Brrr.....

Antisthenes says that in a certain faraway land the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they are uttered, and after some time then thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer. ~Plutarch, Moralia

The floor is finished! And, yes, Charity -- I'll take pictures. First, though, I have to go get stuff to protect the floor before I move everything back in. I need to get some small rugs for under the bookcases, and some pad thingies for under the desk and a rug AND a plastic rolly thingie for under my chair. I'm down one bookcase, though -- it broke because I thought I could move it half full... ha. I gave it a tug and tipped it a bit and it fell apart. **sigh** Books are heavier than they look.

It's bitterly cold here. It's not so much the temperature, per se, but the high winds. On the weather site, it says we'll have a high of something like 27, but the real feel is in the single digits. It's miserable. We all have cabin fever, especially the dog. She's all but literally bouncing off the walls.

I'm taking the turkey out of the freezer today, and thawing it in my garage. One good thing about the cold weather: we have an extra fridge! LOL...

I'll brine the turkey overnight on Weds and then hopefully figure the baking time correctly. We have almost never had it done on time. You'd think with as many years as I've been cooking turkeys, I'd have that part down.

In any case, I'm behind again because of the flooring project, so will hopefully be spending the day working. It's tough -- both DH and DD (and Dd) have been VERY needy the past couple of days.

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You Are a Purple Crayon

Your world is colored in dreamy, divine, and classy colors. You hold yourself to a sky high standard, and you are always graceful. People envy, idolize, and copy you without realizing it. You are an icon for those who know you. And while it is hard to be a perfectionist, rest assured it's paying off! Your color wheel opposite is yellow. While yellow people may be wise, they lack the manners and class needed to impress you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

All of these quizzes make me sound like a stuck-up snob... I don't think I'm a stuck-up snob... lol

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Winners, Hardwood and a Very Unclever Title

The repose of sleep refreshes only the body. It rarely sets the soul at rest. The repose of the night does not belong to us. It is not the possession of our being. Sleep opens within us an inn for phantoms. In the morning we must sweep out the shadows. ~Gaston Bachelard

The winner of the drawing for a copy of Jeff Rivera's book from my blog post yesterday is.... (((drum roll))).... DRU!

Dru, would you email me (authormariannearkins AT gmail DOT com) your address, please? I'll have that sent out to you shortly.

Congratulations!

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DD woke me up the other night around 10pm... she opened the door to the bedroom and stood there, whispering. I kept saying, "What? What?" and then she walked away and went back to bed.

I followed and asked, "What were you saying?"

She replied, "Go to the belltower and wake me up."

Oooooooooh...kayyyyyyy....

The next morning, upon my questioning, she said she vaguley remembered doing that (but thought it was a dream) and said that she must have "Doomwyte" by Brian Jacques on the brain.

LOL

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Amy, I'm using Dynamic Learning Dreamweaver CS3 for my Dreamweaver tutorial. Judy is using the Photoshop equivalent, and we are both liking them. My DH (aka my Tech Support and computer nerd) always suggests using the O'Reilly books -- though some of them are absurdly complex if you're not a total techie.

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Yesterday was demo day upstairs. All the old carpet and edging (it's called something else, but for the life of me I can't remember the right word) was pulled up and the boxes of hardwood moved upstairs in preparation for today.

Today is the day it will be put down. We have 200 sq feet of wood. We have 164 sq feet of area. Please, please, please let us not mess up any of the cuts, because that is really cutting it close. (((fingers crossed)))

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It's freezing here. I know, it's the stupid frozen north, but this is ridiculous. Actually, it would probably be at least bearable if we didn't have frigid, gale force winds whipping through.

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What Your Cupcake Says About You

At parties, you tend to be laid back and even a bit shy. You are an observer. You have lots of restraint in your life. You never are victim to your desires. The most important thing in your life is passion. You are dominant, vain, and a bit of a show off. To know you is to worship you.

The Cupcake Test

HAHAHA.... approach me, oh minions, and bow down! **snort**

Okay, so the party part is right, but the rest? HAHAHA...

Sue me. I like chocolate... lol...

