Women's Murder Club

Women's Murder Club is the best new show on TV. I love Angie Harmon and Paula Newsome. They're my favs, but all the gals are genuine and cleverly written.

Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly sums it up nicely:

Neither self-serious nor campy, the new ABC police drama is just what I've been craving amid all the businesslike Law & Orders and CSIs. This pleasantly retro show harks back to when detective series were run on personality and playfulness: It's Josie and the Pussycats meets Columbo. Based on James Patterson's best-selling book series, WMC centers on workaholic San Francisco detective Lindsay Boxer, played by Law & Order's Angie Harmon — who, it turns out, is the Charlize Theron of above-average TV.

Smart-alecky and surprisingly genuine despite her hot-tomboy looks, she anchors the show with ease — strutting through hospital corridors, snapping for coffee, chasing bad guys into ponds and handcuffing them underwater. Unlike TV's gorgeous, whiny single-woman archetype, Harmon is actually believable as a wary divorcée forced to work with her nice-guy ex, who's now her superior (Melrose Place's Rob Estes, nailing the act of looking bemused and/or befuddled). The native Texan lets her twang go unhampered, but the writers have resisted massaging in annoying ''Southernisms'': Lindsay has yet to messily chow down on barbecue, talk about ''how we do things back home,'' or even mention where she's from, which is a relief.
We only see Lindsay on the job.

She has a chagrined, wiser partner, Jacobi (Alias' Tyrees Allen), who has not actually said ''I'm too old for this s---,'' but is clearly thinking it. The two have a teasing, young gal/avuncular guy friendship that's unlikely to get more complicated — on WMC, men are expected only to react good-naturedly or exasperatedly to the women.

Harmon's fellow Murder Club members include neurotic assistant district attorney Jill (Laura Harris), who has commitment issues; sensible coroner Claire (Paula Newsome), whose husband is adjusting to life in a wheelchair; and spunky reporter Cindy (Aubrey Dollar), who's young and intrepid. The women combine forces to solve murders while talking about guys. It's more than girl power...it's BFF power! And just like a great Quincy, M.E. episode, the crimes are ultimately quite crackable: Some trace evidence here, a suspicious husband there, and — boom! — the suspect is soon coughing up an unwisely detailed confession, so the women can get back to girl talk and chocolate.

Occasionally, all that sugar-fueled banter can get a bit too Sex and the City Morgue. The women gather around a fresh body and joke about a corpse's bikini wax, and they obsess over one another's relationships: ''How did we go from the autopsy report to my sad sex life?'' Claire asks, and it's a worthy question now and then. Another query might be, When is the Kiss Me Not Killer, so ominously referenced in the first three episodes, going to actually show up? It's time. Everyone knows a good Murder Club needs strong, engaging women, lots of supportive sharing, several bottles of pinot grigio, and a really insane, unstoppable, gruesome serial killer.

See ya there on Friday nights!

~pinkie

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig

Spent a great weekend in Dallas visiting with my daughter and the rest of the family. We had a great time. Now, I get to knuckle down and work on my Golden Heart entries and get ready for the holidays.

I didn't realize it, but I never gave the results of my CT scan on this blog - it was good. Not a sign of any growth, so I guess the pains were yet another sign my twenties are long gone. Thank goodness.

I not very interesting this morning. Just finished Lane's breakfast and thinking about napping for an hour or so. Damn I love staying home. I can be lazy on occasion and still get a lot done. The dogs are definitely in favor of the idea. They'd like it if I stayed in bed with them all the time.

Okay, I've talked myself into it. See ya next time!
~pinkie

Cool Weather

Well, I have good news and bad news - the good news is, cool weather is here. I love it! It really revs up my creativity, which is good since I'm polishing two manuscripts for golden heart contest.

The bad news is, my star carved pumpkin collapsed, and the butterfly one doesn't look too healthy. *sigh* I also tried the idea of carving the little (4") pumpkins and putting tea lights in them - the tops burned just a tad. They're really cute tho.

My month is so full, but it's all with good stuff. This Thursday I leave for our family gathering for my daughter's and my niece's birthdays. I cannot wait to see everyone!!!! I have dinner with friends tonight and critique tomorrow night. Then next week is Halloween - whew!

I'm so excited that it's Christmas time. I can't wait until time to decorate the house. I have so many exciting ideas. Yeah, only half will work out right, but I love trying!

Speaking of trying, it's time to get busy on editing the manuscripts - lots to do before the contest deadline!

~pinkie

Ah Grandkids....

The dh and I took our oldest grandson to the aquarium this past Thursday and spent the night in the RV at the lake, and we had such a great time. Kids are so fun. I'm convinced our time with them adds years to our lives. I always knew I'd love being Nana, but it has exceeded my wildest expectations.

Wednesday was my 9th anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long already. My life has surely changed in that time. There hasn't been a single part untouched - spiritual, physical, emotional, professional. It's been a beautiful 9 years.

