Okay! Here he is! http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/BeElleGee/016000032.jpg

His name is Buddy, (that's the name that was given to him and he answers to it so JC and I decided not to change it) and he's a three year old Boston terrier. He's had a rough start in life but he's got a good home now being a welcome addition to our family.

A week ago, John and I finally got a call from a no-kill shelter in Vero asking us if we'd like to make an appointment to see some of the dogs there. As it turned out, John and I had our eyes on a Maltese puppy there and made an appointment that night to view that dog and a couple of others--a poodle and a Chihuahua.

When we arrived, the lady who runs the shelter regretfully informed us that the Maltese pup had been adopted out earlier that day, but she still had the other dogs we were interested in. As it turned out, we saw the poodle first and liked her alot. John and I were ready to just say okay, we'll take her, but then the lady brings out this little tiny Boston terrier and says she just got him "back" and maybe we'd like to see him too. Well, he's so damned cute, John and I were pretty much smitten right off.

Apparently, Buddy's original owners neglected him by way of not feeding him properly and not providing needed veterinary care among other basic pet needs. The no-kill shelter got ahold of him after he'd been dumped at the pound and took care of him (he needed an operation on his eyes, shots, and worming) and even placed him in another home. Unfortunately for little Buddy, this home included another dog who did not care for him on his home turf and attacked him badly enough to leave him scarred. Once again Buddy went back to the pet rescue where we got him and they took care of him.

All's well that ends well--for us and Buddy anyway as this seems to be a match made in heaven. He's the perfect little gentleman and so sweet and so adorable. I just love him to pieces already!

I FINALLY have my dog.

I finally broke my husband down. He's finally ready to let me get a dog. He's actually excited about the prospect now that we've started filling out shelter applications and looking at prospective pups online. I'm thrilled too, but the excitement is dwindling due to having to wade through ten semi-biographical five page a piece applications to no avail.

We haven't heard back from one shelter or rescue yet. We've called and left messages. We've emailed. We've re-faxed. Meanwhile, all the dogs we've picked out are getting adopted out from under us. We started out with twelve potentials and are now down to four. It's frustrating. Do they want these animals to get a good home or not? Why haven't we heard back from anybody?

I found our former dog's leash and collar. I didn't think we'd kept it. I'm not sure why we did but now I have a good leather leash and a collar for our new dog. We bought some dishes too. One for food and one for water. I even picked up some cute toys.

But everyday, every night, it's the same disappointing news. No news. Nothing. It's the first thing I ask my husband and it's the first thing he asks me--Have you heard from anybody yet? No.....

Hopefully soon.

More to come.

I gotta tell ya, I've been loving this time off.

I did some major spring cleaning and redecorating. I got some quality quantity time online. Did some power shopping oh yeah. And over the weekend hubby and I slipped off to a fave getaway, Daytona Beach Shores for some s, s, and s (giggles).

I've had time off work since last Thursday and don't go back to work until tomorrow--boo! But I've had a great time with my freedom. It's not even over yet.

Tonight--to celebrate that most auspicious of days when my beloved and I wed--JC is taking me out to dinner at one of the nicer restaurants in town. I haven't been out for dinner in so long, I can't remember, so this will be fun. Kinda like going on a date. Besides, gives hubby the night off from cooking-teehee.

(Anyways, to my husband: happy 19th anniversary! I look to the next nineteen years together! Don't let me eat too much tonight!)

Led Zeppelin is on the radio right now. God I haven't heard this song in ages and I'm loving it. Robert Plant was soooo very sexy then but I was too young to appreciate it...then.

Yes, I'm home by myself for the next week as husband has embarked on a road trip to visit friends and family north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Maybe I shouldn't even announce such a thing. Who knows? Some serial ax murderer might be reading this and getting ideas....(Did I mention my huge pit bull/rottweiler-cross dog I have named Cujo yet?) I HATE being left alone. I always freak myself out for the first couple of nights before settling in. I'm going to call everyone I know as soon as I get offline to help ease the transition. No forensic shows for me tonight!

