A Day In The Life....

Since I've been doing a "day in the life" kind of thing on Thursdays, I thought I'd stick with that today and show you what we're dealing with.

I posted a few of these pics on FB but thought I'd share them here too. The first picture was taken about 9:00 Wed. morning. If you look at the pond, you can see how low the water level is (which is actually much higher than it was before we got 5" of rain on Monday).












The second picture is taken from the same place, but two hours later. Yay, our pond is full. LOL In fact, our pond runeth over.












The third was taken from the pond, looking back toward the house.





I'm actually posting this at 10:35 on Wed., so I'll give ya'll an update when I wake up Thursday morning.


Have a great day!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

Hump Day Humor....

This has gone around for a while, but I still like it. :)

Bottle of Wine

A woman and a man are involved in a car accident on a snowy, cold Monday morning; it's a bad one. Both of their cars are totally demolished, but amazingly neither of them is hurt. God works in mysterious ways.

After they crawl out of their cars, the man is yelling about women drivers.

The woman says, 'So, you're a man. That's interesting. I'm a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There's nothing left, but we're unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should be friends and live in peace for the rest of our days.'

Flattered, the man replies, 'Oh yes, I agree completely, this must be a sign from God! But you're still at fault...women shouldn't be allowed to drive.'

The woman continues, 'And look at this, here's another miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of wine didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune. She hands the bottle to the man.

The man nods his head in agreement, opens it and drinks half the bottle and then hands it back to the woman.

The woman takes the bottle, puts the cap back on and hands it back to the man.

The man asks, 'Aren't you having any?'

The woman replies, 'No. I think I'll just wait for the police...'

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Women are clever, evil bitches.
Don't mess with them.

Have a great hump day!!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

Food For Thought...

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

Sir Winston Churchill

This is a refreshing thought. I don't have to be the smartest gal in the group, and I'll NEVER be the strongest, no matter how much I work out. But I can still succeed. :) I like to hear that!

Hope it's a great Tuesday!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

What I'm Reading....

You will never believe this, but I'm STILL reading Sin Undone! *gasp*

I know!!

Things have just been so hectic - mostly due to my serious lack of organization - that I haven't had a chance to read much. I did read for the entire 1.5 hour wait time at Duke and am far enough into it now, that I'll probably make it a priority.

Even over my own writing. LOL

How about you? What's on your reading list for the weekend?

I hope it's a great weekend for everyone!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

Duke Day

Hubby had his MRI about 3 weeks ago (because he was having seizures and really not feeling well they bumped it up ahead of schedule), so we already know everything should be okay with this appointment.

But...prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated anyway if you can spare them. :) I know they won't hurt.

I'll give you guys an update when I get back this evening.

Until then, I'll leave with another day of humor.

"THE BLONDE AND THE COW"

A blond City girl named Amy marries a Colorado rancher.

One morning, on his way out to check on the cows, the rancher says to Amy, "The insemination man is coming over to impregnate one of our cows today, so I drove a nail into the 2 by 4 just above where the cow's stall is in the barn. Please show him where the cow is when he gets here, OK?"

The rancher leaves for the fields. After a while, the artificial insemination man arrives and knocks on the front door.

Amy takes him down to the barn. They walk along the row of cows and when Amy sees the nail, she tells him, "This is the one right here."

The man, assuming he is dealing with an air head blonde, asks, "Tell me lady, 'cause I'm dying to know; how would YOU know that this is the right cow to be bred?"

"That's simple," she said. "By the nail that's over its stall," she explains very confidently.

Laughing rudely at her, the man says, "And what, pray tell, is the nail for?"

The blonde turns to walk away and says sweetly over her shoulder, "I guess it's to hang your pants on."


(It's nice to see a blonde winning once in awhile.)


Have a great day!!!
Peace and Love,
Alannah

Food For Thought...

