This is going to be sooo much fun!!!
First up: Marg from Reading Adventures
Labels: friends, guest blogger
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Monday, June 14, 2010:
Basically, I turned to my pals in the blogging/Twitter community and asked if I could spotlight some of the people that I "chat" with on a regular basis. It would be a "getting to know YOU" post, and perhaps introduce you to some bloggers/readers you or even I aren't currently familiar with but might really enjoy. And the response has been overwhelming! Thank you all :) If I haven't emailed you yet, please do not worry, I intend to. I just didn't want to have a bunch of responses but only post a few at a time. So I might be holding out just a little, especially to keep some of the responses current :) And if you want to participate, please let me know! All you have to do is either leave me a comment or send me an email with the subject line of: GUEST BLOGGER to me at TRELAINASTARBLAZER AT YAHOO DOT COM This is going to be sooo much fun!!! First up: Marg from Reading Adventures Labels: friends, guest blogger
Tuesday, June 08, 2010:
Lori Foster & meWell it's come and gone, the 6th annual Lori Foster/Dianne Castell Get Together. It goes by so fast! And I'm still a little sad to not be there, right in the middle of all the fun again. I drove down on Thursday in record time. Instead of driving like a mad demon, I was calm, just went with the flow (though I did clock 100 at one point). After settling in, I met with Barb, Deb, Liane Gentry Skye, Sabra, Joni, Nina Pierce & Pam Champagne for a lovely dinner at PF Chang's. The company was wonderful, and it was so relaxing to get down there early and just hang out. ![]() Lovely & interesting Barbara Vey Friday morning I had met Barbara for breakfast, and we decided to just meet at the hotel restaurant since I had to meet someone at 10:30, and as we were bein seated, a lady sitting down asked if we were with the get together and invited us to join her. It was Barbara Vey. And what an interesting person she is! I had a ball listening to her tell us stories and her incredible love of books. She's just great, with her midwest charm and open heart. Loved chatting with her. Then as the morning progressed, we started helping out here and there. One of the plans for this weekend was to through a surprise wedding shower for Beth, aka LadyB, who is the coordinator and MC for the basket raffles. She'd gotten married a few weeks earlier, and those of us who have known Beth a long time wanted to celebrate because, well, we love her and wanted to show how happy we were for her. So a few of us went to lunch with her when she showed up, distracting her with raffle talk, and managed to get her to the designated spot on time. Unfortunately I missed her initial reaction, but from what I'd heard, she was very surprised :) It was a success. For those who know Beth, I'm sure we all agree that no one deserves it more. She is one of those special people you meet and are immediately glad for it. She is definitely one of my dearest friends, even if I only see her once a year. ![]() Raffle basket princesses: newly married Beth, Marcie & Kaleen Then it was back to the event. One of the things I helped with was the basket raffle, which is a huge undertaking, I mean HUGE. There were over 139 baskets, and it may not seem like that big of a deal. Beth has a very organized system with bags and labels, but even that sometimes isn't enough to keep it all straight as people tend not to let the commitee know they brought baskets or didn't label their baskets or did so under a different name than the one they provided. But with the help of several people, we managed to figure it all out. And this year some of the baskets included a Nook and an iPad (the latter from the always generous Sarah McCarty). Hanging out at the raffle check-in table, I of course was scouring the crowd for a few people I really wanted to meet. One of them was Limecello (I got a picture!), a pal from Twitter who just cracks me up. Lime decided at the last minute to attend, which I was excited about. She's very sarcastic, which I love, and I had no idea what to expect when I met her. Would she be in bright green? I had no clue. It wasn't until sitting down for the pizza dinner that I realized she was sitting across from me (the name tags were hard to read) but damn it, did she have to be so adorable? Have to hate her a little bit for that :D I didn't get to chat with her too much, but meeting the famous Lime was definitely a cool and memorable experience. J.A. Saare - LOVE her!!! (Oh and look, Shiloh is in the