Fun Research

Sometimes when you're writing a story you have to do research. Most research is interesting otherwise the person writing the story wouldn't take the time to do it. Sometimes an idea just intrigues the writer and we go ahead and research it for "future ideas."


Today I saw on Supernatural, Sam used a credit card to open a locked door. That got me thinking. Could anyone do that? Does it really work? So I searched on Youtube for how to videos and found some. I pulled out a trusty Starbucks gift card and tried it out.

I locked the back door and tried to wiggle the card in between the latch but when it came time to release it the latch stayed firm. Needless to say, I was locked outside. It was a good thing that I unlocked the other door before I tried this. So this was a fail. 

Other subjects I research are different weapons. Here are just a few. 

When I was working and I had a spare minute I did all kinds of research on weapons, torture, how long it took someone to die with a specific injury. I didn't clear my browser history when I left so I can imagine what my replacement thought about me. 

Do you like to do research? If so, what is your favorite subject to explore? Also, have you ever just been curious about something and had to look it up right then? 
Have a great Wednesday. Thanks for visiting my blog.  

Friday! Wave those pirate flags!

It's Friday!

Okay it's been a super long week. I say raise your pirate flags and go out and have some fun. 

 Robbin has lookout duty. You never know when those squirrels will attack. 

 Here's our Jolly Roger flag. Did you know pirate captains had their own unique flag so they could be identified?

 This is Tanner. He's chilling out on the deck with the fake bird. 

 My boyfriend took me on a pirate ship cruise years ago. We had so much fun. I had to sing a song with a big ice cube in my mouth in front of everyone or they would have made me walk the plank. 

Here we are with one of the pirates at dinner time. He liked my pirate jokes. 
How are Pirates and pimps alike?
They both say "Yo Ho," and walk with a limp.

A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel in his pants. The bartender asked the pirate, "Why do you have that steering wheel down your pants?"
The pirate answered, "It's driving me nuts." 

Have a great weekend.  

My doll collection

Happy Hump Day!

Do you have a super strange collection? I collect dolls from scary movies. These dolls aren't nearly as scary as those creepy porcelain dolls. I've heard dolls were made to hold spirits back in the olden days. I don't know if it's true but that's pretty spooky. 

Here's me as a creepy doll. 

My brother in-law, nieces, and nephews gave me a life size Chucky doll for my Birthday. I've had so much fun placing him around the house and scaring my daughters with it. I've had him in the shower, under their beds, and in their beds. He does hurt when someone throws him at you while your sleeping. 

Here's my mini-Chucky. He's missing a hand and an arm because he took a tumble down the basement stairs. My daughter got mad when I scared her and her friends with him. He chants when you push the button on his back. He's also the perfect size to put in the refrigerator to scare daughters when they get up in the middle of the night for a drink.  

Here's my Scream doll that doesn't carry the same creep-factor as the Chucky doll does. I think he's cool anyways. 
I've been searching for a Trilogy of Terror zuni doll. They have them on e-bay but they're super expensive. 
Same with a Troll doll from the movie Cat's Eye. Both are on my wish list.

Do you have any weird collections? Please leave a comment.
Thanks for visiting my blog. 

Writer's Toolbox

I'm editing today so I decided to post about unique writing tools. 
The first one is from one of Margie Lawson's classes, Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors. It's my inner evil editor duct taped. Whenever I start having self doubt I grab my duct taped doll and stab, flog, and punch it. It's very therapeutic. I got my mini flogger and mini handcuffs from a writer's conference. 

Sometimes you come up with a brilliant idea or line in the shower. By the time you jump out and dry off, it's gone. Here is a handy waterproof pad of paper that sticks to your shower wall. You can get it on Amazon. It's called Aqua Notes. It's cheap and it works.

The next cool thing I have are Once Upon a Time story cards. If you get stuck and need somewhere to go in your story just pick a couple of these cards. They have different pictures and words to help your muse. 

These story cubes are like the story cards only they're dice. Give them a roll and get some unique ideas.

 Next is my journal. I keep my goals and ideas tucked in this awesome book. If you don't write down lists of everything you want to accomplish, it usually doesn't get done. Make sure your journal is pretty so you'll want to open it every day.

For some reason blogger rotated my picture so you'll have to tilt your head to see it. 

Do you have any unique writing tools? If so, please list them. 
Thanks for visiting my blog today. Please leave a comment. 

Mother's day

Hi everyone!

It's Friday. Yay. 

What are you doing this weekend? It's Mother's Day on Sunday so we're going to have brunch with my mother and family on Sunday. Here's my little Robbin giving all the moms out there a Mother's Day greeting. 

 This weekend I'm going to be combating ants. For some reason ants invade the house in the spring. My boyfriend bought this super ant killer. I hope it works. 

What are you going to do this weekend? 

Zombie Apocalypse!

What would you do if a Zombie Apocalypse happened right now? Do you think you would survive?

I've thought a lot about this. I don't know why, maybe because I'm weird. I know it won't happen but I still would like to be prepared if it does. What would you choose as a weapon? I would choose a machete. I think it would be hard to hack through a neck of a zombie with it's spinal cord and all but I have one in the garage and they seem to do the trick.  (See, I really have thought about this.)

Right now I'm going through withdrawls because the Walking Dead season is over. 