Apparently I can't spell anymore. Just about every sentence has a word underlined in red. I'm out of practice.

It's hard to believe it is March already. It seems like my last posting here was just a few weeks ago. I know I always keep the "busy" excuse handy for convenience sake, but I really have been busy. It seems like I haven't had time for anything (like posting on my LJ) lately.

But then what exactly has been consuming all my free time I couldn't say. I did rearrange some rooms in my house. I've been calling my sister every night after work because she's been laid up at home with a broken ankle. I've had a lot of doctor's appointments. I got new glasses. I got a new cell phone. I've been doing a lot of yard work. One weekend I helped at a Relay for Life fundraiser. Been watching A LOT of movies since JC and I switched from Directv to cable. We have Showtime and HBO now along with On Demand and a slew of other movie channels. I've been watching a lot of On Demand series too. Californication being my absolute favorite atm. Too much TV!!! I haven't been writing. Or drawing. Or out with my friends. I haven't been online except to check for any emails. I just can't believe it's March.

Update: I'm fine. Still an insomniac. I'm kinda at a standstill as far as losing weight goes. I guess it's time to hit the gym again. I haven't gotten a dog yet. Maybe for my birthday in June? I'm ready to take matters into my own hands if hubby doesn't come through. Husband is fine too btw. He's going to visit his father up in DC at the end of the month. All the cats are fine. Bunny is fine. She hasn't grown much in spite of the fact she eats like a horse. I'm thinking she's gonna stay little. I was hoping to have some new pics to post of her, but I haven't finished the film yet.
Yeah I still use film. What can I say?

Well I better scamper off to work. The sooner I go in, the sooner I can leave. What's everyone else been up to?

Forget the Easter bunny. Introducing Holly, the Christmas bunny!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/BeElleGee/000700212.jpg

My favorite Christmas present. Actually she arrived a little before Christmas Day, but that was okay by me. She's two months old and mostly dark (mink-colored) brown with lighter brown on her head. She's got black ears and black around her eyes and a black muzzle. She's just the cutest damn thing and so nice and cuddly. I love her to pieces needless to say. I'm bunny-less no more!

So present-wise, "Santa Claus" was very generous this year and got me all kinds of things on my wish list. Wish list as in Amazon.com's wish list. Very handy to have. I know I utilized my husband's lots and found it very helpful to be able to refer to.

As usual I ate way too much food (but it was all so scrumptious!) and way too much food I shouldn't have like pies and cupcakes and candy, cookies, etc. etc. John and I decided to use the rotisserie for cooking our turkey and man, did it come out fabulous! My green bean casserole was just right too! Miraculously I didn't gain any weight, but didn't lose anymore either. Naughty me.

My little Christmas get-together went off without a hitch and we all had lots of fun. Claudia, Maggie, Lori and Judy were there. Judy brought little Malori whom I hadn't seen since she was a few months old. She was walking and talking and entertaining us all. It was great seeing Judy again as I hadn't seen her in about a year and little Malori was just a doll and a half.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/BeElleGee/000700252.jpg

JC and I traveled to Ocala to spend the day with his mom on the 23rd. We had a nice meal with them and hung out and relaxed. It's soooo quiet out there where she lives it's almost surreal.

We made it back Christmas Eve and enjoyed a nice evening at home just the two of us. Christmas Day together was perfect. I think I want to spend all my Christmases at home from now on.

My eldest sister, who had been researching the family ancestry for over a year now finally had a major breakthrough of information and presented it to us all for Christmas. There's some incredible stuff! I'll have to get into more details later.

Carrie called and said she was in Port St. Lucie. We are planning to meet up sometime before New Year's. I'm anxious to see her. And Amya. She's talking now too!

