Find

2011-12-30T07:11:00.002-06:00

Today only you can download Nora Roberts book called Luring a Lady for $1.99. This is a 71% savings.

Nook Daily Find

2011-12-29T07:48:00.002-06:00

The Ghosts of Belfast (Jack Lennon Series #1)

by Stuart Neville

$3.49

Nook Daily Find

2011-12-28T08:11:00.004-06:00

Nook will now start offering a Daily Deal on an e-book each day. You can check out the page here.

Today they are offering the book Free-Range Knitter for $2.49. Great little book of essays.

Also once a month Barnes and Noble will be "Spotlighting" an author and offering the first book in one of the collections for $0.99.

Also for anyone who just received a Nook for Christmas make sure you check out the Nook Blog on Fridays for Free e-book Friday.

Happy Reading!

Currently Reading

2011-09-06T19:39:00.008-05:00

It has been awhile since I have posted anything related to books. If you might be wondering if I have read any great books lately, I have!

My reading choices have changed somewhat. I now read a lot of non-fiction. I find it easier to concentrate on non-fiction (biographies, history) when I am tired. Right now I am reading 3 books:

As soon as I can get one of these books finished I will post a review.

Enjoying my day off

2011-08-28T18:19:00.003-05:00

My days off changed a few weeks ago to where now I get to enjoy Sunday's off. It's nice getting to sleep in late and just have a day to relax.

Today I was cleaning my bookshelves when Stewie decided he would help also. Stewie is doing just fine. We are still getting him used to not only being an inside kitty but having other cats around. He doesn't care much for Huey. I know in my previous post I mentioned that Stewie looked to be around 5 months old (mainly because of his size). Actually the vet told me last week that Stewie is most likely over 1 year in age. I asked the vet if he would grow anymore but was told most likely not. So we have a forever kitten?!

Meet Stewie

2011-08-23T18:21:00.002-05:00

Stewie has been living on our front porch for a couple weeks now. Not sure where he came from but it seems he had no intention of leaving. Today we decided to go ahead and adopt him. Tomorrow he makes a trip to the vet for shots and neutering. He looks to be just about 4 months old. Sweet little guy. He is not real crazy about the other cats though. So for the time being we have him in one of the spare rooms.

If your wondering, yes he does look a whole lot like Huey.

Non-fiction

2011-03-20T04:44:00.002-05:00

This year I thought I would read some non-fiction. I don't normally read much in the non-fiction category, mainly because I can't find anything that truly interests me. This year though I have 3 books I plan on reading.

Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor by Brad Gooch

Autobiography of Mark Twain: The Complete and Authoritative Edition, Volume 1
by Mark Twain, Harriet Elinor Smith (Editor), Benjamin Griffin (Editor), Victor Fischer (Editor), Michael B. Frank (Editor)

Life
by Keith Richards, James Fox (With)

I have been reading some on the Mark Twain Autobiography every day since the first of the year. They will be releasing a new volume again this fall. 3 volumes total. I'm curious if anyone has read the Mark Twain book yet? Let me know what you think of it.

The Gunslinger Book 1

2011-03-17T07:19:00.002-05:00

The Gunslinger- The Dark Tower 1
By Stephen King
ISBN: 0-452-28469-4
Rating: 4/5
I read this book for the first time a couple years ago but couldn’t remember much about the plot so I re-read it. I purchased the whole series which is 7 books in length. This one I believe is the shortest in length. I decided to start reading on the series again.
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what looked like eternity in all directions. It was white and blinding and waterless and without features save for the faint, horizon and the devil-grass which brought sweet dreams, nightmares, death. An occasional tombstone sign pointed the way; for once the drifted track that cut its way through the thick crust of alkali had been a highway. Coaches and buckas had followed it. The world had moved on since then. The world had emptied.”
The story is about Roland, a gunslinger, chasing the Man in Black through the desert. There is really no way of telling how many days, weeks, months or even years Roland has been on the track of The Man in Black. Time is of little use in this world. Roland meets some interesting characters, some of which try to kill him.
Probably the most interesting character in this book was a young boy named Jake. Roland has a hard time figuring out the boy since the world he comes from is so different from his own. It seems the Man in Black has put Jake in Roland’s world for a reason so Roland brings him with him on his journey.
The book ends on a somewhat sad note but leaves the reader wanting more. The next book in the series is called “The Drawing of the Three”.

Rango The Movie

2011-03-16T18:08:00.004-05:00

Rango

We went to see the new animated movie Rango today. Johnny Dep does the voice of the main character Rango. The movie is about a lizard that lives in a small aquarium that spends his days talking to a plastic fish, a dead bug and a doll torso. One day while his owner is driving through the desert and swerves to miss hitting an aardvark the aquarium is thrown from the car.
Rango sets off through the desert to look for water and his destiny. First thing he comes across is a toad he tells him to hold very still and not move. Rango realizes too late that a hunger hawk is coming right at him. After barely escaping he manages to come to the town of Dirt where he meets a huge cast of characters. After spinning a tale of killing 7 outlaws with only 1 bullet he is made Sheriff of the town of Dirt.
He soon has to figure out who is stealing the towns water supply. Could it be the greedy moles or maybe the 1 ear rabbit? Getting to the truth may make him a hero or an outcast.
I adored the movie. I enjoy anything Johnny Dep has ever been in. Not only will kids enjoy the movie but, I think any adult who sees it will also.
Rating 4/5

Red Riding Hood

2011-03-16T06:37:00.001-05:00

Red Riding Hood
By Sarah Blakely-Cartwright
ISBN: 978-0-316-17604-0
Rating: 4/5
We all grew up reading the story of Little Red Ridinghood. It was the story of a little girl who wore a bright red cape who went to visit her grandmother in the woods. She has a run in with the big bad wolf. This story takes it a little further and adds more characters.
In the sleepy little village of Daggerhorn life is simple. Underneath that simple life lies a sense of constant fear. Once a month on the night of the full moon, villagers hurry to bring their animals inside. All the homes are built high up in trees so the ladders are pulled up for safety. The next day things go back to normal.
When Valerie was on seven years old sees something that will forever change her young life. On the night of the full moon its Valerie’s families turn to offer the sacrifice. Valerie and Lucie are horrified to realize their pet goat Flora is to be the offering. Later that night Valerie slips out of her bed and tells her sister not to worry everything will be all right by in the morning.
“Valerie waited to feel the leap, to feel the snap of its jaws and the ripping of claws, but she felt nothing. She heard a scuffling and a tinkling of Flora’s bells, and it was only then that she realized the shape had lifted. From her crouch, she heard gnashing and gnarling. But there was something else, another sound that she couldn’t identify. Much later, she would learn that it was the roar of a dark rage being let loose.
Then there followed a panicked silence, a frenetic calm. Finally, she couldn’t resist slowly lifting her head to look for Flora.
All was still.
Nothing was left but the broken tether still tied to the stake, lying slack on the dusty ground.”
Life would go on for the people in Daggerhorn. Years would pass before something tragic shakes the village to its core. One of their own is killed. Now the villagers realize that someone in their mists may be a wolf in disguise.
This was an unusual book because the reader will not know the ending until March 11, 2011 when the movie version is released. I avoided the reviews on this book because so often reviewers are bad about spoilers. I now wish I had read them in advance. The book keeps you glued to the pages but I dislike being forced to pay more money to find out how the story ends. I would suggest if you plan to see the movie read the book first.

I am officially back!

2011-03-15T13:28:00.002-05:00

My DSL was turned on today so I am back in business. I can't post much today because I am working a split shift at work. I am so happy. It makes having to go back to work this evening a bit more bearable since I can play online tomorrow.

2011-03-09T11:40:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to come up with creative ways to keep myself entertained during my 2 hour break at work. With gas prices up over $3 a gallon now I decided to just stay put at work. I’ve been bringing my Nook with me to work each day so I can have something to read. Last night I ran into a bit of a snag. After I clocked out I had all my personal belongings in my arms when my supervisors stopped me to sign some papers. I sat my stuff down on the counter in the kitchen and signed the forms. I then picked up my purse and left. What I didn’t realize until I got home and was walking inside the house was that I forgot my Nook still lying on the counter at work. Oh my goodness I freaked. Ran inside the house and called my department manager and told him I needed him to meet me back down at work because I forgot my Nook and I have to have it. I didn’t give him really a chance to say no. I jumped back into my truck and drove back to work. He and his wife drive up about 20 minutes later and he gets out, runs into the kitchen and retrieve my Nook. I apologize for making him run back to work to retrieve my Nook. He pats me on the back and said with as “stressed-out” as I sounded when I called that he better come back and get it for me. I do not think I will be taking my Nook back to work.
So I guess I could say I have a really nice boss. Seriously how many bosses would go back out after getting home from work to retrieve something that an employee forgot? Of course he could be used to working with a bunch of crazy moody females!?

