While driving home from work the other day I saw something on the side of the road ahead of me. As I got closer it moved and I was able to make out a flash of brown and white. Then, I caught my breath as a beautiful bald eagle took flight. So close yet so far. It was majestic. Any time I see wild life along the road I smile, and a warm feeling invades my being. In a flash the stress of a long day, or being in heavy traffic goes away.

The sight reminded me of my cruise to Alaska a few years ago. We saw hundreds of bald eagles during that ten days. Did you know that if you're caught with a bald eagle feather, even one you've picked up off the ground, that you can be fined $10,000? At least that's what we were told. Before going to shore everyone was given a brief education of the dos and don'ts with regard to any wild life we might encounter.

I've had friends say they've seen eagles here in Florida, but that was my first. I usually see small deer or wild pigs, and the occasional alligator. I'm constantly searching out the tree top nests where Osprey, a smaller bird of prey that resemble the eagle, makes its home. Seeing that grand bird spread his wings and take off made my day.

Hey all, just in case some of you haven't noticed the links above I've made some changes to my blog. I'm in the process of combining my website with my blog so that you only have one place to go to see everything your heart desires. It's still a work in progress but feel free to explore. Eventually my website will no longer exist.

25 things you don't need after you're 50

1. The three-dozen-egg carton, the 2,000-pack of Sweet'N Low and the Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar-size ketchup.

2. Super-sized fries (no one in the minivan to take the last handful, or take the edge off the guilt).

What guilt?

3. The minivan. How about a snazzy car, a smart car, even a wiseguy car?

Then what would you haul the grand kids around in?

4. A brand-new model four-over-four house — even on the golf course. Even if your kids live next door. Especially if your kids live next door.
Totally agree! Small is better. Less is more:)

5. A one-horse open sleigh. Yes, you've been meaning to get the horse but …

6. A Costco membership. You'll never need that many paper towels, unless you run a car wash. You'll never need that much toilet paper unless you run … out.

7. The gym ultra-membership. How about the dog, the shoes, the SPF 50 and the open road?

Or cruise ship.

8. Those seven, nine or 20 unfinished quilts and birdhouses. This makes me think of my mom. She was always quilting or making something. I have her quilts folded on a blanket chest that's filled with the afghans she crocheted. It was something she loved doing.

9. All those teaspoons, fruit spoons, salt spoons, cheese knives, crab picks and lobster crackers liberated from the restaurant along with the extra lemon, the fistful of sugar bags, the basket of rolls.
This is my hubby.

10. Fourteen matching place settings … 14 unmatched place settings are more fun, funky and functional.
This is me:)

11. Just one extra shot — tequila, espresso, Botox.
Just one?

12. Your very own chickens (really, really not).

LOL, I have a good friend who has chickens! She's the kind of person who has a garden every year and cans her own food. The chickens were going to cut down on the cost of eggs and meat. I think by now she's given them all names.

13. Four-inch heels for the wedding reception.

I have trouble in one-inch heels!

14. Another cat.

I disagree with this one. If I had the room I'd have more than three.

15. Another hat. Not even red?

16. Another hobby.

Disagree. You can never have enough hobbies! That's what makes life fun.

17. A bigger flat screen.

What, who has 20/20 vision after 50?

18. A bigger boat.

19. A bigger mortgage.

Hopefully your mortgage is paid off or close to it.

20. More than 700 channels in one night.

OMG! So true. Admit it, you only watch the weather channel and maybe a couple others.

21. More than 700 calories in one hand.
Depends on what you're holding:)

22. Double cheese.
Makes everything better!

23. 3-D.
Ok, thought this was a bra size at first.

24. Four-wheelers.

25. Quintuplets.

The love of my life is in the hospital again. He has a bone infection this time. When they release him, hopefully tomorrow, he will be in for 6-8 weeks on intravenous antibiotics. Thankfully they can put a pick in his arm and a nurse will come to the house every morning to administer it. The last time he was on something like this he had terrible side effects from the medicine. I hope this time will be different. He's been through so much!

Going to the hospital the last few days has brought me to the conclusion that I hope I die before I get sick. I listen, watch and see it's a place I don't even want to visit. It's dirty. And the poor staff are so overworked they don't have time to really get to know the patient enough to care. They're so detached. And they seem to have no sense of urgency.

Earl's first room mate had a mental issue. He'd holler out things like praise the lord and glory be the lord, and was never left alone. I wondered if he was dangerous and eventually they moved him to another room. Yet we could still hear him yelling and singing out. His next room mate was a young alcoholic who was warned he was killing himself.

