ON MOVIES ~ Unforgettable...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Memorable Oscar Moments...

Oscar night is always entertaining. It rarely lives up to all the hype, but there is always something memorable that happens. Maybe it is a great host or musical performance. Perhaps a speech is daring. Or someone's outfit is over the top. And every now and then, the right people win. Here are our the memorable Oscar moments that lept to our minds first. As you can see, we were most fond of winning reactions. Share on your blog those moments that stood out instantly for your, linking back here for others to see. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

Upon winning his Best Actor Oscar in 2008 for the Pianist, Adrien Brody does what most every straight man in the world dreams of doing. He lays a big, fat, swooning, spur of the moment smooch on presenter, Halle Berry.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. reacted the way every Oscar winner before or after has felt inside. It was refreshing to see him share that with the world. In fact Cuba, we love YOU.

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON BLOGGING ~ May I Have Your Attention Please...

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Welcome to our weekly BlogAnon meeting where we confess a particular blogging sin and turn to you for support, suggestions and that blogging bond so we know we're not all alone. Don't be shy. Read along and let us know if you identify with us this week.

One of the first things I was told over and over when I first started blogging was that posts should be short and concise. Lists or headers throughout were good because it segmented thoughts into easy to digest pieces. I was told that people have tiny attention spans and won't focus if posts are too long. I was told that people might not even READ a post if they see that it is more than two paragraphs. Basically, I was told that all those people out there in the blogosphere never really read anything at all because they have the attention span of an gnat.

I think this is what people say to scare people away from blogging so they can have more of the blogosphere all to themselves without having to compete with bright and thoughtful posts.

I also think that blogging lends itself naturally to verbosity. And that bloggers like to write, to share, to read. And that they would rather spend their time reading a few really interesting, thought provoking or gut busting posts that require scrolling rather than reading a bunch of quickies that scream out something without substance.

Am I wrong? Or am I just creating an excuse for my rambling tendencies? I do believe that there are ways to make lengthier posts flow better visually. But you don't need tricks to keep people reading. What you need is something interesting to GET people reading. If they like it, they'll stick around. If they don't, they won't. Simple as that.

I like reading what you have to say. That's why I save your posts in my Reader for when I have time to hang with you. I have the ability to be engaged. So I treat this blog the same way. I might not always have something you want to read. And that's OK. But I believe you have the ability to decide that for yourself rather than trying to trick you into spending time here via quick lists of thoughts that don't matter to you.

Are you a skimmer? Have you ever bagged reading a post just because it looked long? Do you try to limit your posts' length? Or do you just write the words you need to say and duration be damned?

ON FUN ~ Here's Hoping He Doesn't Strike Us Down...

Silent prayer by `gilad on deviantART

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Its OK to get angry with God. He can take it."

~ LESSON #8

I'm not an extremely religious person. I don't generally discuss it here simply because I know there are lots of faiths and beliefs out there and I don't like having them preached to me so why should I do unto others what I would not want done to me? But for the sake of this discussion, I can give you some basic background.

Andy is Catholic. I am not. I was raised Protestant. Because we moved a lot we attended a variety of churches from several Protestant faiths since we would always join whatever one happened to be closest to our new home. The one that I spent the most time within in my formative years was a Presbyterian church. I liked it there. I enjoyed the congregation, the youth group activities and actually thought a lot of the aspects of the service were pretty interesting. But when we left that town, the church nearest to our new home was Episcopalian so that was the end of church for us. Too many churchy rules for my folks I guess.

I get the sense that Catholics are taught to fear God as well as love him. I'm not sure they feel comfortable being angry with him. That whole guilt thing creeps in. I asked Andy and he said he didn't really think it was OK to be angry with God. Then again, he doesn't like conflict in general. So I'm not sure how much of that response was based on his religious faith. I however do not feel guilty or uncomfortable about being able to be angry with God. Maybe because I do not feel bound by a specific religion's code, having kind of created my own. I don't go to church and I don't spend a lot of time reading my Bible. But I do think about life, and death from a faith perspective. I've been known to pray in my own way. I build my own relationship with the man upstairs.

But for all of the freedom I feel in this open relationship, I can't say that I have ever been angry with God. Not because it isn't my right to question or that I don't think he would take it, but because I am pretty sure it isn't going to get me anywhere. There are terrible things that my loved ones have endured. They are unfair. And it pisses me off. It makes me sad. But it never crosses my mind to yell at the head of my personal religion.