My tree is still up and my outdoor Christmas lights are still twinkling each night. I don't think I'll take either down just yet. I think this weekend I'll go shopping with my gift cards and my extra cash.

All right, I've rambled enough this time. All comments regarding Holly's cuteness may now commence.

I compile this list with an air of authority and Christmas music expertise. I probably have more Christmas music on hand than most normal people simply because my husband procured a vast collection working at the radio stations he did. So I have probably listened to more different music than most. Out of that collection, there's just some albums and some songs I have to hear /every/ Christmas or the holiday just isn't complete.

Some of these are not only my favorite Christmas songs, but favorite renditions of my favorite Christmas songs. For example, Silent Night is on nearly every artist's Christmas CD, but Aaron Neville, hands down, has the best version of it on his CD I've ever heard.

Oh, and they aren't in any particular order--just as I think of them.

1. Stylistics "I Wanna Be Wrapped in Your Arms This Christmas"
Yes, I'm in love, and if you're in love with a special someone, you know the best Christmas present ever is have that person by your side to curl up with at Christmas time.

2. Steven Curtis Chapman "The Music of Christmas"
This is just one of those songs that makes your heart swell when you hear it--like a good anthem.

3. Aaron Neville "Silent Night"
This man's voice is simply angelic and when applied to this simple holiday carol, this song is transformed into something truly inspirational.

4. Michael Crawford "O Holy Night"
This is on the same level as Aaron Neveille's version of "Silent Night". It's a common holiday classic but no one sings it quite like Mr. Crawford. His voice just blows you away.

5. Manheim Steamroller "Carol of the Birds"
Out of all the Christmas music this band does, this is by far my favorite.

6. Amy Grant "Emmanuel"
Just beautiful and beautifully sung.

7. The Waitresses "Christmas Wrapping"
A rather eighties-sounding song, but fun to hear. I always crank this one up when it comes on Sirius.

8. Andy Williams "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
Here's another heart swelling song and no one seems to give it as much warmth as Andy Williams.

9. Nat King Cole "The Christmas Song"
No one does this classic like Nat King Cole. No one comes close. The man's voice is velvet.

10. Harry Connick Jr. "When My Heart Finds Christmas"
Romance and Christmas go hand in hand to me and here's a song that fits that bill. Makes me want to cuddle in front of a fireplace beside a twinkling tree.

Honorable mentions go out to Josh Groban with "Believe" from the movie soundtrack of "The Polar Express". Beautiful. A song that captures the magic and meaning of Christmas on many levels. Then there's Ringo Starr "I Wanna Be Santa Claus". It's fun, what can I say? Kenny G's version of "Silver Bells" also holds a special place in my heart because it brings back certain warm fuzzy memories I have. That's what Christmas music is all about isn't it?

Well there you go. Now when you happen to hear these songs by chance this season, think of me and give them an extra close listen.

Merry Christmas everyone. Stay safe and healthy. Catch you all on the flip side.

I got out of work early Saturday so I ventured out and picked up a tree. I opted for a white pine this year because a) it was cheaper b) I was tired of getting pierced by dried-out tree needles when it came time to take it down, and c) they were just so full and bushy and pretty I couldn't resist. White pines have skinny, flimsy branches and can only handle lightweight ornaments, but I made due. I had enough lightweight ornaments to make it look nice and full. I am happy with it.

Sunday I finished my outdoor lights. My house is glowing and blinking now.

I'm having a small party/get-together at my place Saturday and have some cooking and baking to do, but after that, I should just be able to kick back and relax and enjoy the season.

Life is good.

Okay, I've been sick since November 14th. Enough already. I want to be healthy! I had a stomach bug that made me queasy and achy for five days straight. I had a brief reprieve the day before Thanksgiving where I actually felt normal, but Thanksgiving night, I started with the runny nose, sore throat thing. And I've had this head cold ever since. Needless to say, it's been hard getting motivated to do anything. All I want to do in my spare time is lay around and focus on breathing.