background....) The other one was definitely meeting Jaime A. Saare! She's as cute as a button and sweet as can be with that Alabama accent :) Definitely one of my favorite moments from the weekend. (More on that later). I also met her friend, author Madelyn Ford, and a friend of Madelyn's, Kris. These ladies were AWESOME. I could have hung out with them for days. And Jaime's husband was such a sport to put up with us and our book talk LOL. Barbara, Laurie, Judy, CarolynBut probably my favorite experience was just getting to sit with my long-time Yahoo Group pals: Laurie, Judy, Barb, Lisa, Niny, Deb, Carolyn, Beth, Kaleen, and Marcie. I've known most of these ladies since I joined Lori's group,what like 10 years ago? And I love them dearly. I will forever be grateful and proud to have friends who love books as much as I do, and they are some of the most encouraging, funny, crazy but in a good way pals I could ever hope to have. Stay tuned for part 2, and more pictures.... Labels: friends, reader/author get-together
Monday, March 29, 2010:
![]() Mandi's rockstar "husband" Brandon Flowers Sometimes you meet people in your life that have a greater impact than others. It could be a life-altering impact, or one of a less serious but no less valid reason. Mandi is one of those people that I've known for several months, and much like Katiebabs, has this way about her that is fun, engaging, and totally infectious (but in a good way *g*). I'm bad a remembering things, so I can't exactly say how long I've known Mandi, but it's been awhile, gotta be around a year, and mostly through Twitter. She's generous, funny as hell, and adorable in her enthusiasm for all things Bruce Weed, er, Brandon Flowers, red wine, and sexy books. I also think she has an amazing talent for bringing people together. That is really quite fabulous. ![]() For me, Mandi is just someone I warmed up to right away. She's very easy to get along with, doesn't take herself too seriously, but is also incredibly loyal and quick to share a laugh or lend support. She's the type of person who takes people as they are, and I can believe that she's a loving mom who'd do anything for her family and friends. So today is Smexy Day, the day of Mandi's birth, and we are spreading the love around the blogosphere. Feel free to share why you love Mandi and how much her friendship and humor have meant to you. Hugs to a beautiful, unique, and outrageous person. Mandi, we love you! Brandon singing to Mandi HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANDI! ![]() Mandi's "unusual" crush, David Letterman Dave's TOP 10 REASONS WE LOVE MANDI: 10. She loves wine *g* 9. She thinks hairy men are particularly smexy 8. She reads a ton of books and offers up fabulous recs 7. She's a Killers' freak! (someone has to love their music LOL) 6. She's damn funny! 5. She tweets hilarious revelations when she's had a little too much to drink *g* 4. She's got a fabulous blog: http://www.smexybooks.com/ 3. She loves smut! 2. She's married to her middle school sweetheart - awwwww! ...and the number #1 reason we love Mandi.... SHE'S AN AWESOME FRIEND AND LIFE IS MUCH MORE FUN WITH HER AROUND! Have an AWESOME day!
Friday, November 13, 2009:
Danielle & me Y'all know me as the world's biggest procrastinator, so it should be no surprise it took me 3 days to finally post about my meeting with online friend Danielle. I've known Dani for a few years, being on the same loops and all, but had no idea we lived so close to each other. I think we were talking about a booksigning on one of the loops when I finally figured it out. So of course after some time had passed, we were able to find some time where we were both free to have lunch. For those of you who already know Dani, she's a total doll. I felt immediately comfortable with her, and it was a pleasure talking with someone who loves romance as much as I do. Our tastes are a little different, but there's still nothing like gushing over books with a fellow romance reader. (Just ask my Twitter pimps, er, pals). The other impressive thing about her is her incredible knowledge. The woman can run circles around me, especially when it comes to talking ebooks and ereaders and finding great bargains. I'm still locked in the 20th century and haven't been swept away by the magic of the ebook reader, but if I ever find myself yearning to buy one, Dani is going to be my go-to girl. She does her homework and knows more than I would even think to ask. After lunch we had hit the nearby B&N, where the upcoming Nook was being featured. It was obvious she knew more than the salesperson, an older gentleman who probably didn't know