The Amazing Allergy Boy

So, for those of you who have read this blog into antiquity, you'll know that my son tested positive for an allergy to grasses and pollens. Well, at that time (last June), we gave our son a scratch test (a nifty test where they literally "scratch" you with a bunch of stuff to see if you'll have an allergic reaction - peanuts, grasses/pollens, soy, pet dander, etc.) Anyhow, my son Levi was allergic to grasses and pollens, so much so, that the hive he got as a result was the size of a quarter. Normal hives from the scratch test are about the size of a pea.

(This is not normal hay fever, folks. Those of you who are nodding about being allergic to grasses and pollens... Sit down. lol My son's trumped you. Keep reading.)

Ever since his scratch test, we've noticed he'll be sniffly and very stuffy if he even thinks about playing on the grass. Therefore, when he goes outside to play with his sisters, he's only allowed on the gravel and dirt of our yard. Poor boy. Last summer, his cousin played in the grass, then stood on Levi's bed in his shoes. Levi woke up the next day with a rash on the side of his face and pustules on his ear. EEWW. I know.

This season, we've noticed my son's allergies have decided to BAM! Kick it up a notch! The boy is miserable, but he insists to go play with his sisters. Reminding him of the grass, he runs out the door with his stick that he's happy to pretend is a pirate cutlass.

But then he comes back into the house - and his eyes are so swollen, my boy looks...odd. The whites of his eyes are completely red, they are watering non-stop, and I notice *something* in his eye. What the heck is that?? Oh my gawd, his eye is so swollen, you can see the inside skin of his eyelid on the OUTSIDE! It looks like it's turning inside-out.

To make a long story short, he picked up a clump of grass to throw into a box in the backyard, only to rub his eyes (because of his allergies) only to make things a million times worse by rubbing the oils of the grass DIRECTLY INTO HIS EYES.

Needless to say, I called DH, he came straight home from work, and we took the boy to the Urgent Care. Their solution? Up his dosage of Benedryl and do NOT let him play outside until he's all better. And even then, make sure you supervise where he plays.

Remember that new deck DH and I had installed this spring? The boy will ONLY be allowed to play on that outside. How sad is THAT?!? :( But holy crap. I've NEVER seen someone so very allergic to grass. I've seen people sneeze and wheeze in the springtime, but this boy explodes if he so much as touches the stuff.

The doc says it will only get WORSE as he gets older. There'll be no mowing the lawn for this boy. And outdoor sports are right out. He'll have to be happy with (indoor) Basketball or Ice Hockey.

My poor dude.

~~Becka

Thursday Thirteen #11 ~ 13 Wolverine Knights

This week is going to be an easy one for me, so here we go. Thirteen of my Wolverine knights from The Legends of Mynos series.

1.) Sir Vincent of Westchester - Originally stole the Crystal of Mynos from Castle Templestone millennia ago at the urgings of the dragon Iruindyll, setting in motion the death of King Timothy as well as the destruction of dragonkind.

2.) Sir Benjamin of Stollinshire - A young Wolverine who lived millennia ago. Mynos chose him as king after the death of King Timothy.

3.) Sir Darryn of Winterborne - Married Kendra, the Crown Princess of the elven kingdom, who abdicated her throne to be with him.

4.) Sir Geoffrey of Emberdale - Known as the youngest Wolverine to hold the title of ‘King’s Best’.

5.) Sir Sebastian of Tabrinth - Best friends with Sir Geoffrey, and soon becomes Captain of the Guard at Castle Templestone.

6.) Sir Cederick of Breckenwood - A harsh man who regrets decisions he’s made in his past, but who also has a large heart.

7.) Sir Nathan of Emberdale - Good friend to Geoffrey while growing up, but is known as a womanizer at the castle.

8.) Sir Duncan of Marynville - A younger Wolverine, he’s a novelty at the castle with red hair and green eyes. Very kind, gets along with everyone.

9.) Sir Ethan of Krey - A prankster, but good friend to both Sebastian and Duncan.

10.) Sir Connor of Emberdale - Sir Geoffrey’s father.

11.) Sir Quinn of Breckenwood - An aging Wolverine, ready to pass on his sword to his son Cole.

12.) Sir Joshua of Korenth - Good friend of Sir Ethan, a handsome man with light brown hair and sea-green eyes.

13.) Sir Briand of Breckenwood - The youngest Wolverine in the king's service, Sir Briand is determined to gain the respect of his fellow knights.

And there you have it. Thirteen of my Wolverine knights. Here are some linkies for you if you want to learn more:

http://www.rebeccagoings.com/TheCrystalOfMynos.pdf

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-wolverine-and-the-rose

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-wolverine-and-the-jewel

~~Becka

Goodbye, Old Friend

You've been with me for 12 years, meowed for your breakfast, rubbed on my feet, came running when I whistled. You warmed my lap countless times, watching House, as well as LOST, Firefly, Buffy, Angel, ER, Friends, and countless other shows and movies I've watched over the years. You would crawl under the blankets with me at bedtime or curl up around my head and purr, much to my husband's dismay. In your old age, you became ornery, demanding to be lifted up to the dryer in order to eat your kibbles. You'd weasel your way onto my lap, despite me pushing on you to get off. You were on my lap, dammit, and you were going to stay there.

Your name was Justin Time Jr., named so for two reasons; #1 being you were a runt kitten who's mother had left you behind to die, and #2, being you looked exactly like DH's childhood cat Justin Sr. You latched on to me as if I were your real mother, clinging to me every day of your life.

Even today, when we took your last trip, when you were scared at the vet, you held on tight, refusing to be moved, refusing to be parted from your Mommy. I love you, Big J. I'll miss you terribly. God gave you to me, now I've got to give you back. I pray you are finally in a better place with no more pain.

I'll never have another kitty like you, Justin. You will always be in my heart.

Goodbye, old friend.

~~Becka

Memorial Day

I am proud to be an American.
I am proud of the men and women who fight for our country.
I am proud of the brave families who send their children, siblings, spouses to war.