And I haven't been sleeping well at all. Sometimes I get so congested--mostly at night--that I can't breathe except through my mouth. This past week I've gotten better to the point where I can breath almost normally, I'm still congested and have that snuffly voice, and I still have to blow my nose every fifteen minutes.

I haven't been this sick in ages. And here I thought quitting smoking would actually help stave off these kinds of infections. I think I'm going to have to break down and go to the doctor, but then what could he do for me really? I've tried just about everything sinus/cold related on the market. I just read in the paper this morning how antibiotics have no effect on sinusitis. I'm just so ready to be done with this. I want to get my house decorated. I want to start baking. I want to go get a tree. I want to have a party.

Alright. Enough whining. (Should you feel so inclined, well-wishes and sympathy will now be accepted.)

So, what's the secret to keeping the sweet potatoes from flying all over the place when you take the suggested electric mixer to them? Why don't recipes inform you about important things like that? Why do they just assume everyone already knows what they're doing? And how "just until melted" is sugar mixed with Karo melted? I'm thinking it means you heat it until all traces of sugar is gone, but forty minutes later I'm still heating and stirring on low heat and there's the sugar, still plain as day.

I got nearly all my Christmas shopping done yesterday! There were tonz of pre-holiday sales going on yesterday and I cleaned up! I only have two more presents to buy now, but if a certain someone doesn't get around to sending me his new address, he's gonna be getting a lump of coal this year.

Well, I'm off to make coffee and grab a little something to eat.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I can't /believe/ tomorrow is Thanksgiving! It really does seem like last week I was looking for a wig for my Halloween costume. I can't even tell you what I have actually been doing to make the time go by so fast. Then in four weeks or so--it's Christmas. Good grief.

I've got today off so I'm venturing out to the mall to see if I can't knock a few things off my shopping lists. I have to get my Thanksgiving pies made today, plus get an early start on this new sweet potato casserole recipe I'm trying. Husband and I are feeling adventurous this year and are trying not one, not two, but THREE new recipes! It'll be just me and him for Thanksgiving, but we feel deserving of nothing less than a spectacular dinner. Anybody who knows me knows I'm not one for cooking, but I can't leave it all to John--it'd be too much for him to do. So keep your fingers crossed for me. Then again, I may surprise myself.

To all of you out there celebrating the holiday, have a great one! I'll catch y'all on the flip side.

Of course, my weekend includes Mondays which I have off instead of Saturday. Remember whenever I refer to one of my weekends, it means Sunday and Monday.

And already everything I had planned for today has fallen apart. I hate that.

I am most upset about not being able to see Carrie one last time before she leaves. I have tried to contact her all week to no avail. I had been calling her apartment and leaving messages on her machine only to find out yesterday morning from Claudia that Carrie and her husband aren't even living there anymore. I got Carrie's new cell phone number from Claudia and tried that, but once again had to leave a message. It's almost three-thirty in the afternoon so it's pretty safe to say I probably won't get to see Carrie. She's leaving tomorrow. Now I'm to the point where I'd be happy just to get a phone call.

John told me it was probably for the best--seeing her for the last time before she moved at Marguerite's party where we were all laughing and happy. I don't know. I'm still bummed about that.

And then after my plans of spending the afternoon with Carrie I was going to work in my yard. Plans for Saturday night got shifted to tonight however and besides it rainy and Godawful humid out there.

Hopefully my final plans for tonight won't fall through. JC and I are going out to dinner and then catching the 7:45 showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D. That should be fun at least, but I won't be sure we're actually going until we are on 95 heading for the theater...

I finished the last of my candy corn today. That bag lasted me three weeks since I only allowed my self a handful everyday. I have been wracked with guilt for even buying it, let alone actually consuming it, but damn I love the stuff and this is the only time of year I can find the Brach's kind. I'll try to ease my conscience by a couple of trips to the gym this week.

