My middle name IS trouble. How did you guess?

This weekend, was going to be a wonderful weekend. I had a free pass to a convention. I had a giftcard for the mall and a precise plan to spend it. I had hopes and dreams and kittens.

Unfortunately, I am an idiot.

Friday night was exactly as it should have been. I spent my time with my boyfriend. It was perfect. Saturday dawned and we had breakfast at Tiffany's, my favorite breakfast restaurant in Tampa. After breakfast, I headed Tampa to Necronomicon. I saw Patricia Briggs and Richard Lee Byers on the first panel. They were engaging and funny. Afterwards, my friend took me to meet her. She is absolutely genuine and nice. I loved meeting her.

The second panel I went to was about E-Publishing and DRM. It was killer. It was mainly great because of Ed Howdershelt. He is a Science Fiction writer and he only publishes electronically. He's got a no nonsense attitude and looks like he stepped out of a Jimmy Buffet video. (Granted, I think he's get fed up with Jimmy and knock him upside the head with a parrot or something.) The panel was wonderful and full of good info, but Ed stirred things up. If he thought a question was stupid or irrelevant, he said so. I was told he did this in a few panels where he wasn't a guest. It made me laugh.

I had lunch with my friends Ross and Nicci and then I moved my car so it wouldn't get towed. I then attended a Panel about the possibility of paperless currency. It was a good panel with good opinions and points on both sides and in the middle.

After the last panel, I decided to head home. There was one problem. My car was missing. It had been towed. It was my fault and I am an idiot, but it was too late to freakout about it at that point. I made a few phone calls and found out where my car was. Then I called my boyfriend who rescued me and helped me get the car back. He was very nice about it.

The next day I was driving home to take my brother to get a shirt for the job he found, when I noticed a pair of flashing lights behind me. This officer was pleased as punch to have pulled me over. I don't know if I fulfilled his quota or what, but the bounce in his step pretty much guaranteed that I would not be let off with a warning. He was very nice and I was polite and respectful. He was right, I had been speeding.

I had planned to go back to the convention, but after all of that I decided it would be best to just go home and bake and that's what I did. Cameron and I got his shirt, so he's now ready for work. (He starts today. Wish him luck.)

My boss gave me a gift certificate for a local mall, so Sadia, Cameron, and I went to International Plaza. If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know I loathe shopping and that my mother buys the majority of my clothing. I needed a bra though and most stores don't carry size freak show.

We went to Dillard's. I don't like people touching me and the manager of the department wanted to fix my bra. She kept feeling my back and saying that my bra needed to be adjusted. I told her no, three freaking times, and then she handed me a bra and ordered that I try it on. My (traitor) friend, Sadia, did not help at all and actually encouraged this. She then had the audacity to laugh hysterically when I was told that I needed a size that I didn't want more than the size I already had.

I decided that I had enough torture for one day, so we gathered up my brother and went home. In some bizzare and totally sober twist of fate, we all ended up making clay and beads that afternoon. Cameron decided that he was not skilled anough after a while and left it to the ladies. I made a killer leaf and some ornaments that I plan to sell on Etsy. I'm going to need the money if I plan to pay all of these tickets and keep myself in cookie supplies.

How my brother came to live with me and other tales of woe.

Saturday morning was blissful until about 8:30am.


At 8:29am, I sat at the Olympic Cafe having breakfast at the bar with my kids. They were swinging their legs and enjoying hot cocoa. I was enjoying a glass of tea and tucking in to my biscuits and gravy. Plans for the day included hitting up the Twelve Oaks community garage sale, hitting the beauty school for a hair cut, and heading to Grandma's farm for her 85th birthday.

At 8:30am my phone rang. The caller ID said it was my brother, Cameron. This surprised me since he doesn't generally wake up until after noon. Cameron was significantly more awake than I would have expected and he explained that he was about to be arrested and that he needed to be bailed out of jail and that I would need to help him move out of his apartment immediately. I asked him about the crime he committed. I received a tale that was, for the most part, true. Essentially, he had a mandatory meeting. His attempt at attendance was sabotaged. Upon waking up and realizing what had happened he tossed on enough clothing to be decent, marched across the street to his work place, and slapped the saboteur upside the head. He was immediately and understandably fired. He walked back across the street to his apartment and began to call the family.


I urged the children to finish up their breakfast and we hurried across the bay. Cameron had been arrested by the time we got there. My mother arrived at the same time I did. We decided that my children did not need to visit the jail, so my mother took my children for breakfast number two.

I went to the bank and withdrew $150 and headed over to the jail. Let me just say that the jail was not busy. I did get to enjoy the facilities for approximately 3 hours while I waited for them to first book him and then release him. That was pleasant. October is apparently domestic violence month. They had an exhibit, created by inmates, about the effects of domestic violence. I viewed the entire thing. I called some friends. I talked to my father. I spoke to a woman in the lobby. FINALLY, he was released.


Cameron was now jobless AND homeless. Wonderful. Cameron asked if he could stay with me for a little while. I said he could, because he has nowhere else to go.


Now, I have 2 adults, 3 cats, and on occasion 2 children living in my one bedroom apartment. I also do not have a couch. Cameron has been sleeping on my recliner. He thinks it's too weird for us to sleep in the same room even though I have bunk beds. I agree.


My goals for the week are to settle Cameron in, get a couch or futon, and to stay calm.

You are invited!

