Monday, March 31, 2008

Super Glue


Happy Monday! I had another of my infamous glue-accidents this weekend. I am not good with glue. This time, I had a broken item (keeping this mysterious on purpose) and decided to use Super Glue again, since I actually had some success earlier in the week when I broke a plate. Uh-oh-- the Super Glue cap had glued itself to the tube.
Naturally, I opened my blabber mouth and told my husband. He, of course, shook his head in dismay and informed me that I am now BANNED from using glue. Glue of any type. Glue is not my friend. Etc etc etc.

So, this morning, I sat down and Googled super glue and found that it was easy enough to just soak the tube in warm soapy water for a little while and the cap came off! Now I can't wait for Mike to get home and use the glue on the item in question so I don't mess things up again. I am never to use glue again without Adult Supervision. Mike has nightmares about me gluing all my fingers together and not being able to dial for help. Or type and therefore work!

GH-- well twice in two different real life people's lives (what a whacked sentence), GH has been interuppted by a President getting shot. JFK and Ronald Reagan. Just saying---weird. Should be another fun week what with Michael getting shot, and whatever the heck else is going to happen. Spoilers are drying up faster than super glue these days. Maybe Sonny has a hit out on people who leak storylines?

Hillary Clinton--- so far in debt to so many people. She is just stiffing people for money she owes them left and right as far as I can tell from the news. Hey, that's a great way to build confidence in voters. Just saying.....not so smart.

Shout out to my new bud Gail! I needed a new happy funny read to join my regular crowd and expand my horizons with your wit and our amazing coincidences in our lives!
Azanna Azanna Azanna....go ahead Gail-- through it out there into as many sentences as you can! Azanna loves it!

Oh and the bestest most happy news-- Kathy Lee Gifford is joining The Today show for their 4th hour. Good thing I can pick from The View or Will and Grace at that time--or just plunk my butt down here at the computer and do some work. I am again, very studiously avoiding work. It might have something to do with the Death Pool on 3 different people we know as to who goes first, and then there is the whole can I wear the same outfit to all 3 funerals? Why do people have to go and get sick and die anyway? It doesn't seem fair.....

Stay well, will you? ALL of you!

Laura
The More Books the Better

Friday, March 28, 2008

Rainy Friday


The above is just one picture taken by Elevision! Visit this link for the story, and watch for the show to appear, I believe on Animal Planet. Elevision Story
Hey, better rain than snow!!! A good day to catch up on emails, work on the book, work on next weeks newspaper article, and delay all of the above by blogging!

I had a wonderful visit with my sister in law and niece yesterday. It was my first time seeing them in about 12 years or more. Our niece is now 26! She was just a teen when I last spent time with her. She's grown into a lovely young woman who is extra bright, funny, and loving. It was a weird day because they were here to make final arrangements for our nieces dad, who is the ex-husband of my husband's sister. He's in Hospice care now and they had to have a whole series of discussions with him and then go to the local funeral home.....but it all seems to have gone smoothly and now it's just a waiting game. We talked about it quite a bit, but we also had many other things to share. Kate shares my love of music, she remembers watching Dark Shadows on the Sci-Fi channel with me, she believes in fairies and elves, and adores cats! She also rescued an abused dog and she and her boyfriend spoil him silly. My SIL looks great too---amazing after the accident last year when a horse kicked her in the face. All in all, and despite the sad circumstances it really was a wonderful day and I was glad to give them some love and attention. I only wish they lived closer.

Oh--and I'll be up late tonight/tomorrow morning! My favorite Theoretical Physicist, Dr Michiu Kaku is on Coast to Coast with Art Bell filling in as host tonight! Check your local radio station listings. Dr Kaku will be discussing his new book.

You can buy the book by clicking on the picture above. I always love to listen to Dr Kaku since he is one of the smartest and most articulate people on the planet today. He makes the most complicated phsyics seem easy and even perfectly reasonable enough to wrap your brain around!