 You need to stock up on supplies. Are you stocked up? I am. But not just for a zombie invasion but for any kind of disaster. 

 Below is me as a zombie. Don't I make a cute zombie? Gimme a kiss. Mwa! I bet I would need a breath mint. 

How about Zombie movies? I've seen a lot of them. Most are stupid. Like the one I saw on the Syfy channel. They hid in a glass greenhouse. How stupid was that? World War Z was kind of cool except the men kept stepping on things that made noise to signal the zombies they were there. Men never look where they step. My favorites are Shaun of the Dead, Resident Evil, and Zombieland. 
Below is a trailer for ZOMBEAVERS. It's really funny. 

These are the best zombie books out there. It's the As the World Dies series by Rhiannon Frater. They're about two woman who do anything to survive. Think Thelma and Louise against  the zombies. What I like is these women are smart and don't ride a horse into a zombie infested town like some other people do in books and movies. They are armed, drive trucks, and build walls. It's such a cool story. 

Always remember Zombies were people too! Have you hugged a zombie today?

Are you ready for a Zombie Apocalypse?  What are your favorite zombie books or movies?

Happy Monday

 I don't know anyone who likes Monday. It's the day that starts a fresh new week. The day after the weekend and you have to drag yourself out of bed and get back to the grind. Sometimes it feels like slaying dragons. 

 Everything seems much harder on Mondays but it's no surprise. You sort of expect it. If something was to go majorly wrong, today would be the day.

 By the end of the day you feel like you're going crazy and just want the day over.

But you finally get through the day and you think "it wasn't too bad." Until the next Monday rolls around and you have to do it all over again. 
I hope everyone had a great weekend. How do you cope with Mondays? Did you do anything exciting over the weekend? 

Favorite Videos

Funny YouTube Videos

I love to play around on Youtube. Here are a few of my favorite videos that make me laugh.

The ultimate dog tease

He's just so darn cute. I can watch this over and over.




My daughters had all the My Little Ponies. Here is a trailer for a My Little Pony horror movie. This one is so funny. The ponies are taking over the world.

And then you have my favorite of all time. Jensen Ackles from Supernatural performing his version on Eye of the Tiger. 

I can't tell you how many times I've watched this one.

What are you're favorite youtube videos? 

The Evil Cat

A couple days ago I talked about my rescued dogs. Today I'm going to tell you about our rescued cat.

His name is Andy. No, I didn't name him after my ex-husband. He came with that name and he knew his name so I couldn't change it. 

Andy had three different owners before me. He originally came from a cat mill. He had one job and that was to make female kitties pregnant. Everyone is like wow, I bet he loved it. Wrong. Mill animals are kept in cages and it's a horrible life. 

Andy is a very affectionate cat, at least toward humans. The reason why he had so many previous owners is because he bullies other cats. At 18lbs, he often would beat the living snot out of the other kitties in the house.

 I don't have any other cats in the house so he seems pretty happy. Except he doesn't care for dogs much either. The dogs keep their distance from him so things work out. See how happy he is next to my Angel in bed?

 Above I was playing with my vampire app. He's now a vamp kitty. 

In the summer we shave him to look like a lion. The groomer says he loves it and purrs the whole time. When he comes home he struts around to show off his new do. 

He's also a nicer cat when he's shaved. 

Do you have any pets? Do they act different after grooming or a hair cut? 

Who are your favorite authors?

I read a lot.
My boyfriend still can't get over how many books I own. I'm a writer and usually writers love to read. Lately, I haven't been able to read as much as I'd like to. But there are times when one of my favorite authors will have a new release and the whole world will stop until I finish the book. I'm sure you guys know what I mean. All these authors have a distinct voice and can tell a compelling story.
Here's my list of life stopping authors. They are in no particular order.


Terry Spear
Karen Marie Moning
Ilona Andrews
Kresley Cole
Darynda Jones
Michael Crichton
Jeaniene Frost
Jennifer Estep
Chloe Neill
Saranna Dewyde
Claire Ashgrove
Paula Millhouse
Amber Belldene


 

There comes a time when someone recommends a new author to you. They say you absolutely have to read them. So you find time to pick up one of their books and can't put it down. Here are some authors who are new to me and may eventually will end up on the list above.


Anne Bishop- I love her new The Others series. I'm going to have to check out all her series now.
Cecy Robson- I read the first Weird Girls Novel and now I have to buy the rest of the series.
Ernest Cline- His book Ready Player One was so much fun I can't wait to see what his next release will be.
Sarah J. Maas- Her Throne of Glass Series is awesome
Romily Bernard- Her first book Find Me kept me up all night.

Who are your favorite authors? Have you recently found a new author your excited about?

Cute Puppies
Rescuing dogs has been a passion of mine for sometime. I have rescued five dogs and each one has had a different personality. Pictured below are my three babies. All of these are puppy mill rescues. That means before they were rescued they lived in a small cage their entire life. They existed for only one reason and that was to make puppies. They never were let out of their cages and the only interaction they had with people was not positive. Their baths consisted of getting sprayed down with a pressure washer. It's very sad what they had to go through. Now, they have soft beds and can run around the house. They still don't like grass very much but love to be outside on the deck. They are happy and give lots of kisses.

Barbie the Silky Terrier

Tanner the Sheltie

Robbin the Pom mix