I don't care who started it...

I can sooooooooooooo relate.

So very often I feel just like this parent.

DD1 and DD2 fight with DS3 all the time. At least it feels like it.

Everybody except my kids think I'm pretty easy going. But my kids can really get me going when they're yelling and fussing at one another. It can ruin the best day when I come home from this. If it's already been a crappy day, then the kids had better watch out. I probably look and sound just as bad as this lion when they get me going. You'll want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, and Sandra Cox are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

TV remotes and DVD players

This looks sooooo like our house. Hubby's always complaining that the remote is missing and it's always close by like in the couch cushions or on his nightstand or on the floor by his side of the bed (never by my side of the bed, um...) The hubby's really mad this week. The new DVD player is broken. he blames DS#3 but as I keep telling him, there's 6 people in the house, he can't just assume without proof. Plus electronic things sometimes break on their own. It's not always human doing. Anyway, the DVD player is on its way to Pennsylvania to be repaired so we'll have to rough it without. Now we only have the choice of 500+ satellite stations until it returns. Poor, poor us. Like I watch that much TV anyway. Hubby usually monopolizes it anyway plus I'm usually writing or reading and I need to get back into my nightly walking. You'll want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, and Sandra Cox are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

I not has a PMS!!!!

Um, this lioness pales in comparison to DD#2 when she's PMSing. Hint, the poor lion should throw chocolate at the lioness. That's the only thing that helps my daughter. I don't think I suffer from PMS, at least not often and not nearly as bad. I feel for DD#2, though. Poor lion. Poor lioness. Yikes! I thought I scheduled this to post at 7 AM this morning. But I see it was onlhy saved as a "draft". Good thing I checked. Not that this is any world-enlightening wisdom but I like to have a daily post. It also gives me the chance to add something else on my mind. Why are the gay and menage romances so popular right now? Why are women eating up gay (or as we call them in the industry "M/M") romances? I came out of the closet a few months ago for those of you that remember. I admitted I was once engaged to a man, "D", who came out to me as being gay and how shocked and hurt I was. That experience, that individual, tainted my view of this group of people for years. It wasn't until I met my friend M at my current day job that I got a better, hopefully more acurate glimpse, of gay men as people like everybody else. M is a great person. He's loving and caring to everybody. He's funny and smart and a good friend. He's in a committed and loving long-term relationship, probably one of the strongest I know. When he talks about his SO "K" it's always with love and adoration. When I'm with them, I can feel the love and respect between them and for others. M and K are universes apart from D. So after all these years I finally realize that it was just D's personality, to me he was sleazy - sleep around, lying and cheating, that was the real issue. I feel terrible for judging other people on the basis of him. I can only say I was very young, 17, and that that situation with D set off a horrible chain reaction in the rest of my life that also added to my bad feelings. Anyway, getting back to the topic in general, one of my writers' groups is discussing why they think women like M/M and menage romance. I think they're off base and so I'd like other opinions. At least one of them think it's because the women who read them (or any romance) is because they're too old and too scared to go after a real man for themselves, so they fantasize with our books. I don't buy this. When my mom found herself single in her fifties, she dated a lot. She joined groups of other singles her age and they all dated a lot. I also know a lot of married women who like to read and write romance books and watch romantic movies. Just because I'm married doesn't mean I don't melt at the prospect of a good romance. I still adore them. I don't like to peg people anymore. I feel badlyl I ever did. I'd like to think I've finally grown up. What do you think? Why are M/M and menage romances so popular presently? You'll want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, and Sandra Cox are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Thursday Thirteen: edition 16 - 13 funny cartoons and pics

Thirteen Funny Cartoons & Pictures I'm not feeling very well today so I'm going to do this the easy way. Following are 13 cartoons and pictures I think are funny. Enjoy!

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 others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

At least I've not had a donor do this to me...yet.

That's all 13, but here's one more bonus picture, just because I love it. :)

Next is the picture of a man with mere seconds to live.

