Daphne's Adventures

 
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Thursday, August 30, 2007


The gals at Book Binge asked a great question: Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit?

Funny they should ask, because I was just thinking about this at work today. I've been nagging one of my coworkers to read SM's Twilight for some time now. She said she will, but it's going to be awhile before she finishes, since the book is so thick. Then my boss said something like "Well how long did it take you to finish Daph?" I said, "Me? I dunno, two days? But that's only because I was so into it and couldn't put it down. I don't normally read that fast when I'm busy with work, I think I only read about 50 books this year."

After that comment, the rest of my coworkers stared at me as if I just said I won a hot dog eating contest. They all chimed "No you didn't, that's impossible." Ummm, NO, it's not. The consensus around the room was that most of the staff read an average of 1 book a year, and the higher executives read maybe 4? Pretty sad if you ask me.

Now don't get me wrong, I'd be lying if I said I was always a book lover. It came in phases. As a child, I loved reading Ramona Quimby, Roald Dahl books, Babysitters Club, and Nancy Drew, to name a few. Then in junior high/high school I stopped reading for fun, probably because I was too swamped with other homework and frustrated with required reading that I just didn't have an interest to read for pleasure. This pretty much lasted throughout college, and finally I discovered romance books about two years ago. That's a different story, for another blog post (I'm now wondering why I never blogged about it).

So I guess other than my "book friends," (you know who you are) I really don't have friends who read as much as I do. Most girls my age read a ton of magazines. One of my clients had an accounting manager that subscribed to every girly and celebrity gossip magazine out there. People, Cosmo, USWeekly, etc. That's not really my cup of tea. The only times I read those are when I'm at the dentist office or someone else's house and there's nothing else to read on their coffee table. My parents read quite often, but mostly religious stuff. My brother reads more than the average person. Before he got together with his recent girlfriend, he used to do the weekly Borders trips with me. Ah, I miss those days.

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posted by Daphne @ 10:13 PM   2 comments
13 things to do before my Atlanta vacation

13 things to do before my Atlanta vacation

1. Finish my audit.
I pretty much need to be done by Sept. 7th and I'm leaving the next day for Atlanta. Talk about cutting it close. :(

2. Change my voicemail and out of office email reply. Last time I took a mini vacation I forgot to do this, and that was disastrous. I also have to remember to tell people I just flat out won't be checking my emails, so they'll get off my back.

3. Get a haircut.

4. Download some ebooks to my ebookwise. Gotta love the ebookwise reader. Now I can save some space in my luggage.

5. Confirm flight and hotel reservation.

6. Buy a new phone charger.
All I have right now is my car charger. Dang, if I don't get a home charger, I'm screwed.

7. Call my friend Patti.
I'm going to Atlanta for the first few days to hang out with my mom while my dad is at his work seminars, then I'm off to see Patti. Still not sure what day I'm going to see her though, or what we're gonna be doing (besides bookshopping of course).

8. Submit my timesheet for the following week. I always forget to do this for week vacations. I can't afford to be on the late submission list at work.

9. Find baseball tickets. I think there might be a Braves game the Sunday I first arrive. I should look that up and see if I can still get tickets.

10. Buy Katie a birthday present. This is Patti's daughter. I totally missed her birthday a few weeks ago.

11. Buy Madeline a present. Patti's other daughter. Just because you know how kids are, she might be upset if I bring a gift for Katie and not her.

12. Open all mail and pay bills.

13. Do laundry and pack.

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posted by Daphne @ 9:33 PM   2 comments
Homework Assignment: Favorite Book As a Child
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

I've been out of school for over 3 years so no, I'm not talking about a real homework assignment. This is actually a fun contest created by my dear friends at BookBinge. The task is to tell readers what my favorite book was as a child. I'm not quite sure what age range qualifies as "child", but I'm hoping it includes age 13. Why? Because I was exactly that age when I read one of my favorite books of all time... The Giver by Lois Lowry.