Work is going well

2011-03-08T11:38:00.000-06:00

I haven’t gotten much use out of my new computer for the last 4 days. It has been setting in the carrying case I purchased since last Thursday. One of the ladies I work with asked me what I was going to do on my days off, which I promptly replied I was going to spend some serious time blogging. I think she thought I was joking because she said I needed to get caught up on some sleep. Sleep will have to wait just a while until so I can get some blogging done.
There are some pros and cons with my new job. The good points are is the job is fairly easy. Three times a day I serve meals to the residents of an assisted living center. The residents are all really nice. They get a good laugh as I continually call them by the wrong name. Out of the 65 residents I know maybe a dozen of them by name. Luckily they all set in the same places every day so hopefully I can start to remember their names better. I mentioned in my previous post that I am fed three meals a day. I usually just wrap up a dinner plate to bring home so I can finish up the day a little faster. We also get plenty of set down breaks. This is almost unheard of in most work places. I am at work 13 hours a day. We get breaks for meals, a 30 minute break before lunch and a 2 hour break before dinner. So I end up with a little over 11 hours of on the clock time each day. We are supplied with shirts to wear which have the centers name on them. After 90 days we are eligible for company insurance plan.
Now comes the cons of the job. I mentioned that I work long hours. 3 days a week I am scheduled to work 11 hours and on the fourth day I am scheduled seven hours. My most pressing problem with this new job is work shoes. In the last week I have bought and tried out 4 pairs of shoes. One pair wore blisters on the heels of my feet. The pain in my feet every day is unreal. I walk around worse than some of residents do. I am going to head out today and see if I can find me a pair of nurse’s shoes to wear. I think once I can find a pair of shoes that won’t cause my feet to hurt so bad things will get a bit easier.

Things keep getting a little brighter.

2011-03-03T10:52:00.002-06:00

Just 2 weeks ago I was stressing out about not being able to find a full-time job. I enjoyed working at the bookstore but realized that I couldn’t keep the job, because the chances of it ever being a full-time job were not great. For almost a month now I have been applying for just dang near everything that I am even slightly qualified for. It has paid off.
I started to work at my new job yesterday. I have never done this type of work before but, the department manager told me he had no problem with hiring someone without experience as long as they had a willingness to learn and showed up for work. It won’t be the easiest job I have ever done but, certainly is not the worst. The hours are rough. After training I will be working most weekends. The extra’s the company offers though makes up for a lot of the rough spots of the job. I’ve never had a job that feeds you 3 meals every day you work. I sure am not going to complain there because the food is really good. One of the girls told me yesterday that new employees have a problem with putting on weight when they first start working there.
I did do some checking in to getting internet connection at home. I would love to get wireless but the cost of getting a wireless connection at home is expensive. I think what I will do is get DSL again. I still have the modem I used before. I just have to see if I can find the installation CD that came with it. It will save me $75 from having to buy a whole new set-up. I can still remember the days when the only way to get connected to the internet was using a dial-up connection, things sure have changed since then. I am not complaining because at least I have a computer and can for the time being can use the free Wi-Fi at the library and other places around town.

Pictures of Winter

2011-03-02T07:20:00.005-06:00

I spent several hours yesterday trying to figure out how to get my camera software to work on my laptop. I was able to install it on the computer just fine but had trouble when I went to try and load the pictures off my camera on the laptop. I plugged the camera into the side of the laptop like I did the old computer but was unable to load the pictures on the computer. My husband, who is not computer savvy, suggested I pull the memory stick out and load it from that, sure enough when I did this the software worked just fine.
I haven’t taken many pictures in several months. I did take a couple pictures back during the blizzard we had here in Tulsa in February. We were stranded in the house for what seemed like days. Actually it was only about 5 days. Then one week later we had another storm.
I went out not long after it stopped snowing just to get a feel for how much snow we had gotten. Oh mercy, I just about broke my neck trying to get off the front porch. The snow drifts between the 2 trucks were at least 3-4 feet in height. I figured out really fast that falling in that deep of snow is dang near impossible to try and stand back up in.
I am so glad winter is almost over. Just a couple more weeks and spring will be official. It’s been so warm lately some of the trees have buds on them. I have packed away my heavy winter coat for the season.

Learning Windows 7

2011-03-01T10:24:00.000-06:00

Windows 7 is said to be more user friendly. I guess it is but sure wish computers came with a “How to use” manual. Honestly I didn’t seem to have much trouble figuring out how to use “Windows Vista” but finding out where everything is on “Windows 7” has been a task. I guess here soon I will maybe go buy a book on “Windows 7”. If anyone has any suggestions on any good manuals please let me know. In years past anytime I got a new computer with a new operating system I always purchased the “Dummies” books.
I do like the “Microsoft Starter” a lot better than “Word Perfect”, much easier to use. I have never used the spread sheets program so I have no idea how well it works. My dear husband is really glad to have a new computer in the house. I don’t think he was looking forward to having to do the billing statements this year by hand. I will have to spend time re-working a format for them since all the previous files were lost when my computer died.
Speaking of my dead computer I found a couple flash drives that has a bunch of my photo’s on it, not everything but a lot of the photo’s I took back in 2009. As soon as I can afford to I will be buying several flash sticks to keep for back up. I swore when my computer died back in 2008 I would never let myself be caught losing everything off my hard-drive. Now I will start making it a monthly habit of backing up my stuff. I just never thought my computer would barely last over 2 years before dying on me. It seems that every computer I have purchased last shorter and shorter.
Only major item I still have to install on my laptop is the printer. I refuse to buy another one yet since the one I have was still working okay when the computer went down. Only problem I have is I don’t believe I kept the paperwork for it so I can’t remember if I install the software first before hooking it up to the laptop or the other way around? I seem to recall I do because I vaguely remember something saying that if I hooked it up to the computer first it wouldn’t work correctly.
Can’t wait until I can get internet connection at home and not have to go down to the library and use their wireless connection. I love going to the library but it does get a bit crowded with people using their laptops. They need more tables.

Guess Who?!

2011-02-28T13:56:00.001-06:00

I am finally back. Well, kinda. I do have a new computer but have to wait to I can figure out how to buy wireless so I can have internet connection at home. Let me tell you this has been the longest 6 weeks of my life.
So now I have a very nice laptop. I purchased a Toshiba. Very nice. Right now I am trying to get used to Windows 7 and where everything is at. I guess the hardest thing is getting used to not have a mouse to use. So if you’re wondering what I did to keep myself busy I read tons and tons. I have read more since the first of this year than I have in a couple years now.
I talked to the tech people down at the local office supply store and they told me they could retrieve all my stuff off my old computer and would charge me $49. Have no idea if this is a good deal or not but think I will go ahead and take them up on the offer. I realized that not only had I lost all my pictures of Fluffy but also all the ones I took of Huey for the last year. I think it will be worth going ahead and paying the money and having the stuff retrieved.
I will keep this short for now but will be posting more regular. I still have to get all my programs re-installed back on my computer.

Computer Crashed

2011-01-18T15:39:00.002-06:00

Wanted to let everyone know that as of now I am computer less. My computer bit the dust. I can't even begin to describe what it did. Right now I am hoping I can find someone who can retrieve some of my pictures and videos off of it. I would hate to loose pictures of Fluffy that I had before he died. Anyway crap happens I guess. It will be a few months before I can save enough to get me another one. So for the time being I am at the mercy of the library. Checking in and posting will be very sporadic. To say I am heart broken is putting it mildly.

Tuesday E-books

2011-01-18T05:13:00.003-06:00

I have found some really great ebooks this past week. I posted a couple reviews from the Trylle trilogy that I have been reading. Excellent Young Adult series. Author Amanda Hocking has another ebook out that I have been reading called Hollowland for 0.99 that is another great read.
Over at Nook Deals I found Roseflower Creek that is a freebie that you can download from Barnes and Noble.
Lisa Gardners novel Alone is currently being offered for 0.99. This is the first book in the D. D. Warren series.
Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs is being offered for free. Looks like this is the first book in the series called Lakeshore Chronicles.

If anyone knows of anymore sites for great deals on ebooks please let me know.
Oh and just a small FYI- If you have a Facebook account, you might want to check out the Barnes and Noble page. Now through January 30th they are giving away a Nook WiFi each day.

