Cat's Claw Giveaway

Hi guys! I hope enverything is going awesomely fantabulous out ya'll's way! Wanted to take a few minutes and chat with you guys about a little project I was brought on board with.
My pal, Jenny B, approached me a couple of weeks ago, and asked if I'd help her out on something she was working on, and you just have to understand the coolness of Jenny B to know why I said yes after knowing her for a short amount of time. She has to be one of the most warm hearted and generous people I know, and she a big Amber Benson fan, and we ALL know where I stand on that issue! YAY, Amber! Wow... I got sidetracked... imagine that... ANYWAY, so Jenny has this plan, and so of course I tell her I'll help her in whatever way I can, even though at this point I have no clue what I'm getting myself into.
The big day arrives, and finally I get the email with a description of Jenny's master plan. Here's where you guys find out the awesomeness that is her. Although she doesn't have a Twitter page or anything, she keeps up on it. She's been looking at the people that have been tweeting(yep, I checked it is OFFICIALLY in the dictionary) about wanting Amber's newest book in the Calliope Reaper-Jones series entitled Cat's Claw. For those of you not familiar with the series, the first book is called Death's Daughter, and they are TOTALLY worth reading! Jenny was seeing a lot of people wanting copies of Cat's Claw that, because of reasons which I'm sure aren't lost on any of us in the economy at the moment, haven't been able to purchase. So Jen decides she's going to obtain X amount of copies and give them away for free with no strings attached, not something you get much in this day and time. She brought me and a couple of other folks on board to help her with getting the word out since we had resources of reaching people that she did not.
I'm not sure how much of you guys keep tabs on Amber Benson, but she's a busy lady. She's one of those actresses with her head not in the clouds, and seems to be more concerned with her fans and helping other than making a buck. Her new movie DRONES, which was co directed with Adam Busch, was just screen at the Egyptian Theater in LA to benefit a phenominal charity called 826LA. For those of you not familiar with said charity, it's a WONDERFUL program they have set up out in the LA area that teaches kids how to use the creative stores of their mind with teachers that encourage them to do things such as write, which is almost a lost artform is schools nowadays. So again, Miss Benson gave her time, and the screening of a REALLY AWESOME movie, and donated the proceeds to the awesome charity. So, Jen thought a way for a few of her fans to sort of give back to her and help some more people out in the process was to do the free giveaways for Cat's Claw. Fun plan!
Anyhow, I'm going to wrap up here, but if you guys would like, or know anyone that would like a free copy of Cat's Claw, no hooks, no gimmicks, and no money out of pocket, please send an email to black93transam@yahoo.com and watch for an email from the Jedi Master of BS(edited b/c I don't know if any kiddies are reading), or if ya have any questions, feel free to tweet me @tholmes86 and I'll be happy to answer what I can! The giveaway is US ONLY so please keep it in the states! Thanks guys! Thanks to Amber Benson, just for being the coolness of you, and thanks to Jenny B for being the terriffic person you are, and for bringing me on board to assist you! Hugs my friend!
Talk to you guys next time!

Death By Rice

Hiya guys! Wanted to share with you guys how I almost killed my one of my best buds today. Sit back, chillax, and enjoy!
I was having a talk today with my buddy Watson. Told her a story that went a little something like this... I will refrain from the usage of real names to protect the innocent:
So I have this friend that was scheduled to audition for a part today. The character was supposed to have low self esteem. My friend that's going for this audition, VERY much the opposite... bright, bubbly, and a blast to be around! She calls last night saying, "Hey! So I have this part to audition for. Cut me down!"
I kinda sat with the "lights on nobody's home" expression on my face for a second and then said, "Cut you down?"
She says, "You know! Insult me!" Oh had she only asked me to the night before when I was called Hitler!!!!!
I finally said, "I don't want to be the one to insult you."
She says, in a very excited tone, "Oh COME ON! Do it!"
I kinda rolled my eyes and responded, in a dead panned voice, "Fine. You freak. You sideshow."
Silence on the other end for the space of about about five seconds, longest time the girl had ever been quiet the whole time I've known her. Finally, in a shaky voice she finds her voice... "Well, that made me feel like I wasn't even worth cutting down."
I kinda smirked on the other end, "Well, destroyed your self esteem, didn't it?"
She answers back, "Hey! Thanks!"
So anyway, I tell this story to Watson, unaware that my good friend is eating some rice for her lunch. I get the IM response: "I can't swallow my food!" Meaning in my mind... OMG! I've killed Watson!!!! It was a rice killing!!!!
She tells me later after she was calm that one of her coworkers kept checking on her after hearing the choking... at least she was cared for! :o)
Anyway, after the whole thing was over, I tell her I can see the headlines now. "WATSON: Death by Rice". But all is well in Watsonville. She's still alive and kicking, and I only partially killed her... good thing she bounces back fast! Heart ya, Wats!