In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.

Out of all the required reading throughout junior high and high school, I remember these were the type of stories I actually loved reading. Stories that involved glimpses into the future and perspectives on society, humanity, love and hate. I was debating on using either Farenheit 451 or 1984 for this entry, but those were read in my freshman and senior years...much later than when I first read The Giver. So I'd like to think of The Giver as the book that "started it all."

The protagonist in this story, Jonas, is just a child. Yet he faces challenges and decisions that are beyond his years, which is what I think makes this story so powerful. Jonas basically lives in a community of "Sameness" - there is no color, only black and white (think of the movie Pleasantville). Everyone lives by strict rules, and by Jonas' age, either you are given an Assignment, or you are Released from society (which if I recall, pretty much means you're killed). Instead of receiving an Assignment, Jonas becomes the "Receiver of Memory" and meets The Giver, an old man whose primarily role in society is to retain memories of the past. The Giver begins to transfer memories to Jonas; memories of war, love, suffering, and color. These memories are a shock to Jonas, who struggles to understand that there can actually be a world/society different from what he's known since birth.

Jonas now realizes why society is kept from these memories, but feels that it is better to know the truth and have a choice in life than to be ignorant in a Sameness world. He and the Giver then make plans to break free from his society, in order to change the world. I won't spoil the rest for those who haven't read it, but I highly recommend this book. It's written in such simple style, yet every chapter is thought provoking. I remember after first reading this, I was more ooohed and ahhhed by the fact that Jonas was given the memory of color and could now see colors while everyone else only saw black and white. After reading it again I realized the story was so much more than that. As a teen I know Sameness was so important to me. It didn't matter what I thought of something, if it was what the popular kids did/wore/said/ate I wanted to do the same. Jonas' new outlook on life was pretty much the same for me. I realized that being the same wasn't always the best way to go. Now that I'm older, I also realize that this book has taught me the classic lesson of "better to have loved and lost than not have loved at all." So in many ways I feel like I owe The Giver a great deal for shaping me into who I am today.

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posted by Daphne @ 10:35 PM   1 comments
SM Book Signing
Monday, August 27, 2007

So Stephanie Meyers had a book signing this weekend at a nearby Borders. I heard about it through Rowena of course, since she's always on top of things like that. When I called the bookstore Saturday morning, a store rep said they were expecting 1,400 people there. Hmm... I wasn't sure if I should believe her... after all, I went to the midnight Harry Potter opening and I'm pretty sure it wasn't 1,400 people. And yes, SM is very popular now, but I can't imagine it would've been as crowded as HP was. Anyway I asked Wena if she could check out the crowd later in the evening (the book signing started at 7pm) and text me.

Sure enough, Wena's text said that it was a madhouse over there, and it was only 5pm. I guess I wasn't surprised, but a part of me was still disappointed. It's that same illogical part of my brain that always hopes I can leave work early without anyone noticing, or hopes the lines won't be long at Disneyland. So I called my other friend, Mormishmom, told her the situation, and said I was still down to go since I had nothing better to do. We figured it'd be pointless to get there at 7, so we arrived around 9pm.

I was expecting a ridiculous line spilling out into the parking lot, but when we got there, we found a ton of parking spots out front. Hmm, strange. MMM and I walked in and saw no sign of a crowd in the bookstore. Okayyyyy. I was beginning to think we were either at the wrong Borders, or the event was earlier than I thought and it was over. As we were about to head out and give up, MMM saw a flash of light from the back of the store, and immediately we ran toward it. Success! Stephanie Meyer was there, signing away books like an assembly line, while her "people" stood by, packing the rest of her stuff up. I swear, MMM and I got so lucky because there were maybe 6 people left who wanted their books signed. I tried calling Wena again but she didn't answer. I wasn't sure if we were still allowed to approach her, so MMM went to check it out and then she started yelling "Daphne, get over here!" I busted out my 3 books, Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, and handed them to SM's assistant. She flipped them open to the front and slid them along the table to join the rest of the assembly line. I swear SM must've had carpal tunnel by the end of the night, because man was she signing fast. I was able to get my Eclipse personalized, so I can't complain there. After MMM and I got our books signed we received I love Edward pins (it was either Edward and Jacob, and I couldn't bring myself to ask for both since I figured we were lucky to even get by). I'd say after me, there were maybe 2 other people who got their stuff signed, then SM got up and was escorted out of the store. Talk about LUCKY! Five minutes later, and we would've missed her. We got our books signed and waited approximately 2 minutes in line. :) I felt awful though because I had to call Wena back right away saying nevermind don't come anymore.