I will never take my freedoms for granted.
I will never take our soldiers' sacrifices for granted.
I will never turn my back on our troops.

I will remember the fallen who died to preserve my way of life.
I will remember the fallen who died to keep my children safe.
I will remember the fallen who died for people they will never know.

I say thank you to the fallen, for your noble sacrifice.
I say thank you to those still serving, fighting for me, for my family, for our country.
I say thank you to the families; through your love and support, our country is protected.

I do not know you, but I'd hug you if I could. Today, my flag flies in honor of you.



~~Becka

Becka's Hottie of the Week

I would have posted my Hottie earlier today, but I was literally channeling one of my books and I couldn't tear away for a moment to blog. But that's a good thing! So here I am, 10 minutes before I have to shoot out the door for my kids' Karate class trying to think of a good Hottie for this week. LOL But I think I've found him. Y'all might know who this is if you watch American Idol. This guy went on to make a name for himself. Who is he? Mr. Chris Daughtry.



Daughtry has gone on to make a name for himself with a band of the very same name, singing poignant, rockin' songs. I particularly love "Crashed", "Over You", "It's Not Over", and "What I Want", featuring Slash. HAWT!!



Chris has a very "Vin Diesel" look, doesn't he? Hmm... Which reminds me, I gotta feature Vin one of these days... LOL Chris also reminds me of my hubby. Bald head, goatee, sexay...



Have I mentioned that I LOVE his voice? My Gawd, if you haven't heard his music, then flee to Amazon or iTunes and hear a snippet. Even his voice is sexy. "What I Want" conjures images of my sexiest bad-boy heroes from my romance novels. Hubba hubba!!



Congratulations, Chris Daughtry. You're Becka's Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

Legends of Mynos Series Video!

Check out what's been keeping me busy today. Enjoy!



~~Becka

Thursday Thirteen #10 ~ The Whiney Author Drinking Game

This T-13 is brought to you today by the letter T and the number 13. Today, we're focusing on the "whiney author", you know the ones. Try not to get too drunk, eh?

1. Author whines about not getting any royalties ~ one shot

2. Author whines about having no time to promote after you suggest that's probably why they're not getting any royalties ~ two shots

3. Author whines about how great you are in comparison to their "floundering" career ~ three shots

4. Author whines about getting a poor review, thus goes into hiding for three weeks ~ four shots

5. Author whines about not being a "real" author, despite being multi-published at a reputable publishing house ~ 5 shots

6. Author is upset when Jane Q. Writer's novel is considered for a movie but hers isn't ~ 6 shots

7. Author whines that their manuscript actually has to be "edited" ~ 7 shots

8. Author whines when no one responds to her drive-by promo posts on the Yahoo loops ~ 8 shots

9. Author flips out over hearsay about current publishing house and pulls her contract for no good reason ~ 9 shots

10. Author whines that family and friends only read print ~ 10 shots

11. Author whines that her book isn't a New York Times bestseller, despite being a brand new author that no one has heard of ~ 11 shots

12. Whiney author admits she won't read eBooks because she can't sit at the computer for hours at a time, however, she's a successful, multi-published eBook author ~ 12 shots

13. Author is constantly comparing her career to that of Nora Roberts ~ 13 shots

I'm sure we all know some authors who resemble these remarks. Heck, may even be the pot calling the kettle black, if you know what I mean... LOL

~~Becka

O.O

I saw these in Rite Aid the other day. Am I the only person on Earth who stared speechless at the box for about a full minute? Anyone else see these in the stores?




Wow. Press on TOENAILS?!? Now I've seen it all. See for yourself.

http://www.kissusa.com/TN.html

I know people get pedicures. Even had a few myself. But fake toenails? TOENAILS?

Seriously, folks. WTH?

O.O

~~Becka

Becka's Random Pic of the Day

Well, I haven't done a random pic in a long time. I decided to see what popped up under "dragon shifter". As we all know, shifters are HOT in romance right now, be it werewolves, big cats, birds, or dragons. Since I love dragons, I wanted to see what kind of pics I could find.

This is what popped up.




That is fricken' awesome. For those of you who may not know what you're looking at right off the bat, that is a brushed metal stick shift ball for your manual transmission car. HAWT!!

It's no secret that I love stick-shifts, but you might not know it, since I don't think I've talked about it much. I love the power and control a stick gives you, especially driving in the snow. An automatic is easier, granted, but I love sticks. I wish more luxury cars were sticks. Why can't you buy them? It's discrimination, I tell you! You only get a stick on the "sportier" cars. Can't find a Nissan Maxima in a stick, for instance. What's up with that? Maybe they can't sell them. Maybe people who want luxury wanna be lazy too. Dunno.

But since we all know how much I love dragons, having this shifter ball on my manual stick would rule. Of course, I don't have a stick right now.

Bollocks.

~~Becka

Becka's Got a Brand New 'Do

Oh yeah, who went to an actual SALON today for the first time? Why that would be me. Yes, ladies, I have NEVER been to a real salon. I've only ever been to the SuperCuts or the Great Clips, the el cheapo hair-cutting places. This place I went to today was recommended by a friend and it was awesome. I needed a change. For years, I've had longer hair, swept up into a ponytail much to my husband's horror. He loves it when I wear my hair down. Problem is, I never did. Too long--gets in my face, too hot--gotta get it off my neck. Never did anything with it, because I have the whispy kinda hair that falls right out of a braid, and I don't know jack about hair products, nor do I want to learn or buy them.