WOW OH WOW!!!!!!!!!

Hey, ya'll! Hope everything is going well out in cyber world for ya! OH! And in your real lives too! Blogging topic today... serious, or crazy... I vote CRAZY!
My crazy neighbors frustrate the heck out of me. They don't watch their children AT ALL! This is how my morning went....
My mother came to visit today, never a good thing, but she's alive and breathing, so I can deal with the put downs. I love her, but sometimes she just makes me want to SCREAM!!!!!! What can ya do, except be docile and compliant? Big improvement over the two years she didn't talk to me. So, that was the badness of my morning. Onward to the eventful part!
My neighbor's kids are cute as can be, but they are just sooooo LOUD in the breezeway leading to my apartment. You know how those things can echo... Anyhow, I keep hearing this strange whirring sound, followed by something slamming really hard against my door. I have a peephole, and before you guys ask, no I didn't look. Never do. I know.... DANGER WILL ROBINSON! LOL! It'll be alright. Anyhow I open the door and see this streak of black cross in front of my eyes. Can ya guess what's coming next? I look to my left, for the simple fact that I was standing BEHIND the door, and see these kids barreling down my hallway in one of those little electronic Power Wheels Jeep thingies. Apparently, the wheel had jammed and the only thing they could hit was my door, so when I opened it, they came careening into my unsuspecting apartment, screaming at the top of their lungs! They finally let off the pseudo gas pedal, and stopped. I helped them get turned around, and sent them back outside, where I came face to face with the psychotic woman from one of the earlier blog posts. The one that poked me in the chest trying to start a fight. She sang a different tune today though. Even apologized for her kids disturbing me. TAKE THAT! I kinda snickered a tad after she left. I know, I'm a bad human being. Just love me anyway, and we'll be fine! :o)
That's all I got for today guys! Catch ya later!

OH MY TUMMY!!!!!!!