Now, I must apologize to my friend Isabel, because I promised her I'd get her a signed copy of Twilight. Yes, I know, I'm fired. Let me explain though. I actually couldn't find my own copy of Twilight that afternoon, and since I was going bonkers looking for it, I decided to screw it and just go to my local Borders to buy another one. When MMM were driving to Borders, she only had Eclipse with her since she read Twilight and New Moon from her library. So as we first walked in Borders, we thought maybe we could buy the first two and I could get Isabel her copy. We changed our minds and decided to first find the line of people. So as it turned out, had we stopped to buy those books first, we woulda been toast and SM woulda left by then. So Isabel, I am really sorry, but I hope you understand that I was under a time crunch.

One more thing I'd like to point out for those of you who are curious... I didn't really get to say much to SM. All I said when I approached her was "Thank you for signing my books, I love your stories and your characters." She said thanks and that's about it. Honestly, she seemed kinda tired to me (heck, I would be too after signing books for 2 hours straight) but she was still polite and I appreciated that. There was one girl who asked SM's assistant if she could apologize to SM. Then she shouted "Stephanie. I'm sorry about that comment I made." SM said "What comment?" Girl said "About Seth. I didn't mean it and I'm sorry I asked that question." SM just gave this look like.. ummm okayyyyy and politely said "It's okay." Now I have NO idea what that was about but MMM and I exchanged looks and were trying so hard not to laugh. It was hilarious.

So overall, it was a fabulous experience... but I'd say only because MMM and I got so lucky. I've never been to a book signing before, but if you ask me, I was expecting it to last longer than 2 hours. So I feel kinda bad for the people who were waiting in line since 4 or 5 in the afternoon, while I got there at the end and waited 2 minutes. I woulda loved to get a pic with SM, but I guess that's pushing my luck. Morale of the story though... sometimes it's good to listen to that illogical part of your brain that says it never hurts to try.

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posted by Daphne @ 9:38 PM   4 comments
Yee haw
Thursday, August 23, 2007

So last night was the first time I went country line dancing. Went with two of my coworkers, Amanda and Janelle. It was a pretty long drive for us, about 40 miles from work. I know you're thinking "isn't there some place closer?" and yes, you're right. There are closer places, but we went to this particular one because we had heard it was opening night. Plus our local country music station morning DJ was going to be there. I figured cool, we might get free prizes and such.


We arrived there and fortunately for me, the dancers were doing the electric slide. This is probably the most basic line dances I can do, I mean.. come on... it's electric! We do this all the time at weddings, cheesy birthday parties, new years eve. You get my drift. So it was a good way to shake off my first-time dancing fears.


After the first dance we went to the bar to get a drink, sit down and watch the other dancers two-step. I was the DD for the night, so I only ordered a sprite. I was sitting down with Amanda, watching Janelle smile politely at the old man twirling her on the dance floor to a pace not matching the beat, when all of a sudden the waitress came up to me. "There's a man sitting at the bar over there who wants to buy you a drink. What would you like?" I blink a few times, then finally point to myself and say "Who ME?" I mean, I was seriously shocked because a) I thought that only happens in movies b) If anything, I would think Amanda would get the offer since she's way prettier/stylish than me. So, I'll admit. It felt good. I was like WOW this is crazy. But what was I going to say if I wasn't really drinking that night? Do I just say, sure I'll have another sprite? Hmmm. So I told the waitress to tell the guy thank you for the offer, but that I wasn't drinking tonight (and I still had a full glass of soda). She left to deliver the message, and meanwhile I felt a little paranoid from then on. Like every time I would get back on the dance floor I thought, oh gosh is he watching? who is it? is he cute?