any more about ereaders than I did. That day I bought 6 books, 4 in the Jeaniene Frost series of which I took a picture of with my new phone, but it came out too small for some reason. (Once I figure it out, I might try posting it again). I also bought 2 by Simone Elkeles since I'm a bit infatuated with YA after reading her "Perfect Chemistry". After that we parted ways, but what a fun way to spend the afternoon. We made plans to catch up in a few months, after the craziness of the holidays settles down. I never tire of catching up with online friends, especially those who love romance, since none of my RL friends do, outside of the Twilight series, which I'll be honest, just doesn't cut it. Can't wait to do it again. Thank you Dani, for a wonderful day spent talking books, bargains, and ebook readers :) How far would you travel to meet your online friends? Labels: friends
Friday, November 06, 2009:
Shiloh Walker passed this on after checking it out through Snopes.com and it appears legit. Let's brighten this little guy's day. I have mine all set to go.... ATTENTION FACEBOOK FAMILY & FRIENDS! Diana Harrison Biorkman has a 5-yr old son in his last stages of a 2 1/2 year battle with Neuroblastoma cancer. They are celebrating Christmas next weekend and Noah loves Christmas cards. Please take a minute to send a card to: Noah Biorkman, 1141 Fountain View Circle, South Lyon MI 48178. THANKS. PLEASE REPOST THIS MSG & EMAIL YOUR BUDDIES! ***this was sent to me, please pass it on*** ~ Edited to add link to a story about Noah ~
Monday, September 21, 2009:
![]() This past weekend was the wedding of one of my absolute favorite people, who also happens to be a co-worker. The weather was gorgeous, the bride was beaming, the groom was nervous but happy. It was the perfect day to get married, and it was wonderful event to be a part of. (Note: I don't have any pictures w/o me in them, so I'm going to have to find some to crop if I can). Of course being a single girl, I admit to also feeling twinges of sadness amidst all the excitement. 99.9999% of the time I'm basically good with the status quo, but on a day like Saturday, where romance was in the air and everyone looked happy and beautiful and in love, it made me a littl weepy. J is just starting out her new life, and as thrilled as I am for her and her , there's also a bit of envy in my heart. Bad Stacy, LOL. Srsly though, I hope J is this happy for the rest of her life. I can't think of too many people who deserve it as much as she does. She's one of those genuinely nice people who is liked by everyone, and seeing her so radiant on Saturday lifted my spirits. So with much affection, I wish all the best to J & S for a long and happy life together :) ![]() In other news, I went and saw this movie over the weekend since another co-worker really wanted to see it. It wasn't one I was dying to see, but it was fun getting together. I really liked Jennifer Aniston's portrayal of Eloise. She was a little quirky but not overly so. In fact she seemed pretty well-adjusted as the owner of a flower shop, where she made unbelievably gorgeous arrangements. In fact that's how her and Aaron's character, Burke, meet; she does the floral arrangements for the hotel he's staying at in Seattle during one of his "A-Okay" seminars. If you've seen the previews, you probably have a good idea what it's about. It was a film that took its sweet time telling its story. We see how Aaron's character, supposedly so composed and together 3 years after the death of his wife, slowly starts to unravel. He thinks he's dealt with his grief, and in turn believes he can help others get through it as well. Only his way of griefing was by pushing it aside and just moving on, and it's just not working anymore. I won't tell you what happens, not that there's much of a mystery to spoil, yet I will say it definitely made me cry during certain parts. Walter especially, played by John Carroll Lynch from "Carnivale", had me all choked up at his portrayal of a reluctant seminar attendee who'd lost his son in a tragic accident. It's a moving film but I could have probably waited for it to be out on DVD to watch it and not have regretted missing it on the big screen. I guess I just prefer to do my crying at home instead of in the movie theatre. So that was my exciting weekend. I now have to gear up for next weekend for a 2-day work event, so I will most likely be m.i.a. for a lot of it. I hate giving up my weekend, but I remind myself that I'm grateful to have a job, and part of it will be a lot of fun, so it's not the end of the world. Speaking of which, what's going on in your world?