Torn by Amanda Hocking

2011-01-16T06:28:00.006-06:00

Torn by Amanda Hocking
ISBN: 2940012695567
Format: eBook
Rating: 4/5

I don't usually include a video with a review but I wanted to avoid adding any spoilers. Its always hard to know just how much to add to a review when your reading a series especially if you haven't read the first book to this series yet.
In this book you will learn more about Wendy's true family and who her real parents are. Wendy has to make some really tough choices in this book. The story is about being torn between love and duty.
I really have enjoyed reading this series so far. The story is fast paced and keeps you hooked clear to the end. The last book in the series is called "Ascend".

[One little side-note to this book. There are many typo's in this book. You will be reading along just nicely and feel like you smack into a wall when you come across several words that are misspelled. The editing was not great in this ebook. ]
Switched
Torn
Ascend

Switched by Amanda Hocking

2011-01-13T19:23:00.004-06:00

Switched by Amanda Hocking
Format: ebook
ISBN: 2940011918537

Rating: 5/5

"A few things made that day stand out more than any other: it was my sixth birthday, and my mother was wielding a knife. Not a tiny steak knife, but some kind of massive butcher knife glinting in the light like a bad horror movie. She definitely wanted to kill me."

Wendy never understood why her mother wanted to kill her or why she hated her so much. She ac cussed Wendy of not being her child and not being the child she gave birth to.

Matt her brother told her not to worry about it, that heir Mother was just crazy. She could never hurt Wendy again, Matt said, since she was now locked away.

Wendy was never able to shake the feeling that she was different somehow and just didn't belong. Was she ready for the shocking truth of who she really was though?

Finn Holmes a creepy but good-looking boy from school lets her in on who she really is. Wendy is a changeling. Although stunned by the news, deep down she knows this would explain a lot of things. Finn also explains that he has come to bring her home to her real family.

Now Wendy must decide to either stay with her brother Matt and her Aunt or go with Finn to an unknown world to be with people she has never met and maybe just a chance for happiness.

This is one of the ebooks I found at the great price of .99 cents. This is Young Adult but let me say I really did enjoy the book. It was fast paced and really did keep me glued to the Nook for 2 days. This is the first book in the Trylle Trilogy. I think it's a good bet I will be downloading the next book in this series. As far as I can tell this book is only offered in ebook. If you are looking for a great Young Adult series to read I would definitely suggest this one.

Books in series:

Switched

Torn

Ascend

Tuesday eBooks (and books)

2011-01-11T02:55:00.001-06:00

I was lucky yesterday and had the day off from work. So I got to enjoy watching it snow and stay off the streets. I did however make a run to the library to pick up a few books that were waiting on me.

oogy by Larry Levin
Cleo by Helen Brown
Blind Hope by Kim Meeder
Katie by Glenn Plaskin
Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

It's not like I didn't have enough to read around the house but it's kinda nice to have some new ones. I spent a lot of time today browsing B&N for good deals on ebooks and did find a few.

A Woman Called Sage by DiAnn Mills (free)

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson (free)

Camille by Tess Oliver (.99)

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

2011-01-09T19:17:00.002-06:00

Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat
ISBN: 9780440338741
Rating: 5/5

I finished reading this book a couple days ago but have been working on a review since then. I finally realized after writing up a 6 page review that I was going to have to go by this a different way.

I will just keep the review simple instead of writing out a detailed review.

Homer was just 2 weeks old when an infection in his eyes cost him his eyesight. He was adopted by a 24 year old lady who even though she already had 2 cats found room in her life for this tiny kitten.

Homer will make you stand up and cheer. You follow his life in Florida to his move to New York. You learn really fast that this is not a cat to feel sorry for. I fell hopelessly in love with this small black cat.

Most of what Gwen has to deal with is typical of getting a new kitten but with the worry of caring for one who is blind. Like making sure to have latches on cabinet doors and making sure windows are kept closed.

Homer's story will warm your heart. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Kudos to this author for writing such a wonderful book.

Free ebook Friday

2011-01-07T19:09:00.003-06:00

I was glad in more ways than one to finally get off work today. Usually I am able to snag the free Friday ebooks early. Today Barnes and Noble and the publishing company of Kaplan are offering 130 free ebooks. These range from SAT, AVAB, and several college course ebooks to medical ebooks. Also books on writing, medical books for the average person on how to deal with pain management, Epilepsy, and many others. Here is a list of the full offerings.
If none of those are what your looking for Barnes and Noble is offering for a limited time the following book also: Reaper by Rachel Vincent .
I found another list of books a few days ago that many of you with ereaders might be interested in. Harlequin Romance is offering 16 free ebooks that will work on Nook, Sony and Kindle.

Short Story Review

2011-01-06T05:01:00.002-06:00

The Best American Short Stories (2010)

Editor: Richard Russo

ISBN: 9780547055329

Rating: 5/5

Into Silence

by Marlin Barton

"From where she sat at the end of the porch she noticed a tall man walking toward her house. The sight of a stranger in Riverfield always raised curiosity, and strangers did come through with some regularity these days, looking for work they knew they wouldn't find or for food they hoped they'd be offered. They were lost men, lost from family and friends, and the closest they could come to home was someone else's doorstep."

Janey was a bit surprised the day her mother brought a stranger home to stay with them. Her mother asked her to show him the room under the stairs. Janey is taken aback when Mr. Clark signs that "I like the room, I'll take it."

Janey has been deaf since she was a young girl and an illness hit her. Janey has a very strained relationship with her mother.

Mr. Clark is a man of few words and rarely speaks even when asked a direct question. After a few days of him going around town taking pictures of old houses and buildings he finally asks Janey to come with him to help with the information on the buildings. Her mother is not happy and demands Janey stay at home and help her with cleaning around the home. Janey refuses her mothers demands the first day but gives in the second day when her mother says she doesn't feel well and needs Janey to go for a doctor. Janey knows she is lying but stays home anyway with her.

This story actually comes down to who is this mysterious man Mr. Clark? What is his real reason he has come to stay with Janey and her mother. This twist to the plot was unexpected and caught me a bit off guard. I enjoyed the story and thought it was very well written.

Short Story Review

2011-01-06T04:22:00.005-06:00

The Best American Short Stories (2010)

Editor: Richard Russo

ISBN: 9780547055329

Rating: 4/5

Donkey Greedy, Donkey Gets Punched

by Steve Almond

"Dr, Ramon Oss had become, in the restless leisure of his late middle age, a poker player. He had a weakness for the game and the ruthless depressives it attracted, one of which he probably was, fair enough, though it wasn't something he wanted known. Oss was a psychoanalyst in private practice and the head of two committees at the San Francisco Institute."

Dr. Oss saw nothing wrong with going to play Texas Hold'em on Saturday mornings. The problem was he told his wife he was off to his tai chi class. When his wife finds out what he has been doing she puts a end to his time at the Casino and now he plays poker with his friends at home.

A friend talks him into taking on a client who he recognizes as the winner of the 2003 World Series Poker tournament. Gary Sharpe is a foul mouthed and angry patient most of the time and after almost a year of seeing in his office they part ways.

Dr. Oss and Gary Sharpe will meet up again though. One man will walk away $50,000 lighter.

I enjoyed the story for the most part. I probably would have gotten more from the story if I had known more about the game of Poker. Neither character was very likable but like actors in a movie they fit their parts well.

Tuesday eBooks

2011-01-04T07:43:00.005-06:00

I used to check out the new releases every Tuesday but now I check out to see what new ebooks have been released. I don't usually buy a new ebook the first week it's released because if it reaches the bestsellers list it will usually drop in price some.

This morning I was looking for some bargain ebooks. I found a couple that caught my eye.

Night Shift is currently just 99 cents! Its the first book in the Jill Kismet series. This book is also a LendMe book.

Switched by Amanda Hocking is also 99 cents. This is the first book in the Trylle trilogy. This is also a LendMe book.

I am always on the look out for good deals on ebooks. Seems the prices have been getting higher every time I look.

