Thinking, but not saying...

Get off the phone! If you blow us up I'm going to be royally pissed. And you! Turn off your damn car when you're pumping gas. No! Don't get back in! I know it's cold, but there's a little thing called static electricity that occurs when you slide your lazy ass across the seat. And you know those gasoline fumes you used to think smelled so good when you were a kid? Combine those with said static electricity and, well, things tend to blow up. For the love of god, why is everyone at this gas station trying to kill me?

(And later...)

Sometimes its not about you.

Reading

My mom-in-law loaned me a most awesome trilogy of novels called Queen of the Orcs (King's Property, Clan Daughter & Royal Destiny), by Morgan Howell. I'm just starting the third book, having devoured the first two earlier this week. It's been awhile since something grabbed me like these books have. The storyline is excellent and the characters are interesting, deep and dynamic. The author's use of language makes for a richly developed world.

After reading Holly Lisle's Create a Language Clinic I pondered how I might incorporate a made-up language into my writing. These books have shown me how it's done.

So, shashav, Morgan Howell. You rock.

Loose Ends

I thought I'd update some junk from previous posts...

• I am now sling-free. Still faithfully going to physical therapy - except for yesterday when I didn't go. But we don't need to talk about that.

• The cat that was living under my bathroom floor was actually a kitten perhaps five or six weeks old. He doesn't live there anymore. Wayne captured him and he (the kitten, not Wayne) now lives with a nice family who desperately wanted a new cat. He is overcoming his wild fearfulness and getting fat and spoiled. His name is Milky Way.

• I suck at doing NaNoWriMo. Suck. Diddly. Uck. I got like 800 words then promptly gave up. Well, I guess I didn't consciously give up, I just kept finding ten thousand other things to do instead like rescuing kittens, clipping coupons, reading The Orc Queen trilogy by Morgan Howell (which is awesome) and playing EverQuest II. Oh, and watching TV. And not writing. Maybe I'll start next week. (Ha.)

Madness (in a good way)

A few weeks ago I saw an episode of Unwrapped that featured something called The Grocery Game. It looked interesting so I checked out the website. I ended up subscribing to The List(s) for my area and have since been HOOKED on this website.

The idea is simple. Use in-store sales combined with coupons to save an obscene amount of money. The Powers that Be at the Grocery Game do all the foot work (and brain work) for you, you just clip your coupons on Sunday and faithfully shop with The List. (Believe in The List. Trust The List. The List is your friend.) And it works.

Sunday I invested an hour or so cutting coupons. Monday I went shopping at three stores.

Store 1
Total Value of items purchased: $76
Total Out of Pocket (OOP) Spent: $37
Total Savings: $39

Store 2
Value: $74
OOP: $41
Savings: $33

Store 3
Value: $98
OOP: $58
Savings: 40

The grand total is.......
Value: $248
OOP: $136
Savings: $112 or 45%

If you want to sign up, which I highly HIGHLY suggest you do (at least check out the $1/4 week trial) please put in my email address as a referral (atomicbunnie at yahoo dot com). Thanks.

In related news, check out this great project that uses the Grocery Game to show kids how to save money AND provide for families in need: The Great Big Box Project

I complain a lot

I came to the realization that humor is how I cope with pain. That and crying like a little girl occasionally. Yesterday I was fifteen minutes late to physical therapy because I got stuck behind every school bus in two counties on the way there. When I arrived my therapist skipped the heat and went right into the exercises. The fucking painful ones. I asked her if that was my punishment for being late. She said it was incentive for coming early. I don't see the logic. Next I moved to a ridiculous exercise where I was supposed to walk my fingers up the wall. I was still sniffling (shameful!) at this point and she asked if I needed a tissue and if I had allergies. I said, "Yes, I'm allergic to pain."

I remember Halloween

Halloween was a bust. A bust! I had a grand total of four trick-or-treaters. This was even after Wayne kindly changed the bulb on the porch (which hadn't worked in the year-and-a-half we've lived there). Then Wayne pointed out that we were the only ones on the street with the light on at all. WTF Dover?

So if anyone wants 26 baggies of candy, give me a call. I can hook you up.