Aura's Antics
Saturday, March 24, 2007
In Loving Memory
To Sunny Jim, you were the best grandpa a girl could have and you'll be deeply missed!
**
My grandfather passed away last night around 2 am. I fly back to Florida on Monday to attend his funeral and take care of my family. This is a tough time for us right now so I appreciate your prayers. Hugs to all! I should be back next Saturday.
Labels: Tough Times
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Currently Reading
I started a new book last night called The Nymph King. I'm two pages in (I was pretty tired last night) but so far the hero is hot! And verile. LOL Here's what it's about...Enter a world of dark seduction and powerful magic . . . enter Atlantis . . .
Females young and old, beautiful and plain crave Valerian's touch. None can resist his blatant sensuality and potent allure . . . until he steals Shaye Holling from a Florida beach and holds her prisoner in his underwater kingdom.
The cynical Shaye wants nothing to do with the mighty warlord, but she's inexplicably drawn to him. For underneath the warrior's arrogant beauty lies a complex and powerful man. A man whose caress is like fire . . .
Now Valerian must fight for the privilege of claiming her as his own. Because there's one thing Shaye doesn't know . . . once a nymph finds his true mate, she's his forever.
Have any of you read this book? What did you think? What are you reading now?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Kids, Don't Try This At HomeI love funny stories and am compelled to share them when they happen to me. If you're already feeling like you're in for it, well... you are.
So last Sunday, my beau and I took his two youngest boys out for dinner at Beau's favorite teriyaki restaurant. Dinner was good, but there was just so much food! Of course I had a to-go box. No big deal, right? Well this particular restaurant serves mints with the check. I took a mint. Whew... it was strong! I had just about made it out to the car when I realized that the mint was far too strong for me to finish. So I took it out of my mouth. But where to put it? No trash can in sight and we're at the car. I stuck it in the to-go box and promptly forgot about it. Beau took the boxes home with him.
Yesterday, Beau brings the boxes to work and asks me to join him for left-over teriyaki lunch. (Romantic, I know) Anyhow, I went. When I got to his work site, he was already heating up the lunches in the to-go box. No bells were going off in this girl's head... We sat down to lunch and I start eating.
Oddly enough, my rice tastes more like mint than teriyaki. So does the chicken. It takes me about 4 minutes to figure out that I'd left the mint (the one that went completely out of my memory) in the box! But the mint is no longer there. It evaporated in the microwaving process and infused itself into the teriyaki rice and chicken!!!
Now I'm laughing hysterically and have to share this crazy story with Beau and his oldest son who is also there. I tell them I'm brilliant. They agree but I'm not sure they mean it. I set the to-go box down on the file cabinet we're using for a table (I did mention this was a romantic lunch, right?) and Beau gets a good whiff of my minty-teriyaki lunch. He nearly gags and demands to know how I can eat it. Then promptly throws it away.
At this point, I can't eat his because his entree is already gone. Looks like lunch is over. He invites me to lunch on Friday to see if I can top this story. Of course, I accept. Who wouldn't?
So kids, don't try this at home. Not because it's dangerous by any stretch of the imagination but simply because the flavor combination of mint and teriyaki just isn't that good.
Who knew?
Labels: Odd Stories
Monday, March 12, 2007
A Book I'd Like To ReadI'm always joking about my to-be-read shelf breaking under the weight of how many books are on it (There's literally about 170) and my tendency to add more. Well, I've found another book that I want to buy. I think I'm going to have to sneak out and purchase it, else my roommate finds out and she threatens to take away all my books. LOL!
I found this particular book through Romance Designs which sends out daily excerpts from new books. This one caught my eye and the excerpts were great!
Eleven thousand years ago, before the seas swallowed the Atlantaens, Poseidon assigned a few chosen warriors to act as sentinels for humans in the new world. There was only one rule-desiring them was forbidden. But rules were made to be broken…
When she calls… Riley Dawson is more than a dedicated Virginia Beach social worker. She's blessed with a mind link that only Atlantaens have been able to access for thousands of years. Being an "empath" may explain her wistful connection to the roiling waves of the ocean, the sanctuary it provides, and the sexual urges that seem to emanate from fathoms below…
He will come. Conlan, the High Prince of Atlantis, has surfaced on a mission to retrieve Poseidon's stolen Trident. Yet something else has possessed Conlan: the intimate emotions-and desires-of a human. Irresistibly drawn to the uncanny beauty, Conlan soon shares more than his mind. But in the midst of a battle to reclaim Poseidon's power, how long can a forbidden love last between two different souls from two different worlds?