This next weekend I'm off to Big D to celebrate my daughter's 26th birthday. My sister and I are flying her in for hers and her cousin's birthdays (the cousin's was 3 months ago). They're very close and have been missing each other a lot since they live so far apart. My parents and my aunt will be there - yay! The kids used to go spend a couple weeks every summer with my aunt, and they have so many fond memories. Next spring we're going to try to plan an extended family trip to Branson. Silver Dollar City is right up my dad's alley.

My local scrapbooking store had a 'garage' sale today. People from the area package their unused scrapbooking materials and tools and sell them cheap. I got a ton of stuff for not much money. That's how I like to shop, baby!

I'd better run. I have at least two manuscripts to get ready for the big Golden Heart contest coming up. I'd like to get three revised in time, but we'll see. I learned another big thing this year so maybe this is the year. I'm really ready to run out of big things that prevent sale to learn about. Surely I'll have them all down eventually, right? I mean, I've been so close for so long. *sigh* I keep telling myself this will make me that much more successful in the long run.

Speaking of great books - I'm currently reading P. C. Cast's Goddess of the Rose. IT IS AWESOME. I want to live in the Realm of the Rose. I'm ashamed to say this is the first of hers that I've read, but it will not be the last. She has a way with fantasy that I haven't seen in a long time. I almost couldn't put it down to go to bed last night, and I'm only on page 159. That's unusual for me to get that hooked that early.

Talk to you all again soon!
~pinkie

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Here are the pumpkins on my front porch!

~pinkie

The New Vacation Home in Ft. Worth

I'm thinking of buying this deluxe spider web near Ft. Worth for a vacation home...whadda ya think?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2003861684.html

Blogger wouldn't let me upload the picture due to some kind of technical error, but here's the link. The web is in Lake Tawakoni State Park. According to reports a 200-yard stretch along a nature trail has been blanketed by a sprawling spider web that has engulfed seven large trees, dozens of bushes and the weedy ground.

I guess I won't gripe about all the webs in my yard anymore!

I got my 3 big pumpkins carved last night thanks to a handy dandy battery operated pumpkin carver from Hobby Lobby (9.99 on sale 1/2 price!). I forgot to take a picture of my front porch last night, but I'll do it tonight and post the picture. I got the idea from a Southern Living Magazine to use cookie cutters as templates, so I have one with stars, one with butterflies and flowers and one with a traditional face. I also have some mini pumpkins to make mini jackolanterns with (also from Southern Living I think). I take so many magazines, I feel the Hearsts should write me into their will.

Making good progress on two novels currently. The paranormal is in early revison, and I've rewritten the opening to a straight contemporary I wrote a couple of years ago and polishing the rest. I'll have to write a new ending too. It's amazing what you can do by dedicating 2 hours per day. I'm hoping to have them done for the Golden Heart. (I can't believe I'm entering that #@!! contest again!) Ah well...

I get the test results from last week's CT scan tomorrow afternoon. I think I mentioned this previously. They're looking for the cause of the pain I've been having. I've felt really good the last two days - yay! And I'm starting out good today. Gotta run, though - lots to do!

Everyone have a blessed day - love ya!!
~pinkie

Too Funny Not to Share

These kinds of jokes get me everytime. You'd think I'd learn:


The Bathtub Test

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director how do
you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a
teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to
empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the
bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you
want a bed near the window?"


Enjoy the weekend everyone!!

~pinkie

Arachniphobia 2 in my backyard

Oh my gosh, have you ever seen so many spiders? The fence around our pool is covered with webs. I mean, there is no space that doesn't have spider silk stretched across it. The dh is out there with a broom sweeping them all away.

I know, I'm a spyder, but it creeps me out. I keep expecting the big mama spider to be hulking in a nearby barn guarding her nuclear egg sac. She might try to take over my blog!!

Hehehe - all this paranoia probably is because the dh and I are watching season 4 of 24. What a great show. In fact, we're so absorbed by it that my spoiled little dog is demanding attention. He's such a cutie, I think I'll pet him for a while.

~pinkie

The Rumors of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Hi all. I know. I've been bad, bad, bad for not writing on the blog, but I have been writing.

To catch you all up, the scary paranormal didn't fly. In fact, it kind of clunked pathetically to the ground, rolled over twice, then gasped its last breath. Not sure how to fix that one. I got to discover another major lesson to learn. *sigh* Writing books is hard!

SO, I took what I learned and came up with a new one for Harlequin's new paranormal line. They're smaller books, so I thought perhaps that would help me control my conflict and relationship arc better. I finished the rough draft last week and will start revisions soon. I'm really pleased with what I have so far, and I actually caught myself almost making the same mistake in the relationship arc that I made earlier, so I did learn.

This is the fastest I've ever completed a rough draft - five weeks. It's about 2/3 of what the finished length will be. I think I've finally found my writing groove thanks to my buddies Sheila and Gena. They were discussing how they write, and parts of their method worked really well for me.

I expect to have it done and off to whoever I can get to look at it by the end of this month. I guess I'll enter the damned Golden Heart again this year. I can't wait to not be eligible for it anymore (which will mean I've sold!!).

Well, I'd better get to work. So far, I'm not having any trouble staying busy at home. I love it, love it, love it! Thanks for hanging with me, my friends!

~pinkie