Laura
The More Books the Better

Monday, March 24, 2008

Funny Monday


Guess what the above is????
Are you ready kids? Fun stuff today!

Breaking news: "The ship leaves at noon and the salmon better be on it". Inside joke sort of-- I woke myself up the other morning saying the above and I have NO IDEA what it means or why I said it! I've shared it with others and now I have friends and family walking around saying it at random times and laughing because it's just so silly!

I'm reading a really funny book and have the sequel at hand also.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Hoppy Easter



Marlea is now eight months old but we first noticed that there were three distinct numbers in the iris of her eyes at about two months old. There is a 2 and 3 in the right eye and a 9 in the left. We have searched to find anyone else who has the same patterns or even something similar with no luck, even the pediatrician says they have never seen anything like it. We think it is pretty cool and thought the Coast audience might too.

--Marlea's Mom
marleacooleyes@gmail.com


Hoppy, Happy Easter to all! I found the above photos and story at Coast to Coast
How bizarre is that? It doesn't look photoshopped to me--who would ever even think to dream something like that up?

Speaking of dreams, I am on a roll for weird dreams again. Crazy dreams about waking up to find dozens of strangers in my house who have moved in with all sorts of exotic animals and huge animals in the back yard. Then yesterday, I woke up talking in my sleep and said "The ship leaves at noon and the salmon better be on it". HUH???

I may have another interesting blog later with photos of the back of my own eyes from my recent eye exam! It depends how creepy they really look....

Laura
The More Books the Better and the Salmon better be on that noon ship! LOL!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wednesday Woes & GH Scoops


It seems that almost everyone I know has some sort of major problem or problems today. Hence the title Wednesday Woes. It is most unusual, but for me things have finally settled into a fairly good place. So, of course, me being me, I'm waiting for the proverbial piano to fall from the sky and I end up splattered in some horribly embarrasing place. We must find some fun in this day!

The above picture is a now famous cornflake. Story is from annanova.com

The £100,000 cornflake

Bidding for a cornflake resembling the US state of Illinois has reached more than £100,000 on eBay.



Two sisters listed 'The Great Illinois Corn Flake' on the auction site, promising it had undergone no cosmetic alterations.

Emily McIntire, a 15-year-old in high school from Chesapeake, Virginia, said she was grabbing fistfuls of cereal on her way to class when she found the flake.

"It was almost to my mouth, it didn't look like Illinois at first because it was held the wrong way," she said.

But then she noticed the resemblance and said: "Oh my goodness, it's Illinois."

Her 23-year-old sister, Melissa, said their parents suggested selling it for fun. They're offering free shipping, providing the buyer is in Illinois.

"At the moment it's residing in a fine jewellery box with a lot of cotton wrapped around it to keep it safe," said Melissa.

The McIntire sisters say they've decided to use the proceeds from the eBay sale to buy more boxes of Frosted Flakes.

"We've got to replace the one we've already sold," Melissa said. "We like cereal."

Now wasn't that fun? More fun than General Hospital for sure. Let's see-- scoops are saying Carly loses the baby. Sonny has to tell Kate that his kid shot her. We've had another explosion. Nikolas is taking illegal drugs from an evil doctor.
Monica is going to finally get busted for her drinking problem.
Here's the rest from Linda Hirsch;
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ric and Marianna fear the worst when Randy's body is discovered. Trevor blackmails Ric, claiming he has the murder weapon used against Randy with Marianna's fingerprints on it. Ric gives into Trevor's blackmail in order to protect Marianna and signs over the deed to the waterfront property. Jason has it out with Monica, who continues to drink. Monica tells Jason she loves him and that he will always be her son. Nikolas tells Ian he won't give him any money until he knows Ian can give him an unlimited supply of the drug that allows him to keep seeing Emily. Claudia reveals she knew exactly whom Sonny was when she slept with him. Ric confronts Marianna about being in cahoots with Trevor. Marianna admits her wrongdoings but claims her feelings for Ric are genuine. Ric wants to team up with Sonny to destroy Trevor. Spinelli turns to Jason for advice about how to seduce a woman. Kate balks at Jax taking an active role in their new publishing venture, but they're soon working as a team. Maxie throws her new job as Kate's assistant in Lulu's face.