There were some serious hotties there, but sadly the only ones on the dance floor were the older folks. One guy, who I nicknamed Tall Boy, was like 6'10" and holy momma he was fiiiiine. Anyway, after another session of fast-paced line dances that I failed to pick up, I finally flagged down the waitress again and asked who the drink guy was. She had an "I'm sorry" look to her as she told me it was a guy who looked to be in his 50's. Okay, I'm not trying to offend anyone, but that's like my dad's age and I'm sorry, but that is just NOT okay with me. Yuck. So whatever, I still had a good time, watching Janelle and Amanda ride the mechanical bull, and we got to see our favorite morning radio DJ. I noticed he had no ring on his finger, and I'm slightly obsessed with him now. I mean, the guy can dance, and he actually stood next to me during one of the line dances. I was a little nervous but he is so fun and easy going.


Old man ended up approaching me and revealing his identity. He gave me some compliments and I politely said thank you. But once he started asking "where do you live?" and "can we exchange numbers?" I was like... ummmmm no. Haha. Dangit... why can't I ever get a normal, young, good looking man to hit on me? I swear, I'm a weirdo magnet. Despite all that, I had a blast and I'm sure I'll be adding country line dancing in addition to my swing dancing routine.

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posted by Daphne @ 10:01 AM   7 comments
13 Things I Miss About School
Thursday, August 16, 2007

13 Things I Miss About School

1. Kindergarten nap time. I can't believe I hated nap time as a kid. Silly me.

2. Cheap lunches. I remember those little blue booklets full of lunch tickets in elementary. Can't remember the exact amount but it came out to like $1.50 per day. Junior high and high school were upgrades to real brand name foods, but still cheaper than what you would pay at the actual place. I think my grande lattes at Starbucks cost more than these meals did back then.

3. Recess. Dodge ball. Monkey bars. Pogs. Jacks. Crossfire. Hand ball. Jump rope. Good times.

4. Shoe box dioramas. I just remember loving these types of projects. Pick a book and depict a scene using arts and crafts and a shoe box. Too bad all I read now are romance books. I don't think it would be appropriate to make a diorama for "those" scenes.

5. Before and after school activities. In high school I did colorguard, yearbook, school plays, and culture club dance rehearsals. So pretty much zero through seventh period. Nowadays I'm lucky if I can squeeze in ONE non-work related activity in my day.

6. Walking to campus. Mostly referring to college here. I got plenty of exercise walking on campus grounds. Now I barely make it from the parking lot to the office without sweating and losing my breath. Sad.

7. College hotties. Where did all the good looking boys from college go to? Well, wherever they are, they're sure as heck not in my office. I spend most of my day at work, and alas, no hotties. *sigh*

8. Choosing classes and times. I wish I could just pick and choose what times of the day I want to work and what times I want to take a break and read, eat, sleep, etc. If I could I would get all the work stuff done in the morning (I got used to all 8am classes in college) and by afternoon be done and spend the rest of the evening relaxing.

9. Lockers. I did the typical girly decorate your locker thing. I had a mirror and a Pochaco fold out case thing that hung on the locker door. Not to mention the locker was the best place to post up your fav magazine cutouts of celeb hotties.

10. School dances. Sure I never had dates 75% of the time, but they were still fun. Less dangerous too. Nowadays I can't stand going clubbing, it's such a production. And there's so many weirdos out there.