What books have caught your eye lately?
Labels: New Books
Friday, March 09, 2007
My SpaceYesterday I went against my own personal grain and signed up for a MySpace page. I did it because I was contacted by an old friend from Oklahoma who said she had a page and that I could check out her most recent pictures of her and her new baby. The only problem was, she had her page marked as private so the only way you could view it was to sign up.
Now I know that many authors are going to MySpace. It's a good communication tool and I get that. It still just seems like a place for kids and not a very good one at that! Maybe I'm wrong and the face of MySpace is changing. It still just seems so wrong! LOL I don't know how much I'm going to use it. But it's there. My screen name is AurroraStJames if anyone wants to take a gander. It's still the bare bones but we'll see what I do with it.
So how about you? How do you feel about MySpace and do you or will you have a page? What do you see as the possible benefits or downfall of a My Space page?
Labels: Ramblings
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Florida HighlightsFlorida was spectacular as I mentioned in the last post. Originally, John and I went down for two reasons. First was to go to my cousin Jenna's wedding. Second, so that he could meet my family. (I've already met almost all of his so it was time to reciprocate)
We flew into Orlando on Thursday, Feb. 15th and were picked up from the airport by my parents. They took us out to a great steak dinner and things went really well. Mom and Joe really liked John. The following day, mom took me to her hairdresser so that I could get some highlights and a long over-due hair cut. To say I was shaggy was an understatement! Everything was going fine until we got a flat tire on the way out of the parking lot! John and Joe had to come rescue us. LOL They put on the donut tire and it too was flat. Lesson learned: always make sure the donut has air in it.
Saturday we went to Tampa for my cousin's wedding.
It was beautiful and lots of fun. Especially when my 10 year old cousin pulled the fire alarm and everyone had to be evacuated just when they were serving dinner. LOL Here's a picture of John and I at the wedding:
From there we went to visit one of his dear friends who lives in Tampa and drove back to my mom's house that evening.
Monday we were picked up by my dad and step-mom and went to Kennedy Space Center. We couldn't have picked a more beautiful day for it either. The skies were clear and blue and the scenery was just amazing. I saw three alligators and a bald eagle just while we were driving around. The space center has changed a lot since I was last there about ten years ago. They have a lot more for people to see and do and John really liked it. The thing I liked best was the rocket garden. (John said he didn't know that they grew rockets.) *rolls eyes* What a goofball!
Did any of you ever go on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney? OMG, that's my dad's driving! John and I were holding on for dear life in the back seat. By the time we reached the restaurant where we were going to have dinner, I was cracking up. I wanted to jump out of the car and scream "LAND!" That man was all over the road, all over his lane, in the grass, not using turn signals... I swear he's getting worse with age. I told him so and Dad said that if I didn't like his driving then I should stay off the sidewalks. I swear he's as corny as John is. Hmmm... is there a pattern here?Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday John and I spent in St. Augustine with my mom and best friend Rhenae. It was so gorgeous with 70 degree weather and perfect blue skies. St. Augustine is the oldest city in America and has a lot of great history. We went to the old fort and saw Flagler College which used to be an old hotel. What a beautiful old city! Oh and mom paid for us to have a couple of rooms at a bed and breakfast right on the bay. 
(I was having fun with my camera in sepia tone)
So we were very busy but had a lot of fun. All of my family and friends liked John which was a very good thing. Then we came back to 40 degrees and rain and wondered what we were doing here. LOL
Later, John told me that it was the best vacation that he had ever had with a girlfriend because all of the previous vacations were disasters. He had an amazing time with me and that really meant a lot.
Next up: Dallas for the RWA National conference! Who's going?
Labels: Vacation