Hey, guys! I tell you... honest to GOODNESS, my tummy has never hurt so bad in my LIFE! I have laughed so much today, I threw myself into an asthma attack! I needed the laughter. It was splendifurkle! It all started with my pal Jenny B! Apparently, we're both haunted, no, not haunted, PLAGUED by Dora the Explorer and Deigo! Sidebar... Dora gets a full title and Deigo is just Deigo... like Cher, or Madonna... what's up with that? Hmmm... ANYWAY! We are both plagued by these two little kiddie shows. They may be entertaining for the kiddies, but they kinda make you, as an adult, want to ram your head through a brick wall... repeatedly. Just sayin'! I have LAUGHED at the situations we seem to get locked into with these... characters!
Then, today... talking Buffy quotages with my other bud Bits! You guys know me and Buffy. I would have married Joss Whedon if Kai hadn't already had snatched him right out from under my nose! Buffy quotes with Bits are fun! We pick out the most insanely hilarious, and obtuse quotes from whatever show happens to be on that day! Oh the laughs! It's not even the quotes really... it's the discussion that goes on ABOUT the quotes! Bits is frickin' hillarious and doesn't even know it! I believe most of the humor in our chats come from her! I think it opened the door for the rest of the laughter for the day. Put me in a good mood! So HOORAY!
Then there was Sarah B. Where do I start? We started with Buffy comics... yes I admit, I read them. What about it? LOL! Season 8 is just getting very... you fill in the blank with a word that's an antonym for good. Be as creative as you like! The girl had me rolling! We talked about everything from Buffy comics to me driving the riding lawn mower up the tree when I was about 4, and in my Miss America stage. You know... more concentrated on waving to the adoring fans as opposed to paying attention to where you're driving. YEP! Never been one to pay attention. Sarah showed me a "wee worthy" movie, and I'm really hoping I don't have to explain what a wee is! LOL! The best converstaions are when you laugh so hard you can reach into your mind and just barely remember what you've talked about! All of mine have been that way today!
Last but not least, none of my bloggage on laughter would be complete without the mention of one of my newest and dearest friends Watson! She is the QUEEN of laughter! Totally gets my randomness... and I have to admit... I do have times that I skip from one extreme topic to the next and she can follow me! I mean, how many friends can you talk to going from the subject of Buffy and then two words later, go on to discussing church and they totally get what you're saying? We joke all the time about sharing a mind... that in itself is a pretty hillarious picture! Reason being is that good old Watson is more intelligent than I am! Between the chat and all other platforms of communication, there is no easing my aching stomach!
I made a remark to Bits today that I thought I may have cracked a rib from laughing so hard! What a way to break a bone! Heard a remark from Watson today that she may die laughing... what a way to go! Watson always says that the laughter has to keep the stomach muscle toned. You would THINK with the way the sides, lungs, and inards hurt so badly! Now all I have to do is wait for it to firm up!
That about wraps it up for me tonight! Talk with you guys next go around, and I wish you much laughter and tightening of the tummy muscles!

The Beauty of Life

Hey guys! Despite everything going on, I have had the BEST day today I've had in a long time! Everything has just been so calm and peaceful. Started back keeping the kids again today, and I think that helped restore some normalcy. Well... as normal as I CAN be anway! Lots of changes, positive ones, heading my way soon! I'm getting a house! Like to own! So excited! The parental units bought one for me, so I'm pretty siked about that!
Have you guys ever noticed how babies make things in life so much easier to cope with? All evening, things were kind of docile around my best friend, Marla's grandma's house, since the death of her grandpa. Not like depression, but you could just tell everyone was exhausted and nerves were starting to get on edge, and then, Marla's cousin walks in with his baby. Addy just turned a year old, and is walking and saying a few words here and there. She came in today, and the whole room just lit up! She'd come over an hug you or try and give kisses. I got attacked because I was sitting on the floor, right at her level, so naturally she runs full speed ahead and I HAD to act like she'd tackled me, and she just giggled! I LOVE it!
You know how people bring food to the family when someone passes away? There was tons of food! You have to understand Marla's granny before I tell you guys this story. She's hard of hearing, and a lot of times her thought processes don't make a lick of sense, but she's one of those people that you CAN'T NOT love! Our church brings in food, and after everyone has finished eating, she says, "Ya'll can't put all that in my frigidaire! It'll break it down!" We all laughed and she walked on around us and never even heard the 20 some odd people laughing and chortling at her!
It was definitely a great day. Light hearted, found out one of Marla's mom's sister feeds her husband dog food... not really. She made the slip up today of saying she'd bought her husband some Beneful as opposed to Benefiber. We had one of those gut busting laughs over that!
Anyhow, guys! I'll be back to babble at ya later! I'm planning on tomorrow being a total Buffyfest before I have to get ready to go with Marla to the funeral home. I have to have something to keep my mind off of the sadness! Who knows? Someone may walk in the room and see me quizzing myself on Buffy trivia! Just to keep my mind off of things! Till we meet in cyber space again guys!

