My Visual DNA - Thanks Christine! :)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Is it Easter Yet?

I won't lie to you - I love Easter for purely selfish reasons - I get an extra day off of work and get to spend it with family. So today I woke up thinking is it Easter yet? I'll be counting down the days! The only thing that always scares me is the day before and the day after Easter... people run into my store in a panic! It's okay I want to reassure them... it was only one day! We will open again... believe me!

Do you guys remember that summer when we had that major power outage - everyone was told not to go to work - it just wasn't worth it because there was no power. And to stay home where it was safe because there were no traffic lights and it just wasn't safe driving in those conditions? Well.... I HAD to go to work, trek my way down to Yorkdale - Ick! We sat outside waiting until Security told us that we wouldn't be able to open. Do you know how many cars drove up to us to ask when we were opening? Holy cow! Maybe it's because I work in retail... but on my days off the last place I want to be is the mall! And when I actually went home I played Scrabble (TTN buddies - I didn't score anything past 150 for the game! :)) with my husband. Nice, relaxing - no mall! :)

Sorry... I don't know where that came from!

So this weekend I'm going to be reading book 'A'... so excited! It looks sooooo good! What are guys up to this weekend?

Thursday Thirteen #8

Thirteen Things I find interesting about April fools day (or rather pranks that were played on April fools day) All found at http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/... Oh... and can I just admit right now that I am one of the most gullible person ever! 1…. Internet Spring Cleaning In 1997 an email message spread throughout the world announcing that the Internet would be shut down for cleaning for twenty-four hours from March 31 until April 2. This cleaning was said to be necessary to clear out the "electronic flotsam and jetsam" that had accumulated in the network. Dead email and inactive ftp, www, and gopher sites would be purged. The cleaning would be done by "five very powerful Japanese-built multi-lingual Internet-crawling robots (Toshiba ML-2274) situated around the world." During this period, users were warned to disconnect all devices from the Internet. The message supposedly originated from the "Interconnected Network Maintenance Staff, Main Branch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology." This joke was an updated version of an old joke that used to be told about the phone system. For many years, gullible phone customers had been warned that the phone systems would be cleaned on April Fool's Day. They were cautioned to place plastic bags over the ends of the phone to catch the dust that might be blown out of the phone lines during this period. 2.... Arm the Homeless In 1999 the Phoenix New Times ran a story announcing the formation of a new charity to benefit the homeless. There was just one catch. Instead of providing the homeless with food and shelter, this charity would provide them with guns and ammunition. It was named 'The Arm the Homeless Coalition.' The story received coverage from 60 Minutes II, the Associated Press, and numerous local radio stations before everyone realized it was a joke. The Phoenix New Times's joke was actually a reprise of a 1993 prank perpetrated by students at Ohio State University. 3.... The Eruption of Mount Edgecumbe In 1974 residents of Sitka, Alaska were alarmed when the long-dormant volcano neighboring them, Mount Edgecumbe, suddenly began to belch out billows of black smoke. People spilled out of their homes onto the streets to gaze up at the volcano, terrified that it was active again and might soon erupt. Luckily it turned out that man, not nature, was responsible for the smoke. A local practical joker named Porky Bickar had flown hundreds of old tires into the volcano's crater and then lit them on fire, all in a (successful) attempt to fool the city dwellers into believing that the volcano was stirring to life. According to local legend, when Mount St. Helens erupted six years later, a Sitka resident wrote to Bickar to tell him, "This time you've gone too far!" 4.... Instant Color TV In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Stensson then proceeded to demonstrate the process. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, out of the population of seven million, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970. 5.... The Taco Liberty Bell In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called up the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell is housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed that it was all a practical joke a few hours later. The best line inspired by the affair came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale, and he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold, though to a different corporation, and would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial. 6.... The Left-Handed Whopper In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version." 