M.J. Fredrick's Blog, page 55

Top Ten TV Shows in 2011

 

TV is awesome this year. It was really hard to pick my top ten. Some of my former favorites, like Glee, fell off the list. Some popped back on. And there are new ones. There are others I'm watching regularly, but I wouldn't say they're favorites. I mean, I love Hawaii 5-0 because of Alex O, and we watch American Horror Story, but neither are what I'd call favorites. I'm getting hooked on Grimm, too, and I like Andy as the new manager on The Office.

10) The Middle–we love this show about the struggling family. Axl, the son, reminds us so much of our son, who winds up in his boxers minutes after coming home.

9) Haven–From the setting to the love triangles to the trippy "troubles"–Haven hooked me from the beginning.

8) Grey's Anatomy–despite Derek being a grade-A jackass this season, I'm loving it almost as much as I did when JDM was on. Lots of layered drama, and I'm DYING to know what's going to happen next.

7) Modern Family–hilarious. I love Gloria. LOVE Gloria. And while I thought Cam or Mitchell should've gotten the Emmy, this year, Phil totally sold me. The episode where he's making a YouTube video with his son by being hit in the head with a basketball had me rolling.

6) Terra Nova–the best thing about Mondays. Dinosaurs? Check. Drama? Check. Jason O'Mara–CHECK I do wish they'd have kept their focus on the relationship between the Shannon parents–they'd been separated for years and at first the show portrayed them as finding each other again. But, I'm also loving the relationship between the older daughter and her soldier boy.

5) Supernatural–this season is absolutely awesome, especially the first three episodes and the last two. Again, I cannot WAIT to see what's going to happen!

4) Once Upon a Time–aside from finding Emma slightly annoying, I love everything about this show–except the ending from the last episode. I can't imagine how it will be more than one season, but I'm along for the ride.

3) Revenge–As someone who grew up on nighttime soaps, I find this right up my alley. I added it to my season passes at the last minute because of the cool print ad in EW, and I look forward to it all day Wednesday.

2) The Walking Dead–gross, but so tense and good, and the ending from the last one–heartbreaking!

1) Justified–aside from Winona's idiocy in those couple of episodes–Boyd, Good, Margo Martindale, GOOD, Jeremy Davies, GOOD, Timothy Olyphant–AWESOME. Also, I'm buying the new book when it comes out in February!

Still between stories–until Monday!

Winner of @trishmilburn 's Book #52weeksofindie

 

Carol Stephenson of FL tweeted about #52weeksofindie and won Trish's book. Make sure you come back next week when I have Norah Wilson as a guest. I'll be giving away the first book in her romantic suspense trilogy!

Today I'm baking sugar cookies and heading to my friend Cindi's birthday lunch. Also I should try to get rid of some of the billion cinnamon rolls I made yesterday.

I'm between stories, so no hottie picture today!

My Top Ten Movies of the Year

I realized as I composed this list that I only saw two movies in the theater this year–Beastly and Harry Potter. Wow. And I only bought about half a dozen DVDs, including Harry Potter, Inception, Christmas Vacation and Elf. But I stuck with Netflix and when everyone else left, I got new releases much sooner.

So, my top ten movies:

10) Unstoppable, the runaway train movie with Denzel and Chris Pine. Really good action movie, different, very edge-of-the-seat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9) Insidious–creepy creepy movie, good cast, great little kid actor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despicable Me–such a fun movie about an unlikely hero. LOVED when he had to take care of the little kids. TOO funny. I think I may need to buy this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) True Grit–loved the original, but Jeff Bridges did a good job recreating the role, and the little actress was incredible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) No Strings Attached–a terrific romantic comedy about two emotionally unavailable people. It would make a perfect Blaze novel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) King's Speech–great performances all around, about a period of history I didn't know much about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next three are pretty much tied for second.