Maybe it is because I am not completely sure anyone is really there. Or that if they are, that they really have control over everything. I tend to believe that we are all created with a roadmap inside. A few sets of people that we are destined to meet in our lifetime that can put us in a position to do what our creator intends for us to accomplish. But in the end, we have free will and that often screws up the neat little roadmap. So sometimes we make things way more difficult to be put in motion than they should have been. And sometimes we just flat out cause things to not play out at all. That's why there are so many of us floating around out there - the hope is that eventually some of us will get it right.

So although I think it is OK to vent my anger at the God I have a relationship with, I also feel that it might be a bit counterproductive since they really can't fix all of the world's issues. But I bet it would feel good to let it out. To have someone to complain to, to question, to yell at. And then have them say "I know, I know. I am on your side. I want the same things you do. Trust me. We'll find a way through." Kind of like your BFF.

ON BOOKS ~ No Excuses...

Today I have another of my recurring posts on the new group book blog, Quirky Girls Read. Previously I tried to define the Classic genre. Today's post is an attempt to debunk what I refer to as the Three Classic Excuses.

Through my posts every other Tuesday, I focus mostly on the world of Classics and how I hope to help people find an interest in it. A big hurdle to that is the frequent wall readers throw up at the mere mention of a Classic book recommendation. So today I try to tear that wall down.

So hop on over to QGR and let us know if you use any of the Three Classic Excuses and if I've done anything to change your mind. If that doesn't pique your interest, here are some of the other topics you'll find over there from the past week:

• Angelina Jolie's Unauthorized Biography
• A Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale Retelling YA Review
• A Book Vs. Movie Debate On An Alien Fighting To Survive

ON MOVIES ~ Should Be Continued...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Non-Existent Sequels...

Last week, The Gal Herself suggested a topic that intrigued me. "What movie doesn't have a sequel that you wish did?" Ahhhhh - the terrific world of WHAT IF?! There are tons of movies that have sequels that shouldn't have. And even some where the sequels were better than the original. But an endless possibility exists for those missing sequels that you'd love to see. Here are a few that made our wish list. Share on your blog movies lacking that next installment that you'd be first in line to see. Don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• Juno (2007) - Did Juno & Bleeker stay soul mates forever? Did they get to know their first child after all? Did they have any more of their "own?"
• The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - Good God! What happened to Tom Ripley? How many others did he snooker, take advantage of and cause to "disappear?" Did he ever get caught? Did he take his impressions back to the US? Did he ever realize how insane he was? I need to know.
• Bull Durham (1988) - I'm pretty sure this movie was perfect, but I'd like to see a version with Crash Davis as coach of today's minor leaguers to see how the world of steroids, outside cultures and instant media would impact Annie's church of baseball.
• Best In Show (2000) - I just want to hear Fred Willard improv more dog show commentary.
• The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) - There will be. There won't be. There will be but Matt won't be in it. There will be but it will be a prequel instead. Screw that. I want a 4th Bourne movie, to continue the last one and I want Matt Damon in it. And I want it now.

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON BLOGGING ~ Get Creative...

During this month's Bumble Town Chat, we discussed various administrative blogging tasks that participating chatters had questions about.  Everyone has something that they keep meaning to get to and usually don't because they don't know how.  One task that I had for our blog was to get to the bottom of this Creative Commons business.

I am a big proponent of giving credit where credit is due.  Using quotes.  Attribution.  I don't want to block someone who wants to re-post something I have written or photographed, as long as my name is attached to it.  I want people to be able to see what I have created but also to know that I created it.  Just because it is on the internet does not mean it is free for the stealing.  The problem is that you can't do anything really to block your work from being illegally used by someone else.  You have legal recourse if they do so inappropriately, but that process can be daunting.

What I have found however, is that the majority of violators are doing so without malice.  They don't realize the rules so to speak.  Which is where Creative Commons comes in for me.  Creative Commons (CC) helps visitors, readers or users of your blog, site or printed works understand the parameters of common usage rights you are granting to them.  It has been my experience that if I come across an image that I want to use, and I see guidelines on the originating site, I am more apt to follow them.  If there aren't guidelines easily found, I don't make a lot of effort to create them.