You'll want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, and Sandra Cox are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Author pics - to glam or not to glam

You may (or may not) have noticed that I changed my author pic on blogger a few days ago. Heck, you may never have noticed my author pic even if you visited every day. Not that you needed to. But IF you did, you'd see that my glamor shot photo has gone bye bye. Oh, it's still saved on my hard drive and still on one of my many web pages somewhere. However, it's not here, on my main web page (www.ashleyladd.blogspot.com). Why not? A famous author has been giving me some suggestions and one is to lose the glamor shot. Supposedly it's not professional and isn't something the bigger name authors do. Is this really so? I'm not sure. Usually, I'd research by going web page to web page of the best selling authors at the big publishing houses and do a survey. I probably will soon and post the results here. But I've been a bit busy between overtime at the day job and edits out the ying yang. Anyway, I changed it. I was tired of that pic anyway and personally I do prefer pictures showing us as our normal selves in our every day attire and make-up. I didn't hop to change it right away. I wasn't being reluctant or obstinate any more than I was rushing to comply. But I didn't have any good recent shots of me. Then I finally (duh!) remembered I had my MySpace pic I could use for blogger. So, I've finally done it. I hope this is more acceptable. Let me ask you, other authors and readers: Does it matter to you what kind of picture an author posts of herself (as long as it's not criminal or immoral?) Would it affect sales to readers or getting a contract with a publisher? Does it bespeak of professionalism? Opinions are welcome. If you're an author, what kind of picture do you have posted of yourself? Or do you post your pic and if not, why not? I see that a lot of authors don't post any picture but instead, they post one of their book covers. You'll want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirsch, Molly Daniels, and Sandra Cox are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

The many uses of an ordinary brick

I'm continuing this discussion from Brynn Paulin's Litergasm chat last Friday night, when the chatters got a little creative and a whole lot raunchy. LOL, it was fun. Brynn asked the question: "Give me five uses for a brick." Sooooooo, what were some of the answers? 1. pillow 2. foot warmer (if it could be heated) 3. weapon 4. birth control ??? (one said to threaten her hubby away with it) 5. sleep aid (as in hit yourself in the head and knock yourself out so you can sleep) 6. tie it around a man's balls??? (what the??? MAJOR OUCH!!!) 7. decoration 8. hold up tv 9. book mark 10. hat 11. door stop 12. paper weight 13. spider killer 14. extra chair (why not an entire couch or table? throw a cloth over it and use gingerly) 15. husband and teenager motivator (sadistic???) I'll add a couple. How about: artwork? you could do tole painting on them or build statues build an entire couch or table (my idea) build a tower and see how many bricks it takes till they fall? an outdoor oven (let food cook on them in the sun???) shoulder pads shoulder straighteners (to make them even if you're hunchbacked) shoes (tie them on with string - they'd look like wedgies, be all the rage) sound effects door knockers musical instruments (percussion of course) Okay, it's your turn. What other uses can you think of for bricks that's out of the ordinary? You'll want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirsch, Molly Daniels, and Sandra Cox are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Blog comments