I suppose I better get in the shower and start getting ready to go. I've already done my nails and used up the very last of my Always Ascher polish. Very Goth. I love it. Keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully next posting I'll be able to tell everyone about the movie and all the shrimp I devoured beforehand.

Yesterday was good. I spent the morning watching a "Leave It To Beaver" marathon on TVLand cause I couldn't sleep. When JC finally woke up I started cleaning and then ran to the store to find a card for Carrie. Not much of selection at two different stores but I grabbed one with Snoopy on it just because I was running out of time and had to get home before everyone arrived. (Turned out when Carrie opened it she praised me for remembering how much she liked Snoopy. I hadn't, but of course I didn't tell her that!)

Marguerite loved her little impromptu party and we all had a good time just sitting around talking. No one could bear the thought of it being the last time we were going to see Carrie before she left so we all decided to go to her house the day before she goes to say good-bye. I'm glad cause it would have made Marguerite's birthday party a downer if hadn't.

Today I've been locked away in my little "studio" working on a commission for a writer who contacted me a few weeks ago. I pretty much have her drawing done, maybe another two, three hours on it and it will be complete. I sent her what I had now to get her approval. Hopefully she likes it and I won't have to re-do the whole thing. I like it-- which is why I got farther on it than I normally would have before sending it out for approval.

Regardless, I need to stop working on it and take a break and get away from it for awhile. Now when I go back to it I'll be able to spot things I want to change on it. And give the author time to respond to my email.

I'm feeling better than I was previous entry. I wanted to let everyone know who responded to me that I appreciated your comments. They helped me sort things out.

(Warning: Much moping ahead)

I haven't even felt like getting online lately. For the past month or so everything's been the same, nothing exciting or even vaguely interesting going on anywhere, and everyone I know and love has been inaccessible--even relatives. I've pretty much given up IMing anyone again because for some peculiar reason, even when friends are online, they don't answer me. Nobody's emailed me. Nobody calls. I feel abandoned lately.

So I'm depressed. Been depressed and lonely already. I think I've come to the conclusion that you really can't make friends online. After all, what are they really? Words on a screen, a voice on the phone? I guess that's all I am to them. Not really real. I come to care about these people and think I'm having a bonafide friendship with them and then they just decide to slip out of my life, never to be heard from again.

To make matters worse, Carrie (a real friend) is moving away in two weeks. Away to North Carolina. Pretty far away. I'll be lucky if I get to see her once a year now. We (the girl gang) are going to try to get together tomorrow for Marguerite's birthday and hopefully we do, because I don't think I'll get the chance to see Carrie before she leaves otherwise. It's all very sad when a close friend moves away. The gang just won't be the same without her.

Tomorrow it's back to the grind (work). It's good to be home again though. I missed my kitties terribly.

I also missed my computer. No computer access for nine days. Ouch. I did manage to call Claudia Tuesday night to check up on the boys, but that was it. When JC and I weren't in the pool, we were on the beach. If we weren't in the pool or on the beach we were out at one of the clubs, Dynamites or Ducks.

We must have seen thirty bands/artists all of the Carolina Beach Music persuasion. We met quite a few too. Several did liners for JC's internet station. (See my list of links for a listen at Hot100USA.) If we weren't beachside or at the clubs, we were at restaurants. Omg, the seafood buffets out there are to die for. I had shrimp and crab legs till I popped.

Thursday was a sucky weather day, forcing us to the indoor pools--which were cold as ice water. We found an indoor lazy river that was heated and played in that for a good part of the morning. JC kept catching my inner tube and spinning it out of control giving me glimpses of his teenage-boyhood. I'm sure he tormented girls mercilessly then.

A chance discovery at one of the local grocery stores was the first season of Hill Street Blues on dvd. I was thrilled and spent the wee hours of the morning unwinding from the days activities watching them.