I went to CC's website and after reading through some of their FAQ's decided to try their "simple license chooser."  You answer 3 basic questions and there are pop up informational balloons to clarify further.  Then you fill in your direct details such as a description of your works, your name, your blog address and a link to any existing disclosure page you might have.  The CC site then converts these details into the guidelines you see in the new guideline statement we just posted below to the right on our sidebar.  CC provides you with the HTML code to insert into your site wherever you like.  It does not capture your information for their records or store it anywhere.

So now I have some guidelines here on our blog with the hopes that anyone wishing to replicate our stuff without modification will do so on a personal level only and credit us directly.  Plus, they are an added tool to assist in the legal fight if some jerk ignores them and steals our stuff anyway.

So - don't be that guy.  When you find something belonging to someone else that you like, look around for those handy CC guidelines and follow them.  If they don't have guidelines, ask permission.  Always credit back the original source directly.  And create your own CC guidelines to make life easier for yourself and everyone else.

ON FAMILY ~ No Such Thing As A Crying Shame...

Image courtesy apocaknits via Flickr

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone."

~ LESSON #7

I am not a big crier. Oh sure, every now and then some scene from a movie or a book sneaks up on me and catches me off guard, but for the most part my eyes stay dry. It isn't because I don't care. It just seems that my body expresses sadness in a different way.

But let me tell you. Moments of extreme, intense grief most always result in crying that would remind you of Niagara Falls. It is all or nothing with me it seems. In thinking about those moments, I realize that most of them occurred privately. It wasn't that I was ashamed to be seen in that state. It just happened to work out that way. By the time someone got to me, or I got to them, my body had exhausted itself of all tears and energy.

When I was in my mid-20's, one of my good friends was killed in a motorcycle accident on the other side of the country. This shocking news was absorbed as a group since I was fortunate to be with Andy and some friends when we got the call. I bawled all night long, in the arms of people who knew him, loved him and mourned him as much as I did. It was painful, but cathartic to go through that initial moment of emotions with other people rather than alone. It took me a long time to experience memories of my friend without being sad. He missed so much. And I missed him. Still do. But in a healthier way now. If I had been forced to grieve initially for him on my own, I'm not sure I would have had a strong healing base.

On the other end of things, it seems that every time I lose a pet, I am alone. I am always on the phone gasping for air trying to say the words out loud to Andy that a member of our four legged family has died or is about to go. For those of you who do not have pets, it will seem disrespectful of me to pair stories of grief over cats with grief over a friend. But love is love. There are different levels but it still causes joy and sadness, regardless of the package delivering it.

Most recently, when sweet Lucy suffered a massive, painful, sudden and paralyzing blood clot outside one sunny Saturday morning last summer a piece of my soul was ripped out along with my heart. She was only 2 years old. We had nursed her fragile heart for a year and extended her life on several occasions. We knew that day might come exactly as it did. But we still thought maybe something could be done. So I drove her to the emergency clinic alone, thinking maybe she had just broken a leg outside. When the bad news was delivered, I couldn't take it. I was alone while waiting for Andy to arrive so we could say goodbye to her together. I wailed at the wall outside in the dingy lot behind the clinic. I stared up at the beautiful day and begged for someone to make the pain stop. I cried so hard I couldn't breathe. I couldn't walk. I couldn't stop. I wondered how on Earth a parent survives the death of a child. Because if this was the way I felt over a beloved kitten, I didn't think I could ever survive the horror of the experience with a human being.

And then Andy came. We hugged and cried. We didn't talk. We just cried. Together. And then we went inside and said goodbye to that sweet little cat. And we went home and helped her brother learn to be an only cat. Having each other to lean on and cry with allowed us to recover and move on. Crying with someone else is better than crying alone. But I think it is better to cry with someone rather than just on someone. If they aren't crying with you for the same reasons it isn't quite the same.

ON FUN ~ Ab Fab...

Every time I see this award in the blogosphere, I can't help but think of that tremendous British comedy show, Absolutely Fabulous. That show cracked me up. I've actually heard it may be returning to the airwaves again. THAT would be Ab Fab.

But in the meantime, we were given this award last month by not one, but two fabulous bloggers in their own right - Boliyou and The Gal Herself. I love Boliyou's snapshots of Rhode Island, her fanaticism for all things Star Wars and the fact that she supports our monthly group chats whenever she can. I love The Gal's pining for Cubbie baseball, the fierce honesty she displays about herself and the fact that she has the biggest crush ever on Mark Harmon.