Friday, September 18, 2009:
![]() Just a quick note to the lovely people who visit here on a regular basis: life has been rather crazy and hectic, and I appreciate each and every one of you for stopping by, for commenting, for keeping me sane *g* and for putting up with my neglect. The reason I mention this is because I am very aware, especially lately, that I don't reply to a lot of the comments made here, but please know I read each one, and find a lot of humor, insight, advice, as well as some damn good old-fashioned dirty-mindedness (which I totally love!), and it makes me happy to know y'all. So I hope everyone has a great weekend, and that the weather is as nice where you are as it's going to be this weekend in Chicago. My co-worker is getting married this weekend, so it's going to be a fabulous day. I'm so looking forward to spending it with some good friends as we celebrate a wonderful event. Thanx for the support! ;) Labels: friends
Wednesday, August 26, 2009:
I received a lovely surprise Tuesday when I found out that one of the bloggers I visit, Nicola, was in town for a few days visiting family, and she and Shannon invited me to hang out with them Tuesday evening. We decided to meet at Barnes and Noble, naturally, at a location not far from me, and chill. This is always fun for me because I rarely get to shop for romance books with others who love them as much as I do. I hadn't met Nicola in person before, but I recognized her almost right away from her picture. She's one of those people you warm up to right away, and boy, has she read a lot of interesting books. I took special note of one she mentioned by Fern Michaels called "Captive Passions". I don't know if I'll ever read it, but having Nicola telling the outlandish tale of how the story goes definitely made me laugh, and I admit I'm rather tempted to try to find a copy just to see if it's everything she said it was. There's just something about those old school romances written in the 70's and 80's that managed to get away with throwing in all kinds of crazy stuff and still manage to win the hearts of fans. Gotta love that. Readers of today are much pickier, though rightfully so.Another fun thing we did was come across another reader who heard us chatting in the romance aisles and wanted to know what books we were talking about. She was looking for contemporary romance, and Nicola immediately mentioned a local favorite, Julie James, to which Shannon and I readily agreed. It was so cool to actually show her the books, put them in her hand, and watch her walk up to the cash register, happy as any reader could be to find a gem of a story. Book pimpin' at its finest. Of course I was not exempt from being being pimped to. Shannon came across Patricia Briggs' latest in the Alpha & Omega series, "Hunting Ground" and I snatched it up without even thinking twice. I believe she's the one who got me hooked when she encouraged me to get the anthology "On The Prowl" where we first meet Anna and Charles, and I fell completely for the cautious, fated pair, so she hadn't steered me wrong with her rec. So definitely this was a fun evening, where I came away with only 3 books (got the last 2 in Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series, now I have all 6 titles) but I'm set for awhile. Can't wait for a chance for some uninterrupted reading time. What book(s) are you pimpin' these days? What's the best pimpin' you've received lately? Labels: friends, pimpin; blogs
Tuesday, June 02, 2009:
The Literary Blogger Award What an honor to be a recipient of this grand award, which acknowledges bloggers who energize and inspire reading by going the extra mile! These amazing bloggers make reading fun, and enhance the delight of reading! A huge thanx to Cecile, who nominated me for this award. What a sweetheart you are :) 1) Put the logo on your blog/post. 2) Nominate up to 9 blogs. 3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. 4) Let them know that they have been nominated by commenting on their blog. 5) Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award. And the award goes to.... 1. Laurie @ Lauries-Laudanum 2. Orannia @ Walkabout 3. Tracy @ Tracy's Place 4. The fine ladies @ Let's Gab 5. Ames @ Thrifty Reader 5. Sula @ Sula Space There are so many awesome bloggers out there, and it wasn't easy to narrow it down, but I chose those inspire me in their own unique way. And while I wanted to nominate every blog I visit, because let's face it, I visit them because I love them so much, well, that would have been way more than 9. Thanx to bloggers everywhere for creating wonderful places to visit, to make me laugh, think, squee and share my love of reading. You are all a part of my day and make it a brighter, and often times funnier, place. You all rock :)
Friday, December 12, 2008:
That Katiebabs. Everytime I turn around she's sending me a book or leaving me a funny comment at my blog or sending out some hilarious email. This week she sent me a book that I really, really wanted, and couldn't even find it in the bookstore for an instant fix. But Katiebabs saved the day. She's such a peach. Srsly, Kate's the real deal. Sooo, today's post is for a wonderful internet friend that I haven't known for very long, but who really is one of the funniest, most generous and caring people around. She's a bit kooky and has this weird thing about sheep, but to know Katiebabs is to love her. I think those of you who do know her will agree. There's just something so fun about her, and she's got a dirty sense of humor which I get a kick out of. Or is it pervy? Knowing her, it's probably both. She's always willing to spread a little of her unique joy around, whether it's in mutual admiration of Gerard Butler, obsessing over "Twilight", or basking in her love for Mhiller (although I admit I haven't fully been keeping up with the The interactive amoeba demon sheep round robin story - shame on me. Kate's true love... Now I'm not really funny or clever, but one thing that I think I am is sincere, so here's a little tribute to one of my favorite people that I've met online: ****** Kate, Kate, what's to hate? Not a lot, with what she's got. She's a redhead who likes to keep sheep in her bed. She's quite a writer, and if you're Gerry or Roarke she'll ask you to bite her. She likes tea, though it makes her pee. She's got a big smile that goes on for a mile. Mhiller's her mate. They often...date? I guess that's what you do with sheep, or maybe they call it fu...bleeeeep! She works in New York. But does she like pork? We may never know, Kate's not a...'ho! Though, I don't know. She could be a 'ho. Not that that's bad. Katie is rad. She Twitters away, flits through her day. Trying to make the larvae boobs go away. She loves Tropic Thunder, and that hawt Hugh from Down Under. She's great friends with Kristie, sometimes they get misty, though Kate can get twisty. At least that's what I've heard, cuz of that bird(ie) who told us the tale of Kate lovin' on males. She's all about Rhev from BDB by JR Ward, but she'd better be careful or she'll get tied up with some cord. Though that could be her thing, we all know how'll she'll swing as she dishes the dirt, hey, she's quite the per-vert. But the truth is we all love her. There's not many above her, well that's not all true as there might be a Brother. One wicked male named Rhev who's thing has a barb. So she'd better eat a lot of carbs. She'll need her strength to keep up with the dirty games he's dreaming up. Thing is Katie's our girl, we're her biggest fans. If she were a guy we'd call her our man. Yeah Katie's the best, and if put to the test, she'd get my vote as someone worthy to note. So that's why I'm writing this ode to Katiebabs our dear friend, whose generosity and caring never seems to end! Thank you so much Katie for all that you do. If there's now a smile on my face, it's all cuz of YOU! ***** So from the heart Kate, I wanted you to know how freakin' awesome I think you are, how crazy, funny and amazing, and how I am happy as hell to have a friend like you :) This poem totally sucks, but it comes from the heart, and I hope you have a rockin' weekend. Same goes to the rest of my blogging friends.
Sunday, October 05, 2008:
Thank you, everyone, for stopping by. The winner of the BAFAB contest is...
Barbara! Barb, I have your addy, so I will be attempting to get your book selection out to you this week :) Ad Kristie my dear, we can do this one of two ways - I can either get you a gift card (never converted from U.S. Dollars to Canadian) or I can buy the book & send it to you. You let me know your preference. You can email me or leave a comment here. Update on "friend" situation: Well, I met Mike for a quick bite to eat Friday night. Originally it was going to be Applebee's but then asked if Chipotle would be okay, so we went there instead. At first I wasn't going to bring it up, but I knew I couldn't just let it go, so finally I told him, and he just looked at me. He didn't laugh, confirm or deny, so I did feel a little stupid about the whole thing. He then asked me some questions about why my co-workers might think that, and I just told him what I knew based on what they said. He apologized for making me feel uncomfortable, though personally I don't think he was doing it on purpose. So even though I felt awkward about bringing it up, I'm actually glad I did. Now he knows, and now I feel like I can feel comfortable around him again. Whew, sigh of relief. Thinking about this over the weekend, I realize that this is not the first time people have made comments about him liking me. About 5-6 years ago, one of my co-workers used to say the same thing, but I always blew it off because he was different back then, more of a smartass and more prone to joking around about stuff so I never thought anything of it. Regardless, I'm going to move on and hopefully he won't be the one feeling weird now. Thanx to everyone who put up with my little drama. I've learned it really is better to talk about stuff than to avoid it. So if nothing else, I did get something out of it.