The third man they moved in the bed next to Earl was violently sick. It made me sick. Poor guy was begging for a nurse to come help him so I finally went to the nurses station to let them know. By the time I got back to the room the smell almost knocked me over. I felt so bad for Earl. So I went back to the station and asked for some air sanitizer. I was told they aren't allowed to use it and that the smell would go away.

I just glared at the unfeeling woman. All this was happening during dinner time. I wanted to drag her ass down to the room and stick her nose in it. So I dragged Earl out into the hallway and found him a chair while someone cleaned up the room. Praying he doesn't get sick before he comes home.

Yippee! Just received another great review, and this one from Joyfully Reviewed! Tanya said...If you want a fast paced, unbelievably sexy and well-written story then you want to pick up Talk Dirty to Me.

You can read the whole review here.

Awe...how adorable is this!

A rare albino seal pup with ginger-colored fur was abandoned by the colony in Tyuleniy Island, Russia. He was hiding beneath logs when the photographer spotted him. “The poor seal is almost blind and so was unlikely to survive in the wild,” said the photographer, who was with staff from a dolphinarium who took it into their care.

Well I made it! Survived the night in a strange place. Strange house, strange bed. And I had a surprisingly restful sleep. Considering I'm out in what I've deemed the boonies. I'm cat/house sitting for some friends this weekend and they built this big old house way out in the sticks. Oh, they have neighbors. Only the area is very rural and I'm used to living in tighter communities, or sub divisions.

Woody and Buz are not happy cats when their owners are gone. But at least they're eating and doing what cats usually do. Most of the time they stay clear of me. Buz will come around once in a while for a pat and then be off again. Poor Woody has health issues.

I don't do good at night when I'm alone in the house. The fact they have a security alarm and cameras has made me feel safe. I really had a hard time adjusting to there being no curtains in the windows to close when it got dark. But we're so far off the road and the surrounding trees probably kept any one's eyes from falling out when they saw me in my jammies.

Whoohoo!! Her Hands-On Man just received 5 stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews! Below is a little of what Stefani had to say.

Her Hands on Man was a super-hot, short read and I loved it! Ivy was a good character, although she didn’t have as much spark as I would have liked, but I enjoyed her a great deal. Jake is sexy as sin, but a little bullheaded at times. You know, everything that makes for a lot of sexual tension which leads to amazing sex scenes. I absolutely recommend Her Hands on Man, a super hot, super quick, perfect bath tub read!

Do not and I repeat, do not buy jalapeno peanut brittle! A popular company that I order from a lot decided to try something new. So I thought, why not? I like peanuts. I like brittle. I like jalapenos. Together they suck! I'm glad I didn't pay for it.

Now here are some heroes!

Unbelievable video!  Caught on tape: Motorcyclist rescued from fiery crash. Copy the link into your address bar. It should take you to the video.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/bystanders-pull-man-from-fiery-crash/6sziu4s

I held a breakfast for my crew at work today and it went really well. Being the new kid on the block, and the boss on top of that, my welcome has been less than, well, welcome. With a new boss comes a lot of change and adjustments. 

But this morning I saw smiling faces and I heard a chorus of thank yous go around the room. It made the money I spent out of my own pocket, and the effort to show that I recognize and appreciate them, worth it.

REMEMBERING 911

You can't escape the stories they've had on the news all week. It's a day in history we'll never forget. One of those days you'll never forget where you were or what you were doing. A time of immense heartbreak we thought we'd never recover from. Tears were shed, songs were written and heroes were made. It's hard to believe it's been ten years.

Where were you on 911? I was on a plane that morning, heading for Oklahoma. Hubby and I never made it.In Kansas they made us get off the plane. After that, unimaginable chaos, and shock. Everyone that had a cell phone had it glued to their ears. Not an airport phone could be found where there wasn't a line of anxious people waiting for their turn. Neither hubby or I had a cell at that time. A kind stranger gave us the use of his.

Mountains of luggage dotted the airport. We surprisingly found ours after several hours. Something so unimportant in the grand scheme of things, yet it somehow made a stressful, unplanned situation normal. I can recall a group of us discussing a way to get back home. We even thought about renting a U-haul but other resourceful travelers were a head of us and there were none to be found. No taxis, no rental cars, nothing to get us out of the airport to even a nearby hotel.

Luckily my hubby had a grandson living 5 hours away. He dropped everything and came to get us. During our wait we found a couple chairs in an airport bar and sat, watching the towers fall over and over again. Too numb with disbelief to respond except with tears. Everyone was crying that day.

After a week with hubby's grandson and family we were on the first plane that left the airport. We sat in first class with pilots who had been stranded. Can you imagine being on a plane right after 911? I think I drank a bottle of wine. What made it worse was that we flew right into a storm as we neared Florida, so the turbulence was frightening. I found myself glancing over at the pilots nearest us to see what their reactions were. I needed to know the shaking of the plane was normal.

