Meghan's Musings

Have you ever noticed that when you have a splinter in your mind causing you some concern that it taint's your life's outlook? I'm currently experiencing this phenomenon. An issue has cropped that will resolve itself, but until it does I'm perpetually worried and my rosy outlook is now a darker red... This became especially apparent to me yesterday. While listening to one of the NPR broadcasters recite the headlines, one was regarding the record-breaking tens-and-hundreds-of-millions of dollars that have been donated to both presidential campaigns. Normally that would fade into the white noise of the moment, but I recalled a comment Mom made during my parents' wonderful visit, and I'm paraphrasing here: "The amount of money being donated to the presidential campaigns really angers me." I agreed with her on principal, but was actually ambivalent at the time. When that sound bite was read yesterday, disgust, contempt and rage shot through me simultaneo...

Last week was blessedly, wonderfully chaotic! I wish to regale you with some juicy tidbits - and I will. But now that life has mellowed I finally finished my latest book review. Lester read my review of The Long Drunk and was kind enough to send me a free copy of his book. I love all the options technology has brought to authors! When I started Leaving Town I was on the fence. As I read I knew a turning point would arrive - it would get really good or go into the crapper. It got really good. Whew! The thought of having to write a less than stellar review when I was given the gift of a free read plopped a lead ball of dread in my gut. The one caveat I have is technical. There are several grammatical flaws. I don't know the ins-and-outs of e-publishing, if there are editors who go over manuscripts, but a different set of trained eyes could have polished this little gem up to a high shine. Moving on.... Leaving Town  revolves around a couple of hapless, luckless guys tryi...

I'm back, baby! I know that you were all waiting with bated breath... Now you can exhale.  Much has happened since my last book review  (Seriously horror fans, buy this book! It's such a deal, and remember how much I love deals? ) School is out for the summer (AHHHHHH!!!!), my brave nephew started his stint in the Marines, a seriously horrific human being was convicted on the majority of his perverse crimes and an admirable writer shuffled off this mortal coil. Oh and the healthcare mandate was upheld by the Supreme Court. Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. First let me acknowledge how in awe I am of my nephew. He is embarking on a potentially perilous journey and it takes an amount of guts I don't possess. I can't recall if he's getting a reprieve after training around the time of the family reunion in August, but I hope that's the case.  Isaac is out of school for the summer. Like a friend of mine whose son is also in school...

If you've been following this blog, first THANK YOU!! Second you may remember my book review of The Long Drunk  by Eric Coyote.  I have been reading up a storm lately and loving it. I finally finished Graveyard Blues  by a lovely human being, and professed monster sympathizer Reina Salt. I also have the honor of calling her friend. Our paths crossed years ago while I resided in the Pacific Northwest. I rustled up a part-time job at a local video store where she was already employed. We hit it off immediately. She's delightfully quirky and hyper-intelligent, with a vast sea of knowledge on her varied interests. The only other person I know that is as well-read as her is Ben; and she's seen a wider variety of movies than me! Her taste in music is extensive; and she complied two CDs for me before I moved away. Graveyard Blues (Night Blues) , the first novel in a series, is a strong debut. Any horror, more specifically, zombie aficionado will love it! Nerd that I am, a...

For the better part of Friday I was seething with anger. With every heartbeat fury coursed through my veins relentlessly. It was not pretty. As I tooled around completing errands I listened to my new Garbage album (no, really!). With its growly guitar riffs, frenetic pace and thunderous beats, track twelve,  The One,  was perfect for my mood. With Shiloh in the back seat I couldn't blast it as loud as I wanted but I repeated it several times. Good thing she can't complain about it yet... Whilst simmering in my vexation stew, I also wished I was child-free so I could go out and do something really crazy - and not good crazy. Something more along the lines of self-destructive crazy, and that I couldn't also fueled my ill mood. I had to think of a way to channel my wrath. Only two things lift my mood: working out or cooking and baking. I'd already done my workout that morning, and when I'm angry I just can't muster the focus for a workout. It's more my divers...

Last weekend was the unofficial kick-off of summer and Isaac's birthday. We had a fun little BBQ to celebrate both.  Given my obsessive-compulsive proclivities I sometimes wonder why I bother having gatherings. I nearly gave myself an ulcer over the weather, which turned out to be perfect; and I fretted that there wouldn't be enough to eat. Why that's even on my Worry List, let alone at the top is beyond me. A lack of food has never been an issue - in fact there have always been a plethora of leftovers at any gatherings I've hosted. But to quote a song from the soundtrack of my life, " I'm only happy when it rains, I'm only happy when it's complicated ." I've been this way since always - to a lesser degree now that I'm aware of it. Then Sunday arrived and people started arriving. Since I'm fortunate that all the people I consider friends are awesome, having a collective of awesome people at my house made me remember why I like having ...

So this is day four on JM Body Revolution program. Like I mentioned in the "What's for Dinner?" section of "On my DVR" I've started with the "Kick-Start Your Metabolism" menu and exercise regimen. The menu says I can lose up to one jean size in a week, and my stomach is actually flatter after four days. Since proper nutrition and eating habits combined with exercise are Jillian's keys to success, the diet isn't horribly restrictive. The only difference between this week and the rest of the program are there are no, fruits, flour, grains or sugar and only one serving of low fat dairy per day. The menu for the rest of the program is nicely varied - even some yummy muffins for breakfast! I've made some of the muffins before and they're delicious. Since I'm going through a baking withdrawal, Monday can't get here fast enough. I do have a fix for the withdrawal - baking Isaac's birthday cookie-cake this week. Christi (S...