Sunday Review

2011-01-02T07:12:00.006-06:00

I know there are other meme's out there for Sunday but I thought I might do my own. I will make Sunday a day that I review what I have read or anything else I might have found interesting in the past week.
I started a book challenge called PAWS Bo ok Challenge 2011 if you would like to join me in reading 5 non-fiction books about pets. Just make sure to leave me a message so I can link to your blog.
My current reading list for the week is as follows:
Fiction

I started reading the Harry Dresden books last year and have really enjoyed them. I had tried to find copies of these at the used bookstores but seems no one likes to get rid of their Jim Butcher books. So I have been having to buy new copies. This is book 5 in the series.
Non-fiction

I purchased this on ebook back last summer and have finally decided to read it. I am adding it as one of the books for my PAWS Book Challenge 2011.
And finally the short story collection I will be reviewing from this week is:
The Best American Short Stories of 2004
One final note- I have been going through my list of book blogs and have noticed a good junk of them are not posting any longer. If you know of a book blog please let me know. Its been ages since I have visited most of the ones I have so I would happy to be a follower of any that are recommended to me.
Happy Reading.

PAWS Book Challenge

2011-01-01T10:49:00.004-06:00

PAWS Book Challenge 2011

There may already be a Book Challenge like this but that's okay. I am mainly posting this for myself and if anyone would like to join me in reading at least 5 non-fiction stories about pets please feel free to. I am making this a year long challenge. Books maybe in any format including e-books, mp3,and audio book.

Here is a list of books I want to include in my list:

Cleo: The Cat Who Mended a Family by Helen Brown

Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin

Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family--and a Whole Town--About Hope and Happy Endings

Homer's Odyssey : A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat by Gwen Cooper

If anyone would like to join me please just leave me a message. I will link my reviews to each book here. Please feel free to use the above graphic and link back here if you wouldn't mind. If anyone knows of any good books please let me know. I have read Marley and Me and Dewey.

Happy 2011

2011-01-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

glitter-graphics.com

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year. Its taken me a few days to get back into the swing of blogging again. I hope to start getting around to visiting every ones pages again here in the upcoming days. I won't write any long winded blog entry about my year but to say I look forward to 2011 and spending it with friends.

Short Story Review

2010-12-31T05:00:00.001-06:00

Our Story Begins
by Tobias Wolff
New and Selected Stories
ISBN: 978144444597
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Hunters in the Snow

In the middle of a snow storm Kenny, Frank and Tub decide to go hunting. So they all pile into the cab o Kenny's beat up old truck and take off for the woods.
After spending several hours walking through the snowy woods the guys are just about ready to give up when they come across a set of deer tracks. When the tracks lead to an area of land with a no Hunting sign posted they have to get permission from the farmer to hunt.
After gaining permission from the farmer things turn bad for the guys. The hunting trip ends after one of them is accidentally shot. After loading their friend into the bed of the truck they set off for the hospital. They end of making a few stops along the way.

I have never read any of Tobias Wolff stories before and really enjoyed this one. Its kinda of a dark humor type story but the ending leaves you snickering guiltily.
Rating 4/5

Short Story Review

2010-12-30T07:12:00.002-06:00

The Best American Short Stories (2004)
Lorrie Moore (Editor)
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN: 9780618197354

What You Pawn I Will Redeem
by Sherman Alexie
"Noon
One Day you have a home and the next you don't, but I'm not going to tell you my particular reasons for being homeless, because it's my secret story, and Indians have to work hard to keep secrets from hungry white folks."

Jackson-Jackson is a Spokane Indian boy, an Interior Salish. He wanders the Seattle area with a couple of other homeless Indians by the names of Rose of Sharon and Junior. One day they happen to stumble past a pawn shop that makes Jackson stop short. In the window is an Indian regalia. And not just any Indian regalia but his grandmothers that had been stolen almost 50 years ago. Jackson and his friends go in to speak to the owner of the pawnshop. The owner offers to sell the regalia back to Jackson for $999. The is one dollar cheaper than what he paid for it but he is willing to take a $1 loss on it. Jackson has 24 hours to come up with the money. The pawnshop owner even gives Jackson $20 to get him started.
So for the next 24 hours Jackson travels the streets of Seattle doing his "best" to come up with the money.

This collection has been setting on my bookshelf for a couple years now. Glad I didn't trade it in at the local used bookstore. This story was funny. Jackson "dead-pan" humor will having you laughing non-stop.
Rating 5/5

Short Story Review

2010-12-28T18:34:00.004-06:00

Dear Husband
by Joyce Carol Oates
ISBN: 9780061704321
Publisher: Harper Collins
Short Story Collection

Panic
This story was originally printed in the Michigan Quarterly Review and reprinted in the "Detroit Noir" in 2008.

Charles and Camilla are headed home one day when they become stuck behind a slow moving school bus.
Charles just happens to glance up to the back window of the bus and see's 2 teenage boys wrestling. One of them he believes has a gun. Camilla see's it at the same second as Charles and instantly she climbs into the back seat with the baby. Charles is shocked at how fast she leaves him alone in the front seat with the gun crazed teeagers who are now laughing at him.
Later Charles becomes agry at Camilla for choosing the baby over him. With his many pride hurt, Camilla must convince her husband that he is a wonderful husband.

I don't think the author meant this story to be funny but for some reason I laughed myself silly over the the way Charles reacts to Camilla jumping into the back seat.
Rating 4/5

True Grit

2010-12-27T15:59:00.003-06:00

I have the day off today so hubby and I headed out to the movies. I have wanted to see this movie ever since I saw it advertised a couple months ago.
Starring:

Jeff Bridges/ Rooster Cogburn
Matt Damon/ La Boeuf
Josh Brolin /Tom Chaney
Bruce Green (II)/ Harold Parmalee
Roy L. Jones/ Yarnell
Elizabeth Marvel /adult Mattie
Barry Pepper Lucky/ Ned Pepper
Hailee Steinfeld /Mattie Ross
Nicholas Sadler /Sullivan

Mattie Ross goes to Little Rock to retrieve her Father's body and find the man responsible for killing him. Mattie pays Marshall Rooster Cogburn to find Tom Chaney and bring him to justice. What the Marshall doesn't figure for is the Mattie will be tagging along with him. A fourteen year old girl and a grumpy, drunk Marshall make for a very entertaining movie. The movie is based on the book "True Grit by Charles Portis". Will have to see if I can find me a copy of the book. If you are a fan of westerns and even if your not I think you will enjoy this 2 hour movie.
Rating 5/5

2010 List of current LendMe Books

2010-12-26T08:39:00.003-06:00

I have some friends who recieved Nooks for Christmas so I thought I would post my current LendMe list. I will gladly send these to anyone who requests them. Please leave a message here or email me at oklahomabklady@gmail.com and let me know which book you want sent.

Code Blue by Richard Mabry
Anna Karenina (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Leo Tolstoy, Amy Mandelker
Crush by Alan Jacobson
7th Victim by Alan Jacobson
Dead Simple (Roy Grace Series #1) by Peter James
Tale of Two Cities (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Charles Dickens, Gillen D'Arcy Wood
Odyssey (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Homer, Robert Squillace
Man in the Iron Mask (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Alexandre Dumas, Barbara T. Cooper
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Jules Verne, Ursula K. Heise
Iliad (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Homer, Bruce M. King
Crime and Punishment (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Priscilla Meyer
Hostile Intent by Michael Walsh
Mockingjay (Hunger Games Series #3) by Suzanne Collins
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Cry Sanctuary (Red Rock Pass Series #1) by Moira Rogers
The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson
The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum
God Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe
Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
Green Angel by Alice Hoffman
Storm Front (Dresden Files Series #1) by Jim Butcher
Rooms by James L. Rubart
The Sculptor by Gregory Funaro
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Merry Christmas! 2010

2010-12-25T10:43:00.002-06:00

glitter-graphics.com

First let me say I apologize for going MIA for almost 3 months now. Life can change in a hurry sometimes and mine is no different. Since October I have been working. It took me awhile to decide what I wanted to do but I have found a job (at least for the present moment) that I thoroughly enjoy. If your wondering what kind of job I found, I work for a large bookstore chain. Have enjoyed working around books all day. I am not real sure what the future holds since I was just hired on as part-time help. My hours will most likely slow way down to where I will either have to find another job or at least a second job to work around this one since the holidays are over now. Life is never boring.
So, yes I am back and will be posting on a regular basis now.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

Banned Book Week

2010-09-27T04:16:00.004-05:00

Every year I try and remember to read a book during this week but forgot last year. This year I decided to just read at least 3 banned books sometime during the year. This year I have read "To Kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "Killing Mr. Griffen" by Lois Duncan. Hubby has a copy of "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, so sometime before the end of the year I want to get it read. Here is a list put out by the American Library Association of Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009. I would say a good portion of these books I have never heard of or read. Looks like a good chunk of the books are Young Adult books. How many banned books have you read?

Photo is of a display in
Tobin Library at Oakwell branch of the San Antonio Public Library

Huey likes my chair

2010-09-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

He gets a bit testy when I have to remove him off my computer chair.