All I can say is you can tell Guza is back in town. Explosions, mob stuff and babies dead before they are born. Worse yet, Spinelli might actually lose his virginity. Ow, my eyes-- get the needles out!

Cheers!

Laura
The More Books the Better

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Two for Tuesday

Just two quick topics today: enough with the politics, the name calling and business as usual during a presidential campaign. No more for me. I'll vote how I plan to and not watch another minute of the talking heads.

Second-- here it is almost spring and going to snow again tonight. Or turn to rain. Or melt. Whatever--I can feel it in my bones and don't need to watch the news. I have overdue library books, so I'm going to sit and read. I got up at 4:30 this morning and have done a full days writing and housework. Now if I can keep my eyes open for GH at three, maybe it will annoy me enough to wake me up!

Laura
The More Books the Better

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Not So Deep Thoughts



The above is all over the net, but I got it from the CoasttoCoast AM site, along with this description:
The 'Creepy Gnome'
People in an Argentinean town are said to be frightened by a "creepy gnome" who stalks the streets at night. The short person or midget wears a pointy hat and has an unusual sideways walk.

It was also on the Fox25 Morning News in Boston. I love that show. They play a lot of cool music, have a lot of laughs, poke fun at politicians and the elections, yet still manage to get the serious news, weather and traffic done efficiently.

The Creepy Gnome needs to be the next GH serial killer!!!! Or one of Sonny's bodyguards! Or Carly and Jax's BABY!!!! LOL!!!

After a phase of not being able to write, now I can't stop! I got a whole bunch of great new ideas to flesh out my book since I found myself utterly bored by it yesterday after re-reading it for about the 50th time. I have about 8 ideas for my newspaper column, AND I have about 30 library books to read still.

My favorite of the month so far remains the latest by the wonderful Candace Havens


Of course I think you should buy the whole series as they are great to read in order-- even though you don't have to since each book is a fun read on its own!


Miaou for now!
Laura
The More Books the Better

Monday, March 10, 2008

Water Supply

Today's news about traces of prescription drugs being found in public water supplies around the country reminds me of a bad soap opera plot. Yet, unfortunately it is true. I wonder if there will be a complete investigation as to how this is happening and if we will get honest answers from our Government. I just heard on the news now that they say it is because we don't metabolize all of the medication and it is excreted from our bodies and flushed. They also claim it won't harm humans or that "there is no evidence that it will harm humans". Then they show male fish with female reproductive organs...ewww....and people eat fish as well as drink water. Then, of course, there is mad cow disease, sick cows killed and the meat out there for sale! Being of the vegetarian persuasion those things won't affect me personally. Pesticides and genetically engineered fruits and vegetables will. No wonder so many people are sick!

I have written to the head of the Water Division in my city to ask if new tests will be done and if a statement will be issued soon. I also suggested that since this is a nationwide problem that the town might ask for Federal funding to do the testing.

Maybe some of my readers might do the same, or even call their local water department and see what you get for an answer. I'd love to hear what you get for a response.

Just one more thing to worry about, eh?

Laura
The More Books the Better

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Writer's Block

So the TV and Movie writers are back to work. I now have writer's block!!!!! I realized I hadn't blogged in almost a whole week, had a hard time writing anything worthwhile for the news paper and have managed 2 whole paragraphs on my book. This is not a good thing!

I've also not been paying attention to TV at all. I've read Karen's GH schoops and all I think is doom and gloom and how redundant it seems. I gave up on Big Brother almost from the start, and I could not possibly care and less about American Idol this season.

Maybe it's the weather, tons of rain and wind and the thought that spring might be coming soon, it's just not fast enough to suit me. It's been a long winter for most parts of the country.

Today I've found myself doing three loads of laundry, loading and unloading the dishwasher, reading and doing anything I can to avoid writing. Some of my author friends tell me this happens to everyone and I'll just have to snap out of it.

