A Nice Evening

Last night I had all three of my kids with me. None of us had seen the middle child in two months. And with the oldest working and not at home except to sleep and eat and the baby boy, lol, in school, and then up in his room listening to
music all of the time... Well...we just don't spend a lot of time together.

But last night we were together along with the middle child's fiance. We had five hours of non-stop laughter. I guess absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. Usually these kids do nothing but argue with each other. Now that they aren't in each other's face constantly, they get along. LOL I love it.

The addition of the fiance was nice too. He's really sweet and funny. I didn't think anyone would "fit" with my family. But he does. And I am so happy about that. He seems to love me silly, too! He's not shy about showing his affection either. He's a hugger for sure. lol

So some things just work out, don't they?

I'm rushing out the door this morning and wanted to say hi to everyone. I missed blogging last week and have promised myself to NOT dare miss another. I've always liked blogging and chatting with commenters. So next week?? Be prepared for a nice long rant of some sort. lol It's about time I did that!

I hope everyone is happily reading, writing, and editing.

Grandma Time!!!

I am going to be a grandma! Yep, I sure am.

And since I am, of course, waaaaaaay too young to be a grandma, I will be called something other than Granny or Grandma. Not even a Nana. Nope.

I've told the parents-to-be that I will not be babysitting that often. I have NO intention into getting suckered into raising another child. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing like raising children--along with the highs and lows--as we all know.

But do we really want to keep doing it? Uhhhh...NOPE!

So I'll buy a lot of cute stuff for the baby and give lots of hugs and kisses. But there will be very little diaper changing and burping and walking around the room to soothe its ills. NOPE! Oh, I'll take lots of pics, too. I just don't want to be responsible for raising this one.

The good thing is that I honestly believe my baby girl is going to be a great mom. I always thought that she would be. And the daddy? I like him. I really really do. He's handsome, intelligent. Has a great job and he LIKES me. lol Yep. He likes me. He listens to me. And he LOVES my baby girl. lol So all is good.

Anyone got any great grandma advice for me?

May She Rest In Peace

Thank you for the beautiful music, Whitney.

Are My Eyes Playing Tricks On Me?

Fetish anyone? I don’t have one. At least I don’t think so. There is nothing that I like doing so much that I could say it’s a fetish. Well…maybe eating peanut butter. But that’s not a fetish—unless you were to smear it on someone’s toes and lick it off and do that a lot. AND!!! It would have to be for the purpose of sexual arousal. I guess. Lol

And no, I don’t plan on licking peanut butter off of anyone’s toes. Or anything else off of anyone’s toes for that matter. YUCK!

So how did I arrive at this particular subject? Hmmm…long story.

I was driving down the road and glanced to my left and saw a billboard. Now I’m traveling 50 mph and, of course, read the sign rather quickly. Here’s what I saw: OVER 60? SINGLES VACATION ….

Then it had an 800 number and a website address. Not that I needed that info. It was the OVER 60 part of it that snagged my attention in the first place. No, I’m not OVER 60---yet. But someday I will be and the sign started me thinking. What will I be doing when I am OVER 60? What is an OVER 60 vacation like? Is there something special that must be done for that age group? There was a part of me that was insulted for the OVER 60 group. Shuffleboard only? Soft foods only?

Then I narrowed my focus and thought about SINGLES. Okay. Makes sense. Similar age group vacations. Usually I’m not so dense, but trust me—my degree of denseness worsens.  First…the rest of my wandering thoughts.

For the next few days my mind kept going back to that whole singles vacation idea and, of course, I had to think about men and sex and all that stuff. LOL I pictured myself on a singles cruise—all vacationers within my age group. LOL  Now my imagination is pretty vivid, so I had a huge pool and waiters dressed in next to nothing serving up drinks. Towel boys, etc. You get the picture. Everyone was having a great time. Then it hit me.

I was in a swimsuit.

SHIT!!! OH HELL NO!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!

But no matter how hard I tried to leave that freaking day dream, it just wouldn’t let go. My only recourse was to wrestle down a towel boy and steal his stash! Now appropriately draped in white terrycloth, I allowed my gaze to wander and check out everyone’s body.

There were people of all sizes and shapes. Mostly people in pretty decent shape, though. I imagine anyone going on a singles cruise and dressed in a swimsuit would not be worrying about covering themselves with towels. Not perfect bodies but there were SOME. Mostly, I was checking out the women--doing a comparison. You know what I mean. And there were some women who just pissed me off! Why were their boobs so damn perky? Why didn’t their thighs jiggle just a little?