Free ebook Friday

2010-09-10T03:58:00.003-05:00

Baby Huey

2010-09-09T08:28:00.005-05:00

My little man is growing up and out. It's hard to believe he will be 1 years old next week. I kinda hate seeing him turn in to a lazy lug like the other 2 cats. Guess that is somewhat better than his biting and trying to kill the other cats stage. He does really well now. Seldom do I even have to holler at him anymore for biting. Back during the summer we finally decided that him and Oliver would have to learn to get along with each other. After a few tense moments and Huey pouncing on Oliver they settled down. Now if one of them is in another room the other cat goes to look for him.

We are still hoping he will slow down on the growing a bit. We watch fairly close on what he eats but he is not a big eater. Wouldn't know it by his size though.

Boring Hot Summer

2010-09-07T18:40:00.003-05:00

Its been awhile since I have actually written a decent blog entry. I thought I would take a few minutes and catch you up on what has been going on in my corner of the world.
As most people know my husband and I run a small lawn service so this is one of the busiest times of the year for us. Since about the middle of April we have been running non stop. Like most summers work keeps us busy. We have made the decision that this will be the last year I will be doing this type of work. Soon I will be hitting the streets in search of more steady work. Its been a long time since I have been in the work force so I have been doing some research online on how to better prepare myself for looking for a job.
Huey turns 1 years old next week. He has gotten big. I know I said in a previous entry that he weighed around 14lbs, well now he is closing in on 17. You wouldn't know he was even the same cat. Huey and Oliver get along just fine. I still have to tell Huey at times to quit chewing on Olivers neck but for the most part they are really good buddies. He rarely bites anymore. He has turned into a 'big' mushy baby.
I have taken up journaling. I am not talking about writing a "Dear Diary" but more of in-depth type of writing. I enjoy doing it. Found several really great journal prompt sites online that have been a big help.
Wish I had some great photo to share but honestly I have carried my camera with me every day and honestly have seen anything interesting to take a picture of. Haven't even been anywhere to find anything of interest. It has been a horribly hot summer that even the snakes have stayed hidden. Usually run into several of those every summer.
I haven't read a whole lot this summer. You would have thought I would have had my Nook humming with all the great books I have bought. Just so tired every night that I can't read more than 20 minutes before I start falling asleep.
Well anyway that is what I have been up to. I will start making my rounds to all my blogs I follow soon. I have missed you all.

Updated Lend Me List

2010-09-06T11:29:00.007-05:00

This is an updated list of all the LendMe books I currently have on my Nook. As the books are loaned out I will update this list or post a new blog listing. Please do not leave your email that is connected to your Barnes and Noble account here but send it to me at oklahomabklady@gmail.com . Make sure to state that you are wanting a LendMe book I have posted.

The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
Freedom Summer (non-fiction)
by Bruce Watson
The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno
by Ellen Bryson
The Stormchasers
by Jenna Blum
Alpha and Omega
by Patricia Briggs
Green Angel
by Alice Hoffman
Storm Front (Dresden Files Series #1)
by Jim Butcher
Rooms
by James L. Rubart
The Sculptor
by Gregory Funaro
The Memoirs of Cleopatra
by Margaret George
The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories
by Kate Chopin
The Running Man
by Stephen King

This list does not include all the free Barnes and Nobles Classics that have been given out over the last few weeks. If your wanting one of those just send me an email and I will send it if I have it loaded.

Book Giveaway at Debbie's Book Bag

2010-09-05T20:16:00.003-05:00

Debbie's Book Bag is giving away a signed copy of "Foresight" by Sherry Ficklin. Make sure you read her interview she did with the author.

Interview and Giveaway, Sherry Ficklin, author of Foresight

I'd like to take this time to welcome, Sherry Ficklin, author of Foresight to Debbie's Book Bag. Sherry has been gracious enough to provide us with a SIGNED copy of Foresight for giveaway to one lucky winner. Giveaway details will be at the end of the post.

One bourbon, one scotch, one beer

2010-08-23T05:04:00.000-05:00

Never listened to the blues much but a friend posted this. Great song to crank the volume up to.

Poor Ducks

2010-07-24T04:38:00.004-05:00

As we were finishing up our work yesterday afternoon I couldn't help but notice the poor ducks out in the hot sun.

They were doing there best to find some shade.

I also noticed there were no people around. This is strange because no matter what time of day there are always people out there feeding the ducks.
Then I saw this:

I sure hope there is someone coming out and actually feeding these poor babies. Especially those barn yard ducks.

I write like-----

2010-07-17T04:03:00.001-05:00

This was kinda neat. Just copy your last blog entry in to see what famous author you write like.

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Attention Nook Users:

2010-07-11T04:19:00.003-05:00

I thought I would offer my "Lend Me" books here. I have tried a couple of other web sites but doesn't seem to work very well. I will leave these posted and edit this entry as the books are loaned out. If you have a Nook and wish to borrow one of the following please contact me at oklahomabklady@gmail.com and provide me with your email connected with your Barnes and Noble account and I will send the book asap. Please don't leave your email here but do let me know if you sent me a message requesting a book as I don't check this email very often. You have 1 week to accept the book once it is sent and then you have 2 weeks to read it.

Cry Sanctuary (Red Rock Pass Series #1)

The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson

The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

God Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Brigg

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

If you know of other Nook users please let them know about this post. I do have more but will post them as this list is loaned out.

Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter

2010-07-07T18:33:00.003-05:00

There is no denying that Abraham Lincoln was one of our greatest Presidents. What few people know is that he was one of the best vampire hunters who ever lived.

When Abe was only 11 years old his father, Thomas, takes him aside and tells Abe a story that will forever change his life. Not long after Abe will kill his first vampire.

Abe will continue to hunt vampires for many years to come.

This novel plays fast and free with the facts of Abraham Lincolns life. This is not a novel for everyone. Most of the scenes are graphic, and violent. The story moves fast and keeps the reader hooked. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter

by Seth Grahame-Smith

format: Hardback

ISBN: 978-0-446-56308-6

pages: 336

Rating: 4.5/5

9 months old

2010-06-28T08:36:00.004-05:00

Huey is now 9 months old and still growing. I swear this cat is getting bigger by the day. We have tried cutting back some on what he is eating but is getting huge. He now weighs in at slightly over 14 pounds. He out weighs the other 2 cats. He is still mean as heck, although he has slowed down just a bit. I keep wondering just how big is this kitten going to get??! This is not what I expected from the tiny little fur ball I brought home back last November.

Fool's Garden - Lemon Tree

2010-06-19T10:18:00.000-05:00

Ever get a song stuck in your head? I heard this for the first time a couple weeks ago and ever since then its been stuck in my head.

My New Mower

2010-06-17T06:37:00.003-05:00

My big mower had been giving me troubles for sometime now. We think it's the transmission that is just about shot on it. The other day hubby came home with this for me:

I don't know much about engine size or the specs but I would bet most guys could appreciate these though
Engine 16 HP* Kawasaki® OHV V-Twin
Steering Controls T-Bar
Starter Recoil
Air Filter 2-Stage Air Cleaner
Ground Speed 6.2 mph fwd; reverse assist
Fuel Capacity 5 gallons
Drive System 5-Speed Transmission
Brake System 6" Band Brakes
Drive Tires 13" x 5.00-6"
Caster Tires 9" x 3.50-4"
Flat-free
Cutting Deck 32" Side Discharge
Height of Cut 1" to 4-1/4" in 1/8" increments
Blade Tip Speed 18,500 ft/min

We have only used it once since I have to wait until hubby is able to install the sulky behind it so I can ride instead of walking.

BP Oil Spill

2010-06-03T16:23:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post this because so many sites are taking the video down and I can't keep up with who has it posted.

Nook version 1.3.0

2010-05-31T18:50:00.002-05:00

Recently Barnes and Noble issued an update for the Nook, version 1.3.0. This update added some new features; games, beta browser and in store reading.
The games, Sudoku and chess, are decent games. I have no ideal how to play chess though. Sudoku I don't mind playing for short periods of time but honestly I prefer doing Sudoku on paper. It kinda reminds me of trying to play the games on your cellphone.
The beta browser is what it is. Very basic browser to connect to the Internet. It's supposed to work any place that has Wi-Fi connection. I have tried several places but have found that it really only works when I am in the Barnes and Noble store. I did try it out but honestly found it very cumbersome to use. You have to move the page around using the bottom screen on the Nook. Much like the games being able to surf the net on the Nook is not what I purchased it for.
The in-store reading application did make the update worth while. If you have some time to kill you can take you Nook to a Barnes and Noble store and read for 1 hour on an ebook. This is great if you want to really check out a book before purchasing it. If you are broke and have "lots" of extra time you can go each day and read books for free. I really like this because it gives me a really good ideal on whether or not I will like a book before having to pay.
I think the best part of the update was the fix for the constant freeze ups. I can happily say I have not had my Nook freeze up any since the update.
My final thoughts on the update are the "new features" are nice but not what I purchased my Nook for. The "fixes" were very much worth updating my Nook for.