I'm going back to finish my book now--the one I'm reading that is!!!!!

Laura
The More Books the Better

Monday, March 3, 2008

Cats perform Gh

Morgan's first murder



Molly fights off her bodyguard


Sonny scolds Jason


Make up your own caption and make it funny!


Lulu scares off Claudia


Max has had ENOUGH of Sonny and Jason


Lulu and Johnny


Sam to Lucky


It used to be called Daytime Dramas. Drama Queen? Maxie?


Claudia to anyone...she's tough!


Michael to Morgan


Luke to Johnny, Logan, Spinelli etc etc

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Alibi in High Heels is available now


From Gemma Halliday

Alibi in High Heels is now out!

Baguettes, bodies, and haute couture galore! Shoe designer turned amateur sleuth, Maddie Springer, is at it again, this time in fabulously fashionable Paris. When Europe’s designer de jour, Jean Luc LeCroix, invites Maddie to show her creations at Paris Fashion Week, Maddie’s sure she’s died and gone to heaven. That is until Jean Luc’s top model is found dead on the runway, stabbed with a familiar stiletto heel. Sure someone is trying to frame her, Maddie enlists the help of her friends, including the sexy Detective Jack Ramirez, to uncover a daring jewel heist, a devious blackmailer, and even a few skeletons lurking in the closets of those closest to her. But as the evidence mounts, Maddie becomes the prime suspect and Ramirez is stuck between a badge and a cute blonde with a tendency for trouble. Will he stand by her as she attempts to track down an international killer, or will this be the case that finally comes between them? One thing’s for sure, if Maddie doesn’t uncover the real killer soon, she may be saying her final adieu.

Watch a video book trailer for Alibi In High Heels here to get a sneak peak of the action.

Order your copy now at Amazon.com.




Currently I had two vices: Mexican food and Mexican men. Thanks to an early morning shooting on Olympic that had my boyfriend, Detective Jack Ramirez, crawling out of bed at the crack of dawn, I couldn’t indulge in the latter. Which left me with the former, in the form of a grande nachos supremo at The Whole Enchilada in Beverly Hills. And I had to admit the gooey cheddar and salsa induced semi-orgasm I was experiencing was almost as good as what I'd had planned for Ramirez this morning.

Almost.

"Tell me again about the sex?" my best friend, Dana, asked, leaning both of her elbows on the table across from me.

I grinned. I couldn't help it. After spending the night with Ramirez, there was nothing I could do to wipe that sucker off. "It was hot."

Dana licked her lips. "How hot?"

I picked up a stray jalapeño from my plate and held it up. "Ten of these and you still wouldn’t even be close."

Dana sighed. Then started fanning herself with a napkin imprinted with a dancing cactus. "You know, it's been so long, I can hardly even remember what a one jalapeño night would be like."

Dana's current boyfriend de jour was Ricky Montgomery, who played the hunky gardener on the hit TV show Magnolia Lane. Amazingly, my fated-to-short-term-romance friend had actually taken a vow of monogamy with Ricky, which, thus far, had lasted a record nine months. I was actually pretty proud of Dana. Especially considering that as soon as shooting had ended for the Magnolia Lane season, Ricky had flown off to Croatia to do a film with Natalie Portman. Ricky said the script was amazing and had Oscar written all over it. Dana said she was investing in a battery powered rabbit and praying they wrapped quickly.

"So, when is Ricky coming back?" I asked around a bite of cool sour cream and hot salsa. I'm telling you, pure heaven.

"Three more weeks. I'm just not sure I can make it, Maddie. This is the longest I've ever gone without sex."

I raised an eyebrow. "Ever?"

Dana nodded vigorously. "Since ninth grade."

Wow. I think in ninth grade I was still negotiating with Bobby Preston over second base.

"So, why don't you just go visit him?"

She shook her head. "Can't. The set's in a military zone. They needed all sorts of permits and things just to be there. Booty call isn't exactly on the list of approved reasons."