You see, I'm lazy bones. I ain't gonna do the mousse and the gel and the VO5 and all that jazz. I wanna shower, towel, done. I got more important things to do than my hair, like write books for example. LOL

So it's literally been 10 years since I had my hair cut and colored by someone else other than myself or my DH... Yes, he'd color my hair. :P Aw.... But that's beside the point. Anyhow, you've all seen this picture by now, and if you haven't, this is the pic I've been circulating as my author pic. It's me from 2003, but even so, nothing much changed in the last few years. LOL



So you think to yourself: That's not bad. And it's not. If it hadn't been my look for a bajillion years. You see, I haven't been blonde since high school. After I got married, I decided to "go red", and I haven't had a color other than auburn for many years. So, I decided to go blonde this time. And shorter. Much shorter. In fact, I can NO LONGER even put my hair in a ponytail, it's that short. But now, it has so much body, that it literally bobs up and down when I walk, and I'm not even trying to be stuck-up! LOL Check me out NOW:



Woowoo! DH says I'm 100% better with this new 'do, and I gotta agree with him. I love love LOVE it. It's shorter in the back than it is in the front, and I can curl the ends to flip out if I want, rather than flipping in like they are in the pic. I love this new hair and I'm going to have a lot of fun with it this summer. DH can't keep his eyes off me now! **ggg**

Awesome. I'm a hottie! Who knew? :P

~~Becka

Becka's Hottie of the Week

This is a man that will make you go, "Hmm, Becka, didn't you feature him once before?" The answer is no, you've just seen him so damn much with regards to my BEAST books, you'll only *think* I've had this man as one of my previous Hotties. Who am I talking about? Mr. Michael Shanks.




For those of you who don't know, this man plays Dr. Daniel Jackson on the Sci-Fi Channel's "Stargate SG1". He's also the man I chose to "play" Noah Carpenter in many online chats and my book video for THE B*E*A*S*T* WITHIN. I've freely admitted I'm an Uber Geek (echo echo) so there should be no shock on your part that I'm in love with this man. :P




Look at that pic. Seriously. Can I take a bite out of him? LOL With or without glasses (as Daniel Jackson), Mr. Shanks is one hunka hunka burnin' luv. His eyes are what get you, too, kind of a smoky grey-blue color, and they're so expressive.

Stargate SG1 has been on for so dang long, that the cast of the show have become like "old friends". I'm going to be sad to see this show come to an end when the 10th season is finished. And I can only pray to the Stargate: Atlantis gods that Mr. Shanks joins the cast in the Pegasus galaxy (which already has a few hotties of its own. Joe Flanigan, anyone?)




But I just can't get me enough of DJ Yummy. That's a nickname a friend of mine, Lainey from Coffeetime Romance calls him. Now, I can't help but think of that whenever I see him on screen. LOL And without Daniel Jackson, Stargate SG1 wouldn't be that good of a show, in my opinion. But seriously, if they're going to have some kind of "romance" between Daniel and Vala (which the romance author inside of me wishes, hopes, and prays that they do), they better get on the dang ball. Only a few more episodes go until the series finale. **sobs**

Until then, I'll be kneeling at my Stargate: Atlantis shrine, praying to all that is holy Daniel Jackson will have at least a few hurrahs in the spin-off show...

Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease.... :P

Congratulations, Michael Shanks. You're Becka's Hottie of the Week!




~~Becka

Thursday Thirteen #9 ~ You Know You're Old When...

I've noticed a few things about myself in the last couple of years that have made me go "Hmm...". Actually, it was more like "OMFG, I'm getting fricken' OOOLLLDDD!!!" Can you relate? :)

You know you're old when:

1. You find gray in your hair. And not just one strand. Multiple strands. You try plucking them out, but the damned things GROW BACK! So you try to color your hair to cover them until you finally surrender, wearing your gray as a badge of honor. Or at least, that's what you tell yourself.

2. You suddenly begin to like coffee when you're entire life was spent gagging at the taste of it. Yup, this one happened to me. I became a coffee drinker over Easter weekend this year. When the heck did this happen? I've always LOVED the smell of the stuff, but never EVER the taste, not even with cream and sugar. Then I had a few white chocolate mochas at Starbucks which are YUMMY, and suddenly, I've learned the magic of Coffeemate creamer... Now, coffee is a staple of my (and DH's) mornings.

3. People call you ma'am. I realize people do this without thinking, as it's just something to say when you don't know a woman's name. But what about "Miss"? Unfortunately for me, I haven't been called "Miss" in a coon's age. Probably why I love going to the local Mexican joint, because at least those Mexican servers call me "Senorita", regardless of my hubby and gaggle of rugrats.

4. With each child you have, your body stretches even more out of shape. So I was never "in shape" to begin with. I've always been "fat" and overweight my whole life. But I look at pictures of myself before I had my kids and I weep.

5. Your legs look like a roadmap. "Oh hey, is that the Georgia turnpike?" No, you idiot, it's my veiny legs! I don't know what happened, but after incubating my four spawn, I've got veins poking out their heads all over the damn place. And am I the only one who's foot looks like hamburger? I swear, it literally looks like I have a sprained ankle through all the "bruises" on my foot. Nope, just those damned veins my spawn decided to rupture for me.

6. After you've had said spawn, your body no longer acts like it used to. Once you've given birth, ain't no goin' back. Things are stretched ain't supposed to be stretched. No longer can I "hold it" as well as I used to. 'Nuff said.

7. You shudder at the thought of wearing a thong or any other kind of lacey, chafing undies you might have to dig out of unmentionable crevices, in favor of either A.) cotton briefs or B.) Granny Panties.

8. You think cotton briefs couldn't possibly BE Granny Panties. Which again, of course, is a lie we tell ourselves. Because men view any panty that isn't a thong, lingerie, or one of Victoria's Secrets as a "Granny Panty".

9. You can no longer shop at Victoria's Secret because the "secret" is it's only for skinny women. It's a "Granny Panty" catch-22.

10. Your kids talk to you about things you have no fricken' clue what they're talking about. You're not even sure if they're speaking English. And this is a sad moment, when you realize you are no longer "hip", "cool", or "in the know". You've become an "adult" who doesn't understand the "kids". I think I actually had a moment of silence when this happened to me. Shocked silence. Like with my jaw on the floor. I think I heard crickets.

11. You enjoy watching the news. Remember the days of "Oh, man, Mom and Dad turned on the news"? Yeah, say goodbye to those days, you fogie. You've become your parents.