Thursday, July 17, 2008:
Okay, now if I did that everytime things got a bit rough, I'd be inebriated 80% of the time. I confess, I'm not much of a drinker (not with at least one parent being an alcoholic) but when I do go out, I like to have a good time and find a drink that tastes so good that I let loose a bit and let my internal filter go on break for awhile. Tonight was one of those nights. A group of us from work got together just to hang out, and let me tell ya, the martinis were flowing like water. Top them off with some yummy appetizers - spicy calamari and loaded potato skins - and you've got yourself a good time. Add a little eye candy (aka a former co-worker who's now a cop), some trashy gossip and lots of innuendo, and you've got yourself a damn fine party. Getting to sit next to said eye candy? Even better. 'Course the guy's a former player who has been married for the last two years, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the scenery. Which is all I would have done anyway. If V were single, and in the unlikely event showed any actual interest in me, there would be no way I'd date a guy like that. I know I couldn't be with someone who's always looking for the next conquest. Some women can do it, I just don't happen to be one of them. I guess a player is really just a modern-day rake, and while they supposedly make the best husbands, in reality I don't think it's quite that simple, or as romantic. That's too bad, because reforming a rake sounds like an awful lot of fun. Ever date a player? Good times, or nothing but a nightmare? Do you think they can reform and settle on one woman, or once a player, always a player?
Wednesday, August 08, 2007:
....you're never bored. As I was driving home (er, to McD's for my daily fix of vanilla iced coffee) after work today, I was listening to my voicemail, and realized I had a bunch of saved messages, so started listening to them while I'm driving. There must have been around 6 or 7 of them in my in-box, and they're all from the same person, my pal L. I'm laughing my ass off because she is just so damn perverted, and I just love her to death for it. Lately we've been talking on the phone anywhere between 1 - 3(!) hours a DAY, and I hate talking on the phone. Can't stand it. Drives me nuts. But talking to her is like non-stop hilarity. See, she's one of those people who can say anything to anyone and never get in trouble for it. She can talk trash with the best of 'em, and sexually harass her supervisor without him being any the wiser. I really want to be her when I grow up because she is always having so much fun. One of the things I think is cool about her is that she doesn't look like she's the obvious bad girl: she's a divorced mom in her mid-forties, looks a bit like a shy, quiet wallflower...until you get to know her, then all hell breaks loose. Once you meet her, you will remember her, that is for sure. Her teenage nieces think she's the coolest "auntie", and even their boyfriends think she rocks. Lately she's confessed a little secret: she totally has this thing for Professor Snape (from the Harry Potter movies for those not in "the know"), and okay, yeah, so maybe I can kinda get her "call me 'bitch' and I'm yours" attitude with it comes to this bad boy. She will describe in great detail all the wicked and unmentionable things she wants him to do to her with his magic wand. She's sick and twisted, but I wouldn't trade her for a million iced coffees. Yep, she's a keeper. And of course she has this way of bringing out my dirty-minded side, which makes her cackle evilly with a bit of maternal pride. The most innocent comments can be turned into something suggestive and shocking when she's around, as L has made it her mission in life to make the world a much naughtier place. Hey I say if she can keep people laughing, than more power to her. I bet her raunchy attitude will keep her young. And no question, she really is one of those people who does enjoy life to the fullest. What about you: do you have a friend who can always make you laugh? Someone who brings out the shockingly "bad" side? Do you get the whole Professor Snape attraction thing???
Wednesday, June 27, 2007:
Seems like June has been good to a few friends of mine, and I wanted to say how proud I am for all their hard work; their success is well deserved.
What's your good news? |
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