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I don't know that this one even needs a list! For me, it is pretty simple:
I feel coziest when I am snuggled up under some blankets with my family and my dogs. That is it. It works if we're just watching TV or if my husband is playing a video game or even if we're all napping. Having everyone piled on the couch all warm and toasty is the coziest feeling ever.
That was a little too easy, wasn't it? That's OK. Let me know your cozy moments. When do you feel the coziest?
This one is kinda hysterical. Mostly because I have done a lot of things in the hopes that it would make me money but it hasn't come through the way I hoped. So far, at least. I guess I will list all of those things now:
1. My jewelry store - I do have a little more success when I go to craft shows but I only do those craft shows in the winter and spring months. The summer and fall are way too busy family-wise for me to dedicate the time to spending weekends at craft shows. So, alas, it makes a little money but not nearly enough to really support itself.
2. My YouTube Channel - I've only been uploading videos since May so I'm not exactly expecting an immediate windfall that will let me quit my current full-time job. However, it would be nice if something would finally trickle in.
3. This blog - I have been writing this blog in various formats since about 2005. It started on Vox, back when that was a thing. Then, in 2007, it changed to thegeekwithin.com, where it lived on a server box in my living room. Around 2010, it moved to a GoDaddy server, where it lived until recently. The blog went through a massive change this year. The URL changed to cassandra-morgan.com, in order to reflect more of my personality and not tie myself to just geeky things, and the site moved to Squarespace, which has been amazing and I love it. In all of that time, I have had some paid posting...mostly posts where they gave me keywords and links to use...but, once again, I haven't made enough money to really offset the costs of hosting the blog and all that. I really do this because I love it. I am OK with that, though it would be nice to make a little bit of money from all this work.
Oh, it would also be nice if I could make money driving my daughter around to all of her activities. Only because I do it A LOT.
When I began reading The Queen of the She-Zombies, I found it difficult to get into. My husband is a huge fan of zombie movies so I have been exposed to a variety of types of zombies. Never before have I seen only-female-sex-zombies. I decided to put my disbelief aside and see where the story went.
The book mostly takes place around the city of Dorvenden. The city has been decimated by she-zombies., who suck the life energy from men through sex. These she-zombies have a sort of hive relationship with their Queen. If the Queen dies, so do the rest of the undead. Red Blade, a young Paladin, has arrived in town to kill the Queen. As the Holy Warrior heads out on his quest, he comes upon a female assassin named Vianca, who also plans to kill the Queen. The story follows their dangerous path into the Queen's lair.
As a whole, I actually enjoyed the book. The characters are fairly well written and, despite the craziness of the plot, the events did follow the natural laws of their world. (Meaning, someone didn't magically get super strong because PLOT and the characters didn't do things outside of their particular abilities.) This alone gets a big thumbs up from me. While I don't usually read erotic books, I do have to admit that I would read more of this series. I am interested to see if the writer, Raol Mavin, will bring more life to Red and Vi or if they are going to remain stagnant. I really hope they become more lively and interesting.
So, in the end, I do recommend the book but only if you are of age and into reading some hardcore erotica.
I have no idea what this prompt means. Reasons To [blank]. I had to go look on the 30 Days of Lists blog. Apparently, we are supposed to fill in the blank then come up with a list from that. Here goes:
Reasons To Be Silly
That was pretty lame. Let me know your reasons to do things!
This is an interesting topic. I know I said this on my YouTube channel but I'm not sure I have said it here - I am old. It seems like every other blogger/vlogger out there is at least 10 years younger than me, if not more. I am comforted by the fact that I am about the same age as John Green and Rhett & Link. YouTube is not just kids! Just keep this in mind when we discuss this topic:
Posters That Were On My Walls When I Was Growing Up
The movie poster for Disney's Aladdin
Sailor Moon
My sister and I shared a room for most of our childhood. She was really into New Kids on the Block so there were a bunch of NKOTB posters on the wall but they were not mine.
I don't think I had a lot of posters of people. I did tear out some pages from Teen Beat and put them on the wall. But I was more into collecting the baseball-type cards that were in the back of every issue. I cut every one out and kept them in a wallet. TONS of them.
Normally, I would try to list the people in the Teen Beat pages I put up but I don't even remember who made it onto the wall. I think Kirk Cameron, maybe. Brian Bloom comes to mind because he has those super blue eyes. I also feel like Wil Wheaton was up there but I could totally be making that up. I think the posters were less about the actual people and more about the pictures being pretty.