Currently Reading

2010-05-01T19:16:00.002-05:00

New Book List

2010-04-12T12:19:00.003-05:00

I had every intention when I purchased my Nook I would ease up on the book purchases. Okay I have done better than when I buy actual books. I have had loads of fun for my e-reader. If you have an account at Facebook and want to join a group where you can lend your "Lend Me" books check out this group: nook Owners' Book Exchange . Great place to meet other Nook users and get some free books.
Okay here is the list of books I have purchased for my Nook:

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian
Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
Horns by Joe Hill
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Thinner by Stephen King
The Running Man by Stephen King
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

On top of the 13 books I have listed above I also have 11 free books. Honestly most of the free ones I will be deleting as soon as I read them.

Ebook prices seem to be shooting through the roof. A few weeks ago the ebooks were $9.99 and now they are running around $12.99-$16.99. I wont pay the same amount for an ebook as I would an actual book. No way. Hope they go back down in price.

The Nook

2010-03-19T12:10:00.004-05:00

The Nook

Barnes and Noble e-book reader.
This review is only for the Nook. I do not own any of the other e-book readers, so I will not do a comparison with any of the other readers. I have had the Nook now for almost 3 weeks. Long enough to know what it will do and will not do.

Pro's
Okay let's start with what I enjoy about the Nook.
1) It's very user friendly. It didn't take any time at all to learn the basics, such as shopping and downloading books.
2) You do not have to be connected to a computer to shop for books. The Nook is connected to a 3-G network (Barnes and Noble pays for this), which enables you to access Barnes and Nobles complete e-book inventory. Also while shopping in the store you can use their wifi to sample any of their ebooks. You are allowed 1 hour per ebook and then you either have to buy them or move on to something else.
3)The Nook uses something called e-ink which makes it very easy to read and no eye strain. It does not have a back light which was a big selling point for myself. Back lights on electronic gadgets hurt my eyes.
4) Make sure you check out the Lend Me feature. Not all of the e-books have this but some do. If the book has the lend me label you will be able to loan the book to someone. You can only do this once though. Its best to make sure the person is truly interested and has the time to read the book. After the 2 week time period the book disappears off their e-reader and shows back on your Nook.
5) Make sure you take your Nook with you when you go to your local Barnes and Noble store. While in the store you can access coupons for free and discounted books. I have gotten a free copy of Alice in Wonderland and received 50% off a very nice copy of Lewis Carroll complete works. I am not sure though how often they change to new coupons.

Con's
Okay these are mainly complaints directed towards Barnes and Noble and not the Nook.
1) Make sure you have an account already set up with Barnes and Noble before trying to register your Nook. You will need to have a default credit card listed or it will not register and you can not buy books. You can use a gift card. The total for the books are taken off the gift card first and then if need be applied to the credit card. This seems a bit silly since if I don't have enough money on the gift card then don't sell me the book! Okay this was really my one major complaint.
2)The Barnes and Noble web-site leads a person to believe that the battery life on the Nook can last up to 10 days. That's not exactly true. If you use it for maybe an hour a day and have the airplane mode turned on then you might get it to last that long. Downloading books and even turning the page can use your battery life. The best so far I have been able to do with the hours I use it is 4 days. This really isn't a compliant so much as make sure you read Barnes and Noble web-site very carefully. Tip: when you are not downloading books go to settings and turn the airplane mode on. This shuts the 3-G and wifi off thus extending the battery.
3) One final but kinda minor complaint. The Nook does not come with a user guide. You will need to go to Barnes and Nobles web-site to find out anything you need to know about using your Nook.

Okay after all of this I would say I don't regret buying the Nook. I have enjoyed using it with very little problems. The books download and install very fast on my Nook. In future posts I will let you know of any user groups I am able to find. Currently they are showing up on Facebook and I belong to a couple of them.

The Nook

2010-03-16T07:22:00.005-05:00

About 2 weeks ago I purchased a Nook. If you are not sure what this is, its an ebook reader sold through Barnes and Noble. I have really enjoyed my new toy. I am trying my best to keep my ebook buying down to a minimum. I have had no problems with it so far. Does anyone have a Nook? If you do and would be willing to do the Lend Me books I have a couple that are lendable.

We have been really busy with work or I would have posted a bit sooner than this. I am doing lots of reading so I haven't spent as much time online lately.

For more information about the Nook check out Barnes and Noble.

Will write up a better review really soon.

Huey

2010-02-16T05:53:00.002-06:00

I am still around but have been busy with other things. I know some of you have been wondering what happened and thank you for you emails.

Back about a month ago I took a tumble down our front steps off the porch. Luckily didn't break anything but did bruise my tail bone. What I did break though was my camera. It was in my purse and when I fell my arm landed right down on top of it. Lets just say the camera was not worth trying to save. I was prepared to wait until maybe next Christmas to get another one but came across a very good deal on one at Walmart. Its not as good of a camera as my old one but it does take decent pictures. I just have to do a bit more editing on them now.

I haven't been able to get out much to take pictures because of the weather being so cold and snowy but do have a few snow pictures I will post later.

I had almost decided to delete this blog but honestly I just don't have the heart to delete something I have been working on for over 3 years. I have been doing more reading lately so I will most likely go back to posting some book reviews for awhile.

Huey is doing well. He is over 5 months old now! Getting big. He still is wild and bites. We have been working hard on getting him to stop biting Missy, the female cat. We still have to keep Huey and Oliver separate. LOL Oliver walks by the room Huey is in and just stands and hisses. Well I hope everyone is doing okay. Will try and edit some pictures later today so I can have a few to post tomorrow.

Graphic Novels

2010-01-03T05:43:00.005-06:00

Fables
by Bill Willingham
I have never really been a big fan of these mainly because I couldn't stand the drawings they used. I don't care for the characters with the huge eyes and the long skinny bodies. Hubby bought me a really nice hardback of a graphic novel called Fables. This is a 13 book series but in my edition it has the first two books in it. I really like this one. Its based on the fairy tale characters we all grew up with ex. Snow White, The 3 pigs, Beauty and the Beast, Prince Charming and tons of others. In all fairness I would rate this as PG-13 because it does have some adult themes in it.

Has anyone else read this series? I have ordered the next 2 books in the series so I will be getting those this week.

The Winner is.....

2010-01-01T06:20:00.002-06:00

Marianna!!

Thank you all so much for entering my first Book Giveaway. LOL I was kinda afraid no one would enter.

Marianna I will be sending you an email soon so you can send me your snail mail.

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T03:32:00.003-06:00

Well did you go out and do any partying last night? Hubby and I just stay home on New Years Eve. Neither of us drink so its more fun for us to watch movies and eat junk food. I usually don't wait the New Year in. If I sat up that late I would have to get back up around this time to feed the cats because they would be standing outside the bedroom door hollering at the top of their lungs.
So what's the first thing you do on New Years Day? For me it's usually putting up the new calendar for the year. For some odd reason I always feel funny putting it up early.
You will notice that this year I will not be joining any book challenges. Last year I joined several and didn't complete a single one of them. So this year if I so feel the need to share what I am reading I will just post a review here and call it good. I hope to read more books than I did last year. I think it was the worst for reading since I started keeping track.
The weather is still cold and lots of snow still on the ground but at least the roads are clear now. Hubby and I have been out making up for lost time shopping some of the "after christmas-specials". Not much left though.
Here is what it looks like here as of yesterday:

Kinda dreary looking isn't it? So lets hope this will be the worst of the winter storms.
Thank-you to all my blogger friends who come to read my blog so regular. You keep me inspired to keep going with this. =)

Time for some melting....

2009-12-28T04:14:00.002-06:00

Okay this snow has been really nice to look at but I truly believe it is time for it to go away now. We are still stuck at home. Haven't been able to leave since December 23rd. The temp. was right at the freezing mark yesterday but did little for melting any of this stuff off the streets.
As you can see in this picture the neighborhood streets are horrible. Here in Tulsa the city doesn't clean off ice and snow from the neighborhood streets.

