My recent bout with insanity

After thorough consideration, I have come to realize that I am insane.
Not clinically, just in a matter of speaking.

Recently, I finished reading the entire Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and by jove, I think it is my favorite thing that I have read in YEARS. And that should not be taken lightly, as you can observe how many books I truly do have my the following pictures:

My one wall of my living room is bookshelves

One side..

the other..

(note all the Stephen King...so proud)

my ridiculously overcrowded den bookshelves..

I even have books in my kitchen (cookbooks of course!)

My favorite new place to hang out - my windowseat that my hubby just finished.

It's awesome!

A closer look at my windowseat shelves.

So now you know I live a life of anarchy.

Books are my obsession, and the Twilight series really did it for me.

The Twilight series on my bookshelf...

One day, I was meandering through Borders - as I tend to do for long periods of time - and noticed the paperback version of 'Twilight' and thought: 'Wonder what the hell all the hype with these books is about?'
So, being the pop culture freak I can be, I bought it. Thought I'd 'check it out'.
Later the same day, while perusing the bookshelves at Sam's Club, I picked up 'New Moon' and thought: 'Well, I hope the first one is good, cause I'm getting the second one as well'...

You know what? I couldn't put it down. After I think, the fourth chapter of Twilight, I went online and ordered 'Eclipse' and 'Breaking Dawn' immediately. I didn't want to have to wait to read them. How nutty is that?

I finished Twilight in one day, and started New Moon directly after. With work getting in my way, it took a bit longer to finish (3 days) - and by then (with the glory of being an Amazon Prime member and having free two day shipping!) I had the other two and devoured them as well. I think it took me 8 or 9 days to finish all of them.

I feel so incredibly bad for the poor young girls that had to wait for each book to come out. One a year - what torture!!!

Twilight (in case you are actually a childless adult and/or living under a rock for the last 4 years) is the story of Edward and Bella.

Bella Swan is a normal, clumsy, but somewhat ordinary 17 year old senior adjusting to a new life in Forks, Washington. She moved there to live with her father because her mother has recently re-married a minor league baseball player and she wants to travel with him.

So Bella is trying to fit in at the local high school, where she quickly meets some new friends and has the attention of a few boys as well.
She then meets Edward Cullen, a fellow senior who is just different enough to draw attention to himself.
He is, in fact, a vampire - and lives in town with his extended family. They are not your traditional bloodsucking killer vamps. They are basically 'vegetarian' vampires - they choose not to kill humans, and exist off the blood of the animals they hunt.

It makes for a very interesting concept.

Edward has an immediate reaction to Bella. She believes he dislikes her for some reason, but he is struggling with the fact that her blood smells so unbelievably good to him (better than anyone he's ever met) that it is difficult for him not to just kill her right there.

Fortunately, he does not. He purposely develops a slow tolerance to Bella, and they find themselves falling in love.

To go beyond what I have mentioned would spoil the fun of reading these popular stories.
Suffice it to say that Bella and Edward attempt to fit into each other's worlds - sometimes dangerously, sometimes quite erotically. Granted, there is no sex (in book one), which makes teenage parents happy I'm sure. And any future sexual content in the remaining books is tactful, needed, and helps the story to be more realistic.
Still, I don't think kids under 15 should be reading this. I am sure they are - but I say I just don't think they should.

Twilight made me feel like I was back in high school, struggling with all the angst and anxiety that befalls teenagers. But hey, where was Edward Cullen when I was in school? I would have been all about that! Vampires? Whoo-hoo! Especially extra-nice ones.

The first book is already made into a movie that releases this November.
My cousin Nickie has just started the books and loves them as well, so she has agreed to go see the film with me. I just hope we can find a day to go when all the teenagers are in school... It's not that I'm embarrassed for liking the books or seeing the movie, I can't stand to listen a bunch of swooning girls chatting and playing with their cell phones all through the movie....

Robert Pattinson as Edward
Kristen Stewart as Bella

TWILIGHT opens nationwide November 21st.

Ollie plays peek

In my small little world, my cats make my laugh on a near-daily basis.

Oliver has a game he must play every day when I am making the bed.
He runs and jumps up on the bed as I begin to make it each morning and dives under the covers that are pulled back over the pillows. Then he turns around and faces the 'exit route'...

Observe:

"I don't think she sees me..."



"I guess I am pretty obvious..."



"Talk about my closeup!'

"You mean you're done?"

Like I said, my world is small.
Forgive my obsession with my Ollie.

Racing Notes

A few racing blurbs and thoughts:

Happy Retirement to Perfect Drift!