7.... MITkey Mouse On April 1, 1998 the homepage of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced some startling news: the prestigious university was to be sold to Walt Disney Co. for $6.9 billion. A photograph of the university's famous dome outfitted with a pair of mouse ears accompanied the news. The press release explained that the university was to be dismantled and transported to Orlando where new schools would be added to the campus including the School of Imagineering, the Scrooge McDuck School of Management, and the Donald Duck Department of Linguistics. The fact that the announcement appeared on MIT's homepage added official credibility to it. But in fact, the announcement was the work of students who had hacked into the school's central server and replaced the school's real web page with a phony one. 8.... PETA’s Tournament of Sleeping Fish In 2000 the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) warned that it planned to sabotage the bass fishing tournament in East Texas's Lake Palestine by releasing tranquilizers into the lake before the tournament. Their announcement stated that "this year, the fish will be napping, not nibbling." State officials took the threat seriously and stationed rangers around the lake in order to stop any tranquilizer-toting PETA activists from drugging the fish, and numerous newspapers reported the threat. Eventually PETA admitted that it had been joking. 9.... Kokomo Police Cut Costs In 1959 the Kokomo Tribune, based in Indiana, announced that the city police had devised a plan to cut costs and save money. According to this plan, the police station would close each night from 6 pm to 6 am An answering machine would record all calls made to the station during this time, and these calls would be screened by an officer in the morning. The police reportedly anticipated that the screening process would save the city a great deal of money, since many of the calls would be old by the morning and would not need to be answered. A spokesman for the police admitted that "there will be a problem on what to do in the case of a woman who calls in and says her husband has threatened to shoot her or some member of the family." But in such a situation, the spokesman explained, "We will check the hospitals and the coroner, and if they don't have any record of any trouble, then we will know that nothing happened." 10.... Eiffel Tower Moves The Parisien stunned French citizens in 1986 when it reported that an agreement had been signed to dismantle the Eiffel Tower. The international symbol of French culture would then be reconstructed in the new Euro Disney theme park going up east of Paris. In the space where the Tower used to stand, a 35,000 seat stadium would be built for use during the 1992 Olympic Games. 11.... Virgin Cola’s Blue Cans In 1996 Virgin Cola announced that in the interest of consumer safety it had integrated a new technology into its cans. When the cola passed its sell-by date, the liquid would react with the metal in the can, turning the can itself bright blue. Virgin warned that consumers should therefore avoid purchasing all blue cans. The joke was that Pepsi had recently unveiled its newly designed cans. They were bright blue. This next one is from my mom! My mom is the cruelest April Fools prankster ever! She looks so small, cute and sweet... but April 1st brings out the devil in her. Ever single year she would pull something... and I always fell/fall for it. For the past couple of years I have instructed my husband that we will no longer pick up the phone on this day! 12.... One year my mom woke me up at 6am... I was like 18 - 6am is not a time you see much at that age. She stormed into my room screaming "Honey, oh my God! Why did you park your car that way - so close to the end of the driveway? Someone just hit your NEW car and drove off!" Of course I leap out of bed in a panic... running outside to the driveway wearing only my pajama's... already near tears! But of course when I get there my car is fine... my mother however can't stop laughing! Not funny mom! This one is from one of my co-workers - who was my boss a couple of years ago. You would think that a boss wouldn't pull a prank... yeah right! 13.... I worked for The Gap for a while and one of the coolest perks working there was that each time you celebrated an anniversary you received a gift from Tiffany's - yeah, cool huh? Anyways, one April fools my boss comes storming out of the office frantically shaking her head. Of course, me being the fool and caring person say "Oh my God! What's wrong?" She, still shaking her head throws a memo in my direction and says "We're no longer going to get a Tiffany gift. They say it's too expensive, and that they are changing companies. Now were going to get gifts from Oliver Jewelers!" - Everyone in Canada knows who this is... the guy on TV that says I pay you for your used gold! Yeah, I was upset by the news the entire day... storming around in disbelief, before she finally confessed that it was a joke. Yeah, real funny! Have any good April fools to share? Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Daphne Contest

I got my books today! Yay!

These are the books that I need to judge for the Daphne Du Maurier Competition, and I am soooooo excited to say I don't recognize the authors! :)

I think two of the books are from the UK and one from the US... no Canadian authors. :(

I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say about these books, I don't think there's really a rule, but just in case lets call them book A, B, and C. I know... I'm original right?