"We often think of enthusiasm as caused by an external event. However, it can be generated from within, becoming an intentional action for transforming virtually anything in our lives. Enthusiasm can take the seemingly small, dull, boring, or unimportant and turn it into something new and magnificent. Learn to strengthen the muscle of your enthusiasm, letting the tiny become great, and you will reclaim your energy and passion." -- Anat Baniel


Liza - you and your family have been in my thoughts.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

What I'm Reading...

Here are the cover and details from Brenda Novak's website:

White Heat Paradise? In name only…

Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop are operatives for Department 6, a private security company, and they’re going undercover to expose a new and dangerous cult.

This group has taken up residence in the Arizona desert, in a ghost town called Paradise. Members worship at the feet—and in the bed--of its charismatic leader, Ethan Wycliff. On his orders, they tried to stone a woman to death. And they’re implicated in the disappearance of a teenage girl.

To expose the Church of the Covenant, with its arcane rituals and debauched practices, Nate and Rachel must pretend to be married. That’s the only way they can get in—but being Nate’s “wife” is the last thing Rachel wants. She and Nate have a one-night history that’s just an embarrassment to her now. But they don’t have a choice. Wycliff has to be stopped.

I'm not very far into it, but so far it's great! The reviews for it have been awesome so I expect it to only get better. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

Meet The Ten Finalists

Maeve Greyson, one of the competitors in the Kensington Brava competition "stumbled" across this. She posted it on Twitter, and I hijacked the link. LOL

Romantic Times has posted the photos and bios of the ten finalists in the Writing With the Stars Contest. If you have time, drop by and check it out.

Silver, I hope you use the day to recover so you'll be ready to go again tomorrow!!

Have a fantastic Thursday everyone!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

Food for thought...

"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."

Bertie Charles Forbes


Peace and love,
Alannah

A Day In The Life....

Today, I thought I'd share a story (or two) about my uncle. I tried to load a picture I had taken yesterday, but apparently Blogger doesn't want you to see it.

If we're FB friends, you might have already seen the first one. The second, I probably should tell - or admit that he's my uncle - but I'm going to anyway. LOL

We were watching the news the other night and they were talking about the terrible drug war in Mexico. From out of the corner of the room, I hear, "Your Uncle Larry spent a night in a Mexican jail once."

I whip my head around so I'm facing him and said, "No, you didn't?"

My mom (his sister) and his wife start nodding their heads and he's grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah, I did."

"Why?"

"hehehe...for cheering for the bull. We damn near started a riot."

Today, I found out he also spent a weekend in a county jail in Kentucky. Believe it or not, my uncle spent years and years and years in law enforcement. LOL But this was back when he was young and really stupid.

He got caught driving under the influence on his way back to Fort Knox. They threw him in the county jail early one Saturday morning. And he didn't see anyone again until Monday morning!! Whoever was supposed to come in and feed him over the weekend, never showed. LMAO

Needless to say, the judge let him go and squared everything with his commanding officer at Fort Knox to get the AWOL charges dropped too.

All day, every day, is one story after another like that. That's why I always have my tape recorder at the ready. You never know when a gem of a story is going to get told.

Have a great day!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

Hump Day Humor....

An elderly couple, Margaret and Bert, moved to Texas.

Bert always wanted a pair of authentic cowboy boots, so, seeing some on sale, he bought them and wore them home.

Walking proudly, he sauntered into the kitchen and said to his wife, "Notice anything different about me?"

Margaret looked him over. "Nope."

Frustrated, Bert stormed off into the bathroom, undressed and walked back into the kitchen completely naked except for the boots.

Again he asked Margaret, a little louder this time, "Notice anything different NOW?"

Margaret looked up and said in her best deadpan, "Bert, what's different? It's hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday, it'll be hanging down again tomorrow."

Furious, Bert yelled, "AND DO YOU KNOW WHY IT'S HANGING DOWN, MARGARET?"

"Nope. Not a clue", she replied.

"IT'S HANGING DOWN, BECAUSE IT'S LOOKING AT MY NEW BOOTS!!!!"