I was very excited to receive this award since it is not one we have in our trophy room yet which means I no longer need to be jealous of those who have it. In order to join the recipients, we are supposed to list 5 fabulous things about ourselves and pass it along like chain mail. I don't do chain mail. And I don't think there are that many fabulous things about me. So what I will do instead, in honor of Valentine's Day, is list 5 fabulous things about Andy and call it a day. In no particular order...

1. Every day could be Valentine's Day for me because Andy most always has dinner ready to be served when I come home from work. And when he doesn't, there are always yummy leftovers in the fridge that even I know how to reheat.

2. Not only does he do all the cooking and grocery shopping, but he does the DISHES!!! He actually enjoys doing the dishes. He jams out to his tunes and thinks whatever happy thoughts Bumbles think when they have some alone time at the sink.

3. In addition to having a lovely smelling dinner wafting out to me when I reach the door, I usually hear his wonderful cackle as he watches the same Seinfeld repeats for the gazillionth time. It is fabulous medicine to come home from work to a happy belly laugh.

4. He loves a road trip. As organized as he likes to be in his life, he is able to let things go and just explore sometimes. A free spirit and the desire for wonder always keeps life interesting.

5. He loves ME. That is probably the most fabulous thing of all, as far as I'm concerned. And I count my lucky stars every day.

ON MOVIES ~ Show Me The Money...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

Molly looked around for a weekly meme about movies and did not have any luck. So therefore she decided to start her own! Andy will play along as well - hopefully you will too. Go to your blog and create your own post on the topic, linking back to us in your post, then come back and leave a link to your post here in our Comments section. If you don’t have a blog, just share your response in the Comments section.

This week's movie topic is all about Money...

What? You were expecting a movie topic about love or romance in honor of Valentine's Day? Or music due to the Grammy awards? Nah. I spent a part of my weekend doing our taxes. So that is more where my focus was. Share on your blog movies that focus on making money, finding money, losing money, stealing money or spending money. I've shared Andy's selections below since I was too preoccupied with real money to play along. Don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

• Ocean's Eleven (2001)
• Catch Me If You Can (2002)
• Quick Change (1990)
• Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
• It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
  

 Do you have a topic to suggest to the Monday Movie Meme? Or would you like to guest host? Let us know in the Comments section or send us an e-mail.

ON FUN ~ Last Chance To Beat The Bumbles...

LAST CHANCE TO JOIN OUR CBS SURVIVOR FANTASY LEAGUE!!!

If you would like to have a team in our Tribal Fantasy League either let me know in the comments or send me an e-mail and I will send you an invite to join the league. It is a private league. You simply set up a free login for CBS and then pick 4 contestants from the upcoming season of Survivor to be on your team. You can change your team around from week to week. CBS has created a set of events that might occur in any given episode that are worth points for your team to earn. And the more points, the better your standing in the Tribe to win it all.

The season starts February 16th at 8PM ET and CBS has photos and bio lists along with brief video clips on each contestant that you can look through to get a feel for who these people are. Oh. And two former players are returning this season too. Lets just say, they are both men and they hated each other on the recent "Heroes vs. Villains" season. One roots for the Red Sox and one roots only for himself. This season also has a new Redemption Island twist allowing voted off contestants to fight their way back into the game. Not sure if I'll like that set-up but you've gotta love Survivor's moxie in always trying something new.

Join myself, Andy, Stacy, Jenny and Kaye and see if you can be the last Survivor standing. (NOTE - CBS requires a US address to register)

ON FUN ~ I Never Stand Corrected...

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree."

~ LESSON #6

Uh-oh. It seems that I have yet to learn this important lesson. People, I am always right. And I am very stubborn about this. I am also very frustrated that this easy truth is difficult for others to accept sometimes.

I can't let it go either. I can't let others walk away from the dispute, calling things a draw. I need to be right. And then I sulk over it and prey on innocent bystanders to use their agreement with me as proof of my convictions.

This is not healthy. I realize this. But I don't know how to let someone else have the satisfaction when I know they are wrong. OK. So I don't know how to admit that I'm wrong on the minuscule occasions where it becomes evident that I am. It is a terrible fault of mine that causes a lot of stress.