I lifted the towel and stole a look at my southwardly sloping breasts. YEAH!!! SAGGING DAMN BOOBS!!! And I’m not even going to talk about my thighs. And thank GOD I had the presence of mind to daydream my way into a one-piece rather than a freaking two-piece. Sighhhhhhhhh

ALL STOP!!!!

I shifted my focus. Okay…this is what you’ve got to work with ol’ gal. WORK IT!!!  WTF? How do I do that? Well, by now you’ve figured out I’m not normal. So working with what I’ve got meant getting on the computer and logging on to Google to search for—you got it—men who like sagging breasts!

I was surprised in two ways. One: There wasn’t a fetish site for men who like sagging breasts. Plenty of porn sites with videos of women with sagging breasts, though. sighhh Two: Most men who commented to women asking if men liked sagging breasts (yeah, I’m not the only one asking it seems), didn’t really seem to care. A few did, but overwhelmingly? Most men were fine with sagging boobs. They mentioned things like self-worth and body image and love. Hmmm…good job guys.

Regardless, I seriously doubt I’m going to run out and flash anyone, though. LOL

Now all of this “singles vacationing” thing has taken up a lot of my time. Really. I thought about it way too much. Was way too critical about myself.  And all because of that damn billboard. Yesterday I was driving down that same road and saw that same billboard. And that’s what prompted me to write this post.

Remember how I said it read: OVER 60? SINGLES VACATION…

Well…it didn’t say that. I misread it. What it said was this:

OVER 60? SHINGLES VACCINATION…

As soon as I got home I took a nap.

Changes and Blessings

Slowly but surely, I am trying to get back into the swing of things. Note the key word: SLOWLY.The writing is NOT going
well. I'm frozen. And it's no ordinary case of writer's block. I've tried everything and nothing works. So I decided to paint some. No. Not landscapes and still lifes. Not watercolors. lol Just paint. Like walls and such. lol And furniture. I used to love decorative painting. Faux finishing. That type of thing. And then I started writing. Hmmm...back to my roots I guess. lol

So the painting, while intense--requires a great deal of focus--is helping some. I think. Haven't written anything yet. But I am thinking about storylines. I am at least being creative. Hopefully, I will get some writing done sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, when I'm not painting I am getting used to the changes in my household. It's quiet here. Too quiet. That may be part of my problem. But the girls are no longer here. They're out on their own. Part of me rejoices. Another part of me grieves. And still another part of me just plain stagnates--like I'm waiting for something. Empty nest syndrome much?
I guess. lol

You'd think that the 15-year old boy would be enough. Well...that kid is pretty self-sufficient. No drama. That is no drama if you overlook his eye injury and such. But I have to say, he even handled that much much better than my girls would have. He's just so down-to-earth and laid back.

He always seems to be part of the solution rather than the problem and wise beyond his years. He's a blessing. Especially now when I am simply floundering. He sees that I am and thinks it's just fine. Maybe I should listen to him. lol

I do hope everyone is happily reading, writing, and editing.

Much love to all!!!!

Tess

Are We Jaded?

Those of us of 'a certain age' who cut our romance teeth on Harlequin Romances and later started picking up the works of authors like Kathleen Woodiwiss and Jennifer Wild remember those first scandalous sex acts we read in our favorite romances. Oral sex? OMGOMGOMG!!!!!! I recall being so shocked but so thrilled by this stuff. Forced seduction? Oh yeah baby! He ripped her bodice....WOW!

These days we are much more jaded and I have to wonder what, if anything, can shock us. The other day I had a convo with friends about this topic. It wasn't all that long ago that anal sex, menage and bdsm were considered a tad over-the-top but these days, not so much. Today these themes are pretty much standard fare, aren't they? I still remember writing my first menage. Couldn't really believe I was writing such a thing but needing to push myself a bit, I dove right into it, discovered I enjoyed it and I haven't looked back. But honestly, even my menages are nothing like other stuff that is out there. It's not unusual to find our heroines getting it on with four or more guys. Now the notion of multiple partners is pretty common.

Have we become un-shockable? I wonder about that. What new thing is on the horizon and  what new 'worlds of sex' are out there for us to discover and swoon about? I wonder.

Am I Rusty?





I guess so. Well…maybe. LOL

My brother wanted to take one of the dogs for a walk on the beach. I hadn’t been out in a few days and decided it would be a good idea. But the fact is, my ankle hasn’t healed enough for long walks on the beach. So I told him I’d have a cup of coffee on the patio of the restaurant where we have beach access and read while he walked the dog.

Bro frowned, thought I was being lazy—and I wasn’t being lazy, lol. Just didn’t want to walk too far then have to walk back in pain! Walking in sand is not easy on my ankle at all.