The condo was nice. On the twelfth floor. Much better than a standard hotel room. This was more like a small apartment. We opted to cook breakfast and lunch there several days instead of eating out constantly. Three pools outside. Hot tubs and jacuzzis. A weight room. Seaside bars. Ah yes, the stuff vacations are made of. The condo's balcony offered a beautiful view of the ocean. At night you could see the lights from ships miles away.

Still, like I said, it's good to be home.

I thought it was going to be a fitful night of sleep last night because my back was killing me and for the longest time I couldn't get comfortable. However, I got up after fidgeting for an hour and took two aspirin (just about the only pain reliever left for me) and damned if it didn't do the trick. About twenty minutes later, I fell asleep and actually slept through the night. I woke up this morning at a reasonable time, curled comfortably around my little cat, actually feeling refreshed. Such a rarity for me! Ah, good ole aspirin. Who would have thunk it?

My new medicating regime that I was put on by various doctors seems to be doing the trick--as far as doing what they are supposed to. Just after two months I've experienced a noticeable difference. I was told it would take about six months, but the results are undeniably there now. Yay.

On another note, I was able to download a new version of AOL Instant Messaging after several previously failed attempts. I am anxious to try it out. Hopefully it will work better than my last version--which barely worked at all. Now if I can only find someone online at the same time willing to talk to me.

Two weeks before vacation! I'm excited. This is going to be one of those bonafide fun-in-sun getaways. JC and I are going to Myrtle Beach for the SOS Beach Music festival there. We rented a condo in North Myrtle Beach so there will be lots of sunning and swimming during the day. At SOS there will be music, concerts, and parties to attend at night. Also all kinds of great nearby restaurants and shops. We haven't had a real vacation like this together in nearly three years. I'm soooo ready for it!

John's mom is coming down this weekend for a bit. I haven't seen her in months. We have plans to have lunch together, but she'll be leaving afterwards so it won't be much of a visit. Oh well. It's still motivating me to clean my house and mow the grass and make everything ship shape. Let's face it, the only time my house gets cleaned is when someone is coming over. Isn't that sad? LOL

I finally got around to updating Purple Passions. I've had that commissioned drawing of Damian stashed since early July but have been too busy (read lazy) to get it up on the site. Well it's up now on the artwork page, so go check it out and try not to push and shove any small children on your way there.

What probably really prompted this update was winning the Titanium Whip Award. I'm still shocked by that. I posted my shiny new banner on my awards page (the same one pictured here as a matter of fact) but go look at it there too.

That'd be it for this time, but as mentioned on my news page, I just finished The Harlequin and despite being severely bored with it at times, I didn't hate it and will most likely read the next book when it comes out. Gods, hopefully it will have more of the main guys in it--my biggest complaint with Harlequin--otherwise I'm gonna have to rethink my devotion.

The Titanium Whip Awards results are in! I won!



I'd like to thank whomever it was that nominated my humble fic, Wicked Ways, and to all those who voted for it. This made my day!

Okay, so my Simpsons' character drawing doesn't look like me so much anymore now that I got all my shoulder-length hair cut off this afternoon. I haven't had it this short since the Army. I like it though, it looks good. Age-appropriate without being dowdy or soccer mommish. I don't have any pics yet, but I'm going to a wedding this weekend and there'll be lots of camera's clicking, I'm sure.

I think the heat this summer definitely was a factor in this decision and the fact for the last month and a half my hair has been giving me fits. Nothing but lank frizz just hanging down looking like an unstyled mess all the time. And the longer it got, the more stringy it got too. It became obvious it wasn't going to look like I wanted it to long. So, what to do? Go short. But cut in a particular style, not just a short version of what I already had. My stylist helped me decide what to do with it and brought up some good points. It's baby fine, so a shorter style took the weight off and made it look fuller. It's curly, so the short style also unleashed its tendency to curl. Better to work with your assets than against them. Too bad it has taken me years to realize this when it came to my unfortunate hair.