Just walking to the end of our driveway was dangerous enough for me. We did manage to at least clear off the walkway from the porch to the driveway.
You can see how deep the snow drifts are from this picture:

Of course while I was taking that picture the dogs next door had to come find out what I was doing. The hound dogs name is Daisy.

White Christmas

2009-12-26T06:08:00.002-06:00

Well we survived the blizzard of 2009. We worried those strong winds would bring a large branch down on our power lines but the trees held up. The best I can tell is we have around 6 inches here at the house of snow and ice. The snow drifts are so high we can't even find the steps to the porch. We didn't even try to shovel any of it off the driveway but our neighbors were all out working getting theirs cleared off. Don't plan on going anywhere for the next couple days.
We had a decent Christmas despite a couple mishaps. Christmas Eve I went to get the turkey put into the pan so it would be ready to just stick in the oven on Christmas Day but ran into a major problem with it. The turkey was spoiled! I mean parts of it were black. Not great since I couldn't go get another one with the blizzard going on. I was mad as-well you can imagine how mad I was. I had just bought it from the super Walmart a couple days ago. Well so instead of turkey we had chicken and dressing. Dinner turned out fine. Never in all the years I have been cooking turkeys have I ever had one go bad like this.

If your wondering how the cats are getting along well-they are still fighting. Oliver has gotten to where every time he walks by the room where the kitten is he hisses and goes to howling. Huey is growing by leaps and bounds. The kitten has no fear of anything including the two older cats. Not good when he will stand up and swat back at them when they get annoyed with him. LOL so right now there is no peace with my furry babies. The vet said when we bring Huey in to have him fixed in a couple weeks it should calm him down some. He has slowed down some on the biting. Not stopped but doesn't chew on our hands like we are a piece of lunch meat.
Hubby bought me some nice things for Christmas. Of course I got a couple books. Also got me a couple Cd's I have been wanting. Lady GaGa 's "The Fame Monster" and Carrie Underwood "Play On". LOL strange mix of music I listen to huh? And thanks to my friend Yogi for mentioning "Snuggies" because I just had to have one. Hubby went to a couple different stores before he was able to find me one.
Hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T05:28:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and safe one. I won't be back online for a couple days. Oklahoma is under a Winter Storm Warning. Sleet and snow with amounts up to around 4-8 inches. Strong winds are what I am worried about since this is what can knock our power out. Wind gusts up to 45mph?! Hopefully all we get is just the snow.
If you post and it doesn't show up I will be back to approve posts as soon as I can.

glitter-graphics.com

Book Giveaway

2009-12-18T04:21:00.004-06:00

Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this several months ago. The publisher (St. Martin's Publishing) sent me another copy this week. This time it was the hardback version. So I will offer the hardback version here on my blog. This is the 4th book in the Lady Emily series. You really don't have to read the other books to enjoy this one but it does kinda help.

All you need to do is leave me a message saying you want the book and make sure I have some way of contacting you. On January 1, 2010 I will draw a name. The winner will be announced here on the blog, so please check back. If you don't mind leaving a post telling others about this I would appreciate it greatly.

You can read reviews of the book here at Barnes and Noble, Library Thing.com

Updated:

Sorry I should have added this to start with, I will only ship this within the United States. I can't afford to ship outside the country.

Have you got all your shopping done?

2009-12-14T05:19:00.002-06:00

Well I haven't. I usually have it done long before now but I am having a hard time coming up with ideals for gifts for hubby. You would think it would be easy after 20+ years?! I always get him clothes and books but wanted to add something else but am at a loss.
I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Finished reading "Under the Dome" by Stephen King and also read "House of Thunder" by Dean Koontz. I enjoyed Under the Dome but can't say Dean Koontz book was really good. His early books just wasn't all that great.
Huey is doing fine. He is settling down some. Not much but a little. Haven't let him attack Oliver. He is jumping up on everything including my desk. LOL I have to constantly keep pulling him out from behind the monitor. Not sure what he thinks is behind there that is so interesting.
Headed out today to do a very large leaf clean-up job. Takes us about 10 hours to finish it. We will do some today and finish it up tomorrow. Hubby was able to get all the mowers up and running again!! So we have my big mower to use today.
Here is a couple of shots of Huey I took over the weekend. These are the best I am able to get of him. He moves constantly.

Cute?-- No

2009-12-09T01:30:00.002-06:00

Sorry for disappearing for a week. We have been unable to work since last Thursday. Either it has rained or has been way to cold to be out cleaning up leaves. So for the past week we have been trying our best to work with Huey. He sure is a cutie but let me tell you some of the things he does makes me want to pull my hair out at times. He still is in a biting stage. Sometimes he does better than others and will actually let you hold him without trying to rip your hands apart. We still haven't been able to get him to not bite the other cats. Oliver is totally freaked out by Huey.
Here it is 1:30 am and my dear cute little kitten is wide awake. He has been up since midnight with hubby. The wind is blowing really hard right now and I guess it scares the kitten with the way the wind sounds like it is going to blow the roof off the house. So he is in his carrier right now. I have the electric blanket set up so I can maybe catch a few hours of shut eye in the recliner. I wanted to let everyone know I am still around just have been busy with the kitten.

Day Off

2009-12-02T05:32:00.002-06:00

Things were going fairly well yesterday until our large mower (the one I use) decided it was time to break down. This is a mower we have had for almost 8 mowing seasons. Not bad considering how much wear we put on our equipment. When hubby went to turn the mower on yesterday to load it on the trailer it decided it was time for the transmission to seize up. It started to smoke and squeal and then the belt broke. Well when hubby checked the transmission on it, it seems to have seized up completely. To fix this is going to be expensive than its worth because of the age of the mower. We could spend hundreds of dollars and fix it and then the engine decide to go kaput the next day. So we are without a large mower until next year. Our next large mower the cable broke that allows it to be self propelled. So hubby will have to spend the day looking for a cable to re-wire it back together. Our small 21inch mowers have seen better days. One of them decided yesterday that the self propelled would go out on it. Ugh!
I thought I would finish getting some of my Christmas shopping done. Still haven't decided whether or not I can afford to buy hubby a blue ray DVD player. Walmart has one on sale for $129 but if I get him that I will have to cut back on anything else I get him. He is wanting some Kurt Vonnegut books to finish off his collection. Maybe I can get some coupons from B&N to finish buying them.
Betsy was so nice yesterday to take the photo I posted and fix the color for me. Looks great Betsy, thank you!!

I was able to get a couple nice shots of a couple plants when I was at the green house the other day. Have no ideal what the names are though.

Huey Update:
This little darling gets his nails trimmed today. He is ripping the heck out of me when I pick him up. Kitten nails are like little needles.

Wrong Color

2009-12-01T05:02:00.002-06:00

I must have taken 20 pictures of poinsettias yesterday and not one of them could I get the color to come out right. They all look pink instead of red. I tried taking it into my editing program but still could not make it look red.

I was went to the Tulsa Greenhouse to get some pictures yesterday. Haven't gotten out of the house since Friday and wanted a little me time. There were a few orchids in bloom and of course plenty of poinsettias.

We took Huey down for his next set of shots yesterday. The Vet said I was making Huey fat. He has doubled in weight since we have had him. Okay it just means he went from weighing 1 1/2 pounds to 3 pounds in a little over 2 weeks. I don't think he is fat at all. The vet said we needed to feed him a lot less then what we have been doing. He hasn't felt really well since he came home. He got a de-wormer, flea medicine and his feline leukemia shot. He is running a slight fever and has been sleeping a lot since we brought him back home. He is eating okay though.
Headed out to work today. Have a couple jobs we have to get done.

Vet Day.

2009-11-30T06:19:00.003-06:00

Huey is headed off to see the Vet today. He has to go for his next set up shots. Great thing about this is his adoption fee covers his shots and also to have him neutered. I will have to ask the vet on some tips on getting him to stop biting the other cats. I wish I could get him to hold still so I could get a decent photo of his face but he is just way to wired.
Woo Hoo I actually got 7 full hours of sleep last night! The first time in way over a week. I am still not feeling perfect but getting a decent night of sleep goes a long way to feeling somewhat human again.
Headed out to go buy some food for all of us. The cupboards are very bare. I can see a mutiny occurring if food is not found soon.