He retires as a 9 year old gelding who won or placed in 26 out of 50 races (that's pretty good odds, people!). He was often a bridesmaid (or should I say usher?), coming in third in the Kentucky Derby, and second in the Whitney Handicap, the Breeders' Cup Classic, and the Pacific Classic (twice)..

He won the Lane's End Spiral Stakes, the Stephen Foster and several other stakes races on tracks all over the USA. He won on both dirt and grass, and was in top quality races for his entire racing career.

He earned over $4.7 million bucks, and in my book, that makes him a racing superstar.

I can't tell you how many times I used him on my fantasy horseracing teams - I 'bet' on him in countless races and with him hitting the board over half the time, he did me proud.

I hope he enjoys his retirement (where he will live out his days on his owner's Kansas farm) and that he gets load of extra apples and peppermints.

I will truly miss him.

***

And on another gelding note:

7-year-old Commentator does it again!

This past weekend, Commentator won the Massachusetts Handicap (truly known as the "Mass Cap" in racing circles) by a rockin' 14 (yes, that's FOURTEEN) lengths, crushing the competition in a runaway at Suffolk Downs, MA.

Trained by Nick Zito and ridden by John Velazquez, Commentator is having a banner year.

Zito declined to say if he would be taking his star to the Breeders' Cup at the end of October, but I am truly hoping to see the old man blow the others out of the water. That would be awesome.
The win at the Mass Cap takes his earnings over $1.8 million.

Congrats!

***

Also:
This weekend Curlin goes for the record.
He runs in the Jockey Club Gold Cup on saturday - if he wins, he will topple Cigar's record of the most earnings ($9,999,815) by a thoroughbred racehorse.

His connections have also mentioned the possibility of Curlin racing as a 5 year old. Now that would make my next year, for sure!

He almost doesn't look real in this photo!
Talk about "on the muscle"...

Go Curlin Go :)
Good luck!

Break the record!

Garden Tour: Part 3

I'm about to drive you crazy.

I just got my first digital camera and I am loving it!

First off, thanks SO much to my cousin Jackie - she is the one who explained all about megapixels and zoom and all that techincal jazz. She advised me on what brand to buy and about batteries and memory cards, etc! I ended up with a Pentax Optio M-50 (whatever that means..)
So thanks a million, Jackie.

You may have created a monster.

Todays subject: Garden Tour part 3!

This is probably the last of my flower pictures for this year (I hear you all out there, collectively sighing with relief!)...
My garden is just about ka-put.

Seems about right for the beginnning of fall I suppose.

Maybe it's just me, but I like this picture of these mini black-eyed susans!

Stonecrop (Autumn Sedum Red)

Stonecrop again. It keeps getting darker as autumn draws near.
Today they are really a deep maroon color.

The last of my white coneflowers (sniffle...)

Purple Mums

As you can see, my coleaus are still going strong.

Coleaus

Geranium
(still pretty. they last forever!)

My arbor/veranda that my hubby built last year.

My mother-in-law just gave me the little table and chairs.
Very chic!

That's all for now.

Happy Autumn!!!

my favorite time of the year is finally here!

Ridiculous Adolescent Crush of the Moment

Being 40 is sometimes a drag, so I have decided to humor myself and others with my latest 'ridiculous crush' from time to time.

This is Jack Huston.


He's like, only 26.
He is from a very formidable old-school Hollywood family - his grandfather was the renowned director John Huston. His aunt is Angelica Huston.

He has had a few bit roles in some random films, and was the star of the movie Shrooms that I just recently watched.

Also of note, he has a British accent, which is uber-cool. Of course, he is - in fact, British.

I think he looks a tad like a younger Johnny Depp.

Black and white certainly does it for him.
Part Johnny Depp, part Clark Gable, no?


Like Johnny, don't you think?

Ok, I'm done swooning for now.

More later. Forgive me my crushes.

Saving the Animals of Ike

I just read a good story on MSNBC that I thought would be of interest to any animal lovers out there like myself.

It's about the animal rescue efforts down in Texas after Hurricane IKE's devastation.

photo: TX Parks & Wildlife Dept.

People can be truly caring and sensitive. I wasn't always sure, but now I know.

IKE displaced thousands of animals and volunteers have pulled together to save and rehabilitate these lost souls.

photo: Houston SPCA

That is a baby squirrel, people!
The article says 550 baby squirrels were brought to the SPCA!!
That's alot of squirrels!

Read the heartwarming article here.

Donate:

Habitat for Horses

Houston SPCA

Ike

What can I really say that hasn't already been said regarding the devastation and destruction that was Hurricane Ike?

Just a few photos I found online pretty much say it all.

This is a scene from Galveston, before.

Awesome, eh?

