Thursday Thirteen - Fun in NC

So, I used to live in NC before I moved to Atlanta. Here are thirteen really fun things to do in NC.

13 NC Attractions... 1. The Outer Banks - beautiful beaches on the east coast of NC. 2. The NC Zoo - it's small, but fun. 3. The Biltmore Estate - a must see in Asheville, NC. 4. Ocracoke Island - part of the Outer Banks. One of my most favorite places in the world! 5. NC Lighthouses - a wide variety and very cool to see. 6. Harrah's Cherokee - if you like a little gambling. 7. Corolla Wild Horses - you have to take a tour to see them, but they used to roam free along the beaches. (How cool is that!?!?) 8. World Beer Festival - in Raleigh, NC. I had friends who went just a few weeks ago and had an awesome time! 9. NC Museum of Art - small but some great stuff housed there! And, a great outdoor concert venue. 10. NC Aquarium - several locations along the coast. 11. The Blue Ridge Parkway - an absolutely gorgeous drive, particularly in the fall. 12. NC Museum of Natural Sciences - also in Raleigh, NC. 13. The NC State Fair - an annual event in October in Raleigh, NC. I drove back up for it last year. Always a lot of fun!!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in other's comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Leave your link in a comment, and I'll link back to you here:

Kaige's Thursday Thirteen

Word Trix's Thursday Thirteen

Adelle's Thursday Thirteen

Dawn's Thursday Thirteen

Eden's Thursday Thirteen

Gwen's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer M's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer S's Thursday Thirteen

Gina's Thursday Thirteen

Shelley's Thursday Thirteen

Paige's Thursday Thirteen

Tara's Thursday Thirteen

Ms. Menozzi's Thursday Thirteen

Tempest Knight's Thursday Thirteen
A. Catherine Noon's Thursday Thirteen

Yikes!

If you weren't already a big fan of glass when it comes to love toys, you might be after you read this article!

The Internet is for Porn...

Just for fun, from Avenue Q...

Original Video:


Here's another version, with WoW characters, but the sound is better:

Unconscious Mutterings

Here are my responses to a weekly meme that I found at On a Limb with Claudia:

1. Thug :: slime
2. Slurp :: wet
3. Alley :: way
4. Sweater vest :: hot
5. Targeted :: shoot
6. Snazzy :: nifty
7. Oy! :: vey
8. Jury duty :: ugh
9. Low fat :: carbs
10. Responsibility :: overload

Erotic Magnetic Poetry

Fey posted a super-cool link to a magnetic poetry site on the WRB today. You can pick from several magnetic poetry kits, and then move them around to create your own poetry. Here's my first attempt:




If you do one, leave me a link in the comments so I can check it out!

Thursday Thirteen - Boring Stuff

I've had a crazy busy week, so sorry the blog's been kinda dead and this list is going up late. And, sorry it's pretty boring, but it's what is on my mind at the moment. Happy TT!

13 Things I want to get done this weekend... 1. Clean out my car/Get car washed 2. Buy groceries 3. Complete draft of "Painter" story 4. Take my dogs for a walk 5. Catch up on blogs 6. Sleep 7. Play bunco Sunday night 8. Do laundry (ugh!) 9. Sweep the pollen off my porch 10. Have sex 11. Write flash story for WR prompt 12. Beta for Nic 13. Read something for fun

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in other's comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Leave your link in a comment, and I'll link back to you here:

Kaige's Thursday Thirteen

Word Trix's Thursday Thirteen

Adelle's Thursday Thirteen

Dawn's Thursday Thirteen

Eden's Thursday Thirteen

Gwen's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer M's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer S's Thursday Thirteen

Gina's Thursday Thirteen

Shelley's Thursday Thirteen

Paige's Thursday Thirteen

Tara's Thursday Thirteen

Ms. Menozzi's Thursday Thirteen

Tempest Knight's Thursday Thirteen
A. Catherine Noon's Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen - Men Are Like