Anyway, we walked the two blocks to the beach, and he took the dog down to the shore. I headed for the patio overlooking the ocean. I ordered my coffee with cream, opened my book, and settled in for a nice relaxing hour or so.

After a while, I caught a shadow out of the corner of my eye. There were other people on the patio, of course. Conversation and laughter was all around me. I looked up, curious about the shadow, and saw a man to the right of my table leaning against the deck railing—not looking at the ocean, but at me.

I KNOW what you’re thinking. Yep, I do.

You’re thinking: OH! THIS IS GETTING GOOD! TESS IS ABOUT TO MEET A MAN!!

And to that all I can say is, “Don’t put your money on TESS!” I’m rusty. Remember?

I smiled. He smiled. I went back to reading. Yep, I did. So he says, “Nice morning, isn’t it?” I looked up at him, nodded, “Yes. Very nice. Perfect weather.” I went back to reading my book.

I KNOW!!!!! You’re shaking your head. LOL But I’m rusty, remember?

At this point, the hero in my book is meeting with the leaders of an Afghan tribe and the story is getting pretty dicey. The Taliban is everywhere, and I just know that the smart ass young kid is running to them right now to tell them my hero is there.

“We’ll have a few days of cold weather here and there, but it’s usually pretty tolerable. One of the reasons I moved here. Are you on vacation?”

The damn Taliban is about to get the jump on my man and this dude wants to talk weather. Sighhhhhhhhhh… I looked up. “I moved here in September. Guess I’m a local now.” I laughed lightly and lowered my head to find my place on the page.

“Must be a good book,” he said.

“It is.”

“Romance novel?”

I turned the book around and showed him the cover. The Apostle by Brad Thor. CIA type thriller. Not a romantic word on any page. LOL

He nodded and pushed himself off the deck railing. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it. Didn’t mean to bother you.”

Quickly I said, “Oh you’re not bothering me.” Well, actually he was bothering me but a Southern gal just can’t be rude and say that. Ya know?

He smiled and walked away.

I KNOW!!!! You’re banging your head against the computer screen. So I read a bit more, and then my bro gives me a shout, and he and the dog come onto the patio. He ordered a coffee and told me to put the book down. I did. By the way, the Taliban didn’t get my man. LOL

So bro says, “Did I see you talking to someone?”

“Some man was talking about the nice weather.”

“And?”

“And what? The weather is nice.”

“That’s all?”

“He wanted to know if I was reading a romance novel. Asked if it was a good book. Then he left.”

Bro says, “You’re hopeless.”

“Huh?”

“The man was trying to engage you in conversation for more.”

I said, “More what? There’s only so much you can say about the damn weather.”

“Don’t act stupid, Tess. You know what I mean.”

“You’re trying to make a short, polite conversation about the weather into something it wasn’t.”

“And you’d rather write romance than live it.”

“Oh my GOD!!! A man exchanges a few words with me and you think I should spread my legs!”

“Well…why not?”

The walk back to the house was an absolute blur. I was livid. Bro came strolling in about ten minutes behind me. And the argument continued. No. Not gonna bore you with all of bro’s thoughts on my life and all of my thoughts on his life. HE’S NOT EXACTLY A DAMN CASSANOVA these days himself!!!!

But I have to admit. It does bug me that I didn’t recognize that the man probably was trying to “meet” me for more than talk about the weather. So would I rather write romance than live it? No. I just know that writing it always turns out better than actually living it---at least where I’m concerned.

Do I intend to remain alone until the Grim Reaper takes me? Well…if I don’t learn to recognize the signs a bit better that might just happen. LOL Do ya’ll think I need to get laid? Tell the truth. LOL

Hugs and Kisses…

JUST TESS

New Year Wishes

I wanted to write something profound for my first post of the new year but PROFOUND eludes me this morning. I will say that 2011 wasn't a totally sucktastic year but it wasn't the most awesome either. Still too many bumps in the road last year but I will confess that it wasn't all bad either. I began last New Years Day telling myself (and hoping mightily) that 2011 would be better for my friends, loved ones and myself and it was. A bit. So this New Year's Day, I wished for the same. Maybe it'll kick in in spades this time. Here's hoping!

One of the wonderful things about 2011 was that we bought a beautiful new lake house. It sets on a high hilltop overlooking a pristine crystal blue lake. The day after Christmas, our family headed out there for a week long vacation and I must say, the experience brought me a lot of peace. In the coming year, I hope to visit as often as possible. Now we're home and back in the real world again. The real world isn't bad though, is it? I began my year as I wanted, surrounded by family and writing. I even managed to finish a book that has been hanging over my head. So this year my hope is to write a bit more, spend more time with family and friends and hopefully shed a few nasty habits. Fingers crossed.

What are you hopes and dreams for the coming year?