Weekend

Even with all my own personal drama, I still managed to see the silver lining this weekend. Saturday bloomed a nice cool day reminding me how much I love the fall, though Sunday became a blazing hot day that shows how bad August can be. When stopping by for a visit at my favorite Starbucks, I treated myself to a pumpkin spice latte. Yes, definitely that time of year and I choose to ignore Peggy's comment concerning the 500 calories in my drink. Pumpkin spice anything puts me in a good mood. Sunday also brought an enjoyable lunch with Peggy, Delia, and Tammy as well. The rest of my weekend I spent cat-sitting these adorable monsters. Count them, there are four of these wild playful kids who were so entertaining. The bulk of my weekend was spent readingMockingjay, which is wow! a great ending to the series. I really struggled with remembering I had other things to do after reading page 134.

Another Round

Monkey Business Not my favorite Cary Grant movie featuring Marilyn Monroe, who I did enjoy.

The Vanishing I'm sorry the lead looked too much like Robert Downey Jr. I couldn't get passed it. The villain was great in this French version of the film and the ending is great.

American Dreamer Made in the 1980s, it's a cute romp of an amnesia victim who takes on the persona of a romance book heroine. Certain situations hit a little too close to the mark though.

Lonestar I debated what rating to give this one. A great commentary on life in a border town and the dynamic between whites, blacks, and Mexicans during a multi-decade story. Includes a murder mystery with a surprising twist at the end, which has nothing to do with the murder. All I can say is eeeewwww!

Your Type

As we worked out last night, Becky and I were discussing types of men we find attractive. I have to qualify by saying watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban sparked this conversation. These are the types of talks we have as we work out. It makes the time go by quickly.

Back to my point. We realized I'm drawn to the bad boy every time. It doesn't matter whether its tv shows, movies, books, people we meet. Bad boys have a certain appeal to me. We deduced it relates to the fact that they take what they want and damn the consequences. Obviously not long term appeal, since no one can claim hubby is a bad boy. Whereas, Becky finds herself attracted to men with issues, who she can fix. I can see it. She's such a caring giving person that, of course, she wants to help people.

So what type of man appeals to you? I'm not discussing long term commitment here, but the fantasy guy.

Crankiness

Just to make it clear, I underwent surgery 14 weeks ago. I should be on the road to recovery and enjoying my new outlook on life. But during my 10th week, I developed a whole new symptom that was rather unpleasant and effects everyday living. After seeing two different doctors and taking meds, etc, they were sure they knew what was wrong and of course, it had nothing to do with the accident that happened during my surgery. Imagine my surprise today to learn, I have to now undergo further testing because my symptoms seem to be related to the injury I sustained during the previous surgery. I'm a little put out because I had willingly accepted the previous diagnosis and was going along with the doc's recommendations, only to discover we may be on the wrong path. In a few weeks, I'll go through another "minor" procedure that will tell us which diagnosis is applicable. The worst part is both issues require corrective surgery. Didn't I already go through all this, the symptoms, tests, meds, procedures, and finally surgery. It feels vaguely familiar. At this point, I'm counting down to the end of the year.

Oldies but Goodies

Kay has her Memories Schmemories section where she periodically returns to some of her favorites to see if they stand the test of time. I recently decided to check back in with two of my favorite heroes to see if I still feel the same passion for them.

In Lisa Kleypas Dreaming of You, we are introduced to Derek Craven, who many have voted the most romantic hero. He is the anti-hero of the worst sort, he grew up in the slums and gladly admits he became a prostitute, grave robber, and gambler to acquire his wealth. Within the first five pages, his face is slashed due to his treatment of a married woman.

J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts has recently published her 30th title in the In Death Series, which began with Eve Dallas meeting the mysterious Rourke in Naked in Death. Roarke is an unknown quantity, who slowly over the series reveals his past, which includes being a petty criminal, smuggler, and murderer.

Yet both of these villains discover that love can make you a better man. I realized though Derek Craven is a historical hero and Roarke is a futuristic hero, both men keep mementos from the women in their lives without realizing the significance of having a piece of her. Derek keeps a pair of Sara's glasses, while Roarke carries a button from Eve's suit through the entire series. Revisiting both of these characters has been fun and yes, I still believe they are great heroes. If you haven't read either book, I highly recommend them.

Music Scene

In my 30 something years of living in Florida, I rarely checked out the music scene. It never really held any appeal for me to see local bands perform when I could go to big concerts. I had no idea of what I was missing. Since moving to Indiana, I have met numerous people who are involved in bands and have felt a want to show my support by attending some of their performances. In the past month alone, I have seen four local groups perform and I have to say I am enjoying the Fort music scene. This weekend, I attended my first Rock the Plaza to watch Erik's band, The Rockefeller Four, play. Though I knew none of the lyrics, I did enjoy the beat. I felt like a groupie when they did a shout out to all the librarians in the crowd. Figures! The gals and I are planning a return visit to listen to Tested on Animals over Labor Day weekend. Let us know if you are interested in going with us. Another group I would love to see again is the End Times Spasm Band. And yes, I am already pleading for dance partners when attending their performance.

Vacay in the Fort

Michelle spent the past weekend in the Fort visiting me. When I'm with Michelle, I revert back to flirty party girl mode. It's not a bad thing, but it did lead to us spendng three evenings checking out the bar scene in the Fort. We enjoyed the karaoke scene initially before moving on to some bands. I enjoyed Crush while Mich, Becky, and Erin seem to like rocking out to Tested on Animals, who did give a shout out to our table, while we sang along with them.

I surprised Michelle with a trip to the zoo, which is always fun. We had a spa day with Erin and Becky where we were pampered to the point of exhaustion. Afterwards we had a fabulous lunch and desert and then a nap time break before heading out for a wild night of partying. We dressed to the nine's for our evening out, which made me realize how much I prefer my jeans and blouse outfit. Sunday brought about a shopping expedition that produced way too many bags.

Overall a great weekend with Michelle, who is an amazing friend for visiting the Fort. Erin and Becky are great for spending Sat with us. We had a blast!