11. Talent shows and plays. I loved watching these because it would bring out hidden talents of your fellow classmates, and show you different sides to their personalities. Plus being a performer was always fun. The rehearsals after school, bonding with people you normally wouldn't hang out with, performing choreographed dances. Loved it.

12. Living on campus. College was probably the best four years of my life. Mainly because I lived away (but not too far) from home. When you have good friends that live in the same building as you, it's just so much more convenient to hang out. I miss being able to call up a good friend, and grabbing a snack in the wee hours of the morning.

13. Student discounts. Oh wait, that's not entirely true. I still use my college ID to get student discount at the movies. =P

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posted by Daphne @ 12:04 AM   2 comments
Raintree Haunted
Tuesday, August 14, 2007


It's been a long time since I did a book review. I admit I've been too lazy to write book reviews, mainly because I've enjoyed most of my recent reads. After all, (in my opinion) it's so much easier to write bad reviews than good ones. I find that either people don't review bad books because it's not "worth their time," or they do review them because there's more substance to discuss. I fall within the latter. With that said, I hope you will understand why all of a sudden I'm reviewing Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones.

This is the second book in the Raintree Trilogy, the first being Raintree Inferno by Linda Howard. I had read many mixed reviews (mostly bad) for RI, but honestly I didn't think it was that bad. RH takes place at the same time as Dante's story, except this time we meet Gideon Raintree - a homicide detective who can talk to ghosts and channels electricity through his body. Gideon is teamed with a new partner, Hope Malory - a strong woman driven by logic and reason. The whole story basically revolves around them trying to solve several murder cases believed to be committed by the same murderer, while simultaneously "falling in love."

My first big gripe about this book, is Gideon. I'm sorry, but this guy is just a big time loser. He harnesses electricity but not once did I see him actually use this power to save anybody. At the very end I was expecting him to kill Tabby (the killer) by electrocuting her. Nope. She first escapes Gideon's interrogation by consuming a poisonous pill. Gideon knows she isn't dead, since he hasn't seen her ghost, but he just lets the ambulance take her away. Yah, smart move buddy. No surprise that Tabby shows up later and this is where I thought okay now he's gonna take her out with a lightning bolt. No, wrong again. Hope shoots Tabby in the head. *rolls eyes* Wow, your powers are so cool Gideon. Not.

I think the only thing his powers were good for was to give Hope orgasms by putting his hand to her abdomen and sending a tiny jolt of electricity to her. Oh please. So speaking of Hope, let's talk about my second gripe. Other than her name Moonbeam being corny, I didn't think she was that bad. I liked that she didn't trust Gideon in the beginning, and that she was on an equal level with him (partner versus victim he's trying to save). However, is it just me, or did she give in way too easily to Gideon's charms (no pun intended)? For someone so strong, independent, and distrusting of Gideon, she seemed a bit trampy once she slept with him. One minute she's suspecting Gideon of being a dirty cop, the next she's having sex with him. Hmmm.

Lastly, I had issues with the Emma storyline. Emma is Gideon/Hope's future daughter, who appears as a spirit to Gideon in the beginning of the story. She warns daddy to stay away from the "bad lady" and says she is arriving soon. Okay Gideon, get a clue... she's calling you daddy and telling you she's coming soon at the same time you meet Hope and instantly want to jump her bones. You don't think there's a slight chance that Emma might be conceived when you have sex with Hope? Ugh. I was seriously annoyed reading Gideon's reaction when he realized Hope was wearing his fertility charm and that she might be pregnant. He handled that about as well as Faith Hill reacting to Carrie Underwood winning the country music award. "You're pregnant," he said sourly. pretty much says it all. Again, I say.. Gideon is a big time loser.

Well, that's all I have to say for this one. One more book to go in the series. I'm not really expecting the third to be a blast either. The first book was corny but entertaining, now it's just going downhill. I hope I'm proven wrong by Raintree Sanctuary. So my fellow readers, this one is getting a 2 out of 5 rating from me.