Looks like it could be Hawaii.

Looks really gorgeous.

Typical beachfront barrier island from the sky..

Then... the warnings came.

Ike was coming.

Getting out. Everyone seems to be going one way....

The sign says "Hurricane Forming In Gulf"...

no shit.

Satellite photo of Ike approaching...

Ike from space..

Galveston Island, after Ike.

Photo: USCG

Galveston

Galveston

near the sea wall in Galveston

nearby coastal town of Gilchrist,TX

Hollywood Community Cemetery in Orange, TX
AP photo/Tony Gutierrez
(how disturbing is that?...)

Animals were not amused by the storm, either.

not-so-happy alligator on sabine pass, TX
(NOT its regular habitat)

small pic, but brutal.

How do you even begin to clean this up?

Bolivar Peninsula (TX)

Houston did not escape Ike's wrath either.

JP Morgan building
Downtown Houston

And of course other states had flooding as well.

an example: Hackberry, LA

Here in western PA, Ike coming through provided a major windstorm sunday night, knocking out power and bringing down tree limbs all around the area, including my own backyard. We more than likely had gusts of up to 40 miles per hour. The wind was just howling! It was a surreal scene, though, as we stood out on our deck to experience it, the moon (nearly full) shone down from a near-clear sky. It was weird.

Now, triple that wind speed, add storm surge and flooding, and you can only imagine what these folks down south went through as Ike tore a path through.

Nasty.

And I thought they'd retire Gustav's name.
I'm thinkin' no more Ike.

In Memory of Eight Belles

The filly Eight Belles was honored in a public memorial at Churchilll Downs in the garden at the Kentucky Derby Museum on September 7th.

As you may recall, Eight Belles was the second place finisher (the lone filly in the race) at the Kentucky Derby this year when she catastrophically broke down just past the wire and had to be euthanized.



At the end of the memorial ceremony, a plaque was unveiled under a magnolia tree where the courageous filly's ashes are interred.

Both her owner, Rick Porter, and her trainer, Larry Jones, spoke at the emotional day's events - and it was also announced that Churchill Downs is naming a stakes race after Eight Belles that will be run on the undercard on Derby Day.



Larry Jones, in part of his tearful speech, stated:
“She put in such a gallant effort that day and we couldn’t have been more proud of her efforts, and more devastated at what happened.
“She stole a piece of my heart, and when she fell that day she ripped a big piece of my heart right out. But I’m so glad she found her resting place right here, in this fabulous garden of Churchill Downs.”



Rest in peace, Eight Belles.
You will not be forgotten.

Eight

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it was cool.
I have always been one for lists, as you know...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 things I am passionate about:

*my marriage
*Thoroughbred Horseracing
*books!
*horror movies
*Johnny Depp
*my cats
*extreme weather
*the ocean/shore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 books I've read and enjoyed:

*Twilight (entire series!) (Stephenie Meyer)
*The Shining (Stephen King)
*Ghost Story (Peter Straub)
*The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
*The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
*The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans)
*Seabiscuit (Laura Hillenbrand)
*The Bridges of Madison County (Robert James Waller)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 phrases that I say often:

*Seriously.
*How random.
*No shit?
*No freakin' way!
*what are we gonna eat?
*can I have the remote?
*what the f#@&?
*hey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 things I do every day:

*make my bed
*check the Blood Horse website
*read my email
*have a pop (mountain dew or the likes)
*shower or bath
*watch tv of some kind
*check the weather
*eat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 things I want to do before I die:

*See the Kentucky Derby (AT Churchill Downs and not just on tv)
*write a novel
*fly somewhere (in a plane!)
*see the Pacific Ocean
*be married for 50 years
*buy a new Jeep
*move to the Outer Banks
*be a cool aunt to my brother's future children
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 things I've learned in my life:

*you never have enough time
*do NOT mix hard liquor and beer
*stupid people shouldn't breed
*you can continue to puke even when it seems impossible
*you cannot get sloe gin out of white carpet
*oysters taste like snot
*being weird is better than being ordinary
*you can't always get what you want...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 places I want to see:

*Ireland
*Loch Ness, Scotland
*Alaska
*wine country in California
*Maine
*New Orleans
*Horseracing Hall of Fame (Saratoga, NY)
*Castle Dracula, Romania
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 things I currently want/need:

*hubby to find a job
*a laptop
*a DVR
*a cell phone (eventually!)
*yogurt (I'm all out!)
*more books
*bigger, better tv (50 inch, baby!)
*apple crisp (cause I'm hungry for it)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So now I tag Jackie - and perhaps Nickie, if she ever gets her blog off the ground :)