My boss is very stubborn. I am very stubborn. He is a control freak on all aspects of the world he encounters. He is also very generous, kind, funny and smart. And so I overlook his controlling nature for the most part. But when we have a difference of opinion or recollection, I take it as a personal challenge to win that dispute. My competitive drive to win kicks in. And his need to control kicks in. And we have quite the row when that happens. It can ruin the day and leave us both piping mad and grumbling to ourselves for hours. This causes me to lose focus and interest in my tasks at hand and leads to an unproductive streak. Which leads to stress later over the work that I allowed to get backed up.

My boss is always the first one to give in. He will sidle up to my desk and ask me if I want a Coke. Or offer to buy me lunch. He'll tell me my hair looks nice or try to distract me with sports news. It breaks the ice and allows things to enter back into our normal peaceful and harmless bickering and bantering. He never admits he is wrong or I am right. He just wants me to be a productive employee again and have his smiling friend back. He agrees to disagree.

I of course take this as a sign of weakness and internally proclaim myself the victor. Winner of the debate. In the right. Per usual.

ON BOOKS ~ I'm Closer To A Classic Than A New Release...

Today marks my debut post on the new group book blog, Quirky Girls Read. I explained how the collaboration came to be last week and hope that you have had a chance to stop by and visit with everyone. Today's post is a discussion on what makes a book a Classic.

Through my posts every other Tuesday, I will be trying to champion the Classics genre over on QGR while mixing in reviews or thoughts on more recently published books. I have developed a passion for the oldies in recent years, possibly because I am closer to their age than the new ones being released. But truly, it is because I think they get a bad rap from readers who were exposed to them as brainiac work in school years rather than engaging, entertaining and timeless stories to be savored at one's own pace and agenda.

So hop on over to QGR and add your voice to the discussion on the definition of a Classic. And if that doesn't pique your interest, here are some of the other topics you'll find over there from the past week:

• Caldecott Award Winning Picture Book Review
• Do Reading Challenges Create Overachievers?
• Young Adult Review of My Name Is Memory

ON MOVIES ~ Temporary Hiatus...

Feature Presentation...

MONDAY MOVIE MEME

No Monday Movie Meme today - hosted a Super Bowl party that ended late ;0)

ON BLOGGING ~ Chat Reminder...

Due to a forgotten real life date with co-workers last Friday, I had to postpone the January Bumble Chat until tonight. So, if you are available any time from 8:30PM - 10:00PM ET tonight, Friday - February 4th, stop on by at any point for any duration! What are we chatting about? Behind the scenes blog work.

We hope to share what types of things folks want to work on, share tips on how to get things accomplished, and compare strategies on when blog maintenance should be done. Consider this a brainstorming chat. What is the one thing you most want to do to your blog? What is the one thing that most needs to be done to your blog? What is the one thing that you do the most to take care of your blog? Bring ideas, share ideas and get ideas. We'll follow-up with any research type questions in future blog tip posts or other Bumble Chats.

And if you just finished Bloggiesta and have your blog in ship shape, come by and teach the rest of us how to reach your enviable position.

See You Tonight!

**If you can't make this chat but want to be reminded of future ones, let us know in a comment or e-mail and we'll add you to the new Bumble Chat E-Mail List. Bumble Chats occur each month, on a Friday night to be determined, with the next topic selected by the current chat's participants.**

ON FUN ~ Give Me Some Credit...

Image courtesy Andres Rueda via Flickr

At the age of 45, writer Regina Brett wrote a column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer listing 45 lessons that life had taught her thus far. As a breast cancer survivor, many of those lessons were learned the hard way. Five years later she added five more lessons rounding her list up to 50 and turned her popular list into a book called God Never Blinks. I found her list to be entertaining, inspiring and thought provoking. I thought I would go through each of her lessons learned and write about how that lesson has or has not come up in my own life, now that I am 40 and feel old enough to have finally learned something.

"Pay off your credit cards every month."

~ LESSON #5

When I was 23 years old, I met the cutest guy. Granted, I met him at a bar while playing darts, but that was my scene back then so where else would I have met him? I had not had a boyfriend in a loooong time. This cute guy was very polite and sweet and repeated my phone number his whole way home until he could get to a piece of paper to write it down. Ah, the world before smart phones. He called me the next day and we soon became an item. My roommate thought he seemed like quite the keeper.