Hosts: Courtney Schoenfeld & Sadia Knight


Location: John Chestnut Sr. Park
631 Chestnut Street
Clearwater, FL 34685 US

When: Sunday, November 8, 1:00PM

You and your family are invited to Team Banzai's Relay for Life Potluck Fundraiser.

Come enjoy the Florida Autumn with us and enjoy some wonderful food. We'll be bringing some interesting and delicious dishes and we can't wait to see what you will bring.

John Chestnut Sr. Park is a beautiful park with two playgrounds, horseshoe pits, a beach volleyball court, a softball field, water fountains, and restrooms. We will be in Shelter #3.

The suggested donation is $10 and 100% of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. We can accept donations the day of the event, but we suggest that you donate via the following link: http://bit.ly/NKGKT

A night at the movies with Zombieland!

Last Monday, Cameron and I went to see Zombieland. We headed over to the AMC Tri City 8. We watch all of our movies together there because they are $4.00 on week days and on weekends before noon. We're not cheap, we're broke.

Cameron revealed that he was shocked to see the Sherlock Holmes movie posters. He didn't know it was being made and he had no idea that Robert Downey Jr. was playing Sherlock Holmes. He seemed to be intrigued and declared that we would see it. (Robert Downey Jr. is in it. I am seeing it for darn sure. You know, to um... support reformed actors in the arts.)
We also saw posters for The Vampire's Apprentice. Neither of us knew what it was about, but we put it on our tentative lists of movies we want to watch. If you are interested you can view the trailer here. (Looks kind of cool. Is this a kids movie?)

The last poster that Cam and I saw got my heart pounding. It was for Where the Wild Things are. It looks amazing. My kids are excited. I am excited. Just view the trailer here. It's just amazing.

We walked into the theater and we were slightly surprised to see that it was over half full. Cam and I saw The Proposal here and we were two of the four people in the place. Granted, Zombieland has a broader appeal (and I felt that The Proposal was kind of a disappointment.)

Cameron took so long making me frozen Stauffer's lasagna and smoking cigarettes that by the time we got there we had almost completely missed the two year old movie quizzes and reminders that soda and popcorn were in the lobby. The theater went dark about 3 minutes after we found our seats.

The trailers that played were:

• V (A new series on ABC. Looks awesome. It stars Morena Baccarin Who played Inara on Firefly.)

• Saw VI (Completely unnecessary trash. Cam and I are skipping this and all other Saw films.)

• Year One (Will be renting ASAP.)

• 2012 (I adore John Cusack. It's a film about the world ending in 2012. It looks interesting.)

• New Moon. (The second Twilight film. I'm furious. I was avoiding this like the plague. I want to see it now AND it comes out on my birthday.)

• Nightmare on Elm Street. (No. Just no.)

Finally, the movie began. The premise is that the world has been infected with a plague related to Mad Cow Disease that turns you into a zombie. This movie starts out with a young man played by Jesse Eisenberg telling us about how he survives. He has a list of rules that he lives by and when he tells you about them they have a tendency to pop up on the screen. (This is actually very funny. I have a tendency to walk up to people in my office and say "Double Tap." Hilarity almost always ensues.)

The other main character in the film is a bad ass played by Woody Harrelson. (I find him to be really sexy, but I can't really figure out why. It's got to be that accent.) He's not crazy about connecting emotionally and he doesn't want to know your name. Call him Tallahassee, because that's where he's headed.

The film goes on to tell us their story and it's seriously funny. The film also stars Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin with a cameo by the mega-awesome Bill Murray. I'm not telling you more because you need to go and see this.

I just have one question. WHY are zombies forever throwing up blood? It's really gross. Cameron says that I just don't get it and that it is, in fact, necessary. I'll take his word for it.

Halloween (or OMG! What am I gonna wear!)

Last year, I was a witch. See the (poor quality) evidence below.



This year, I have the kids so I have to do the whole trick or treating thing. Luckily, Halloween is on a Saturday so the problem of having to leave work early is not a problem at all.

I always have a dilemma with costumes. For the most part, we did not celebrate Halloween so I completely spaz out when it comes to finding a costume. I'm open to suggestions. What do you think? Should I be a witch again or should I find something new?

P.S. If the costume involves the word "Sexy" it's not really on the list.

This week.

   This week has been a strange one. After dinner with my mother on Monday all hell seemed to break loose. Things just kept happening and they were beyond my control. I could do nothing but attempt to be helpful and supportive, but most of all I tried be THERE.

   Usually, I like to stick to myself. I like being alone. I like being with my boyfriend and my children, but if I am alone I don't find myself longing for company. (I mean, I have a small herd of cats. How could I possibly be lonely?)

   This week, my presence was needed. I like that no matter how often my mother and I fight, at the end of the day we are there for each other. I love her. I don't have to agree with everything my family does. I just have to love them and try my best to be there. I have spent a lot of time on the phone with Mom and we spent two nights together without even coming close to an argument. There was business to be handled and we stepped up. That's what we do and how we were raised.

   When I was younger, I used to pray for peace. I didn't pray for peace in the Middle East or anything. I prayed for peace in my home. I know my life is hectic, but at the end of the day there is peace in my home. I am there. My cats are there. My books are there. Peace and thoughtfulness are at my house. Sometimes, during the day chaos reigns. (My children are there sometimes. They are a force of nature.) When the night comes and we are preparing for bed and waiting to drift to sleep, that is where peace lives. I am grateful for that.

   I hope the rest of the week is better for us all.