13 Things Men are Like... 1. Laxatives ..... They irritate the crap out of you. 2. Bananas ..... The older they get, the less firm they are. 3. Weather ..... Nothing can be done to change them. 4. Blenders .....You need One, but you're not quite sure why. 5. Chocolate Bars ..... Sweet, smooth, & they usually head right for your hips. 6. Commercials ..... You can't believe a word they say. 7. Department Stores ..... Their clothes are always 1/2 off. 8. Government Bonds ..... They take soooooooo long to mature. 9. Mascara ..... They usually run at the first sign of emotion. 10. Popcorn ..... They satisfy you, but only for a little while. 11. Snowstorms ..... You never know when they're coming, how many inches you'll get or how long it will last. 12. Lava Lamps ..... Fun to look at, but not very bright. 13. Parking Spots .....All the good ones are taken, the rest are handicapped.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in other's comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Leave your link in a comment, and I'll link back to you here:

Kaige's Thursday Thirteen

Word Trix's Thursday Thirteen

Adelle's Thursday Thirteen

Dawn's Thursday Thirteen

Eden's Thursday Thirteen

Gwen's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer M's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer S's Thursday Thirteen

Gina's Thursday Thirteen

Shelley's Thursday Thirteen

Paige's Thursday Thirteen

Tara's Thursday Thirteen

Ms. Menozzi's Thursday Thirteen

Tempest Knight's Thursday Thirteen
A. Catherine Noon's Thursday Thirteen

Tagged by a muffin...

I got tagged by this cute muffin and this one!

You're feeling:
Not bad. Kinda tired, but otherwise alright.

To your left:
My backyard. I'm out with the dogs.

On your mind:
What all I still want to get done before going to bed. And the fact that I want to get to bed at a decent hour tonight.

Last meal included:
A burrito.

You sometimes find it hard to:
Be patient.

The weather:
Chilly. Low 50's. But, otherwise clear and nice.

Something you have a collection of:
Poorly behaved animals.

A smell that cheers you up:
Same as everyone else, apparently - the smell of cookies baking. *sigh*

A smell that can ruin your mood:
Dog poo. In my house. Grrrr. (She's a puppy, so we're hoping this will pass.)

How long since you last shaved:
A little over a week ago. But only b/c I went to the beach recently.

Current state of your hair:
Brown, curly, shoulder-length. I'm going to try to get it cut/colored later this week.

Largest thing on your desk/workspace (not computer):
Scanner.

Your skill with chopsticks:
Rather good, I think!

Which section do you head for first in a bookstore:
Romance, then wherever they hide the urban fantasy/paranormal romance.

Something you are craving:
Sleep.

Your general thoughts on the presidential race:
Anything blue works for me, but Obama is my pick.

How many times have you been hospitalized this year:
None.

Favourite place to go for a quiet moment:
My back yard.

You've always secretly thought you'd be a good:
Personal assistant. I'm pretty good at keeping organized and on top of things.

Something that freaks you out a little:
The responsibility of raising a kid.

Something you have eaten a little too much of lately:
Ice Cream.

You have never:
Killed anyone.

You never want to:
Go to the moon.

I'm pretty sure most of the people I know have done this one, so I'm not gonna tag anyone else. But, if you haven't done it and want to, leave me a comment and I'll come check out your answers!

A Monday Meme...

I snagged this meme from Darla.

Here’s how it works….You answer each question, search that answer in Google Image Search and then post the first picture that pops up.

Age at my next birthday: 30



Hubby and I were just talking with some friends last night about how I need to have a big party to celebrate having lived another decade. I think I'd prefer to just hide out and pretend I'm still in my 20's.











Place I’d like to travel: Australia



I actually have a friend in Australia and I swear one of these days I'm going to get over there to see her!!





Favorite place: Vancouver, BC



Hubby and I have been to Vancouver twice - it's one of our favorite places to visit. The people are so friendly, the weather is lovely and there's plenty of fun stuff to do!