12. Your body starts creaking and aching in places you'd need an anatomy book to name. Knees, shoulders, back, neck... Whatever it is, your body is yelling at you, "You're OLD, man! Quit doing sh*t like you're a 17-year-old."

13. You find older men extremely attractive. When you were a kid, I doubt you were looking at men above their 30's. Now, you're drooling over men upwards of 50-60-70+. Yup. You've become one of those "yucky" old folk who love to have sex.

And there you have it, 13 ways you know you're fricken' OLD.

~~Becka

Fun Quiz I got from Ciar Cullen

(Courtesy linky: http://ciarcullen.blogspot.com/)

I thought this would be cool to post today. I love this stuff. :P

1. Are you taller than your mom?
Nope, we're the same height. I *am* wider, tho. LOL

2. What color is your car?
I've got two cars. Our Maxima is black and our Dodge Ram van is red.

3. What is the closest thing to you that is red?
Two things about equi-distant. A pack of Big Red gum and a balloon pump. Funny what's on my desk...

4. What is your ringtone?
"We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister. Awesome, I know. :)

5. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Nope.

6. What color is your favorite pillow?
Uh... Uh... ? White? Like every other pillow on the planet? (unless they're talking *throw* pillows)

7. What is your favorite video game?
Old skool Legend of Zelda, baby.

8. Had a nap today?
Nope.

9. Gold or Silver?
White gold. Or Black Hills Gold. :)

10. Is there an animal that creeps you out?
Bugs. Beetles, spiders, roaches...

11. Who was the last person you rode an elevator with?
DH, and the folks I went to Disney World with (the elevator in the airport)

12. Did you go iceskating as a kid?
One time.

13. Ever have stitches?
Nope.

14. Favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Caffeine Free Diet Coke.

15. How long ago did you kiss someone?
This morning. The ol' ball n' chain.

16. What's something you want to do before you die?
Travel to more cool places.

17. Have you ever caught something on fire?
I was a kid, wanting toast with cheese on it the way my mom used to make me in the toaster oven. Mom was asleep, so I thought I'd do it myself. But we didn't have any bread. Not to be thwarted, I still wanted the melty cheese. Who woulda thought melted cheese dripping on the heating element would set the toaster oven on fire? LOL

18. Have you ever seen a ghost?
When I was a kid, I saw an apparition. But I'm not sure I saw a ghost, because I don't believe souls "stick around" after death. I think I saw something else. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

19. Have you ever seen the northern lights?
Nope.

20. Do you know how to use chop sticks?
I know how to hold them. Catching a fly out of thin air is an entirely different story...

21. Name something good that happened today.
Had some noogie. Yeehaw!

22. What room are you in?
My office/guest room.

23. Are you worried about something you can't control?
All the time, but I try not to let it get to me.

24. Do you take daily medications?
No, I can't even remember to take my daily vitamin.

25. Ever been in a fight?
No, unless the ones with DH count.

26. Are you wearing nail polish?
No.

27. Favorite color?
Purple & pink.

28. Innie or Outie?
Innie.

29. Ever used a Ouija board?
Yes I did. And when I didn't have a board, my friends and I "made our own" with a pen and the back of another boardgame box. It still worked. Never played with them again after that. Especially since every board we played with had the same "person" talking with us. It was the "answering silent questions correctly" thing that really made me back off of them. Too creepy.

30. Sweet or Sour?
Sweet.

31. Sun or Moon?
Sun.

32. What shoes did you wear today?
Still barefoot.

33. Favorite eye color of the opposite sex?
Blue.

34. Most important quality in any relationship?
Respect.

35. Favorite zombie movie?
Shaun of the Dead.

36 Time of day you were born?
2:30 pm

37. Do you know your blood type?
B+

39. Do you know how to kill a zombie?
CHOP OFF IT'S HEAD!

40. What would you spend 5000 dollars on right now if you were handed it?
Pay off my van and some debt.

41. Name something annoying in public transit?
The weirdos who ride the train. LOL Do they even bathe?

42.Did you grow up in the city or country?
Hmm... Small town in the sticks. Carson City. A little of both, I guess.

45. Would you ever consider going on a reality tv show if offered a large sum of money?
Depends on what the "reality" was. LOL

46. Have you flown in your dreams?
Yup. The best is when you realize you're dreaming and you can do anything you want.

48. Hugs or kisses?
Both.

49. You have 10 dollars to spend in the dollar store..what do you get?
I'd look for "prizes" for my contests... Keychains, calendars, journals, necklaces that might match the theme of my current book.

50. Slurpee flavor?
Cherry or Blue Raspberry. But I like cherry best.

~~Becka

Win a Copy of THE WOLVERINE AND THE JEWEL!

In case you've been living under a ROCK (or you've never heard of me and this is the first time you've stumbled upon this blog which is a possibility since I do get a *lot* of hits from new people every single day...) (whew) then you know today was the release day of the second book in my Legends of Mynos series, THE WOLVERINE AND THE JEWEL.

*whispers* you can buy it here:

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-wolverine-and-the-jewel

But I know some of you are lamenting that it's not yet payday or that the couch isn't coughing up it's monthly coin quota... Therefore, I'm holding a contest on my author loop, so come and join!

http://groups.google.com/group/themagicofromance

Click the link above to join my author loop and read the post on how to enter the contest to win an eBook copy of this book! You have until Friday, May 18th, when I post the winner of my contest, and I expect to see goo gobs of entries!! **eyeballs crowd**

If you don't enter, it must be because you've already bought the book and are reading it voraciously as we speak. Well, maybe not as we speak, since you are reading this blog, after all... But simply joining my author loop won't do; you have to ENTER the contest to win, and details on how to enter are posted on my loop. And I'm not going to tell you here, so nyah. LOL

~~Becka

My Epic Disney Hat

Well, I told y'all I'd take pictures of this bad boy and show you my Epic Disney Hat. Yup, it's capitalized, that's how epic this hat is. LOL I have 17 Disney pins on it and I kid you know, this beeyatch must weigh between 2-3 pounds. You'd think the little pin backs would hurt my head, but in all actuality, I didn't feel them at all. They're small rubber backs, so they didn't dig into my scalp.