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posted by Daphne @ 10:28 PM   2 comments
Middle Name - I Got Tagged
Monday, August 13, 2007
Isabel tagged me.

Here are the rules:
1) You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2)You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3) When you are tagged, you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.

4) At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So my middle name is weird and it has a Q in it, so I'm gonna go with something else... my confirmation name. Maria, named after St. Maria Goretti. Yes, I apologize that it's the same as Isabel's, but oh well. I'll try to make it different.

M - Marriage. Not quite there yet, but hoping some day.

A - Accounting. It's my profession.

R - Relationships (with family and friends). Very important to me.

I - Intelligence. I would hope people think this applies to me.

A - Adventure. I like to think that my life is full of it.

I'm sure everyone else has been tagged so I'm tagging those of you who haven't done this and would like to.

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posted by Daphne @ 8:29 PM   4 comments
Church Crush Chronicles 3
Sunday, August 12, 2007

He's back! After 5 weeks of not seeing church crush Charlie at Sunday mass, he's finally returned. Whew. I was beginning to think he left California permanently and tried to join the seminary again. So I went to mass this morning with my mom, sat in my usual pew...next to a nice old lady and her husband. I call her "lady in the hat," because she always wears an old fashioned hat to mass. Another reason I always sit next to lady in the hat, is because she always sits in front of Charlie's family. Haha, way to strategically position myself.

So mom and I show up, and I notice Charlie isn't there with his family. Dang, I think to myself. Another week gone by and no sign of Charlie. Five minutes into the mass, I can tell someone is scooting into the pew behind me. EEEE! It's him. Okay calm down Daph. You're looking cute today in your new dress, so at least you're prepared. Dang I'm telling you, he's sooo good looking. Even my mom has mentioned that on several occassions.

Anyway, this is the first time that I actually heard him speak/sing a lot during the mass. And let me tell you, the boy can SING! The choir has been on vacation so my dad has been singing solo for the masses. Well, my dad, being the old fashioned guy he is, loves to sing those latin chants. I know some of those chants (i.e. Agnus Dei Qui Tolis Pecca Ta Mundi....) but not all. Anyway, during one of the latin songs I didn't know, I was surprised to hear Charlie behind me singing all the words. Perfect latin. Man oh man, I tell you... I know I'm a total weirdo... but seriously, hearing him sing in latin (in a surprisingly good yet masculine singing voice) is so HOT! I was just standing there thinking dude, you're hot. That seriously just made my day. Of course he would know the latin words too, the guy almost joined the seminary for crying out loud.

So in other news, about five minutes ago as I was typing up this blog, my mom comes in and randomly says "There's a prayer I want to show you and I think you should start praying it every day." Well alright, I'm not one to turn down extra prayers, but knowing my mom... it was going to be something specific to help something in my life. That is so like my mom to give me prayers like that. For example, before I go on long trips she will leave me a prayer for travelers on my desk, to say in case my plane should come crashing down in the ocean. Or when I have a big test coming up, she will tell me to say a prayer for students and exams. Something like that.

I said, "Sure, let's see it." I'm expecting her to hand me a little leaflet or something and instead she tells me to google it online. Hmm, this is interesting. Well, apparently, there's a lot of sites you can find that give different Catholic prayers (novenas) for almost any occassion. And whaddya know, the prayer she shows me... "Prayer for a Good Husband or Wife." Oh dear. *sigh* I knew it. Told ya it was going to be about something specific in my life, in this case, it's the "me not being able to find a good husband." LOL Geez, I've been single for what? 6 months.. and she makes it seem like I'm hopeless.

I'm actually surprised though. I was expecting my mom to say something like "this is to help you find a Catholic husband." She didn't though. All she said was... "this is to help you find the husband that God wants for you." I was really surprised by that, but honestly I'm very glad that those were the words that came out of her mouth. While I do think it's funny my mom is giving me this prayer, in a way.. I'm glad. It shows she cares for me and just wants to see me happy. And all jokes aside, it really is something important to me. To find the one that God has in store for me. The prayer itself is very beautiful, and even though I won't admit it to my mom, I'm probably going to say it every day. After all, doesn't hurt to get some help from the big guy upstairs.