Anyways if their good I guess I can name them right? Based on just the covers (and yes - that's how I judge books - not people!) To me I won't pick up a book with a boring cover... doesn't matter how good it is! Does that make me shallow or something? All I know is I need a sexy, intriguing cover to draw me... Fabio does nothing to me thankyouverymuch... but a sexy pose of even a woman or lipstick smeared across the page gets me excited. ;)

As for my day... it was fabulous. I worked on some stuff at home and talked to Amy. Amy was so friggin' entertaining it was tooooo cute! Her and her alcohol induced writing! :) I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time! Thank you Amy!!! :) Anytime you have any alcohol in hand - find me on facebook! ;)

Interview Me Part II

Alright a quick post... because I'm going straight to bed and then back to work tomorrow - nice and early! :)

The weekend was crazy at work! It always shocks me how crazy/ bitchy people can get when they don't get what they want on the weekend... I always want to scream at them... I'm sorry you have no time - I don't either! Shut up and get over it! And by the way - if your in a hurry maybe you shouldn't come out during the busiest day of the week! Oh, yeah... and you can't always have what you want! :) Okay, I'm feeling better now.

Anyways... getting back to the post. Angela and Carly here are your questions:


Angela -
1. Why SciFi?
2. You read a bazillion books (I don't exaggerate) what one has been your absolute favourite and why?
3. What inspires you to draw? (Other than people paying you fist fulls of money? ;) )
4. Have you ever considered a job other than what you do - for example - off the top of my head... a writer maybe? Hint. Hint.
5. What is your favourite (secret) indulgence. We won't tell!


Carly -
1. What is your favourite movie?
2. What food/treat can you never say no to, even though you know you should? :)
3. Are you a cat or a dog person?
4. Is there a hobby that you have always wanted to claim to do, but have never had the time or skill to achieve? (Mine would have to be knitting... not a skill I was clearly ever meant to learn!)
5. What was the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?

Thanks for participating guys! Have a great day and I'll talk to you all tomorrow. :) Looking forward to reading your answers.

Interview Me Post from Thomma Lyn

So here's my Interview Post from Thomma Lyn - Thanks TL! This was fun! If anyone wants to play along, leave me an 'Interview me' in your comments and I'll think up 5 interview questions for you!

1. Tell me about a movie that's special to you, which you could watch again and again.

I hate watching movies over and over again. I'm a watch it once kind of girl... however I do make exceptions to 3 movies... Dirty Dancing - I think it's all because of the music and the sweep you off your feet - Nobody puts Baby in the corner romance. And don't laugh... but I can watch Spider Man 1 and 2 on repeat until the cows come home. My husband always laughs at me, because I know the words to the entire movies... but come on... I can't help it! The entire I love you, but I can't love you because if I admit to loving you, someone might hurt you - which would kill me - romance... I don't know, it's just something that always draws me. And that kissing scene where Spidey kisses her (which one right? You know which one I'm talking about! - The upside down, dirty, dingy, empty alley kiss) well that's just... *Sigh* I'm naturally a cheesy romantic.

2. What kind of music do you like?

I'm easy. Whatever is playing on the radio. ;) And I know that a lot of you play music while you write, I need perfect silence!

3. Tell me about an author you consider an influence in your own writing.

I think we all take little bits and pieces of things we admire, respect and love about another author. So I'm not sure if I could pick just one... but If I had to I would have to say Lori Foster. I will be happy if I can be half the writer that she is - okay three quarters. ;)

4. Do you like to cook?

I would prefer if someone else did it, but I don't hate it. I just always compare it to my moms... and we all know nobody does it like mom! But give me some flour for baking and get out of my way, because I swear to you I was born a baker! I think it's that my grandfather was a baker and my mom ate a lot of his goodies while pregnant with me... because I swear to you... if I crave it I can bake it. And I hate the boxed stuff!

5. When did you first think you would like to be an author?

A couple of years ago when I read this terribly written book and thought... no friggin' way was this published and all the ideas in my head just float around without a reader! :) It also helps to think that you could kill someone and get away with it! (By the way - I think this is the only profession that you can admit to that!) I truly believe you have to think this if you're a suspense author. If you can't convince yourself - what makes you think you can convince your readers? Nothing worse than a book you know the conclusion to on page 5! :)

Happy Writing!