"Sorry."

"Thanks." Dana sipped at her iced tea, giving my jalapeño a longing look.

"If it makes you feel any better, last night was the only action I've gotten in weeks, too." Not to mention that I was currently substituting a morning of naked sheet wrestling with rice and beans.

Dana sighed again, the kind that only blonde haired, blue eyed wanna-be actresses can conjure up without sounding fake. "Not really, but thanks for trying."

"Hey, how about we go for pedis? A fresh coat of toenail polish always makes me feel better. I've got an appointment at Fernando's in twenty minutes. Wanna join me?"

Dana shook her head, her pony-tail whipping her cheeks. "Sorry, no can do. I've got an audition at one. I'm reading for the part of a street walker on that new David E. Kelly show. I can so nail this one."

I looked her up and down, taking in her denim micro-mini, three-inch heels, and pink crop top. I hated to admit it, but she so could.



After I'd fully consumed my nacho supremeo, stopping just short of actually licking the plate, Dana and I walked down Santa Monica, making a right on Beverly where my little red Jeep was parked at the end of the busy street in front of Fernando's salon. Normally actually walking two blocks in L.A. was an unheard of phenomenon, but this was prime Beverly Hills shopping territory. The boutiques lining the street held windows full of designer purses, thousand dollar tank tops, and Italian leather shoes with stitching so small, you'd swear it was the work of Leprechauns.

Dana paused in front of the Bellissimo Boutique. "Ohmigod, Mads! Are those yours?" She pointed to a pair of red, patent leather Mary Janes with a black kitten heel.

I grinned so wide I felt my cheeks crack. (And this time it had nothing to do with Ramirez or gooey cheddar-laden chips.)

Last year I had a moment of minor internet fame, which prompted a trendy local boutique to ask me to design a line of shoes for them, called High Heels Seduction. Not surprisingly, I squealed, squeaked and generally jumped around like a six year old minus her Ritalin. And then things got even better when, two months later, the first pair of Maddie Springer originals was sold to an up-and-coming young actress who just happened to be wearing them when she got arrested outside the Twilight Club on Sunset Boulevard for drug possession. Suddenly my shoes were all over Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and even CNN. I got calls from the hippest shops in L.A. and Orange County, all clamoring to stock my High Heels Seduction.

Including, the Bellissimo Boutique.

"Yep," I said, beaming with a pride usually reserved for mothers sporting "student of the month" bumper stickers. "Those are my latest. You like?"

"I love! Oh, I so want a pair. Hey, you think you could do something for me to wear to the premier of Ricky's movie when you get back from Paris?"

Oh, did I forget to mention the best part of being a real fashion designer?

Once my shoes hit CNN, I got a call from Jean Luc Le Croix, the hottest new European fashion designer, asking me, little ‘ol me, to come show my shoes in his fall runway collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Paris!

I had truly died and gone to heaven. Not surprisingly, I'd first had a mild heart attack, then did a repeat of the six-year-old-Ritalin-addict thing. I was set to fly out next week and still hadn't come down off the high.

"Oui, oui, mademoiselle. What would you like?" I asked.

"Oh, I totally know what I want! I saw the cutest pair of wedge heeled sandals on J. Lo at the MTV awards. They were, like, black with this little trail of sequins going down the…" But Dana trailed off, her eyes fixing on a point just over my shoulder. Then suddenly going big and round.

"What?"

I spun around and stood rooted to the spot. A little yellow sports car was careening down Beverly at Daytona 500 speeds. It sideswiped a Hummer, narrowly missing a woman carrying a Dolce shopping bag, then bounced back into traffic, tires squealing.

"Ohmigod, Maddie," Dana said, her voice going high and wild. "Look out!"

I watched in horror as the little car cut across two lanes, jumping the curb and accelerating.

Straight toward me.


***



I hope you love Alibi in High Heels, as I'm hard at work on Maddie's next adventure, Mayhem in High Heels, coming in 2009!

~Gemma