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posted by Daphne @ 8:22 PM   2 comments
Great weekend
Sunday, August 05, 2007
I had a fabulous weekend. I normally don't do anything special on weekends; maybe swing dancing, but nothing that requires me driving out for more than 10 miles.

On Friday I called Holly after work, and she was meeting Isabel for dinner at Dave and Busters. It's not every day I get to see these two, so with that in mind, I decided to bite the bullet and battle the long distance (about 40 milse) and after-work traffic. We had such a blast joking, laughing, drinking, and playing games. I knew the boys (Holly's fiance MM, and Isabel's hubby Joey) were gonna get all competitive and I was waiting for the moment when one of us girls would beat them at a game. Well, I had my chance when we played the racing car game. I honestly wasn't paying attention to my rank during the race, I just wanted to not hit the walls. At the last lap I noticed some jerk slammed into my car to try and throw me off. Sure enough, it was MM. Hah, a lot good that did him because I overtook him and finished 1st place. Woohoo! Take that MM. I also beat Joey in the police trainer game. *snicker*

Then... as I was walking to find Holly at the bar, some guy stopped me in my tracks and said "woa, where ya off to? what's your name?" Eeek, I panicked. I didn't want to give out my real name, and I wasn't quick enough on my feet to think of a fake name, so I glanced around really fast, saw MM, and blurted out "MM.... save me!" Yah, real slick. I feel bad because you gotta give the guy credit for at least trying to approach me, and I totally just blew him off. Not my finest moment people. Eh, whatever. Stuff like that doesn't happen to me so I'm a rookie when it comes to that. Anyway, I got home pretty late and slept in.

Next morning I called Holly again, who was on her way to the beach with her mom (aka Devil Woman "DW") and her sister. I knew the drive to the beach would be about 2 hours, and I was a little disappointed that I had slept in. By the time I hit the road, there was mad traffic, and of course, no parking when I got to the beach. So four hours later, I made it. I was a little angry at myself because I knew I should've left earlier, but I got over it as soon as I met up with the girls. It was really great to have girl time. Just the beach, beach blanket/towel, a good book, and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. I even got in the water, which I never do, and gosh darnit, it felt good. After our beach excursion we showered/changed in the hotel room and had a relaxing cozy dinner at a neighboring hotel. I left around 10pm, and made it home around 11:30.

Sunday I woke up early, went to church, had breakfast with mom and dad, and took a nap. Then I got up for swing dance class, danced for about an hour, then went home to change. My friend Emily from Arizona came over (I was introduced to her by Rob) and we hung out in Santa Monica, went shopping, ate dinner, and ate gelato for dessert. With her summer internship over, Emily is going back to Arizona. I hope we will keep in touch and I can visit her there one day.

Ah, I tell ya. Life is good. In college I didn't have many gal pals, so it's awesome that I can say now I do. So, what did y'all do this weekend?

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posted by Daphne @ 10:27 PM   4 comments
13 of my favorite book heroes
Wednesday, August 01, 2007

13 of my favorite book heroes

1. Ben Lewis. From Linda Howard's Heart of Fire. My favorite Amazon tour guide. This guy just oozes with sex appeal and raw masculinity. He's strong, handsome, brave, witty, and has a sense of humor. What I love about him is that he's very masculine but he's also adorable and sometimes acts like a little boy. He's always throwing in comments to keep you rattled or on your toes. You can't help but love this guy.

2. Kevin Tucker. From Susan Elizabeth Phillips' This Heart of Mine. Quarterback of the Chicago Stars. Wickedly handsome, athletic, and a true southern gentleman.