Most "normal" people buy Disney pins and put them on a lanyard, a ribbon-like necklace thingy which they then trade with either castmembers or other guests (they trade the pins, not the lanyards. LOL). Well, I thought the lanyards were lame and I didn't want to trade the pins I bought, even though I was asked on one occasion if I would trade.

Here are the pics, and I'll give you stories behind the pins.

First, the front:



Isn't it a cool hat regardless of the pins? My friend Val found (and bought) this hat and the moment I saw it, I wanted one for myself. So we had matching hats throughout the vacation, however, hers was sans pins. LOL

First, we have Jiminy Cricket, who is the "unofficial" mascot of Disney World and Disneyland, aside from Mickey himself. Whenever you hear or see a show about making a wish or dreaming a dream, it's usually Jiminy's voice you hear. He was also a pin I didn't see in every shop, so since he was somewhat of a rarity, I snatched him up. The pink sword was bought by my DH. It says "A pirate's life for me". :) The Mike and Sully pin I bought because A.) I love Monsters Inc. and B.) I hadn't seen this pin in other shops, so grabbed it because it was different than the "same ol".



Here is a pic of the right side of the hat. First, is pirate Mickey in a Pirates of the Caribbean pin. It was so cool, I had to have it. Then of course, old skool B&W Mickey. Awesome. The villain pin is one of my favorites and I have a close up of it if you scroll down a bit. The round one is the "cursed pirate gold" that was in the first Pirates movie, "Curse of the Black Pearl" and the blue one on the bottom was a pin for Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster DH bought me. :) And who could forget the awesome Maleficent?? She is my favorite villain, in part, because I LOVE Sleeping Beauty. It's my favorite Disney film. But also because she shifts into a bad-ass dragon in the end and she's also the climax in the show "Fantasmic!". :)



Here, you see the two princesses I have on my hat: Sleeping Beauty (see above) and Jasmine, along with a pin that says "Princess". I chose Jasmine because I love her too, but also because you can't find Jasmine anywhere at the pin keosks. She was definately rare at the park, and I wanted to have her. My name was actually stitched onto the hat at the Christmas shop in Downtown Disney, a "mall-like" shopping area totally outside of the parks. It was the only place we could get our hats stitched, because the Mad Hatter in the park didn't stitch "billed" hats. They only did the Mickey ears. We had to take the billed hats to the Christmas shop of all places, but it's cool, because our names are actually embroidered instead of merely stitched.



In this picture, you can see the pin I bought for Disney World in general, and one for Crush from Finding Nemo. We went to see "Turtle Talk with Crush", a show with a cartoon Crush on the screen that actually TALKS to you and responds to your questions flawlessly. His mouth moved in perfect time to his words and he was just a cartoon! The interface, whatever they used, was AWESOME. My daughter got to ask him a question. She was on cloud nine. For the rest of the trip. We talked like Crush. Totally. Ch-yah! LOL Then there's my Fantasmic! pin DH bought for me, and one of my favorite pins, a Mickey head made of curling dragons. You all know my fascination of dragons, so I HAD to have that pin. Details of it is below. I'm not sure if that pin is for Tokyo Disney like my good friend Damon thought, or if it was in honor of Mulan. It's definately not "Mushu", the dragon from Mulan, so I think it's a Mickey head from Japan. Awesome.



Here's the dragon Mickey head in detail. Isn't it awesome?!?



A better pic of the Fantasmic! pin.



Who could forget the adorable Stitch?? :D I got this pin because I thought the pin was adorable, but also because we ate at a fabu restaurant called "Ohana's" in the Polynesian resort. If you have a chance, EAT HERE!! It's an all you can eat buffet, but you never leave your table. They bring you the food right to your table, you never order a thing. Just sit down and instant food. Steak, turkey, sausage... all cooked over an open flame with cheesy scalloped potatoes, shrimp, salad with honey-lime dressing, veggie stir-fry, chicken wings with a tangy sauce... There was a lot more I'm missing, I'm sure, because we went to Ohana's twice. We loved it so much, DH took pics of us with our servers. :P Anyhow, if you've watched "Lilo & Stitch", you'll know that "Ohana" means family, and family means no one gets left behind! :P How could I leave behind such an adorable Stitch pin?



Detail on one of my favorite pins, the villain pin. You have the demon from Fantasia in the background, Jafar from Aladdin, Frolo from Hunchback, Hades from Hercules, the evil wolf from The Three Little Pigs cartoon, I believe, Captain Hook from Peter Pan, and I forget his name from Pocahontas.



And possibly my most favorite pin, my Maleficent pin. This shows her on her turret in her witch form, and then behind her shows her dragon form. When I bought this pin, I also bought a plushy Maleficent dragon toy for my desk. I told my DH, "I don't care if you think it's stupid, I'm buyin' the damn thing!" He didn't say a word. :P

So there you have it, my Epic Disney Hat. Yes, I did wear it throughout Disney World with all the pins on it. But that's really the only place I would wear it like that. I'm going to buy a corkboard to put all the pins on so I can wear my nekkid hat about town (since I paid to have my name stitched on it LOL), and I'm also fixin' to peruse www.disneypins.com. Oh yes, there's a WEBSITE!! :D

The cool thing about buying all these pins and hats and plushy Maleficent dolls was the fact that our friend Damon works for Disneyland and got me a sweet 35% discount every time. :D Never paid full price. That's probably a good thing... LOL

~~Becka

Becka's Hottie of the Week

It's that time again! Time for Becka's Hottie! Have y'all been going through withdrawls? LOL I thought for a little while on who I was going to post this week, but I finally settled on this man. He is the reason I watch The Office, he's even on the background of my cell phone. Who is this man? Why Mr. John Krasinski.