When he lost his job I felt bad for how poorly his boss had treated him. When his mom and sister and niece moved out of the apartment he shared with them and he lost the lease, I invited him to come live with us. He found another job and contributed to the rent. Life got a little crammed in that apartment with us and my roommate and her boyfriend all together. I was sure that was the cause of our recent bickering. So the two couples moved apart into our own places. Everything was exciting and new.

Mr. Wonderful lost another job. This wasn't his fault either. He always seemed to be suffering at the hands of everyone else. He was insulted that I tried to line up a job interview through a connection - couldn't I see that showed I had no faith in his abilities to take care of himself? "By the way - we're out of groceries and beer - pick those up, will ya?" Couldn't I see that he had too much pride to take a retail job in his hometown? "You should take that job to bring in some extra cash instead, babe."

This lazy asshole bled me dry - emotionally and financially. I stayed with him as long as I did because he owed me so much money and I thought there was no way I'd ever see that cash again if he was not in my life. I couldn't pay our utility bills. I barely had enough for our rent. I charged whatever I could for the things that we needed and hid the cards from him. He lounged on the couch, drank beer and accused me of cheating on him when I didn't come home after work and went out with friends instead.

I escaped this nightmare because in a drunken, jealous stupor one evening he decided I wasn't worth his awesomeness and proclaimed he was breaking up with me. My get out of jail free card had been granted. Before he could realize the free ride he'd just given up I accepted and kicked him out of the apartment. Then I called my parents and did something I had never done before. I asked them for money so that I could get back on my feet.

The first thing that I did with that loan was to set up a payment plan with all of the companies that I owed money to. I had maxed out my minimal credit on my cards but I never missed a minimum payment. I knew that my future credit rating depended partly upon timely payments. I took some of that money my parents lent to me and began to pay down those credit card balances.

It took a long time to crawl my way out of debt. I found a new roommate and fought to keep my financial issues from impacting her. I hated men for a little while and enjoyed freedom for a change. And eventually I was able to pay back my parents in full. In a moment of extreme irony, I also found out that my roommate's sister's new boyfriend was none other than my former Mr. Wonderful. She met him at a temp job and thought he looked spiffy in his work clothes - a wardrobe I had bought and paid for. I laughed my head off, warned her never to lend him anything or let him live in her home. He took her for a smaller ride than he did me so I feel that I least I spared her some pain.

That jerk taught me a lot of lessons about myself. Because he treated me so poorly, I was able to see just how many awesome things I deserved. So when my good friend Andy snuck a smoock at a party one night, I took the plunge and began dating the nicest guy I knew. Because I deserved it. I also learned that you can't always do it all by yourself. Sometimes you need to suck it up and ask for help. And also, even in the depths of financial crisis, paying your credit card balances will afford you the ability to have a wonderful life later on down the road when you find your way back to financial stability. Mr. Not So Wonderful broke my spirit for a while, but he never screwed up my credit.

ON BOOKS ~ Quirky Girls Read...

Way back in September, I wrote a Blog Tips post about how collaboration can be a time saver in the blogosphere. In that post I created a hypothetical scenario using a book blog as an example to illustrate the group blog concept. By pure coincidence, my blog buddy, Jehara, had just set up a book blog separate from her personal blog. She decided that having others help her provide interesting content to her book blog was an attractive concept and came to me with all of her ambition and excitement about it.

I have always hung out on the fringes of the book blogging community, lacking the time or devotion to take the plunge completely with a book blog of my own. Jehara offered me an opportunity to join the community through her new group book blog that she had decided to undertake. I accepted immediately.

From that same Blog Tips post of mine, Margot of Joyfully Retired left a comment also reacting strongly to the group blogging concept. I remembered her enthusiasm about the topic and suggested that Jehara reach out to her. And so she did.

Jehara also pulled in her friends Faith and Izzy who, like me, had a big interest in books but whose blogs focused on all kinds of personal thoughts. Jehara worked tirelessly and through a debilitating bout of illness during the holiday season to organize us all towards this new collaborative effort. Together we all put our heads together to help her come to some conclusions on editorial format, style and goals.

Today is the official launch of Quirky Girls Read - Jehara's group book blog baby! I am so excited to be a part of the adventure and hope that you will head on over and check us out. As our posting begins this month, you will find a collection of reviews, thoughts, memes and discussion about all genres and topics in the literary world. It is a way for each of us to contribute to this passion of ours without having to do it all by ourselves. So far this endeavor has introduced me to some pretty cool ladies. Why not go introduce yourself to them?