I couldn't wait to see and hug my daughter.

"Well by 25 or 26, I want to see myself, like, married or start looking for a family," he told Women's Wear Daily on Thursday. "I want to be a young dad."

Really? Like, really? He's already thinking of this at the age of seventeen? I hope he stays sweet and clean, if you know what I mean. He has a lot of growing up to do before now and then and a lot is going to influence his young life.

I'm not a Justin Bieber fan but my granddaughter loves him. Course, she's only five. Last week she was in love with two of the boys in Big Time Rush:)

Do Not Flash YOUR Lights at Me!

Why? Why would someone get behind me in the slow lane and flash their lights at me? What am I supposed to do, ride on the shoulder of the road? I was even going 6 miles over the speed limit. Yes, I'm one of those idiots that will slow down when someone flashes their lights at me. So you know what they do? Pull up along side of me. I ignore them of course but I can see out of the corner of my eye that they're making gestures. I just don't get it!

I just can't believe Raquel Welch is 71 years old! The woman gets more beautiful every year. She just got rid of husband #4 and said she's too independent to wed again.

You know I love animals...especially babies!

I'm hosting a Goddess Fish tour for author Eve Langlais. Leave a comment. There's a prize to be had! Eve will be giving away a download of Bunny and the Bear to a commenter randomly drawn by the host at every tour stop. How easy is that?

Hello everybody, my name is Eve and I am a Canadian romance writer. I am also a mother of three who has been married to my very own alpha for over 11 years now.
From highly sensual to outright erotic, my stories cover a variety of areas--paranormal, science fiction, fantasy and more. My stories have widely different heroines from shy, chubby and glasses wearing to outspoken, sassy and confident. My men all have on thing in common though, they are powerful and HOT!

Looking for dialogue and action driven fun, then check me out. For info on upcoming releases and to read excerpts, please visit me at http://www.EveLanglais.com

Warning: My stories often blur the line between good and evil, and in some cases stomps all over it.

Here's a little teaser folks!

What’s a poor bear to do when all he wants is some sweet, bunny pie?

Bears and bunnies aren’t supposed to mix, or that’s what Chase keeps telling himself when his bouncy new neighbor won’t stay out of his business—and his mind. However, the more he gets to know his overly perky neighbor, the more he craves her—naked in his grasp—a desire worse than his addiction to honey and pie.

Miranda’s on a mission for the Furry United Coalition, and it involves secretly guarding one grumpy ol’ bear. Staying focused on the job isn’t easy when all she can think about is turning his frown upside down, a task made harder when she gets a glimpse of his passion. When she hears about his theory on woodland creatures and predators not mixing, she thinks all is lost, but she didn’t count on a bear’s curious nature—and possessive need.

When an evil force abducts Chase, Miranda unleashes her bunny in order to save him, but the revelation of her shifter side puts her in danger. Is one ornery bear enough to save her from a mad scientist? And if he does, can a bear forget her woodland creature status long enough to love her and make her his mate?

HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND EVERYONE! I hope you have a safe holiday. If you're lucky like me, you get an extra day or two off.

Tootles!

A motorcycle rider on the interstate clipped the back of a truck, was thrown off and then ran over by on-coming traffic Tuesday. The person who ran over him didn't stop. It was dark and they say he/she probably didn't even know what they hit. The accident was horrific. My daughter got caught up in the traffic and when she came to the scene said she thought it was several people killed because there were several areas covered up. We later found out it was just the one man. It was a gruesome shot later of a lone man walking around with a red bio hazard bag picking up what you can only imagine.

The story reminded me that I've known two people who were killed riding a motorcycle. One wasn't wearing a helmet and the head trauma was too severe. The other was a hit and run victim, and the husband of one of my best friends. Her story of how she found out was horrible in itself.

She'd gone to bed that night, knowing her husband was stopping off at one of his favorite places to unwind and spend some time with the boys. On his way down the mountain he was hit and killed. She thought it was strange when she woke the next morning and he hadn't come home. When she went to the door to see if his bike was in the driveway a card fell to her feet. The coroner tried knocking on the door during the night but when there was no answer he left his card in the door.

My friend fell apart as you can imagine. She said she knew immediately. She called the number and simply asked if her husband was deceased. They confirmed and told her what happened, apologising for leaving their card in the door. I just can't imagine someone doing that. How insensitive and detached they must be. Either that or they've never lost a loved one.

To this day they haven't found the driver of the vehicle that killed him, but they know who he is. He's been in hiding.