Without missing a beat, Margaret replied, "Shoulda' bought a hat, Bert. Shoulda' bought a hat."

LMAO!!!

Have a great Hump Day!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

Food For Thought...

"Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. You must be able to sustain yourself against staggering blows. There is no code of conduct to help beginners. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent."

Sophia Loren

AMEN!!! LOL

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday. I'm traveling today, a bitter-sweet trip. I'm headed to Ohio to see my uncle. My mom is there, and we always have a great time when we all get together, laughing, joking, telling stories.

But it's very likely this is the last time I'm going to see my uncle and that realization is about to break my heart.

So...if y'all wouldn't mind sending me some good, positive thoughts and virtual hugs while I make this drive, I'd be most appreciative. Once I get there, I'm sure it'll be easier. It's just the drive, and way too much time to think, that's going to be rough on me.

Hugs to all of you!!
Peace and love,
Alannah

What I'm Reading...

This is sort of a repeat from last week. Last week, I was wishing I was reading SIN UNDONE. I went to B&N this week and got it, but I haven't had a chance to read much of it yet. I mean, in 3 or 4 days, I've only read about 20 pages. :(

I got my challenges back from HelenKay today, so I'll be working on those this weekend, getting everything wrapped up and ready to submit by the beginning of next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to sneak in a little reading time betwen rewrites. That'll be my motivation for getting focused and getting them done. LOL

How about you? How many books have you read since last week? LOL

Have a great Labor Day Weekend everyone!!!

Peace and love,
Alannah

So What Happens When...

Thanks again to everyone who came out and helped me celebrate yesterday. I had way too much fun. No, really...I had way too much fun! LOL

I didn't have time to get a blog post together, and this morning I'm feeling the after-effects of all the celebrations. *grins* So, to keep it simple, I'm going to share with you what's on my mind, and what I'll be doing today.

Most of you know that I'm extremely fortunate and live in eastern North Carolina. My permanent home is in inland about 40 miles, but we also have a river cottage on the Pamlico River, about 3 miles inland from the Pamlico Sound. About 30 miles due east of Cape Hatteras - that's the important marker for all this. LOL

If you don't watch the news on a regular basis you might not know about Earl. A powerful Cat 4 hurricane headed in our direction. The official forecast has it staying about 50 miles off-shore, but this storm is so big I don't think the residents of Hatteras are taking much comfort in that 50 mile cushion.

How does this affect me?



See that beautiful pier? In the past, when a storm has approached and been forecast to hit the coast from the south, we've taken that pier up. It's built in 4' sections, so we start at the end by the big deck, unbolt it, load it on a handtruck, wheel it up to the edge of shore where it's loaded onto a trailer and moved to our back lot across the road.

If we don't do that, and we get it with pounding waves, we lose the pier.

But this is Labor Day weekend, and we don't want to have to spend a full day putting the pier back down. So...SIL, FIL and I, are going down this morning to get the boat and jetski out of the water, secure everything outside, then spend the day tracking the storm.

If it shifts to the west, we'll spend the evening taking up the pier. If it maintains its current track, and really does seem like it's going to stay off-shore, we're going to cross our fingers and hope the water rise in the Pamlico is slow and gentle enough that it comes over the pier without beating against it.

I hope everyone all along the eastern seaboard stays safe with this storm. We've been through enough of them (as many as 2-3 in one year!) to know they can be unpredictable and no fun!


On a side note: Some of you know my hubby has been sick for the past week. As a precaution, they did his MRI 3 weeks early, just to check and make sure everything was okay (He's been having some blurry vision, headaches, nausea). The MRI looked great! They now think it could be the new medicine they've put him on that's making him sick. I just wanted to go ahead and give that update while I was thinking about it.

So what does everyone else have going on?

UPDATE: Pier is now coming up. *sigh* I'll check in tonight when I get back.

Have a great Thursday!!

Peace and love,
Alannah