4) Tangled–I cannot say how much I love this movie, and it is wrong wrong wrong to have a crush on a cartoon hero, but he was the perfect rogue. Perfect. And the black moment–OMG!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Friends with Benefits–same premise as No Strings Attached, but I liked Mila Kunis's character so much better than Natalie Portman's. The relationship and banter was hysterical. You must see it! Not with the family, though Another one I'll buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Soul Surfer–I thought it would be a sappy movie, but it was really–real. One of my students suggested it and I watched it because he'd loved it. A great movie for the whole family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Harry Potter of course! I almost bought myself a Team Neville shirt for Christmas. What were your favorites this year?

Special Guest Trish Milburn and a Giveaway #52weeksofindie

I'm starting something new this week, featuring one indie book a week, an interview with the author, and a giveaway. To win, comment here, or Tweet with the hashtag #52weeksofindie so I can track you. I'll announce the winner on Friday.

My first guest is Trish Milburn, and I'm featuring The Book That I Love, Living in Color. Everyone with a mother should read this book. One lucky winner will receive the book on Friday.

1)      What was the inspiration for this book?

I wanted to explore how a daughter who had left her small hometown to travel the world and her mother, who had basically never left the town, mended their damaged relationship after the death of their father/husband. It's a story of adjustment and healing. The mother had always been dependent on the dad, so now that dependence shifts to the daughter. Determined to show her mother a part of the world outside the small town, the daughter takes her mother on a big road trip. Of course, there are ups and downs along the way, but they both find out they didn't know the other as well as they thought they did.

2)      What's next for you?

Beginning in January, I have a trilogy coming out from Harlequin American called the Teagues of Texas. It's about three brothers whose family owns a guest ranch in the Hill Country of Texas. Each of them contributes something different to the ranch, and each unexpectedly falls in love. The first book is The Cowboy's Secret Son, and so far the covers for the January and March books are awesome. Hot cowboys, what's not to love? J Can't wait to see the May one. Then, beginning in February I have a paranormal young adult trilogy coming out from Bell Bridge Books. Coven, which won the Golden Heart for Young Adult in 2007, is the launch of the series.

3)      When you're procrastinating, what do you do?

You know the answer to this one. I watch TV. My TiVo and I are BFFs. J

4)      How many books in your TBR pile?

You mean my TBR bookshelves, plastic bins, Kindle and piles? More than 1,000. Yes, I have the book-buying disease.

5)      What's your biggest guilty pleasure?

I love going to the movies in the middle of the day when everyone is at work.

6)      Name 3 of your favorite things.

Family and friends of course come first. But I'm assuming you mean other than that. So, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies right from the oven, fresh seafood in a beachside restaurant, road trips.

7)      Where can readers find you?

Right now, in the deadline cave! But online it's www.trishmilburn.com for the website, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trish-MilburnTricia-Mills-Fan-Page/441289945240 for my Facebook fan page, and @TrishMilburn on Twitter. Also, I'll be at the Barbara Vey Readers Luncheon in Oak Creek, Wis., on April 10. Then I'll be at the Romantic Times Convention in Rosemont, Ill. (Chicago area) April 11-15.

Thanks for having me here today!

My Top Ten Books of the Year

So, to be fair in my selection of top ten books of the year, I was going to exclude books by friends, because invariably I'll leave someone out and her feelings might get hurt. But I read some really good friend books this year and it's not fair to exclude them! Also, I have a LOT of books I haven't read yet. Y'all, my Nook is PACKED. I think I have around 800 books on there. Some are read because I don't know how to remove them, but not that many.

I read 72 books so far this year, according to Goodreads, which is how I keep track. A definite improvement over last year, though I didn't write as much this year.

So, without further ado, here's my top ten list of books I read this year.

1) The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook. OMG OMG OMG OMG. Hands-down favorite. I want the new one, but it's $10 for e-book, and I don't see myself having time for that this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Yours to Keep/Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey. I love love love Kevin from Undeniably Yours and had doubts that Sean could compare, but the tension in Yours to Keep was off the charts. Rworr! (They changed the cover on Undeniably Yours! That's not what Kevin looks like AT ALL!)