Thursday Thirteen #7

At two I have a conference call - other than that... I have the entire day to myself! At home, all alone... just me and my thoughts... or my bed, whichever is more inviting! :) So to celebrate I'm writing a TT on the Thirteen things that I want to do today.

Thirteen Things I want to do today... 1…. Having a huge breakfast without any rushing! That's right... I'm going to take my own sweet time! Doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you eat on the run every day, you know how great this is. 2.... I'm going to stroll through the blogging world and catch up on all the things I missed in the last couple of weeks. Yeah, looking at the dishes in front of me says I should be doing something else - but since the dishes can't talk I figure nobody will ever know if they get done now or later! Heeeeeheeeee! :) 3.... Finish my critique partners edits. Yeah. I'm seriously committing myself to getting this done today! Before she fires me! :) 4.... The edits should take me till about... 12. Which just coincidentally takes us to NewsRadio - Dave tries to stay calm when Lisa's ex-boyfriend comes to town. :) I bought some chips and popcorn yesterday, and I plan on planting my big butt in front of the TV and enjoying every moment of the show. 5.... 12:30ish... taking an afternoon nap. Yeah, that's right! :) Nothing better than an afternoon nap. Especially knowing that I'm working Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So yeah, I'm definitely going to appreciate that nap. :) 6.... Huh... this is getting hard... I guess this was a bad idea... I really don't plan on doing 13 things today. 7.... The dishes are still staring at me... and I'm still ignoring them, because instead I could reading a book. I don't even know what that's like. I wonder if I can still read. 8.... Go pick up the mail waiting for me at the post office... but that requires me getting dressed out of my pajama's and getting in my car and driving down to the post office. I don't know if that's going to happen, because in all honesty I don't see myself getting dressed today. It feels like an all pajama day! 9.... On that note... I hope they never invent (which, wait a minute they have) the camera phones. God forbid everyone in Canada and the US can see into my house and stare at my dirty dishes and pajama's during my conference call! As long as I can hear them... it should be good enough! 10.... Pretend to take notes while I'm on my call... maybe even say a word here or there. Maybe. Maybe not. 11.... After the call... sit back, relax, and try to forget everything that I learned or was said... at least until I need it on Friday. As far as I'm concerned my brain does not need to be turned on today. Hopefully, my boss will agree with me when I make this same excuse for not knowing the answers to her questions. :) 12.... Maybe make something for dinner.... maybe just order something. Depends on how much energy I wasted on doing nothing all day. ;) 13.... Yeah, so the one thing I should be doing is writing, but what's the point if tomorrow I go back to 13 hour work days? Yeah, I'll get a break soon... but not worth me catching up to where I am because by then there won't even be any time to do any edits... So I apologize to all the writer's shaking their heads, but instead I'm just going to slack off and relax... maybe even get to those dishes. Probably not. :) Happy TT everyone! What are you doing today? Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Test The Nation Follow-up!

So... I contacted Eleisha (I'm sorry if I spelled it wrong) to find out how I scored at Test The Nation. I know it's only been since Sunday since I e-mailed her but she hasn't responded! :)

Makes me wonder - was my score that bad? :)

How did everyone else do? Did you find out? All I know is that I couldn't see the screen! I could never see the last damn option... so 'D' didn't get pushed too often! :)

And did you guys watch it on Sunday? Because I did, however, anyone I spoke to said they missed it. Which also makes me wonder if the ratings were good. Huh... okay, enough of my talking. I have to get my butt back to work!

I don't want to learn how to say no, but I might have to start.

First off... Wylie - Thank you soooooo much for the wonderful pictures of Test The Nation! They came out great! And, again, thank you for cropping that other picture out! I super duper really appreciate it! I think I've been spending to much time around the kids in my store. ;)

As for how my writing is going... well it's not. Too much on my plate - hence the 'I need to learn to say no' title. I have five full books to read for Daphne Published Writing Competition - which, at least I can add to my 50 books reading list - so there is a positive side. Then I STILL haven't finished my CP edits - I wouldn't be surprised or blame her if she fired me! :) And to top off all of that I promised my best friend last week that I would edit her school paper. Yay!

So all that... it's nine o'clock... I've been conking out around 10ish (so sad!) and I'm working in the wee hours of the morning. Yeah, I don't stand a chance at accomplishing even the edits - but I sure as heck will try! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Test The Nation was Excellent!