3. Luc "Lucky" Martineau. From Rachel Gibson's See Jane Score. Goalie for the Seattle Chinooks hockey team. Love him because he falls for plain Jane. Love him even more for his horseshoe tattoo (located you know where).

4. Edward Cullen. From Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. Yes, I know he's just a teenager, but technically he's over a hundered years old. And yes, technically he's a vampire. So what? I love him anyway.

5. Vane Kattalakis. From Sherrilyn Kenyon's Night Play. Okay, so maybe he's a tad hairy, but hot diggity dang, he's so fine. I love that he's so rich he can pay movers a couple of Gs just to piss off his woman's jerk ex boyfriend. Yah that's what I'm talking about. Stick up for your woman and show her ex what a dumbass he was for dumping her because of her weight. Vane, I love you.

6. Drustan MacKeltar. From Karen Marie Moning's Kiss of the Highlander. Man, just thinking about this guy gets me hot hot hot! He's tall, he's a druid, he's smart, and just downright sexy. He's not embarrassed to show it either. He'll let you touch his....sock.

7. Dageus MacKeltar. From Karen Marie Moning's The Dark Highlander. Yikes, I'm seeing double. He's Drustan's twin, the bad boy, the rebel. Oh yah, if you like bad/naughty boys, Dageus is your man. This is the kind of guy you want to pin you against the wall and ravish you. And believe me, I'd let him.

8. Adam Black. From Karen Marie Moning's Immortal Highlander. Yes, I'm on a KMM roll here. But how can I not mention the great Adam Black? He is the fallen fae, the arrogant servant of Aoibheal, the immortal one. Ah yes, I can't tell you how many times I've reread this book. Adam is scary and dangerous, but there's something about him that just draws you to him. Love him because he sacrificed all that he was as an immortal powerful fae for his love, Gabrielle. Oh yah, I'd tup him.

9. Acheron "Ash" Parthenopaeus. From Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series. As the series goes on, I'm not liking him as much, but Ash still makes it to my list because in the beginning I loved him. He was so mysterious and such a strong leader. You gotta love the leaders of the group, the guy who has all the wisdom and strength to solve everyone's problems. It's too bad that he's becoming Artemis' little biznatch, but what can you do? He's got such a troubled past, you can't help but feel bad for the guy. Plus he's got lots of... stamina.

10. Baron Royce. From Julie Garwood's The Prize. Strong and fierce on the outside. Warm and tender on the inside. Oh boy, I can't get enough of this man. He's so good to Nicholaa and has so much patience with her. He's a great warrior too and has the respect of all his soldiers. And even though Nicholaa was a strong heroine, he didn't become a pushover with her, he stood his ground and was reasonable with her.

11. Alec Kincaid. From Julie Garwood's The Bride. A highland barbarian and laird. Arrogant and tough. I think this was probably one of the first historical romances I ever read. Alec will always have a place in my list of favorite heroes because he's so good to Jaime. He gives her time to adjust to their sudden marriage, and when he realizes he really loves Jaime, he's just so romantic that I want to melt.

12. Rhage. From J.R. Ward's Eternal Lover. Aka Hollywood. He's the "pretty boy" in the group of vampires. Don't let those looks fool you though, he's also one of the most deadly fighters in the group. That's because he turns into an angry beast/monster (literally) when he gets pumped up to fight. I dunno, maybe I have issues, but I love that he's got that rawr animalness in him. He instantly fell in love with Mary (who wasn't my favorite heroine and I don't think she deserved him but meh) and took such good care of her. He sacrificed eliminating his curse to save her. Now that's love. And that makes him all the more sexy.

13. Ian Thornton. From Judith McNaught's Almost Heaven. I can't remember why I love this man, but I do. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Well there's my list. How about you?

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posted by Daphne @ 9:41 PM   6 comments
Who Is Daphne?

Name: Daphne
Home: California, United States
About Me: I love to read, especially romance books. I love to play, especially computer games and puzzles. I love to dance, especially lindy hop. I love my family and friends.
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