3) Abducted by TR Ragan. Yes, she's a friend, but this romantic suspense kept me clicking and clicking and clicking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Take No Prisoners by Cindy Gerard. Wonderful romantic suspense, tormented hero, spunky heroine, just the way I like them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Coin Operated by Ginny Glass. Smoking hot book. I cannot recommend it enough, if you like spicy books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) Red's Hot Honky Tonk Bar by Pamela Morsi. It had such a delicious flavor of San Antonio. It's a few years old but once I read it, I passed it on, and even bought a copy for my stepmom to read on her iPad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) Abandon the Night by Joss Ware. Another friend, post-apoc romance. Very suspensey, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stranded with her Ex by Jill Sorensen. I love reunion romances, I love unique settings. Nothing more unique than a science station on an isolated island where they study sharks! Woot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9) Guarding Suzannah by Norah Wilson. Bodyguard hero, saucy heroine in danger–what's not to love? I have the other books in the series, but I need more time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10) Living in Color by Trish Milburn. This may be my favorite of Trish's books to date. And I'm giving away a copy this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What were your favorite reads this year?

Goals for the Week Before Christmas

 

My husband had a gig Friday night, so last night he fell asleep on the couch before 8. He's STILL ASLEEP! Dude. The dog woke me up 2 hours ago!

Okay, I'm trying something new with the blog this week. Someone on Facebook suggested a #52weeksofindie activity, which involves giving away an indie author book weekly. I'm all for this! I'm starting this week with Trish Milburn. I'll have an interview with her Wednesday, and give away her book Living in Color on Friday (I just love that book so much!) So y'all come back and comment, okay?

I went to an ugly sweater party on Friday and we sang Glee Karaoke on the Wii. OMG, WANT!!! I've barely used my Wii this week because I was so busy, but now I have more time.

This week….VACATION!

1)      Finish Bluestone 1 revisions and send them back to my editor.

2)      Fredericksburg trip

3)      Lunch with JoAnn

4)      BIG grocery trip—I've got my list categorized by the item's location in the store so I don't forget anything.

5)      Baking! I made molasses cookies yesterday. Today is gingerbread, I think.

6)      Work on one promo item a day, including looking into making my wordpress my primary website.

7)      Mayyyyybe try to work out Create Space so I can get Midnight Sun out in print.

8)      Clean/cook.

 

Goals the Week Before Christmas Break

I like consistency. Last week, no two days were the same. Monday, I taught. Tuesday, I tested two students and had lunch duty for an hour and a half. Wednesday, I was a hall monitor while 4th grade tested, then had lunch duty for an hour. Thursday, I was pulled to sub for 3rd grade when the teacher's daughter got sick. Friday was spent going up and down the stairs (on my bad foot) monitoring kids who were waiting for their picture with Santa. Now tell me why they didn't call one or two classes at a time? Seriously, there would be five classes in the hall at one time. Ridiculous.

This week should have at least 2 normal days. Very frustrating for my first year as music teacher. I had a lot of Christmas activities planned!

So…

1)      Faculty meeting (postponed from last week)

2)      Christmas breakfast

3)      Bluestone 1 revisions. I haven't made much progress, sadly. Okay, I've written more and rearranged some scenes, but I'm not far into the story.

4)      Clean house/cook.

5)      Find one more present for Cindi for her birthday.

 

So, boring week, which is FINE with me!

This Day Brought to You by the Letters W, T and H

So the day started with me running out of Diet Coke. I stoped to buy some on the way to work, saw a gorgeous sunrise…and the day went downhill from there.

Yesterday I was a hall monitor during testing, and bored out of my skull. We can't read or have a notebook but one of the teachers asked why I didn't bring my crochet. D'oh!

So today I brought my crochet…and was pulled to test a third grade class–the teacher's daughter was sick and she had to take the day at the last minute. Okay, so no two days have been the same this week, but I can deal. They're good kids.

I'm walking around monitoring the test and I look down at my boots. I've had them awhile, haven't worn them in awhile, but I didn't want to wear tennis shoes with dress pants. The boots were disintegrating!!! It was the weirdest thing. This is how they looked by lunch. They'd been danged near perfect (a little dusty) when I put them on, and I was feeling guilty about never wearing them.