I knew it would be great, but in truth the best part was seeing everyone and spending time with them! I'm so glad that Christine was able to fly down, and that I got to see Wylie and Amy - I've missed you guys sooooooo much! I even got to talk to some people that I've been meaning to meet for a long time, but haven't had the opportunity to - until now. :)

Overall TTN will definitely go down in the history of memorable events. Looking forward to seeing the pictures!

Okay... I'm going to get back to doing my work - at least I was smart enough to bring it home with me so that I don't have to lug my big butt in to finish it off. My motivation is to get it all done before Test the Nation tonight - I'm very excited to see how the LIVE taping will turn out - I wonder if the Mayors will cheer or if they'll be like the Ad Writers. I guess we'll have to see!

Hopefully this will be my returning post into the blogging world. Again... I've missed you all so much. It's so good to be back.

Thursday Thirteen #7

Thirteen Things I'd rather be doing instead of sleeping... 1…. Reading one of the many good books sitting on my book shelf! 2.... Finish editing my current WIP! Even if it's just a chapter! 3.... Watching a good movie with my husband. 4.... Actually, watching anything good on TV with my husband. 5.... Heck, now that I think about it... I would rather just have more time with him rather than sleeping! 6.... Catch up on some of my laundry! Cause I sure as heck can think of doing something a lot more interesting during the day. 7.... Clean my house! Oh my... I can't even tell you how my house looks right now. I hope nobody shows up for any surprise visits... not unless it's a maid offering her services for free. That would be great! :) 8.... Get some groceries... yeah, it's sad. But my fridge is empty, which is fine by me because I've been at work at all hours of the day so I always eat out. But my husband told me this morning that he lost 2 lbs. in the last couple of days. ;) I think he's trying to tell me something. 9.... I've put on a little bit of weight in the last little while... wish I had the time to go out and buy a pair of pants I can breathe in! :) Yeah, that would be great. 10.... Baking a cake, or pie, or cookies.... oh! Maybe even brownies! Mm mm. Yum. 11.... Actually having time to make a meal instead of eating out or having it made by M & M Meatshops... yeah, a lot of my dinners have been made by them! Swiss Chalet also knows us very well. Another thing I'm not proud of... if my parents knew they would pass out. 12.... Studying for Test The Nation! I have had the hardest time lately remembering anything... so maybe it's already too late to start... but I'll still give it a shot! Studying is something I definitely need to do. 13.... I'd rather be sleeping. In truth as much as I want to do all these things, I really need my sleep. Desperately! Nobody wants to talk to me when I haven't slept at least 8 hours. It's not pretty! Happy TT everyone! What would you do if you could go without sleep? Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

24 hours in a day.

I haven't been here since Saturday and I might not again for the next couple of days... :(

I have so much to do right now I don't even have time to read let alone write. I have so much work that I won't even be able to come to the critique session this week! I'll be busy AT work... and I don't even know when I'll get my next day off yet - definitely won't be until well past this weekend. :( I'm exhausted just thinking about working so many days straight!

I haven't checked my e-mails since Monday, and to be perfectly honest - I'm too scared to check them now!

Okay that's enough of my complaining. I hope everyone has a great week. Hopefully I'll get a chance to post my TT this week... maybe it should be about what I could accomplish if I didn't sleep. :) Unless someone has another method of getting some extra time in a day. I'm all ears! :)

Please... no more power outages!

I love Winter. Love it. Love the snow. Love the chill in the air... love it all!

But who the hell was the idiot who set the fire to the power plant? Sound familiar? Yeah, because somebody set fire to the plant on Thursday. Well... let me just re-phrase the question.. Who the hell was the idiot who set fire to the power plant AGAIN?!?

All of our power was out. Again. Kill me know! 5 minutes before, apparently, one of the best episodes of Las Vegas ever... and didn't come back on until this morning.

I missed Las Vegas! And it's not playing again this week - which is as far in advance as I can check! *sob*

Take the power... and my TV... fine! But don't even think about taking my damn Internet! My husband and I had to entertain ourselves! :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

And... welcome back Christine! You were missed!

And I miss you Wylie - where are you? I hope you're feeling better or at least someone wonderful is taking care of you! :)