Yes, I was a strange child.
As you may have noticed, I did not do my 30 Days of Lists prompts this weekend. And I am unlikely to do them next weekend as well. My sister is getting married next weekend and I have a ton of things to get finished before then. So, instead of doing those posts on the weekends, I am going to save them for the end of the month and tack them on in the beginning of October.
Let's get onto today's prompt: Favorite Cliches
1. Birds of a Feather - it just sounds cute!
2. Couldn't Care Less - only because people misuse this SO much ("Could Care Less") that it always makes me second guess whether I use it correctly.
3. You Are What You Eat - as with many things in life, good intentions gone wrong
I don't think I use cliches all that often. When I do, it's usually for humorous effect....which sometimes goes wrong. So, um, stick that in your pipe and smoke it?
Well, now, see, this list will depend on whether I am alone or whether my family is with me. Those are very separate lists.
If I am alone?
If I'm with my family?
I suppose those don't sound like very different lists but they are in practice. Admittedly, I don't get a lot of time to myself so the first list is mostly a wish list. But that is OK. I enjoy spending time with my family.
Awhile ago, I received a bottle of Day by Day Beauty's Vitamin C Serum to try. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it but I went ahead and followed the directions.
At first, the product seems sticky and gross. However, it quickly sinks into the skin. It really did leave my facial skin feeling soft and smooth. Very surprising. I'm not sure that it is going to "diminish wrinkles" or "reverse sun damage" like the marketing guys tell us. I just know that it made my skin feel nice and there wasn't a lot of work to make it happen. Both positives in my book.
There was only one negative about the whole experience and that was the applicator. When you get the package, the applicator comes separate from the bottle, which is OK. The applicator is listed as a pump applicator. I expected it to drop a dollop of serum on my finger so I could smush it all over my face. Instead, it is somewhere between a spray and a pump. The serum comes out a little too forcefully, ending up in the sink or on my shirt. Loved the serum, hated the applicator.
I am going to keep using the serum...when I remember to, anyway. Maybe it really will fix some of the problem areas on my face and make me look gorgeous. One can always hope, right?
What makes them think I finished anything? Nah, I did finish some things. Let's see...
I successfully ported my website (and this blog) from thegeekwithin.com to cassandra-morgan.com, complete with a new host and a fresh look. I am quite proud and happy about that.
I started my YouTube channel, which I am enjoying immensely. I'm not sure if that counts as "finished" since it will always be a work in progress but I got it this far!
Hm. I honestly don't know what else. A lot of the things I have are constant projects, like the YouTube thing. I don't usually have a lot of things to finish, just things to keep working on.
I just finished Stretching The Borders by Yael Shachnay. It took me a very long time to read this particular book. Much longer than it takes me to normally read a book. Don't worry, I'll get into that shortly.
Stretching The Borders tells the story of an Israeli woman, Naomi Raziel. She is currently married to Reuben and they have to children together, Uri and Ayelet. However, Naomi is not truly content in her life. On one fateful day, she meets her neighbor, Avinoam, whose wife is dying. Shortly thereafter, Naomi begins a torrid affair with Avinoam. One that will change their lives forever.
First, I'd like to state that I wouldn't classify this book as a "romance" novel. Yes, there are love stories here. Both Naomi with Reuben and Naomi with Avinoam. But I wouldn't say that is really the driving point of the story. The story is really about Naomi's wish to learn more about herself and try to stay the carefree, wild child she used to be. Everything that occurs within the story is a direct result of that one wish - to be the girl she used to be.
Second, I'd like to note that the book can be very difficult to read. This is why it took me so long. The book is written entirely from the first person perspective. That, alone, is fine. But there are times when the narrating character changes and the book doesn't give us any hints that we are no longer "inside" Naomi. It isn't until you get past the 'Wait, what?' moment and realize that we're now "inside" someone else that things make a bit more sense. In addition, the book is written as a very long letter to an old friend. That makes the character shifts even more jarring.
With both of those points made, I did enjoy the story. Granted, I didn't particularly like Naomi. She is a rather self-centered woman only concerned with how she used to be. While she seems to care for both her husband and children, it feels like a shallow thing that only exists so they can love her more. But, overall, I would recommend the book. Just give yourself plenty of time and patience to finish it.
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