THEN I was going upstairs to eat my lunch so I could check email. I tripped on a step, stumbled, and smacked my lunch into another step as I caught myself. When I got to my room, I tried to pull out the Diet Coke and it was stuck. It had been pierced by my pudding cup! (Yes, I have the palette of an eight-year-old)

So I get through the day, which wasn't bad, class-wise. It's fun to teach around the holidays–lots to do. And they're good kids. But I'm ready to go home, have a drink…

It's a gorgeous day, so I go out to water my plants, and uncover the plants I'd protected against the freeze. AND I STEP ON A RUSTY NAIL. The damned thing went through the half-inch sole of my boot, and went at an angle, but pretty solidly into the bottom of my foot. Hurts like OMG. I called Fred (because he was the one who left it out there, supposed to be fixing my ice chest for the past six months) and then soaked it in Epsom salt and took some Alleve and have slathered it in Neosporin. (I had a tetanus shot last year when I burned my hand.) I'm on the couch and watching Conan the Barbarian and drinking wine. I'M NOT MOVING! The boy is bringing dinner, and I'm glad I did my shopping yesterday. But how can I dance in my kick-ass shoes at tomorrow's Christmas party?? (Though if not for the party, I'd play hooky tomorrow!)

Is it me, or is that all just freaky stuff to happen, much less to happen in one day?

If you got a little something extra this year…

It's snowing on my blog. All I can think is that Ethan and McKenna must be pretty chilly over there on the cover of Guarded Hearts!

Our newspaper is running a promotion where they give away $1000 a week (or a day, I don't know, not really paying attention). The commercial says, "What would you do with the money? Buy a new TV, fill your closet with shoes?"

I actually got an unexpected royalty check this month (in that it was more than I expected.) It went to Paypal, which is in my husband's name, and he texted me with the amount. I goggled. And my first thought was…."iPad!" Now, I don't need an iPad. I have my netbook and my phone and my Nook. But the idea of unexpected money made me want to do the crazy.

Then I thought, "I really need a professionally done website." I could have it done and still have money leftover.

Then I started thinking about projects around the house that need to be done (it wasn't enough for any of those, btw).

But then I decided to keep the part I expected to get and put the rest in savings, for now anyway. I did stop by Coldwater Creek, whose clothes I always love, to buy myself something nice, but I couldn't part with that much money for one little shirt, you know?

So I stayed practical. But what would you do?

Things That Make Me Happy–December Version

I don't have to test today. No, I get to sit in the hallway for four hours ready to relieve a teacher if she or he needs to go to the restroom. I cannot have a book or a notebook or anything because I might not see the teacher waving me down. Four hours with NOTHING to do. Isn't that the third level of hell?

Yesterday, my classroom was about 50 degrees. No one had turned on the heat! We froze until about noon, then of course left the room. When I returned after lunch (and an hour and a half of lunch duty) it was sweltering. So maybe it will be better in the hall….

From all over the place:

1) Jason Aldean music. I have three of his albums now. Wide Open is my favorite. I listened to that a lot writing Bluestone 2. But I'm learning to expand my horizons.

2) texting. I text Mom and my stepmom and my husband and my son and occasionally Trish and some of the other teachers. I wish Cindi would text. I don't think she even knows how to read them!

3) Terra Nova. I know it has weaknesses, but it has dinosaurs, romance, family drama, dinosaurs, Jason O'Mara, dinosaurs… A reason to love Mondays!

4) My knit pants from Target. Perfect to sleep in on a cold night!

5) Tylenol PM. I don't have trouble falling asleep, but usually (like last night,when the dog had to go out at 1:30) I can't go back to sleep. When I take my Tylenol PM early enough, no problem.

6) Etsy. Do you know how much cool stuff is on that site? I bought a ton of presents from there last weekend and most are already delivered.

7) UPS/USPS. I love that they bring me things I ordered off the internet for a reasonable fee (or if ordered from Best Buy or Amazon, FREE!)

My Wii and Just Dance. So much fun!

9) McD's frozen strawberry lemonade. Yum.

10) My Nine West boots. Cozy and comfy!

What things do you love today?

Since I'm back on Bluestone 1, I'm back with Henry Cavill.