John plays Jim Halpert on The Office, Thursdays on NBC. My God, am I the only one who thinks this is one of the funniest damn shows on television? It's probably because I can identify with Jim and Pam, and I've known people like the ones on this show. DH and I started watching the original BBC version of The Office with Ricky Gervais. That one was pretty funny as well, but when BBC canceled it and they brought the show across the pond, a miracle happened in the casting room. LOL

Ricky Gervais is still involved, producing the show, and Steve Carell is a HOOT!! But it's Jim (aka John) who steals the show.



Why? Well, for one, he's hot in a geeky, office romance kinda way. At first glance, you think, "Yeah, he's cute." But as time goes on, he grows on you until you're swooning when he walks into the room. :P It's Jim with the witty one-liners, the priceless looks at the camera, and the funny-as-hell practical jokes. And there's also the "unspoken" romance between Jim and Pam (which they *finally* took to another level this week, praise God--it's been stagnant for awhile). Needless to say, if The Office didn't have John, it would be a different show, and probably not as funny.



Wow, that pic above is pretty damn sexy. LOL Remember when I said I had his likeness on my cell phone? Well, here's the pic I see every time I want to make a call.



Congratulations, John Krasinski. You're Becka's Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

Thursday Thirteen #8 ~ 13 Rides I Loved at Disney World

Since I just got back from vacation, I thought I would regale you with stories of the rides I went on and loved. :) Let's see if I can remember them all...

1. Splash Mountain. Some people have an aversion to getting wet. Lemme tell ya, when you're in scorching Florida heat with a humidity level of 80%, Splash Mountain soon becomes your favorite ride in the park. :P

2. Big Thunder Mountain. This one is a favorite at Disneyland and Disney World. I love this one because the track is different from Disneyland's, and thus, it's like riding it again for the first time.

3. Mission Space. A lot of people don't like this one, and I couldn't ride it more than once, but it was awesome. The ride is in a centerfuge, which spins really fast, and this allows you to feel like you're "blasting off". Your mission is to go to Mars and be the first explorers. Of course, you face problems. :P We knew we were going to love this ride because Gary Sinise is the "commander" you watch on the TV in the line queue. We love Gary Sinise. And there are literally about 50,000 warnings for this ride. "Are you SURE you want to go on?" I think this ride had barf bags. LOL Sweet.

4. Dinosaur. This ride was awesome. My son loved it so much, he bought a dinosaur toy in the store the ride dumps you out in. They don't have the Indiana Jones ride at Disney World, however, they DO have Dinosaur. It's the same concept with the hydrolic bouncy cars. It was really fun, and dinos even spit at you on this one!

5. Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster. This ride ruled. First of all, the coaster looks like a stretch limo. That's because you are the VIP fans with a backstage pass trying to get to the Aerosmith concert. But oh no! There's bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway. What are you going to do? LOL This ride rockets you from 0 to 60 MPH in 3 seconds. And immediately, you go upside down. The ride is in the dark, so you can't see where you're going, but there are random street signs (like you're on the freeway) lit with dark lights. And through it all, you're listening to "Dude, Looks Like a Lady". Awesome. :P

6. Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror. I've heard this one has more of a "story" behind the ride than the one in Anaheim. It's a hotel that was a popular spot for Hollywood's elite in the 30's, that suddenly got struck by lightning and sucked into some other dimension. LOL Of course, the ghosts of the starlets are still in the hotel. And you're in the haunted elevators that go up to a level where you then go forward, out into a room where you look at all the ghosty stuff, before the room goes dark and you suddenly drop 7 stories. Then bounce back up five. Then drop again, and bounce up three. Then drop again. If you didn't have your seatbelt on, you'd be seriously effed up on this ride. LOL And let's not forget the elevator doors that open on the seventh and 5th stories that show you nothing in front of you but the park right before it drops... Ack. Scary, but sweet.

7. Expedition Everest. This ride in one word: WOW. Two words: FRICKIN' WOW. You think the yeti in the Matterhorn in Anaheim is "scary"? You don't know what the heck you're talkin' about. LOL This ride is in the Animal Kingdom, and it's HAWT. This ride is fast and scary, taking you to a section of track that's been ripped to shreds by the unseen yeti. Then, the cars begin to go backwards. But not just for a little bit, you're going over bumps and turns for a long time backwards, and fast! Then you stop, and you see a shadow of the yeti on the wall ripping up more track. And you shoot out of the tunnel, going over some more twists and turns before the giant yeti tries to grab hold of your cars, and I'm talking GIANT fricken' yeti! Awesome ride. LOVED it. Do you have kids? Do you watch the Backyardigans? LOL Well, we were all making "fun" of this ride, going "yetiyetiyetiyetiyeti!" Like they do in that show. :P They go on an expedition in their backyard looking for a yeti and they're trying to call it to them or something. It's pretty funny. But having that many small kids, they all knew the reference, so it was a great inside joke that stayed with us throughout the trip, not just on this yeti ride. LOL

8. Star Tours. Yup, this is the very same one they have at Disneyland, however, I loved this one more because the line queue is so much better! Outside, it's all themed like you're on the moon of Endor, with a giant, animated AT-AT that makes cool Star Wars lazer noises and moves it's head. And there's jungle music and bird calls, it's just awesome!! In fact, most of Disney World has MORE theming in their ride queues than Disneyland does.

9. Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride is also different than the one in Anaheim, but it was the very first time I was able to see the Captain Jack Sparrow animatronics they added to the ride. It was AWESOME!! I'm so glad they did that. :) However, for the record, I like Disneyland's Pirates ride better, for the simple fact that you float through the Blue Bayou restaurant and have TWO waterfalls you go down, not to mention one waterfall you go *up*. This ride only had one waterfall drop and maybe another tiny one. But it was worth it for Capt. Jack.