Favorite object:
My lappy (laptop)




Couldn't live without it. Although, mine's a Dell.







Favorite color: Blue



Pretty!






Nickname: Jeanie Beanie



Um. That's not me. Promise!










Birthplace: Memphis, TN



Me and Elvis! Good 'ol Memphis.






I'm not going to tag anyone for this one, but if you want to join in, leave me a comment to your post so I can come check it out!

Happy Monday!!

D.E.A.R. Day

Today is National Drop Everything and Read Day!

What is National D.E.A.R. Day?
D.E.A.R. stands for Drop Everything and Read. National D.E.A.R. Day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority.

Who Is Leading the National D.E.A.R. Day Celebration?
The National Education Association (NEA); Parent Teacher Association (PTA); the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association; Reading Rockets; The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC); the Newspaper Association of America Foundation (NAA); First Book; HarperCollins Children’s Books; and Ramona Quimby.

When is National D.E.A.R. Day?
The National D.E.A.R. Day partners are marking the birthday of beloved author Beverly Cleary as the official event date, April 12th. Ramona Quimby, who was in charge of spreading the word about National D.E.A.R. Day last year, is relinquishing the National Spokesperson role in 2007 to actress Emma Roberts, star of Nickelodeon's Unfabulous and the upcoming Nancy Drew movie.

Why is National D.E.A.R. Day celebrated on Beverly Cleary’s birthday?
Beverly Cleary receives thousands of letters a year from young readers, many who have participated in D.E.A.R. at school. Their interest in and enthusiasm for this special reading activity inspired Mrs. Cleary to give the same experience to Ramona Quimby, who gets to enjoy D.E.A.R. time with the rest of her class in Ramona Quimby, Age 8.

How Can I Participate?
Schools, libraries, bookstores and other organizations are being asked to host Drop Everything and Read events on April 12. You can attend an event in your community or participate right in your own home by reading for 30 minutes!

Peper and Solt as You Please...

The autobiography of the American eccentric "Lord" Timothy Dexter (1748-1806) contains 8,847 words and no punctuation:

IME the first Lord in the younited States of Americary Now of Newburyport it is the voise of the peopel and I cant Help it and so Let it goue Now as I must be Lord there will foller many more Lords pretty soune for it dont hurt A Cat Nor the mouse Nor the son Nor the water Nor the Eare then goue on all is Easey Now …

When readers complained, he added a page of punctuation marks to the second edition, inviting them to "peper and solt it as thay plese."

From Futility Closet.

Fairies Unmasked

In 1920 two English cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, produced a series of photos that seemed to show them cavorting with fairies and gnomes.

The images were published in The Strand and convinced Arthur Conan Doyle, among others. In The Coming of the Fairies (1922), he wrote: "It is hard for the mind to grasp what the ultimate results may be if we have actually proved the existence upon the surface of this planet of a population which may be as numerous as the human race, which pursues its own strange life in its own strange way, and which is only separated from ourselves by some difference of vibrations."

For 60 years, the cousins maintained that the photographs depicted real fairies and gnomes they'd encountered behind the family house near Bradford, England. Until, in 1981 they admitted that the creatures had been paper cutouts held up with hatpins.

But Frances maintained until her death that the photo below was genuine.

From Futility Closet.

Vacation Reading...

So, I'm on vacation this week and had some free time to read. Having just won a free download of Emily Ryan-Davis's, All The Trees In Pearl, this was at the top of my list. It was a quick, fun read. See my more detailed review over at the Writer's Retreat Blog.

April Showers...

...bring lots to do!!

I've been reviewing my list of calls/contests and trying to decide what my next project is going to be. The good news is that I have no shortage of things to pick from. The bad news is that I want to do them all! I'm going to list them here, so you can see how crazy I am. And I'll update throughout and at the end of the month with how much I actually got done.

April FFC - Earth, Fire, Water, Air
Maximum of 1,000 words due on 4/15/2008.

O&C Erotica Adventures
2,000 - 6,000 words due on 4/15/2008.