A comma isn't a period

Hey, guys! Been a rough couple of days. My great aunt passed away suddenly Wednesday morning. A blot clot hit her heart, killing her almost instantaneuosly. I needed the venting space, so here am I. Apologies all around for what will probably be a heavy, but hopefully not too awfully bad, blogging session.
It's hard to lose someone you love, someone you're close to, as it is, much less when it's unexpected. I've kept to myself mostly the last few days. Without my best friend Marla, along with Watson, Bits, and Jenny, I probably wouldn't be sane at this moment in time. I'm one of those people that can't let myself cry until I know everyone around me is okay. I've felt like I needed to keep everything bottled up inside, for my mother's sake. She'd gone completely tacit for the last couple of days, not talking to anyone, mostly just crying, hardly been able to get her to eat. My aunt was a second mother to her, more so after my grandmother passed away about 2 years ago. She finally answered some questions for me tonight. Just little stuff, nothing major, but I've never been so relieved to hear someone tell me they wanted a cup of coffee. I may need to back up for a second.
There's a background story with my mother and I. We're both a lot alike, and yet not alike at all. With the crying thing, my mom always told me that I shouldn't cry. It shows weakness, she said, and that if I was going to do so, I should keep it to myself. So for the last 16 years I've gone on not crying very much for anything, and if I did keeping it to myself. I have a hard time letting people in. I try to be a very open, honest person, but I still keep a certain part of myself guarded. Doesn't everyone? Anyhow, from the time I was small, my mother has said things to me that no parent should ever say to their child. I have to forgive her and move on. That's what you do for family. You forgive it and move on, but any time my mom would hurt me so deeply or tell me she didn't want anything to do with me or wish I'd never been born, my aunt would always be there to pick up the pieces. She and my grandmother. My mother isn't a bad person by any means. She'd give someone the shirt off of her back if they needed it, but I guess she must see something about me, that she doesn't like in herself. Usually that's the case. Wow... already sidetracked... let's see. Anyway, losing my aunt was like losing my grandmother all over again. It's a horrible experience. Losing anyone, and the losses have seemed to be coming left and right lately. Finally, today, everything got to me. The taciturn mother, the loss, the grief, the fact that I couldn't get my hair to do what I wanted it to... yeah, when I get upset about hair control, it's bad. I finally broke down. Couldn't hold it in anymore. I'd been crying off and on for the last two days, sometimes hours at a time, and that's when either Watson would shoot a text message, or Bits or Jenny would shoot me an email. That helped more than they'll probably ever know. But today, I lost it. I cried a good solid 4 hours, till I absolutely cried myself out. I had to get everything out because someone had to not cry for my mom. Being an only child, I felt that was my burden to bear. My dad sang at the funeral service, and I was supposed to play for him, but that didn't happen. I just couldn't.
We sat through a song, and then my cousin, who is a preacher, got up and spoke over his mother. He made it through, and did a better job than the pastor of her church. For those of you that may not know me well, I am religious. I don't argue about it, because it's a pointless subject to fuss about. I love people just the same, whether they're Baptist, Catholic, Mormon, Episcopalian, Jewish or believe nothing at all. I'm not going to stand on a soap box and preach at people, or judge them because it isn't my place. I have my views and they have theirs, and I respect that. I do believe in an afterlife. I believe that our soul goes on after death. That thought was lost to me upon hearing of my aunt's death. The thought that, it's permanent. It is on earth, but my cousin made a comment over his mom today and said that it wasn't a period at the end of her life, it was only a comma. That brought a lot of comfort to me, when I needed it. So, now, if you notice a ton of run on sentences in my blogs or emails, it's because the comma is my new favorite punctuation mark because nothing really ends. For instance this blog, I just can't seem to shut up! LOL! Glad you guys love me enough to deal with me, or at least like me! :o)
I do want to wrap it up though by thanking everyone for the thoughts and prayers sent my way this last few days. You guys mean a lot, and you'll never know how much. If I could give everyone of ya'll a great big southern bear hug I would! If I ever meet ya in person... watch out because I AM a hugger! LOL! But not the creepy kind... just realized how... psychotic that sounded. Light hearted bloggage on Monday! Already know what I'm going to babble at you guys about! Have a great one! Till next time,