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Hardwood and JaNoWriMo

Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then. ~Katherine Hepburn

DH has decided (dear heavens...) that since we have 8 boxes of hardwood left over from the project in the foyer thingie, we should hardwood my new office. I don't disagree with him, exactly. The carpet is a mess (truthfully, the carpet in our house was "five year" carpet and we've had it for almost ten years ((!)), which is one reason we're replacing it all) and the hardwood will look lovely... except...

Except, I'm finally getting it all set up in there. I've unpacked boxes, filled up four books shelves, hung Dru's quilt on the wall... and I dread undoing all of that (especially the bookshelves). OTOH, it would be something to keep him busy the next set of days he has off (this coming Th-F-S-S) or the next set (the following Th-F-S-S).

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Okay folks, JaNoWriMo is a go! I'm pretty certain I have all of y'all's email addresses, so I'll shoot a joint email off today at some point to discuss the deets. Dru asked if non-writers would be able to join whatever group we have in order to cheer us on, so that's one thing to bring under discussion (though I'm certain all of us will discuss our amazing progress on our respective blogs as well).

This is who I have down as probably going to participate (feel free to tell your friends, the more the merrier):

Ceri
Amy
Charity
Sarita
Melissa
and... me!!

Woot!

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You Are Scissors

Sharp and brilliant, you can solve almost any problem with that big brain of yours. People fear your cutting comments - and your wit is famous for being both funny and cruel. Deep down, you tend to be in the middle of an emotional storm. Your own complexity disturbs you. You are too smart for your own good. Slow down a little - or you're likely to hurt yourself. You can cut a paper person down to pieces. The only person who can ruin you is a rock person. When you fight: You find your enemy's weak point and exploit it. If someone makes you mad: You'll do everything you can to destroy their life

Are You Rock, Paper, or Scissors?

Muh-ha-ha.... don't make me mad! LOL...

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Tiling, Flooring and Trailers R Us

A life spent in constant labor is a life wasted, save a man be such a fool as to regard a fulsome obituary notice as ample reward. ~George Jean Nathan

Yesterday, DH and SIL and DD and I spent the day tearing out the flooring in the upstairs bathroom and foyer thingie at the top of the stairs. Dd helping by eating anything bite sized that came anywhere near her (tile, carpet fuzz... whatever).

DH repainted the bathroom to match the tile (which is not what I had hoped for, but is still lovely).

Today: tiling the bathroom.

Tomorrow: putting hardwood down in the foyer thingie.

He's off Monday and Tuesday, too. I wonder what other projects he'll think up?

**sigh**

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Judy and I are busily starting something new and exciting (I imagine I'll officially announce it in the next few days), which requires me to get the whole book trailer thing down to a science. So, I've been hard at work:





I also spent time this morning updating my MySpace page (I hadn't been there since October 13th!!!) and uploading some trailers to Preview the Book.

I'm awfully bad about promoting my own work... I need to be more on the ball. Shame on me.

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There Are 2 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge: Philosophy Science Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge: Religion Economics Literature History Art

Do You Have Gaps in Your Knowledge?

Yep... they're pretty much correct! LOL...

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My New Fave Commercial

Humor is a reminder that no matter how high the throne one sits on, one sits on one's bottom. ~Taki

Seriously, best commercial out there right now. I crack up every time. This is a little fuzzy, but I couldn't find a better one:



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DH is feeling better and wants to finish hardwooding -- we have a little foyer at the top of the stairs, and we have leftover wood from the living room project that he wants to get out of the basement... and... I almost wish he were sick again.

In any case, that means the only time I have to do much of anything on the computer today will be ... now. So forgive me, but I have to go get some stuff done! LOL...

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You Are 75% Hyper

You have an energy unlike any other. You're full of pep. People wonder how you are able to get so much done. You love to keep busy. It's likely that you're very physically active as well. You have a lot of physical endurance. You are also quite outgoing. You're quick to start up a conversation and make friends. You have the drive, confidence, and motivation to take you far in life. While you may tire some people out, someone else is always looking to feed off your energy.

How Hyper Are You?