I'm getting there

2009-11-29T05:52:00.002-06:00

It's been 2 weeks today since hubby and I first came down with the swine flu. Hubby is doing fine. I am getting there. Still have some junk in my lungs I keep trying to cough out but it's getting better. I still have a hard time sleeping. I have coughed so much that its caused spasms in my lower back. I'm fine as long as I am standing up but when I set or go to lay flat the coughing starts and that causes my back to seize up. Sounds like a load of fun huh? So I can catch about 4 to 5 hours of sleep at a time before I have to get up. So I walk around very tired most of the day. Okay so if you are wondering why I haven't been to a doctor the answer is simple: I have no medical insurance. Most doctors won't even see you in their office unless you do. Please if you get the chance please get the H1N1 shot and the seasonal flu shot. You really don't want to catch this.
Okay so for more pleasant news. Huey is growing by leaps and bounds, literally. I swear this cutie pie is almost twice the size he was when we brought him home. He eats almost twice as much now. We are working with him to break some "bad habits" before he gets to much older. For one, he bites and is getting very aggressive. I know he will grow out of a lot of this but my hands can't stand many more bite marks. We also have to break him of attacking the 2 older cats. I understand he is just wanting to play with them but he bites them on the neck and is stressing them out really bad. We don't let him attack the other cats and will say very sharply "NO!" when he does. You can tell he understands because he will back off and look very hurt at being scolded. We play with him for longer periods of time now that we are feeling better. I haven't taken any pictures of him since right after we first got him because I haven't felt good.
I haven't done any reading on the new Stephen King book I bought because of being sick. It's still just setting on the table waiting for me.
Well that's an update on whats been going on around here. Hopefully I will be back in full swing this week and can get back to posting and visiting every ones blog more often.

Swine Flu

2009-11-24T03:53:00.003-06:00

I posted early last week that hubby and I weren't feeling really well. Hubby is doing fine now. He was sick about 5 days. I can't say I felt great during that time but wasn't as sick as he was. On Friday last week it finally slammed me good. It started out with a sore throat and seems to get worse almost by the day. Although I wasn't feeling great yesterday we had to get one last job done before the Thanksgiving holiday. Oh do I wish I had stayed home instead. By the time we got back home I was having a heck of a time catching my breath. Felt like my lungs couldn't hold any air. Hubby thought he was going to have to take me to the emergency room last night. I couldn't lay down because that seemed to make it worse. I feel some what better this morning though. At least I can catch my breath with out wheezing so bad.
This has been really hard on Huey. Bless his heart, he has wanted to be out playing so badly but we keep him mainly in his room. I don't hold him at all. Hubby has been doing that. I saw on TV where a cat died from this over the weekend. I avoid as much contact with the cats as possible and keep hand sanitizer handy at all times.
I mainly wanted to post this because I haven't been online much at all for over a week now and wanted to let everyone know I am doing okay. Hopefully I will be over this soon.

Spammers

2009-11-20T19:58:00.002-06:00

Seems the spammers have been going nutty on my blog lately. Funny thing is they are not all that bright. I had it set to where anything over 5 days would need my approval to post. I have some spammer that has been going back to 2007 and posting spam. Well at least I can reject it before it shows up. No one I know is going to be silly enough to click on any link left in the comment section from someone with the name of "123 123".
So I have it now set to where all comments must be approved on any post older than 2 days. I hate doing this but the hate the spam worse.

Huey's first video

2009-11-16T20:02:00.003-06:00

Sorry but I tried to get him to look at the camera but he was more interested in the ink pen. Hubby and I were feeling a little better by this afternoon so we spent a lot of time with Huey. Oliver only hissed once at him so maybe he is starting to get used to him. I noticed earlier today that Huey was batting his little mouse toys under the door to Oliver. LOL Oliver came running down the hallway with them and hid them behind the recliner. I had to take them all back to Huey. Oliver has one still to play with.

Here is the only picture I was able to get of him today. LOL I had to hold him down to be able to get it though

Carrier Day

2009-11-15T13:34:00.002-06:00

First let me say thank-you to all the wonderful advice on the litter box problem. I tried several of them. As of now Huey is using the litter box.
Today he has spent time in the pet carrier. I have him in the living room so he can be with the rest of us. The cats still are not real happy but they don't seem as freaked out as they did yesterday. Both of them have gotten a good look at the kitten inside the carrier and hissed at him. Oliver seems a bit calmer today. He was playing with the kitten outside his bedroom door for awhile (swatting at each other under the door).
I was going to do a video today of Huey but I haven't felt real good today. Hubby isn't feeling well either. I still haven't been able to take a decent picture of him. He is doing just fine though.

Litterbox Woes

2009-11-14T12:04:00.002-06:00

Things went fairly well on our first day and night together. We have run into a tiny snag though. Hopefully anyone who has had to deal with this might be able to give me some advice. Huey doesn't seem to like the litter box. Luckily we had newspaper and a plastic sheet under the box. He did this morning poop in the box so that was an improvement. I went and bought a smaller box and hope that works. I have never had this problem with any of the other cats except when they got really old. Any ideals on how to get him to use his litter box?
He sure has a lot of energy for something so tiny. I did buy him a ton of toys and I think at 2 am this morning I almost wish I hadn't bought the balls with the bell inside of them. We keep him in one of the spare bedrooms away from the other two cats. Neither of them are very happy right now about a kitten being brought into the house. I haven't let Huey wander around the house yet. Hopefully the 2 adults cats will settle down.
I slipped in his room a little bit ago and snapped a picture of him cat napping. Hopefully everyone won't tire reading about Huey. What can I say, the little guy makes me smile.

Meet Huey

2009-11-13T16:51:00.002-06:00

I waffled back and forth for a couple days on whether or not to get a kitten. I went down to my vets office today to take a look at the kittens they had for adoption. They only had 1.
Huey is 8 weeks old. He weighs just a little over a pound and half. He purrs like crazy when you hold him. You set him back down and he demands you pick him back up. He just barely squeaks. Usually kittens can holler fairly loud but this one is really quiet. Sorry about the picture but hubby had a hard time holding him still to get a photo of him. Will try and get better pictures of him tomorrow.

A New Book

2009-11-12T09:34:00.003-06:00

Yeah I know I buy books all the time. Today we went out to Sam's Club to buy new tires for the truck. While wandering around the store hubby bought me a copy of Stephen Kings new book called "Under the Dome". This is one really long book, 1,072 pages! So if I am not seen for awhile (kidding) you will know why. I had been wanting the book but didn't have the money for it so it was awful nice of hubby to get it for me. Will let you know what I think of it when I finish reading it.

Oh and before I forget, Sam's Club has the book for $21.95 (reg.$35.00).

Oklahoma Booklady

Short Stories (Katherine Anne Porter)

Pain Killer Poisoning in Dogs and Cats

Free e-book Friday

Nook Spotlight

Child 44 [NOOK Book] byTom Rob Smith for 99cents.

Short Stories (Grimms Fairy Tales)

Short Stories (Mark Twain)

The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain's Short Stories

Free E-book Friday

Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned [NOOK Book]

Nook Daily Find

Nook Daily Find

Living Violet: The Cambion Chronicles#1 by Jamie Reed for $1.99.

The Stephen King Project

Autumn Purification

Nook Daily Find

The Skin Map (Bright Empires Series #1) by Stephen Lawhead for $3.40. Normal price is $16.99?! (shocking isn't it)

Free ebook Friday

Mile 81

Nook Daily Find

Autumn The City

Nook Daily Find

Spotlight Author of the Month

Nook Daily Find

Autumn

Nook Daily Find

Free e-book Friday

Nook Daily Find

Nook Daily Find

Nook Daily Find

Currently Reading

Enjoying my day off

Meet Stewie

Non-fiction

The Gunslinger Book 1

Rango The Movie

Red Riding Hood

I am officially back!

Work is going well

Things keep getting a little brighter.

Pictures of Winter

Learning Windows 7

Guess Who?!

Computer Crashed

Tuesday E-books

Torn by Amanda Hocking

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Tuesday eBooks (and books)

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

Free ebook Friday

Short Story Review

Short Story Review

Tuesday eBooks

Sunday Review

PAWS Book Challenge

Happy 2011

Short Story Review

Short Story Review

Short Story Review

True Grit

2010 List of current LendMe Books

Merry Christmas! 2010

Banned Book Week

Huey likes my chair

Free ebook Friday

Baby Huey

Boring Hot Summer

Updated Lend Me List

Book Giveaway at Debbie's Book Bag

One bourbon, one scotch, one beer

Poor Ducks

I write like-----

Attention Nook Users:

Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter

9 months old

Fool's Garden - Lemon Tree

My New Mower

BP Oil Spill

Nook version 1.3.0

Child 44 [NOOK Book]
by
Tom Rob Smith for 99cents.