I just received an email from a friend who said " I would have posted a comment, but I understand that you don’t do comments any more." Um... I don't get it. I not only "allow" comments, I love comments. In fact, whenever I can, I sign on to see how many comments I have. Does that mean I have an addictive nature? I also like to check my publisher's Top Ten Best Seller List a gazillion times a day and Fictionwise.com rankings and anywhere else I can find rankings. I'm going crazy that TEB hasn't put back up their top seller list. Definitely leave me comments. I LOVE comments! Isn't comments what make blogs so wonderful? That we can interact, share ideas, make friends, get to know one another, and learn new things? I've learned so much from blogs. I've made new friends by blogging. I've also gained weight by blogging when I should have been exercising... Oh well... This particular friend doesn't have a blogger profile so he used to comment as "anonymous". Has blogger stopped allowing "anonymous" comments? I wonder if that's what he means??? So, y'all, leave me many many comments. Talk to me! I'm grateful to all of you who do. Believe me, so often you make my day. I know this month I've been sporadic answering as first I was on vacation for a couple weeks and then my computer fritzed out (I'm still begging to borrow the daughters' computer and so have to share and can't spend hours upon hours on it like I'm used to), but soon as my computer's back, I'll be more regular - blogging and commenting that is. :) If you see regular blog posts from me and so are sitting there thinking, this is baloney - the part about me not commenting - it's because I'm using the nifty little feature to preschedule my posts. I'm actually writing "Sunday's" post on Saturday. I'm going to try to post for the rest of the week this weekend. I know it will be another gruelling, brutal week at the day job, and I probably won't get home again till 8 or 9 pm every night, and I won't feel like doing anything except grabbing dinner and falling into bed. Plus, the girls look so woebegone when I ask to borrow their computer. As it is, they fight with each other over sharing it. I know, they're so deprived having only one computer between two people. Poor things. And now they have to share it three ways. Don't forget! My newest book "Liquid Heat" in TEB's sizzling summer Heat Wave series will be released this Monday July 21st (TOMORROW!!!!) at www.total-e-bound.com If you like M/M romance or just plain hot stuff, don't miss it. I really enjoyed writing it and re-reading it. There will be several other Heat Wave stories releasing also tomorrow at TEB. So if you're in a summery mood or you're in the Southern Hemisphere and want to warm up and pretend you're in summer, run, don't walk to TEB to check out these gems. Also, I think Amarinda's and Anny's contest is still going on so run over to their blogs and find out how to enter. That's Amarinda Jones and Anny Cook.

Thirteen Thursday edition 12:

Thirteen candies I love 1.... Vanilla French Chew - I used to eat these while in summer camp as a kid. I'd not seen them in years and then Cracker Barrel started carryng them so I was so very happy. Chocolate French Chews are pretty good, but not nearly as awesome as the vanilla. Usually, I like chocolate more than vanilla, so I'm surprised. 2.... Strawberry Starbursts - Cherry and orange Starbursts are okay, but what I really love are the strawberry. Maybe it's a good thing they don't sell only bags of strawberry Starbursts alone or I'd each way too many. 3.... Milky Way bars - they're the best frozen on a hot day. I used to love to eat them while drinking an ice cold Mountain Dew during a day of waterskiing on the Ohio River with Dad. 4.... Strawberry Twizzlers - It's too easy to eat the whole bag, so even though they're a fat free candy, they're dangerous. 5.... Milk Duds - this is my favorite movie candy. Twizzlers come in second place. 6.... Carmello Bars - I love milk chocolate and caramel. These aare the best. 7.... Nestle Crunch Bars 8.... Tootsie Roll Pops (cherry, chocolate, and grape) - These only cost one Weight Watcher point each and they're so very tasty and long lasting that I love these. I can eat these without feeling guilty. You'll see me at the daughter's ball field sucking on these almost every game. Then I'm not as tempted to order a hot dog with big greasy fries. 9.... Fudge - Christmas fudge is the best. 10....Plain Chocolate M&M's - Only plain chocolate, never peanut M&Ms. I'm not a nut lover. 11....Chocolate covered carmels - Reisins but in particular Graters' of Cincinnati. I mentioned above I love milk chocolate and carmels and I particularly love the combination. 12...Chocolate Easter Bunnies 13...Hershey's Kisses So there's the list of my favorites. What are yours?

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 others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wait! There's more today.

Be the envy of all with two hand made hair piks to adorn your locks. But wait – there’s even more! How about munching on a delicious care pack of Aussie treats? One lucky reader will win all of this. How do you win this fantastic prize? Go to http://www.annycook.com/ andhttp://www.amarindajones.com/ and answer an easy question - If trapped on a deserted island what two things could Anny and Amarinda not live without? The answers can be found on the websites. As soon as you have them email amarinda_jones@yahoo.com.au with your answers – there will be 4 in all. The contest starts 18th July and closes midnight 23rd July 2008 (USA EST). The first correct entry drawn at random will win the prize.

Don't forget my new book "Liquid Heat" which is one of TEB's sizzling summer Heat Wave stories comes out Monday July 21st.