10. Haunted Mansion. Yet another example of a ride that's the "same" but "different". In this ride, there are giant spiders. :P Loved it. And of course, it was nice to sit down in the lovely air conditioning after walking all over the park... I always love Haunted Mansion because of that. Dark, cool, sit back and enjoy. :)

11. Kali Rapids. Again, another opportunity to get wet, and by the end of the day, you're desperate, if only to wash off the grime. LOL The only complaint I had about this one was it needed to be longer and get me wetter.

12. Soarin'. In California, the ride is called Soarin' Over California. Here, it's just Soarin'. This ride has you strapped to a seat, then you're lifted into the air, looking at a HUGE Imax-type theater screen, while you have the sensation of "flying" like a hang-glider. The seats tilt and everything. In fact, they tell you to take off any thongs or loose shoes or you're going to lose them, because your feet dangle in the air. They blow wind on your face, and even spray scents at you while you're flying. You go over an orange grove and you smell oranges, for example. You fly over the ocean and smell the salty tang. It's awesome.

13. Winnie the Pooh. Who doesn't love Winnie? This ride was fun, because of the theming on the outside, and because it's another ride to go on to get out of the sun. It's a cute little ride through the 100 acre-wood. A ride for everyone, where it's cool inside and you can sit for a few.

And there you have it. YETIYETIYETIYETIYETI!!

~~Becka

It Should Be Made into a Movie

You listening Hollywood?? :P Check out this sweet review for THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE:

http://www.roadtoromance.ca/reviews0705/reviewwolverine.htm

"The Good Bits" Snippet:

"So people a 9 on 10 is my rating for this tale and if there is a moviemaker out there this story is just crying out to be put on the big screen to rival Narnia, Eragon, the Lord of the Rings and all the other fantasia films that graced the silver screens."

WOW! My jaw is still on the floor. Many thanks to Raakhee from Road to Romance for such a glowing review! **sniffle**

Click on the book cover to see this book's page on Samhain Publishing's website. And don't forget, the second book in the series, THE WOLVERINE AND THE JEWEL, is releasing on May 15th! Only a few days away. I'm so excited!



~~Becka :D

More Pics, More Pics!

Just a few more pics of the Magic Kingdom, but these were good ones. The first here is moi, noshing on churros, one of the top ten reasons to go to a Disney theme park. :P (A churro is a dessert-type pastry that is covered with sugar and cinnamon.) I didn't actually EAT all these churros, but someone handed me 14 of them to hold (one for everyone in our party), and one of my friends snapped a pic of me being silly. It turned out GREAT! Hahah! Unfortunately, I personally had only 2 churros my entire Disney World trip and I'm upset that I didn't meet my churro quota. LOL It seems as if churros can only be found in the Magic Kingdom, and even then, the churro carts were few and far between. :( That was a big boo from Disneyland in Anaheim, which seems to have a churro cart on every corner. We couldn't even find a cart that MADE the churros on site like they do in D-land. AND we couldn't find any churros in any of the other parks aside from the Magic Kingdom. Very sad, that. Anyhow, enough of my yabbering and on with the funny churro pic.




Here is a pic of our entire group taken by some random guy when we were waiting to be called for our dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was the BEST buffet I've ever been to, and I grew up in Nevada. Sorry, Las Vegas! The food was YUMMY. Not only that, but the dinner also has "character", their tagline, not mine. LOL Pooh and the gang comes out during your dinner and visits each and every table for a photo-op. Because of this, you MUST make reservations months in advance for this place. We were damned lucky to get a party of 14 squeezed in there. As it was, we didn't all sit at the same table. Too many fricken' people. But here we are.




In the back row we have Damon and Monica, Kevin and Val, and Jim and Becka. Second row is baby Kaylee, Hannah and Miriam. In the front row is Chase, Levi, Simone poking out her head, Daniel, and Samantha. Yup. Eight children. We didn't even bother with a name count. Every few minutes each of us would merely count heads. We got 8? Yup! Let's go! We totally could have had someone else's kid and we wouldn't have known. LOL




Yet another pic of the castle, but from the backside. On the right is a 3D show called Mickey's PhilharMagic. This is a show where you put on the little polarized glasses and watch the cartoons come at you. Disney is so much cooler than the 3D glasses of yesteryear. No one does the red and blue glasses anymore. But the PhilharMagic show was THE BEST 3D show I've seen at Disney. Better than Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, better than the Bug's Life show, better than Muppets 3D (which we saw at MGM Studios), better than Captain EO, of course, it doesn't take much to be better than that one. LOL It doesn't even play anymore (obvious) but I just had to list it, since it was a 3D show. But this show revolves around Donald stealing Mickey's magician's apprentice hat and wreaking havoc throughout the different Disney movies. The screen widens to the very walls of the theater, and the audience is literally immersed in the action. If you go to the Magic Kindgom, do NOT miss Mickey's PhilharMagic in Fantasyland. :)

That's it! More to come later.

~~Becka

First Batch of Disney World Pics

So here's some Disney World pics I thought you might enjoy. These were taken with my hubby's fancy new camera, his Pentax 10 something-or-other. He has a telephoto lens for it that took some excellent photos of Capt. Jack Sparrow as you will see down the line. We were a ways away from Capt. Jack when he began his little "street show", and let me tell you, this guy was spot on for imitating Johnny Depp. It was a little scary how well he did... :P

First up, a picture of me. Sorry, I never bought mouse ears for myself, but I did get a hat which I'm sure you'll see pictures of in the future. This is our first day at the Magic Kingdom. Here is Becka in her bowling shirt (which we all had LOL we're geeks) on Main Street USA.





Next up, a pic of our good friend Kevin and his daughter Kaylee, because this was just too damn adorable not to show you. (yes, Kevin named his daughter after Kaylee from Firefly/Serenity. Yup, like I said, we're geeks).




Here's my son, bedecked in his pirate-y regalia. We couldn't resist the totally sweet pirate Mickey ears and plastic pirate cutlass. :P




And this one, the Captain Jack Sparrow Money Shot. When we remodel our son's room to be pirate themed, we're blowing this baby up to poster size.




The lovely Cinderella's castle, as seen from Mainstreet USA in Disney World's Magic Kingdom.