O&C Anthology
2,000 - 6,000 words due on 4/20/2008.

There are some other things due 5/1/2008 that I'm considering, but I won't make definite decisions on those or bother you with the details until the next week or so.

Wish me luck!!

A Great Day!

So, today was a pretty awesome day for me.

First, it's Friday. End of my work week. Yay!! I'm heading on vacation tomorrow for five days, so another reason to be glad this week is over.

Second, my first line entry received an honorable mention on Redlines and Deadlines today. There were some other cool entries, so you should check it out.

Third, I won a free copy of Emily Ryan-Davis’s All The Trees In Pearl from Hot & Bothered. I'll be sure to post a review once I've read it to let you all know how it is. (Oh, and great timing that I can read it while on vacation next week!)

Hope you had a great day and have a wonderful weekend!
*hugs*

A Quick Update...

Lots going on, as usual. I'm still absolutely in love with google reader. I just can't say enough about how much I love it; I hope this honeymoon period lasts forever!!

Yesterday I busted ass to get my short story, Truth, tweaked and submitted to the Desdmona Sex in the Rain Contest. It's in and winners are announced on April 15th, so I'll keep you posted!

I also found out yesterday that The Erotic Woman will feature my erotic poem, He Said, She Said, on their site next Tuesday. I'm sure I'll post the link next week so everyone can take a peek.

End of Quarter Update:
My goals at the beginning of 2008 were to submit one piece a month and to get something published by the end of the year. So far I've submitted at least three pieces a month and I've had one poem and four flashes selected for publishing. I'll be looking forward over the next few days to revise my goals and make a plan for the next quarter of the year. I've got some ideas for longer stories, and some contests/calls that have caught my attention, so we'll have to see what I decide to go for.

~Kat

Thursday Thirteen - Games

My Thursday Thirteen...

13 Games I Like to Play... 1 - Monopoly 2 - Rummikub 3 - Spades 4 - Pictionary 5 - Scrabble 6 - Rummy 7 - Clue 8 - Apples to Apples 9 - Bridge 10 - Twister 11 - Taboo 12 - Cranium 13 - Quarters Games I don't really like include Risk, Battleship and Trivial Pursuit.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in other's comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Leave your link in a comment, and I'll link back to you here:

Kaige's Thursday Thirteen

Word Trix's Thursday Thirteen

Adelle's Thursday Thirteen

Dawn's Thursday Thirteen

Eden's Thursday Thirteen

Gwen's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer M's Thursday Thirteen

Jennifer S's Thursday Thirteen

Gina's Thursday Thirteen

Shelley's Thursday Thirteen

Paige's Thursday Thirteen

Tara's Thursday Thirteen

Ms. Menozzi's Thursday Thirteen

Tempest Knight's Thursday Thirteen
A. Catherine Noon's Thursday Thirteen

I Guess You'll Do...

This is really funny. And, as much as you hate to admit it, parts of it are pretty accurate.

Easter Resolution...

I recently realized that I need to get better at keeping up with the blogs I enjoy. I've got lots of sites that I visit infrequently, but always enjoy when I do get around to checking them out. I didn't think I had the time to visit them regularly to figure out if there's anything new or not. Until today.

Today I discovered the beauty of Google Reader. I can subscribe to all my favorite blogs and see the updated content at all of them on one page! I'm still new with it and my husband assures me there's all kinds of cool things it can do, but I know this is going to make my life better. Thank you, Google!!

Oh, btw, since I no longer have to be scared of having yet another site to try to keep up with, which sites/blogs would you recommend? List them in the comments so I can check them out and add them to my reader!

Thanks!
~Kat

WRB - sexyjack site review

Today kicks off our rotating schedule of blogging over at the Writer's Retreat Blog. We've got nine authors contributing to the site, so it should be a great mix of styles and topics. I'll be rambling over there every other Monday. For my first entry I reviewed a great photo compilation site, sexyjack. You can read my review here.