Joshua Daly never dreamed he’d fall in love with a man, but when he’s stranded in a nudist colony, it's the super sexy Paul Norris that he wants.When Joshua Daly wrecks in Georgia, aka Hillbilly Hell, he’s put up by his rescuer, Paul, while his car’s being repaired—in a nudist colony. He thought he’d be turned on by all the heavenly female bodies, but to his surprise Paul’s beautiful bod is the one that turns him on. It’s not his fiancée Carole who makes him hesitate to shuck his clothes and give up the corporate life; he’s not sure a Yankee will be welcome in the deep South.

Getting older

What is so bad about getting older?

It means we're still here, right? What is the alternative? (I shudder to think of it.)

One of my writing pals, Kelly Kirch, mentions that she saw a reality TV show where women in their 40s and 50s were competing to become models. How cool is that?

I see many women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s that still look awesome. It used to be that it was mainly the more mature men who looked debonair and the majority of women looked old and haggard. Not anymore. Women are taking care of themselves and look terrific.

Why would anyone think that women are no longer sexy or interesting or not wanting to face new challenges just because we hit that 40 mark? I'm with Kelly all the way on this one.

One of my day job co-workers became an airline stewardess when she was about 40. She's in her 60s now and still very gorgeous.

I'm in my late 40s and don't think I'm done living yet. I still see many many many great years ahead and a lot of accomplishments to be made. My dad is 79 and he's very active and his mind is one of the best, if not the best I know. He's a very forward thinker. To give you an example, he thinks we've gone just about as far as we can with computers. He thinks the next stage of evolution is in the medical field, specifically using human brains to control things.

Of course, I'm very proud of my smart dad. He was one of the first computer people. He designed one of the first computers and was active in the field from the beginning. So I'm not totally surprised. I have to admit, however, and slap my own wrist, that I'm a little amazed at how well he's keeping up with everything now that he's been retired more than twenty years. It's so refreshing talking to him, not only because he's my dad, but because he has such radical, future-thinking ideas. Because he's so on top of things and even out and ahead of everyone else I know.

Someone else told me this about ten years ago, while I was still in my thirties: The forties were the best years of her life. I sort of wondered at the time how she could say that and really mean it. But now that I'm in my 40s, I have to say that I'm loving them. They've been great. I'm more sure of myself, I'm happy with myself, and yet I'm still young and physically active and able to participate in a lot of fun sports and activities. Hopefully, I'll be like my dad (I plan to be) and still taking long bicycle rides and walks, etc., when I'm in my late 70s.

If you've not read about their contest, hop over to Amarinda Jones and Anny Cook's blogs to find out how to win their free books. Don't miss it. Don't miss Kelly's blog, either. They're all always amusing and informative. I learn so much blog hopping. I just wish my butt got more exercise doing it.

Also, CJ Parker is in the running for the first best line contest. She asks that you go and vote for your favorite at: www.smrwonline.org/dandy2

Don't forget, I have a new release coming out at http://www.total-e-bound.com/ this coming Monday, July 21st. "Liquid Heat" is a M/M short story in the Heat Wave sizzling summer series from TEB.

Blurb - Liquid Heat:

Joshua Daly never dreamed he’d fall in love with a man, but when he’s stranded in a nudist colony, it's the super sexy Paul Norris that he wants.When Joshua Daly wrecks in Georgia, aka Hillbilly Hell, he’s put up by his rescuer, Paul, while his car’s being repaired—in a nudist colony. He thought he’d be turned on by all the heavenly female bodies, but to his surprise Paul’s beautiful bod is the one that turns him on. It’s not his fiancée Carole who makes him hesitate to shuck his clothes and give up the corporate life; he’s not sure a Yankee will be welcome in the deep South.

** My internet's still down so I'm on DD#1's computer. Her mouse is broken, so I won't be posting many pictures, maybe only this one till I'm back up on my computer. I can't drag images where I want them. I can barely copy more than a word - at least it's a pain and takes so many tries it's not worth it. So bear with me. I'll also not get much chance, so I presume, to visit many blogs. I will when I get my computer fully operational again.