Another two shots of the castle at night, showing how by changing the lighting, they can change the color of the castle. I believe it was blue, purple, pink, yellow, orange, and green. :)






And there you have it, the first batch of cool pics from Disney World! :D

~~Becka

8 Random Things About Myself

So, I've been tagged to do this by Leslie Dicken. **grumble grumble** LOL Let's see if I can think of eight random things... I really have no idea if I can tag 8 people to do this. Most of my friends hate these things. :P

Here are the rules:

Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 random facts/habits about me …

~*~

1. I hatehateHATE the nickname "Becky". I know I go by "Becka", not that much different, but it is to me. Maybe it's psychological, I don't know. But call me "Becky", and you might just be returning home in a box.

2. I love to crochet, although I haven't done it in eons.

3. One of my favorite foods is ravioli, but I rarely get to have it because DH hates it. (Yes, you do, hun). He says he doesn't hate it, but he'll never eat it. Never eating something = hating it in my book. When I was pregnant and craving it, I would make him steak and potatoes and make myself ravioli. It was a pain in the butt making two separate dinners. But it was worth it!

4. I graduated from Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada in 1993, and to this day, I still think the "Senator" is the lamest school mascot on Planet Earth.

5. If you are what you eat, then I'm a giant can of Caffeine Free Diet Coke.

6. I can no longer live without my iPod.

7. I prefer to drive a stick-shift, however, both of our cars are automatics. I learned how to drive with a stick because my father didn't want me or my sister not to know how to drive one. He figured once I knew how to drive a stick, an automatic would be butter. He was right.

8. I used to love the color green, but now that I'm older, I'm really into pink and purple. Perhaps its because I have three daughters who dream about becoming Disney princesses when they grow up. :P

~~Becka

There and Back Again

Well, I'm home! Lemme tell ya, it is soooo good to be back. I never thought I would be so happy to sleep in my own bed, feel the cool Oregon air or not have to worry about airports and packing.

But I will say this; going to Walt Disney World was, perhaps, the best Disney vacation I have ever been on. We got Fast Passes for every cool ride and rarely waited in line. We merely walked on. For those of you who haven't gone to Disneyland or Disney World in a long time, a Fast Pass is a ticket you're given by a computer that "waits in line" for you. So you put your Disney park ticket into this machine, and it gives you a Fast Pass, that tells you to return to the ride say after 1pm. Any time after 1pm, you can get on the ride through the special Fast Pass line and walk right on. No standing in line! You cannot get on the ride right away, since you are still "technically" waiting in line, but you're not "in" the line. You're free to go do other cool stuff. It was flippin' sweet.

The longest line we ever waited in was 20 minutes, which is nothing in a theme park. We literally had a blast riding all the rides many times. :D

We went to the Magic Kingdom twice, Epcot twice, Disney MGM Studios twice, and Animal Kingdom once. Seven days of vacation goodness. The other three days of our vacation were "free" days, days we took off to go swimming in our vacation home's pool and BBQ with our friends. We went with two other families, some of our best friends and their kids. It was a lot of work keeping track of all the kids, and we even lost one! (don't worry, we found him) But as hectic as it was, we had a BLAST.

The Magic Kingdom is like a bizzarro Disneyland. Things are the same, yet different. Rides aren't where they're "supposed" to be, therefore it's a little unsettling. But once you get used to it, it's awesome. There's no Matterhorn in the Magic Kingdom, but there is Cinderella's castle (as opposed to Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland), and their fireworks show was to DIE for.

Epcot (which used to be an acronym, but isn't anymore) was a super-fun place. Walt called it the Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow, I believe, or EPCOT for short. He originally envisioned a perfect place for people to live with "tomorrow's" technology. Or something. LOL It's nothing like that now. Just another park with the cool "Spaceship Earth" big silver ball in Future World. We had so much fun here. Spent a day doing Future World and a second day doing the tour of the countries of the world around the lake. They have a fun drinking game you can play in these countries. (Yes, you can buy alcohol in every park BUT the Magic Kingdom - Weird for Disney, I know) Anyway, you literally "drink around the world". You buy a drink in each country, a beer from that country. Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Morocco, Germany, Norway, Mexico... There might be more countries that I missed, my memory ain't so good.

DH and his friend Kevin did every country. Many people drop off after Germany, because they're so drunk by then. DH and Kevin made it to Mexico, the last country, and they were so roaring drunk, that I'm not sure they remember much of Illuminations, the cool fireworks show over the lake. LOL

Animal Kingdom was awesome. It's a huge zoo slash amusement park with a lot of rides and things to see. In fact, the day we went, we hardly saw any animals, because we didn't make it over to the zoo section! We went on the African Safari ride which showed a few animals, but other than that, we were stuck in the attractions section. :P But we had such a good time regardless. And the Tree of Life in the middle of the park is AWESOME. Got great pics of that.

Disney's MGM Studios was great as well. We spent two days there because we didn't get to see everything. The Tower of Terror is a sweet ride, and so much more than merely being dropped in a free-fall elevator. The Rockin' Roller Coaster was totally cool, too. A coaster themed to Aerosmith's music. It's only one of two rides Disney has that actually goes upside down. The other one is the ride in Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim. I don't remember the name of that one right now... We saw a few great shows and had an EXCELLENT seat for the parade here. We were at the end of the parade route, so as each character was leaving the parade, they stopped and interacted with our kids. Our kids pretty much exploded. LOL

We don't have our pictures uploaded yet, but I'm sure I'll be showing them off as soon as we do. :) I also have many other great stories, but this is just a general over-view of what we did. I found out I have a weakness for Disney pins. Pin trading is very lucrative at Disney. I don't trade them, but I do like to look at them all, and I even bought a few. More than a few, actually. :P But they're all awesome.

Anyhow, I'll be back to post some pictures and maybe tell you some stories later. Woke up at 7am this morning expecting it to be 11am. HELLO JETLAG!! LOL I'm still tired.... ZZZZZ

~~Becka